Deftones, Circa Survive, Baroness tour

Deftones will headline a summer trek with Circa Survive and Baroness appearing on select dates. The following shows have been announced thus far, with more to come:

dates w/ Circa Survive
8/6 Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theatre
8/7 Fresno, CA @ Woodward Park
8/8 Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium
8/10 Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory

dates w/ Baroness
8/12 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
8/13 Medford, OR @ Medford Armory
8/14 Salt Lake City, UT @ Rail Event Center
8/18 Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Pavillion
8/19 Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre
8/22 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
8/25 Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach
8/27 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
8/29 Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
8/31 Richmond, VA @ National
9/2 Norfolk, VA @ Norva
9/3 Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore

9/8 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
9/10 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
9/14 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues

The Sword To Release “Warp Riders” on August 24th

One of the biggest cogs in the metal revival machinery forged over the past 7 years, The Sword, are set to release their third album for Kemado Records on August 24th. The follow-up to 2006’s Age of Winters and 2008’s Gods of the Earth, Warp Riders, is poised to blow my effing mind and after inclusion in the last three editions of Guitar Hero, you know they’ll be poised to deliver the molar-rattling riffs we’ve come to expect from the Austin, TX quartet.

[mp3] [listen] The Sword – “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter”
[mp3] [listen] The Sword – “How Heavy This Axe”

One of the foundations of the metal revival of the past ten years, Austin TX’s The Sword have released two flawless slabs of vintage heaviness on Kemado Records, toured the world with Metallica, and were honored to grace the past three editions of Guitar Hero. This summer, the band casts its gaze to the stars for Warp Riders, their third full-length and their most ambitious effort to date. Hitting stores on August 24th via Kemado Records, it is the band’s first concept album and is fittingly grand in scope both lyrically and in terms of musical craftsmanship.

This also marks the first release where the group has worked with an outside producer. Helmed by Matt Bayles (Pearl Jam, Mastodon, Isis), Warp Riders is anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative. The storyline is a psychedelic space opera that explores temporal themes of death and rebirth.

The album also finds The Sword expanding their range from pure metal to include bone-crunching hard rock at large. Rather than dampening their sound, the band actually sounds more amplified than ever, spewing out some of their most scalding riffs to date and channeling an unearthly bellow from their low end.

Opening track “Acheron/Unearthing The Orb” begins with ominous, fog-drenched atmosphere before a flurry of nimble fretwork and galloping drums storm out of the gate. The energy doesn’t let up once and by the final moments of closing track “(The Night Sky Cried) Tears of Fire,” an intensely satisfying resolution sets in. Guitarists Kyle Shutt and JD Cronise execute punishing acrobatics while injecting melody at every turn. Bryan Richie’s warm bass lays down the foundation and ripples with menace. Trivett Wingo’s drumming explodes with the perfect balance of both precision and dexterity. Each member of The Sword is an individual force to be reckoned with, but when united they come together like the four horsemen of the apocalypse to wreak havoc like no other.

KITTIE Announces Dates With DEVILDRIVER

Canadian all-girl metal band KITTIE will play the following shows with DEVILDRIVER:

Aug. 25 - Eleanor Rigby's - Jermyn, PA
Aug. 26 - The London Music Hall Lounge - London, ON
Aug. 27 - Alrosa Villa - Columbus, OH

More dates will be announced soon.

KITTIE's latest album, "In The Black", sold around 3,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 132 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KITTIE's previous CD, "Funeral for Yesterday", opened with 9,000 units back in February 2007 to land at No. 101.

"In The Black" was made available in Europe on October 23, 2009 via Germany's Massacre Records.

KITTIE will take part in this year's edition of the Thrash And Burn tour alongsideASKING ALEXANDRIA, BORN OF OSIRIS, STICK TO YOUR GUNS, IMPENDING DOOM, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD (first half), EVERGREEN TERRACE (second half), GREELEY ESTATES, PERIPHERY, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and CHELSEA GRIN. The trek will run from July 16 to August 15.

Stinky the Blade of Capital Chaos conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander of the Canadian metal band KITTIE on June 5, 2010 at the Warfield in San Francisco, California during the group's tour with INSANE CLOWN POSSE, NECRO, COOLIO and KOTTONMOUTH KINGS. Watch the chat in two parts below.

