Soundwave 2013 Lineup Announced
By now you’ve surely seen the lineup for Soundwave: Metallica, Linkin Park, Anthrax, Tomahawk, Garbage, A Perfect Circle, Paramore, Duff McKagan’s Loaded (who were responsible for one of my favourite albums of 2011, The Taking), Fozzy, Flogging Molly, Sum 41, The Lawrence Arms, Lucero, Six Feet Under, Blink 182, Stone Sour, Cancer Bats, the Offspring, Periphery, Ghost, Kyuss Lives, Dragonforce and many more. It’ll be very interesting to see how it runs this time around, since there will be no dedicated metal stage because nobody wants to go up against Metallica’s two-hour set. There’s already a lot of speculation on the internets about who will be named in the second announcement (Megadeth seems to be very high on the wishlist), and I know a lot of bands I’ve interviewed have expressed an interest and/or asked me to pass along their details to Soundwave. Who do you want to see?
Soundwave is in Melbourne on Friday March 1, 2013. General public tickets on sale Thursday August 23 at 9am.
Queensryche. Hmm…
Okay, so I’m a Geoff Tate fan, right? I liked his solo album, he was one of the best interviews I’ve ever had, I wish him well in whatever he does now that he’s been fired from Queensryche, and I wish none of this happened, but it did and as a geeky QR fan I just have to deal with it. But I squirm a bit when I see the website of his agent Monterey International listing him as “Queensryche Starring Geoff Tate The Original Voice.” Please, no ‘two Queensryches’ situation like LA Guns and Great White, okay?
The Levitation Hex Will Destroy Melbourne
The Levitation Hex will perform their debut Melbourne show on Friday August 17 at The Bendigo Hotel with A Million Dead Birds Laughing, Abrasion and the newly-formed Hours In Exhile. “But dude,” I hear you ask, “Who or what is The Levitation Hex?” It’s the new band featuring Adam Agius ex-Alchemist), Mark Palfreyman (Alarum) Ben Hocking (Aeon of Horus) and Scott Young (ex-Alarum). They arose from the ashes of Alchemist and were initially conceived by Agius to create a heavy psychedelic prog sound similar to Alchemist but at the same time a completely new beast.
Gig Alert: Black Majesty Launch Stargazer
The mighty Black Majesty will launch their newly CD Stargazer at The Prague on Saturday August 18. New Stargazer merchandise will be on sale on the night and support will come from Envenomed and Keys To Perdition. Doors open at 8pm. The album is out on July 20 via Limb Music.
Gig Alert: Hipocrisy
Sweden’s death metal titans Hypocrisy are playing at The Hi-Fi on Saturday January 19 – yeah, that’s quite a while a way, but tickets are on sale now so you might as well pick one up with your tax refund money, right? Tickets are available from Oztix, Moshtix and The Hi-Fi. Nice to see that the tour even visits our metal brethren in Perth, who have to miss out on a lot of cool stuff due to their stubborn insistence on being so far away from the east coast.
Cosmic Psychos Film Reaches Funding Target
The Cosmic Psychos crowd-funded documentary Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust has reached 100% of its $28,000 goal via Australian crowd funding site pozible.com. Director Matt Weston thought he’d give the crowdfunding model a shot to try and raise half of the funds required to complete the project. With a strong trailer featuring Eddie Vedder, Butch Vig, The Melvins and Mudhoney, the film resonated with both old fans and music fans alike, with over 11k hits coming from the US. Pledgers received rewards from a limited edition producer T-shirt and invitation to the launch party in country Victoria for $100, through to the band playing in your shed or cooking you a three-course meal for $5000, and the target was reached in only 30 days! The campaign is still active until the 31st August giving fans and supporters the opportunity to still contribute. The film will complete production by December 2012, and screenings are expected for early 2013.
Last Chance For Nasum
A reminder: Nasum (pictured) are here this month as part of their 20th anniversary/final farewell tour. With four full length albums, countless 7”s, MCDs and a plethora of compilation appearances, Nasum were unstoppable and the undisputed kings of the grind scene until their untimely and tragic end, when vocalist Mieszko Talarczyk died in Thailand during the tsunami of 2004. After long deliberation they decided to reunite and do a handful of shows around the world in 2012 to celebrate their 20th anniversary and say a final goodbye to the fans and Mieszko. Rotten Sound vocalist Keijo Niinimaa is at the mic. Supports include Dyscarnate (UK), Captain Cleanoff, and Tasmanian extreme metal horde Psycroptic. It’s Psycroptic’s their first Australian tour since the release of their critically acclaimed new album The Inherited Repression. Sunday August 19 at The Hi-Fi.
Journey Guitarist Records Solo Album
Journey guitarist Neal Schon will release a solo instrumental album called The Calling in October via Frontiers Records. Schon plays guitar and bass on the album (as well as producing), while former Journey drummer Steve Smith appears on all twelve tracks. Schon set up shop at Berkeley’s famed Fantasy Studios during a break from Journey’s busy touring schedule, and recorded the album, completely from scratch, in just four days. He handed over the tracks to two keyboard masters, Igor Len and Jan Hammer (Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra) to flesh out the music.
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