GUITARIST ROB ARNOLD ON THE 'RESURRECTION' OF CHIMAIRA

Guitarist Rob Arnold of Cleveland metallers CHIMAIRA recently took time out from his busy touring schedule with DIVINE HERESY, TERROR and KATAKLYSM to sit down with MetalSucks to discuss what fans can expect on the band's current tour, their newest album, 'Resurrection', and their recently cancelled European trek. An excerpt from the chat follows:

MetalSucks: You guys have actually spoken pretty openly about a lot of the problems you've had on the last couple of tours, and especially on the tour right after the self-titled album came out. Do you feel like you've worked past those problems now? Do you feel like the 'resurrection' of CHIMAIRA is continuing?

Arnold: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. This particular break was due purely to exhaustion, whereas with the self-titled tour, there was just a lot of animosity with guys not getting along with Kevin [Talley, drums] and feeling betrayed by the label [Roadrunner], if you will, and things like that, so it was just a general sense of, just, 'Fuck this.' Whereas this little break wasn't like that at all, it was just about taking a little time off.

MetalSucks: This album is being really well received, it seems like. We saw you guys in New Jersey a few months ago on Sounds of the Underground, and the crowd had been dead all day, and then you guys came on and suddenly it was like — Vince got hit in the face within fifteen seconds, people were just going nuts.

Arnold: Sorry about that (laughs).

MetalSucks: So do you feel still feel really enthusiastic about this record?

Arnold: Yeah. Y'know, I think people like it and stuff, and that's cool. And really, y'know, you start out doing a lot of support tours like [Sounds of the Underground] to put in the ground work, and then you get to do a tour like this where you come and headline — we haven't headlined since the self-titled record, y'know, 'cause we've been doing a lot of supporting tours, so you come out here and do a headlining tour to kind of gauge the success, to see if the work you've done supporting is gonna pay off or not, and whether you want to continue to headline, or go back to the drawing board and start supporting again or make a new record again and everything, so it's kind of this month coming up that will really give us an indication of, y'know, if what we've done has been paying off.

MetalSucks: So something else we gotta ask you: the song 'Six'. We think that song's a fuckin' masterpiece, it's just a monster. Why the hell is it called 'Six'?

Arnold: I can't tell you that.

MetalSucks: C'mon, dude!

Arnold: It's not that I don't want to do tell you, but I have no idea. I have no idea. It's the kind of thing where maybe I asked Mark [Hunter, CHIMAIRA vocalist] once, like 'Six? What does that mean?' And he was just, like, [makes a dismissive farting noise], or something, I don't know. I honestly don't know.

Read the full transcript at this location.

Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

BODY OF SCARS: PHOENIX CONCERT FOOTAGE POSTED ONLINE

Amateur video footage of BODY OF SCARS — the new Phoenix, Arizona-based band featuring JAG PANZER drummer Rikard Stjernquist and former 40 GRIT vocalist/guitarist James Santiago — performing at Joe's Grotto in Phoenix on October 26, 2007 can be viewed below.

BODY OF SCARS' self-titled debut album was released on October 2.

Formed in August 2006, BODY OF SCARS' current lineup is completed by lead guitarist Randy Davis (MOTIVE).

For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.

Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

INCANTATION MAINMAN COMMENTS ON RUSSIAN TOUR

INCANTATION mainman John McEntee has issued the following update:

'We just got back from the Flaming Arts Fest Tour 2007. This was our first time ever performing in Russia. We played along side are long time friends in VADER, KRISIUN, ROTTING CHRIST along with some cool guys from the bands AMENTI and RIUL DOAMNEI.

'I must admit I didn't know a lot about the Russian death metal scene before the tour, but I have to say it was over the top! We packed venues every night! The crowds were totally sick some if the craziest we have played for.

'We were pretty busy traveling most of the time, but we did get time to visit Red Square. That was really cool, growing up in the time of the Cold War it was amazing to get to visit and have some great gigs in a country that was once unheard of for a American band to visit. Also at the Moscow show I did an interview for the biggest metal video TV show in Russia. So that was a great honor.

'On the Flaming Arts Festivals we also played our first time in Belarus. That was a phenomenal gig! The show was by far sold out and the death bangers were totally sick. After the show we did a interview for the legendary Minsk radio show metal 'Massa Brutto'. Alex, the host, was a really cool guy — a true metal warrior.

'I want to thank Massive Music and Flaming Arts Productions along with everyone that made the fest tour happen. We are also honored to have gotten the opportunity to play for all our new and old school Russian fans alike, we look forward to returning again sometime. Next time with a headlining set.'

The MetalList webzine recently posted video footage of INCANTATION performing at the Moscow Metal Fest on September 22, 2007 at Tochka Club in Moscow, Russia. Watch the clip below.

