Metal bell magazine - Issue 5

ISSUE 5

SPRING 2014

i

An Egyptian Band To Perform in Wacken

he 'Tao Zhong' was one of the earliest bells casted in Primitive China 4,000 years ago. It’s an instrument that was used to call laborers for recess after work. It was also used afterwards by the Benedictine monks to call people for prayer, as well as for social and religious gatherings in AD 500. Later, this idiophone instrument strongly became successful and was used for many other purposes.

We chose “Metal Bell” as the name for our magazine to symbolize what the BELL represented throughout history till our present days: an instrument that is a “Call for Gathering” - to gather our Rock and Metal scenes, to unite under the same Bell Call; to gather and follow artists and create a society that supports, shares and spreads the news, and to keep you updated all the time.

The “Metal” part of the name represents the material that is mostly used to manufacture bells, and as it turns out, it fits in perfectly with the fact that the main founders of this magazine are metal heads! \\m// Metal Bell will be the number one online magazine to support the “Lebanese and Middle Eastern Metal/Rock Scenes” alongside all kinds of underground forms of art. This will be the first and most important aim of this magazine.

randometal p. 6 historia metallum p. 8 art and culture lounge p. 10 local news p. 14 local releases p. 16 crescent in wacken p. 22 the detective: “fen” p. 26 black sabbath in abu dhabi p. 32 70 000 tons of metal p. 34 local events reviews p. 36 international news p. 46

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a Bigger and Better metal Bell!

It was February the 3rd when I received a message from Nathalie Jeha, our PR manager, telling me that the organizers of Black Sabbath’s Abu Dhabi concert have contacted us in order for us to cover and help expose the concert.

It is overwhelming to find out that our hard work is paying off and our magazine is reaching out very quickly, building a huge reputation in the Middle East and beyond. We promised you in previous issues that we will be taking many steps in order to expand, and we have already started toaccomplish some of them.

Metal Bell Magazine is officially covering international events and has covered 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise (pages 34-35) and Black Sabbath in Abu Dhabi (pages 32-33). We will also cover Hellfest, Bloodstock and many more. The magazine has covered and will continue to cover most of the Lebanese and Middle Eastern major festivals. In this issue, you will find a very interesting interview with the fast-rising photographer and director, Youssef Nassar, who shared with us pp.

KAKAKAAK P. 32-33 detailed information about his work,the ban of his film, the exposure he got and the full story behind Porcupine Tree’s video clip (pages 10-14).

I can safely say that this issue is one of the greasiest issues we have ever worked on. It includes a lot of news about new albums in town and reviews from the biggest to P. 18-19 some of the smallest events that happened in Lebanon in the past few months. There is also a cool review about “Hunny I Rocked The Bunny”, the charity event that Metal Bell Magazine is proud to have been part of and to have sponsoredto help gather food for those in need.

As I always do, I should thank the team for their hard work. But for this issue, I would like to thank a family that worked hard, even during the last phase when things got heavy and entered the "very urgent" and "articles must be submitted in 2 days" period. The family showed high professionalism and dedication, from our newest and youngest members to our oldest, to MAKE THIS HAPPEN. Cheers and see you next issue! \\m// T.P.

Editor-In-Chief

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made

this happen

DoubleU (The Wizard): Design Editor/ Art Director

Mayathustra: Managing Editor

ELLE (El-Comandante): Environmental Editor

TP (A Senior Pillar): Editor in chief

Maggie Varbedian: Administrator Davina: Copy Editor

Nathalie Jeha (The Protecting Eye): PR

Poker Face (The Geek): web development

Carmina Khairallah: Senior Editor Rany Battikh: Senior Editor Dahlia Noir: International News Editor Nahla Sindbad: ME & International Reporter Chady Khairallah: Local News/Writer Eddy Hanna: Writer Hussein Shehady: Writer Bashar Hassanieh: Writer Cookie Shemaly: Writer Maurice Semaan: Reviewer

with

Contributor Writers: Simon Nader - David Dias Eliane Radi: Photographer Zyad Zayat: Photographer Nahla Sindbad: Photographer

This section is made for random articles that we don’t want to classify into permanent sections. The concept is to talk about any subject that might cross our minds, from album reviews to articles about the local scene, which does not have to be a musical article but a social one.

Positive Frequencies It's pretty much a fact that there are only two types of radio stations in Lebanon: the "Arabic" ones which broadcast the old and new work of local artists, and the "foreign" ones which are well known for their wide array of eerily similar collection of relatively recent French or English music. Any local musician performing in any language other than Arabic (well, let’s be honest here, mainly English) could easily see what is wrong here, even more if they are part of the Rock or Metal scene.

Their music just has nowhere to be.

In fact, this has led to a classification among people into two major categories depending on what they listen to – those who listen to the radio, and those who listen to "real music".

For way too long, this was considered to be normal or acceptable, and no one really said anything about it, but responded along the lines of “fine, we won’t listen to the radio and will stick to pirating our favorite unpopular tracks off the internet." For musicians though, this is a huge problem. Some local artists do have their songs broadcasted on some radio shows, but those are mostly the artists that have already made it big, and who are not in dire need of getting their music out there. As for

the others, they are already overwhelmed by the lack of cooperative record companies, the poor support of their fans in buying their merchandise and the low to inexistent attendance in their live shows (that is, when they are able to throw any). Fine, we can concede that this is not a country where any radio station could

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broadcast Black or Death Metal and get away with it, but a little recognition for the Rock scene wouldn’t kill anyone.

Yet again, no one said anything about it… until Nathalie Jeha, vocalist of the local Rock act “BandAge”, spoke up on her Facebook page.

And that was it, a domino effect immediately started taking place. All it took was this small, seemingly insignificant post to get reactions flowing. Elia Mssawir, another popular figure of the local Rock and Metal scene, posted an article on his blog shortly afterwards, applauding Nathalie’s opinion and adding his own grain of salt to it. The article received comments from influential figures in the business, notably figures representing

Virgin Radio Lebanon and Radio Beirut, both mentioning their new or ongoing shows promoting local artists. It is worth mentioning that Radio One also has a similar show.

All of this is great, but it is not enough. Nathalie Jeha’s small, social media based reaction has incited many others to flow in a way very similar to a recent event involving a controversial Metal concert and an infamous local TV talk show.

Both aforementioned events

although each coming from one side of the mirror, were little flames that ignited already existing passions.

So, simply put, we do not have any more excuses to believe that one person’s words are not enough. Radio stations have a social media presence for a reason, and it is our duty as potential listeners to demand what we want to listen to. So arm yourself with your keyboard, mouse and plea, and let’s reclaim our right to our own radio station!

Photo by Maya Khouri

7

Bay Area Thrash Metal: The Return (Part 2) Words: Rany Battikh

After briefly discussing the return of one of Metal’s most prominent genres in the early 2000s, I will now showcase some more of my favorite albums that were released towards the end of the decade. Maybe the artists that I will be shedding light on this time are somehow considered to be "obscure" by the international scene, but to me, they are hugely underrated and deserve to be much bigger. They were never significantly successful in the heydays of Thrash Metal back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but their albums definitely hold the status of "cult classic", of them in particular - "Victims of Deception" (Heathen) and "Twisted into Form" (Forbidden).

Unfortunately, I got into Heathen quite late in their career, actually, just after they had gotten back together at the "Thrash of the Titans" show in 2001. My first memories of this band trace back to when I read about them on a forum that stated that their 2 first and only albums were up for download on their official website. I immediately downloaded the albums and gave them a listen or 2 before storing them onto my hard drive. In 2005, I acquired "Victims

of Deception" (1991) on a CD and I was hooked!

"Victims of Deception" is one of those albums that you just put into your player and listen to all the way through, unable to skip even a few seconds. It’s a masterpiece, a brilliant effort brought to life at the end of the Bay Area Thrash first cycle by such an amazing band. Lee Altus, current Exodus guitarist, is the mastermind behind most of the songs and he just doesn’t run out of melodies and cutting-edge riffs; David White, who was out of the band for a while due to popular demand (mainly because of his singing form - which I find to be brilliant), shines throughout the entire album by maintaining a sense of aggressiveness and harmony. And to this day, I still find that VoD holds one of the tightest drums and bass lines I’ve ever heard on a metal record. I probably listened to this album a few hundred times by now... and I still can’t get enough.

I had to write about "Victims of Deception" just to explain my anticipation for its follow-up, "The Evolution of Chaos". In 2009, I stumbled upon Heathen’s 2005 demo that held 3 amazing songs!

By that time, I had already listened

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to many returning thrash bands, but nothing could top that demo! I sat impatiently, waiting for the band to release its promised full-length album that got delayed at least a couple of times. I literally couldn’t listen to anything other than "Victims of Deception" and the 2005 demo during my 6-month wait for "The Evolution of Chaos". I was curious to find out how these guys would sound in 2009- will they go down the "modern thrash" road like many of their colleagues before them, or stay true to their roots? I finally got the album during the first week of 2010.

The album kicks off with a polished version of "Dying Season" (previously released on the 2005 demo) and what a kick ass start it

is! But, of course, I had to make sure that Heathen were still "Heathen" so I kept on going until I reached "No Stone Unturned". This is a killer track and I would go as far as naming it the best thrash song of the past decade. That’s what I missed the most about the 80’s and early 90’s, long epic songs filled with melodies, riffs, tempo changes, defined vocal lines not some random screaming and blazing guitar solos! Heathen managed to keep their "retro" compositional style almost intact throughout the album while using modernized sounds. "The Evolution of Chaos" is the epitome of mixing both worlds into 11 beautifully arranged songs.

"The Evolution of Chaos" replaced "Victims of Deception" in my playlist for a long period of time and the long wait for its release felt so rewarding. Just like its predecessor, it was a joyful ride from start to end. The rhythm was as tight as ever, although Jon Torres (veteran guitarist and bassist) filled the bass position accompanying the might returning Darren Minter this time. You get Kragen Lum (Psychosis) and Lee Altus on an album together and it’s a match made in heaven. My words will not give justice to the mind-blowing and dominating guitar work that is the essence of this album. And I don’t know how he managed to do it, but David White sounds exactly the same as he did in 1991!

