Still Razing Along – Mike Fleischmann of Vision of Disorder

Posted on December 17, 2015 by newsteam

Spawning out a Long Island music scene that introduced a number of cutting edged bands at the time, Vision of Disorder was part of an era that introduced a modernized version of hardcore and heavy metal that helped shape a sound that eventually morphed into what is now known as the metalcore genre.

Raze To The Ground is the band’s latest album (out now via Candlelight Records) and following the release of their 2012 comeback record, The Cursed Remains Cursed, the band channeled their energies into crafting a record that brings out the aggression and heaviness longtime fans have followed over the years.

Bassist Mike Fleischmann explains how this record came together and whether any new methods were input towards creating the songs.

“We did the same thing we always do, which is we lock ourselves in a dungeon like studio and everyone brings in ideas for a song and work on it. Usually the music’s first and then Tim [Williams] comes down and sees what he can do on it. If it sounds good, we keep it. If it’s not going anywhere, we toss it. That’s how it’s been since the beginning. That’s the way we work on songs.”

Pure angst has played a huge role in their sound over the years, and Raze To The Ground is no different than past material. Channeling their inner aggression, the band has stuck to a formula as on past recordings and is felt throughout the album and rarely letting down along the way.

“Right now we all live boring lives. It’s about bringing excitement to our lives and playing music. We’re all similarly taking our frustrations out on our instruments. Tim channels that energy into his lyrics and frustrations pent up stuff. I think that’s our thing. That’s how it comes out. We don’t purposely set out to write any kind of style. It’s just the music that comes out when we all get together.”

vision of disorder tim williams in studio

With Williams being the lyricist in the group, they chose the album title based on the state of the world and the negativity surrounding it all. Fleischmann explained how all of that factored into how the album came out.

“Tim does all of the album naming and the song naming, and it has to do with the title track, which he felt summed up the inspiration for this album. They took a lot of inspiration from recent news and the turmoil going on, which is still going on unfortunately! The past couple of years you see the news is flooded with civil unrest and rioting. I think he felt that summed up the feel of the record and a lot of the lyrical content.”

Aside from the music, Vision of Disorder did face a lineup change with longtime guitarist Matt Baumbach bowing out of the band. While over the past few years he was missing from some of their live shows, the band decided to move forward to record the album without him.

“This time Matt our longtime guitar player – he doesn’t want to do it anymore. We were making another record and we moved on without him,” he explained about the departure of Baumbach.

“We weren’t really sure whether he was going to be there. He was in and out. When you’ve been in the band this long, you can always come back at any time. After 20 years, if you’re having a bad year then you might as well have a year off. Until we were making the album and he wasn’t there we were like already he’s really not doing it.”

While the band recorded Raze To The Ground as a four piece, they employed Josh DeMarco for live shows. A familiar face within their scene, he became an obvious choice for Vision of Disorder and filled the shoes nicely.

“We didn’t have anyone replace him on the album. Live we’ve been playing with this guy Josh DeMarco who’s in a couple of other bands and he used to play in adayinthelife in the 90s. We toured the US with them and he’s also in a Long Island hardcore band called Mind Over Matter. He’s a very skilled guitar player. We were lucky he was available and he used to help us out sometimes roadie wise. I used to play in a band with him back in high school so I go back 20 plus years with him as well. We’re lucky to have a guy on deck that’s still a good guy that we all get along with and can step right in.”

Photo Credit: Jeff Crespi

Prior to the release of the new album, their 1995 EP Still was reissued by Dignified Bastard, and for Fleischmann, he is still surprised how much their fans have loved a recording that marked the early era of the band.

“It’s crazy that people care about a little seven inch that came out in ’95. People still talk to us about it so we knew some people would be happy that it came back. We pretty much have kept a lot of those songs in the set over the years so we know people are familiar with it over the years. It’s still crazy. That’s what we did before we got signed – before anything we did that Still seven inch. That was one of the first things that put us on the map. The first time we played in New York City the shows we played was based around that.”

He shared his memories of that era of Vision of Disorder and what that time period meant to him. Being that the Still EP was their first attempt at recording songs towards an actual recording, hard music fans from that era became hooked over a raw sound that helped shape a generation of hardcore metal.

“We did our first attempt at touring. We bought our first van and it broke down on the road – so many memories from back then. The New York City shows playing at Coney Island High and Wetlands, and playing with bands like Crown of Thornz and 25 Ta Life, and doing a lot of tri-state area shows and VFW Halls and skate parks. We weren’t playing real venues then. They were all makeshift Sunday matinees shows. It was totally different then what we ended up doing just a couple of years later.”

Vision of Disorder was one of the bands who took part on Ozzfest in 1997, in support of their self titled full length album. While this became a high profile exposure for the band at the time, Fleischmann had mixed memories about that experience.

“Unfortunately the first memory that always jumps out is the very first day of the Ozzfest we got kicked off the tour,” he said, with a laugh. “Our manager at the time rented us this RV, which wasn’t ready to go until the morning of the show. At that time in ’97, the side stage bands played twice a day. You could play two 20-minute sets. You’d play once at 11 am and then once at 3 or 4 o’clock would be your set time.”

“So we picked up our RV and raced down to Washington DC, where the tour started. We were the first band to play on the first day and missed it, so Sharon [Osbourne] kicked us off. We did a lot of crying and begging and they let us back on.”

