Tag Archives: new vocalist

Kittie’s Morgan Lander Joins Karkaos

Posted by caemanamelio on

Karkaos have recruited Kittie’s Morgan Lander as their new singer. She will be replacing Viky Boyer in the group.

Lander commented:

“Joining Karkaos has been a true honour for me. It feels so incredibly good to be back in the metal game after a number of years away, and I cannot wait to step on the stage once again with these amazing musicians.”

Guitarist Vincent Harnois added:

“We already knew how talented Morgan was when we began talking to her about joining the band. When she sent us her first demos, we realized that this was going to be something extremely special. She is an absolute pleasure to work with and she brings a whole new dimension to our songs. It is an honor to have her with us and we are thrilled to start the next chapter or our band together.”

In other news, the band have also been working on eight demos for their upcoming album at Silver Wings Studio in Montreal, QC.

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Slaves Announce New Frontman, Premiere “Heavier” Music Video

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Slaves have welcomed Matt McAndrew to the band as their new frontman. The singer, who was a runner-up on season 7 of “The Voice”, is replacing Jonny Craig, who was kicked out of the group in January. With this news, Slaves have also premiered a new video for their new song “Heavier”:

McAndrew said the following about the new single:

“To me, ‘Heavier‘ is about being trapped in a thought loop of worry, paranoia, and ultimately shame. I have a hard time letting my demons go and when they start affecting relationships, I really feel down on myself. It’s like a physical weight. I never thought I’d be in another band.

After all, being solo offers complete artistic control and freedom. It’s only now that I’ve realized how lonely I’ve been by myself. Working with such a tight knit group is a blast, and meeting other bands that show such love for each other makes me feel accepted in a way that I haven’t experienced before.”

Drummer Zack Baker added:

“Our new single came together so quickly. We all collaborate extremely well with each other and we feel that is represented in this new track. The song itself has a dark lyrical vibe encompassing everything Slaves has been about since our debut. Having Matt around has been a great time; he meshed well with us from the first day we met him. His extensive song writing background as well as his all-around musical knowledge have been a huge asset in the studio. I know we’re all excited for this new chapter of Slaves.”

Furthermore, the band are also selling a new shirt in an effort to raise money for non-profit charities to help people that are battling addiction.

The Apocalypse Blues Revival (Godsmack) Reveal New Singer

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As previously reported, The Apocalypse Blues Revue, the blues band featuring Godsmack’s Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola, recently confirmed that they will be continuing on with a new singer under the name The Apocalypse Blues Revival. Now, Larkin has issued a new statement to explain what happened with the group after former frontman Ray “Rafer John” Cerbone announced their apparent breakup. He also revealed that his drum tech Shane Hall will be serving as their new vocalist.

Larkin said the following:

“Hello family, friends, and fans of The Apocalypse!

It’s me, Shannon here. There’s been a lot of confusion over the fate of The Revue, and that’s partly my fault as I’ve been silent since Rafer’s announcement that the band was ending.

There’s no short way to explain this, but I’ll keep it as brief as possible.

By now, most of you know how the band started, but for those that don’t, Tony and I started jamming a blues riff. I heard him play guitar like I’d never even realized he could play (we had played together for 10 years by this point, but Godsmack is neither bluesy nor a band that features many lead guitar parts), and immediately I knew that the world needed to hear Tone play like this. And, I had a vision of the songs I wanted to write with him.

To save time and not bore you all (because there are indeed stories as to how and why Rafer and BassGod completed the line-up), we invited Ray Cerbone and Brian Carpenter into our vision. Now, a very important note here that is relevant to the present situation: when I started this with Tony, our dream was to be as traditional blues as possible, and have the band for our time off from Godsmack as a fun outlet to play blues bars. There was no intent to get signed or be successful…we just wanted to play locally, create cool songs, play a genre we can age gracefully in, and flex our blues muscles.