2010 was a great year for Metal in general, but for me, getting Heathen’s album was all that mattered. Little did I know that another great returning band was preparing for the launching of its first studio album after 13 years.

Forbidden (previously known as Forbidden Evil and original band of Machine Head’s front-man Robb Flynn and Slayer’s current drummer Paul Bostaph) were Progressive Thrash Metal titans back in the late 80’s. Their high level of technicality and top-notch musicianship never held back their over-the-top energetic live performance. Their first 2 studio albums marked a milestone in the Bay Area scene, especially their second critically praised release

"Twisted into Form".

"Omega Wave" was the title of their upcoming release, but just like "The Evolution of Chaos", it got delayed for many reasons, one of them being that vocalist Russ Anderson was getting his voice back in shape as he had been out of the picture since 1997. When the album finally came out in late 2010, I listened to it very carefully and to be honest, I did not like it at

all. Why? Because I kept comparing it to "Twisted into Form”.

And Anderson’s voice seemed to have lost its "vibrancy" over the years, which left me in disappointment for quite some time.

However, during the summer of 2011, while driving to gigs (mostly playing commercial music) around the country, I would blast some Metal CDs along the way. One day, while heading to the South of Lebanon, my choice fell upon "Omega Wave". I found myself nodding my head all through the first couple of tracks and occasionally rewinding some parts that needed greater attention. I kept on repeating these first 7 tracks for months. In my opinion, this is the definition of Progressive: it’s the kind of music that needs constant attention and repetition to truly assimilate the offered material. Forbidden had too much to offer, indeed. Listening to the arrangement of "Forsaken at the Gates" repeatedly was an out-of-this-world experience, at least to myself. Just when you thought that Metal had been exploited to the core, "Omega Wave" comes in to prove that there is so much more to explore.

Forbidden has actually "matured" and I could not get around that

fact when I first listened to "Omega Wave", but like most progressive records, it is a journey on its own, a unique entity that fits perfectly within its period of release, combining all sorts of musical elements acquired by the musicians through their careers.

In the end, if it wasn’t for "Thrash of the Titans", I wouldn’t be so sure that we would have seen so many great acts getting back together and releasing landmark albums.

Sometimes, I like to think that the return of the Bay Area scene came at the right moment just like it originally emerged in the 80’s as a response to Hair Metal. This time (early 2000s), "METAL" got mainstream again but it involved elements of Rap and Hip Hop. Bands like Exodus, Death Angel, Heathen and Forbidden came back to remind everyone about authentic Metal and how pure but complex of a music form it is. The integrity of the Bay Area Thrash Metal scene is unmatched, and never in the history of Metal have we witnessed such a long lasting powerful phenomena.

That’s it, ’til the next article.

Dedicated in loving memory of the great Jon Torres.

Read more from Rany Battikh here: http://ranymusic.blogspot.com

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art and culture lounge photographer director

Youssef Nassar ar

Youssef Nassar is a young passionate photographer, cinematographer and film maker. He developed a passion for photography at a really young age, and with his parents’ blessings and encouragement, he studied Radio/TV at Notre Dame University. The 23-year-old artist, a musician himself, was so much inspired by Steven Wilson’s music; and his love and appreciation of Wilson’s work pushed Youssef more and more to achieve one of his dreams: directing a music video for Porcupine Tree’s new song “Don't hate me”. We had the chance to have this really fun interview with Youssef with a lot of inside stories.

By t.P. What kind of music do you listen to and to what extent does music affect you and/or your work?

Anything melancholic, mellow, melodic, which, in my case, is anything related to Steven Wilson. It inspires me a lot.

My whole work is related to what I listen to.

choose, I’d go with Photography.

As a Photographer: How and why did you choose photography and the camera to be your working companion?And at what age did you start taking photos? I really can’t remember the day I started photography.

I wish I knew. I started it at the age of 19.

I’m 23 today.

What are the most things that attract and inspire Youssef to take the camera and start taking photos?

People, and of course music.

You are a Photographer, Film Maker and Cinematographer, where do you find yourself the most?

And why?

That’s a tough one. I love them equally but if I had to

What is the best part about being a photographer?

Fastest way to meet people.

What is Youssef’s comfort zone?

Working with

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ordinary people, artists or bands, etc.? Or do you feel more comfortable shooting objects, structures, architecture, etc.?

What really inspires me and keeps me happy is when I travel and take photographs of random people in the streets. I love portraits. I don’t have an interest in the rest.

As a Film Maker & Cinematographer: You are known more to be a photographer but you have been directing for a while now. What got you into this domain? Why did you choose it?

Well, actually I did study film making and not photography.

Photography started mainly as a hobby. I love films and I was really bad at math. Haha!

And physics. And chemistry.

You have worked with and directed videos for several bands such as BloodInk, The Coolcumbers and Roswell.

What can you tell us about each experience? And what is different about each one?

Well, each one of them has a different genre than the other. It was totally different in each band. All of them were shot separately in one hectic day though. The one for The Coolcumbers was supposed to be something else but the weather didn’t help.

about that? And how did this happen? Full story; we like stories :D Well, indeed this is huge. I remember 4 years ago, I was listening to the song “Normal”

by Porcupine Tree for a while and I thought I’d love to give it a shot and direct a tribute music video for the song. It was a very low budget thing and my first experience with a camera. Turned out to be great and people loved it. I even got some feedback from Lasse Hoile himself (personal photographer/film maker for Steven Wilson). Last year, I

went to London to attend the signing session of the “The Raven That Refused to Sing”, Steven’s recent work. I went well prepared, with some artworks I already did with a “Raven” story in each one of them. He loved them, and I made sure to stay in touch with him. Came back to Lebanon and started working on my short film “The Exhibition” and I needed his music for the film, so he gave me his copyrights for it and he loved the film so much.

That’s when we started sharing mails regarding new material. So I ended up getting the chance to direct “Don’t Hate Me” by Porcupine Tree. This song will be played in Steven Wilson’s next tour.

Any future projects with local or international bands, whether in photography or movie making?

Local, not sure. International, I’m working hard on the “Don’t Hate Me” idea for now and then I’m planning something for Anathema.

Now the big news. Few years back, you have made a tribute video for Porcupine Tree’s “Normal” from “Fear of a Blank Planet” album in 2011. Now you will officially be directing "Don't hate me”. I understand that this is a dream coming true for you; so how do you feel

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Well, the film has nothing to Well do with w sex or pornography. I mean, a couple of breasts mea were seen in the film but in a very artistic way you wouldn’t even notice. But I guess the General Security in Lebanon Gene wouldn’t know the difference. woul It’s ffine with me anyway.

Wasn’t planning to screen it Was Lebanon anyway. Well, a in Le private screening for the film priva might occur pretty soon. migh

I bet you have the passion to become a blockbuster movie director, so who are your Who iis your iinfluences? fl ? Wh favorite director in the movie making field? And who is your favorite director in the music video field?

Well, I really admire Lars von Trier’s work and Stanley Kubrick (although I haven’t seen his whole filmography).

In the music video field, I really like Jess Cope’s art (she does animation mainly) and Lasse Hoile.

What can you tell us about “The Exhibition”? What is the story of the film? And are you satisfied with the

results?

It’s a story about a photographer who starts taking nude pictures off Lebanese girls i L b il until he does an exhibition and invites their parents to the event and takes their reactions in photographs.

That’s around 30% of the story. It’s a taboo thing. I’m very satisfied with the results.

“The Exhibition” was banned in Lebanon for nudity reasons. How furious are you about this? And how can Lebanese people watch your movie in this case, since we believe that the movie has already been n shown in several countries? countrries?

met l bell.com metal-bell.

Can you tell us which countries your movie was shown in, and a what kind of reviews did the t movie receive? was screened in Cannes, It wa Paris, Prague, Vienna and Paris Ireland so far.

Irela I got very good reviews about it so far. They respect art there whether they like the film or they don’t. Which is great.

What are the hardest and easiest things in your job?

Hardest, I would say to find the characters and locations needed for a certain project.

Easiest? There’s nothing easy.

Other than Porcupine Tree, name a famous artist you would love to shoot or work with?

Well, Steven Wilson of course, Anathema, Katatonia, Blackfield (anything related to Steven actually).

Is there any upcoming work you’d like to share with our readers?

Nope.

Thank you very much Youssef Nassar, Metal Bell Magazine wishes you all the best.

Thank you.

©Youssef Nassar

If you are interested in Youssef’s work, check out his website. It is really smooth to surf and perfectly designed: www.youssefnassar.com

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JAY WUD–Officially Endorsed by Orange & Shure In the midst of the work on his custom-made guitar by Wild Customs Guitars, with which he was endorsed few months ago, Jay Wud added to his endorsement list two of the leading music manufacturers in the world: the British Orange Amplifiers, and the American audio product corporation Shure. After Jay announced the endorsements on his Facebook page, we addressed him and his management, and they promised us more news to come. So stay tuned, for Jay Wud will not cease to surprise us, and check out his page constantly: facebook.com/jaywudmusic.

AN EPIC WARNING After their epic performance at the AUB Outdoors, Tanya Rizkala, the vocalist of the Lebanese rock band EPIC, shared the stage with Raphaël “Rapha” Garrido from the French band Warning on the 14th of June in France. The band had previously announced that they are in the process of recording some new tracks in the studio by posting a picture of Tanya recording some “killer vocals on a new Epic song”.