Aside from the rough start, he recalled some other surreal stories about bonding with a variety of musicians he never imagined to be bonding with during a tour. The Ozzfest experience became a life changing moment for the band.

“That tour was crazy. We were hanging out every day with Neurosis, Pantera and Downset. We were all friends with them. Every day was crazy. We were watching Black Sabbath play every night. It was surreal. It was like a heavy metal summer camp.”

“Every day we’re walking through the cafeteria and we would see guys like Pete Steele or Vinnie Paul eating lunch and we’d feel like ‘what are we doing here?’ We were all 20 years old. It was crazy.”

Photo Credit: Kurt Christensen Photography

While his stories about Ozzfest sounded positive, he recalled some of the troubles the band encountered at the same time, including communication issues with their record label and management. Despite those flaws, they survived it and lived to share these stories.

“We had problems from the get go with our first album. We really didn’t like how it sounded and we still aren’t happy with how it sounds and how it came out. From the very beginning of the Ozzfest, the day before, we couldn’t have even been there that first morning. They met the day before. They had a whole soundcheck and a whole meet and greet our manager didn’t even tell us about. We went on Ozzfest without a sound man, which was insane. We were already making mistakes.”

“We were on the Ozzfest and Tim is hooking up this microphone directly into the delay pedal and the speakers are feeding back. So we got no help from anyone. Everyone was holding their ears,” he said, with a chuckle.

Photo Credit: Kurt Christensen Photography

Over 20 years have passed since the EP was released and the band has come full circle since then. Some of their peers from their era are still going strong and some others have returned after time away from the scene, but Fleischmann was happy where Vision of Disorder stands within the current scene.

“It’s great for a lot of the bands that we played with are still around, like Earth Crisis and Candiria is making another record. [They were] a lot of the bands we cut our teeth with are still around. It’s great.”

“We went to Australia a few years ago. We did the Soundwave Tour and we got to play with Madball and Sick Of It All, and we did side dates with them too. It was like on our off days we were in hotels and in planes with Madball and Sick Of It All.”

As for current live dates, Vision of Disorder try to play out live as much as they can. Due to personal lives and job reasons, they have a brief Southwestern US run in February and an appearance at Hellfest 2016 in Clisson, France scheduled at this time.

“We really don’t play very often. We all work full time and we have family stuff. It’s hard to get away. I would say it’s more of an older crowd. I don’t think there’s too many younger kids. We don’t play with too many bands that would draw them in either. I think we’re playing for our longtime fans. There are definitely some new people in there but I would say these days we are more playing for our fans that have been around for a long time. I think the percentage of people discovering it now is pretty low. I mean of course we’d appreciate it but we don’t really do the things that would take to get discovered by new people like hitting the road. It’s tough for us,” said Flesichmann, about the realities of balancing music and real life.

“We’ll try to do what we can do with that. It’s got to be worthwhile. We try to do weekends and try to do some international stuff. For five guys with different schedules all to get time off of work at the same time for the same amount of time, it’s tough. It’s harder than we thought it would be for it to get things together.”

Lastly, Fleischmann and Williams launched a podcast called Dead Bloated Morrison in 2013, where the two of them attempted to delve into talking about all things music. While they temporarily set aside this during the writing and recording of the new album, Fleischmann said they may try to do new episodes in the near future.

“We’ll probably end up doing it again. When we got serious about writing the record, we did that when we were bored in between. So when we got serious about writing, we had to use a lot of our free time on VOD. The podcast ends up being work. We’ll get together, schedule people for interviews, do some research…we had to figure out our priorities and do the band at the time. We’ll end up doing it again I’m sure. I’m sure when we go away and do some shows on tour we’ll get some good stories to include them.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Earth Crisis On Standing Strong In The Music Scene

Posted on December 16, 2015 by newsteam

Veteran Syracuse metallic hardcore outfit Earth Crisis have been championing that sound since the early 1990s while tackling subjects such as animal rights, veganism and fighting environmental issues within their songs. Their hard hitting sound paved the way for the early versions of what was known as metalcore began to influence those who fused hardcore and heavy metal into a brand new sound.

Their moment came full circle as they took part on this year’s Knotfest in Devore, CA and nearly 20 years ago they also played on the first Ozzfest at the very same venue.

“We’ve been up to California quite a bit for the past few years. We were out here with Terror and Sworn Enemy. We played with One Choice and Cavalera Conspiracy,” said band vocalist Karl Buechner, about their recent treks out west.

Playing the second stage of the fest, they got to take part on one of the larger hard music fests in the United States. Landing a mid day slot on Day One, they were greeted by a packed crowd who were also eager to see other bands such as At The Gates who were on directly after them.

Earth Crisis with At The Gates at Knotfest 2015.

“Thank you to Slipknot for hand picking us for the festival and putting us on, and to all of the great bands we got to play with today. It was awesome to see At The Gates. We’re looking forward to seeing Slipknot of course and Judas Priest. It’s a stacked bill. Thanks to all of our fans in California who come out to the shows and supporting Neutralize the Threat and Salvation,” commented Buechner.

Since their return to the music scene, following a brief hiatus between 2001 and 2007, they have continued to wave the flag for the sound they championed for over two decades. Guitarist Scott Crouse and drummer Dennis Merrick explained about returning from their hiatus, following the release of their 2001 record Slither.

