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    Behind The Scenes Look At New Megadeth Track Available

    30.08.10 @ 9:36 am Posted by wookubus 

    Some behind the scenes footage and insight behind Megadeth’s new track “Sudden Death” can be found online below. The track was written exclusively for the upcoming new videogame “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock“, which is due in stores on September 28th.

  • 0

    “The Big 4″ Live DVD To See A Release In October

    26.08.10 @ 1:58 am Posted by wookubus 

    An October 19th North American release date has been set for the upcoming “The Big 4: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria” DVD and Blu-ray release. The effort captures Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax’s performances at the June 22nd, 2010 stop of the “Sonisphere Festival” in Sofia, Bulgaria.

    Bonus features include behind the scenes footage from the festival along with a look at the rehearsals for all four featured bands collaborative live cover of Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?“. In addition to the above-mentioned formats, a deluxe box set version of the effort is also in the works and will feature five audio CD’s featuring all of the performances, a booklet, a poster, photos and a “Big 4″ guitar pick.

    The track listing for the outing will run as follows:

    Anthrax:

    01 – “Caught In A Mosh
    02 – “Got The Time
    03 – “Madhouse
    04 – “Be All, End All
    05 – “Antisocial
    06 – “Indians“/”Heaven And Hell
    07 – “Medusa
    08 – “Only
    09 – “Metal Thrashing Mad
    10 – “I Am The Law

    Slayer:

    01 – “World Painted Blood
    02 – “Jihad
    03 – “War Ensemble
    04 – “Hate Worldwide
    05 – “Seasons In The Abyss
    06 – “Angel Of Death
    07 – “Beauty Through Order
    08 – “Disciple
    09 – “Mandatory Suicide
    10 – “Chemical Warfare
    11 – “South Of Heaven
    12 – “Raining Blood

    Megadeth:

    01 – “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
    02 – “Hangar 18
    03 – “Wake Up Dead
    04 – “Head Crusher
    05 – “In My Darkest Hour
    06 – “Skin O’ My Teeth
    07 – “A Tout Le Monde
    08 – “Hook In Mouth
    09 – “Trust
    10 – “Sweating Bullets
    11 – “Symphony Of Destruction
    12 – “Peace Sells“/”Holy Wars Reprise

    Metallica:

    01 – “Creeping Death
    02 – “For Whom The Bell Tolls
    03 – “Fuel
    04 – “Harvester Of Sorrow
    05 – “Fade To Black
    06 – “That Was Just Your Life
    07 – “Cyanide
    08 – “Sad But True
    09 – “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
    10 – “All Nightmare Long
    11 – “One
    12 – “Master Of Puppets
    13 – “Blackened
    14 – “Nothing Else Matters
    15 – “Enter Sandman
    16 – “Am I Evil?” (Diamond Head cover) (feat. members of Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax)
    17 – “Hit The Lights
    18 – “Seek And Destroy

  • The lineup has been revealed for the “No Sleep Til Festival” which till take place in Australia and New Zealand late this year. Megadeth will headline the event, performing their classic album “Rust In Peace” in its entirety at the shows. Rounding out the bill are

    NOFX
    Dropkick Muprhys
    Parkway Drive
    Descendents (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane only)
    A Day To Remember (Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane only)
    Gwar
    Alkaline Trio
    Katatonia
    Atreyu (Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane only)
    Frenzal Rhomb
    Me First And The Gimmie Gimmie’s (Australian shows only)
    3 Inches Of Blood
    Suicide Silence
    August Burns Red
    We Came As Romans
    House Vs Hurricane
    Break Even
    Heroes For Hire
    Confession
    Antagonist AD
    The Outsiders
    Shitripper
    Leeches

    Dates for the festival can be found below:

    December 10th Auckland, NZ – ASB Showgrounds
    December 12th Perth, AUS – Arena Joondalup
    December 15th Adelaide, AUS – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
    December 17th Melbourne, AUS – Melbourne Showgrounds
    December 18th Sydney, AUS – Entertainment Quarter, Hordern Pavilion and Surrounds
    December 19th Brisbane, AUS – RNA Showgrounds

  • Live footage of Megadeth performing their track “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” has debuted online via Noisecreep and can be seen below. The footage is taken from the groups upcoming “Rust In Peace Live” effort which is due in stores on a variety of formats on September 07th.

