The video was filmed in Italy during the band’s Autumn 2010 tour and is directed by Salvatore Perrone. It captures perfectly the band’s intense, visceral technic as well as their musical diversity and Greg Puciato’s near legendary growl.

Together with the accompanying light show the video is a six minute excursion into the insanity that is The Dillinger Escape Plan live!

The Dillinger Escape Plan have also been confirmed as co-headliners for this years Hevy Music Festival which appropriately takes place at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in the Kent countryside from August 5th to 8th.

Soundgarden Live On I-5

Having reformed in 2010 following a 13 year hiatus, Soundgarden roared back to a thunderous reception, prompting the band to announce the release of their first ever album of live tracks Soundgarden Live on I-5 which is released today, Monday March 21st.

Taking it’s name from Interstate 5 which runs up and down the West Coast the live album captures Soundgarden at their definitive best, capturing the band at the height of their recording and touring career.

This carefully selected compilation includes fan favorites like “Spoonman”, “Rusty Cage”, “Burden In My Hand,” and “Black Hole Sun” (performed by Chris Cornell solo), as well what insiders are calling the definitive live performance of “Jesus Christ Pose.”

As a bonus, the disc includes two brilliantly inspired covers:  The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and The Stooges’ anarchic proto-punk classic, “Search & Destroy”. The band took out recording engineer, Adam Kasper with them on the West Coast leg of this tour- the first time they ever recorded any live shows.

They rented a mobile 24 track machine/truck and recorded the gigs on 2″ tape. Soundgarden had always intended to release it as a live record soon after the tour, but alas, they disbanded and the tapes were left in the closet of Studio X in Seattle (now called Bad Animals) to gather dust until now.

Live on I-5 is the follow-up to Soundgarden’s celebrated 2010 reunion, with the band re-staking their well deserved place, earning a Grammy nomination for previously unreleased track “Black Rain” for Best Hard Rock Performance, gracing the covers of music magazines SPIN and Guitar World, performing on the second night of Conan and topping critics’ lists with their fall 2010 release, Telephantasm.

The multi-label, career-spanning collection, also available in collector’s editions with the band’s first-ever DVD and booklet,  was a comprehensive retrospective of the enormously influential band whose music put Seattle and a young label called Sub Pop on the map.

Capturing the rawness, spontaneity and magic of Soundgarden at their best the live album represents the blueprint for the Seattle sound explosion of the nineties – heavy, loud, full of metal guitar heroics and classic rock pomp.

Soundgarden Live on I-5 Tracklisting in full:

1.    Spoonman
2.    Searching With My Good Eye Closed
3.    Let Me Drown
Tracks 1-3: Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996
4.    Head Down
Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996
5.    Outshined
Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996
6.    Rusty Cage
Recorded live at Pacific National Exhibition Forum, Vancouver, BC, Canada – December 7, 1996
7.    Burden In My Hand
Recorded live at Salem Armory, Salem, OR – December 8, 1996
8.    Helter Skelter
9.    Boot Camp
Tracks 8 and 9: Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996
10.    Nothing To Say
Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996
11.    Slaves And Bulldozers
12.    Dusty
13.    Fell On Black Days
Tracks 11-13: Recorded live at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA – December 5, 1996
14.    Search And Destroy
Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 18, 1996
15.    Ty Cobb
Recorded live at Crosby Hall, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – November 30, 1996
16.    Black Hole Sun
Recorded live at Mercer Arena, Seattle, WA – December 17, 1996
17.    Jesus Christ Pose -
Recorded live at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA – December 5, 1996

On Saturday 26th March, Home Of Metal will be taking up residence in The Public, inviting fans to bring along their memorabilia & stories to be photographed & recorded to contribute to the digital archive. Home Of Metal are looking for everything from concert tickets to photographs, badges, album covers, t-shirts, demo tapes, fan letters, fanzines, flyers, lyrics, posters, press articles, set lists and promotional materials to build the collection online, which will inform Home of Metal exhibitions.