XCEED – The legendary 90’s Rock band is Back After years of absence, the Legendary Lebanese Rock band from the 90’s, XCEED fronted by one of the most influential vocalists in Lebanon, Sir Haitham El-Khatib, is back with the lineup completed by Raafat Atasi who filled the long time vacant drums position. The band is currently in the process of writing material for their upcoming EP called “Farming Thoughts”. The band’s current lineup is as follows: Haitham El-Khatib on vocals, Ahmad Rammal on lead guitars, Moutaz Hammad on rhythm guitar, Shervin Maddah on bass guitar, and Raafat Atasi on drums. Check out Xceed’s facebook page to stay connected: facebook.com/pages/XCEED/130015130955

ALAN AZAR – Crack in the Shell new guitarist Alan Azar has recently joined Crack in the Shell, a rock band from California U.S.A. that was founded in 2012 by Daniel Alan (Guitar/Vocals) & James McFadden (Bass/Keyboards). Alan’s first performance as a member of Crack in the Shell will be on June 28th, supporting The Winery Dogs, the band that is formed by Billy Sheehan, Richie Kotzen and Mike Portnoy. The band will also open for Queensryche on August the 3rd. Stay tuned for more interesting news from Alan by constantly checking his page: facebook.com/Azar.Alan

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ZIX - One More Guest and Album Art Revealed Another international name to be added to the legions of “Metal Strike”... The Lebanese Metal revolution anthem that the guys at Zix are putting together has already gathered names such as Tony Martin, Blaze Bayley, Paul Di’Anno and Ronny Munroe. And now, the band announced on their Facebook page another big international name to participate in the all-star song, Paul Shortino, an American rock singer and musician who has sung for several bands, including Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He recorded the lead vocals for Dio’s Heavy Metal benefit project Hear 'n Aid single "We're Stars". The artwork of the album was also revealed (see picture on the right). The artwork was created by Anime Artist Philippe Hage Boutros.

MICHEL LABAKI – Dear Mother It looks like Fodera Guitars/GRUV GEAR & Lathon Bass Wear Artist Michel Labex Labaki has a mind-blowing album in store for us! Progress on the new album "DEAR MOTHER" entails collaboration with Jose Fernandez, Harris Harris from USA, drummer Florian Hoefnagels from Holland, Toni Khalifeh, Dia Singer, bassist Derrick Doc Murdock from USA, Dennis Guevara from Kurzweil, Quincy Jones artist Xriss Jor, and Kristian Abouanni, in addition to DW Artist Ralph Choueiri! Man this album looks amazing.

BLOOD INK? No More In a private conversation with bassist Roy Nawfal, mostly known for being the owner and manager of Rock Ring, about his band Blood Ink’s activity, Roy told us that the band is “Dead”, this could mean that the band no longer exists or is on hiatus. In all cases, the band now is not at all active or not planning to be anytime soon. But Roy promised us and his fans that the album will be released. Concerning the date? Well no date yet as well but we will sure inform you once we get it.

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Words: TP

the covenant (9/10)

The UAE-based Extreme Experimental Metal band formed in 2007 by the Sarieddine Brothers Hadi and Fadi released its debut album “The Covenant” in March of this year, and to be honest, the album is huge. If you liked their debut EP “Divided”, you are definitely going to love the album.

If you are not familiar with the EP, you are definitely going to love the album. It is as simple as that.

Whether you are an Extreme Metal/Progressive Metal/Thrash Metal fan or a Psychedelic fan, you have to read this track-by-track review and give this album a listen.

TRACK 1: VOID A smooth introduction; the main rollers are the synthesizer, the guitar and the vocals. A psychedelic one and a half minute song that takes you to another world, without giving you any hints of what to expect of the album, but is surely to get you in the mood and prepare you for what is coming next.

TRACK 2: ASPHYXIA “Barricades of visions, darker than the truth - Uncharacteristic divisions - Omens of an impending doom”. Definitely one of the heaviest songs in the album, it starts with heavy riffing and incredibly amazing drums. Oh! Have I mentioned that the legendary Andols Herrick (Ex-Chimaira) is featured as the drummer on this song? Well this song proves the high level of musicianship and professionalism of Benevolent and urges you to listen to all the other tracks. As in many of the songs in the album, the psychedelic parts are always existent; and in this song in particular, around the middle, you will hear the lyrical part of Void. This is one of my favorite songs on the album; a very versatile and mind blowing track.

TRACK 3: THE SEEKER You are welcomed with a killer thrashy/Symphony X-ish riff, and then the growl part kicks in and you can’t, you just can’t but headbang.

And the chorus “Delve deep into your soul - Seek the path above them all” with Hadi’s clean voice is just astonishing. The song is really technical; for progressive fans, you are going to like this one. The song keeps on surprising me while it progresses. Each part is better than the one

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before. The solo is a killer, highly performed and well structured. After the solo, here comes the beasty growl of Fadi leading to the ending riff… oh that riff that I couldn’t but repeat like ten times. You JUST GOTTA headbang to that riff. Ok let’s face it, this is my favorite song on the album.

TRACK 4: RADIATE The 2 minutes 40 seconds song is a psychedelic guitarsynthesizer duo that plays

the role of a transitional track between THE SEEKER and ILLUSION. TRACK 5: ILLUSION The song opens with guitar arpeggios followed by a romantic solo. At this point, you feel that the song was already shaped, but wait until the drums kick in and the guitar starts to riff, and wait for the breakdown. And you will definitely find yourself headbanging. The progressive elements are pretty much clear in this song; somehow the Dream Theater influence is clearly apparent in some of the riffs. The vocals are brutal as usual.

The riffs are as heavy as they can get. But I didn’t like this song much; I guess this is my least favorite on this album.

TRACK 6: HEATHEN What can I say about this track? The intro is mind blowing, out of this world.

The complexity and mix of styles in this song bring the album to a higher level. Fadi’s growling is extraordinary as usual; just listen to the dude, seriously. But at this point of the album, the clean vocals are becoming repetitive, giving the same moods in all the songs; you kind of expect how the vocal line will be. And then came the solo, the guy went crazy believe me. This is one sick solo. Benevolent are masters when it comes to the ending riffs of the songs and they surprise you every time. A thrilling death metal finishing to this song just makes you feel like you are in a Stephen King story.

TRACK 7: THE COLLECTOR Headbang, headbang, headbang! A fast Extreme Metal song with a progressive touch, and surely Benevolent’s signature is present in this song as well.

Soft psychedelic chorus with Hadi on the vocals, and then the song gets back to its heavy riffs and monstrous growls. What amazes me in this song and even in the other ones is that the lead guitarist Mohammad always finds a way to trick you, and you can never guess what kind of solo he will be playing: sometimes you feel it should be aggressive, then you find that it is not. He never fails to surprise you throughout the song. Amazing track for all of you headbangers.

TRACK 8: DISSIPATE Another instrumental in the album, also drawn by the synthesizer and the guitar.

The track is not bad at all by itself, but I guess this type of short instrumental tracks is excessively used in this album. I think that the track RADIATE was totally fine at the beginning of the album, but concerning this one, I guess it was misplaced on the tracklist and killed the vibes of the album, at least for me.

TRACK 9: METAMORPHOSIS Oh listen to that groovy riff.

This is the longest track on the album and is almost 10 minutes long. But don’t be alarmed because the thing about Benevolent is that the longer the track gets, the more entertaining it

becomes. I am going to leave this track for you to listen to and judge because simply this song is designed to keep you attentive all the way through. Be careful though, the track is darker than the darkness.

TRACK 10: ASCENSION Dark piano chords layered by few effects and synthesizers and smoothly the guitar sweeps in. A very ambient introduction, then a technical riff kicks in. Hadi’s traditional vocals begin the singing part of the song with a lot of darkness in the background.

Even when Fadi growls in, the amount of sadness expressed with his voice is phenomenal; this is one of the few times I hear a sad growl rather than an angry aggressive one. The song truly ascends in the mood towards the end. This is a very interesting track that I had to play all over again for a couple of times. “Hope in me is trailing, the walkways of Eden's grass - The sun will never rise, for light will never set”.

TRACK 11: REBIRTH A closure for the album, like a continuum of all the other interlude tracks, especially the introduction. This track has the same feel as VOID and is a great last touch on the album.

All in all, the album deserves an 8.5/10. It is one of the best-produced albums in the Middle East. Haven Studio, owned by Hadi Sarieddine, did an incredible job on this album.

If you want to know more about Benevolent, check out their page: www.facebook.com/Benevolent.band

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Words: Maurice Semaan Photos: George Durzi

Unscathed (9/10)

Dubai's Svengali have officially released their debut EP, "Unscathed". A project initiated by Adnan Mryhij and Fadi Al Shami.

Review Summary: No hook, no sinker, no line; a surprisingly catchy and delightfully quirky album.

Calling it a masterpiece sets the bar very high, but Svengali has no problem hitting the mark and surpassing it. It’s all about coming from wherever you come from and taking it wherever you want to go. There are many tracks that stand out on this EP, producing a beautiful juxtaposition between the soothing sound and the violent lyrics.

It is not a particularly speedy record, but the songwriting is expertly crafted, allowing the transitions between sections to sound beautifully organic. The guitars, harmonies, uplifting vocals, resplendent keyboards, and thoroughly melodic hooks produce a wonderful effect, and it is safe to say that, most definitely, the expected power of metal is present in full force!

Track 1 - Ophidia This first song is kicked off by booming tom rolls and head-nodding drum fills and a vocal introduction which gracefully provides plenty of dark, futuristic, melodic flavors making for a solidly produced album introduction.

The riffs are constantly shifting around from more

simplistic, heavy patterns to sweeping melodies that shoot across the fret board, complemented by dynamic vocal arrangements that are in near-perpetual movements.

Track 2 - Sirens A consistent amount of subtle yet highly noteworthy

variations and beautiful clean vocal bridges flow effortlessly over a track that, apart from the destructive guitar riff, doesn’t require over-the-top variations to keep a listener’s attention. It feels like one is falling from a high place with no expectation of landing.

Track 3 - The End This is my favorite track on the EP, as it has the spirit of old school dark music resembling "Paradise Lost". It is melodically catchy as well as it is a 'makes you want to cry' kinda song. All of the included vocals mesh perfectly with the beat of choice. This is an expressively passionate track.

Track 4 - Embrace

ADNAN MRYHIJ - © George Durzi

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This song comes out swinging with a vengeance, as the

tracks repeating sample chops are intelligently put together in a format that provides plenty of variations to keep the listener’s ears fully engaged.

