Hellfest is an annual French music festival originally called the Furyfest and has featured big performers such as : Motörhead, Megadeth, Slayer, Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest.
In June 2002 was the first indoor FURYFEST festival in Clisson on exactly the same spot as the catering and artist’s rooms are today. The festival was a sell out 400 people from the punk, skinhead and hardcore scene were gathered together to watch AGNOSTIC FRONT. The idea was a success and some members decided to take it even further…
FURYFEST 2003 was supposed to take place in Clisson but due to a problem with the date, the town Hall didn’t give permission. So, the site was moved to the “Trocardière” in Nantes. Increasingly ambitious, the festival brought together such bands as SICK OF IT ALL, YOUTH OF TODAY, GOJIRA, ENTOMBED and THE EXPLOITED and took place over two days. It was a hit once again! 7000 festival-goers! The crew could no longer keep up with all the necessary organisation involved. So Ben Barbaud at that time treasurer, decided to create MAN.IN.FEST and make it his full-time occupation.
In 2004 FURYFEST had to move again in order to cater for campers. The new FURYFEST team settled on “Le Mans” (the only town to accept of festival of this kind). The line up brought bands such as SLIPKNOT, MORBID ANGEL, MESSHUGAH, FEAR FACTORY, SOULFLY, HATEBREED, DEICIDE, and TESTAMENT together for the first time in France …but it was also too mad, too ambitious and too costly!
This brought the team back to earth with a bump! 21,000 people attended but profits were down and Ben’s job was threatened! MORE
Norma Jean is on the verge of writing new songs to stuff a new album, sets to record in January.
“After making ‘Meridional’, we really didn’t know what we were going to do next. It’s hard to imagine that after coming out of so much work and thought being poured into something, but we’re starting to see this new record take shape and all I can say right now is it’s going to be nasty,” said NORMA JEAN lead vocalist Cory Brandan. “If anything, ‘Meridional’ ended up inspiring us to continue moving forward and doing what we love to do. We also moved our writing space out of Atlanta this time for a new atmosphere where I live in Arkansas. We isolated ourselves a lot more and spent a lot of time together. We’re really excited and are having a blast.”
In case you don’t know the band’s name is derived from the real given name of actress Marilyn Monroe, Christian chart topper and they’re from the land of walkers Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
Let there be holocaust! Holy cow! I didn’t mean to offend anyone but that makes it right! Butcher Alex Webster was recently interviewed by Metal Hammer UK, take it away!
“I can’t tell you the album title or the songtitles or what the artwork’s gonna look like,” Alex said. “The artwork will be a bit more like what we were known for in the past and a bit less subtle than the last two albums. They were fairly subtle by Cannibal Corpse standards. The lyrics on this record are pretty much what we’re known for and the title is not going to be a huge shocker for anyone either. Music-wise, there has been a pretty interesting development on this record. I’ve been one of the main writers on the last few records, and on ‘Evisceration Plague’ I wrote seven whole songs — lyrics and music — and another half of another song plus lyrics for ‘Scalding Hail’, which Rob [Barrett, guitar] and me did together. So I did a lot, but this time round I wanted Pat [O'Brien, guitar] and Rob to get involved a little more and I was afraid that by writing so much, they were so busy learning my stuff that they hadn’t been able to focus on writing their own stuff.”
He continued, “I had another recording project going on anyhow, so I decided to lay off the writing a little. In the end, Pat wrote four songs and Rob wrote three, so there’s a much more even division of songwriting and a lot more variety on this record. It’s still Cannibal Corpse-style death metal, but there are more different flavors. Rob andPat are very talented writers so they should contribute a lot! They’re a great resource and we want to have them contribute as much as they can. Rob’s songs are the three best songs he’s written for us, I think.”
Hard to explain why Chimaira songs always rule my playlist and out of nowhere you get something like this hitting your face! Vocalist Mark Hunter released the following statement.
“I would like to start off by thanking our fans for a great tour. This last run was a blast, and truly the most fun we’ve had in a long while. The energy from the audience was exactly what we needed, and a welcoming return. Thank you guys!”
“Unfortunately, as much fun as we were having, behind the scenes we were aware of some unfortunate realities that prevented us from ‘living the dream’ and having the time of our lives. We had another bomb to drop on the fans.
“Early in July we were informed that Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries would be leaving Chimaira at the end of 2011. Of course this was a huge blow, but there were no hard feelings. We understand that life invades art, everything runs its course, and we have to take different paths.
“We respect their decision and wish them only the best. We made heavy metal history together and that is all that matters at the end of the day.
“Chimaira Christmas 12 will be their last show, and we’ve been preparing to make it one that you’ll never forget.
“I would personally like to thank Rob and Matt for all of their hard work, years of service to Chimaira, amazing songs, and for their friendship. Together we built something special that will remain for generations to come. I’m looking forward to spending another 5 weeks on the road with two of the best (and criminally underrated) guitarists in modern metal.
“What’s next for Chimaira in 2012?
“More on that very soon.
“Rather than try and make light of unpleasant news, or downplay this by hyping up a new line-up, let’s take a few to honor Rob and Matt. My favorite solo of Rob’s is on The Heart Of It All and my favorite riff of Matt’s is The Dehumanizing Process. I’ll be cranking those today. What about you?”
What a bummer! I think Matt should donate his golden hair to Mark and whip it! Anyway a man with no arms can walk just being positive though this is very serious.
The band that hails from the land where butter tastes really good, Denmark, has ended the fight.
After 10 years we have decided to end As We Fight. It has been one hell of a ride with many memorable experiences, but it is time for new adventures for all of us. A huge thank you goes out to all the bands, labels, venues, festivals and partners crossing our road and not least all the people, who came out to our shows making it a time to remember! We are looking forward to go out with a bang with our upcoming tour with The Psyke Project, and we hope to see you all.
AS WE FIGHT says goodbye at the end of the year, present new video for ”Save Me”.
