Marc Rizzo Announces New Project, Solo Album, Live Dates; Group Debuts KISS Cover

Courtesy: O’Donnell Media Group

Marc Rizzo has joined with two well-known friends to form a new band.

The announcement was made Thursday through a press release. Rizzo, Tony Campos (Static-X, Soulfly), and Christian “Opus” Lawrence (Dead By Wednesday, Ellefson) have formed the new super group, Hail The Horns. The group premiered the lyric video for its cover of KISS’ song, ‘God Of Thunder’ Tuesday.

The video features the original song’s lyrics over imagers of skulls and occasional shots of the band. The band’s take on the original song is a presentation that audiences will find interesting. That is due to the stark contrast of the homage that the instrumentation pays to the original work against Campos’ heavy vocals. Campos’ vocals are far heavier and gritter than those of Gene Simmons, who provided vocals to the original song.

In related news, Hail The Horns has announced a brief tour in November. The brief Midwest tour is scheduled to run from Nov. 18 in Lombard, IL to Nov. 21 in Braidwood, IL, with performances in Fort Wayne, IN and Des Moines, IA in between. The tour’s schedule is noted below.

The group have announced Midwest tour dates for November 2021:
Nov 18 – Lombard, IL – Brauerhouse
Nov 19 – Fort Wayne, IN – Piere’s
Nov 20 – Des Moines, IA – Venue TBA
Nov 21 – Braidwood, IL – Top Fuel Saloon
More dates to be announced!

In other news, Rizzo is scheduled to release his first ever hits compilation, Living Shred Vol. 1 Sept. 10 through Godsize Records. The 11-song record will pull songs from all four of Rizzo’s solo albums.

Rizzo’s tour dates with Hail the Horns are not his only live dates scheduled this year. He is also scheduled to tour with Whiskeydick this month. The band’s tour dates are noted below.

Catch Rizzo Solo on tour this August with WHISKEYDICK :
August 13 – Sioux Falls, SD – Big’s Bar w/ Enuff Z’Nuff
August 14 – New Market, MN – The Doublewide
August 15 – Green Bay, WI – Old School Bar
August 16 – Pekin, IL – Twisted Spoke Saloon
August 17 – Braidwood, IL – Top Fuel Saloon
August 18 – Lombard, IL – Brauerhouse
August 19 – Kansas City, MO – The Westport Saloon
August 20 – Durham, CT -Soft Tail Saloon
August 21 – Syracuse, NY – Outdoor Event
August 24 – Denver, CO – Lion’s Lair
August 25 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Triple Nickel
August 26 – Amarillo, TX – Zombiez
August 27 – Fort Worth, TX – The Rail Club

In other touring news, Rizzo was originally scheduled to tour with Soulfly. However an announcement from Nuclear Blast Records Thursday revealed that Fear Factory founding guitarist Dino Cazares has allegedly taken Rizzo’s place on the tour. The announcement offered no explanation as to whether Cazares was replacing Rizzo and whether Rizzo is still a member of Soulfly.

When he was asked about that matter, Rizzo offered the following brief statement:

“I’m super excited to move foward with my solo project, Hail the Horns, and Revenge Beast!!! These last few years have been too much of a stress on my life and being home this past year focusing on my projects has been super healthy for me. Much love to all the fans and I can’t wait to hang with you guys after my shows and talk more in person!!

More information on Rizzo’s new band is available along with all of its and his latest news at:

Website: https://www.hailthehorns.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hailthehorns

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Static-X Debuts ‘Dead Souls’ Video

Courtesy: Otsego Entertainment Group, LLC/TAG Publicity

Static-X debuted the video for its latest single this week.

The band debuted the video for its single ‘Dead Souls.’  The song is the fourth single from the band’s recently released album Project: Regeneration Volume 1.  Its debut follows the debut of the album’s other singles ‘Bring You Down,’ ‘All These Years,’ and ‘Hollow.’

The band’s ‘Dead Souls’ video features a blindfolded woman in a forest setting seemingly controlling a masked figure in a city, who ends up capturing a man and bringing him to the forest for the apparent mystic.  The mystic ends up binding the man’s hands and leads him away as the video ends.

The musical arrangement featured in ‘Dead Souls’ is an example of the change that Wayne Static displayed in his vocal performance style before his death as well as the approach to songwriting taken by Static’s band mates — Tony Campos, Ken Jay, and Koichi Fukuda since Static’s passing.  Ministry founder/front man Al Jourgensen provided a guest vocal performance for the song.

Campos discussed Jourgensen’s appearance on the song in a recent interview.

“This song has become one of my favorite tracks on the record,” said Campos.  “We had no intention on doing a video for it initially, but it came out so good, we had to do it.  I’m so grateful to Al Jourgensen for singing on the track with Wayne.  Ministry was a big influence on us, and I know Wayne would’ve been just as stoked as I am to have Al sing on one of our records.  I think the video fits the song really well.  It’s dark, creepy, with just a touch of humor.”