Track 5 - Conquer Progressively introduced with raging power chords and harmonizing lyrics on the chorus, it is a real taste of things to come. It is a soulfully pitched up track with the theme of hatred.

Track 6 - Free Fall Taking us through a deeply

personal journey, this track contains meaningful lyrics, raged drum breaks and backing chords sections.

Melodies throughout the verses quiet down again before transitioning back to the more triumphantly energized and catchy chorus of the track.

for a great conclusion and finale of a breathtaking story throughout the album.

Track 7 - The End (Ishtar cover) This last track on the album leads us to the conclusion and could work well as background music in a movie.

It has beautiful vocals and refined piano blends, making

FADI AL-SHAMI - © George Durzi

JM ELIAS - © George Durzi

Album summary From deep bellows to trailing whispers to distant cleans, the vocal repertoire is by far the most compelling of SVENGALI's career, helping to accentuate the instrumental transitions.

This is definitely not an album that could be used to introduce non-metal listeners to metal music, as this is a heavy resume of the band's technical and composing abilities.

Many might have a hard time feeling emotionally connected to the album’s ever-changing moods and multiple atmospheres, but it is supported by a cast of harsh vocals and non-traditional styles.

I know where I'd rank this album on my imaginary metal continuum! It's a beautiful day!

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Words: Bashar Hassanieh

Twisted Times (8.4/10)

Pindoll is a band that emerged pretty much fast on the local and Middle Eastern scenes. They had performed in major festivals and opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012. They released their debut album on March 1st 2014, and it was a huge success. Their style is a mixture between Indie, Hippie-ish Rock and Nu-Jazz, which created a blend that gave Pindoll their own original signature on the music.

If you are one of those people who judge a book by its cover, then you’re not going to make a very wise judgment concerning Pindoll’s latest album, Twisted Times.

The art cover might not be impressive which may leave you uninterested, but you’d be surely missing out as the content is completely different.

The album seems to be written by someone who has a grudge on an ex-lover, or going through a hard postbreak up time. Basically, Pindoll wrote an album which describes what most couples

go through after a break up. It starts by having the lover disappear and absent himself from the other person’s life – “I think you should go, I need your absence...”

(Absence). We are also given reasons as to why one lover has become fed up with the other and why the relationship might have become broken. The relationship is ruined beyond the point of salvation and has to end, and they cannot do whatever they used to do in order to achieve dreams or euphoria.

Some attempts, however,

are taken to fix the relationship, some twists are run upon, and bam! They are longing for each other again.

The album’s first track “Absence” starts with a steady nostalgic riff, and remains somehow calm all through, sending some really calming vibes. Although the lyrics describe dumping a lover, it sounds pretty cheerful throughout.

I couldn’t resist not chanting along the second track “Keep Walking” whenever I played it! It has that awesome guitar work that kicks in every now and then, making the track irresistible, and it keeps playing in your head over and over again.

Photo by Joe Ke Kesrouani

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“Fed up” is the third track and it’s nothing I wouldn’t set my alarm clock to, or keep on my music player. I should mention here the eargasmic vocal performance at the end

by vocalist Erin.

The fourth track is “Where Dreams Are”. The rhythm at the beginning adds a trippy Indian atmosphere to the whole track. Then comes the superb music ingredient just after half the song passescall it tribal, call it whatever, it induces a weird sensation that is somehow trance-like.

Too bad it ended shortly and wasn’t prolonged.

“Fix it”, number five. As its title indicates, it needs to be fixed. It sounds pretty much like “Fed Up”, starts pretty

low and ends up loud. But let’s not forget to mention the amazing bass work which was pretty much the only impressive thing about this track.

“Twisted Times” is their sixth track and the album title track. Now that’s something!

Again, some pretty neat work on the bass!

Number seven, “Begging”. I would beg for more of this song for sure, especially the part where Erin sings “more, more, MORE, MORE” and that riff kicks in, bringing life

to the track, changing the whole situation, making you want to just sit there listening to the track over and over. Too bad it’s too short!

The band could have moved to a whole new level if they had continued working on this track, going higher and higher.

The eighth track is “The Hidden Silence” and is something I would listen to if I wanted to sleep, or after a very wild party on my way home. It’s that type of song calm and relaxing, a song perfect for chilling.

And finally, number nine, “Stop Me”. It’s different from the others as the drums are a bit louder and somehow faster, accompanied with those cool riffs and bass work that add an awesome atmosphere. The track stops at certain points, then resumes again with the kick ass guitar and bass riffs and the drums pounding and Erin singing “stop me, stop me…”; one track I will not be stopping anytime soon!

Recommended tracks: Keep Walking, Where Dreams Are, Twisted Times, Begging, Stop Me

Don’t miss out on Pindoll and follow them on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pindoll

And tto get the album visit their website for more info: www.pindoll.net

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Words: Mayathustra Interview: T.P. & Chady Khairallah As taken from their Facebook page, they pertain to their “geographical position where ancient Egypt prevailed for centuries spreading knowledge and reaching higher levels of progression”.

Crescent, the blackened death metal band from Egypt, was born in 1999 by founders Ismaeel Atallah (lead guitar/vocals) and Amr Mokhtar (drums), who struggled with many lineup changes throughout the years to finally complete their circle of talented musicians who make up Crescent today, with the addition of bassist Moanis Salem (joined 2009) and guitarist Mohamed Adel (joined October 2013).

Despite political uprisings and as a result thereof,

Crescent emerged to “reflect to you the bitter truth” in their lyrical content, explore the evil in human nature and deliver an experience that is a manifestation of their surroundings, while also reviving old stories and myths to show how they are mirrored in today’s world.

They stated that “this is portrayed in an apocalyptic extreme metal art that signifies the world’s status”.

Crescent have worked hard to get to where they are today, performing in many gigs and concerts around their homeland such as El Sawy Culture Wheel, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Swiss Club and many other small venues. They are one of the few Middle Eastern bands to tour internationally and the only band to play in Wacken Metal Battle this year, after winning the competition in Wacken Metal Battle in Egypt. They went on the Metal Apocalypse Euro Tour in May 2014 where they “covered Germany (Cottbus, Essen, Darmstadt, Hamburg, Munich, Rheine) - Austria (Vienna) - Holland (Arnhem) Czech Republic (Brno) Belgium (Luffinge)”. And now,

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Wacken is next!

They have excelled in their career with 3 albums so far Edgar Allan Poe’s Dreamland [Demo] (1999), The Retribution [EP] (2009), and their upcoming full-length album “Pyramid Slaves”. Their producer and sound engineer is Alan Hurley who has done a great job on their album.

They said that “this coming album will vanquish all!” The artwork has been painted using oil on canvas by artist Akram Fadl and portays a pharaoh.

The track list is as follows: 1 - Gates of The Sun 2 - Ra-Men-Kheper 3 - Crown of Pestilence 4 - An Ode To Qadish 5 - Pyramid Slaves 6 - Temple of The Divine Gods 7 - Fallen Kingdom of Men 8 - Outro

Hello “CRESCENT” and thank you for granting us here at Metal Bell some of your time.

First, how was the band formed and why did you choose Crescent as the name of the band? To what extent is the name reflected in the music and lyrics you compose?

Crescent was founded by Ismaeel Attallah and Amr Mokhtar. We got together and decided to start a band, as simple as that. Crescent is a shape that symbolizes where we come from and it goes back to our ancestors where Crescent-shaped crowns were worn by different ancient Egyptian gods. The lyrics vary depending on what we experience in life and it also reflects our heritage in capturing old myths that might sometimes resemble our present. As for the musical perspective, it certainly shows our roots.

purely a black metal one influenced by Swedish black metal. While the EP titled “The Retribution” shifted to melodic death metal, it maintained an essence of black metal spirit.

We have already shared 3 songs so far from our full length album “Pyramid Slaves” and we believe it can be classified as blackened death metal. Well, we don’t care what subgenre it is as long as it sounds good to us and to people!

How can you describe the styles in the 2 EPs you’ve released in 1999 and 2009?

What style should we expect in your debut album “Pyramid Slaves”?

The first demo in 1999 was

You have been recently touring Europe, how many shows have you done (if you can give us dates and locations), was it your first tour?

And what can you tell us about this experience?

When was your first concert? Any funny stories while performing that you would like to share with us?

It was in 2005. We refrained from being part of any earlier shows before 2005 as the metal scene didn’t have any extreme metal groups at that time.

We have had 10 shows on 10 days. It was a great experience sharing the stage with great bands, our older brothers Hirax, Bonded by Blood and Nuclear! All bands were very supportive and we have had a blast touring with all of them. We drove 6000 KM and it wasn’t easy but we enjoyed it to the max. Touring international is a beautiful thing and it's quite important to get real exposure outside of your home land. Music breaks boundaries and it shows who you really are. Shutdown the media crap and get to know people for real.

Below are the dates, countries and venues.

Thursday May 8th – Vienna (AUSTRIA) "Metal Escape” Friday May 9th – Cottbus (GERMANY) “Gladhouse” Saturday May 10th – Essen (GERMANY) “Turock” Sunday May 11th – Darmstadt (GERMANY) "Steinbruch Theatre" Monday May 12th – Brno (CZECH REPUBLIC) "Melodka Club"

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Photo by Deep Eye Studios -A.I.Hossny

and excited! Hard work pays off!!

Photo by Menna Houssam

Tuesday May 13th – Hamburg (GERMANY) "Bambi Galore" Wednesday May 14th – Munich (GERMANY) "Feierwerk" Thursday May 15th – Arnhem (HOLLAND) "Willemeen @ The Move” Friday May 16th – Rheine (GERMANY) “Hypothalamus” Saturday May 17th – Leffinge (BELGIUM) “Huggins Awakening Fest” Now concerning the BIG news! When you first heard

that "Wacken Metal-Battle" is going to be held in Egypt, how excited were you about your participation? Have you ever thought that you would win this competition?

