News: Schecter Guitars and Wylde Audio Announces Worldwide Distro Deal

Posted on December 8, 2015 by newsteam

L to R : Blasko (Mercenary Mgmt.), John Gaudesi (Schecter Custom Shop), Zakk, Michael Ciravolo (Schecter President), Marc LaCorte (Schecter EVP)

Schecter Guitar Research and Wylde Audio have announced a worldwide distribution deal for Wylde Guitars, the instrument line of Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne). The first offerings from Wylde Audio will be the Odin, War Hammer and Viking models, set to debut at the 2016 Winter NAMM in Anaheim, CA.

Commented Wylde:

I’m very excited for the launch of Wylde Audio in 2016. For me, it’s the next logical step. You start as a player, manager, VP of Team Operations, then Team Owner. I’ve surrounded myself with super talented people to make this vision become a reality and having Schecter on board as our distributor is going to allow me to bring Wylde Audio’s boutique quality of craftsmanship to the next level.

Commented Marc LaCorte, Schecter Guitar Research Executive Vice-president:

We are extremely proud to be working with Zakk and Wylde Audio on this endeavor. Zakk has been incredible in recognizing what he wanted in his own brand and bringing the best possible product to the market.

Food Truck and Rock Carnival: Day 2 – Live in Clark NJ

Posted on November 30, 2015 by News Team

We arrived at Day Two of the Food Truck and Rock Carnival a bit tired, but amped up for a full day of bands. With more time to explore the fest this day, we checked out the awesome fair food in the main concert area such as corn dogs and deep-fried Oreo’s as well as some of more interesting choices on the Food Truck side too.

Like A Storm, by Keith Chachkes

Doing a reverse of yesterday, we took in the bands first, followed by some Carnie fun, and then more bands. Up-and-coming New Zealand rockers Like A Storm were the first band we saw and they were insanely good. With several rock hits at satellite radio, they had their own fans in the house. They seemed to make a lot of new converts too with a fiery show. Crobot was next on the other main stage. If you have never seen them, they are a fierce piece of psych rock explosiveness! They whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their over the top antics.

Crobot, by Keith Chachkes

Anthrax, by Keith Chachkes

After I headed back stage to conduct some band interviews we headed back out the now full festival grounds. It was really impressive to see this for a first time fest. Especially after the performance of the next band I caught: Anthrax. The band has been touring like crazy leading up to their new album For All Kings (Megaforce) due this winter. The band had a short set so they dispensed with the pleasantries and commenced the ass-kicking. In addition to their typical hits, they played the rarely-ever-heard live ‘Lone Justice’ as a tribute to Eddie Trunk. The band was on fire too, especially drummer Charlie Benante and singer Joey Belladonna.

Nighttime fell on the fest and lights from the stages and the carnival lit up the sky and you just felt everyone’s collective energy was high. Following the model of some European fests the two areas in front of the main stages were cut into a big “Y” shape with an enormous VIP area. This also helped security with crowd control, but at the same time made it a chore to see both stages easily. This was the only weakness of the weekend for me. At the same time the two stages also created an awesome VIP Cabana area between them, that for came with tons of amenities including private wait staff services, a private viewing area of the stage, a private VIP meet and greet sesh, free beers and up close access to the bands and the main stages other fans did not have. The fan in me was a little bit jelly and some of the patrons I talked to were over the moon about the experience.

Clutch, by Keith Chachkes

The perfect band to bring in the spirit of rock revivalism to the darkened skies was Clutch who happened to be up next. They played a lot of songs from their new album ‘Psychic Warfare’ (Weathermaker Music) and no one complained. Neil Fallon gesticulated wildly all over the stage, tending to his flock. The band was tight as hell and just jammed it out for an hour straight. Late in the set brought the hits fans wanted to hear like ‘Spacegrass’ and ‘The Mob Goes Wild’.

Schism, by Keith Chachkes

Tucked away in the far corner of the fest, the carnival area was the last stage, and by all accounts had been decently attended all day with locals and some bands paying tribute to rock and metal heroes. Two of the most prominent tribute bands in the nation closed the stage each night: RATM2, the Rage Against the Machine Tribute, and Schism, the première Tool tribute band. I managed to catch some of Schism’s set, and having been a Tool-o-phile from back n the day and seeing the band as many times as I have, they are the real deal. If you have never seen the enigmatic gods of art rock, Schism is a fair stand in both sonically and visually. Next year this stage ought to be closer to the main stages.