“We’ve been doing it since 2007 in a more laid back fashion than we used to,” said Crouse.

“We’ve put out three records since then – three full lengths and this year we’ve put out a four song EP – re-recorded two songs from Destroy The Machines and two previously unreleased tracks with Josh Grobelle of Bullet Tooth. We’re still doing stuff. Still playing shows,” said Merrick.

2015 was the 20 year anniversary of the band’s 1995 debut release Destroy The Machines, and the record that introduced a new generation of heavy music fans to a new metallic driven heavy metal sound.

While much of the year was focused around the anniversary set plus the release of their new EP The Discipline, they are concluding that leg with their rescheduled California dates in February 2016.

“We’re pretty much done with that. We had a show booked at Chain Reaction in Anaheim we had to make up. So that will be the last Destroy the Machines show in its entirety show,” said guitarist Scott Crouse.

“So far this year, we’ve played the Black N Blue Bowl, Southeast Beast, a festival in Detroit, Carry the Weight Fest VI and a headliner in Sheffield are where we exclusively did the Destroy The Machines set,” added Buechner.

Would they look into doing other albums in its entirety? Crouse mentioned the next in line was their 1996 album Gomorrah’s Season Ends. “It’s a lot of re-learning,” he said.

“It would be cool to combine some songs from Gomorrah’s [Season Ends] and Breed [The Killers]. Maybe do a combo set,” said Buechner, thinking aloud.

Being that Earth Crisis has celebrated 24 years of existence total, their message behind their songs has not changed much over the years. Themes such as animal rights, environmental issues and veganism are still a central part of the band’s message, which is now adapted towards what is happening in modern times.

“Our message is the same. We believe in kindness towards animals. I think one of the reasons we grew up with those thoughts that are in the forethoughts in our minds was because in Syracuse the city is on the shores of one of the most polluted lakes in North America are on Lake Onondaga [and] have all sorts of toxic poisons in it with factories and clouds of pollution going into the sky – something that would settle around us. A little bit to the north were the dead lakes in the Adirondacks. There was acid rain coming in from Canada, carrying all of the poisons from the factories, and all of the fish and vegetation were dying.”

“When Dennis and I were teenagers, Chernobyl happened. It definitely felt like things were being destroyed around us. So that’s why we took it so seriously,” said Buechner.

“I think now too, veganism for diet has been more of a mainstream thing. The plight of animals is still there. In a way it’s gotten to be more at a critical point. Factory farming has gotten so huge. People are still consuming insane amounts of meat, even though veganism is getting more mainstream.”

“There’s still tons of animals dying and being tortured in laboratories. A lot of organizations end up still doing things, like that No New Animals Lab organization from Seattle trying to stop the killing in underground animal laboratories. The Sheff campaign was a real successful campaign trying to stop animal testing. There’s still very good reasons why we’re doing what we do. The last record Salvation is focused on animal testing more than it was on the meat industry,” added Merrick.

One hotly contested subject that could appear on their future albums is Monsanto, the controversial sustainable agricultural company who has been linked with dumping poisonous chemicals into commonly eaten foods and their ties within the food industry. The band has referenced them, alongside subjects such as genetic engineering and modifying plants for human use on their two recent albums, To the Death and Neutralize the Threat, which adds to their arsenal of hot topics worked into their songs.

“The more you dig into that the more diabolical it is. Their new game – what they’re doing is buying up natural companies and then they use them to stop bills that are labeling genetically modifying ingredients.”

“What they’re for – they’re against labeling, which really Monsanto owns. A lot of these mainstream health products you see in all of the stores, Monsanto has their hands [on them]. They have their hands on their enemies to try to sway the public,” said Crouse, about the controversial company.

“I’m not sure if this is a proven fact or not, but one of the rumors is that in Monsanto or one of the places where the scientists design these things. They have organic food in their cafeteria.”

“We’ve never put that much emphasis on the health benefits of veganism. We’ve always tried to come from the animal liberation side of things to get people to understand what was going on in the laboratories and factory farms and the slaughter houses and the ranches and the Japanese whaling fleets and everything else that’s going on. The oceans are dying,” added Buechner.

Earth Crisis was well recognized for including the veganism subject within many of their songs. While this was one of many subjects the band was well known for, the general attitude towards the band and the subjects they based their songs around had greatly changed over the years. Veganism was no longer a taboo subject, and something the public became a bit more open towards.

“In a way back then when we started people didn’t know what veganism was in the mainstream but there was definitely a lot of underground support for it,” explained Merrick. “In the punk and hardcore community there were a lot of kids that were vegan and that’s kind of shifted. I think veganism for health reasons in a lot of ways have been co-opted by the mainstream and less popular in the underground punk scene. It’s counter culture because it’s not considered a mainstream thing.”

“It’s not a struggle as much. Maybe the counterculture kids steer away from it because their mom or their mom’s friend might be vegan,” said Crouse.

“In some ways it was a good it was co-opted by the mainstream for vegans, whether it was for animal rights or health or environmental issues. It’s for the animals and the environment anyways,” added Merrick.

While Earth Crisis is running once again, the various members have their other musical ventures happening at the same time. Buechner gave the status of his other band Freya, who had been working on their new album, and how the two bands’ schedules balance out.

