God is Dead? Nah, Black Sabbath is Alive!

Black Sabbath unleashed "God is Dead" today, the first single from their reunion album "13" and took the rock world and their followers by storm.

Hell yeah, Black Sabbath is back!

This marks the first time in 35 years that the original members: Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler (with the exception of drummer, Bill Ward, who declined to join his erstwhile buddies for the project) of the pioneering heavy metal band have reunited to record an album under the watchful eye of veteran producer Rick Rubin.

In lieu of Ward, the band asked Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine to play on drums. "13" is set to be released via Vertigo Records/Republic Records June 11, 2013.

Lost in the darkness

I pain from the light

Faith of my father, my brother, my maker, and savior

Help me make it through the night

Blood on my conscience

And murdering mind

Out of the gloom I rise up from my tomb into impending doom

Now my body is my shrine

The blood runs free

The rain turns red

Give me the wine

You keep the bread

The voices echo in my head

Is God alive or is God dead?

Is God dead?

Rivers of evil

Run through dying land

Swimming in sorrow, they kill, steal and borrow, there is no tomorrow

For the sinners will be damned

Ashes to ashes

You cannot exhume us all

Who do you trust when corruption and lust, creed of all the unjust

Leaves you empty and unwhole

When will this nightmare be over? Tell me

When can I empty my head?

Will someone tell me the answer?

Is God really dead?

Is God really dead?

To save God my philosophy

Until my dying breath

I transfer from reality

Into a living dead

I empathize with enemies

Until the time is right

With God and Satan at my side

From darkness will come light

I watch the rain as it turns red

Give me more wine, I don't need bread

These riddles that live in my head

I don't believe that God is dead

God is dead

Nowhere to run

Nowhere to hide

Wondering if we don't need to gain on the other side

Do you believe a word

What the good book said?

Or is it just a holy fairytale and God is dead?

God is dead

God is dead

God is dead

God is dead

RIGHT!

But still the voices in my head

Are telling me that God is dead

The blood pours down

The rain turns red

I don't believe that God is dead

God is dead

God is dead

God is dead

*You can pre-order '13' HERE

*Shoutout to Takati97 for transcribing the lyrics of "God is Dead"

Crazy Train: The Prince of Darkness admits to returning back to the Dark Side

Ozzy Osbourne announced on his Facebook page today that for the past year and a half he was back to his old ways, cavorting with evil spirits (read: drugs and alcohol) but admits that he has seen the light and vows to kick them out of his system for good.

Here is Ozzy Osbourne's letter to his family, friends, and fans alike:

"For the last year and a half I have been drinking and taking drugs. I was in a very dark place and was an asshole to the people I love most, my family. However, I am happy to say that I am now 44 days sober.

Just to set the record straight, Sharon and I are not divorcing. I’m just trying to be a better person.

I would like to apologize to Sharon, my family, my friends and my band mates for my insane behavior during this period………and my fans.

God Bless,

Ozzy"

Foo Fighters: Tickets for the documentary film premiere now on sale

For Michiganders, tickets can be purchased at the MJR Theaters in Southgate, Brighton and Marketplace.

Sonisphere Festival: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer & Anthrax 'live' in Bulgaria

On Tuesday, June 22nd, if ever there is heaven on earth for metalheads, it would be Sofia in Bulgaria, the home of the Sonisphere Festival wherein an estimated 40,000+ fans are expected to bang their heads in ecstasy when the Big Four of trash/ heavy metal music will perform in a historic concert that will be beamed live via satellite to over 600 theaters worldwide.

Yes, the Big Four, which is composed of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, for the first time in history shared and will share the same stage this year in various Sonisphere Festivals all over Europe. The concert in Bulgaria is expected to be a concert for the ages as these four legendary American metal bands will treat their fans to almost 4 hours of non- stop metal hits plus behind the scenes footages.

And for just $18 many American metalheads can watch the concert live in High Definition in their favorite theaters without having to travel to Europe and spend thousands of money to see and listen to their gods strut their thing and play their brand of music on stage.

The heavy/ trash metal fans in the Motor City will surely not be left behind as this writer has talked to some of them as they are gearing up for the unique concert experience in the movie house complete with the trademark black metal shirts of the bands. Some were even practicing the ‘two big horns up’ routine in anticipation of the giant event that will take place at the Sonisphere Festival .