Chester Bennington with Stone Temple Pilots, by Keith Chachkes

Godsmack and Stone Temple Pilots closed the main stages respectively on this night with a lots of bravado from each. STP featuring Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) for one of the last times, played all the songs that made them of the première alt rock bands of the 90s. Chester is spot on vocally, and a star in every way imaginable. Fans have commented that his copying Scott Weiland is unflattering to the band and off-putting, and I have to say it isn’t necessary at all. Chester can hang with anyone vocally and to me was a great fit with STP, end of story.

Crowd at The Rock Carnival, by Keith Chachkes

Godsmack opened up with a montage film that recapped their last few years touring and intercut shots of iconic Boston sports people such as Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, members of the Boston Bruins, and David Ortiz. Curious choices in New Jersey, the land of many Jets and Yankees fans, but oh well. The band came out fired up and played all their big radio-friendly tracks. They were a worthy closer on this night. Drummer Shannon Larkin always stands out a lot to me. He is one of the most talented drummers you will ever see live and worth watching. Sully Erna flipped back and forth between playing guitar and running around with a wireless microphone and seemed to really relish performing for such an enthusiastic crowd.

Godsmack, by Keith Chachkes

I made it a point each day to hang a lot at the Birch Hill Stage towards the end of each day. It seemed that a lot of industry types were gathering there, and it was awesome to see my brethren from the world of music journalism and publicity. Plus the beer garden was right there. The final band’s trifecta of LA Guns, Lita Ford, and Slaughter was a great way to cap off the weekend. LA Guns was solid, Lita was excellent, but Slaughter was downright special. After all these years it’s amazing how little Slaughter has changed. They were a thing to behold, especially Mark Slaughter’s stratospheric singing voice. Of course, they closed the weekend with ‘Fly To The Angels’ and ‘Up All Night’ performed to a crowd feeling a mix of jubilation and satisfaction that comes from having a great time. I held my BFF tight and raised up those horns one last time for the night. Food Truck and Rock Carnival, do us a solid and come back next year twice as baddass!

Slaughter, by Keith Chachkes

DAY 1 OF THE FOOD TRUCK AND ROCK CARNIVAL

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY KEITH CHACHKES

Food Truck and Rock Carnival: Day 1 – Live in Clark, NJ

Posted on November 3, 2015 by News Team

Throngs of people descended on Southern New Jersey for the first annual Food Truck and Rock Carnival to enjoy the sites, tastes and sounds that they had to offer. Although New Jersey may not be the first place you think of for a destination music festival, to paraphrase a line from the movie Dogma: never underestimate the staggering appeal of “The Garden State”. In the post Hurricane Sandy reality for residents here, including many of the vendors I spoke with, it was great is spend some time and money down here and support this community.

The lay of the land was on the vast side: with two main stages, plus several smaller stages, one hosting a lot of glam rock notables and another with local bands and tribute acts. One entire area was scoped out for the free carnival full of rides, traditional attractions, wrestling matches, notable entertainment personalities speaking, music industry lecturers, comedy shows, merch and a bunch of amazing food trucks. The rides and games were non-stop Some had the typical fair food while others were unique and were like catnip to the foodie souls. Although it was impossible to try them all as the formed a perimeter around the entire carnival area, we did sample a few. Among the best were my personal favorites Fork in The Road, followed by The Angry Crab, Amanda Banana, Dark Side of The Moo, Empanada Guy, Nooch’s Mac Truck, and So Jersey.

Then there was the music. Day 1 featured a bevy of cool bands from across the rock and metal world. Early day entrants from the rock world such as Bad Case For Big Mouth, Fit For Rivals, Otherwise and rising superstars Pop Evil were greeted to a large early crowd and enthusiastic fans. Their recent new album Up (eOne) they are supporting, and the bands high-profile tours and car commercials are starting to bear fruit that can be seen in their sizzling live performances.

Sevendust, by OJC Pics/OmarCordy

Skid Row continues to plow ahead with new singer Tony Harnell. They played a set heavy on the hits, and sounded refreshed. It’s been a minute since I heard this many people screaming along to ’18 And Life’, ‘Monkey Business’, and ‘Youth Gone Wild’. The world needs more of this on a regular basis. Puddle Of Mudd has been road tripping themselves ls a lot of late at similar festivals. Choppy at times as a live band, they leaned on their hits like ‘Blurry’ and their closer ‘She Hates Me’. Next Sevendust was bringing the crowd to their feet in praise for their about to be released (out now), album Kill The Flaw (7Bros) They played some heavy hits and one deep cut, ‘Shine’, that had me and other fans besides ourselves. This band always brings live.