We were very excited indeed and we were looking forward to it. It’s basically the biggest metal fest on this planet as you know and any band would love to perform there. We never thought we would actually win. We thought we were too extreme compared to the rest of the participating bands! We were surprised by the result! We are so happy

How does it make you feel that you are representing Egypt in an international event such as "Wacken" especially with the revolutions that are killing the spirit of the Egyptian society?

We hope for justice and stability, we hope for social equity and dignity. We will raise our flag in Wacken.

How are you preparing for "Wacken"? We always hear that in the Middle East, it is hard for a band to get recognized internationally, what do you have to say about it?

It’s normal, Arab countries do not have a scene. It’s very limited/small and constantly under media attacks. Distorting the musicians’ image and reputation and condemning artists and metalheads with horrid allegations. It’s a struggle but we are stubborn.

If you are truthful to what you do, you will achieve your goals.

We will battle with 29 other bands, each representing

Photo by Deep Eye Studios -A.I.Hossny

despite the fact that every now and then, a mad underground journalist would try his/her best to make any kind of propaganda against this type of music and against the music fans. They just want to sell out disregarding what damage they might cause to those people’s lives. Such lunatics are decreasing and it’s becoming a worn out topic and quite boring. We believe it’s getting better somehow.

their country and we will kill.

The doors of opportunity will open for you after this festival. What are your expectations?

We are extremely excited but neutral, we try to be wise. All our focus right now is to put out a fierce show.

Which band are you eager to meet at Wacken? And why?

Many! Slayer, Megadeth, W.A.S.P!! Really many bands!

We grew up listening to those bands!! It’s an overwhelming thought that we will get to meet them!!

Is the government supporting or holding you back? (if you can tell us more about this problem in details) We do have a few venues to perform at, which is great,

Which Middle Eastern countries have you played in?

What do you know about the ME Metal Scene? And which country would you like to perform in?

We don’t know much about the ME metal scene but we know we/they have great bands! And we would definitely want to meet up with them and share the stage! We never played in any ME country. But we would love to connect bridges and to perform in any country in the near future! Probably Lebanon and Dubai!

Photo by Deep Eye Studios -A.I.Hossny

If you want to know more about Crescent, check out their page: www.facebook.com/Crescentband

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metal-bell.com

by Cookie Shemaly

Writing about a band like Fen is not an easy task, simply because when the music is so emotive and mesmerizing, describing it becomes beyond words. Fen is an English post rock/atmospheric black metal band from the Fens region (or Fenland) of East Anglia. The Watcher (vocals, guitar), Grungyn (bass), Theutus (drums, 2006-2012), and Draugluin (synth, 2006-2011) have formed the band in 2006.

The current lineup consists of The Watcher, Grungyn, and drummer Derwydd who joined the band in 2012.

The band is named after their region “The Fens”, simply because the band members grew up in this area, and derived their theme, concepts, and inspiration from The Fens. They have released three studio albums since their formation, and they are currently working on the fourth one.

Their debut album “The Malediction Fields” has proved that this band is one of a kind, and labeled them as one of the pioneers of this genre, putting them in comparison with Agalloch and Drudkh. This album shows a harmonious blend of instrumental post rock and intense black metal elements. This is recognized by the excellent transitions, and the variation of atmosphere. It demonstrates the sole identity of Fen; unlike Agalloch, the usage of black metal elements is very lucid.

What makes this album a stunning success is the tremendous balance between darkness and light, black metal and post rock respectively.

The second album is splendid as well. Their technique of playing and the way they mix the different post rock and black elements are the same as the ones used in The Malediction Fields, or

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even a little more mature and developed. The atmosphere is beautiful, folkyish, and raw. I have already mentioned how successful this band is in making the balance between darkness and light, and this album comes to prove this point. In fact, the album got very positive reviews which made Fen one of the greatest masters of their genre. This album is their first attempt to utilize pure shoegaze, and that was a successful attempt, for it didn’t sound

still it is extremely interesting. The aesthetic, naturerelated theme makes the listener go through a voyage of the untamable soul.

artificial like most of the other bands, it was more of a perfected try. This album was considered one of the best metal albums of 2011, and without doubt, that is a very well deserved rank.

The most underrated album they have released so far is their third studio album “Dustwalker”. It is a shame that this piece of art got unnoticed and ignored, but if we compare it with most of the albums of that time, we can realize that it is a hidden, sublime gem. It is probably their least heavy album, and for many listeners who associate black metal with satanic/evil concepts and constant growling, this album will not appeal to them. But the truth is, this is one of the richest albums ever; they use black metal elements in different ways, which only adds a touch of distinctiveness to their sound. I must state that the vocals on this album are terrific, there’s a coherent alternation of whispers, recitals, cleans, and growls. To be brief about the composition, it isn’t very different from their previous works, but

Being often comprised of beautiful positive melodies cascading over the predominant black metal passages, Fen’s work can certainly appeal to any music lover, as it is essentially composed of a unique, very competent and well performed array of divergent - yet nicely complemented - sounds. Their music has a very humane, earthly feel to it. It explores a wide spectrum of emotions, ranging from utter

despair to pure blissfulness.

The songs’ structure itself can be interpreted as being connected to the absurd condition of existence, both emotionally and technically.

The slow, raw sounding minor chords often converge into fast paced, light sounding tremolos which resemble positive feelings, characterized by a high and vibrant state of mind, and then, as quick as it came, everything just dissipates into an ethereal euphoric state - this is where the highly melodic riffs and clean vocals shine the most.

Soon enough though, darkness sinks in again, to always remind you of the real world. Sometimes, you can feel a strange sense of pride coming from the melodies, as if the music itself was affirming that despite its existence being a frail, ephemeral one, it still rejoices in the fact that it has been created and strongly expresses itself in every direction it feels like and this is an important lesson we can all learn from.

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Metal Bell: How were you first introduced to music, and what led you to eventually create Fen? Fen: Whilst we met in London, none of us was raised there. We all have our different musical backgrounds and stories that go back to our childhoods, but it’s really the move to London where everything started to form a distinct path. The music scene here is very active; it isn’t too much of an exaggeration to say that anyone who turns up to the city who can hold an instrument the right way up is put straight into a band.

Fen was created in 2006 by four men who had spent almost a decade in and out of various bands struggling to break the London scene. The idea was to get together and play black metal with more dynamics, different tempos and moods, mindful of a bit of distance from what was expected of an extreme metal band at that time.

MB: The fens are obviously a great source of inspiration to you. I'll go on to an analogy and say that modern society is in a way like these bleak empty fields, except this metaphorical

emptiness derives from an absence of identity and values. Would you say that this incompleteness influences your music to be such a burst of expression and mixed emotions?

F: That’s a very insightful interpretation – I think predominantly though the music was set out as a soundtrack to the fens, to feel those raw natural conditions and their effect on the psyche. We haven’t consciously looked to more modern social forms of disenchantment as yet.

However the fens themselves are a very local phenomenon and I am sure there are many different analogies to these feelings the world over, expressed in all different manners of music.

MB: Personally, I interpret your art as this ethereal soundscape which carries me away from the mundane.

Is this something you consciously try to do - to evoke such feelings of detachment from the real world into the listener's mind - when writing music?

F: Yes, that’s something which we really tapped into on our last album Dustwalker. The idea of detach-

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ment from reality was something we were consciously exploring here, and we ended up with our most varied album in terms of dynamics and depths.

MB: The presence of clean vocals paints a somewhat more dreamy and frail tone to some of the songs. Do you consider them to be an antithesis to the harsh vocals, or a complement?

What do each other represent respectively?

F: There isn’t really much of a narrative purpose to our use of harsh and cleans, simply some songs lend themselves well to one form of vocals or the other. We tend to use the contrast between vocal styles as a musical device to push the dynamics. Referring again to Dustwalker, a song with clean vocals such as Wolf Sun uses harsh vocals in the middle section where the music explores a more evil gnarlier mode. However in Walking the Crowpath, where harsh vocals predominate, the cleans come in at a moment of climax, where the tempo holds back and harmonies resolve.

MB: Dustwalker explores

the heaviest and the lightest that Fen has ever created. There's a glimmering sense of hope intertwined with the despair invoking riffs as well as a dark eerie ambience throughout the more mellow post-rockish moments. Do you purposefully aim for this duality, or does it emerge naturally from the broad spectrum of genres you implement in the writing process?

F: I think the dualities come from various places. First, we are consciously determined not to resort to cliché or stock ideas as much as we can. We may write a song one rehearsal, listen back to it a few days later and find some of the ideas need a twist put into them. In other ways the natural playing style of The Watcher, who never tires of finding new chords and progressions, and Grungyn, whose bass parts are notably ornate and melodic for this type of music, make a unique sort of duality in itself.

MB: Fen's been going through a fairly consistent journey since its formation.

What can we expect in terms of concept, instrumentation and aesthetics in the future?

F: The journey continues at full pace. Fen has been very productive since day one, and we were already jamming new ideas before the last album came out. The current three-piece line-up feels very solid, and we really wanted to explore adding more power and heavier dynamics to our music in the new material. I feel that we have squeezed the post-punk/post-rock indulgences out of our systems and are more

focused on the rush and passion of well-crafted metal, but adding the color and panache of what we have learnt from the stylistic excursions we undertook on Dustwalker.

MB: "The Malediction Fields" is always compared to Agalloch's works, I believe the concepts and the atmosphere create this similarity, but I find you so different, why do you think that this similarity never fades?

F: With the greatest respect to Agalloch, we don’t feel that strong a similarity in our output, although this comparison is often used to praise or criticize us. For me, Malediction Fields is steeped in early Ulver with some of the pastoral lo-fi of the early works of Hood. Agalloch have a far stronger strand of Neofolk running through them than Fen has ever had. I feel however that one complements the other, perhaps we are looking at the same set of ideas at different angles.

We certainly adopt a similar approach to range of dynamics and tempos, try and evolve with each album, and certainly are not bothered about our standing with the general extreme metal milieu.

