News: The Used 15th Anniversary Tour Announced


the used

The Used will be celebrating their 15 year anniversary with a tour in spring 2016, performing Self-Titled and In Love and Death in their entirety. Fans will each get a digital copy of their The Used: Live & Acoustic at The Palace with an online ticket purchase.

the used live and acoustic at the palace

Album Track Listing:

01: Tunnel
02: The Taste of Ink
03: Yesterday’s Feelings
04: Lunacy Fringe
05: The Bird And The Worm
06: Paralyzed
07: All That I’ve Got
08: Overdose
09: Blue And Yellow
10: Hard To Say
11: Imagine (John Lennon Cover)
12: On My Own

the used 15 year anniversary

Upcoming Tour Dates:

Apr 05: Showbox – Seattle, WA
Apr 06: Showbox – Seattle, WA
Apr 08: In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 09: In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 12: Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
Apr 13: Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
Apr 15: House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Apr 16: House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Apr 19: House of Blues – Orlando, FL
Apr 20: House of Blues – Orlando, FL
Apr 22: Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Apr 23: Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Apr 26: Playstation Theater – New York, NY
Apr 27: Playstation Theater – New York, NY
Apr 29: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Apr 30: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
May 03: Trocadero Theatre – Philadelphia, PA
May 04: Trocadero Theatre – Philadelphia, PA
May 06: House of Blues – Boston, MA
May 07: House of Blues – Boston, MA
May 10: Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI
May 11: Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI
May 13: The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
May 14: The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
May 17: House of Blues – Chicago, IL
May 18: House of Blues – Chicago, IL
May 20: Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
May 21: Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
May 24: Brooklyn Bowl – Las Vegas, NV
May 25: Brooklyn Bowl – Las Vegas, NV
May 27: Club Nokia – Los Angeles, CA
May 28: Club Nokia – Los Angeles, CA


Back On The Loose – Dan Jacobs of Atreyu


Atreyu band shot

Since coming off of their hiatus, Orange County metalcore stalwarts Atreyu have released their latest album Long Live. They had just completed a string of European festival appearances and an array of one off shows, testing the waters of where they stood as a band.

Guitarist Dan Jacobs spoke about the band’s return, and figuring out the band’s relevance in the current scene. What they discovered was a lot more than what they expected.

We knew people wanted it. To an extent we weren’t really sure, but we were seeing it via social networking and what not. People kept hitting us up ‘when are you guys coming back’ the entire time we were gone. So let’s see what this is like. So we went and came back and the first show we sold it out literally within seconds. We’ve never done that before. That alone was the catalyst of ‘we need to keep going.’

Photo Credit: Jason Walton (via Facebook)

Photo Credit: Jason Walton (via Facebook)

He admitted that he was the one who got things in motion, in terms of restarting Atreyu and getting the wheels in motion.

I was knocking on everyone’s door the entire time we were on and ended up waiting until everybody was on the same page at the same time. We eventually got back.

Nearly a year ago was their big return at Knotfest 2014 in Devore, CA and fans greeted them with a huge welcome. Expecting the unexpected, Jacobs said that things had surpassed his expectations.

The whole thing is very surreal. It feels like time travel and it’s like snap my fingers and the band’s on hiatus; and snapping my fingers again and we’re back all of a sudden. Snap my fingers again and a year and a half later we have an album out, and the response has been incredible. It’s just crazy to be sitting here at a sold out show at the Troubadour. The whole thing is very surreal. I don’t think however long I ever do this I will ever be able to wrap my head around how I ever made it to this point.

Photo Credit: Tim Cayem

Photo Credit: Tim Cayem

He also spoke about their rabid fan base helping them selling out a number of their return shows on several stops. Unlike before their hiatus, Atreyu appears to have gained more popularity than before and Jacobs had a different approach at seeing where they stood in the present.

In a way I think there’s a different level of respect for our band that wasn’t there before. People appreciated it but I feel us taking this time off and people getting to ingest what’s out there. I hate to say this but a lot of what’s out there isn’t very good these days, especially in our genre of music in particular. So I think it’s refreshing for people to hear a band like us to come back and go ‘oh wow…this is what this kind of music is supposed to sound like. This is it done right.’

