STP interview with radio duo Kevin & Bean from KROQ:

Every band has its own kinda vibe,” says Bennington. “Stone Temple Pilots has this sexier, more classic rock feel to it. Linkin Park is a very modern, very tech-heavy type of band. It was kind of nice. I got to use my voice tonight. I got to sing and show my range a little bit. I still got to through a little scream in here and there but it’s really just so much different. I grew up listening to these guys. When this opportunity came up, it was just like a no-brainer.”

Bennington continues, “We couldn’t really plan a tour until tonight because we couldn’t let people know what was going on. Now the cat’s out of the bag so we’re going to go out and make more music and go play more shows and have some fun.”

STP guitarist Dean DeLeo also addressed the vocal switch, claiming that Bennington was their first choice for the gig. “There was the one and only Chester that could fill that [role].” explains Dean DeLeo.

Check out the collective’s new song, Out of Time.

Linkin Park will finally be returning to Manila. This will be the band’s second show in the country, the first time was all the way back in 2004 (see my concert ticket below). The show will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on August 13, 2012.

Living Things Word Tour Manila is made possible by Scala Events.

Yesterday, a story surfaced about As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis getting arrested in alleged murder-for-hire plot. While we wait for his arraignment tomorrow. The band members have broken their silence on the issue:

To our fans,

As we post this, the legal process is taking its course and we have no more information than you do. There are many unanswered questions, and the situation will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. We’ll keep you informed as best we can.

Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family, and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation – and with our fans, whom we love and draw strength from.

Thank you for understanding, and as always, for your support of As I Lay Dying.

- Jordan, Nick, Phil, and Josh

On the other hand Meggan Lambesis, the wife of Tim Lambesis, said in the court papers obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday that she worried about his ability to care for their three adopted children, but she gave no indication she felt in danger. In addition Meggan blurted out that Tim had become “obsessed with bodybuilding” and was distracted while with the children, often texting or talking on the phone. She noted he had fallen asleep while watching them at the beach or near the pool and said they need a “stable parent” to help them adjust to their new life and country.

The couple adopted 3 children — ages 4, 8 and 10 — from Ethiopia. Tim Lambesis continued to visit them for about 10 hours a week when he was not on tour, according to court documents.

Lambesis was taken into custody after caught soliciting help from the detective who supposed to carry out the murder, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Police had previously learned Lambesis was seeking someone who could commit the slaying, the department said.

There is no official comment from the band in reference to the arrest.

Follow: Tim Lambesis (timlambesis) on Twitter

Update 05/09/13 at 12:59 AM – Manila Time

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Jan Caldwell has issued a statement to Artisan News Service regarding Lambesis’ arrest, stating that authorities have been investigating Lambesis since May 2.

“Information came to us late last week — last Thursday, to be specific — that Lambesis was soliciting another individual to kill his estranged wife, who also resides in the area. Our detectives, our fugitive task force and the sheriff’s special investigations division immediately initiated an investigation into this allegation. We worked around the clock through the weekend and that culminated this afternoon when Lambesis solicited an undercover detective to kill his wife.”

“The next step will be Lambesis’ initial appearance in court, and that is where the charges are read, and if there’s a bail to be set. And they will go from there and start setting different court dates. The investigation at our end is still ongoing, and I can’t go into detail on that. And, thankfully, no one was hurt. But I believe that the captain who commented earlier said that we averted a tragedy today.”

Tim is being held at the Vista Detention Center in Vista, CA see screenshot here. If he is found guilty, the punishment for first degree murder in the state of California is three to nine years imprisonment.

Former Periphery drummer

It is with extreme excitement for the days ahead that Washington D.C. Melodic Death Metal veterans DARKEST HOUR proudly announce the addition of drummer Travis Orbin. Travis brings his unique perspective and talents to the table as a seasoned touring musician (Periphery, Sky Eats Airplane) and as a noted session drummer.

“The chemistry has developed into something special, unique, and new. It’s hard to deny this feeling when you’ve been releasing albums for as long as we have and we couldn’t be more ready to unleash this new sound of ours on your senses,” says guitarist Mike Schleibaum.

Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.

He wrote some of most powerful riffs that defined the band’s career, including “Angel of Death,” “South of Heaven,” “Raining Blood” and “War Ensemble.” Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King perfected a fiery twin-lead guitar style that propelled Slayer to the forefront of the thrash metal movement of the early 1980s, where they were crowned as one of the genre’s “Big Four,” along with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.

Our Brother Jeff Hanneman, May He Rest In Peace (1964 – 2013)

Jeff’s passing is a big loss to the metal world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a recent interview with PitCam.TV, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy stated about the songwriting sessions for the band’s next CD: “I can tell you we do have a title, we do have songtitles, we do have 20 to 25 songs demoed, we do have an artist. Everything is set up — all the visuals and everything — but it’s all secret. Hopefully it comes out the third quarter of next year. We’re recording in January, February and March in Austin, Texas; that’s all I can say [about] that. It’s gonna be great; it’s gonna be really, really great. It’s too difficult to describe in metal adjectives, like ‘heavy,’ ‘brutal,’ melodic,’ all this stuff, like every band does. Also, the classic phrase: ‘our best album ever.’ I can say that with ‘In Waves’, it was finally an album that all the fans of the previous four… We’ve got very divided fans: ‘I just like ‘Ember’.’ ‘I just like ‘Crusade’.’ ‘I just like ‘Ascendancy’.’ ‘I just like ‘Shogun’.’ Everyone could agree on ‘In Waves’. And simultaneously, everywhere in the world, ‘In Waves’ received the biggest reaction. With the next record, people can expect the best parts of everything we’ve ever done across all five records on one.”

TRIVIUM’s latest album, “In Waves”, sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band’s career. The group’s previous CD, “Shogun”, opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up “The Crusade”, which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.

Norway’s IN VAIN will release its third attack of progressive extreme metal, “Ænigma”, on March 8 in Norway, March 15 in Germany and Austria and March 11 in the rest of Europe through Indie Recordings. The band’s most extreme work to date, it was mixed and produced by the legendary Jens Bogren (OPETH, SOILWORK, BORKNAGAR) at Fascination Street in Örebro, Sweden. The cover artwork was designed by Robert Høyem.

A six-minute YouTube clip containing audio samples of all the tracks on the album is available below.

According to a press release, “Ænigma” contains “eight songs of IN VAIN‘s unique trademark sound and as usual, IN VAIN has brought some guests along, and ‘Ænigma’ sees appearances by Lazare and Cornelius from SOLEFALD.”

Commented IN VAIN‘s Johnar Håland: “We had a solid impression of the productions coming out of the Fascination Street Studio, and believed Jens was the right guy to give the music the crystal clear and powerful sound that it demands. Jens did not cut any corners and delivered a production par excellente.”

The second in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the “Ænigma” recording sessions can be seen below. Also available is a stream of the album’s new single, “Against The Grain”.

Click here to view the embedded video.