“We actually had the drummer from Soilwork (Dirk Verbeuren) play on our new record. It’s done and my guitar player (Brendan Flynn) is doing all of the artwork and the layout,” he said.

Hello everyone! We have both good and bad news to share with you today. We have parted ways with our bass player Bill…

Posted by Freya on Tuesday, February 17, 2015

“It actually has worked out very well balancing things between the two bands. Freya’s actually played more countries in Europe than Earth Crisis has at this point. We were further into the east last time we went over. We stayed for two months. So it’s great. We work on Earth Crisis and then when people want to focus on other things….I mean all of these guys do other bands as well. Scott’s working on a band with Jimmy [Chang] from Gut Feeling and the singer of Cursed, and Andy [Hurley] of Fall Out Boy. I’m working on Freya.”

By Rei Nishimoto

The Kyngs of LA – Tony Castaneda of Kyng

Posted on December 14, 2015 by newsteam

Rock music is deeply rooted with the Los Angeles music scene and has produced a number of acts who have helped shape a section of music history. One of the city’s rising stars is East LA natives Kyng, who have made a name for themselves over the past few years with their back to the roots heavy rock sounds with heavy grooves and melodic overtones.

Veterans of the LA music scene, the three members of the band (vocalist/guitarist Eddie Veliz, bassist Tony Castaneda and drummer Pepe Clarke Magana) created a powerful yet hard-hitting sound that fans discovered on their latest album Burn The Serum (out now via Razor and Tie), and their recent journey found themselves on Knotfest 2015, becoming extra special for them being this was in their backyard in Southern California.

Castaneda shared his thoughts about the show and playing at San Manuel Amphitheatre, the Devore, CA based venue which held events such as Ozzfest and Rockstar Mayhem Fest in the past. “The main difference is this is in our backyard. We’re from Los Angeles and this is a hometown show for us, and it’s always nice to go home after the night and sleep in your own bed. That’s not to say the other festivals aren’t awesome.”

“This is definitely a venue that individually we’ve played here in the past. To be here with Kyng is definitely awesome. We love this place. There’s definitely a lot of history here, as you know Ozzfest and I’ve seen Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. I’ve played Ozzfest back in 2007 with Pepe in another band we were in.”

He shared his thoughts about playing Knotfest and taking part on a much talked about event. Being asked to participate on a festival run by one of the biggest acts in heavy music is an honor for most bands, but Castaneda chose to take in as much of the event as he could, aside from himself playing on it.

“Not falling on my ass from all of the dust on stage and wearing my Vans, and having more canvas underneath them!,” he said, with a laugh. “The highlights for me are yet to come. There’s a lot of friends here. Devour The Day’s here, Suicidal Tendencies…which I’ll be catching. After I’m done [here], I’ll be catching Cannibal Corpse. Clutch…so many bands. I missed yesterday’s set [but] I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Photo Credit: Alyson Coletta Photography

Their journey has taken them on tour with a variety of audiences, from Corrosion of Conformity and Clutch, to Seether and then even Megadeth. They discovered along the way how they have managed to work their sound towards that respective audience and winning them over along the way.

“We discovered that we can be as heavy as we want to be and still be melodic. That’s what separates us from all of the other bands. We have a drummer like Pepe that’s a beast and can basically play in a heavy, heavy metal band and plays in a rock band like us. We do both and I feel we do it well as it works for us and we’re going to continue to do.”

Kyng Album cover

Coming out of an area such as East Los Angeles and often overshadowed by the bands coming out of West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip area makes their story even sweeter. Having flown under the radar and slowly building an audience at every

“It means a lot because not too many bands come from East LA. A lot of band would be Hollywood bands, but you do have your bands from Los Angeles like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There’s a lot of bands. I guess for a band of this genre, there’s not too many of them from LA. It means a lot especially being from East LA and myself, growing up in a predominant Latin community, I’m proud of that all of us are Latinos and that’s something that’s cool to us. We’re very thankful that we can be in this genre and making our stamp and let it be known.“

Photo Credit: Rob Fenn

One of their biggest supporters from the early days was Jose Mangin of Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal, who befriended the band and helped spread their name around the scene. Castaneda acknowledged how his influence greatly helped them towards bigger things such as Metallica’s Orion Festival.

“He’s the biggest supporter since day one. He is the reason why we have gotten a lot of attention. He’s the type of guy everybody knows. Everybody in the industry knows that guy knows his shit and he vouched for us since day one and everybody jumped on board that was a friend of his and believes in it as much as he does. For that we’re grateful and will be forever grateful,” he said.

On the subject of a new Kyng record, the band teased the Knotfest crowd with a brand new, yet untitled tune. “We played a new song today. I’m not sure if it’s a working title at the moment. We only played one new one but the rest were some from the first album and some from the second.”

Photo Credit: Shawn Evans/Sonic Visions Photography

While specifics on when a new record is coming are yet to be determined, Castaneda gave an update on the status on their third album, which they are currently working on.

“It’s a little bit of the first album and a little bit of the second album intertwined. There’s gonna be a few new things we may or may not try. Generally it’s definitely a Kyng album. It’s heavy music, melodic with harmonized vocals here and there, [with] singing. So that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”

Lastly, he shared his goals for the next record. While the members of Kyng have accomplished many personal goals within their first two albums, he admits he is working on a new bucket list as they are entering a new album cycle real soon.