- Hosted by Kerrang! Radio DJ Johnny Doom
- Appearance by former ‘Raw Power’ presenter, Ozzfest compere and Metal expert Krusher
- Create your own DIY guitar and other family activities with Juneau Projects
- Photography masterclass with Steve Gerrard
- Meet the Home of Metal team

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Home Of Metal – An exhibition exploring 40 years of Heavy Metal & it’s birthplace
18 June – 25 September 2011
Tickets: £6 (Adult), £4 (Seniors, Students, Children), £3 (Unwaged), £14 (Family)

Over the past four years, Home of Metal has scoured the UK and beyond for relics, artefacts, memorabilia and interesting stories. They have met the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy and Tony Iommi. They have spoken to the most passionate fans, and to the biggest movers and shakers within the industry. This summer, it finally will come together as a celebration of the HOME OF METAL.

When four working-class Aston lads known as Black Sabbath unleashed their debut album in 1970, it saw the birth of a new musical form, one unmistakably birthed from Birmingham and the Black Country. In the proceeding years, a myriad of bands from these locales took the lead from Sabbath and continued to evolve, innovate and break the barriers of this new genre.

Summer 2011 will see a large-scale exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery that will explore the ingredients that together made Heavy Metal. The show will offer an insight into the region’s industrial history, the early blues-rocks sound, the changing music industry, DIY politics and the global impact of the sound as well as a chance to hear stories from both the fans and the artists.

Four decades since Heavy Metal was unleashed onto an unsuspecting world, it is finally coming home to Birmingham and the Black Country in celebration of a truly global musical phenomenon.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery
You Should Be Living: The Visual Language of Heavy Metal
18 June – 17 September 2011

Home of Metal explores the relationship between fans and music; this exhibition further investigates the relationship by examining the work of artists inspired by the genre. Work on display will illustrate the visual impact of Heavy Metal, exploring the motifs and myths of the music.  The featured works use typography, vintage t-shirts, sculpted pieces and sound to explore the varying aesthetic of Heavy Metal and its relationship to contemporary art. The exhibiting artists, both national and international take inspiration from the genre, exploring notions of fantasy, chaos, performance and devotion.

Thirty years after the formation of Napalm Death, a special collaborative piece of work has been commissioned for this exhibition. French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen will present their sculptural construction containing text and abstractions, embedded video monitors, audio cables and microphones, referencing the work of both artists and the first Napalm Death album ‘Scum’. Thirty years after the birth of ‘grindcore’ You Should Be Living: The visual language of Heavy Metal is a celebration of the devotion of music fans to Heavy Metal and the work that is born of this.

The New Art Gallery Walsall
Mark Titchner
BE TRUE TO YOUR OBLIVION
8 July – 11 September 2011

i saw a light image mark tichener

As part of the Home of Metal season, The New Art Gallery Walsall will present a solo exhibition by artist Mark Titchner. The exhibition will include newly commissioned work as well as existing works.

Mark Titchner works in a wide range of media including sculpture, installations, light boxes, posters, video and performance. The use of text is a central element of his work and he derives inspiration from a range of sources such as song lyrics, advertising, utopian statements, political manifestos, philosophy and sociological theory. His visual language is very much influenced by his early interest in music and comic books.  Mark has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2006.

Be Angry but don’t stop breathing (II) is a new version of a work in which visitors are encouraged to engage in a group primal scream exercise which visualizes the vibratory nature of sound.  The sounds produced by the screams are processed and used to vibrate trays of ink attached to loudspeakers. The work will be situated in the gallery next to N (I) B and will contrast with the silent scream.

A text based banner will be produced for the gallery’s Window Box, a project space which can be seen from the outside of the building for 24 hours per day.  I’ll choose my fate is a lyric taken from the song You Don’t Have to be Old to be Wise by Judas Priest.  This work links to Walsall Leather Museum’s display of Judas Priest’s stage costumes.

