Well well….Look what dropped today! Ghost has surprise released the digital edition of a live album called Ceremony And Devotion, just hours after posting a video teaser for the set online. It is available for streaming at all premium outlets and for purchase at Amazon and iTunes. The official cover artwork for the disc was revealed in the latest issue of Sweden Rock magazine. The physical version of the LP will be out on Jan 19th. The band has also streamed the song “Absolution” from the set.
Frontman Tobias Forge told us a while back he’s always looking to expand Ghost’s live show: “The idea has always been, ever since we started, to have a very theatrical show. We basically want to be an arena band where you can bring a lot of production and a show where you go through different phases and, you know, a lot of costume changes and more magical tricks and more bombs and more fire and smoke and…more Disney On Ice, in a way.“
The last-ever Ghost concert to allegedly feature Forge’s onstage persona, Papa Emeritus III, took place on Sep 30th in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended with the singer apparently being forcibly removed from the stage. A very elderly man wearing a white and gold version of Papa’s robes and his signature make-up took the stage and addressed the crowd, saying in Italian, “I am Papa Emeritus Zero. The party is over and now a new era begins. The Middle Ages begin now.” Of course, this is all part of the joke: the band supposedly dismisses the old Papa and recruits a new one on every LP, but they are all Forge, who will no doubt perform as a new Papa Emeritus on the next album cycle. (Thanks The Pulse Of Radio and Blabbermouth)
Blabbermouth reporting Metalshop TV conducted an interview with Five Finger Death Punch bassist Chris Kael prior to the band’s Nov 26 concert at Forum Karlín in Prague, Czech Republic. You can watch the entire chat above. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On the direction of Five Finger Death Punch‘s as-yet-titled new studio album:
Chris: “You know, it’s one of those things that Death Punch, we are what we are. Six records into it, now seven, we’ve kinda got our thing, got our sound, our tones, the themes for the songs and whatnot. There are some little kind of different departures on this record, but I wouldn’t say we’ve gone and changed the sound. Five gold records, one platinum record, why would you stray from that kind of sound when those people have been out there supporting you the whole time and come to expect ‘that sound’ from us?’ It’s all about great songs. That’s what we try to do. We’re always trying to find that perfect song. I think each record, we get closer and closer and closer to that elusive perfect song.”
On the recent issues the band has faced, including singer Ivan Moody‘s ongoing battles with alcoholism and legal disputes with their record company, Prospect Park:
Chris: “With the release of the A Decade Of Destruction greatest-hits record, we got everything settled and ready to go. It’s nice to be able to get two brand-new songs on the greatest-hits that you’re going to get Dec 1. Because we took two songs from the full-length and added those to the greatest-hits, we had to go back into the studio and do two brand-new songs. One of those songs is one of the most aggressive songs we’ve done. It [has a] nice stomp, four-on-the-floor, Ivan is angry just like he’s always been.”
On the current state of Moody:
Chris: “I had a shitty attitude when he left [the European tour in June]. I was f’king pissed about the whole thing, but I understood he had to go get his stuff taken care of. When he came back, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I had a bad attitude about it, too. I’ve talked to him about this. We chatted it out over coffee at the Hard Rock [Café] the other day, talking about all the feelings that were involved with that. Kind of a little ‘band therapy,’ not quite ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ therapy [referring to Metallica‘s 2004 documentary], but we were talking about it. I had attitude, I had a bad taste in my mouth. When I first saw him in that dressing room back in the States for the first festival date, even before we got onstage, I was, like, ‘Something is different about this guy now.’ It made me relax a little bit. I was, like, ‘All right, I’m not going to be so aggressive. I’m not going to bust his ass like I wanted to.’ Then he got onstage and his voice was just… [as] soon as those first notes came out and his attitude and his energy, I was, like, ‘That’s Ivan Moody. That’s the beast that fronts this band.’ He’s back and things are great. We’re getting along like we ever have in quite some time. The last three years were a little tumultuous. As dangerous as we were when we’re volatile, I think we’re even more dangerous when we’re focused and stable.”
A Decade Of Destruction was released on Dec 1. The set includes two new songs, “Trouble” and a cover of The Offspring’s “Gone Away.”