He explained on Long Live, they went back to the basics and took the best parts of their career, making it into the highlights of each era. Working with Fred Archambault (Avenged Sevenfold, Alice Cooper, Device), he helped get the best performances on each song and show what they have learned about themselves and their sound. The album took a huge step up and it shows why their fans were eagerly awaiting their return.

With Atreyu, especially on our first few albums, we sounded a certain way. There’s an evolution there but we sound a certain way. We took a left turn on Lead Sails Paper Anchor, and even on Congregation [of the Damned] we were still on that weird path. Finally we got that out of our system. So let’s go back to what we love doing, or originally were doing and what we do best. That’s what we’re most confident with. It took us doing all of these other things to own that.

So now that we’re going into writing it, it came out very naturally and it sounds way bigger and better. You can hear the confidence in it. The response we’re getting on is incredible. It’s working which is awesome.

The last song on Long Live, “Reckless,” took a left turn and returned to their earlier, more abrasive sounds. Letting their guard down, Atreyu threw down some meatier sounds that have been left off of some of their recent recordings.

It was just let everybody loose. A lot of our songs we put to a typical song structure – verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus… – we wanted to have one song kind of like some of our earlier records where it wasn’t as structured. We didn’t want to go down too much. When you have too much structure, it gets weird. It’ll lose that vibe and flows in there. We wanted to have at least one song that has that. It’s something that is where we came from. So that is what ‘Reckless’ is.

Following their last two albums (2007’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor and 2009’s Congregation of the Damned), they experienced being on a major label (Hollywood Records) and entering the world of rock radio. They quickly learned where their strengths and weaknesses lay and they did not fit into that world the way many had envisioned them at the time.

The radio aspect of it really pushing the singles was a little frustrating for us. For us, writing singles was not something we aim for. It’s just that we have certain songs that shine more than others and those were the singles. We preferred to write that way so we’re not trying so hard to get that single.

I think we also learned a lot over the years with all of the record labels we’ve been on, all of the records we’ve put out, all of the producers we’ve worked with, and all of the tours we’ve done. We know who we are. We know what we like. We know what works for us and what doesn’t work. This album is a collective effort of that.

Photo Credit: Timmy David Farmer

Photo Credit: Timmy David Farmer

One positive from that era was working with producer John Feldmann (Black Veil Brides, The Used) and how the band learned how to be aware of capturing certain sounds and how to arrange songs.

Because of our experience with him, we don’t need to work with producers any more. In a sense, if someone needs to arrange our songs, we learned so much from him we know how to do now. We get it. We already kind of got to before working with him, but he solidified it and he put a spotlight on things we didn’t realize we were already doing and were very important. From there, we’re into it and it’s a whole another beast because of it.

He spoke about what each member had been consumed with during their hiatus. Drummer Brandon Saller had been busy as the frontman in Hell Or Highwater, but the other members kept themselves busy with music as well as other ventures.

Our singer Alex [Varkatzas] had a project called I Am War that he was doing with Brendan Schieppati from Bleeding Through. He also has a gym called Planet Crossfit. He’s also a tattoo artist now. He’s doing pretty well with that.

Our bass player Marc [McKnight] – he’s the one that designed all of our album artwork. He’s a very talented artist. He does stuff with web design, design t-shirts, albums cover art…anything to do with art.

Our other guitarist Travis [Miguel] played in Trapt. He toured with them for a little while. Myself I have a merchandising company called Rockworld Merch. We make merch for Monster Energy Drink, Rockstar Energy , Kat Von D and people like that. I also have a company called PlugInz Chains, which is these little mini amp keychain holders. It looks like a little amp peg but it’s a keychain holder.

We’ve been running our own business with this band since we were out of high school and even when we were in high school. We’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset. This is doing this with other things associated with this going hand and hand.

atreyu pluginzkeychains

While Atreyu were away for five years, Jacobs said that the band realized what they had accomplished over the year and found more appreciation towards what they had.

I think just our knowledge of how this whole process works, as well as our appreciation for it. We appreciate it a lot more now. Before we were jaded to everything, and now we know what we need to be doing or shouldn’t be doing. We know who we are as people, inside and outside of the band. The collective effort of all of that is what makes the album and makes us do what we’re doing and do what matters. That’s what makes it feel and sound the way it does.

He also said the band’s outlook onto the future of Atreyu has also changed, and the appreciation of what they have factors greatly into their decisions.