Walsall Leather Museum
Hell Bent for Leather: Judas Priest and the Heavy Metal Look
8 July – 11 September 2011

judas priest designs credit ray brown fashion

Eager to contribute towards the Home of Metal celebrations, Walsall Leather Museum will be focusing on the sights rather than the sounds of this musical phenomenon. The Museum will be displaying some of the stage costumes worn by local heroes of the Heavy Metal scene, Judas Priest and will be offering fans the rare opportunity to see costumes from the private collection of the band.

Home of Metal Conference – Heavy Metal and Place
University of Wolverhampton & Light House
1 – 4 September 2011

As a key part of the unique celebration of the Home of Metal the conference will explore, debate and celebrate the significant themes and origins of Metal in  ‘Home of Metal: Heavy Metal and Place’.

Over four days experts and academics will engage with the origins of the popular music genre of heavy metal and its formation in the industrial areas of Birmingham and the Black Country in the late 1960s.

The conference panellists will explore the sense of place.  The central theme will examine the social, cultural and economic structures which prompted the creation of a particular musical form, and the social relationships which maintain its local base, for both artists and fans. How does popular music relate to a sense of place?

A key issue will also be the interplay between globalism and localism, explored through the particular and localised expressions of a major international and multi-cultural musical form. Contributors will examine the musicological, social and economic determinants and there will be a particular concentration on musical heritage and the archiving of cultural history. Tickets and website details on sale in April.

Sponsors
Home of Metal gratefully acknowledge the support of Black Country Arts Partnership, Arts Council England, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Screen West Midlands, Laney, Gibson, Metal Hammer & Classic Rock Magazine.

To find out more and to upload metal memorabilia to the digital archive, visit www.homeofmetal.com

Launching in June 2011, Home of Metal founders Capsule, present a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated cultural programme under the banner of Home of Metal, exploring the foundations, social context and heritage of heavy metal culture, which has gone on to be a global phenomenon.

Informed by personal collections and iconic material from the Home of Metal digital archive, and featuring an original solo exhibition from acclaimed contemporary artist Mark Titchner, as well as work by French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen, the exhibitions will take place throughout The Black Country and Birmingham this Summer.

Focusing on the Midlands-born innovators of the genre and those that continued to develop it , the five key bands who inform the exhibitions are Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Napalm Death and Godflesh.

“Judas Priest have always been proud to fly the flag for British Heavy Metal on our tours around the world. We make a point of letting everyone know that we are from the Black Country and so for us to be included in the prestigious Home of Metal event is another solid way of showing the strong connection we share with Birmingham and local fellow metal musicians throughout the region. There has and will be a tremendous interest and importance surrounding the innovative music coming from our part of the UK that has continued to inspire and influence countless musicians…. A big thank you to the Home of Heavy Metal and of course the fans who are the ones that make all this possible” – Judas Priest

Home of Metal – an exhibition exploring 40 years of Heavy Metal and its birthplace. This will be the core exhibition at the prestigious Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, taking over the largest UK temporary gallery space outside of London from 18 June-25 September. Informed by original band artefacts and materials from the Home of Metal digital archive, the show is the first metal exhibition of its kind, bringing together unseen memorabilia sourced directly from the fans themselves, and placing it alongside iconic items from metal such as Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules stage cross and handwritten Napalm Death lyrics. The show will also explore the ingredients that together made Heavy Metal, offering an insight into the region’s industrial history, the early blues-rocks sound, the changing music industry, DIY politics and the global impact of the heavy metal.

As part of the Home of Metal season, The New Art Gallery, Walsall will also be presenting a solo exhibition by internationally renowned artist and former Turner Prize nominee, Mark Titchner, BE TRUE TO YOUR OBLIVION. The exhibition will feature newly commissioned work such as Be Angry but don’t stop breathing (II), in which visitors are encouraged to engage in a group primal scream exercise which visualizes the vibratory nature of sound.  The sounds produced by the screams are processed and used to vibrate trays of ink attached to loudspeakers. Influenced heavily by metal music and the associated aesthetics, Titchner’s Turner-nominated Ergo, Ergot will also be on display, which references the iconic Vertigo logo.

