+++Hey guys! It’s Angela from Arch Enemy here. Over the next few weeks I’m gonna be checking in with updates from our U.S. Tyranny and Bloodshred tour. But before that madness begins on May 9 in Philly, I thought I’d give you a little taste of what’s to come. Below is the dirt from our recent shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London. +++

23.04. Birmingham
Together with those Brummy bastards we are kicking off the short but sweet ‘Defenders Of The Faith’ tour with Opeth! Its very nice meeting these guys again! Per and Fredrik are basically part of the Arch Enemy family!

Today is quite a busy day for Michael and Daniel. Terrorizer UK are here to conduct a lengthy interview for both Arch Enemy and Carcass – plus an insane photo shoot in the vein of the movie 28 days Later! I captured Michael and Daniel looking a bit on the…ermmm…infected side. Just check out their bite and strangle marks! Yeeeeees, that reunion is going well. Haha.

The show itself went well – the UK is always great when it comes to live shows! But the set didn’t flow so well, so we decided to cross out the guitar solos and add “Enemy Within” instead for the upcoming show in Glasgow!

Here some cool footage from the show:

“Dead Eyes See No Future”

Chris’ solo

Check out some photos HERE.

24.04. Glasgow
I wake up at an the ungodly hour of 7AM, peeing blood. We decide to get me to hospital in an ambulance, so I get medical attention quicker and get some sleep afterwards. Exciting! The two meds are very funny and keep cracking jokes with a thick Scottish accent.

Turns out I have a bladder infection – I was quite in a bit of pain for over a week. I cant help but tell the crowd about ‘Blood Pee’ – its not as exciting as blood puke, but still a good Dethklok moment there. Btw, I will be in some of these episodes, playing a very insane character ☺ I have already recorded one episode, I will do more when we get to L.A. on the U.S. run!

The Glasgow show is awesome! Raging, set – it works a lot better, but Vultures doesn’t take off live, so we decide to swap it with “I Will Live Again” for the Manchester show!

And here comes Blood Pee:

The setlist has emerged to this version by now:

25.04. Manchester –
Raving mad! Together with Glasgow the highlight of the UK tour. Great crowd, fantastic new venue (purpose built, clean, lots of rooms and showers) and for the first and only time during the UK run – good catering! The set works great tonight and we are getting very excited about London tomorrow. We will have some pyros at the end of the show. We also know 4350 tickets are sold already – the Brixton academy will be packed!

Check out the review and pictures from Manchester HERE.

26.04. London
Opeth – as different as they are musically from us – experience the same crowd reaction. Birmingham good, Glasgow and Manchester super intense. All camps are a little nervous about London.

The Arch Enemies backstage, discussing tonight’s set:

All the media will be there, the venue is huge, but a bit of a dump as well.. The PA system cant match the Manchester Academy system, the sound on stage is pretty indifferent. And the audience is too far away from the stage – that photo pit is taking up a lot of space. It’s a bit of a shame, because we play the show for the fans and not for the photographers – and I like being able to see people in the front row straight into the eyes. All these factors fall short tonight – but we get a huge mass of people instead! And the show is probably the best we have ever played in London. Apparently it sounded massive upfront and the circle pits, hands in the air and chants reassure us, we are doing great tonight. And the pyro plus big bang at the end is pure rock’n’roll magic!

Here’s a couple pix:

And here the Grand Finale on video:

It is Sharlees birthday today, so there will be quite a lot of partying going on later. I have press lined up for Sunday, so I decide to leave rather early. We need to clean out the bus and move into a hotel room. I look forward to the festival season and a less rigid tour schedule – I haven’t really chilled for ages.

Here I am with my buddy Payman in the hotel lobby, where I will be doing my Sunday press. The fucker didn’t let me win though!

Now its Monday, midnight. We are almost home. I am beyond tired and looking forward to my fluffy bed! We will have a few days rest, until next week: When the Tyranny & Bloodshred tour will kick off in the U.S. and I will do another 4 weeks of mad screaming

This tour is going to be fun and will be our last U.S. tour for a while. We will do festivals in Europe in the summer, then Carcass will do some touring. We are thinking about another European round maybe end of this year. SO WHOEVER WANTS TO SEE US IN THE US: DO IT NOW, WE WONT BE BACK BEFORE LATER IN 2009!

This EU and UK tour has been an absolute success, we played to more than 15.000 fans in these 2 weeks and we explored new territory: Russia! I want to say a big, hearty THANK YOU to everybody who came out to the shows! And to all the bands, who came along for the ride: Textures, 3 Inches Of Blood, Devildriver and the great Opeth of course! Our crew did a fantastic job – We will bring the whole lot with us on the US run! Its good to have this ‘family’ with us – it’s a well-oiled machine with a heart of STEEL and a brain made of METAL!

