Headbalisser

The most anticipated concert event of the year, Pulp Summer Slam will strike us again on April 28, 2012. Every year over 30,000 rock / metal fans form a monolith of devastation ready to emanate in the center of Amoranto Stadium all hungry for ruthless music beatings. Pulp Summer Slam converges more than 30 bands in its line up but to give justice to this year’s theme “Apóstolos” the event will gather 6 international bands ( Arch Enemy, August Burns Red, Bless The Fall, Darkest Hour, Periphery and We Came as Romans), 6 local bands ( Chicosci, Franco, Intolerant, Kamikazee, Sin and Urbandub).

Main headliner Arch Enemy will conduct a video filming for their upcoming live concert DVD and according to Pulp this will also be their last performance in the country. I will see you at the slam!

Grammy-nominated metal band Shadows Fall will be releasing their 7th studio album “Fire From the Sky” on May 15.  Recently the band has run design a new logo contest, the winner will get his/her layout to be featured as the band’s official merchandise and marketing materials. In addition, that someone will also bag cash, vip tickets and a lot more bragging rights! And today Shadows Fall have revealed the album art cover that you can see below.

Aaron Marsh of Forefathers, who designed the cover, has this to say:

“When presented with the idea, I wanted to deliver an aesthetic that would go beyond the ‘typical’ or ‘assumed.’ I wanted to embrace a perspective and emotive value that could be carried with the context of the record itself. While I knew this would be challenging and end up stylistic to one degree or another, I still wanted the viewer to get this overwhelming and brooding sense of chaos that could otherwise be imagined when putting themselves in that very scenic situation—supposing this record was the soundtrack to their own apocalyptic movie.”

Deathgrind band from San Diego, Cattle Decapitation will release their fifth studio album “Monolith of Inhumanity” via Metal Blade Records. The record was produced by Dave Otero of Denver’s Flatline Audio. A new killer song can be streamed below.

A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat

Dropping on May 4, 2012 (G/A/S), May 7, 2012 (EU) and May 8, 2012 (North America)

The track list for “Monolith of Inhumanity” is as follows:

1. The Carbon Stampede
2. Dead Set on Suicide
3. A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat
4. Forced Gender Reassignment
5. Gristle Licker
6. Projectile Ovulation
7. Lifestalker
8. Do Not Resuscitate
9. Your Disposal
10. The Monolith
11. Kingdom of Tyrants

Seattle’s barbaric crew Black Breath will release a follow up to the band’s stormy 2010 debut album, Heavy Breathing, that is “Sentenced to Life“. An editorial review says that  “The new album projects an even more vile, metallic sonic attack than its predecessor….with a bit less rock and roll swagger and more full-on crushing death metal rage. This is a product of furious creativity jammed into a short span of time, written in the seemingly endless winter after returning from their November 2010 European tour. Bearing 10 thunderous tracks in just under 33 minutes, Sentenced to Life, features such smashing Black Breath hits as Feast of the Damned, Doomed, Forced Into Possession, Home of the Grave and of course the title anthem, Sentenced to Life”.  The album was again recorded at God City Studios with Kurt Ballou and it was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. Title will be released on March 26, 2012.

Doom metallers, Daylight Dies, have finished the recording process for their fourth full-length album.

With Nathan wrapping up his vocal sessions this week, the recording phase of our new album is finally completed! The album will now be in the hands of Jens Bogren of Fascination Street Studios, where mixing will commence on April 1st. The album title, song titles and future status updates will be posted before too long.

The band states that the cd will be mixed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden starting April 1st. They added;

“Jens was also responsible for mixing ‘Lost To The Living’ and ‘Dismantling Devotion’ and we couldn’t imagine the new album being in more capable hands.”

I have so much respect for these guys. I personally recommend you to heat up your stereo with Daylight Dies now.

Our kapatid Karl Roy, 43, died due to cardiac arrest Tuesday morning. His death was announced by his sister Kathryn Roy

A message from Kathryn Roy, Karl’s sister.

It is with deepest sadness that I share the news of Karl’s passing. He was called Home today at 1:01 a.m. Manila time (Tuesday, March 13th), surrounded by those who loved him most – mommy, Keith, Kevin, Krys, his daughter Arianna, and our cousin Jack (Roy-Duavit).

Please continue to pray for Karl. He brought so much joy to others but, unfortunately, did not have enough of it in this life. He’s in a better place now, with Lolo Pepe, Lola Conching and Daddy.

Thank you for your kind words and your prayers.

God bless!

Kathryn

Karl fronted three of the most famous Pinoy rock bands, P.O.T., Kapatid, and Advent Call.

Rocker’s life

In March, 2008, Roy had a massive stroke that paralyzed him for almost half-a-year. After intensive rehabilitation, Roy was back again fronting his band, Kapatid.

Roy’s younger brother Kevin is vocalist of another rock band, Razorback.

Roy rose to prominence in what was then called the 1990s alternative band boom as frontman for the-now inactive Advent Call.

More known as a cover rock band, Advent Call was able to come up with some originals like the now classic rock ballad, “Puting Ilaw (White Light)”.

As if a premonition, the first few lines of the song talk about restlessness and finding one’s peace of mind: “Saan ang langit, kaibigan. Saan pangakong kaligayahan? Aling daan tungo sa paraiso? Pag-ibig natin, iisang damdamin.”