Legendary Stoner Rock Icons SLEEP Announce Fall Tour

Legendary stoner rock band SLEEP split in 1997 after two hugely influential albums. Members went on to form underground heroes OM and HIGH ON FIRE, and more recently metal supergroup SHRINEBUILDER. This fall, original members Al Cisneros and Matt Pike will be joined by drummer Jason Roeder of NEUROSIS to perform the seminal "Holy Mountain" album as well as selections from "Dopesmoker" and more.

SLEEP debuted with 1991's "Volume One" album, recorded for San Francisco label Tupelo. Earache Records received the band's next recordings in the mail as a demo. The label — impressed by SLEEP's single-mindedness and unique vision — immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received. Record stores worldwide stocked SLEEP's "Holy Mountain" from November 1992 to this day.

After signing with London Records, SLEEP's major-label debut took the form of one mammoth 63-minute leviathan of a track entitled "Jerusalem". The band resisted the label's attempts at radio edits and bringing in their own engineer to remix the album in view of "marketability." London balked at the prospect of promoting what is probably the most extreme music ever recorded for a major label, then shelved the recording and dropped the band.

SLEEP's music has been featured in films by Harmony Korine and Jim Jarmusch.

SLEEP 2010 U.S. tour dates:

Sep. 03 - All Tomorrow's Parties - Monticello, NY
Sep. 07 - Starlight Ballroom - Philadelphia, PA
Sep. 08 - Brooklyn Masonic Temple - New York, NY (w/ LICHENS)
Sep. 09 - Logan Square Auditorium - Chicago, IL (w/ LICHENS)
Sep. 10 - Mohawk - Austin, TX (w/ SUB OSLO)
Sep. 11 - Roseland Theater/Music Fest NW - Portland, OR (w/ SCOTT KELLY, YOB)
Sep. 12 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA

OTEP SHAMAYA UPDATES TOUR BLOG AND RESPONDS TO BP OIL SPILL‏

Known for her outspoken political views and on-going advocacy in the LGBT community, Otep frontwoman Otep Shamaya responds to the BP oil spill. To view the original post, please see below. You can also view Otep’s tour blog at www.imnotamonster.com.

My friends,



I find myself deep in the rolling green of the beautiful Southern territory of flavorful Fayetteville, Arkansas. The hills are rich with a monochrome flora and the arching landscape is crested by a silky blue sky brimming with billowing clouds moving slowly overhead like an enormous ghost armada returning victorious from war.

The heat is thick and sweltering. It is a strange and wondrous sensory experience.

I see all this and am amazed how anyone could live surrounded by such beauty but care so very little about maintaining it.

I wonder if future generations will ever believe days like this actually existed or will they assume that these are just the words of a demented mind twisted with fantasy or folklore? Perhaps they will lament on the rugged Eden that their ancestors took for granted and squandered in the heavy stink of apathy and inaction?

I remember my home, beautiful Los Angeles, and how sad it is that we do not have skies like those over Arkansas. Our sun rides high above a nicotine-stain of a haze hacked up from the millions of cars belching their lower-regulated exhaust into our atmosphere.

I remember the live webcam of the BP oil spill currently vomiting millions of gallons of crude into our ocean, killing wildlife, poisoning our water, and ultimately us.

If we do nothing, we are consenting to the murder of our planet and condemning future generations to endure a reality far worse than the one we were left by those who failed us generations before.

How many more brave American soldiers must be sent far from home, to kill, to fight, to be injured, to die (or see their friends die) in senseless wars for oil? (Much love & respect to the US Armed Forces.)

How many more innocent animals must perish, confused, suffocating and choking in stinky goo, due to our selfish inaction and apathy?

How many more American dollars will WE allow be sent to fund Iranian nuclear capabilities or the Saudis and ultimately al-queda?

What else needs to happen for us to demand a LEGITIMATE clean energy policy to purge this parasite of petroleum from our national skin?

I realize this will not be an immediate fix. There will be no mass exodus from fossil fuels. Our infrastructure is too dependent on it. Like any junkie, we must be weaned slowly from our petroleum addiction.

It might be a little painful, sure, but Americans are made from hard stock. We braved the rocks and jagged edges of pioneering the wilderness of a new country and we can do it again.

But it only works if we do it together and (this time) do it RIGHT. Clean Energy and Alternative Energy sources will create AMERICAN jobs. Solar, Wind, Hemp, Algae, Ethanol, Natural Gas, et cetera, et cetera will empower and fortify our workforce. Not just financially, but intellectually, and it helps secure the health and beauty of our only home – planet Earth.