Hope to see some of you out there!

Angela

PS: We have just launched our UNITED ENEMIES fanclub! Check it out HERE and join us!

PURCHASE TICKETS to the TYRANNY & BLOODSHRED TOUR by clicking the links below

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The End Records have set a release date of June 24th, 2008. for the North American release
of Made Out of Babies new album, The Ruiner

The Brooklyn-based band’s third album retains the group’s trademark ferocious hybrid of PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Big Black, it also finds the band exploring new and unsettling realms.

Using photos from exhibits on the evolution of mankind at The Museum of Natural History in New York City,
the album artwork was designed by critically-acclaimed artist Seldon Hunt (Isis, Pelican, The Melvins, Peeping Tom).

To view a larger image of the artwork, go HERE.

You can hear an excerpt of the song “Cooker” at myspace.com/theendrecords. For more info on MOOB check out the band’s revamped official website page www.madeoutofbabies.com.

Just in case any of you might be interested in very different kind of heavy metal…here are some new pics just released by Glen Benton of the Deicide frontman brandishing various guns from his extensive collection.

On April 28, 2008, Florida death metal giants Hate Eternal played New York City’s BB Kings Blues Club & Grille in support of their latest album, Fury & Flames (Metal Blade).

In the clips below, see vocalist/guitarist Erik Rutan lead his four-piece through “Bringer of Storms” from Fury & Flames, as well as “The Obscure Terror” from 2002’s King of All Kings and “Behold Judas” from 2005’s I, Monarch. (more…)

Since 1980, German experimental band Einstürzende Neubauten (translated “collapsing new buildings”) have traveled a unique sonic path that has included creating power electronic landscapes, dark noise ballads and, most famously, proto-industrial assaults out of metal harvested from junkyards.

On the eve of EN’s latest release, Alles Weider Offen, MetalKult had the opportunity to sit down with singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Blixa Bargeld to discuss his band’s West Berlin history, his work with avant-alternative creative Nick Cave, the theory behind scrap metal sonics and the creation of “unbelievable noise.”

Check it out below: (more…)

On April 28, 2008, Louisiana death grinders Soilent Green played New York City’s BB Kings Blues Club & Grille in support of their latest album, Inevitable Collapse In the Presence of Conviction (Metal Blade).

In the clips below, see the four-piece—vocalist Ben Falgoust, guitarist Brian Patton, drummer Tommy Buckley and bassist Scott Crochet—tear through “Slapfuck” from 1995’s Pussysoul, as well as “Mental Acupuncture,” “Blessed In the Arms of Servitude” and “In the Same Breath” from Inevitable Collapse. (more…)

On October 18th, 2007, when self-described “piss-angry metal band” Saviours played the Luna Lounge in Brooklyn for the Kemado Records CMJ Showcase (along with doom rockers Witchcraft) MetalKult tagged along to document all the heavy riffing and hairy head-banging.

Below, check out the Oakland, CA, band as they play the title track from 2006’s “Crucifire” as well as the title track and “Raging Embers” from 2008’s Into Abaddon. (more…)

+++Hey guys! It’s Angela from Arch Enemy here. Over the next few weeks I’m gonna be checking in with updates from our U.S. Tyranny and Bloodshred tour. But before that madness begins on May 9 in Philly, I thought I’d give you a little taste of what’s to come. Below is the dirt from our Amsterdam, Paris and Antwerp gigs. +++

We are moving into the tour bus today. Apparently its Motorhead’s vehicle. And what a bus! Double-decker, 15 meters long. Very nice and a little posh inside. Just have a look!

This is how my cosy little space looks like:

Check out the Arch Enemy clan in the lounge downstairs HERE and HERE. I am not in the picture, because I am wearing pajamas and glasses. I know, this is not metal

And this – ladies and gentlemen – is Lemmy’s personal ice bucket!

Playing Amsterdam on a Saturday night - wohoo!!! Our Dutch friends know how to have a good time! The show was sold out and with broken hearts we had to watch the ticket office turning all these kids away. But the total cap of the venue, Melkweg, is 1400 and security is simply the most important thing – too many tragic events in overfilled clubs have happened to risk anything.

Textures did a great job opening up for us – we had them out with us in the past. The venue was boiling up and smelled quite interesting: A melange of sweat and cannabis – they must have been smoking my chocolate, haha.

It was easy to launch into a furious, high rising set - 90 minutes of excessive metal! I loved every second that night - to leave the crowd completely exhausted and happy is the best reward you can get!

