I have dismissed anything and everything from Avenge Sevenfold ever since the 2003 release, Waking The Fallen. It is not that I am some metal snob or put off by their new found fame since that album, but nothing they have done has caught my ear. Even after seeing them at Mayhem Fest, I was only mildly entertained.
That being said, I just heard the first single off their up coming Nightmare vinyl release. The self titled single is not "EPIC" as I would normally say, but pretty close. I was actually surprised I liked it. There isn't an official music video released yet, but I did come across this sing-a-long video on YouTube. After seeing it has over two million views, I realized how late I am to this this Nightmare party. Still, I can't be the only late arrival so I'm posting here. Check it out.
The vinyl will be out in September but the CD will be released on July 27th. It is currently on iTunes if you must have it now. I'm holding out for the vinyl personally, but that is because I'm a purist and a bit of a nostalgist. Pre-orders for the vinyl are available here from Hopeless Records: http://hopelessrecords.com/a7x/
Metal's ultimate summer tour experience, Mayhem Fest, is back in 2010 with none other than Korn and Rob Zombie. Sure, it lacks the star power from last year with Slayer and Marilyn Manson on the bill, but it is hard to complain about any "fest" with Rob Zombie. Sharing the main stage will be Lamb of God and Five Finger Death Punch. Good bands, but main stage worthy? Hmmm....we can debate that all day I suppose.
The mid-level stage or "Festival Stage" has a couple of pretty good groups I'm looking forward to checking out. On the lighter side of metal is In This Moment, a female fronted band that is radio friendly at times and just heavy enough to win over some of the Mayhem Fest fans. It will help that lead singer Maria Brink is smokin' hot, so event he meanest of metal fans should be nice to her. I hate to say it, but you know it's true. Check her out with In This Moment here:
Also on the Festival Stage will be Norma Jean, 3 Inches of Blood and the hit or miss, Atreyu. I want to like Atreyu, but sometimes they just get to corny. For me, they never have a song that is just "alright". They either kick ass or they don't. I still prefer some of their earlier stuff versus what I have heard lately from them. All that being said, I'm stoked to check them out live.
On the third stage or the Jagermeister Stage, I'm super stoked about getting to see Hatebreed. I love that band and have never seen them live either. Chimaira, Winds of Plague and Shadows Fall round out that stage's acts. Not bad.
As always, I will have to travel because Austin never gets a big metal fest. That's really lame, but it is what it is. San Antonio here I come!
For more on this year's Mayhem Fest, visit the official website at www.mayhemfest.com.
This summer my good friend Ajay Miranda and I went to San Antonio to check out Mayhem Fest. We had to go to San Antonio as it does not stop in Austin unfortunately. Mayhem was also Ajay's first real metal experience outside filming local metal bad asses, Pack of Wolves in March. We were there for Double Stereo with press passes and got to be up close and personal, right at the front of the stage in the photo pits. The only artist that couldn't be filmed was Marilyn Manson. No big deal, I was there for Slayer and the other great bands. Manson was quite the live show though. I will say that.
Slayer's Tom Araya
It was a dream come true for me as I finally got to see Slayer for the first time and be right up front against the stage. It was the closest you could could get without actually being in the band on stage. The AT&T center was packed as I looked behind me and saw a sea of people. The upper level seats were full as well. They performed all their classics, stuff from the early records and later stuff.
Black Dahlia Murder
The best part of the day during Mayhem was getting to check out some of the lesser known bands coming up in the metal world. It was really cool for me as we don't often get these type of metal shows in Austin like Dallas or San Antonio do. Austin is getting better about it lately, but metal still gets put to the back burner behind indie, modern rock and other genres. I'll do my best to be part of the solution and change that.
Cannibal Corpse lead singer George Fisher
Some bands I got to see for the first time included Cannibal Corpse, All That Remains and my favorite of the day part of Mayhem Fest, Black Dahlia Murder. I got an interview with new guitarist, Ryan Knight and just launched it. Surf through my blog or check out Double Stereo to check that out.
All in all, it was one of the best memories of my summer and my life. I rocked with Slayer and can die happy now. I can't wait until next year's Mayhem Fest to see what Kevin Lyman pulls off. In case you were one of the unfortunate ones who didn't catch Mayhem this year, check out this amazing promotional montage Ajay shot and edited for Double Stereo.
In the latter part of 2008, melodic death metal group The Black Dahlia Murder received word from then lead guitarist John Kempainen that he was quitting the band. At the time, they were on tour and had to continue as a four-piece band instead of the usual quintet. But filling in the gap didn’t take long. Former Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight was recruited with the help of a friend of the band, and the rest is history. Double Stereo caught up with Ryan Knight recently to introduce him to the fans and talk about what’s new with The Black Dahlia Murder.
Not just anyone can join The Black Dahlia Murder. How do you know the guys? What was it like to join the band?
Ryan: The way I knew the band was through my old band, Arsis. We toured with Black Dahlia last year. It was a like a B-markets tour before Summer Slaughter. The guy who we just recorded our album with, Jason Suecof, has a partner that engineers with him. His name is Mark Lewis. I had known them both for two or three years. One day I call mark and told him I could not be in Arsis anymore. I knew he worked with a lot of bands, and asked him to put the word out. A couple of months later, I got a call from Mark telling me Black Dahlia was looking for a new guitar player. I told him I’d totally do it. I had just gotten through touring with those guys a few months before. Brian Eschbach called me that same day and that’s how I’m in the band.
So how has your life changed since being in Black Dalia Murder?
