Down - IV Pt.II EP (Review)

Album Type : EP

Date Released : 13/5/2014

Label : Roadrunner Records

DOWN IV - PART II, track listing :

1. Steeple 05:45
2. We Knew Him Well 04:04
3.  Hogshead/Dogshead 03:52
4. Conjure 08:31
5. Sufferer's Years 05:37
6. Bacchanalia  08:54

The Band :

Philip Anselmo | Vocals

Pepper Keenan | Guitars

Bobby Landgraf | Guitars

Pat Pruders | Bass

Jimmy Bower | Drums

Review :

Plan is / was for these EPs to take on different forms of heavy, I once read Pepper Keenan say in an interview. Last one was some traditional Down shit, and I'm pretty sure he said that the main inspiration for the second volume (this very one that I am covering right here) was some of that straight up doom devotion that the band is known to foster. Now either I made that up, I got it wrong, they released the wrong one ahead of schedule, or I am completely right.

Pretty sure it's option four.

It doesn't happen often, but when it does I like to be vindicated to the sound of a band like Down playing a fairly doom influenced outing. Not some modern, slow paced thing (although that is fine by me) but the more traditional 70s rock kind. Possibly pioneered by some band from Birmingham.

Lead release / single this time around is 'We Knew Him well'. It was the first taste we had of new material, and it makes sense as an ideal showcase given the overall tone of the EP. Classic collapsing riffs that Down are known for, but focusing on the darker energies that maybe haven't really seen the light of day since way back when on '...Hedgerow'. That was a truly dark album with classic influences, and this track would not be out of place on that particular slab of drug fuelled haze - my personal favourite of all their back catalogue. Amazing how they are evoking the spirit of that time and most of them are clean cut boys these days. Being well behaved is not without merit, it would appear.

'Conjure' is again right out of the handbook of that band from Brum, but when has that ever been a bad thing? The adventures of four working class men with a flair for the occult and some weed have stood the test of time for a reason. There is an almost blues essence to be found here, Anselmo's voice only increases in commanding presence with age. That Bower power is set to loose and he lets it all hang out, but most notable is the fact those riffs do not suffer at all for the loss of Windstein. Bobby Landgraf steps up to the plate and most definitely deserves that promotion. He more than keeps up with Keenan and that all important chemistry remains intact. Great tune.

No slouching. None considered. None allowed. They didn't get to where they are today by slacking off, and they continue to be fresh out of gum. I probably prefer this to the last one (apart from 'Levitation', I fucking LOVE that jam) and I had my worries headed in about the absence of the beard of doom this time around. But they march on in relentless fashion, like the disciples of the riff that they are. The plan of attack with this string of four EPs remains the same: Leave 'em wanting more.

They still compel me.

Words by : Matt Fitton

You can get it everywhere now, in just about every format. 

For more  information :

http://www.facebook.com/down

http://www.down-nola.com/

http://twitter.com/downnola

http://www.youtube.com/downnolacom

The Sludgelord News : BLOODSTOCK announce Motorhead icon Phil Campbell's band and five more...

 

 

 

BLOODSTOCK is thrilled to reveal six more bands confirmed to play the Sophie Lancaster Big Top stage in August.

Thursday night is set to be livened up by these two! Throwing down the party gauntlet are returning favourites, the PHIL CAMPBELL ALL STARR BAND. The MOTORHEAD guitarist had such a great time at BLOODSTOCK last year, he’s coming back to do it all over again. Wrap your eyes and ears around these clips from last year’s fest of the MOTORHEAD classics ‘Killed By Death’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGe85gq2ZU4 and ‘Ace Of Spades’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_4l-i_cVdY. Get ready to hold your beer aloft!

Nottingham thrashers INCINERY are happy to take up the challenge, stating “Things have been stepping up a gear and the unbelievable is becoming a reality, so it is with great excitement that we return to the place that started it all for us! It’ll be a real homecoming, and we’re looking forward to playing at what is the keystone of the metal scene in the UK.” Get a free INCINERY track on the CD included in the current PANTERA cover issue of Metal Hammer magazine, or visit http://www.reverbnation.com/Incinery for tunes, video, and more info!