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, by OJC Pics/OmarCordy

As the warm up to the headliners, Zakk Wylde and his Black Label Society played a crushing set of heavy tracks. Wylde of course is the main attraction for shred nerds, Ozzy fanatics, MC crew types. Not only was the band tight, and he played his customary extended guitar solo in the set. Highlights for me included ‘The Beginning… At Last’, ‘Funeral Bell’, ‘Bleed For Me’, ‘Suicide Messiah’, and ‘Stillborn’.

Eddie Trunk of That Metal Show introduces King’s X, by OJC Pics/OmarCordy

In between bands all day I tried to catch some of the talent at the Birch Hill Stage, named for the old Birch Hill Nightclub, the stuff of Jersey legend and special venue to me. Among the acts we caught some or all of were Gilby Clarke (Gun ‘N Roses), Faster Pussycat, Stephen Percy of Ratt fame and King’s X. We saw all of their set and it was terrific. Hanging out with fans and singing every word in the set from the crowd was LaJon of Sevendust, who also gave the band a shout out earlier in the day too.

Three Days Grace, by OJC Pics/OmarCordy

Three Days Grace, by OJC Pics/OmarCordy

Back to the main stage, it has been a big year for Three Days Grace and Ghost Cult has been there for a lot of it. Playing the fest in a run of headline dates, the band leaned heavily on their greatest hits and their new album Human (RCA). Lead singer Matt Walst has won over most of the hold out fans who wanted Adam Gontier (Saint Asonia) back and he is a great replacement for Adam.

Slash closed out night one with his mates Miles Kennedy And The Conspirators and just blazed through a set of his own material and of course, a lot of GNR stuff too. It felt like an epic happening, as Slash is a one of a kind showman, beloved blues jammer and icon. Myles and crew are total pros and deliver song after song all night. It was a fine end to a long day of fun.

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FOOD TRUCK AND ROCK CARNIVAL DAY 2 COVERAGE

WORDS BY KEITH CHACHKES

PHOTOS BY OJC PICS/OMAR CORDYhttp://www.twitter.com/Ojayy666

Zakk Wylde, Alex Skolnick, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc Confirmed For Axes and Anchors Cruise

Posted on April 21, 2015 by newsteam

A “shredders cruise” has joined the list of music themed cruises as the five day/four night Axes & Anchors cruise will be setting sail aboard the Carnival Victory, departing from Miami, FL on February 20, 2016, stopping in Key West, FL and Nassau, Bahamas, and docking back in Miami, FL on February 24, 2016.

The following musicians will be performing and giving lessons on the cruise:

Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society)
Yngwie Malmsteen
Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO, MSG)
Alex Skolnick (Testament, Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
Tracii Guns (LA Guns)
Dario Lorina (Black Label Society, Lizzy Borden)

Axes & Anchors on Facebook
Axes & Anchors Facebook Group
Axes & Anchors on Twitter

Album Stream: Wino and Conny Ochs – Freedom Conspiracy

Posted on March 29, 2015 by newsteam

Photo Credit: Albert Mojica

Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Conny Ochs’ second collaborative release Freedom Conspiracy is streamed in full here. The album is out March 31, 2015 via Exile On Mainstream and Earsplit Distro on vinyl. Wino will be supporting Black Label Society on an upcoming US Tour run in April, while Ochs has a string of European dates booked.

Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Conny Ochs Streamining “Drain”

Posted on March 23, 2015 by newsteam

Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Conny Ochs are streaming “Drain,” off their collaborative album, out March 31, 2015 via Exile On Mainstream and Earsplit Distro on vinyl here.

Weinrich will be supporting Black Label Society on a run of tour dates, while Ochs has booked upcoming European tour dates of his own.