MB: How does it feel to inspire other musicians, I mean when someone comes and tells you: "Fen has inspired our work”, how do you react?

F: It’s always a great compliment to have someone tell you this; it’s a hint of legacy.

Sometimes I panic slightly that they might do what we do better though!

you working on anything currently, shall we expect some good news?

F: We are currently halfway through recording our new album, which so far is sounding easily our best yet, and have a handful of great shows lined up for this year in UK and overseas. Hopefully next year we will have a busy schedule promoting the new release far and wide.

MB: My last question is, if you were to collaborate with 3 artists of your choice, who would they be and why?

F: I feel Fen is already a complete unit in many ways at the moment, and I’d be careful what to add to the mix in terms of musicians. It would be great to collaborate with a top-class grownups pop songwriter such as Andy Partridge (XTC), Martin Newell (Cleaners From Venus) or Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) and see what magic we’d come up with…

Derwydd.

Special thanks to: David p Dias.

To follow “FEN”, like their Facebook page www.facebook.com/fenofficial

MB: Can you tell us more about your future plans, are

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International festivals

Words: Nahla Sindbad Photos: ©Metal Bell Magazine

rocked Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island on Thursday 29th of May 2014

The Legendary Ozzy Osbourne at Du Arena I arrived at the venue at 6:30 pm, waiting for the press booth to open so I can collect my press pass. Meanwhile, I handed the winners of the “Do You Really Know Black Sabbath?” competition organized by our online team the tickets they won. Then I took my passes that were unexpectedly late to be ready, and headed toward the stage area.

As I entered the arena, thousands of Rock & Metal fans and musicians from all over the region came to witness the band performing for the first time ever in the Middle East. The place was packed and everyone waited for the concert to start in an extremely hot and humid weather.

Anuryzm, the progressive metal band based in Dubai, opened the show around 8:40 pm. We have already

seen the band performing at Byblos festival, opening for Nightwish, and it was clear that the guys were overwhelmed on the stage.

They did an amazing performance playing songs from their debut album “Worm’s Eye View” and some new

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tracks as well, giving the audience a live proof why they were chosen to open for such a legendary band.

Tommy Clufetos

While everyone was waiting in the dark for the immense Black Sabbath purple curtain to fall down, we started hearing that familiar voice of Ozzy yelling loudly from behind “I can hear youuuuu”, and the crowd just went crazy.

And in less than a second, the legends Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler got onto the stage and were just right in front of our own eyes. Just like the old days, they were all dressed in black, with their “sunglasses, bulky rings, black polished nails, giant silver cross and Iommi’s signature left handed guitar”.

Unfortunately, the original drummer “Bill Ward” refused to reunite with the band; however, the new drummer “Tommy Clufetos” delivered a great show; he played an unbelievable drum solo.

Guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler were magnificent. Iommi is still the king of the heavy riffs; he is surely one of the greatest and most influential rock guitarists of all time.

They played their all-time top songs, opening with “War Pigs” and ending with “Paranoid”. The set list also included “Rat Salad”, “God is Dead?”, and “End of the Beginning” from their new album“13”. The guys were incredible; watching them hasn’t made me even think that the guys were in their 60’s. Their performance was so energetic and Ozzy was a monster.

He got on his knees several times during the performance and bowed to the Geezer Butler crowd. But he was pretty

Tony Iommi much feeling the heat from the weather and poured countless water bottles on himself. He joked about it saying “I'm never going to complain about being cold again”.

The venue was huge, the sound & lights were excellent. Everybody seemed to be impressed and pleased with this amazing show that was organized by Flash Entertainment, whom we would like to thank for giving us the chance to cover such a historical event.

The concert was part of the band’s reunion tour, celebrating the band's 11/11/2011 reunion and in support of their new album “13” that was released in June 2013. The tour will continue in 2014 and most likely will be Black Sabbath’s last tour.

Those who attended the show should certainly consider themselves lucky.

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International festivals

Words: Nahla Sindbad Photos: ©Metal Bell Magazine

70,000 Tons of Metal!

It’s been more than 6 months since I’ve been on that cruise and today, when I think back, the first word that comes to my mind to describe the event is ‘overwhelming’!

Pursuit of Vikings.

The next day, everybody made their way to the cruise, and that is when it all started!

When I first heard about 70k Tons of Metal, I wasn’t yet familiar with the idea of attending a metal festival on a cruise over the Caribbean. I thought to myself, ‘what exactly was the organizer on when that idea came to his mind?’ I was unable to picture people wearing black leather pants near the beach, watching Carcass playing on the

stage while enjoying chilled Pina Coladas, or listening to Novembers Doom songs

under the bright Caribbean sun. Then I started checking the forums, the event page and the private groups, and found lots of comments and posts about how people are counting the days to get back on the cruise for their second, third or even fourth time in a row. I then realized that on the 70k Tons of Metal cruise, anything was possible, and I finally decided to book my cabin.

The night before the cruise, Amon Amarth, Enslaved and Skeletonwitch played in Ft. Lauderdale. The venue was fully booked and packed, and everybody was clearly enjoying themselves watching the Viking warlords playing an awesome set that included some of their greatest songs, like Deceiver of the Gods, Guardians of Asgaard and The

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The ship is huge! It has 3 stages, a swimming pool, lots of dining rooms, a casino and akaraoke bar. On the cruise, you get the chance to talk to most of the artists, not like the other festivals where you have to wait for hours in a queue to meet your favorite band. It was wonderful to meet Septicflesh, to have a chat with Kobi Farhi about how much he admires Om Kolthoum, and to share deep beliefs and thoughts with Pete Sandoval.

Thankfully, there was no phone signal or internet connection on the ship; you don’t really want anything to distract you even for a single minute.

Soilwork was the first band I saw on the cruise. They were quite impressive! They were followed by Atrocity, Overkill, Symphony X, and Obituary and the day ended

with Gloryhammer.

Symphony X’s vocalist Russell Allen has such an amazing voice! They dedicated Paradise Lost to their sound engineer who passed away. Their performance on stage is so energetic with fans screaming along to every word.

Orphaned Land played many songs from their latest album All is One. They delivered a great show and they all seemed to be having a good time doing so, especially their guitarist Chen Balbus who had an incredibly big smile on his face during the entire performance. They dedicated the song Brother to their friends on the cruise from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. I was right in front of Kobi taking photos of the band over the stage when he surprised me by saying, “This is for you!”

Mikael Stanne, the front

man of Dark Tranquillity, is so dynamic on stage, he enjoys interacting with the crowd, walking along the barriers, jumping and running around all over the stage! The Mundane and the Magic was one of the songs I enjoyed the most during their performance.

They also played a few songs from their latest album Construct.

the ship was swaying hard from side to side. Not everybody was happy about that; even a completely sober person would look drunk while trying to walk.

The shows got rescheduled and moved from the pool deck stage to the other stages. I got to know that this was the first time it ever rained on the cruise, and they even had to open the floodgate. I was lucky enough to have the chance to witness and enjoy an actual Caribbean storm!

I wanted to make the most out of the trip so, after the cruise, I travelled to Orlando to see Moonspell playing their latest album. Leaves' Eyes and Atrocity also went to play there after the festival. And, how nice those moments are when band members recognize you and say: “Hey! You were with us on the cruise!”

Death DTA Tours is a tribute by several musicians playing Death songs. They are really good. Everybody was touched when they played a long video with old interviews and photos of Chuck Schuldiner on the screen, especially that part when he was asked “What would you say when you are ready to leave this world?” and Chuck replied “I love you all.”

Fernando Riberio spellbound me with his aggressive, awesome performance on stage. He’s an absolute werewolf! I saw Moonspellbefore at Graspop and during Beirut Rock Festival, but this time I was more thrilled because they mostly played songs from their latest masterpiece Alpha Noir.

One of the highlights of the cruise was during the last day. It was raining heavily!

The sea was outraged and

Now, I understand why people were counting the days to get back on that cruise! Once you experience an event like this, you’ll want to come back again and again, and again!

16 bands have been announced so far for the 2015 lineup; some of my favorite bands are already on the list.

214 days left! I can’t wait!

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kaz presents nocturna in concert Words: W ords: Eddy hanna photography: ziad zayat Having established d his name as an organizer, organizer KAZ brought us yet another event that grew highly anticipated, especially after the announcement of permitted supervised moshing.

His second event featured Thrashstorm, Nocturna, and Hemorrhagia and took place in Yukunkun, selling 107 tickets.

Officially, the show was said to start at 9:00 p.m. sharp (on Facebook), but, just as any other local event, it began an hour later

(a delay I was very content with since security issues in Tripoli compromised public transportation, for me as well as for others). And

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The music played and a frontline of head bangers formed, lining the parameters within which people moshed. They seemed to penetrate the noise of the sound system I recall hearing there before, a year prior. Not only was it noisy but it was also

Skatanic To the Bone Lust Burning Desire Alcohol Maniac Rebel Assault Hellrider Bestial Invasion Chalice of Blood Horde of Wolves

muffled and vocal delivery was unclear. Sadly, such noises hinted technical issues that proved to hinder the show as it proceeded onward.

After Thrashstorm's performance was over, keeping

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there it was, a venue filled with head bangers waiting for that first note, as Thrashstorm rose to stage.

the show intact appeared to demand replacing various technical appliances, prolonging the intended fifteen-minute break into limbo with playback music.

But eventually, Nocturna was all set and ready to go.

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It comes as no surprise that Nocturna led exuberant moshpits and neck-stretching vanguards, especially since Habib's growling seemed to, at the very most, soothe the low fidelity exhibited by the sound system. And that was fine, had it remained that way. But the band saw it as

unnecessary and unple unpleasant asant to resume the playlist with upcoming technical mishaps, leaving the crowd with unanswered questions. Their early departure brought forth another limboequivalent wait with playback music, as the time was spent between optimizing the sound system and

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The crowds had loosened by then with most of the remaining people fascinated by the presence of female guttural vocals singing an appealing selection of songs by Death.