Let us reclaim our pioneering spirit:

“If not us, who. If not now, when?”

In art,

Otep Shamaya

KREATOR To Team Up With EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL For 'Thrashfest 2010' European Tour

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR will headline Thrashfest 2010, the "thrash metal tour of the year," also featuring EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL and SUICIDAL ANGELS.

Confirmed dates are as follows:

Nov. 26 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
Nov. 27 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
Nov. 28 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Hof Ter Loo
Nov. 29 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
Nov. 30 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Dec. 01 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
Dec. 02 - Prague, Czech Republic - KD Vltavska
Dec. 03 - Wien, Austria - Arena
Dec. 04 - Lichtenfels, Germany - X-Mas Metal Festival
Dec. 05 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Dec. 06 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset
Dec. 07 - Oslo, Norway - Betong
Dec. 08 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
Dec. 09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
Dec. 10 - Hannover, Germany - Capitol
Dec. 11 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
Dec. 12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
Dec. 13 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
Dec. 14 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Dec. 15 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
Dec. 16 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna Mediapark
Dec. 17 - Gießen, Germany - Hessenhallen
Dec. 18 - Eindhoven, Holland - Eindhoven Metal Meeting
Dec. 19 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall

More information will be available at Thrashfest.eu soon.

KREATOR recently inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

EXODUS ADDED TO SAN BERNARDINO OZZFEST

San Francisco Bay Area thrash pioneers EXODUS will help kick off Ozzfest 2010 with a one-off appearance at the San Bernardino show on Saturday, August 14th! States guitarist/songwriter Gary Holt: “We are WAY more than fired up to announce that EXODUS will be playing the SoCal date on Ozzfest! We will be filling the slot usually occupied on the tour by Kingdom Of Sorrow who can't make this one show. We were asked if we wanted to jump in, and we said ‘fuck yes!’ See everybody there!”

Ozzfest 2010
Main Stage Acts
OZZY OSBOURNE
MÖTLEY CRÜE
HALFORD
DEVILDRIVER
NONPOINT

Ozzfest 2010 Second Stage Acts on August 14th
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
DROWNING POOL
EXODUS
KATAKLYSM*
GOATWHORE*
SKELETONWITCH*
SAVIOURS*

*Rotating set times

EXODUS’ ninth studio album, Exhibit B: The Human Condition, hit #1 on the CMJ Loud Rock radio chart and has sold over 4,600 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan, debuting at #114 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, #43 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, #19 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. The album also debuted at #19 on the Neilsen SoundScan LOUD Chart in Canada.

Exhibit B: The Human Condition record release show dates in June are:
• Thursday, June 10th – Chico, CA @ The Senator Theater with Lååz Rockit, Anvil Chorus, plus two local openers (tickets on sale now)
• Friday, June 11th - Los Angeles @ Key Club with Heathen, Bonded By Blood, plus two local openers (tickets on sale now)
• Saturday, June 12th - San Francisco @ Slim's with Heathen, Anvil Chorus, and Passive Aggressive (tickets on sale now)

Album Sales At Their Lowest In Soundscan History

It’s no surprise that album sales have been on a steady decline since 2000, but according to Billboard, the week ending May 30 was the fewest number of albums sold in one week since Soundscan began compiling the list in 1994. The total of 4,984,000 albums stands in stark comparison to late December 2000, when there was a one week sales total of 45.4 million. Even last year, the week ending May 31, 2009 showed album sales of 5.76 million.

There’s no real way to get exact number of albums sold before the Soundscan era, but Billboard compared the number of albums shipped (the way album sales used to be counted by the RIAA) to the number of albums sold as Soundscan reported, from 1992-2009 and found there were about 30% more shipped than there are scanned. Using that equation, you’d have to back t0 1973 to find a time when there were album sales anywhere near as low as they are now.

While some point to the fact that there weren’t any blockbuster releases in the week before May 30, it’s definitely a sign that piracy and file sharing is on the rise, and as one executive puts it, is “pretty scary.” And with June releases by Miley Cyrus, Eminem and more, sales should rebound. But that’s definitely temporary, and a wake up call to any label or artist expecting to get by on album sales alone.

