4ARM NAMES NEW GUITARIST
Rapidly-rising thrash masters 4ARM have named Markus Johansson as their new lead guitarist, after John Paul Glovasa was forced to make the difficult decision to step down due to serious family reasons (“It was by far one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make,” he says). With a bunch of European festival dates coming up the band began the search for their new lead guitarist, and they found Johansson in Chicago. “We were able to kinda speak the same language right from the first time we met,” frontman Danny Tomb says. “He just ticked all the right boxes for us, I really felt that I was already talking to ‘the new guy.'” Johansson has worked on solo projects with members from Anthrax, Testament, Dethklok, Dream Theater and Halford as well as members from Forbidden, Chimaira and Six feet Under. He’s endorsed by and uses Jackson Guitars, Randall Amplifiers and is part of the Gibson family. “I am beyond excited, proud, and ready to shred it up with Australia’s 4ARM,” he says.
SHRAPNEL RECORDS NOW ON REVERBNATION
Shrapnel Records, the label which launched a million shredders, is now on Reverbnation. You can now go to Reverbnation to get your digital downloads of Shrapnel artists like Paul Gilbert, Chris Duarte, Stoney Curtis Band, Eric Gales Michael Landau Group, Scott Henderson Tribal Tech and Johnny Hiland or buy CDs direct from the Shrapnel warehouse. The Shrapnel music collection has been mastered at super-high 320kbps quality MP3 format, free of nasty DRM nuisances.
BATPISS DEBUT OUT THIS WEEK
The lords of Melbourne’s underground, Batpiss, will release their debut album Nuclear Winter on Friday May 17 via Every Night Is A Saturday Night Records. Formed in 2012, the band arose from a Collingwood swamp like a three-headed version of The Toxic Avenger, and now they are set to release 11 tracks of their powerful alien sludge pop upon the world. They’ll unleash this beast of a debut album with a huge launch at The Tote in Collingwood on Saturday May 18 with special guests Peep Tempel, Brat Farrar, The Spinning Rooms, Dr Invisiablo, Dead, Bad Aches, Sheriff and a mysterious Melbourne trio who are calling themselves Boony Goes Bananas for the night (guess who?!).
COOL STUFF AT THE BENDIGO
This week at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood: Circadian Pulse, Horizons Edge and Alaskan Thunder (Thursday May 16), Ignivomous, Whitehorse, Scars Of Sodom and Hordes Of The Black Cross (Friday May 17), and Massive, Ten Thousand and Sudden State (Saturday May 18).
LONG HOLIDAY RELEASE DEBUT
Melbourne’s Long Holiday will release debut album Greetings From… on July 5. Singer/guitarist Gina Wessel, bassist Andie Fitzpatrick (ex-Kissingers, ex-Tim McMillan Band) and drummer Marc Russo (Uncle Chunk) have forged a fresh take on post-grunge, and they’re totally kickarse. Matt Sorum (ex-Guns N Roses/Velvet Revolver) says of their video for Hate Potion No. 8, “‘Killer tones, great snare drum sound. Creative video and cool song,” while production legend John Merchant (Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz) says “Good vibe. Cool, edgy vocal approach.” You can catch them on Friday June 7 at Bar 303.
DEATH DEALER SIGNS ALBUM DEAL
Death Dealer – the band featuring Ross the Boss and Rhino (ex-Manowar) have signed with Rubicon Records Japan to release their debut album War Master. The album will contain two bonus tracks and feature special Japanese liner notes. The band will be touring Japan later in 2013 for a headlining tour and will film the shows for a live DVD. Ross says: “Here it is, 2013, and Death Dealer has just signed with Rubicon Japan! A dynamite super dedicated label to true heavy metal. I am truly honoured to be on this great label and I’m along with the band can’t wait for the release of War Master and our upcoming in the fall!”
MUSTAINE GETS IT IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE NEW STUFF
The new Megadeth album, Super Collider, is due next month, and frontman Dave Mustaine is pretty damn fond of it, but he understands if you’re not into it. “I am very proud,” he tells Ultimate Guitar’s Steven Rosen. “There are gonna be people who are gonna take exception with the record because they’re people that wanna hear Black Friday the rest of their lives. And I feel for them, man. I know the first time I heard AC/DC versus what they put out now, it’s a different time. I think that’s the whole thing about if you’re really a fan of the band, you grow with them or you stop being a fan. I always loved early AC/DC and I totally respect older AC/DC, but I was weaned on Bon Scott.” The album is being released on Mustaine’s own Tradecraft Records via Universal.
ZOOPHYTE RELEASE THIRD SINGLE
Melbourne rockers Zoophyte have announced the release of their third single, Free The Light, from their album Somewhere Elsewhere, which was released late last year via MGM Entertainment. Since kicking off in March 2012, the band has shared stages with the likes of INXS, Eskimo Joe, Tex Perkins and Jebadiah, completing 60 odd shows around the county and a string of dates in Noumea, New Caledonia. Free The Light is one of several songs written during a weekend writing session in a huge tin shed in the Victorian country town of Alexandra. You can catch the band live at Northcote Social Club on Friday May 31 with Vida Cain (WA) and The Elliotts. Doors open at 8.30pm. Tickets are $15 presale or $20 at the door.