WINO w/ Black Label Society:
Apr 03: The Paramout – Huntington, NY
Apr 04: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom – Hampton Beach, NJ
Apr 06: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Apr 08: Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Apr 10: Piere’s Entertainment Center – Fort Wayne, IN
Apr 11: Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI
Apr 12: The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Apr 14: The Cotillion – Wichita, KS
Apr 16: Mesa Theater & Club – Grand Junction, CO
Apr 17: The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 18: Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Apr 19: City National Grove Of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA

CONNY OCHS Tour Dates:
Mar 27: Distrò – La Spezia (IT)
Mar 28: Socio – Massa Carrara (IT)
Apr 03: Bardamu / Calderara di Reno – Bologna (IT)
Apr 04: La Girada – Udine (IT)
Apr 06: Maximum Festival – Zerobranco (IT)
May 16: Maximum Circus Festival – Berlin (DE)
May 29: Eulenbruch Festival – Rostock (DE)

Scott Weinrich on Facebook
Conny Ochs on Facebook

Wino and Conny Ochs Streaming “Timeless Spirit”

Posted on March 14, 2015 by newsteam

Scott “Wino” Weinrich is streaming “Timeless Spirit” off the Freedom Conspiracy album with Conny Ochs,
out March 31, 2015 via Exile On Mainstream Records and Earsplit Distro for the vinyl edition, here.

Stream “Stards” here.

Throughout the sprawling forty-five minutes of Freedom Conspiracy, the duo continues to experiment with their musical collaborations, exploring new ways of expressing their personal struggles with daily life through their incredibly soulful delivery, and “Timeless Spirit” is one prime example of this persistent theme. Here, both artists are heard fully embracing the vocal duties throughout the track together — Wino’s unmistakable, gritty, personal style paired with Conny Ochs’ dynamic, emotionally charged delivery — while acoustic and electric guitars are seamlessly aligned, a lone kick drum provides a pulse-like rhythm and the big-rock thunder of piano chords soar from amidst the powerful anthem.

In related news, Wino will be supporting Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society on select US shows.

Wino w/ Black Label Society:
Apr 03: The Paramout – Huntington, NY
Apr 04: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom – Hampton Beach, NJ
Apr 06: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Apr 08: Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Apr 10: Piere’s Entertainment Center – Fort Wayne, IN
Apr 11: Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI
Apr 12: The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Apr 14: The Cotillion – Wichita, KS
Apr 16: Mesa Theater & Club – Grand Junction, CO
Apr 17: The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 18: Ace Of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Apr 19: City National Grove Of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA

Conny Ochs Tour Dates:
Mar 27: Distrò – La Spezia (IT)
Mar 28: Socio – Massa Carrara (IT)
Apr 03: Bardamu / Calderara di Reno – Bologna (IT)
Apr 04: La Girada – Udine (IT)
Apr 06: Maximum Festival – Zerobranco (IT)
May 16: Maximum Circus Festival – Berlin (DE)
May 29: Eulenbruch Festival – Rostock (DE)

Scott Weinrich on Facebook
Conny Ochs on Facebook

Bloodstock Festival Adds More Bands, Tickets On Sale Now

Posted on March 13, 2015 by News Team

Bloodstock Festival (aka Bloodstock Open Air or BOA) has added five more bands to its already stacked line-up for 2015. New to the bill are reformed sludge metallers Raging Speedhorn, prog-metal exports Xerath, Trepalium, Villainy and Godsized. Taking place August 6^th– 9^th at Walton on Trent, Derbyshire UK. Tickets are on sale now by phone (24hr ticketline at 0871 230 5584 )or online and include an array of camping and VIP ticket options. Camper van pitches are now all sold out.

Already announced to the bill over four massive stages are major acts such as Friday’s headliner Trivium and special guests Sabaton, Saturday’s headliner Within Temptation and special guests Opeth, Sunday’s headliner Rob Zombie and special guests Black Label Society, also Cannibal Corpse, Ihsahn, Sepultura, Orange Goblin, Death T.A, Nuclear Assault, 1349, Napalm Death, Dark Angel, Armored Saint, Belphegor, Overkill, Ensiferum, Agalloch, Korpiklaani, Pro-Pain, Enslaved, Wolf, Delain, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Godflesh, Lawnmower Deth, Mordred, Ethereal, Onslaught, Oaf, Pritchard Vs Dainton, Conan, Planet Of Zeus, Bast, Saille, Batallion, Destrage with more bands to be announced in the coming weeks.

Black Label Society Books April Unblackened Tour

Posted on February 26, 2015 by newsteam

Black Label Society have announced their Unblackened tour. Originally performed as a one night only concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles for a live CD/DVD release two years ago, the show will now make its way across the U.S. The show will feature intimate versions of some of the band’s most popular songs, as well as songs from Zakk Wylde’s best-selling solo album Book of Shadows & his Southern rock band Pride & Glory. “I always wanted to take Unblackened on the road, we just didn’t have the time until now,” said Wylde. “You can take a song that you’ve played thousands of times and rearrange it, and all of a sudden it’s something totally fresh. The attitude of the songs doesn’t change when we play them acoustically–the tunes are gritty regardless.”