By name but not by nature, DIABOLICAL will bringing their unique brand of Swedish death metal to the Sophie Stage on Friday. They declare, “It is with great pleasure that we announce our appearance at BLOODSTOCK! Rest assured we will take equally great measures to make this a highly memorable show!” The band recently released new concept album ‘Neogenesis’ via ViciSolum Productions. Investigate via Terrorizer mag’s preview at: http://www.terrorizer.com/news/streams/diabolical-stream-new-album-neogenesis-terrorizer/ and check out the video for ‘Metamorphosis’ at: http://youtu.be/1cGOG_kPXZg.

BLOODSTOCK is also pleased to add Mancunian black metallers, WINTERFYLLETH to Friday’s line-up. For a taster of their current album, ‘The Threnody of Triumph’, head over to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NEgZ5x7D-I to hear the epic ‘A Thousand Winters’. The band have also just released a split EP with cult Ukranian band DRUDKH, premiering it online at: http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/exclusive-winterfylleth-preview-new-trve-kvlt-cover-version/. Get the lowdown on upcoming plans on their official site: http://www.winterfylleth.co.uk/.

Southwest metal band CAMBION are determined to get heads banging on Friday. Drawing their djent/tech/prog influences from the likes of Fear Factory and Meshuggah, the band commented, “We are beyond happy to be playing the best UK festival, BLOODSTOCK! CAMBION is growing into a force to be reckoned with and that’s down to hard graft and BLOODSTOCK itself for believing in and supporting the next generation of metal bands!” Check out their ‘Virus’ EP and more over at: http://www.cambionofficial.co.uk/.

Joining them on Friday are Norwegian groove metallers, ZEROZONIC. The band couldn’t be more excited to get to play at Catton Park, exclaiming “Finally, ZEROZONIC will play a big festival outside Norway for the first time. It’s about time! Ten years of existence and three albums in we are very excited to play the amazing BLOODSTOCK. Let’s get it on!” ZEROZONIC’s current album ‘Aftersane’ has just been re-released by their new label Metal Age Productions, and the band are busy working on their fourth album. Listen to some tracks at: https://soundcloud.com/zerozonic and then learn more at: http://www.zerozonic.com/.

Need a lift to BLOODSTOCK? Or driving there and want some extra cash for the empty seats in your car? BLOODSTOCK have teamed up with GOCARSHARE once more to make it easier than ever to rock out and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Simply register where you’re travelling to/from, or the route you’re taking, and then sit back and wait for drivers/passengers to get in touch! GOCARSHARE is integrated with Facebook, so you can check out the profiles of your possible travel buddies and they also encourage travellers to post feedback. Learn more at: http://gocarshare.com/page/about. Plus...register and confirm your journey to BLOODSTOCK 2014 with GoCarShare and they will put your name in a hat to win a pair of FREE TICKETS for BLOODSTOCK 2015! For full details and to find your ride or fill your car, head over to http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock. For more travel options to the festival, including details of coaches from all over the country with Big Green Coach and shuttles from local train stations, visit: http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/pages/travel-info.

BLOODSTOCK 2014 is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet, with early bird and rocksoc tickets selling out in record time and weekend tickets flying out the door! Friday night’s headliners are New Orleans sludgemeisters, DOWN. Joining them to head up Saturday night are re-united black metal overlords, EMPEROR and closing out proceedings on Sunday are the mighty thrash legends, MEGADETH. Also announced so far are AMON AMARTH, OBITUARY, CROWBAR, HATEBREED, LACUNA COIL, CARCASS, PRONG, CHILDREN OF BODOM, SAXON, DECAPITATED, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, PRIMORDIAL, EVIL SCARECROW, ROTTING CHRIST, SISTER SIN, and SATAN. More bands and other cool things on site will be announced in the coming weeks. Watch the video trailer for BLOODSTOCK 2014, pick up your tickets and get excited about what’s in store!! You can view it at: http://youtu.be/xukFwVTNkZc

 

Tickets are available now priced £130 (plus booking fee) for a 4-day Thurs-Sun weekend pass with camping. VIP tickets and upgrades are also now available, as well as the very popular ticket deposit scheme, which helps make a ticket purchase a bit more manageable, breaking the payment over three months. Look up all the ticket options over at bloodstock.seetickets.com.

BLOODSTOCK will be held at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 7th-10th August 2014. Keep up to date with the very latest info on BLOODSTOCK’s official sites at www.facebook.com/bloodstock and www.bloodstock.uk.com.