So, let’s say, up the irons!



The live feed will start at 7:30 p.m. and the following theaters will be showing the Big Four concert in Michigan- AMC Livonia 20 (Livonia), Ann Arbor Showcase Cinemas (Ypsilanti), Commerce Township 12 (Walled Lake), Quality 16 (Ann Arbor), Showcase West 12 (Flint), and Celebrations Cinema Lansing (Lansing).


Here are the expected Set Lists of the Big Four:

ANTHRAX

Caught in a Mosh; Got the Time; Indians; Antisocial; Madhouse; Only; Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.); I Am The Law.

SLAYER

World Painted Blood; Jihad; War Ensemble; Hate Worldwide; Angel of Death; Dead Skin Mask; Disciple; South of Heaven; Raining Blood.

MEGADETH

Holy Wars… The Punishment Due; Hangar 18; Take No Prisoners; Five Magics; Poison Was the Cure; Lucretia; Tornado of Souls; Rust in Peace… Polaris; Headcrusher; Sweating Bullets; Symphony Of Destruction; Peace Sells.

METALLICA

Creeping Death; For Whom The Bell Tolls; Fuel; The Four Horsemen; Fade To Black; That Was Just Your Life; Cyanide; Sad But True; Welcome Home (Sanitarium); All Nightmare Long; One; Master Of Puppets; Blackened; Nothing Else Matters; Enter Sandman; Stone Cold Crazy; Hit The Lights; Seek & Destroy.

Visit Films Premieres Footage of New 'Journey' Documentary at EFM

by Nigel M Smith

Footage from the rock documentary “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” will screen this week at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin. A Visit Films production directed by Ramona S. Diaz, the film chronicles Filipino musician Arnel Pineda’s rise to fame, from battling drug addiction to becoming iconic band Journey’s new lead singer.

The band (best known for their anthem “Don’t Stop Believing”) discovered Pineda through a YouTube clip of him singing for a cover band. “What could easily have been a five-minute film - rock band finds lead singer through You Tube - is a much bigger story because of the camera’s unfettered love for Arnel Pineda,” Diaz said in an official statement. “Arnel returns the affection by being the most candid and captivating character I’ve ever had the privilege to film.”

Journey’s manager John Baruck feels the film will have cross-over appeal with fans and film lovers alike.

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey Trailer from john on Vimeo.

U2 Live at the Rose Bowl Global Live Webcast

Watch the October 25th concert in Pasadena- HERE

Metallica's Death Magnetic in store September 12, 2008

Yes, per posting on the band's website entitled "The Last Piece of the Puzzle"-- "Death Magnetic" their first album in five years, will be released worldwide on September 12, 2008.

By scheduling the release of the said album on a Friday, Metallica is once again defying the norms for albums are usually released in North America on a Tuesday. But knowing their history and peculiarity, this is not surprising since they did the same thing with their ill- fated album (read: commercial failure) "St. Anger" where it was released a day earlier than planned in their attempt to combat piracy.

Metallica by the way will be back on the concert scene this Saturday at Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas wherein guitarist Kirk Hammett will join Slayer's Kerry King, Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrel and Anthrax's Scott Ian in a tribute to late Pantera guitarist Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott, who was murdered on stage in Columbus, Ohio, in 2004.

iLike R.E.M.

R.E.M. following in the footsteps of Radiohead announced their plan to release the new "Accelerate" album, their 14th studio release on iLike, the online music sharing service on March 24th. The 11 track album along with a video introduction and discussion will be made available in streaming form.

The iLike music and social networking site allows their users (23 million as of last count) not only to share and listen to music but also interact directly with artists.

Isn’t it great to see great bands like R.E.M. as well as Radiohead offering their music for free as a way of paying their loyal fans back for their support?

Michael Stipe in an interview once said and I quote,

"I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen, and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers."

I say, I second the motion.

Here's one of my fave songs of R.E.M.--

Don't Stop Believin'

I first heard of the rumor that he will be Journey’s new lead singer several months ago. I was skeptical at first not because of his talent but because I never thought not even in my wildest dream that one of my favorite rock bands, Journey will pick somebody outside of the Continental United States much less a Filipino as their new lead singer.