We played for over four years in bars across Florida as ‘Blue Cross’, getting together a couple times a week to write and demo songs, then go play em live.

All was well.

Then, Zito from (at the time) 99X called and said they needed an opener for the 99XFest for the main stage. But, to put us on he needed a track to play on the radio. By now, the hard rock style of Tony and I had bled into our idea of traditional blues in a natural way. So we picked our heaviest song (The Devil In Me), recorded it and gave it to Zito. Played the festival, all good.

On a whim, I sent the song over to my manager who took it to Provogue Records (a blues division of Mascot), and suddenly we were signed.

We put out the first record, toured as much as we could…which wasn’t much (Tony and I had our priority, Godsmack, which takes most of our time), but played some amazing shows with unbelievable heroes of ours (Robbie Krieger!! Kenny Wayne Shepherd!! plus some Blues Festivals, a live performance on Sirius XM, and yes, a couple club tours in a van too).

But, it didn’t sell that many copies. However, the people that got it (and all critics, every review) were super positive so we weren’t discouraged. On the other hand, to the record labels it is all about the business. Having signed for only one record with their option to do a second one, they needed to hear a new demo before signing us for a second release. We sent “What A Way To Go”, “Have You Heard The News”, and “Open Spaces”, which secured us the deal for the second record, “The Shape Of Blues to Come”.

Here is where it gets tricky: the record did a little better than the first one sales wise, but not enough for Provogue to continue with a third. And, my vision of traditional blues had changed drastically into trying to create a new sound that incorporated more of a classic rock feel, psychedelic even; garnishing the foundation of the band which was, is, and will always be BLUES, with a new element.

I think it’s evident from the first to the second record my path was changing. So with no record deal and no pressure from labels, Mgmt, etc… I wrote a bunch of new tunes with Tony and realized it was a different band, and I wanted a different approach and voice for the new material.

My time is limited with the juggernaut that is Godsmack rolling pretty constantly, so I didn’t fuck around. I talked to Bri and Tone and pitched the Revival idea, which they endorsed, called a meeting, and told Rafer. It fucking sucked. But he’s a pro, and a great man, so he didn’t punch me in the nose, and our friendship remains (I saw him this morning☀️).

As I told Rafer, the Revue isn’t done…I just need to get this new band fired up. And, when it’s right, we’ll get back together, write some traditional blues, play some shows for fun in FL…you know, like we did and enjoyed for years before we were sucked into the machine.

For those that question this change… I respond with it was my only choice to start a different band. I could’ve just fired Ray and remained The Revue with a new singer, but it would never be that band without Ray, and I want both worlds to co-exist. And, I got no rules. I love Ray’s voice and want to explore more writing with him, and it would be a shame to stop performing those records live…but that’ll be down the road a bit. So, I created some confusion. But I did it…so blame me. In the meantime if you’re jonesin’ for some Rafer, he has just released his first solo work, entitled How Much Time, under Ray Cerbone (available on iTunes). I have listened to this front to back several times now, and it’s an intimate portrait of a great singer/songwriter that has produced a gem of a set of songs that keeps you interested, even if Americana isn’t your style or favorite genre.

OK! The singer of my new band, The Apocalypse Blues Revival, is Shane “babyBlue” Hall. His previous band was also with Tony and I and it was a FUNK band! We did it for fun for many years, recording over 30 songs together (never released one song or did one show!). We called ourselves FunkyAntz; we only stopped because Shane lives in Cali, and our bassist Chris lives in MA, and we just couldn’t line up our schedules in life to continue as a band. Someday…? Oh, and Shane is also one of my best and most trusted friends, has been my drum tech for the most part of the last 20 years of my life, and has a wonderful, versatile voice; he loves and grew up on all the same music as me, and has a style and flair that is undeniable.

Tony and Brian also adore Shane as a singer, but just as important, as a human.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope it makes a little more sense now why I did what I did, as selfish as it may seem. I got music, I gotta get it out there, and it has to be perfect for me at the moment I’m inspired.