More information on Static-X’s new album, tour dates and more is available online now at:

 

Website: http://www.static-x.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/staticx

Twitter: http://twitter.com/OfficialStaticX

 

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Static-X Debuts Full Album Teaser Video For New LP

Courtesy: Otsego Entertainment Group, LLC/TAG Publicity

Static-X is giving audiences one more preview of its long-awaited album Project Regeneration Volume 1.

The band debuted a full album trailer Thursday for the album, which is Static-X’s first new album in more than 11 years.  The trailer takes listeners through the course of the 12-song record, giving audiences a preview of each song along with video snippets.

Project Regeneration Volume 1 will be available at midnight through Static-X’s official website and available to stream and download here.

Original band member Ken Jay recently had the following to say about Project Regeneration Volume 1, which features the last recorded vocals from the band’s late original front man — and band namesake — Wayne Static.

“While hearing Wayne’s voice again provided some incredibly emotional
moments for us all, the feeling I’ve ultimately gotten from being in this
band and from making music together is FUN…I hope that everyone who listens to this album feels the same way,” he said.

Fellow founding member Tony Campos expanded on his band mates comments.

“I’m really excited to finally get the record out to the fans,” said Campos.  “I know
they’ve been waiting a long time for this, but I’m hoping once they
get it, they’ll hear the love, sweat, and tears we put into it, and feel
like we’ve done right by them, Wayne’s family, and Wayne’s
memory.”

Project Regeneration Volume 1 is the first of two new albums from Static-X this year.  The second volume will release later this year.  The current record features not only Static’s final vocal performances, but new lyrics and vocal performances from current front man Xero.

Project Regeneration Volume 1‘s track listing is noted below.

 

 

Track List:
1. Regeneration
2.Hollow (Project Regeneration)
3. Worth Dyin For
4. Terminator Oscillator
5. All These Years
6. Accelerate
7. Bring You Down (Project Regeneration)
8. My Destruction
9. Something of My Own (Project Regeneration)
10. Otsego Placebo
11. Follow
12. Dead Souls

 

 

More information on Static-X’s new album, tour dates and more is available online now at:

 

Website: http://www.static-x.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/staticx

Twitter: http://twitter.com/OfficialStaticX

 

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Ruining Lives Is Prong’s Best Album Yet

Courtesy: Steamhammer/SPV Records

This is our best album yet. THIS is our best album yet. Who hasn’t heard these words uttered time and again by any number of artists, groups and bands? That phrase is tossed around far too much today. It seems like every artist, band and group feels their latest album is their best album yet. Yet it seems like so many albums from said artists, groups, and bands sound like their previous releases. However, in the case of Ruining Lives, the latest album from Prong, that line is more than proper. Prong founding member Tommy Victor has worked hard to get his band to where it is today, all the while staying just under the mainstream radar. Ruining Lives could potentially be the album that finally breaks Prong through that barrier. One of the reasons for this could be that Victor manned the boards himself on this album and invited Steve Evetts (Skinlab, Sepultura, The Dillinger Escape Plan) to lend his talents, too. The end result of their work is an album the more than deserves to be on any metal purist’s list of the year’s top ten best new hard rock and metal albums by year’s end.

Ruining Lives is an album that more than deserves to be called the best album by far from Prong. The main reason for that is that long-time fans will be able to pick out elements of so many of Prong’s previous records throughout the course of its eleven total tracks. Right from the album’s outset, long-time fans will be transported back to 1994 and Prong’s hit album Rude Awakening. The driving guitar line has obvious elements from that album. But there is also an obvious growth from that point, too. Victor’s vocals sound as strong as ever as he sings, “Great power/Great rage/So deafening/Turning it over/It’s oppressing/More power/More gain/There’s more for me.” The point of Victor’s guitar chops are just as strong. That’s especially evident as he breaks into the song’s old school style guitar solo. The speed and accuracy of Victor’s playing and his vocal power show that he is at the top of his game here. Alexei Rodriguez’s drumming and Tony Campos’ bass work are just as solid. They add their own touch to this song, making it all the more pummeling.

The energy exuded by ‘Turnover’ is just the beginning for Victor and his band mates on this album. That applies in every sense of the word. The trio barely gives listeners time to catch their breath before launching into the album’s second song ‘The Barriers.’ This speed/thrash metal style song is a full throttle song that is the purest of fodder for any mosh pit in a live setting. As with the album’s opener, Victor and company have never sounded better. This song makes Prong sound like a band reborn and Victor specifically a man reborn. Victor sings in this song, “This must be a dream/Can’t believe this is happening/This can’t be real/Now at their feet/Gonna have to kneel/Reach out for a remedy/Searching for transparency/Barriers of fear/All built up right through the years.” He sounds as strong as he did in his younger years. And this song is not the only one exhibiting this, either.