“I think every year there’s a new bucket list, as you mark things off of your list, you want to stay hungry and find new stuff. We got to play with Metallica so it would be nice to tour with them. We’d like to tour with Megadeth again – that’s definitely on the top of the list. It would be cool to play with bands that are not just heavy metal. We’ve done tours with bands like Seether. We would like to do something Foo Fighters or Queens of the Stone Age. I think we can adapt to the different types of fans within the genre. That’s definitely something on my list.”

“We actually went from Seether, which we finished that tour and then went straight into Megadeth. It’s two different worlds. So it worked. It’s weird because we get concerned sometimes when we do tours like that. With Seether, a lot of the times with fans like theirs, we’re a little too heavy for them. Then when we jump onto a tour like Megadeth, we’re like ‘well I wonder if we’re heavy enough…’ Like I said, we pride ourselves on being able to do stuff like that. That’s something unique that we have.”

By Rei Nishimoto

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Finding Tribulation – Devour The Day

Posted on November 18, 2015 by newsteam

“I got to see Helmet! They played my favorite song (“Unsung”), and I got it on video on my iPhone,” said lead vocalist Blake Allison, sharing his favorite moments after his band Devour The Day completed playing on the Sunday of Knotfest. The band was coming off of a high, playing in front of a large crowd who showed up early to watch the band rock the side stage.

“My favorite was the macaroni and cheese. Amazing I wanted to eat so much more of it. The ladies in catering mean so much more business today. They know that metal guys will eat will so much at home on one plate,” added bassist Joey “Chicago” Walser, about one of his favorite moments during Knotfest.

Being they were one of the few rock bands to share a stage with variations of metal bands, they used this to their advantage and won over fans along the way. In fact, Walser said they found new fans within situations like this and attracted new fans.

“Absolutely for us, at these kinds of shows Blake and I experienced it during Ozzfest, which was super similar. To assume that everyone here to watch metal only and listens to metal is small minded. We get fans every time we play something like this. There’s got to be people out there and jump on Lambgoat and say we suck, but we don’t care. We had a great time. The energy was great.”

“In fact on Lambgoat, I think they said every band today on here sucked…except for Cannibal Corpse and Helmet!,” he said, with a chuckle.

Since Allison and Walser began Devour the Day in 2012, following the end of their previous band Egypt Central, they immediately began writing new material that resulted in becoming their debut album, 2013’s Time and Pressure.

“We were in a band called Egypt Central for a long time. Joey and I have been playing music together since we were teenagers. That band broke up for whatever reason…it doesn’t matter. The point is this band’s here and we’re making the best music that we have and we love this project, all the way to the soul of it. It’s something we never had before as musicians. We’re proud of who we are and what we’ve done and the music that we’ve made,” explained Allison.

Photo Credit: Melina Dellamarggio

Within their touring cycle, Devour The Day has since recorded a new album. Allison talked about it plus the story behind the album.

“We just went and finished doing another record recently. So we have another record coming out in 2016 called Sore.”

“It is about the struggle of the past few years. I think as much as we’ve talked about on the first record – our issues with the business, realizations of young men growing up doing this and touring. This record is more about the human being universally and how we all relate to each other. I think that’s through tribulation and how you respond to that tribulation. The record speaks to that on a spiritual level, on a political level, on an addictive level – a lot about the power of addiction. I think a lot of people can relate to that. The record is for human beings, not dogs,” said Walser.

Photo Credit: Melina Dellamarggio

Another change within their camp is that Sore will be coming out through their new label home, Razor and Tie.

“I’ll say the biggest change so far is that we were able to make this record the way we intended to. I think it’s one thing to make a record on your own – in your own garage or your own living room, like we did on the last one. But on this one, because they saw something in the band and what we’ve done before, they thought it would be a good idea to stay in the studio with a guy who knows what he’s doing. His name is Dan Korneff. He did the Killswitch Engage record, a lot of Breaking Benjamin and Paramore…the list goes on and on. So he gets it. He knows where our background and the music and what we listen to.”

“We didn’t have to fight for the record that we wanted. It was already set up that way. We couldn’t be there without Razor and Tie. We’re extremely excited about the future of this band and what’s going to happen with this record. I think if we didn’t sign with them we’d be in a different spot, none better or none worse – just different,” said Allison.

Being that Devour The Day had built a fan base more from a DIY standpoint since the formation of the band, they knew what they were seeking from a recording label as a partner.

“I would say, especially since most of the guys involved in our do it yourself kind of approach are still very much involved with the group. I think when they signed us, even in the initial meetings when we talked, Blake and I were pretty clear about our vision for what our band was and if they were interested in doing that. We turned down other deals from other labels. We have not found the right thing until we were with Razor and Tie. I think a lot of that had to do with the team that we have now being with us all the way through that,” said Walser.

He also talked about experiencing the DIY method helped them work harder towards achieving goals they were after.

“We feel that hard work really does pay off, as cliché as it sounds. We work our asses off for years to achieve a fraction of the eventual goal that we’re after. At this point, we want people to relate to our music because that’s what saved our lives. Music really got us through every weird situation. We could always go back to my bass and…she never cheats. She never lies,” said Walser.