All I can promise you all, is to try to be unique and original with experimentation in this genre, THE BLUES, in hopes of turning on younger generations to it, which in turn will lead them back in time to the originators to discover for themselves the true American music, and the forefather of RocknRoll.

NEW SONG AND WEBSITE AND PICTURES WILL BE UP IN THE NEXT WEEK!!!

I will put up an exact day prior to release when I know (still getting it all together), but the song is recorded, the pics are taken, and Tony, Brian, Shane, and myself hope that you all love it as much as we do!!!

For those that made it this far in this mini-novel, thank you💙 The mission is still on…

Shannon Apocalypse
July 4th🇺🇸
Las Vegas, Nevada”

Adema Officially Recruit Ryan Shuck (Julien-K, Ex-Orgy)

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As previously rumored, Adema have parted ways with singer Marky Chavez and have since recruited Ryan Shuck (Julien-K, ex-Orgy, etc.) as his replacement. Shuck recently discussed his new role with Loudwire saying he will join the group for “the rest of this year and possibly more.”

Shuck said the following:

“I’ll just cut to the chase. I’m going to assume the frontman / lead singer position with my very good friends in Adema this fall on a major tour and a couple more one-offs toward the end of the year. So basically I agreed to be their singer for the rest of this year and possibly more because we seem to be having a lot of fun doing it.”

Despite this, Shuck also confirmed that he will still be working on Julien-K:

“I’m not quitting Julien-K at all. In fact, we have a new album coming out called Harmonic Disruptor that is really, really exciting and really, really good, but we don’t have a tour in the fall so this all kind of lined up.”

He also had the following to say about Chavez’s exit:

“Well, if you read the headlines, it says Chavez split with the band, again, but the reality of it is that he’s never really been deeply engaged with the band for at least ten years. As you know, there have been tours booked and the band has gone out as a three piece or four piece and [Tim] Fluckey ends up singing, but the reason for this is that Marky just doesn’t really seem to want to do Adema.

Recently I’d heard that Mike [Ransom] had been sober for seven or eight years and that was really great news because substance abuse has been a really big problem with some of the guys in this band. Dave DeRoo is a very old friend of mine. My first band, Sexart, was with Dave DeRoo and Jonathan Davis in Bakersfield, California, so we go back very, very far. But we’ve maintained our friendship, and Dave has also been sober for a year plus.

But he and Marky had rekindled their friendship and moved in together and I thought this was all very, very exciting. So they played a few shows, I went and watched them and I was so happy that I started jumping in and calling all the guys and finding out what their situation was. I asked if everyone had their substance issues under control, and it sounded like they were enjoying playing music again. I reached out to see if maybe they wanted to do a tour with Julien-K.

And in Julien-K, I kind of manage the band, but when I saw Adema play I got so excited I just started calling all of them and having deep conversations with the guys. I found out that Marky was on the straight and narrow and doing really well, and he seemed to be back into the music, which was really good because I know that he wasn’t for the longest time. But when I saw them play, I was so excited that I started working on putting the band back together. I literally started acting like a manager, and I really started to try to drill into why can’t you guys go out and tour? There are tour offers coming in all the time and people love this band.”

He continued:

“At the end of the day, after some lengthy and very friendly conversations with Marky, I was simply told point blank by Mark that he does not want to play this music, period. So I gave up. I respect that. I was totally looking forward to going out and playing with them and I thought we had a chance to go out and not only make some money but bring this music to the better part of a million fans out there that really love the band. But Mark was just like, “I’m not really into singing these songs anymore.” I don’t want to convince someone to do something they don’t want to do. That’s not what I do.