Opening in July, Wolverhampton Art Gallery will present You Should be Living: The Visual Language of Heavy Metal, an exhibition which explores the relationship between heavy metal and artists inspired by the genre, using typography, vintage t-shirts, sculpture and sound to explore the varying aesthetic of Heavy Metal and its relationship to contemporary art.   Thirty years after the formation of Napalm Death, French artist and grindcore fanatic Damien Deroubaix and Napalm Death founder Nicholas Bullen will present their sculptural construction containing text and abstractions, referencing the work of both artists and the first Napalm Death album ‘Scum’.

Also opening in July, Walsall Leather Museum will be displaying stage costumes worn by local heroes of the Heavy Metal scene as part of their exhibition Hell Bent for Leather: Judas Priest and the Heavy Metal Look. This will be a rare opportunity to see costumes from the private collection of the band. There will also be Home of Metal exhibitions at The Public, Bilston Craft Gallery and Dudley Museum & Art Gallery.

Bringing people together to share their passion for heavy metal music, Home of Metal’s ambitions include the development of heritage tours and ultimately a permanent collection dedicated to telling the story of Metal and its unique birthplace for fans to visit in the future.

These exhibitions form part of the 2011 programme, which will also include a touring film programme, concerts, further exhibitions and a heavy metal conference, with further details yet to be announced.

The Home of Metal project is to hold a fourth and final Open Day at The Public on Saturday 26 March, offering one last chance for fans of all ages to share their memorabilia and stories with the digital archive and help to tell the true story of the birthplace of Heavy Metal.

11AM – 4PM, SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2011. THE PUBLIC, WEST BROMWICH.

FREE – ALL AGES WELCOME

Bad Sign

Croydon trio Bad Sign have little more than eighteen months experience together as a band and have intelligently spent that time in the recording studio and on the road, creating their unique sound and winning fans as far afield as Germany in the process.

Bad Sign formed after bonding over a viewpoint that too many artists were compromising their integrity for the sake of pleasing a fan base and drawing on their own mixed bag of influences including primarily Biffy Clyro, Everytime I Die and Led Zeppelin.

Their brand new five track EP, Exit, is released on April 25th through Bangers, Clive! Records, featuring an overriding theme of escapism.

The songs here are entrenched in a sense of desperation and longing for something more or something better than what already exists, be it from a personal relationship or life itself.

While their influences are loud and clear on the EP, the content remains unmistakably original, the songs are swathed in epic backdrops and winding, gritty riffs declaring Bad Sign’s ambition of being serious about their music, totally uncontaminated by pretence and image.

This collection will reward anyone who takes the time to listen and is a promising start for Bad Sign who prove that they have the material and are more than capable of achieving their ambitions, albeit on their own terms.

For more information visit the Bad Sign MySpace page

anathema live

On the back of their highly acclaimed 2010 album We’re Here Because We’re Here, Liverpool prog rockers Anathema will tour the UK this month kicking of with a gig at the Live Lounge in Durham on February 9th and finishing at London’s Scala on February 17th.

Following an absence from the recording studio of several years, Anathema returned last year with the award winning album We’re Here Because We’re Here, their first collection of new material since the 2003 album A Natural Disaster.

The multi-coloured, multi-layered work of unbridled emotion, passion, and intensity, the new album has been embraced by their legions of fans and the worldwide press.

Having pioneered the UK melodic rock metal movement since their conception in 1990, Anathema have fearlessly explored  new territory and new ways to express feeling through sound ever since.

Spawning a myriad of imitators, influenced by their music, along the way, Anathema have managed to remain one step ahead throughout their distinguished reign.