Another aspect has been touring with heavier bands such as their current tour with All That Remains has made Devour The Day the missing void on an often heavier billed tour. Walser shared his thoughts on the matter.

“Blake one time said he had heard it through a couple podcasts or read that it’s almost for us, what we want to be is original and looking for the gaps within music. I don’t think we want to hear some band or CD that we like and go make that CD that sounds like…it’s pointless.”

“For us, we have such a large variety of influences. We’re just trying to show that what we are and how we are. I think that our fans that love where we’re coming from will get that and those who don’t will hate it and that’s perfectly ok. That’s the power of diversity.”

By Rei Nishimoto

Black Sabbath Adds More North American Tour Dates For 2016

Posted on October 27, 2015 by News Team

Due to “overwhelming demand” Black Sabbath has announced additional North American tour dates for next summer. Additional tour dates for 2016 are below:

Due to overwhelming demand, the road to THE END just got longer.

On the heels of their much-anticipated performances in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, BLACK SABBATH will end the epic journey they began nearly five decades ago with another run of North American dates in fall 2016. These shows will follow a mix of summer headlining and festival performances throughout Europe.

The second run of North American dates kicks off August 17 at Jones Beach Amphitheater in New York and includes stops at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (where the band last performed a sold-out show on their wildly successful 13 world tour in 2014), Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Detroit, and Dallas, among others, before wrapping September 21 at AK-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, AZ.

The massive 2016 world tour by the greatest Metal Band of all time marks THE END for Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler as they close the final chapter in the final volume of the incredible BLACK SABBATH story with this tour. BLACK SABBATH’s THE END farewell tour promises to surpass all previous tours and will feature the band’s most mesmerizing production ever.

When this tour concludes, it will truly be THE END, THE END of one of most legendary bands in Rock ’n Roll history…BLACK SABBATH

Black Sabbath USA tour dates, summer 2016:
Aug 17: Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Aug 19: Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug 21: Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live
Aug 23: Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug 25: Boston, MA Xfinity Center
Aug 27: Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Aug 29: Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Aug 31: Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theater
Sept 02: Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
Sept 04: Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sept 07: Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sept 09: Albuquerque, NM Isleta Ampitheater
Sept 11: Salt Lake City, UT USANA Ampitheater
Sept 13: Portland, OR Sunlight Supply Arena
Sept 15: Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Sept 17 :Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sept 19: Hollywood, CA Hollywood Bowl
Sept 21: Phoenix, AZ AK-Chin Pavilion

Other Black Sabbath tour dates, 2016:

Jan 20: Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
Jan 22: Chicago, IL United Center
Jan 25: Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Jan 27: Winnipeg MN MTS Centre
Jan 30: Edmonton, AB Rexall Centre
Feb 01: Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Feb 03: Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Feb 06: Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Feb 09: San Jose, CA SAP Pavilion
Feb 11: Los Angeles, CA The Forum
Feb 13: Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay
Feb 15: Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Feb 17: Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Feb 19: Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Feb 21: Hamilton, ON First Ontario Centre
Feb 23: Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Feb 25: New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Feb 27: New York, NY Madison Square Garden

Apr 15: Perth, AU Perth Arena
Apr 17: Adelaide, AU Entertainment Centre
Apr 19: Melbourne, AU Rod Laver Arena
Apr 23: Sydney, AU Allphones Arena
Apr 25: Brisbane, AU Entertainment Centre
Apr 28: Auckland, NZ Vector Arena
Apr 30: Dunedin, NZ Forsyth Barr Stadium

Jun 01: Budapest,Hungary Groupama Arena
Jun 08: Berlin, Germany Waldebuhne
Jun: 11 Donington, UK Download **
Jun 13 Verona, IT Arena Di Verona
Jun 15: Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadon
Jun 17: Dessel,Belgium Grasspop **
Jun 23: Halden, Norway Tons of Rock **
Jun 25: Copenhagen, DE Copenhell **
Jun 28: Vienna, Austria Stadthalle
Jun 30 Prague, Czech Rep. 02 Arena
Jul 02: Krakow, Poland Tauron Arena
Jul 5: Riga, Latvia Riga Arena
Jul 07: Helsinki, Finland Monsters of Rock **
Jul 09: Stockholm, Sweden Monsters of Rock **
Jul 12: Moscow, Russia Olympisky Arena
**Denotes festival appearance

BLACK SABBATHTRIUMPHANTLY RETURN TO NORTH AMERICADUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND,“THE END” TOUREXTENDED INTO FALL…

Posted by Black Sabbath on Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Kitchen Kvlt Part II – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

Posted on October 2, 2015 by News Team

In Part II of our Q & A with Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary she detailed for us what she teaches in her private cooking classes, what she thinks of “celebrity chefs”, her food and travel experiences, and her dream gig:

You teach some specialized cooking classes. What does that entail for you and depending on the class, what can I expect to walk away with skills-wise?

My cooking classes are all over the place! It’s all about the group and what they want to learn. The two that I’ve taught the most are basic butchery… and vegan menus. Haha. I’ve taught scavenger hunts as team building activities and I’ve taught ultra modern techniques like sous vide and spherification. I’m doing a really fun combination class next month for a group I’ve taught before – after we learn how to debone chickens, I’m organizing a Chopped style mystery basket competition. Each team is going to get a bunch of ingredients from the farm we’re staying on and have to work together to make a side dish for the meal. I get to offer pointers and tips about their processes, and then judge the final products. One thing every class I teach includes is a basic lesson in knife handling and safety, because that’s really the most fundamental skill you need in any kitchen. My goal is that with whatever we’re focusing on in the class, everyone walks away feeling a little more confident than they did when they walked in.