01. Fields of Unforgiveness
02. My Dying Time
03. Believe
04. Angel of Mercy
05. Heart of Darkness
06. Beyond the Down
07. Scars
08. Damn the Flood
09. I’ve Gone Away
10. Empty Promises
11. Shades of Gray

Feb 26: Le Bataclan – Paris, FR
Feb 27: La Laitere – Strasbourg, FR
Mar 01: Train – Aarhus, DK
Mar 03: Rockefeller Music Hall – Oslo, NO
Mar 05: Close Up Baten (Crusie) – Stockholm, SE
Mar 06: Nosturl – Helsinki, FI
Mar 08: Rock Café – Tallinn, EE
Mar 09: Forum Palace – Vilnius, LT
Mar 11: B90 – Gdansk, PL
Mar 12: Studio – Krakow, PL
Mar 14: Z7 – Pratteln, CH
Mar 15: Les Docks – Lausanne, CH
Apr 03: The Paramount – Huntington, NY
Apr 04: Hampton Beach Club Casino – Hampton Beach, NH
Apr 06: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Apr 08: Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Apr 10: Piere’s Entertainment Center – Fort Wayne, IN
Apr 11: The Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI
Apr 12: The Rave/Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI
Apr 14: Cottilion Ballroom – Wichita, KS
Apr 16: Mesa Theater and Club – Grand Junction, CO
Apr 17: The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 18: Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Apr 19: The City National Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA
Jul 11: LKA Longhorn – Stuttgart (DE)
Jul 18: Pistoia Blues – Pistoia (IT)
Jul 19: Backstage – Munchen (DE)
Jul 26: Universiada Hall – Sofia (BU)
Jul 27: Arenele Romane – Bucharest (RO)
Jul 28: GARE SBB-CFF – Bale (SW)
Jul 29: Fezen Festival – Székesfehérvár (HU)
Jul 30: Wacken 2015 – Wacken (DE)
Aug 04: Live Music Hall – Koln (DE)

Diablo Blvd – Follow the Deadlights

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Steve Tovey

For the last 10 years, Antwerp’s hardest working and hardest rocking band Diablo Blvd have been plying their rock n roll trade to a steadily increasing level of acclaim and popularity. 2015 should see their stock rise even further, with the support slot on the forthcoming Epica European tour being confirmed. It’s no great surprise then to see this timely (if fairly rapid) reissue of their third album, Follow the Deadlights, from their new worldwide distribution partner, Nuclear Blast.

Follow The Deadlights is a solid, muscular hard rock album with echoes of Black Label Society, Corrosion of Conformity (the more eagle-eyed among you will have already spotted where they got their moniker), The Cult and the occasional flourish of mid period Danzig which, I’m sure you will concur, is a fairly decent set of influences.

Opening track ‘Beyond the Veil’ comes rumbling in, drums aplenty, akin to what might happen if BLS met Alter Bridge on a dark night of the musical soul. ‘Rise Like Lions’ has pretty much the same opening drum led flourish but this time with a bigger riffs and greater level of ambition; ‘Get Up 9’ ups the tempo somewhat, a driving and burly number with a healthy dynamic. The title track, following the well-thumbed rule book of hard rock and heavy metal, has a massive chorus and set of guitar solos and ‘Son of Cain’ ticks every single one of the melodic hard rock boxes and a few more that you didn’t think needed ticking. In a good way, though. ‘We are Legion’ is as preposterous as it is infectious, leaving no cliché unturned but you can’t help but be carried along with the band’s enthusiasm and earnestness. Who cares that you’ve heard this stuff a thousand times before?

It would be really easy to be cynical about records like Follow the Deadlights. Yes, I’ve heard it all before and yes, the structure of the record is as predictable as fireworks on Bonfire Night and yes, sometimes you can see the joins but at the same time, you can see how these guys have earned their slots with Epica and, late last year, Machine Head. Follow the Deadlights sounds highly accomplished and there has, self-evidently been a sizeable effort in bringing together the band’s influences, creative juice and energy into the ten songs on offer here. Follow the Deadlights is probably not going to set the world on fire but as an exercise in modern hard rock and heavy metal, it does a solid job.

7.0/10

Diablo Blvd on Facebook

MAT DAVIES

Ghost Cult Magazine

Music News, Interviews and Reviews that matter.

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