A Ca Cannibal Rose Herald H era of My Happiness Whispers W his of a Sleepless Night Frozen F roze Sun Torn T orn Asunder Vindictive V indi Storm

Hemorrhagia's preparation. preparation Hemorrhagia, although not unfamiliar to the stage, is a Technical Death Metal band that was performing for the first time in the country, therefore choosing the nobility of allowing us all a tribute to Death, covering the following tracks:

The Philosopher P Empty Words Empt The Flesh F and the Power It Holds Crystal Mountain Cryst Lack of Comprehension Misanthrope Misan A Mo Moment of Clarity Cosmic Sea (Bass Intro) Cosm Pull tthe Plug

It was no surprise that m many people left, as the instruments were best heard when one stood adjacent to the stage, but could be hardly made out when afar (such as the lead guitar, most

obviously).

The band members themselves could hardly hear each other and had to turn to each other to preserve their synchronization, confessed Paula.

Whatever happened that night, it took both effort and passion to keep it alive. Notably Karam (Thrashstorm)'s efforts alongside Karim (KAZ) and others who had done their best, which came to no avail in the end.

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the weeping willow back one year later words: hussein shehady photography: ziad zayat

Marco Ghorayeb Pointing at us It's been a while since Lebanese metalheads got to see the Death Metal masters live in a concert, with the last performance being more than a year ago. The Weeping Willow decided to throw a gig to remind us all that Death Metal still has a place in our scene.

For those unaware, The Weeping Willow's story dates back to 1996, and 'til today, they have managed to release four albums.

Although the band is not as active in these later years, its fan base is quite remarkable.

The event took place on Friday the 25th of April at the Yukunkun pub in Gemmayze where lately most, if not all, of the metal gigs are taking place. To be honest, I expected the same old story, a poor sound system with technical difficulties, and that we, the fans, would have to find an excuse for the

show not going well. But that was not the case!

The band didn't share the stage with any opening act, which meant less work regarding the sound check and less confusion. Instead, metal music was blasted through the speakers until the band hit the stage. I went prepared for a death metal night but the music that was being played by the DJ was mostly thrash metal.

Not exactly mood fitting, but everyone was having a good time. It was metal after all!

The venue was kind of empty early on as most of

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the crowd preferred to stay outside until the awaited performance, and as soon as they began, people started to go inside, already head banging and running around all excited.

The show started at 11:20 pm with an instrumental track entitled "Impale" as an introduction

Rafic Jr.

Geno Machoulian to the show, then kicked in with "Valued and Hated" and continued to "Craving Whore" and "The 3rd Portal". Everything was going great, including the sound and the interaction between the band and the crowd. Some of the fans even had the lyrics memorized and sang along. The set continued with "Mortuary", "Sins of Discharge�, "Enslaving the Blind�, “Tyrant of the Fall" and the self-titled track "The Weeping Willow". The last song for the night was "Seeds of Deceit".

Overall, the sound was great, unlike the past few events in this venue and the performance was outstanding. The only minor sound issue was that the lead guitar was a little low at first but that was fixed and Elias Njeim's shreds were breathtaking as always.

The night was not a full house; I had expected more people to attend, specially that it was not expensive at all, knowing that for 10$ at the entrance, people had the chance to get two of their

albums, "Mentally Decayed" and their latest "Impale".

Garo, the rhythm guitarist, told me that it was a little disappointing not to see the place full, but he liked how the night went.

After the show was over, I had a little chat with the band members as I was a little curious about the next step. It turns out that they have a couple of ideas for new songs, but disappointment hit when I was told that a new record doesn't seem like it's going to happen soon. That is mainly due to the fact that Rafik, their returning drummer (2000-2007), lives

abroad, and that is what is mostly keeping the band from being more involved in the scene.

To sum things up, it was a great night and everyone was satisfied. It would definitely be great if we could see those guys again soon. Comparing this to previous events, I think it's unfair to blame the venue's corky sound system for how things go, since it is evident that we can have a pretty decent sound, but the planners and organizers of the event should put more effort into solving that problem.

From Left to Right: Geno, Elias & Garo

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hunny i rocked the bunny -rock for life words: simon nader

Entering Quadrangle pub on the 26th of April, it felt like it was going to be a good and enjoyable night!

Organized by the same people who brought you "The Christmas Mission", "Hunny, I Rocked the Bunny" was a fundraising event to buy food and goods for FoodBlessed, an organization that works to feed the hungry children of our country.

There was an entrance charge of 20,000 L.L. + 1 drink, however there was also a special offer on pizzas for 10,000L.L. and delicious cupcakes sold by Better'fly to support FoodBlessed. The

crowd started to get bigger along halfway of the first act.

Most of the tables were reserved, yet, it did fit everyone. The stage was set with equipment and instruments.

Mid Midway of the show, there wer some sound issues but were thin got better after some things time time.

Her is a review of all the Here ban bands: R 1. Rabii Hajjar & Mo Jouzou: Starting out the event in a Star light way before the big things hap happen, Rabii Hajjar swayed awa away with his acoustic guitar play playing U2 songs. This is when the place started to crowd up.

It’s a nice soothing warm up act with two acoustics and Rab Rabii Hajjar providing some

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nice vocal performance.

2. Sunday Arcade: Jonathan who was on guitars and vocals provided a really good vocal performance, and showcased his talent with some awesome high pitched vocals. With him was Carmen Balian who also possessed a beautiful voice, and we were granted a nice duet from the two. Giuseppe on guitars brought in some flare, especially on Ed Sheeran’s cover "I See Fire".

3. Guest band: Dany Deaibess & his friends It turned out to be Dany Deaibess & his friends with Rabih from Blaakyum on guitars, Marcelino Said on Bass and Rudy Fares on Drums, giving us nice rock

covers. The performance ormance wa was as pretty good, especially ecially in the vocals department nt with high pitch screams that hat made the whole event very effective.

The other members ers did not disappoint, of course. urse. So, a big nod to the guys ys and for the support!

4. Leakin’ Engine:: Midway of the event ent came Leakin’ Engine playing aying out some originals which have some nice kick to o them. A very solid performance mance with a nice general atmosphere osphere and with some pleasant ant progressive elements giving ving the songs a unique sound. ound. The crowd seemed very appreciai tive of this band’s music.

5. The Butterfly Feat. Tanya Rizkala Agostine from Epic: This is when things got really awesome. These guys showed us why metalheads and rock fans love old school.

The performance of these gentlemen is beyond stellar

with beautifully done guitar l th ht a nice i solos thatt b brought rocking and lively atmosphere.

Tanya Rizkala joined in half of their act and gave us a very strong vocal performance with such great range which could shatter glass. Two thumbs up!

6. Layer Cake: The band shows a lot of influence from Chris Cornell

and Deep Purple. They cover for these bands and give their own humble take on them.

The guitar work is nice and the vocal performance is very good. The band has humbleness with giving their own take to the songs they like.

7. Chained Reaction: The bassist… that awesome bassist. He’s just a monster o on that thing making that iinstrument into child’s play.

T The other members do give a g great performance but J Johnny Maalouly on the five sstringed bass is just amaziing… and he even jumps p playing that thing. Overall, it’s a an enjoyable act to watch tthem play.

8 8. BandAge: Covering songs by bands like C G Green Day, Europe, and Q Queen, Nathalie’s voice is p pretty strong carrying these ssongs, and the energy is filled b back after a long night of p performances to get the feel b back to the crowd. The final a act of the show giving the end a as a high note with a special ssmile by the band.

Overall, it was a successful event by watching and listening listenin to good music while fundraising for FoodBlessed. The crowd was pleasant after a long night of rock n' roll! I’m sure there will be more to come and you should NOT miss it!

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roswell live at quadrangle hazmieh

From Left to Right: Vik, Rudy, Ghaith, Fadi, Youssef All Photos by Karim Beik

For those who don’t know Roswell well, they are an alternative rock band from Lebanon with 2 albums in their league: “Reflections” released in 2006 and “Out of Reach” released in 2011. Many of the band’s songs were aired on local radio stations and some even reached the charts, making Roswell one of the few bands to break this barrier.

On May 3rd 2014, the band decided to do a show at the Quadrangle Live – Hazmieh, after almost a year since their last performance at Hard Rock Café Beirut. This event was surrounded with many interesting facts.

First, Ghaith El-Horr, founder and front man of the band, flew all the way to Lebanon and stayed only for few days just to perform in the gig and left straight after the event to the airport and back to Dubai.

Second, Fadi BK, the lead guitarist of the band, announced few

days before the concert that he is leaving the country for good and going to work in the Gulf, but to our surprise, he canceled his plans and performed his heart out that night.

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Not your usual ‘band in a pub’ night, but it was an extra magical one. A fullll acoustic set that kicked off ff with Pearl Jam’s Black and d a very interesting track list st mixed between originals and covers that were re performed in the band’s own special way, a really speciall way that I highly recommend to watch. The songs were translated in a feel different from what you are used to listen to on radio stations, and they were full of awesomemeGaith El-Horr ness and originality..

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The band’s original members Ghaith El-Horr, Rudy Fares and Fadi Bk were joined by a special guest, Vik Bajak from Impulse, to fill in for the bass part and Youssef El Fahel who played the clarinet on a couple of songs. And boy those songs just give you unexpected enjoyment! While Rudy is supposedly the band’s drummer, he mastered, in addition to the drums, the violin and enchanted us during those magical unforgettable moments of the night. And what’s more, he was supposed to play the Cajun

Black – Pearl Jam Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen Sexy and I know It – LMFAO Smooth – Carlos Santana Ain't No Sunshine – Bill Withers Still Loving You – Scorpions Creep – Radiohead Like No Other (original) Wherever You Will Go – The Calling She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5 This Day ( original) Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 This Love (original)

that is commonly known as Kakhun which was tuned and ready to be used on stage, but for some sound technicalities as mentioned

by Rudy, he couldn’t play it.

And what to say about Ghaith’s grungy voice… It was simply breathtaking as usual; the emotions this guy put in each song were captivating. And Fady’s solos were really clever, moody and smart. His playing was as smooth as it can be and as rough as it should be, always playing in a high professionalism and originality.