Thanks to the Cable and YouTube, there are a ton of cooking shows and “experts” out there who are not actually chefs. What is the biggest misconceptions about being a chef?

Oh my god – you’ve hit a nerve! Almost everything, seriously. My biggest annoyance with YouTube/TV “chefs” is that SO MANY of them do things so fundamentally wrong – how they hold a knife incorrectly or hack apart an onion, or their cutting boards are so cluttered and filthy – stuff like that. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that it’s glamorous and we’re all making tons of money. HA. I wish! The hours are long, the pay absolutely sucks most times, and you miss out on most social events because you’re always working – and if you do get out with enough time to make a party or a show on a weekend night, you always end up showing up smelling like food, haha. With catering, there’s this weird ebb and flow of business where you’re either working 100 hours a week… or you’re practically unemployed. It’s anything but steady, so you have to be really good at budgeting. In a lot of ways, I work freelance. I am constantly trying to get my name out there, contacting every tour I hear about, trying to hopefully get the right person on the right day. In the mean time, I’m also looking for local work to sustain myself – dinner parties, classes, etc. There’s also this weird misconception that anyone who cooks professionally is a “chef”. It’s nitpicky, but it’s an annoyance across the industry – you are not a chef unless you are running a kitchen. Period. “Chef” is a title of respect that is earned after proving yourself for years and years, after being promoted, or after taking the leap and branching out on your own. If you have a boss that is not the owner, you are a cook. Just because you have a show on YouTube doesn’t mean you’re a chef. It’s really obnoxious. I run a company and I still feel kinda weird referring to myself as “a chef”. For me, the transition from “cook” to “chef” was really just a LOT of paperwork! I cannot tell you how much I now loathe emails. It’s making list after list – shopping, delivery, prep, food cost, scheduling, invoicing… it’s maddening. I actually do more paperwork than I do cooking at this point in my career! Our diets are also really fucked up. Most cooks don’t eat actual meals – we have bites here and there. I recently had to keep a food diary for my allergist and it was a nightmare – did I taste the aioli for seasoning 3 or 4 times? How many bites of that braise did I have while it was cooking? It’s absurd. Most of us develop a really weird association with food because actual meals are so few and far between.

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

I know one of your passions is travel, so what are some of the cool places you have been to and what locales do you favor for amazing food experiences?

I am borderline obsessed with the city of Montreal! Honestly I’ve considered living there so many times. It’s the greatest. The metal scene is amazing, they have the best drunk food in the universe (poutine, omg) and the people are just so NICE. I’ve been to Norway twice now, and I love it there too – the scenery is ridiculous. I’m not sold on their food though, to be honest – though maybe I just haven’t found the right places! As far as amazing food experiences, I am all about trying the weirdest stuff from the most hole-in-the-wall places. My rule is that I’ll try anything twice – even Icelandic hakarl (fermented shark), which is honestly the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth. It’s cliché, but I didn’t have a bad meal when I was in Paris – one of the most memorable moments was eating a fresh savory crêpe from a cart vendor while walking through the side streets of Montmartre. Really, I think I love any type of food that makes me feel a connection to the place I’m in. I lived in South America for almost a year and worked at some of the best restaurants there were – but my most memorable meals were eating ceviche from this totally illegal back alley mom and pop operation, and eating a whole roasted guinea pig with my hands in the middle of the main square during a street festival in Cusco. I remember the experiences I can’t replicate at home the most.

You have some appearances coming soon up on some pretty cool shows, so by all means please plug those!

Well, I was on the Halloween episode of Guy’s Grocery Games – it was entertaining for sure. Catch it on the Food Network if you feel like seeing me cry about my cat. There is more stuff working, but I can’t actually discuss any of it right now – ask me again in a few months!

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

What is your dream music gig to cater for?

I don’t know if I actually have a dream gig – really I just want to work for bands I like, because there’s nothing better after finishing a long day of work than to turn the corner and be surrounded by amazing music. I actually really like the festival atmosphere – whether it’s just a weekend thing or a multi-city thing – the people really make the gig for me. Though if I had to pick one coming up, it’d totally be the Black Metal Warfare tour. Good cities, good bands, and in my opinion it’s the best time of the year to tour. I think I could have a lot of fun with menus on that tour.

Have an event or occasion to book Black Cat Culinary? Contact her here:

KEITH CHACHKES

Kitchen Kvlt – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

Posted on October 1, 2015 by News Team

Chef Heather Feher has a passion for all things that involve fine food and grim music. She has catered tours and all kinds of music festivals and has channeled her love of these things into her growing business, Black Cat Culinary. We caught up with the entrepreneur and Food Network alumnus via email about her business and how the music she loves has shaped everything from her menus to her path.Continue reading →

The Devil Wears Prada Talks Facing Metal Crowds

Posted on August 9, 2015 by newsteam

The Devil Wears Prada. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Being a band like The Devil Wears Prada and sounding the way they do can often be a challenge for those who are unfamiliar with their music. Over the past decade, the Ohio based act has built up a strong yet loyal following that live and breathe their style of metalcore.