The hits collection and an already completed new studio album are part of a deal to settle a legal dispute and close out the band’s contract with Prospect Park.
Five Finger Death Punch’s seventh full-length LP, which was finished a year ago, will follow up 2015’s Got Your Six and will be released in spring 2018.
Prophets Of Rage guitarist Tom Morello, Incubus, Anti-Flag and Against Me! are just some of the musical artists who have added their name to a letter to Congress in support of net neutrality, which the FCC plans to vote to end on Dec 14th. The letter, via the non-profit organization Fight For The Future, is also signed by the musicians Michael Stipe, Colin Hay, Graham Nash and Amanda Palmer, along with actors like Evangeline Lilly, Wil Wheaton, Alfre Woodard and many more.
The letter reads, “The open Internet lets artists reach each other and audiences across the world in unprecedented ways. We are able to collaborate, learn, improve our worlds, participate in our society, and bring the things we love to people who are moved by them. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are guaranteed by our Constitution, and we demand that such freedoms continue online. Net Neutrality is essential to our democracy.”
Without net neutrality in place, Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon would be able to determine which websites and applications users could access by blocking them and speeding up or slowing the connection speed at will.
Net neutrality rules were put in place by the FCC under the Obama Administration, but the Trump regime has pledged to do away with them. Read the letter and full list of signees here.
Fight For The Future was founded in 2011 and has a mission to ensure that the web continues to hold freedom of expression and creativity at its core. The organization seeks to expand the Internet’s transformative power for good, to preserve and enhance its capacity to enrich and empower. It also envisions a world where everyone can access the internet affordably, free of interference or censorship and with full privacy. (The Pulse Of Radio)
Finally today, the votes are all in and New Jersey’s own Bon Jovi has snagged the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fan Vote. The band, which was never not far ahead of the other nominees during the voting process, raked in a whopping 1,162,146 votes. In second place was the Moody Blues with 947,795 votes, Dire Straits at Number Three with 613,749, the Cars at Number Four with 552,733, and the Top Five rounded out by Judas Priest with 538,508 votes.
Ultimate Classic Rock posted, “Per Rock Hall rules, the Top Five vote-getters will receive a single fan vote during the election to determine which of this year’s nominees earn induction. It’s more than worth mentioning that the fan vote isn’t necessarily an indicator of whether an act will ultimately get into the Rock Hall — although it’s worked out pretty well for previous winners. Kiss topped the polls in 2013, and were inducted with that year’s class; Stevie Ray Vaughan entered the next year after also winning the fan vote, while Chicago did the same in 2015, and Journey followed suit the following year.”
The 2018 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be announced next Wednesday, December 13th on the Rock Hall’s official Facebook page. The annual ceremony will take place on Apr 14th at Cleveland’s Public Hall, with an edited version of the festivities broadcast on HBO at a later date.
30 years ago, the 1988 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consisted of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, the Supremes and the Drifters. Berry Gordy was inducted as a non-performer, with Early Influences inductions going to Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Les Paul. The 2017 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured Journey, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Pearl Jam, Joan Baez, Tupac Shakur, with Chic‘s Nile Rodgers tapped for the Award for Musical Excellence.
The final fan vote for the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is:
Bon Jovi – 1,162,146
Moody Blues – 947,795
Dire Straits – 613,749
The Cars – 552,733
Judas Priest – 538,508
The Zombies – 529,478
Eurythmics – 451,997
J. Geils Band – 349,319
Depeche Mode – 302,144
Nina Simone – 184,628
Kate Bush – 179,337
Radiohead – 176,310
Rage Against The Machine – 167,903
MC5 – 127,004
LL Cool J – 118,317
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – 111,158
Link Wray – 98,436
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – 84,625
The Meters – 59,045
Full Rock Hall fan vote story: http://bit.ly/2AziEbW (Thanks The Pulse Of Radio)
Celebrating life this weekend! Today, The Boogie Knight Returns! Corey Taylor of Stone Sour and Slipknot is 44! Saturday: Tres Cool of Green Day is 45 and actor Kirk Douglas is 101!