It was the stuff of urban legends but it turned out to be true, in fact too good to be true--that it was guitarist Neal Schon who found him through YouTube and contacted him and invited him to audition for the band.

Here’s Neal Schon in his own words,

“I was frustrated about not having a singer,” explains guitarist Neal Schon, “so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘he can’t be that good.’ But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented. Arnel doesn’t sound synthetic and he’s not emulating anyone. I tried to get a hold of him through YouTube and I finally heard from him that night, but it took some convincing to get him to believe that it really was me and not an impostor.”





And so Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of the Philippines' band The Zoo was named by Journey as their new lead singer on their website dated December 5, 2007.

He replaces Jeff Scott Sotto who parted ways with the band this year. Actually, from what I read in various online forums, Journey fans never really embraced him with Open Arms.

Although the band’s original lead singer, Steve Perry will never be equaled both in voice and in talent, let’s hope that Arnel can be at least up to par if not close enough to the standards that Mr. Perry had set for all the singers that will follow in his big, big footsteps.

The dawn of Arnel Pineda's journey to rock stardom begins…


Here's Arnel Pineda's cover of some of Journey's best with his band The ZOO--



Visit the Official Journey Website

Guitar Pick

As Bob Dylan once said, “The Times They’re a-Changin’ and once again a new device is bound to change the musical landscape in years to come.

Well in this particular case, thanks to the latest robotic technology, make that “Powertune System” which was developed by Tronical Gmbh in partnership with Gibson Guitar Corp and was incorporated in its latest Les Paul model with Blue Silverburst’s finish can tune itself in about two seconds.

According to the gospel of Gibson or the people behind it, it is the world’s first self- tuning technology that eliminates the challenges of fine tuning your guitar which is a constant source of headache for beginners and musicians alike thereby getting rid of the extra guitars set with different tunings that is often seen in most gigs and concerts.

Here’s more from Powertune--

Powertune is also listed online for about $800, and Tronical says it can be installed on many different models of electric guitars without leaving a mark.

Gibson guitars with the technology come preset with six types of tuning to play different kinds of music. They also can remember a player's additional original tuning styles, by listening with a microphone to the sounds of the strings.

To set the instrument to a particular tuning, the user pulls a knob, turns it to the desired style, indicated with a blue light, and then pushes the knob back in. An electric signal travels up the strings to the motors on the tuning pegs. The system is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.


By the way, the Les Paul Silverburst model will sell for around $2,780 in Japan and $2,499 in the U.S., with an extra $900 extra for the self-tuning device.

Whoa, that’s a lot of moolah for a guitar if you ask me but not really that much for the ones who can afford it. But in this age of computers, digital music and instruments, anything is a welcome addition in the music world, revolutionary or not.

Still, I’ll take my old less high- tech electric guitar anytime…

For now, at least.

In Memoriam: Michael Hutchence (1960- 1997)

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the “mysterious” death of the flamboyant front man, Michael Hutchence of the Aussie band INXS.



(January 22, 1960 – November 22, 1997)


Although they were not that “big” in the Philippines during that time as they were more famous in Down Under and Europe, I was familiar with some of their songs like Original Sin, Disappear and The Stairs just to name a few because I’ve read about them in those small Php 5.00 “Song Hits“ (Yes, fellow music freak, Jingle and Moptop were long dead in the late 80s and early 90s) and of course, with the help of that FM radio from far away Naga City.

Anyway, INXS (In Excess) was formed in Australia in 1977 and attained global success in the 1980s with some songs landing in the Billboards charts.

The surviving members are still around though and making “new” music with JD Fortune who became the lead singer after winning the title in the Rockstar: INXS contest a couple of years ago over runner- up Marty Casey (Where are you now?) and Pinoy Migs Ayesa, among others in a popularity contest determined by the band members themselves and television viewers.

But they will never come close to the Michael Hutchence Era as far as the die-hard and faithful INXS fans are concerned.

R.I.P. and Rock On in Heaven, Michael!



You can visit the INXS’ website and read their tribute to Michael Hutchence--here

Or you can visit the online guest book and profess your undying love for him and his music---here