They have once again appeared on the main stage of this summer’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, and are tackling larger audiences who are new to their style of music. Vocalist Mike Hranica talked about playing in front of vast crowds at these events, and how much that influenced how they approached their music.

“When we got started and doing Vans Warped Tour back in 2008, it didn’t really influence us too much. We were really influenced by bands like Killswitch [Engage] and As I Lay Dying. They were always doing an Ozzfest and still doing Warped and playing with rockier bands, poppier bands, and all the way to proper metal, Slayer bands. We tried to do the same.”

Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Ever since the band first appeared on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour’s main stage, longtime fans got their first experiences hearing their chaotic sounds and became addicted. While The Devil Wears Prada immediately became the pit kings at Warped Tour, things became a bit more of a challenge at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival supporting some of the heavyweights in the metal world.

“We get put in our place when we come to Mayhem. It’s actually tough guys and metalheads rather than at Warped Tour it’s a bunch of young bands. We’re less cocky on Mayhem than on Warped Tour.”

“Doing Mayhem three years ago was really eye opening and we know what we’re getting in for. Also at the same time, that was the best summer tour we’ve ever done and already the past two days have been ‘oh my god…it’s so relaxing to come to Mayhem.’ “

“Having such a fraction of the bands on Warped Tour makes it so much easier. We’re pumped. I think it will be a good summer with fans recognizing and doing shows like Graspop and Download Festival overseas. We know the fan dude there standing there like ‘what the hell is this?’ and by the end of the set will be like ‘I can vibe some of this stuff.’ We enjoy that challenge and trying to win people over. That’s a big part of the challenge.”

While playing in front of a tough crowd and seeing a sea of “what the hell is this” looks, bassist Andy Trick had an interesting view on it. “You can see it if you watch the people come up and sit down and then after a few songs they get into it.”

By Rei Nishimoto

On The Road… with Coal Chamber And Fear Factory

Posted on August 3, 2015 by News Team

One of the more interesting bills this summer of tours in the US is the co-headline tour from Coal Chamber and Fear Factory. Both names recall a simpler time when pants were baggy, fishnet sleeves were cool on guys, and even venerable old groups were “getting jiggy wit it” to Nu-Metal. Coal Chamber of course started around the same time as Korn and Deftones in California, to spur the “Nu” tide and bring their gothy spin to the Ozzfest crowd (Sharon Osborne managed them for a spell too). Fear Factory of course is the pioneering industrial metal band who paved the way for many and also mixed in the style du-jour with their own back then. So it’s not that big a shock that in 2015 with one band already touring behind a comeback album (Rivals by CC dropped in the spring from Napalm) and another about to launch a new album, these bands would team-up like Marvel. Coal Chamber always puts on a fun show live and played a mix of hits and newer tracks. Led by fireplug Dez Fafara, they gave the fans what they wanted: nostalgia. Fear Factory, on the cusp of releasing Genexus (Nuclear Blast) this summer, kept it tight on old jams and one new one, ‘Soul Hacker’. Joining them for a few early dates was Devil You Know, who are working on a new album too. Rockers like Saint Ridley and Madlife (not pictured) are setting the table for this tour too, so get to the club early. Shot here on the first night of the tour at the Rialto Theater, in Tuscon AZ, Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography brings you all the action you missed as if you were there.

Coal Chamber, by Melina D Photography

Fear Factory, by Melina D Photography

Devil You Know, by Melina D. Photography

Saint Ridley, by Melina D Photography

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My Favorite Concert Memory… by Zack Simmons of Goatwhore

Posted on May 21, 2015 by News Team

Zack Simmons of Goatwhore, by Liz Civarella-Brenner

My first and favorite concert memory goes something like this… I somehow convinced my parents to take me to the first Ozzfest show ever in 1996 when I was 10 years old. They only did two shows that year. One in California and one in Phoenix, Arizona, where I am from. I was really just there to see Ozzy, who was on tour for his Ozzmosis album, and at ten years of age I was already a huge Ozzy and Sabbath freak. We got there while Slayer was just ending and the atmosphere was fucking out of control. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing and smelling. It was a total sensory overload. It was the first time I smelled marijuana being smoked. Along with the violent sounds of Slayer, the fires burning on the amphitheater lawn, and the rowdiness of the crowd, I instantly felt quite intrigued and excited about a world I had before only read about. Ozzy came on and I’m sure my parents knew what they had allowed to happen. My life was changed in an instant and since then I knew where I wanted it to go.

Goatwhore is on tour forever… including a headline run this summer and an appearance at GWAR-BQ this summer.

Goatwhore on Facebook

ZACK SIMMONS

Ghost Cult Magazine

Music News, Interviews and Reviews that matter.

Tag Archives: Ozzfest

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The Kyngs of LA – Tony Castaneda of Kyng

Finding Tribulation – Devour The Day

Black Sabbath Adds More North American Tour Dates For 2016

Kitchen Kvlt Part II – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

Kitchen Kvlt – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

The Devil Wears Prada Talks Facing Metal Crowds

On The Road… with Coal Chamber And Fear Factory

My Favorite Concert Memory… by Zack Simmons of Goatwhore