Needless to say, the band was again in a state of devastation. The band was not happy and I honestly thought it was just over. But we continued talking and being friends and out of nowhere, a month and a half ago, Kris Kohls gave me a call and said, “Hey man, we got offered another big tour, and we really want to do this the right way. We don’t want to go out as a three-piece or have Fluckey have to do the whole set. We want to have a frontman.” When I asked if they would be willing to be authentic with the full rest of the band, he said yeah, and then he asked me if I’d come sing for them.

I just kind of stopped for a second, but the instant feeling in my stomach was like, “Oh, that’d be fun.” But because I’m such an originalist, I never really imagined singing for another band where I’m not the primary writer. But it was fun because I’ve been friends with these guys for 25 fucking years or more. So it didn’t really feel weird. It felt like my old friends or part of my old band asked me to come help them out.

In some ways I look at this like, “What would Chester [Bennington] have done?,” especially if it was a group of his 25-year friends who needed some help and needed someone incredible to go sing for them. I know multiple occasions where Chester had jumped right in and done it.

He sang for me in Julien-K during Projekt Revolution when I had to fly home to be the best man at my brother’s wedding. He put on Julien-K clothes and went out and sang the entire set for me. That’s the friend and musician and singer that I want to be for my friends.

That sits heavy with me, especially when you got some guys that reach out. I know the feeling of wanting to go do your music so badly, but you’re basically getting blocked because you’ve got a member of the band who doesn’t want to do it.

So I talked to [Julien-K’s] Amir [Derakh] and Amir asked if I wanted to do it and told me he’d totally support me if I wanted to. And I was like, “Yeah, to me this is like Family Values all over again. This is the original gang of friends getting together and doing the right thing.” I just felt that I could get together with these guys onstage and do the music justice, and I can be consistent and give the band something they haven’t really had in a long time and that’s the COMPLETE band, with a great singer with dates that they can count on.”

Shuck also seemed to hint that Adema may release new music and went on to discuss how his addition affected the group:

“One thing I asked and this has been awesome. But I said, “Look, you guys used to have samples and there’s keyboards and stuff in your music on the album. I remember back in the Projekt Revolution days when you guys were blowing up, you guys had all that.” They said, “Yeah, but we haven’t used that in a long time.” And I said, “Well, we’ve gotta use all of it. If I’m going to do this with you guys, it’s going to be the Adema that everyone remembers. We’re gonna go back to the roots, back to the core, and we’re going to sound fucking amazing.”

We’re going to use all the masters of all the sounds and we’re going to go back and make sure that this music sounds like the album. There’s nothing that’s going to be left out because these keyboard parts really take it to another level. It’s gotta be there. So they’re totally stoked and I can’t wait to get in there and do this.

We’ve had a couple of rehearsals and it turns out I can sing the songs great. I forget who said it, but it was like what if Dave Gahan and Trent Reznor fronted Adema? That’s perfect. This is cool. So we’ve been working and really having a great time together. Mike’s been having an awesome time sourcing all the original sounds that was just sitting in storage.”

Adema Reportedly Part Ways With Frontman Mark Chavez

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It looks like Adema may have parted ways with frontman Mark Chavez once again. They recently shared a message on social media teasing the release of new music and a “major package tour,” which will reportedly feature Powerman 5000 and (hed)p.e. However, Chavez wasn’t mentioned in the post and he has since been removed from the about section on the band’s Facebook page. Ryan Shuck (Julien-K, ex-Orgy) is rumored to be taking his place.

Adema said the following:

“Hello ADEMA family, friends, and fans!! We can see you noticed some exciting new stuff we started posting late last night (at midnight!!?? Do you guys sleep????). Here’s what we can tell you now: YES, we are hitting North America this summer on a major package tour with some other GREAT bands – all good friends of ours and bands we know you love!

We can see the excitement and speculation in the comments regarding the new photo we posted – and yes, we have some really exciting news to announce very soon – and trust us you will be stoked and super surprised in a GREAT way! We suspect that this news is going to break the internet. Yes, we have plans to release some new music – more on that later.