I think I appreciate and understand the value a lot more than I did before. I think all of us do. I think that’s what we’ve all been humbled over our time off. A lot of the things we get it. We understand it a lot more. We can see a lot more clearly now. I think that’s what makes it a lot more enjoyable and we know what to do with it, instead of flaying our way through our career.

Lastly he shares his thoughts on the Orange County metalcore scene Atreyu was part of in the early 2000s. “It was incredible. It was a tough time in itself. It was a very definitive time for us to shine and make our mark. The time was special and even now nostalgic to an extent because of how much went back to the scene. It’s cool and it’s a shame the scene’s got so watered down unfortunately but it’s cool to see it’s still going. It’s become its own beast.

Does he think Atreyu will inspire some of their recently defunct peers to give it another go? “Hopefully – if that’s what they love doing – that’s what we’re here because we love doing it and that’s why we’re back. If they love doing it too, hopefully they take note and do it as well. Treat themselves to themselves.

By Rei Nishimoto


On The Road…with Chevelle


The_Used_-_Chevelle_-_Summer_Tour_2015

Working harder than most new bands, Chevelle still has the hunger they had when they broke out of the suburbs of Chicago nearly 15 years ago. Touring constantly behind last year’s La Gárgola (Epic) album the band has been winning over new fans on their recent tour with The Used and Marmozets. The band does a great job mixing up their sets tour after tour, playing all the hits as well as deep cuts for the die hards too. This tour will lead into a slew of summer dates playing fests such as Pointfest in Maryland, The Loudwire Music Festival in Colorado, and X Fest in Pittsburgh, as well as more headline shows. Seen in this photo set from Melina D Photography at Sherman Theater in Stroudsberg PA, the band is killing it on stage for fans nightly.

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

Chevelle, by Melina D Photography

[slideshow_deploy id=’26301′]


On The Road… with Every Time I Die and The Used


The_Used__Every_Time_I_Die_-_Spring_Tour_2015

Every Time I Die is a touring machine. Year in and year out they make their bones playing big clubs, sold-out concerts and festivals. Anyone who has seen them multiple times knows they are great performers for their fans and remarkably consistent too! ETID released the special Salem EP (Epitaph) on Record Store Day. They just wrapped up a tour opening for The Used, themselves well-known road warriors. The tour also featured up and coming bands such as Marmozets and The Eeries making for a stacked bill of veteran bands and new blood. This photo set comes to Ghost Cult courtesy of Meg Loyal of Meg Loyal Photography, and we thank her for sharing these killer images!

The Eeries, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Eeries, by Meg Loyal Photography

Marmozets, by Meg Loyal Photography

Marmozets, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

Every Time I Die, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Used, by Meg Loyal Photography

[slideshow_deploy id=’24590′]


Lyric Video: Dommin – Rise, New Album Due June 21st


Dommin_FMP-32-lowres

US Alternative rockers Dommin will be releasing their second album titled Rise, on June 21, 2015 via DNRecords, and are streaming their first lyric video for the title track below. The album was produced by Matt Squire (Panic! At The Disco, The Used, HIM) and mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool). They have launched a PledgeMusic campaign to pre-order the album plus plenty of rare and unique items. Check it out here.

Enigmatic frontman and guitarist Kristofer Dommin reveals, “Rise is a musical evolution. I don’t enjoy repeating myself creatively so this album offers fans another face of the band. The songs are more empowering, maybe a bit more pissed-off, and definitely a lot more tongue-in-cheek.” Dommin’s keyboardist, Konstantine, sums it up with one word, “swagger.”

Dommin on Facebook
Dommin on Twitter
Dommin on YouTube
Dommin on Instagram


Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz


10523556_10155024722935251_1809281960593892212_n

The opening of thirty seconds of the self-titled sophomore album (Spinefarm) from Finland’s Santa Cruz teases of this being (yet another) post-hardcore album before, like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II, rips off the covering mask with a stomping cojones-to-the-max Sleaze Rock riff. We’re implored to get our “middle fingers up” and raise our “fucking hands in the air” before being swept up into the type of chorus that used to get millions of mulleted and permed peeps singing along.

Santa Cruz have unveiled their true selves.

But let’s get some disclaimers in early before we end up doing Santa Cruz a disservice and having you all rolling your eyes to the heavens and thinking this is some kind of retro throwback, na-na-na (as many a great chorus’ go), this is sleaze and glam but up-to-date. Yes, the roots of the rock swagger on display have been led from Park Avenue to Skid Row, but there are also similarities to The Used and Hardcore Superstar in there.

OK, there is no musical revolution going on here, but when you have songs as massive as ‘6(66) Feet Under’ or ‘My Remedy’ you don’t need to be setting a new agenda, you’ll win hearts and minds just by producing damn good, catchy, slick spirited rock songs; ‘Wasted & Wounded’ is, (woah-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh), the song Black Veil Brides have always been striving for.

Vocalist “Archie” has Seb Bach ‘tood in his voice and “Johnny” Parkkonen  is happy slamming riffs, chugs, and searing widdling leads (the solo to ‘Vagabonds’ is pure Marty Friedman – love it!), but between them the quartet stay on target for the duration of the ten tracks on display, high-energy rock music, excellently captured with enough heaviness, balls and vibe in the sound to help them stand out, and to indicate a live show would a great night out.

There’s a line between disposable, retro hero-worship rock (that frankly bores the fuck out of me and flatters to deceive) and being a goddamn good rock band, and Santa Cruz are man-walking, chests out, over there; the line is a dot to them. With the power of a Bullet For My Valentine, and the choruses of Ratt, Santa Cruz is an album that’ll get your boogie on, get your hand in the air, your air guitar out and get your mouth singing along.

And you can’t argue with that.

 

8.0/10

Santa Cruz on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY


Record Store Day – The Hard Music Selections


record store day

Warner Bros. Records is an official sponsor of Record Store Day and has announced its annual participation featuring a series of vinyl albums and singles exclusively available on Saturday, April 18, 2015. Ghost Cult has weeded through the list of titles and highlighted ones that may attract your interest. As always, we are excited to reveal our very special, limited-edition, Record Store Day exclusives. Descriptions of our highly coveted sonic delights are as follows:

Built To Spill: Untethered Moon – Album on Transparent Blue or Black Vinyl.
Transparent Blue Limited to 500 copies
Untethered Moon is the first Built To Spill album recorded with new band members Steve Gere (drums) and Jason Albertini (bass), who join guitarist/vocalist Doug Martsch. BTS’s creative process continues to ebb, flow and evolve in its own orbit, reemerging on record for the first time since 2009’s There Is No Enemy with ten new songs that fit at once into the band’s resonant catalog while infusing fresh energy into that signature sound. The transparent blue vinyl will be randomly distributed into the initial run of pressings. This is the first chance to buy Untethered Moon just for RSD as the CD and digital editions will be released on April 21st.

Mastodon: Atlanta – 12″ Vinyl Picture Disc
Limited to 3500 copies
The mighty Mastodon lavishly present “Atlanta”,previously available online only via Adult Swim’s Single Series. Now available on full-sized, eye-popping picture disc featuring the stunning artwork by Mastodon’s Brent Hinds. “Atlanta” features vocals from Gibby Haynes from Butthole Surfers. Side-B is an instrumental version of “Atlanta.” exclusive to this release. As previously announced, Don’t miss Mastodon on tour this spring as part of THE MISSING LINK TOUR with Clutch, Graveyard and Big Business

The Prodigy: Ibiza – Glow In The Dark 7″ Vinyl Single
Limited to 2,000 copies
The Prodigy are back! This limited edition Record Store Day Exclusive package includesa non-album instrumental release of “Ibiza” and the single “Ibiza” feat. Sleaford Mods from The Prodigy’s forthcoming 6th studio album The Day Is My Enemy, to be released in the U.S. on March 30th, 2015 via Three Six Zero Music/Warner Bros. Records.
Tracks: Side A – “Ibiza” feat. Sleaford Mods. Side B – “Ibiza” (non-album exclusive)

Robert Plant: More Roar – Black Vinyl 10″ EP
Limited to 10,000 copies
Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Records releases three tracks recorded live during Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters World Tour 2014: Side A is “Turn It Up” / “Arbaden” and side B is “Poor Howard” and “Whole Lotta Love (Medley)”

The Used: Shallow Believer – Royal Blue Colored Vinyl Album
Limited to 3000 copies
Shallow Believer is a compilation of B-sides from the band’s first three studio albums, recorded between 2001-2007. Released digitally in 2008, the album peaked at #13 on the iTunes albums chart. This is the album’s first ever physical release.