INCANTATION's current touring lineup consists of:

John McEntree – Guitar/Vocals
Rayash (SUPREME LORD) - Bass
Craig Smilowski (GOREAPHOBIA, IMMOLATION) - Drums

For a list of upcoming INCANTATION shows, click here.

INCANTATION's seventh album, 'Primordial Domination', was released last fall on Ibex Moon Records.

'Primordial Domination' / 'The Fallen Priest':

Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

ULI JON ROTH, MARK BOALS, GOTTHARD TO PERFORM AT SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL KICK-OFF

This year's Sweden Rock Festival kick-off celebration will be held on November 24 at Tyrol in Stockholm, Sweden. At this event the first batch of bands booked for next year's festival will be announced. Also scheduled to perform at the show are GOTTHARD, SABATON and HAZY/DIZZY. In addition, a one-off all-star band has also been put together featuring:

Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS, ELECTRIC SUN) - Guitar
Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, RING OF FIRE) - Vocals
Mats Levén (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, AT VANCE, THERION) - Vocals
Liz Vandall (SAHARA, Uli JON ROTH) - Vocals
Janne Stark (OVERDRIVE, BALTIMOORE) - Guitar
Ule Ritgen (ZENO, ELECTRIC SUN, FAIR WARNING) - Bass
Thomas Broman (ELECTRIC BOYS, JOHN NORUM, 21 GUNS) - Drums

The group will perform vintage SCORPIONS and ELECTRIC SUN material, along with other 'nice surprises.'
Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

KISS MEMBERS THAYER AND SINGER DISCUSS RECENTLY COMPLETED 'HIT N' RUN' TOUR

The Kiss Underground has conducted interviews with KISS drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer about the group's recently completed Hit N' Run tour.

On the topic of preparing for the shows, Thayer said, 'You know, it's really not that different as far as preparation goes. You have to be equally ready to go out and do one show or 100. I prefer doing full length tours. I was talking to Eric after we did the short run, and he said that it's too bad we have to stop after just doing several shows as opposed to more, because it takes a few shows for the band to really get warmed up and in a groove, and I agreed.'

Singer added, 'It is what it is.... As the saying goes… We all know the material so it is not that hard to get ready for a show. Not easy either since KISS shows are a lot of preparation and hard work. Everyone has other obligations and hopefully there will be a full length tour in the future.'

Read more at The Kiss Underground.
Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

NIGHTWISH: SWISS SIGNING SESSION ANNOUNCED

NIGHTWISH leader/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and new vocalist Anette Olzon will take part in a signing session on Thursday, August 30 in Bern, Switzerland's station concourse 'at the ascent of the moving stairs,' according to the group's European record label, Nuclear Blast Records. The signing session will begin at 6:00 p.m.

NIGHTWISH will return for another U.S. tour in the spring. Exact cities and dates will be announced during the coming months.

NIGHTWISH's video for the group's new single, 'Amaranth', has been posted on YouTube. The clip was shot in Los Angeles with director Antti Jokinen (BEYONCÉ, WYCLEF JEAN, KORN, MISSY ELLIOT, STRATOVARIUS, SHANIA TWAIN, CELINE DION).

NIGHTWISH shot two videos in Los Angeles with Antti Jokinen, reportedly at a cost of 270,000 euros (approximately $362,000). 'We saved time and money by doing two videos in one session,' NIGHTWISH leader Tuomas Holopainen told the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the new NIGHTWISH video, 'Amaranth', has been posted at Nightwish.com.

NIGHTWISH's new CD, 'Dark Passion Play' is scheduled for release on September 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (most of Europe), September 26 via Spinefarm Records/Universal (Finland) and October 2 via Roadrunner Records (USA).

Check out the cover artwork at this location.

The 'Amaranth' single will precede the album on August 24 (Nuclear Blast) and August 22 (Spinefarm/Universal). It will be available in several different versions.

To see the 'Amaranth' cover artwork, click here.
Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net

ROB ZOMBIE RESUMES WORK ON 'THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO'

With less than two two weeks before his remake of the classic horror film 'Halloween' is scheduled to hit theatres nationwide, Rob Zombie has resumed work on his animated feature 'The Haunted World of El Superbeasto'. 'I just saw the first cut of the film and it is awesome,' Zombie wrote in an online posting. 'We have a little more animation to do, but this sucker is almost 100% finished. It is some crazy shit. I know you are gonna love it.'

The upcoming animated feature will star Rosario Dawson as Miss Velvet Von Black, the love of Dr. Satan's (Paul Giamatti) life.

Image Comics recently collected the entire 'The Haunted World of El Superbeasto' hit series in one volume, including over 50 pages of never-before-seen illustrated story! 'The Haunted World of El Superbeasto' is a 288-page trade paperback and is available in book stores and comic shops now.
Courtesy of BlabberMouth.net