In a move that surprised most of his fans, Roy left Advent Call at the height of its popularity before the end of the ’90s.

Insiders cited “artistic differences” for Roy’s departure because Advent Call wanted to stick to old-school hard rock while Roy was becoming more engrossed into covering the new ones, the soft grunge acts like Lemonheads and Blind Melon.

Roy eventually formed his own band, the funk rock-rooted P.O.T., which produced the danceable “Yugyugan Na” and the groovy “Panaginip.”

Always the most-awaited crowd pleaser in multi-band gigs, Roy had been known for his exciting, wild acts onstage, sometimes compared–moves and looks–with frontman Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Pepper.

He was also known for his romantic dalliances with models and actresses. At one point, he tried acting for ABS-CBN’s youth-oriented Saturday afternoon soap, “Tabing-Ilog,” which catapulted the careers of now heartthrob John Lloyd Cruz, drama actress Jodie Sta. Maria and the versatile Baron Geisler.

Tributes

Thousands immediately paid tribute and posted their condolences online, many of whom are friends in the rock scene like Wolfgang (“rock the heavens, Karl Roy”), former Yano-Pan frontman Dong Abay (“Rock on, kapatid, Rest in peace and love”), Color It Red’s Cookie Chua and Radioactive Sago Project bassist Francis de Veyra, among others.

Lea Salonga on her Twitter account wrote: “RIP, Karl Roy. I never knew you, but you seemed like one hell of a badass. Rock on. \m/”

Emee Fortuno, widow of the late, great legendary drummer Edmund “Bosyo” Fortuno, wrote: “We’ll miss you Karl Roy….. i’m sure Bosyo’s jamming with you there now in ROCK ND ROLL HEAVEN IN ETERNAL BLISS…. Dadalhin tayo sa PARAISO, sa gubat na LANGIT tang lahat ay MAGKAPATID… Our Love and Prayers as you rest in Peace…”

Though many viewed Roy as a wild rocker, he was also known to have joined and wholeheartedly supported cause-oriented socio-civic organizations like Rock Ed Philippines and Dakila Collective.

Leni Velasco, founding member and president of Dakila recalled: “Circa 2005. At the height of the GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) regime, Karl was a moving force behind the formation of a collective of artists. In Conspiracy (a bar on Visayas Avenue frequented by the likes of Gary Granada, Conrado de Quiros, Joey Ayala) during the launch, he jammed with other musicians to celebrate the birth of what is now known as DAKILA – Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism.

“In 2001, right smack in the middle of Welcome Rotonda while the May 1 Edsa 3 uprising was happening, he was performing with his band in a concert I helped organize to pay homage to workers on labor day.

”Those were tough times but Karl is a tough man. His commitment never faltered and his courage – unwavering.

You were awesome. Rest in peace Karl Roy.”

Nile have revealed the title of their new album ‘At The Gate of Sethu‘ I mean that’s just genius I couldn’t wait to bang my head back and forth at whatever mph as possible. Their music and lyrics are inspired by ancient, mysticism, dark brutality definitely crazy but surely awesome! Also the band will be touring Southeast Asia for the first time.

“The whole idea of spreading Nile’s music into this part of the world has been a long time coming,” said the band in a statement. “We are extremely pleased to go to there and are looking forward to an amazing cultural exchange and experience.“

The dates are as follows:

04/26 – Diablo Open Air – Singapore, Singapore
04/28 – Hammersonic Jakarta International Metal Festival, Lapangan D – Jakarta, Indonesia
05/02 – A.U.A. Auditorium – Bangkok, Thailand (with Hate Eternal)
05/05 – Summer Blaze Metal Festival – New Delhi, India
05/06 – E-Zone Club – Bangalore, India

Manila is MIA!

Arch Enemy have amicably parted ways with guitarist Christopher Amott. Today the band also announced a replacement who will take over Amott’s axe and that is a 26 year old American guitarist Nick Cordle (Arsis).

“We thank Christopher for the time he’s worked with the band and of course wish him the very best in his future endeavors.

Thankfully, there is no drama behind the scenes here. This is the best way forward for all involved. Christopher simply does not feel at home with playing extreme metal anymore.

We have already chosen and rehearsed with a new guitar player and we will complete the ‘Khaos Legions’ 2012 touring cycle as planned. We are highly motivated and look forward to continue spreading our music around the world!

Finally, our deepest thanks go to the ARCH ENEMY fans, whose amazing support and belief inspires us ever onward.”

Michael Amott, brother of Chris commented: “Nick was my first choice as he ticks all the right boxes for Arch Enemy with his musicality and technicality as well as his personality and dedication. Looking forward to having him join us stage, the rehearsals have shown we have a devastating twin axe attack going on!”

“I am officially quitting The Haunted. After years of working with the band, I am out. I have had it. I will NOT answer questions to why. It’s no one elses business. Thank you very much. I am looking forward to seeing you people at other shows with other projects.”

This is the second time that he has deserted the band. Peter Dolving was replaced by Marco Aro for a few records and we all cant seem to have any idea as to why this has to happen again. But I get what they say about the 3rd time right? The Haunted also confirmed this via their Facebook page. Adios mofo!

“Peter has decided to leave The Haunted permanently.
We don’t have any more news or info for you regarding this at the moment,
but stay tuned for future updates…

“We just wanted to put and end to all the rumors out there.”