Greeting hardDriveRadio Radicals! We just got back from an amazing weekend in Cadott, Wisconsin for the 25th Annual Rock Fest! Once again, Lou was on-site to host the event, and we had some great conversations with many of the bands there, which you’ll get to hear in upcoming shows! Thanks to all the folks at Rock Fest who took such great care of us while we were there!
System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan has now weighed in on the dispute over the lack of new music from the group, saying that all four members of the band are to blame for the personal and creative differences that have stalled their efforts to record a follow-up to 2005’s Mezmerize and Hypnotize albums. Dolmayan’s remarks follow an interview in which guitarist Daron Malakian accused singer Serj Tankian of not wanting to record, with Tankian responding that creative and financial issues with Malakian led to the stalemate.
Dolmayan wrote on Instagram, “Many theories and much speculation have circulated through the years, with blame focused on one member of the band for the lack of new material . . . the truth is each member of the band is equally responsible for both our incredible success on our previous recordings and our unbelievable failure to get along and make music together. Not one of us, rather ALL of us are to blame. Egomania, eccentricities, megalomania and sometimes just stupidity all play roles.”
He added, “To our fans, I’m truly sorry for letting you down. To the songs that could have been, I’m sorry you haven’t.”
Malakian fired first last week, telling Kerrang! magazine, “There’s just a certain way that System make albums, and there’s a bunch of us that want to make an album that way and there is, I guess, one of us that doesn’t want to make an album that way and wants to make an album his way. And not everyone is on board with that. That’s been the issue.”
Tankian took to his Facebook page on Thursday (July 12th) to respond, saying that Malakian wanted to control System’s creative process, take more of the publishing money and be the only band member to speak to the press. Tankian remarked, “As we couldn’t see eye to eye on all these points, we decided to put aside the idea of a record altogether for the time being.”
Tankian added that his suggested solution — that he and Malakian bring in six songs each for full approval by the band, while splitting the finances equally — was rebuffed. While System has toured together and will even play some dates this fall, the band has not recorded in more than 13 years.
The Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour kicked off Thursday night, July 12th in Glendale, Arizona. The three-hour show featured frontman William Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin performing together in a full arena concert for the first time in 18 years, delivering a set taken almost entirely from the band’s first five studio albums.
Also peppered among the lengthy 31-song set was new track “Solara,” as well as covers of Fleetwood Mac‘s “Landslide,” David Bowie‘s “Space Oddity” and Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway To Heaven.” Corgan ran through numerous costume changes while the stage production was reportedly the biggest the Pumpkins have ever employed.
The original trio were backed by longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder, keyboardist Katie Cole and bass player Jack Bates. Founding bassist D’arcy Wretzky was excluded from the tour amidst a public falling out with Corgan after the two had initially mended fences.
The “Shiny And Oh So Bright” tour next stops in Austin, Texas tonight, July 16th, with dates booked into early September.
In This Moment singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth have recorded a brand new song, titled “The Calling,” to coincide with the release of Dark Nights: Metal Deluxe Edition, a Batman graphic novel that arrived at book retailers and comic book stores last month.
Written by the team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, the book collects the first six issues of Dark Nights: Metal, a tale in which Batman has uncovered an ancient and evil mystery that could destroy the very fabric of the DC Universe.
Brink said in a statement, “Being asked to be a part of this project is a dream come true. Ever since Chris and I started working together in In This Moment, we’ve fantasized about working on things like this. We are HUGE comic book/sci-fi/fantasy nerds and love everything about the DC Universe.”
In This Moment recently released the official music video to the song “Black Wedding.” The track, which features a guest appearance by Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, is from In This Moment’s latest LP, Ritual, which came out last July.
In This Moment is getting ready to begin the second leg of a co-headlining tour with Halestorm featuring all female-fronted acts. The second leg begins July 27th in Kansas City, Missouri and run through the end of August.
Foo Fighters were joined onstage during their Saturday night (July 14th) show in Wantagh, New York by actor John Travolta, who sang along and did a few dance moves as the band performed a little of “You’re The One That I Want” from Travolta’s hit 1978 movie Grease. The band was also joined during their set by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who got behind the kit for a cover of the Faces‘ “Stay With Me” while Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins handled lead vocals.
Papa Roach appears to be recording a new album. A recent tweet from the band displayed a photo of a white board sectioned off into a grid with each vertical column labeled with a separate recording task. No other details are available yet. The band’s last LP, Crooked Teeth, debuted at Number 20 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and included the hits “Help” and “Born for Greatness.”