Source : Cosa Nostra PR

Lamb of God – As The Palaces Burn (Documentary/Film Review)

Film Bio :

Fresh from their incendiary headline tour here in the UK, Virginia metal kings LAMB OF GOD are pleased to announce that their feature length documentary film 'As The Palaces Burn' will screen across the UK and Ireland on March 6, in more than 70 cinemas. 

Following the 90-minute film, a 30-minute Q&A with the band and director Don Argott, hosted by VH1 Classics/That Metal Show’s Eddie Trunk, will be shown. The Q&A was filmed in Maryland, at the final show of the band’s North American tour in support of their most recent album release, 'Resolution'.

'As The Palaces Burn' was conceived to be a documentary focused on the power of music and its impact on cultures around the world and its ability to bring together people of all nationalities regardless of religious or political differences. After a worldwide casting call, filming took place in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, India, and the United States. As filming reached its conclusion, the documentary was forced to take a major turn when the band’s lead singer, Randy Blythe, was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with the murder of a fan in June 2012. Granted unique access to Blythe’s continuing saga, Argott’s filming covered Blythe’s 38 day imprisonment in Prague, his release and the band’s return to live performances, and finally Blythe’s trial for murder in Prague in February 2013.

Review :

As The Palaces Burn is the new documentary film showing the tumultuous time that metal band Lamb of God has faced over the past few years. As a band they have been through a lot anyway, but when Randy Blythe was incarcerated in Prague in 2011 for manslaughter, things took a massive turn for the worse.

The film opens up with the band discussing their history, looking forward to the touring cycle of their last studio album, Resolution, and features sound bites from Slash and Oderus Orungus from GWAR, as well as interviews with the entire band. There is a sense of eagerness and drive from the band who have become one of the most popular metal bands on the planet, whilst not being on the cover of every magazine god sends.

Tour dates and festivals across Europe were received with rapturous reviews when the band embarked on their 2011 tour. Lamb of God is an incendiary live act and the numerous amounts of footage show this perfectly. When the 2011 European Tour rolled into Prague, the police were waiting to arrest Blythe for an event that had occurred on a previous tour. The band all recount how the events unfurled on the day that Blythe was arrested. All of the interviews with the band members are real heart on the sleeve moments. Whilst conceding that they’ve always not been the best of friends in the band at times, their honesty, togetherness and openness in the interviews really hits home.

Events from Randy’s imprisonment are told without his contribution until he was bailed out of jail. The interviews with Blythe after he is released before facing trial are, like the rest of his band mates, honest. All of the band talk passionately about their sadness that a fan of theirs, Daniel Nosek, died at one of their shows, however they are all correctly adamant that Randy Blythe was innocent.

As Randy Blythe returned to America, he sought to put together his defence with his legal team (at great cost), and this building of a defence offers a first hand insight into the struggles that he faced. The band auctioned of their prized assets to raise money for Blythe’s legal team. In the time that Blythe was back in the States prior to his trial, he took to the stage with Lamb Of God at Slipknot’s Iowa Festival. As the band takes the stage in the film, it is a cathartic moment. It is also one of solidarity from the metal community.

The legal system in the Czech Republic works differently to America’s so the legal team talk of strategy and the final segment of the film focuses on the trial. Many of the testimonies and evidence are laid bare from all quarters. Whilst anyone watching the film will no doubt know the outcome, the fact that Randy Blythe faced these charges, and faced them with dignity, says a lot about the man, and the band. Blythe comments that case would be laughed out of court in the United States, however that’s not where he faced the charges. He closes a small interview by saying that sometimes the right thing to do, isn’t the easiest. Too true. This is another signal as to the reformed character that Randy Blythe has become. When all was said and done, Randy Blythe was exonerated. Daniel Nosek’s uncle’s comments towards the end of the trial are sobering and saddening; as you would expect from any family member who has endured such a tragedy. Blythe’s reaction is one of humbleness when he is cleared. There is no cheering, just a small raise of the thumb to signal his relief.

The film as a whole is a fascinating cross section and expose of one of the best bands on the planet. In addition to this, the film is not just one that metal fans the world over could enjoy, the film is a study of how people deal with situations, but above all else, deal with them in the correct and proper way. The band should be commended for their openness and humbleness in allowing this film to be made.

Words by : Dominic Walsh

To watch the official movie trailer, buy tickets, see the latest worldwide listings, and learn more, visit http://asthepalacesburn.com.

For more information : 

The film will be shown in more than 350 theatres and club venues worldwide. Tickets for many UK and Irish cinemas are on sale now, with all screenings due to be on sale by Friday 25 January.  