The line-up is really a collective of two families who were quite simply born to do it. Anathema consists of brothers Vincent, Daniel and Jamie Cavanagh, alongside childhood friends John Douglas and his sister Lee, who is an incredible singer in her own right. The line-up is completed by Les Smith, who brings much in the way of production expertise to the band.

Always forward looking, the band are humbled by the lavish praise heaped upon them over the years, but are now ready to take their music to the next level.

Expect details of a new Anathema EP entitled Dreaming Light during the coming weeks.

Anathema UK tour dates:

09/02 : Durham – Live Lounge

10/02 : Glasgow – Cathouse

11/02 : Sheffield – Academy 2

12/02 : Nottingham – Rescue Rooms

14/02 : Leamington Spa – The Assembly

15/02 : Manchester – Academy 3

16/02 : Wolverhampton – Slade Rooms

17/02 : London – The Scala

As a bonus here is a video featuring Danny from the band discussing band life and working with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame whilst on a big wheel!

Cradle Of Filth

Forgive Me Father I Have Sinned is the excellent first single to be taken from the forthcoming Cradle Of Filth album Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa which is released on November 1st.

The single is scheduled for release on October 18th and the video to accompany the track can be seen below.

The band are currently streaming tracks from Darkly, Darkly,Venus Aversa album on the Cradle Of Filth mini site where they also currently previewing the brilliantly titled track Nun With The Astral Habit.

The mini-site also features a video blog, info about the album, a gallery featuring new band pics and elements from the album artwork, a link to download a MP3 of the track Lilith Immaculate, downloads and more. The site is being updated on a weekly basis with video blogs, fan competitions, promo videos, new downloads and more. We shall also be adding previews of a different track from the album every Wednesday.

Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa, released on the band’s own AbraCadaver imprint through Peaceville Records and through Nuclear Blast in the USA, is the band’s ninth studio album and in the words of Cradle’s infamous frontman Dani Filth is ‘without doubt the fastest and most brutal album we’ve created to date. As an acquaintance of the band so aptly noted, this is like Iron Maiden on crack in a graveyard of angels! This album is Cradle at our most sinister and darkened fairytale, a gothic horror themed slay-ride of fervour and perversion; yet amidst the orchestral melodrama and lush, cinematic production, there sits stalwart a ravening beast of furious riffing, flesh ripping vocals and monstrous, unstoppable percussion.’ Top Stuff!

The ultimate fans’ edition of Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is now available to pre-order from the mini-site, Dani has stated that this is will be, ‘the best Cradle Of Filth release that we have ever created, the ultimate version of our ultimate album. For you, our loyal mortal appreciators.’

The fans’ edition comes packed in a deluxe hard box containing:

• 2CDs – the album plus a disc of bonus tracks and demos (including  Adest Rosa Secreta Eros, an exclusive track that will not be available on any other edition of the album)
• DVD – the promo video for Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned) plus a documentary on the making of the video
• A 64 page hard-back book containing band photos, musings and artwork
• An exclusive t-shirt available only in this box
• A stunning limited edition lenticular 3D image of the album cover art , ready for framing
• Five photographic prints
• An official certificate of authenticity from the band

Cradle Of Filth are inviting fans via the mini site, to submit questions which Dani will be filmed answering. The band’s answers will be filmed and posted on the Peaceville YouTube channel and the album mini-site in the lead up to the release date.

Torche -photo lauren roero

Doom mongers Torche release their first new material since the acclaimed Meanderthal album on October 4th, and the band will follow the release with some live dates in the UK.

Songs for Singles is a collection of eight new tracks that for some reason Torche refer to as an EP rather than a full album, maybe that is down to the short, 21 minute length of the recordings, but who knows?

Torche fans can hear the entire collection of Songs for Singles being streamed via the Torche MySpace page, where pre-orders for the EP are also available.

Once again Torche have harnessed the power of doom and  stoner rock and wrapped it neatly around some catchy melodic pop tunes, creating a rare treat of short but sweet head banging tracks on the eagerly awaited new EP.