Check out this shot from side stage:

Unfortunately we couldn’t launch into a proper celebration afterwards – a long drive to Paris called for an early bus departure. But here a few backstage impressions:

Me, my friend Susan (Murder Syndicate/Cliteater), Green&Blacks organic chocolate and a kick ass new Legion Of The Dammed Hoodie – I am happy!

And my girls Luna:

and Eline:

Here is a cool clip of Michaels solo spot:

Arriving at noon in Paris – just in time for the load in. It’s the best time of the day to sleep: You hear the crew getting out of their bunks and into working gear: The sound of others working real hard is very soothing to my ears… haha! It’s the feeling everything will be taken care of, its all going to be fine. I love getting up a lot later and walking into a ‘ready-to-rock’ venue. We handpick our crew, so they’re the best: hard working, lovely, funny and all smoking hot

Speaking of smoking hot: It’s my brother Benjamin’s birthday today and I managed to get a hold of him in his new home in the south of Spain. My little niece Lavinia will be joined by a tiny terror brother soon. Benjamin lives a very different life from mine, but it’s just as crazy.

Paris, Bataclan is packed with almost a 1000 souls ready to thrash. They are already going berserk when Textures hit the stage, forming huge circle pits. By the time we go on, the temperature has risen to sauna-level and the air is pure mist. We are basically breathing water instead of oxygen. The French maniacs are frantic. Singing along with the lyrics and the melodies, showing no signs of fatigue. I start feeling light-headed towards the end of the set and seeing little stars. There is no air left in the house! We look freshly showered with clothes on. It’s just the smell that gives the truth away. Its pure fucking sweat and we worked hard for it. And the French crowd beats every other audience so far on this tour! Je t’aime – merci beaucoup!!!

Here is a good clip from “Revolution Begins!”:

And here is a bit from “Nemesis”

Check out this cute letter I received from a very young Arch Enemy girl: Tuukka from Finland!

Exhausted but very happy we crawl into the bus that night to drive up to Belgium Antwerp. We have played Hof Ter Lo a couple of times before. Getting the Belgium crowd going is not that easy. The show will be on Monday evening – a day most people hate with a vengeance, everybody sober and tired from the prospect of a long working week ahead. Not the best circumstances, and the show falls a little short compared to all the others as a result. The audience really makes 50% of the show happen and tonight the atmosphere isn’t magic. It’s a shame because I want them to let go, let loose. By the end of the set they are finally catching fire, but then the show is over. And I make a mental note: No shows on Mondays in Belgium - let it be a day off!

Here is a great clip of “Enemy Within”

And go HERE to check out some photos from that show.

Since we’re off to England next, we need to discuss and decide the set for the UK shows – We are getting clear orders from our lighting engineer Richard.

See Michael working on the setlist right here:

We hurry and get out of the venue to make the ferry to England. We miss it anyway and now we are all hanging out on the bus, jamming silly music. We have to wait to 4.30 AM for the next boat and then it’s a 90 minutes crossing. I haven’t made up my mind yet if I should stay on the dark, locked up bus in the belly of the beast or hang around on deck for the crossing. Both options are equally tempting. The thought of having a day off tomorrow in good ol’ England is a good one though. And the prospect of four upcoming raging mad shows is exhilarating. Manchester is already sold out; Birmingham, Glasgow and London are closing in quickly too. I am getting all excited just thinking about it and must jam some Judas Priest now. Defenders of the Faith – Hells yeah. As our religion is METAL TO THE LAST BONE!

Amen to that!
Yours truly, Angela

PS: I found a cool interview with Michael that he conducted with GetInThePit TV

And also this one with Daniel

Pig Destroyer/Agoraphobic Nosebleed grind guitarist Scott Hull (far right) will release his first solo record, Requiem this June 10 on Relapse Records. Requiem sees Hull explore his long-time love for movies and cinema score in the form of a beautifully crafted piece of work.

Advance song titles from Requiem include: “Consequenze”, “Visita all’ospedale”, “Morte sul treno”, and “Il funerale di Bonnie”.

Audio samples taken from the album can be heard now via the Scott Hull MySpace page: MySpace.com/ScottHullMusic.

On February 21, 2008, when Swedish progressive metallers Opeth rolled into New York City on a press tour in support of their latest album Watershed, MetalKult invited guitarist/vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt and guitarist Fredrick Akesson into our studios for a question-and-answer session.

In the following interview, check out the guys as they discuss a wide range of topics, including guitar heroes, the “Norwegian black metal mafia,” band lineup changes and what to do when you’re down on inspiration.

Check out the interview here: (more…)