The Sludgelord News : CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF RONNIE JAMES DIO

This Is Your Life Pays Tribute To The Late Singer With Covers Of

His Greatest Songs From Rainbow, Black Sabbath, And Dio

Features Newly Recorded Tracks From Anthrax, Halestorm, Rob Halford, Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Corey Taylor, And Tenacious D, Among Others

To Benefit The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund

Available On April 1 From Rhino

Ronnie James Dio is one of the most beloved figures in rock history. His gifts, both as a singer and songwriter, are instantly recognizable, whether he was with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, or leading Dio. Sadly, Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer in 2010 but his towering voice and legacy live on.

To celebrate one of rock’s most powerful voices, an all-star group of his friends and fans recorded 13 of their favourite tracks for a tribute album, titled This Is Your Life,  that will raise funds for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (diocancerfund.org). Produced by his longtime manager and wife Wendy Dio, the album includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Anthrax, Corey Taylor, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years.

This Is Your Life  will be released by Rhino on April 1 in CD and digital formats.

Although the songs featured on the album touch on the different eras of Dio’s career, several spotlight his time with Rainbow, including Metallica’s epic, nine-minute “Ronnie Rising Medley” which combines the Rainbow songs “A Light In The Black,” “Tarot Woman,” “Stargazer,” and “Kill The King.” Scorpions add a scorching take on “Temple Of The King” while Motörhead is joined by Biff from Saxon on “Starstruck.” Rob Halford teams up with frequent Dio collaborators Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, and Scott Warren for “The Man On The Silver Mountain.” The final line-up of Dio’s solo band – Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo and Scott Warren – are joined by Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) for “Catch The Rainbow,” a track from Rainbow’s 1975 debut.

Anthrax and Adrenaline Mob honor Dio’s memorable stint with Black Sabbath with their takes on “Neon Knights” and “The Mob Rules” respectively, as does a group, led by Oni Logan on vocals along with Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, and Brian Tichy, which performs “I” from Dehumanizer.

This Is Your Life also includes songs from Dio’s back-to-back platinum albums Holy Diver (1983) and The Last In Line (1984), with Doro’s take on “Egypt (The Chains Are On)”, Halestorm tackling “Straight Through The Heart,” Corey Taylor (Stone Sour, Slipknot) and Satchel (Steel Panther) covering the classic “Rainbow In The Dark” and Tenacious D (Jack Black and Kyle Glass) putting their signature spin on “The Last In Line.” Killswitch Engage’s cover of “Holy Diver,” a hit in its own right when released in 2006, is also included here.

Fittingly, Ronnie James Dio provides the finale (and the album’s title) with his moving

performance of “This Is Your Life.” Originally released on Angry Machines (1996), the song’slyrics explore mortality and are backed by a stark and beautiful arrangement that features Dio accompanied only by his longtime keyboardist Scott Warren on piano. The song serves asa poignant reminder that we will never hear a voice like Dio’s again.

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, co-founded by Wendy Dio, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable fund dedicated to supporting cancer-prevention research, raising awareness and educating the public about the vital importance of early detection and prevention when dealing with this deadly disease.

RONNIE JAMES DIO: THIS IS YOUR LIFE

Track Listing

1.    “Neon Knights” – Anthrax*

2.    “The Last In Line” – Tenacious D*

3.    “The Mob Rules” – Adrenaline Mob

4.    “Rainbow In The Dark” – Corey Taylor, Roy Mayorga, Satchel, Christian Martucci, Jason Christopher*

5.    “Straight Through The Heart” – Halestorm*

6.    “Starstruck” – Motörhead with Biff of Saxon*

7.    “Temple Of The King” – Scorpions*

8.    “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” – Doro

9.    “Holy Diver” – Killswitch Engage

10.   “Catch the Rainbow” – Glenn Hughes, Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo, Scott Warren*

11.   “I” – Jimmy Bain, Oni Logan, Rowan Robertson, Brian Tichy*

12.    “Man On The Silver Mountain” – Rob Halford, Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, Scott Warren*

13.   “Ronnie Rising Medley (featuring "A Light in the Black", "Tarot Woman", "Stargazer", "Kill the King")”– Metallica*

14.  “This Is Your Life” – Dio

* Previously unreleased

About The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is a privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization which has already raised more than $600,000 in its short history. Monies raised to date have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research and the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life.  

Source : Cosa Nostra PR