Ryan: It is just another level, comparing the band I was in to Black Dahlia. Obviously we are doing bigger tours and just traveling everywhere. My first show with them was actually in Iceland. I have been to Europe for six weeks with them. It was a really big step, but it’s been fun.
How has Mayhem Fest been for you guys this past summer?
Ryan: This past summer for us has been amazing. The exposure you get from Mayhem is incredible. We played in front of our fans, Slayer’s fans and even Marilyn Manson’s fans. You had this big melting pot of people that are into all types of stuff. People go crazy every day. But some days, when it was really hot, like a show in Florida, they were like a stone wall. I can’t blame them though. The heat was brutal that day.
What’s going on with you guys now that Mayhem is over? I know your new album, Deflorate, just came out on September 15th.
Ryan: Yup, it came out on Metal Blade Records. Now we are starting our tour with Children of Bodom and Skeletonwitch. After that we will be around playing everywhere.
Tell me something you liked about this year’s Mayhem Tour. Is there anyone you discovered or liked checking out live?
Ryan: Touring with Slayer is a lifetime dream come true for anyone on this tour. I haven’t watched them every night, but I’ve watched four or five times. All the bands on our stage were label mates. We’ve toured with a lot of them before. It was fun though, like touring with our friends.
Did you catch Marilyn Manson?
Ryan: I have a couple of times. I am not that big of a fan, but he brings people. That’s cool. I never thought I’d be on the same tour with him back in seventh grade when I first heard him.
Right on. So I imagine there will be no sleep for you guys the rest of this year at least?
Ryan: Sleep? Not happening. We have a lot of touring going on.
Besides it being the first time where you have been on the actual album, what is different about Deflorate in comparison to the previous Black Dahlia Murder albums?
Ryan: This record is definitely a step up from the other albums. It is still a Black Dahlia record, but at the same time there are some new things like new time signatures we haven’t experimented with before. I’m the new lead guitarist, so when you change lead guitarists then obviously the leads are going to be different. They’re cool though.
Any different themes to any of the songs on Deflorate that Black Dahlia hadn’t done previously?
Ryan: I know on some songs Trevor had done maybe a sci-fi sort of thing. The last album had sort of a night feel. Deflorate’s cover art has sort a “deserty” sort of space theme. It has a big moon. It’s not a spaced theme album though.
It’s not a Pink Floyd cover by any means?
Ryan: Oh no. From the lyrics I’ve read, and I have read quite a few, it does have kind of a sci-fi theme. I know Trevor is into older mid ‘90s death metal. Sometimes there is a lot of gore in there. He is all into that so that is all there still. There is still Black Dahlia.
Tell me a little about the Majesty DVD.
Ryan: It has 2 discs. One disc is live footage. It has a documentary of how we are as a band. It goes from our life in the band. A lot of the band smokes weed and there’s some of that in there. It is not like an in-depth history, but more like a day in the life of the band. It was shot over the course of a couple of years. I’m on it for the last twenty minutes. It does have some really good live footage, but it isn’t just the run of the mill live DVD. Kids who have seen it come up to the guys and ask about their shoes and stuff that they saw them wear on the DVD.
Does that sort of thing surprise you?
Ryan: Not really. Brian, our other guitar player, wears these all white New Balance shoes. It’s like a funny thing that kids notice that.
Funny but I don’t think that fans see that as very metal. Now a Revolver Magazine cover…that’s metal. How has the Revolver Magazine cover changed things for you?
Ryan: The Revolver cover was cool. Revolver is like everywhere. I could tell my mom to go get one at like, say, Kroger’s and it will be there. That’s how big it is. It’s cool. We all felt honored as a band to be in it, especially Trevor having the cover. It is a step that says, “We’re here.” It helps us carry the torch for death metal. In a lot of ways I think this band is sort of a gateway band.
In what sense?
Ryan: It is a gateway into the realm of more extreme stuff. I hope we can continue being that. A lot of kids are already into Slipknot, Disturbed and bands like that. That is what’s good about us being in Revolver. They do a good job of not only taking stuff people know about and putting out there, but also cover some of the up and coming smaller bands.
I’d be interested to see in about a year what level you make it to, especially after a Revolver cover. In terms of what I will refer to as the “Mayhem bands,” you guys aren’t quite a headliner yet. You’re mid level right now. I’d love to talk with you later on about how your life has changed once again.
Ryan: We will definitely keep trying to bring blast beats and fast music to more people.
With all the exposure, do you ever see yourself breaking through to mainstream rock radio the way Slipknot or Disturbed have? Or do you think that you will remain off the air?
Ryan: Well, I don’t know. I can see us on maybe satellite radio maybe. Mainstream radio? I don’t know if we will ever be on mainstream rock radio like Slipknot. We won’t ever sell a million records or anything, even though selling albums is like a thing of the past. We’re just going to continue to push it and see where it takes us. We’re not too worried about it. You don’t join metal bands to hit it rich or anything. You join because t is what you love to play and listen to.
Any last words before we wrap up?
Ryan: Thanks always to fans. We wouldn’t be here without you. Be sure to get the new CD, Deflorate, on Metal Blade Records.
I just got word today that I will be press at this year's Mayhem Festival in San Antonio. My good friend and partner in crime, Ajay, will join me once again. We had a blast at Warped Tour and Mayhem should be even crazier. Headlining this year's Mayhem Fest is none other than Marilyn Manson. As much I love Marilyn in concert, I am really looking forward to seeing Slayer for the first time. I missed Bullet For My Valentine when they came to Stubb's last, so that should be cool. Either way, it's the "IT" metal fest and I'm there. Look for the coverage later on Double Stereo. I'll link you on my blog here as things get published. See you there!
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