Fans of Prong’s older material will be just as impressed by the work of Victor and his current band mates on the likes of the album’s title track. Victor himself noted in an interview of this song that it has a feel and sound similar to that of Force Fed. The controlled chaos of Victor’s shredding combined with Campos’ full on low end and Rodriguez’s equally solid timekeeping will definitely make this song a favorite of both long-time fans and those that are less familiar with the band’s body of work. It serves as one more example of how much Victor has grown over the course of his career. Because of its link to Prong’s early days and its “cleaner” more focused sound, it shows just how much Prong has yet to offer. And with any luck, Tommy Victor and his current band mates will hear that too and release even more Prong albums in the years to come.

Ruining Lives will be available April 28^th via Steamhammer/SPV Records. The band is currently in the midst of a European tour in support of the album. Its current schedule keeps it overseas through August. Audiences can find the band’s most current tour schedule online at http://www.facebook.com/prongmusic and http://prongmusic.com. Audiences can check out both website s to keep up with the latest updates from the band, too. And the album itself can be ordered via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Ruining-Lives-incl-bonus-poster/dp/B00INXSIG4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397036396&sr=1-1&keywords=prong+ruining+lives. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Jourgensen Releasing New Ministry Album, Live DVD, Autobiography

Al Jourgensen said some time ago that he was done with Ministry.  He said that he had no intention of releasing anymore Ministry albums after the release of the band’s last album, Relapse (2012).  As he stated himself, “I had no choice.”  But like a heavyweight that just can’t stay out of the ring, Jourgensen is returning to the metal ring this Fall with another new Ministry album.  The upcoming album, the thirteenth from Jourgensen under the Ministry moniker, is titled From Beer to Eternity.  It is currently scheduled to be released September 6^th via 13^th Planet Records.

Courtesy: Herfitz PR

Work on From Beer to Eternity started in December 2012 with band mates Mike Scaccia (guitars), Sin Quirin (guitars), Aaron Rossi (drums), and Tony Campos (bass) at Jourgensen’s 13^th Planet studios in El Paso, Texas.  Jourgensen wrote the music and lyrics for all eleven of the album’s songs and produced it, too.  Sadly, Scaccia—then 47 years old—died before the record was finished after suffering a heart attack on stage with his band, Rigor Mortis.  Jourgensen commented on Scaccia’s death, expressing the band’s sadness at his passing and how it helped push this new record forward.  “We have never, in the history of Ministry, ever had a tracking session like that before,” Jourgensen said.  “Everything went so smoothly, it was surreal.  And Mikey was so on fire and inspired, and really a driving force for this record.”  He went into more detail, explaining that because of Scaccia’s death and his excitement over the record that he had to push on.  “There was no choice,” he said.  “During the tracking sessions, Mikey was smiling and going, ‘You know what, Al?  This is by far and away the best Ministry album we’ve ever done together.  This is awesome.’  I’m super proud of From Beer to Eternity because it’s my tribute to Mikey’s incredible talent, and I feel it honors him and all of the years we spent together making music.”  There is even a track on the new album dedicated to Scaccia titled, ‘Change of Luck.’

Other songs that fans will want to hear from this highly anticipated album include, ‘Punch in the Face’, and the album’s high energy, sarcastic, sound-effect heavy, ‘Hail to his Majesty (Peasants)’ and the album’s first single, ‘PermaWar.’  The single will be released digitally via iTunes late this month as a three-track maxi-single.  Along with the new album’s standard edition, 13^th Planet Records will be releasing it in a special thirteen-track digipack, a FanBox edition, and a vinyl and limited edition 12” picture discs. 

The release of From Beer to Eternity is reason for Ministry fans to be excited.  It’s not the only reason they have to be excited.  Jourgensen will also be releasing his autobiography, Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen next Tuesday, July 9^th.  The autobiography was penned by Jourgensen with Jon Wiederhorn.  It will be published by Da Capo Press.  Making fans even happier, those fans that attend this year’s already sold-out Wacken Open Air Festival will get to purchase the band’s new double-disc DVD,  Ministry: Enjoy the Quiet – Live at Wacken 2012.  That release will debut at the annual three-day festival in Germany.  It was filmed at Ministry’s performance at the 2012 Wacken Open Air Festival.  That performance was one of the band’s final shows of its 2012 tour.  The concert, performed in front of seventy-five thousand fans, includes hits such as:  ‘New World Order’, ’99 Percenters’, ‘Ghouldiggers’, ‘Psalm 69’, ‘Thieves’, ‘Just One Fix’, and ‘Khyber Pass.’

Pre-orders for Ministry’s new album will be posted to the band’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/Ministry soon.  Fans can “Like” the page to keep up with the pre-order news, tour dates, and more.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.