YES, we will have VIP hangouts available for sale very soon – and YES we will be playing all the songs you LOVE every night.. you will be hearing from us again soon! We love you!

David DeRoo, Mike Ransom, Kris Kohls, and Tim Fluckey“

The following dates have apparently leaked for the rumored Powerman 5000, (hed)p.e., and Adema tour:

10/20 Angola, IN – The Eclectic Room
10/28 Laconia, NH – Granite State Music Hall
10/30 Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz
11/03 Halethorpe, MD – Fish Head Cantina & Rocking Sushi Bar
11/09 Flint, MI – The Machine Shop

Burning Witches Part Ways With Seraina Telli, Recruit Shadowrise Singer Laura Guldemond

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Burning Witches have parted ways with vocalist Seraina Telli. Taking her place in the group will be Shadowrise singer Laura Guldemond.

The band shared the below statements:

Enchantress Laura joins forces with the BURNING WITCHES coven!

The sad news has already been around the globe, Seraina has left the BURNING WITCHES.

Sometimes there are things beyond our control that you don`t see coming and are very disturbing. Nevertheless the band will move on with all upcoming concerts and is working on album no3 already.

We have had some very difficult weeks, so in these times of sadness and confusion, we are delighted to welcome our new WITCH Laura from the Netherlands into our circle.

We also have the good news that we have decided to give the fans a special teaser and appreciation in the shape of a new song that we will release this week to debut Laura!

Please read the following statements from the band and wish Seraina good luck for her future.

Seraina states about her departure:

“Dear friends, for personal reasons and after much deliberation I’ve decided to fully dedicate myself to my band DEAD VENUS and to leave the band BURNING WITCHES.”

“For the last four years I have had an incredible journey but I feel now that is the time to explore the challenge my own project is offering me.”

“I would like to thank my family, friends and of course the fans for the incredible support. I also thank the band, the label and the management for all their help.

There are a lot of beautiful experiences I’ll keep with me forever.”

“My debut album of DEAD VENUS titled Bird of Paradise will be released later this year. So my life remains exciting!”

“I wish the WITCHES all the best and good luck for the future!”

Bandleader Romana is emotional about all the changes:

“This is of course a very sad moment for all of us. We have been very close for the last years and have reached a lot together. With great sadness we have to accept that Seriana wants to move on and we wish her the best of luck for that! Your time with the WITCHES will never be forgotten!”

“For us as a band it is important now to look into the new challenges and the new record – the show must go on!

Yes we are super thrilled that we have found Laura so quick over our Dutch connection Sonia. We know it is impossible to replace a great voice in exact the same way, that is why Laura is the perfect choice for us. She will bring in her own strength and personality into the WITCHES! We will not change the identity of the band, we will continue playing the music we love!”

“Laura is an experienced & crisp vocalist with a big range and a crazy enough personality to be one of US! Please give her a warm welcome – she has already won many metalhearts at our first show with her at the Sweden Rock festival! We will continue to spread the magic of the witches – thanks for all the support over the years!”

The new WITCH Laura welcomes the fans:

“Dear Burning Witches fans of the world, I am really excited and know I have big shoes to fill! I want to thank you that you give me this opportunity and the Burning Witches for their trust and the warm welcome they gave me into their sisterhood!”

“Being able to play the music I love, with great people, perform at those amazing shows & festivals and being supported by a fantastic team is a dream that came true for me. I can`t really wish for more!”

“We are working our asses off at the moment to bring the magic to you all! Keep the fire burning! See you soon on the road & thanks for the support!”

Please stay tuned for the brandnew song this week – the WITCHES will never give up – READY TO FIGHT!

Static-X Show Off New Touring Vocalist In New Video, Announce More “Wisconsin Death Trip” 20th Anniversary Dates

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Static-X are offering fans a look at their new touring vocalist in the below video clip. It is not entirely clear who the singer is yet, but many believe it is Dope frontman Edsel Dope. Furthermore, the band have also added more dates to their “Wisconsin Death Trip” 20th anniversary tour. This news comes after the group recently revealed that their new album “Project Regeneration” will feature even more unreleased material from the late Wayne Static than they originally thought.