Iron Maiden Unveil The Final Frontier With Free Download

Iron Maiden have announced via their website that they have a new album, The Final Frontier, coming out on August 17. To commemorate the new album, as well as the tour that starts in Dallas on Wednesday (9), they’re givingaway a free MP3 of the first single, “El Dorado.” The announcement temporarily crashed the band’s site when the song was first made available at 7pm EST. The new album was recorded by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, who produced their last few albums, and was recorded in Compass Point Studios, which was there the band recorded their mid-80s masterpieces Piece of Mind, Powerslave, and Somewhere In Time.

The band also unveiled artwork for The Final Frontier. Instead of original artist Derek Riggs, the artwork featuring a futuristic looking Eddie (if it even is Eddie) in a space setting was illustrated by Melvyn Grant, who’s done several other Maiden album covers, like Fear of the Dark and Virtual XI.

Lime Wire Given Two-Week Reprieve

File-sharing service Limewire will be around for at least another two weeks after being given a temporary stay of execution by a U.S. District Judge. According to CNET, a motion was filed on Friday by the RIAA to shut down the service. Judge Kimba Wood, who granted summary judgment in favor of the RIAA’s claims that Lime Group committed copyright infringement last month, gave Lime Wire’s lawyers two weeks to respond to the motion. Once Lime Wire responds to the RIAA, the RIAA (which is the trade group for the big four record companies) will have two weeks to respond to them, but Wood could make a ruling as soon as she gets Lime Wire’s response.

SERENITY DIES DEBUT NEW TRACK ONLINE

Maldives-based melodic thrashers, SERENITY DIES, have posted the title track from new EP Hacksawcracy on their myspace page. Hacksawcracy boasts contributions from Anthrax's Rob Caggiano and Kiuas guitarist Mikko Salovaara. Coming out on July 15th, the EP is already being touted as an "in-your-face experience" by Chris Ballard of Blogcritics.org, who also credits the band with "creating a brand of thrash metal all their own" with Hacksawcracy. For more information on SERENITY DIES or to check out the new song, go to www.myspace.com/serenitydies.

1. Bullet Reign

2. Psycho Ride (featuring Rob Caggiano)

3. In Devils Symmetry

4. Blood Serenade

5. Hacksawcracy

6. Dystopian Law (featuring Mkko Salovaara)



BIO

Formed in 2005 SERENITY DIES is a thrash metal band from Maldives. The tropical island nation in the Indian sub-continent is nothing but a nature’s tranquil setting in the eye of every vacationer. Yet SERENITY DIES appeared in the dark side of paradise. With the influence of bands such as Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer, the band came up with their own material, releasing their debut album in 2006. Murder was well accepted and the band gained massive support in the local and regional metal scenes. With the release the band geared up to perform in all major festivals held in Maldives and in the South Asian region. With their raging music and stunning performances, the crowd paid the band with homage, showing true dedication to their music.

After coming out in a big way in their own county the band headed to work with Children of Bodom producer Anssi Kippo as the production and mixing engineer at Astia Studios in Finland, alongside Grammy Award winning Hollywood mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen (Slumdog Millionaire, Across the Universe, Iron Man, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper). With Hacksawcracy, SERENITY DIES has set a new global standard in heavy metal.
The Hacksawcracy EP will be released in all major digital outlets in US, UK, Japan and Finland on July 15, 2010.

The Tidal Wave 12 FREE 2-day outdoor metal concert in S.F.

YES!!!!! CONFIRMED, The Tidal Wave (a FREE 2-day outdoor metal concert in San Francisco) is coming back! This is the big news we have been waiting for. (latest update 5.30.2010, updates shown at bottom of post; includes planning meeting notes + minor lineup change etc.)


The Tidal Wave 12 is Saturday & Sunday July 24 & 25, 2010 Noon-6pm @ McLaren Park Amphitheater, S.F.
This is a daytime event, Noon-6pm both days (Saturday & Sunday). Yes, it actually starts at Noon, due to a very tight schedule, usually about 7 good metal bands each day.
SAT: Near Life, Desecrater, Abysmal Dawn, Giant Squid, Stone Vengeance, Anvil Chorus, RAVEN
Sun: Go Like This, OR3O, Witchaven, Vastum, Elk, Amber Asylum…. (and if lucky, Prong)
Did i mention it’s FREE?
Of course a few details might change between now and the show. But MARK YOUR CALENDARS for July 24 and July 25, 2010.

The Tidal Wave – official site HERE.