The pioneers of Doom, Sludge, Metal, call it what you will, it is all rock music after all, will be performing the new material in November when they play four shows in the UK, the dates are as follows:

November Tour Dates

22^nd – London, Garage

23^rd – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

24^th – Glasgow, Stereo

25^th – Birmingham, Hare and Hounds

cradle of filth- darkly, darkly, venus aversa

The delightfully shocking, exciting and at times downright disgusting Cradle of Filth release the latest episode of the bands dark history, their new album Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa will be released on November 1st through Peaceville Records.

The extreme metal band has set up a mini site where fans are able to get their fix of Cradle of Filth ahead of the album release there is a gallery featuring new band pics and elements from the album artwork and a link to download an mp3 of the track Lilith Immaculate.

The site will be updated on a weekly basis with video blogs, fan competitions, promo videos,  an iPhone app, new downloads and more. From September 22nd they will also be adding previews of a different track from the album every Wednesday.

Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is the band’s ninth studio album and in the word’s of Cradle’s infamous frontman Dani Filth is “without doubt the fastest and most brutal album we’ve created to date. As an acquaintance of the band so aptly noted, this is like ‘Iron Maiden on crack in a graveyard of angels!”

“This album is Cradle at our most sinister and darkened fairytale,” continues Dani. “A gothic horror themed slay-ride of fervour and perversion; yet amidst the orchestral melodrama and lush, cinematic production, there sits stalwart a ravening beast of furious riffing, flesh ripping vocals and monstrous, unstoppable percussion.”

Grammy nominated Cradle Of Filth have been pioneers of extreme music since their debut in 1994 and have continued to evolve with each of their subsequent releases. Unafraid of ruffling a few feathers, the band have continually refused to bow to convention or to conform to prevalent trends and fads. Yet despite this uncompromising stance the band are still the most successful British heavy metal band since Iron Maiden, with legions of fans around the globe.

The Ozzfest Festival was created in 1996 by Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne; and in 1998 Ozzfest first came to the UK.

Over the years Ozzfest has included some great line-ups including Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Slipknot, Incubus, Linkin Park and Disturbed.  Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne have also played.

Following several concerts across the United States the Ozzfest 2010 comes to the UK for one show at London’s O2 Arena, before heading off to Israel for a final tour show in Tel Aviv.

The London Ozzfest 2010 concert is on 18th September but will include much more than shows from the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne and other heavy rock protagonists.

Ozzfest 2010 will be the first UK show in over five years and will see Ozzy and co take over London’s O2 with a ‘Village Of The Damned’ including fairground rides, stalls and tattooists.  This will be the first indoor Ozzfest and for those followers of the legend that is Ozzy, this will be an event not to miss as this year, Ozzy has joined the tour!

Ozzy Osbourne will be supported on the main stage by Korn, Murderdolls and Skindred plus a special guest.  More acts will perform live on a second stage though nothing is currently confirmed.

Grammy Award-winners Korn need no introduction and will be flying in from the USA especially for the show to showcase songs from their forthcoming new album, ‘Korn III – Remember Who You Are’.

Korn guitarist, Munky was quoted on the Ozzfest website as saying:

“Ozzy is an absolute legend, mentor, and dear friend of mine, so it’s always an honour to perform on the same bill as him. We can’t wait!”

Murderdolls will rise from the dead after a six year absence, while Welsh raga-punks Skindred will perform their unique blend of metal, punk, rap and reggae.

This year Ozzy Osbourne published his book ‘I Am Ozzy’ and released his tenth solo studio album, ‘Scream’, all of which have achieved Top 40 Chart success in the UK.

Ozzfest Tickets

Ozzfest tickets can be bought and sold on viagogo. Since all tickets on viagogo – including concert tickets, sports tickets and theatre tickets – are covered by the viagogo Ticket Guarantee, you can rest assured that your transaction will be 100% safe and secure