Just a couple more days of special "Headbangers Ball" programming on MTV2 before the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards special telecast rips you a new orifice Saturday night at 11 p.m. Tonight's "Ball," which starts at 11 p.m., will be hosted by Massachusetts mainstream metalcore band All That Remains, and will feature exclusive interview footage and videos.
Tomorrow's special "Headbangers Ball" will air at midnight and will feature 30 minutes with Cali deathcore sensations Suicide Silence and a half hour with Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor, who deejayed the Golden Gods pre-show.
Stay tuned after Saturday's Golden Gods special for a one-hour post-show special featuring performance outtakes as well as more interviews and backstage footage. Click "more" to see our Golden Gods interview snippets with All That Remains. Read more...
Melodic metalcore band All That Remains have gotten some flack for the euphoric choruses and infectious riffs that made "Two Weeks" a staple of rock radio. But the Massachusetts band's mainstream success wasn't pre-formulated, and, is actually pretty surprising. Their songs might be catchier than those of their peers, however All That Remains latest album, Overcome, still features lots of vicious thrash riffs, Swedish death metal guitar harmonies and enough screaming to keep Throat Coat tea in business. Plus, the band's songwriting is crafty, but hardly conventional thanks to guitarist Oli Herbert's background in classical music composition.
After their soundcheck for the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards we hooked up with vocalist Phil Labonte, Herbert and guitarist Mike Martin to talk about All That Remains' considerable success, unorthodox writing approach, extra-curricular activities and the difference between touring the U.S. and other countries. We also discussed plans for their next album, the importance of a national metal awards ceremony and the way metal thrives under Republican administrations and. Click "more" to stream or download the podcast. And watch All That Remains' performance on the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards on our exclusive telecast May 2 on MTV2. Read more...
Ex-Black Dahlia Murder guitarist John Kempainen, photo by Jon Wiederhorn
Touring in a rock band just ain't what it used to be. With zoning restrictions at play and real estate prices through the roof, it's getting harder to get gigs at decent places, show attendance and merch sales have dropped with the nosediving economy, the dawn of filesharing has rendered album royalties nonexistent, and now many labels want a cut of touring and merch profits, meaning bands have to tour all year long just to pay the rent at apartments and homes they're hardy at. No wonder a growing number of musicians are throwing in the towel.
On November 29, The Black Dahlia Murder lost guitarist John Kempainen, who had been with the group since 2002 and appeared on the band's debut full-length, 2003's Unhallowed. Apparently, Kempainen quit on the eve of a tour launch with Misery Index and Soilent Green and the band has carried on as a four-piece. According to the band's label, Kempainen was tired of being on tour for ten months out of the year and wanted to spend more time with his friends and family. Read more...
NOTE: For one week only, "Headbangers Ball" Will air from 2 to 3 a.m. EST. Set your TIVO.
It has been a pretty good week for All That Remains. First, the Massachusetts metalcore band landed its highest charting first week on Billboard's album chart, hitting #16 with Overcome, which sold about 29,000. And now, HeadbangersBlog.com readers have voted the band's video for "Chiron" back for the next show -- over clips by In Flames, The Human Abstract, Unleashed, Hatebreed and others. Read more...