Vik Bajak

An exceptional event that was out of this world! The fans’ reaction was more than clear during the show through their continuous interaction with the band, their singing along to the songs and their cheering for the band. It was a family-like feel that I invite everyone to experience during Roswell’s next event whenever that might be.

Youssef El Fahel

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big jazz jam by arthur satyan

Photo by Raymond Abdallah Š

words: chady khairallah

This review is pretty different from the others! Tonight, we unite with the Jazz scene in Lebanon for "Big Jazz Jam", organized for every musician who wants to show off his talents and jam with the amazing keyboardist Arthur Satyan by an initiative that he launched himself through a Facebook campaign.

Satyan and the talented musicians. Honestly, I understand nothing in Jazz, but what I saw was very impressive! Of course, it wasn't perfect as it was a jam, so

Photo by Sevag Kouyoumjian Š

The time had come for the magic fingers to do their work, and all I could hear was the awesome chemistry and the astonishing communication between

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there were of course moments of miscommunication among them, but they did a great job despite these obstacles.

After the first set was over, we took a 10-minute break and I managed to speak with Arthur Satyan. I asked him about his opinion concerning the difference between rock/metal jams and jazz jams. He said that a lot of rockers evolve and turn to jazz, so these events will in a way help rockers to get into jazz. He mentioned that one

of the guitarists who was performing in this event used to be a rocker. He also added that it is not easy to play jazz music no matter how expensive or professional your gear is – you will not sound good because you need to study it, "feel it" and be able to communicate with the other musicians.

Although he loves rock music, he does not appreciate "liars" like some rockers who "lie" when playing their guitars with their pedals and effects.

Photo by Roland Ragi ©

Everyone was back to their seats at this point, and I was seated right next to Satyan. I was surprised to see some of my old friends performing, such as Joe Awad, Adel Menkara, and Nathalie from BandAge. Yup! She performed with them and sang "Summertime". It was an zamazing performance, even though she was nervous before hitting the stage, but Roland and I tried our best to release that tension off her chest.

Finally, I would like to send a message to all of our readers: we have a lot of talent in Lebanon, no matter what genre you play, be it rock, metal, blues or jazz. Be faithful to your music and instrument, and stop giving excuses about why your band isn't famous. Too many chances are open for us.

Check out Arthur Satyan’s Website: http://www.arthursatyan.com

Check out Arthur Satyan’s page: https://www.facebook.com/arthursatyan

Download ARTology: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/artology/id717883365

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International News Led Zeppelin Lead Guitarist Received Honorary Doctorate On the 13th of March, Rolling Stone Music reported that Led Zeppelin’s co-founder Jimmy Page will be receiving an honorary doctorate by the prestigious Berklee College of Music. The ceremony was held on Saturday May 10 at the 7,000-seat Agganis Arena at Boston University and was attended by almost 900 Berklee graduates and their parents. As the yearly tradition dictates, the honorees were celebrated as well by Berklee students who performed selected compositions from their careers. Other legendary musicians who were awarded are soul and jazz pianist Geri Allen, pop soul singer Valerie Simpson, as well as trumpet player and educator Thara Memory.

Changes in the female fronts of Arch Enemy and The Agonist After 13 years of rocking as the vocalist of Arch Enemy, Angela Gossow decided to step down. On her reasons for making this decision she mentions: “I feel the need to enter a different phase in my life, be with my family and pursue other interests. I will however remain business manager for Arch Enemy, and I will continue to develop my artist management roster.” Meanwhile as the torch was passed to The Agonist female vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, The Agonist announced in an official release that a new vocalist in the line-up has been selected and her name is Vicky Psarakis. We are certainly looking forward to seeing what these changes will result in.

Former KORN Guitarist Passed Away

It is with great sadness that Metal Bell announces this. Shane Gibson passed away on the 15th of April as a result of complications from a blood clotting disorder. The death of Gibson, who was the touring guitarist for Korn back in 2005, received many heartwarming comments from Korn members and members of his band stOrk. From Metal Injection: “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Shane, but I’m honored he was able to fill my spot after I left Korn. He was an amazing guitarist.

Hopefully we can jam together in the next life. RIP brother.” – Brian “Head” Welch

Metallica – “Lords of Summer” new single released Metallica have finally released their new song “Lords of SummerFirst pass version” after debuting it live earlier this year (March 2014).

The long awaited song seems to identify where the band is going, musically and conceptually according to Lars Ulrich. Meanwhile, Kirk Hammett claims that it should be refined, and that he didn’t have time to work on his solo in the demo version. He praises this version though and is proud of how it went in the end.

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Success for this year’s Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Awards Gala In honor of the legendary Ronnie James Dio who lost his life to stomach cancer in 2010, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was created in 2011. The foundation, which raised $800,000 so far, dedicated to cancer research in the center where Dio was treated, had a successful third annual awards gala in Avalon Hollywood on the 17th of March. The evening’s highlights were the pre-listening party which celebrated the new compilation of Dio covers This is Your Life as well as live performances from the album. On this benefit project appears a group of legendary bands including Scorpions, Metallica and Motörhead. Speeches, live auction and awards distribution all resulted in a positive vibe. Dio, passionate artist and charitable person, is well deserving of such an effort.

Megadeth parts ways with Chris Broderick and Welcomes Jeff Loomis Megadeth announced in a press release on the 1st of April that guitarist Chris Broderick will be leaving the band. And this is certainly not an April fool's joke! The release did not mention anything about the reasons behind this decision, yet it was described as an amicable parting. Jeff Loomis, previously a member of Nevermore, replaced Broderick and made his debut performance during the band’s tour with Motörhead which started up with a performance in Las Vegas on the 17th of April. Jeff seems to be excited about joining the band as he stated: “Funny enough, I first auditioned for Megadeth when I was a teenager, and Dave told me I was too young for the job! So this feels like it was a long time coming.”

Ozzy: Voice of “Sid Fishy”?

We all like this nostalgic feeling we get when we watch the same old cartoons we used to admire as 5-year-olds, and I bet you wished Ozzy Osbourne voiced a character on one of those shows. Nick Jr. has recruited the Prince of Darkness to voice on their popular kid’s show “Bubble Guppies”. Ozzy will voice Sid Fishy, who is a rock n’ roll fish with the look and attitude of a “rock star”. Ozzy announced that he accepted this role for the sake of his little daughter, a huge Nick Jr. fan; he wants to see her reaction when she hears her father’s voice on the show.

AC/DC - On tour this year After Brian Johnson posted a message to his motor racing website, it became obvious that AC/DC are to tour before the end of this year. This message was posted to his fans for their support on his motoring TV show “Cars That Rock”. This is Brian’s first attempt on a TV show, and he is grateful that his fans are showing all the support he could ever think of, though it might not show eventually.

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rock Artist: FOSTER THE PEOPLE Album: Supermodel Release : March 14th, 2014 Length: 47:57 Style: Indie/Alternative Rock Label: Columbia

Artist: RAY La-MONTAGNE Album: Supernova Release: April 29th, 2014 Length: 42:39 Style: Psychedelic/folk Rock Label: RCA Records

Artist: CHEVELLE Album: La G谩rgola Release: April 1st, 2014 Length: 47:32 Style: Hard Rock Label: Epic Records

Artist: SANTANA Album: Coraz贸n Release: May 6th, 2014 Length: 45:20 Style: Latin Rock Label: RCA/Sony Latin Iberia

Artist: NEEDTOBREATHE Album: Rivers in the Wasteland Release: April 15th, 2014 Length: 45:29 Style: Rock Label: Atlantic, Word, Curb

Artist: THE BLACK KEYS Album: Turn Blue Release: May 12th, 2014 Length: 45:09 Style: Garage/Blues Rock Label: Nonesuch Records

Artist: GREEN DAY Album: Demolicious Release: April 19th, 2014 Length: 62:44 Style: Punk/Alternative Rock Label: Reprise Records

Artist: COLDPLAY Album: Ghost Stories Release: May 16th, 2014 Length: 42:37 Style: Alternative Rock Label: Parlophone

Artist: NEON TREES Album: Pop Psychology Release: April 22nd, 2014 Length: 36:22 Style: Pop Rock Label: Mercury, Def Jam

Artist: JACK WHITE Album: Lazaretto Release: June 10th, 2014 Length: 39:13 Style: Blues/Garage/Folk Rock Label: Colombia Records

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Metal Artist: ANIMALS AS LEADERS Album: The Joy of Motion Released: March 24th, 2014 Length: 54:23 Style: Progressive Metal Label: Sumerian

Artist: EPICA Album: The Quantum Enigma Released: May 2nd, 2014 Length: 68:13 Style: Symphonic Metal Label: Nuclear Blast

Artist: GAMMA RAY Album: Empire of the Undeadz Released: March 28th, 2014 Length: 56:46 Style: Power/Speed Metal Label: earMUSIC

Artist: DELAIN Album: The Human Contradiction Released: April 4th, 2014 Length: 42:00 Style: Symphonic/Gothic Metal Label: Napalm Records

Artist: SONATA ARCTICA Album: Pariah's Child Released: March 28th, 2014 Length: 53:04 Style: Power/Progressive metal Label: Nuclear Blast

Artist: BURZUM Album: The Ways of Yore Released: June 2nd, 2014 Length: 68:35 Style: Ambient Label: Byelobog Productions

Artist: LACUNA COIL Album: Broken Crown Halo Released: March 31st, 2014 Length: 47:35 Style: Gothic/Alternative Metal Label: Century Media

Artist: ARCH ENEMY Album: War Eternal Released: June 4th, 2014 Length: 50:32 Style: Melodic Death Metal Label: Century Media

Artist: STEEL PANTHER Album: All You Can Eat Released: April 1st, 2014 Length: 48:09 Style: Glam/Comedy Metal Label: Kobalt Label Services

Artist: MAYHEM Album: Esoteric Warfare Released: June 6th, 2014 Length: 47:25 Style: Black/Doom Metal Label: Season of Mist

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