Drummer Ken Jay said the following:

“For us, the goal was 100% about recapturing the vibe and the spirit of Static-X. We were never interested in using a hologram or using Wayne’s pre-recorded vocals. It has to be real and it has to have a soul and a pulse. Static-X has always been four guys. Two guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. We didn’t want to mess with that formula. This is the most electric version of ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’ 2.0 that we can imagine, without actually having Wayne here with us.”

Guitarist Koichi Fukuda continued:

“At first, I was actually a little skeptical of how we could do all of this. But, after I heard him sing, I was sold! I am so impressed with how far it has come in a short amount of time. We are working very hard to bring something very special to you all. I know that Wayne would be very proud of how much heart and effort has been put into this. It is truly an honor.”

Bassist Tony Campos added:

“We were very lucky to find somebody who could fill such a unique role. We’ve all toured together and our bands came up together back in the day. This is just as special for him as it is for us. He was never interested in trying to make this about him and he was actually the one who suggested that the mask be the face of the memorial.”

Tour Dates:

North America (with DevilDriver and Dope):

06/18 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater
06/19 Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater
06/21 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live
06/22 Houston, TX – The Warehouse
06/23 San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
06/25 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
06/26 Greenville, SC – The Firmament
06/28 Baltimore, MD – Soundstage
06/29 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
06/30 Scranton, PA – Levels
07/02 Toronto, ON – Opera House
07/03 London, ON – London Music Hall
07/04 Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey
07/05 Hampton Beach, NH – Wally’s
07/06 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
07/07 Reading, PA – Reverb
07/09 Pittsburgh, PA – Jergel’s
07/10 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater
07/11 Indianapolis, IN – The Citadel
07/12 Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s
07/13 Detroit, MI – Harpo’s
07/14 Lexington, KY – Manchester Music Hall
07/16 Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection
07/18 Cadott, WI – Cadott Rockfest
07/19 Sioux City, IA – Anthem – Hard Rock Casino
07/20 Joliet, IL – The Forge
07/21 Belvidere, IL – Apollo Theater
07/23 Denver, CO – Oriental Theater
07/25 Santa Ana, CA – Observatory
07/26 Los Angeles, CA – Catch One
07/27 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues

Australia (with Wednesday 13 and Dope):

08/22 Brisbane, Australia – Eaton Hill
08/23 Melbourne, Australia – Croxton
08/24 Sydney, Australia – Metro
08/26 Adelaide, Australia – The Gov
08/27 Perth, Australia – Rock Rover

Russia:

09/20 St. Petersburg, Russia – Cosmonavt Club
09/21 Moscow, Russia – Giavclub

UK (with SOiL, Wednesday 13 & Dope):

09/24 Bristol, England – SWX
09/25 Cardiff, Wales – Tramshed
09/26 London, England – Electric Ballroom
09/27 Nottingham, England – Rock City
09/28 Leeds, England – Stylus
09/29 Southampton, England – Engine Room
10/01 Newcastle, England – Northumbria Institute
10/02 Glasgow, Scotland – The Garage
10/03 Manchester, England – The Ritz
10/04 Birmingham, England – 02 Institute

Europe (with Wednesday 13, SOiL and Dope):

10/05 Paris, France – File 7
10/06 Antwerp, Belgium – Trix Club
10/07 Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle
10/09 Cologne, Germany – Essigfabrik
10/10 Mannheim, Germany – MS Connex
10/11 Zurich, Switzerland – Dynamo
10/12 Pinarella di Cervia, Italy – Rock Planet
10/13 Munich, Germany – Backstage

North America:

12/10 Salt Lake City, UT – The Royal Bar
12/11 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
12/12 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
12/13 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
12/14 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
12/15 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater