Monte Pittman - Metal Blade Signs Madonna / Prong Guitarist // Solo metal album recorded with Metallica / Evile producer Flemming Rasmussen

I can't imagine anyone having the musical background and/or tastes to work with both Madonna and Tommy Victor but guitarist Monte Pittman has both composed for and played with Madge and Prong.

Metal Blade Records is pleased to announce the signing of Monte Pittman, the guitarist known for his work with metal legends Prong and the illustrious pop-star Madonna. A release date for the new solo album will be announced shortly.

Metal Blade Records founder and CEO comments: "We are so happy to welcome Monte Pittman to the Metal Blade Family. He is a tried and true metalhead and has recorded a crushing album! Metallica producer Flemming Rasmussen produced a devastating metal record with Monte and we could not be happier that we are working together on this!"

Guitarist and mastermind of the band, Monte Pittman adds; "I'm beyond excited to be working with Brian Slagel and all of the wonderful team at Metal Blade. I can't think of anyone I can put my faith and trust in more with my new album and where my career is headed. Metal Blade's track record has stood the test of time. Brian has been responsible for a majority of bands that have influenced me and gotten me to where I am now. It's been a dream come true making this album with Flemming Rasmussen. Flemming is a Master at recording a band playing together and capturing the sound in the room of everything musically working together. After we finished tracking, the first person I wanted to play it for was Brian Slagel. Here we go!"

Fans in California will have the chance to catch Monte Pittman live as the he brings his acoustic show to Hotel Café in Hollywood and two stops on the Vans Warped Tour 2013 including Mountain View and Ventura (performing on the Acoustic Basement Stage).

Monte Pittman solo acoustic shows:
06/21 Hollywood, CA Hotel Cafe (on @ 8pm)
06/22 Mountain View, CA Warped Tour - Acoustic Basement Stage
06/23 Ventura, CA Warped Tour - Acoustic Basement Stage







Links:
Monte Pittman

Lissie - "Covered Up With Flowers" CD Review (Fat Possum)

After generating a buzz with the her full-length debut, Catching a Tiger (2010), and a sold-out CMJ show at Hiro Ballroom, Lissie's back with a five-track / 25 minute EP of covers, "Covered Up With Flowers". The disc includes covers of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" (which are well familiar to fans through Lissie's YouTube videos) in addition to previously unheard covers of Joe South's "Games People Play" and a haunting version of Nick Cave's "The Ship Song".



Coincidently, prior to playing this disc, I had pulled Nick Cave's Kicking Against the Pricks off the shelf and given it a spin. There are a lot of similarities between Kicking Against the Pricks and "Covered Up With Flowers" as Lissie, like Cave, picks an eclectic mix of cover songs and "owns" her version and reinterpretation of these songs. The key to a good cover song is to pick something unexpected and then either present a unique take on the song or completely deconstruct the song (like Devo's "Satisfaction" or Meat Puppets' "I've Got a Right"). By this mark, Lissie succeeds on both fronts and gives recognizable but unique takes on each of these five songs.

The disc starts with a live version of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness", which appears to be from the video embedded above. After this, Lissie shaves off the pop gloss from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and delivers a dark and somber but spirited reinterpretation of the song. From there, Lissie goes into a sun-baked cover of Joe South's "Games People Play" before returning back to the somber side of life with faithful-to-the-original covers of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and Nick Cave's "The Ship Song".



While most covers albums are stop-gap measures, "Covered Up With Flowers" is a solid addition to Lissie's catalog as it collects (almost all of) the previously unreleased songs that have helped defined Lissie's career to-date.

Links:
Lissie

Lissie Announces an EP of Covers, "Covered Up With Flowers", Due out Nov. 1st (Fat Possum)

Lissie will release a new EP, "Covered Up With Flowers", on November 8th, 2011 via Fat Possum. The EP is a collection of five cover songs, featuring her fan-favorite versions of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness", and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" - live videos of which have garnered more than five million combined views on YouTube. Highlighting both her artistic versatility and the range of her extraordinary, sun-and-whiskey-soaked voice, "Covered Up With Flowers" also includes two new covers: Lissie's soulful, rootsy take on Joe South's "Games People Play" and a haunting version of Nick Cave's "The Ship Song". The EP will be available exclusively on iTunes a week prior to release, beginning November 1st.

Lissie, also a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist, is now confirmed to support Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on October 29th at the Benefit Concert for Public Radio Station 88.5 FM KCSN/Los Angeles. The show will be held at the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall on the California State University, Northridge campus. Tickets will be sold during a membership Pledge Drive from October 14th through October 23rd; details are available at www.kcsn.org and by listening to 88.5 FM KCSN.



Covered Up With Flowers track listing:
- "Pursuit Of Happiness" (Kid Cudi cover)
- "Bad Romance" (Lady Gaga cover)
- "Games People Play" (Joe South cover)
- "Nothing Else Matters" (Metallica cover)
- "The Ship Song" (Nick Cave cover)



Links:
Lissie

Creation's End Announce NYC Show with Suspyre and East Coast Mini-Tour

Creation's End is a new progressive/power metal band that is the outgrowth of a long-time collaboration between guitarist Rudy Albert (ex-Zandelle) and drummer Dario Rodriguez. Rounding out the lineup with vocalist Mike DiMeo (ex-Masterplan, ex-Riot), guitarist Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie Band), and bassist Joe Black (Chris Caffery, ex-Zandelle), the band worked with producer John Macaluso (who is also drummer for James Labrie Band, Fool’s Game) to rework eight of the demo tracks that Rudy and Dario recorded during 2003 - 2006. The band's debut album, A New Beginning was released at the end of last year via Sensory Records.

The band made their live debut last December at a show at Ace of Clubs and have just announced a headlining show at Sullivan Hall on June 30th prior to heading out on the Uniting The Powers Of Metal 2011 East Coast Tour (tour dates below). The show at Sullivan Hall is all ages (tickets are $10 for 21+ and $15 for under 21) and sharing the bill is New Jersey progressive metallers Suspyre with more bands to be announced shortly.

Set to take place this August, the quick but solid five-date Uniting The Powers Of Metal 2011 Tour brings together some of the finest contemporary progressive and power metal bands in the country including Artizan, Seven Kingdoms and Widow, in addition to Creation's End, and will make stops in some of the premiere heavy metal markets along America's Southeastern coastline.

Additionally, as previously announced, Creation's End are set to perform at the 2011 installment of ProgPower USA in Atlanta, Georgia this September, where they join an outstanding bill including Therion, Sacntuary, Dream Evil, Ihsahn, Mob Rules, While Heaven Wept, Sensory labelmates Haken, and tons more.

Creation's End Live:
6/30/2011 Sullivan Hall - New York, NY w/ Suspyre

Uniting The Powers Of Metal 2011 East Coast Tour
(Featuring Creation's End, Artizan, Seven Kingdoms, Widow)
8/17/2011 Jaxx - Springfield, VA
8/18/2011 Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
8/19/2011 The Local - Marietta, GA
8/20/2011 The Haven Lounge - Orlando, FL
8/21/2011 The Local 662 - St. Petersburg, FL

9/16/2011 ProgPower XII - Atlanta, GA



Links:
Creation's End

Creations End – Live Footage from Debut Show / “A New Beginning” CD Review

Creation's End is a new progressive/power metal band that is the outgrowth of a long-time collaboration between guitarist Rudy Albert (ex-Zandelle) and drummer Dario Rodriguez. Rounding out the lineup with vocalist Mike DiMeo (ex-Masterplan, ex-Riot), guitarist Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie Band), and bassist Joe Black (Chris Caffery, ex-Zandelle). the band's debut album, A New Beginning was released last November via New Jersey’s Sensory Records.

I had the opportunity to talk with Rudy and Dario right after the record was released and asked how they would describe their sound.

"We have been asked this a lot and have been describing our music as “arena prog. rock”. The music is big and bombastic but we hope that it has universal appeal so that everyone can find something in it that they like."

The band made their live debut at a record-release show on December 3 at New York City's Ace of Clubs.



The new disc contains eight tracks of epic power-metal and the average track is just over seven minutes long. It is extremely refreshing that Creation’s End refuses to succumb to any of the clichés within the prog. rock genre as the disc never sinks into indulgent navel gazing or meandering technical wankery. All of the songs are purposeful, melodic and tight so the disc becomes a fulfilling listen.

As a whole, the songs on A New Beginning are dark and musically dense and contain elements of both American (Dream Theater) and European (Masterplan) power metal. Vocalist Mike DiMeo adds an edge to the band’s sound as he sing with a hard-rock style which doesn’t require a falsetto range to project its power. Guitarists Rudy Albert and Marco Sfogli throw down some solid riffs which are intertwined with soaring solos and Albert doubles up on keyboards, which are featured prominently on some tracks.

The band changes styles and tempos across the disc so each song is distinctive enough to stand on its own. Two of the strongest cuts are disc opener “Of Shadow and Flame” and “World Holocaust” where the band weaves together the best elements of the prog and power-metal genres which are then accentuated by some of Mike DiMeo’s strongest vocals on this disc.



Given the strengths of A New Beginning, expectations are going to be high for whenever the band goes back into the studio to record their follow-up.

Links:
Creation's End

Metallica - "Six Feet Down Under" (Part II) CD Review

After the somewhat dodgy "Six Feet Down Under" (Part I) release, Metallica have redeemed themselves with a new eight song, 55 minute, live recording from band's Sept./Oct. tour of Australia and New Zealand.

On this recent tour, the band's set was running just over two hours so this "EP" captures about half the set and gives a good indication of what Metallica's current live show sounds like. The band sounds energized and in top-form. This recording is from the soundboard (thankfully) and the songs are all drawn from Metallica's early (pre-Black Album) albums.

Here is the track list:

"Blackened" - Recorded live on October 16, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia
(from 1988's ...And Justice for All)

"Ride The Lightning" - Recorded live on October 14, 2010, at the Vector Arena, in Auckland, New Zealand
(from 1984's Ride The Lightning)

"The Four Horsemen" - Recorded live on September 18, 2010, at the Acer Arena, in Sydney, Australia
(from 1983's Kill 'Em All)

"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" - Recorded live on September 15, 2010, at the Rod Laver Arena, in Melbourne, Australia
(from 1986's Master of Puppets)

"Master Of Puppets" - Recorded live on October 16, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia
(from 1986's Master of Puppets)

"...And Justice For All" - Recorded live on October 18, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia
(from 1988's ...And Justice for All)

"Fade To Black" - Recorded live on September 18, 2010, at the Acer Arena, in Sydney, Australia
(from 1984's Ride The Lightning)

"Damage, Inc." - Recorded live on September 22, 2010, at the CBS Canterbury Arena, in Christchurch, New Zealand
(from 1986's Master of Puppets)

Similar to "Six Feet Down Under" (Part I), this new disc is only available as an import but it is pretty easy to track down ($15.99 through Metallica's online store). Long-time Metallica fans are going to want to have this disc in their collection.

Links:
Metallica

Creation's End: "A New Beginning" Exclusive Interview // CD Release Party is Dec. 3rd at Ace of Clubs

Creation's End is a new progressive/power metal band that is the outgrowth of a long-time collaboration between guitarist Rudy Albert (ex-Zandelle) and drummer Dario Rodriguez. Rounding out the lineup with vocalist Mike DiMeo (ex-Masterplan, ex-Riot), guitarist Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie Band), and bassist Joe Black (Chris Caffery, ex-Zandelle), the band worked with producer John Macaluso (who is also drummer for James Labrie Band, Fool’s Game) to rework eight of the demo tracks that Rudy and Dario recorded during 2003 - 2006. The band's debut album, A New Beginning was released this past Tuesday (Nov. 9th) via New Jersey’s Sensory Records.

The band will make their live debut at a record-release show on Friday, December 3 at New York City's Ace of Clubs. Sharing the bill with Creation’s End is The MP Project, Monstar Zero and Clearview.



I had the chance to talk with Rudy Albert and Dario Rodriguez about the new album, the upcoming record release show and plans for the future.

BrooklynRocks: Coming out of established bands, what were your goals for the new records?

Creation’s End: We wanted to go in a different direction with a whole new vision – something progressive and dark. We’ve revised and reworked these songs over the years and they just didn’t fit with the direction of our then-current bands so we decided to take these ideas elsewhere.

BrooklynRocks: How did you hook up with Sensory Records?

Creation’s End: I met Claus (from Intromental) at ProgPower Festival in 2007 and we established a huge friendship. Claus passed our music on to Ken at Sensory and things happened from there. It feels great to have a family at Sensory.

BrooklynRocks: With your record coming out late in the year, what are your plans for 2011?

Creation’s End: We are really looking forward to the record release show at Ace of Clubs. All the band members will be there and Marco Sfogli will be flying in from Italy for the show. We are planning on going out on some late Spring / early Summer tours next year and we are playing the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta on Sept. 16th.

We are also writing on a weekly basis so we are expecting to go into the studio sometime next year to record our follow-up record.

BrooklynRocks: Are there many opportunities for a metal band to play out NYC? Are there any particular bands that you are looking to tour with?

Creation’s End: It is really difficult being a new band and playing out in NYC. A number of metal-oriented clubs have closed over the last few years and some of the promoters who are still around aren’t willing to book metal acts.

A dream tour would be with Devin Townsend – I’m a huge fan. There are a number of other bands that we would love to tour with which includes Evergrey and Symphony X.

BrooklynRocks: In a recent review of your new disc, the reviewer name-checked both Styx and White Lion. How would you describe your music and do you see any comparison to the aforementioned bands?

Creation’s End: We have been asked this a lot and have been describing our music as “arena prog. rock”. The music is big and bombastic but we hope that it has universal appeal so that everyone can find something in it that they like.

(Laughing) Mike DiMeo called me up after reading that same review saying that he sounds nothing like Mike Tramp. Personally, I think a closer comparison would have been to Russell Allen (Symphony X vocalist). I don’t know where the Styx comparison came from though. Creation’s End isn’t theatrical and we are certainly heavier sounding than Styx but we do have some big epic, dramatic sections on the disc so I guess that I can sort of see the comparison.

BrooklynRocks: With each song averaging 7+ minutes, do you have any concerns about your songs being too long to get much radio or video play?

Creation’s End: Our producer (Johnny Mac) asked us about this as well. We wrote these songs many years ago when bands like Metallica and Dream Theater were writing 7 – 10 minute epic songs so we wanted to write like this. While we didn’t want to edit down these songs, we have grown and matured as songwriters over the years and will likely have shorter songs on the next disc.

BrooklynRocks: Thanks for the time tonight! Is there anything that you want to leave people with?

Creation’s End: Pick up the new disc and judge it for yourself. (Engineer) Neil Kernon (Yes, Nile, etc.) captured the full range of audio dynamics in the mix so the disc has a full and uncompressed sound. I think the disc sounds great and I still listen to it regularly.

Come on out to the Ace of Clubs record release show. There are some good bands on the bill and we are going to rock out.

Links:
Creation's End

Metallica - "Six Feet Down Under" CD EP Review

Ever wonder what a dodgy sounding Metallica bootleg would sound like? The new "Six Feet Down Under" EP gives you a chance to find out! Getting a bit more serious, while this disc was released to commemorate Metallica’s Australia/New Zealand tour, it really serves no purpose (outside of a potential drink coaster) as the disc’s eight tracks cover no new ground.

The tracks were culled from live recordings from Metallica’s last four tours of Australia. The first four tracks are from audience tapes (and sound as such) but the sound quality radically improves with the last four tracks which are from the soundboard.

Here is the complete track list:

01. Eye of the Beholder - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne
02. ...And Justice For All - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne
03. Through the Never - Recorded live on April 8, 1993 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
04. The Unforgiven - Recorded live on April 4, 1993 at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne
05. Low Man's Lyric (Acoustic) - Recorded live on April 11, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
06. Devil's Dance - Recorded live on April 12, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
07. Frantic - Recorded live on January 21, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney
08. Fight Fire With Fire - Recorded live on January 19, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane

While it is commendable that this “EP” runs for over 50 minutes, I can’t get past the bad sound on the first half of the disc. I also find it hard to believe that these are the best recordings or most interesting song selection from the band’s previous runs through Australia. I did a quick search through YouTube and the free downloads on LiveMetallica.com and here are some better sounding live versions (though only the YouTube video is from Australia) of pretty much all of the songs on "Six Feet Down Under".

1989 Tour: Erwin Center, Austin, TX 2-3-89

1993 Tour: County Fairgrounds, Middletown, NY 6-17-94

1998 Tour: Great Woods Center, Mansfield, MA 7-19-98

2004 Tour:



For $16.98 (the price on Amazon), you would be better served downloading a soundboard recording of one of the current Australian shows on LiveMetallica.com.

Links:
Metallica

Dave Mustaine Signs "A Heavy Metal Memoir" Tomorrow at Barnes & Noble in Midtown

It has been more than twenty years since I've seen Megadeth play live. At this late 80's show, Dave and the band played a blistering thrash attack and, between songs, Dave made it clear that he was planning bodily harm to the guy who he thought had stolen one of the band's cymbols. As such, I have a hard time envisioning Dave signing autographs in such a "corporate environment" as Barnes & Noble.

I'm probably not one to talk though as I was at a black metal show a few weeks back and one of the crew asked if I liked that sort of music as I "kind of looked like a Billy Joel fan".

In between stops on the American Carnage tour, Dave is making in-store appearances at area bookstores to sign copies of his new autobiography Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir. Here is the schedule for the two area signings:

August 10
Barnes & Noble
555 Fifth Ave. @ 46th St.
New York, NY 10017
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

August 12
Borders
Wall Street
100 Broadway
New York, NY 10005
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The local tour stop for the American Carnage tour is August 12th at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets are still available and start at $7.00.

Links:
Megadeth

Idols Are Dead - "Mean" Press Interview, NYC, May '10

Italian thrash metal band Idols Are Dead were in town last month to make their NYC debut at Lit Lounge. Unfortunately though, the show never happened due to equipment logistics. I did have the chance to catch up with the band before they left town.



Idols Are Dead's debut disc Mean was released in 2008 (though it is just now getting US distribution) and the band is now currently finishing up their sophomore disc. In a previously posted CD review, I described Mean as falling somewhere between Testament's The Ritual, Metallica's The Black Album and Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion while retaining an underlying thrash-metal sound. Taking a page from the fore-mentioned bands, Mean combines fist-pumping riffs with melodic guitar shredding, singer Mana's "John Bush style" gruff vocals and melodic vocal harmonies on the choruses.

Links:
Idols Are Dead

Idols Are Dead - Mean CD Review (Scarlet Records)

Idols Are Dead is a five-piece melodic, hard-rock band that just released their debut CD Mean. The band's sound falls somewhere between Testament's The Ritual, Metallica's The Black Album and Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion while retaining an underlying thrash-metal sound. Taking a page from the fore-mentioned bands, Mean combines fist-pumping riffs with melodic guitar shredding, singer Mana's "John Bush style" gruff vocals and melodic vocal harmonies on the choruses.

Idols Are Dead formed in Italy in 2006 and came out of the gate swinging. The band won the Heineken Jammin Festival Contest in 2007, beating the other 2273 bands, and shared the main stage with Slayer, Iron Maiden and Stone Sour.

(There is a video from the Heineken Jammin Festival on YouTube but it is just fair quality. This video from 2008 shows what the band really sounds like live.)



Idols Are Dead's music should strike a positive chord with fans of the "Big 4" and the band covers Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" midway through the new disc.

Links:
Idols Are Dead

Evile - Interview with Ol Drake and Mike Alexander, Earache Records, NYC 8-20-09 (Thrash)

I had the opportunity to talk with with Ol Drake (guitar) and Mike Alexander (bass) when they were in town last month to promote Evile's forthcoming disc Infected Nation.



The new disc (along with a limited edition colored vinyl edition) comes out on September 21st on Earache Records. The band just released the first video from this release which is for the title track "Infected Nation".



Evile is touring around Europe for the rest of the year with Amon Amarth and US tour dates will hopefully follow sometime early next year.

Here are the current tour dates;

Sept. 25, 2009, 8:00PM, INFECTED NATIONS Release Show - o2 Bar Academy, London
Sept. 29, 2009, 7:00PM, Headline Show + DRONE - Bastard Club, Osnabrück
Sept. 30, 2009, 7:00PM, Headline Show + DRONE - Ballroom, Hamburg
Oct. 02, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Tavastia, Helsinki
Oct. 03, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Rytmikorjaamo, Seinajoki
Oct. 04, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Teatria, Oulu
Oct. 06, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Gamla Tingshuset, Ostersund
Oct. 07, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Kulturhuset, Orebro
Oct. 08, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Union Scene, Drammen
Oct. 09, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Byscenen, Haugesund
Oct. 10, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - USF Verftet, Bergen
Oct. 11, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - John Dee, Oslo
Oct. 13, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Trädgårn, Goteburg
Oct. 14, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Train, Arhus
Oct. 15, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Vega, Copenhagen

Links:
Evile's MySpace Profile
Earache Records

Win a Les Paul Guitar: Play Fuse Rock Madness

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air live on Fuse TV this year.

The show will be broadcast live from Cleveland Ohio’s Public Hall on April 4th at 9pm ET/PT. For this year's ceremony, some of the bigger named inductees include Metallica, Run-D.M.C. (who will be inducted by Eminem) and Jeff Beck.

As part of the run-up to the ceremony, Fuse has released a March-madness style game, "Rock Madness". The concept behind the game is that Fuse took "32 legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists and paired them up against 32 potential future inductees." Players then vote for which musician in each bracket [matchup] should advance to the next round and ultimately be awarded the title of "greatest artist of all time".

Prizes include a new Les Paul guitar and an iPod Nano.

Links:
Fuse's Rock Madness
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Press Conference