  • Megadeth, The Used and P.O.D. are among the artists set to have tracks made available for play in the “Guitar Hero” franchise of videogames for the month of August. Details can be found below:

    August 03rd:
    The Used -”The Taste Of Ink
    The Used -”The Bird And The Worm
    The Used -”Pretty Handsome Awkward

    August 24th:
    Megadeth – “Symphony Of Destruction
    Megadeth – “Hangar 18
    Megadeth – “Peace Sells

    August 31st:
    P.O.D. – “Southtown
    P.O.D. – “Youth Of The Nation
    P.O.D. – “Boom

  • 5

    Kataklysm Comment On Megadeth Backstage ‘Incident’

    25.07.10 @ 11:20 pm Posted by wookubus 

    Kataklysm recently took to their Facebook to address a recent backstage ‘incident’ involving members of Megadeth. The group offered the following on it:

    MEGADETH: we are big fans but after the stunt the pulled backstage to one of our members, we see what they really are, one of our guys was picked up on the same cart that had Mustaine and others from theire crew to be transported backstage ( he was ASKED to join the cart by driver) they drove 10 meters and Megadeth stopped and got off said they wont be on the same cart as “everyone else”..thats real metal boys”

    Kataklysm’s new album “Heaven’s Venom” is due out through Nuclear Blast on August 24th.

  • A second leg of dates has been announced for Megadeth and Slayer’s “American Carnage Tour“, this time with Anthrax joining the bill. The following press release was issued announcing the trek:

    “Los Angeles, CA – (MONDAY, July 12, 2010) — Metalheads rejoice: North America’s biggest thrash tour in 20 years is announced, as 1991’s original American “Clash of the Titans” lineup – Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – will tour together once again on Leg Two of the American Carnage Tour.

    This trek kicks off September 24 at Verizon Wireless Theatre in Dallas, TX and will play 20 dates, including New York’s Nassau Coliseum, concluding at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on October 21.

    On Leg Two of American Carnage, Megadeth will continue to roar through its landmark 1990 album Rust in Peace from front to back, while Slayer will rip the roof off by performing its much-lauded Seasons in the Abyss album, which was also released in 1990. Anthrax recently welcomed back singer Joey Belladonna, who defined the band during their heyday, and now permanently back in the band, will be front-and-center.

    A special presale will launch this Wednesday, July 14, and fans should log onto to www.slayer.netwww.megadeth.com – or www.anthrax.com – to obtain the special code needed for the presale, and then go to www.ticketmaster.com (www.knowvilletickets.com for the Knoxville date) to purchase tickets.

    The public on sale date will begin July 23 in most markets. In the spirit of beating the recession, there will be special pre-sale discounts on all tickets in most markets (see below for more details), and, if that’s not enough, a limited amount of $10 tickets will be available in many cities – log onto any of the bands’ websites or onto Ticketmaster’s site for those details.
    But wait, there’s even more. For Leg Two of the American Carnage tour, Megadeth has teamed up with iloveallaccess.com to provide fans with VIP experiences including priority venue access, meet and greets, parties, exclusive gifts and more.

    Logging onto www.megadeth.com will provide those details. Plus, fans who purchase their tickets online at either www.slayer.net or www.ticketmaster.com – will receive a free download of the live audio track “War Ensemble,” set to be included on Slayer’s forthcoming, as yet unannounced “Live Intrusion” DVD release.

    Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax will kick off the second leg of the American Carnage tour on the heels of the historical “Big FourSonisphere Festival concerts they played with Metallica in seven European cities this summer. The dates marked the first time that these four bands – acknowledged as the most influential bands the thrash metal genre – had shared a concert bill.

    The original “Clash of the Titans” tour united the three forces of thrash metal for the entire summer of 1991, with then-little known Alice in Chains serving as the opener. This tour, which falls under the “American Carnage” banner, isn’t rewriting history; it’s writing a whole new chapter of headbanging history that is sure to delight fans new and old.

    Megadeth and Slayer return to North America late this month to co-headline the east coast Canadian Carnage tour, and then starting August 11, the first leg of the American Carnage tour (dates below) with Testament as Special Guest. The tour was originally scheduled for a winter 2010 run, but was postponed when Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya was forced to undergo neck surgery. But as is the case for anything good in life, this tour was well worth the wait.

    * * *
    MEGADETH
    For the past two decades, Megadeth’s storied career has not only set standards in hard rock and metal for, but defined them. Megadeth’s signature shredding and rousing lyrics have drawn fans in since the band’s beginnings, and are the very things that keep them interested, excited, and of course, headbanging, at every turn.

    Founding vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine, who was the recipient of the first annual Golden God Award at the inaugural Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2009, is renowned for his ability to use the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically, which he did with 2009’s ENDGAME, which received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s already impressive career.

    The band’s fourth album, Rust In Peace, saw the band cement their status as one of the most important metal bands with masterpieces like “Hanger 18” and “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due.” The album enjoyed a top 25 debut on the Billboard charts. The album has been hailed as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time with IGN recently naming it one of the most influential metal albums ever. Megadeth are now rejoined by original bassist Dave Ellefson and are firing on all cylinders, as they will continue to perform the release in its entirety, something that fans have been clamoring for for years.

    SLAYER
    In the beginning, where there were no blueprints, no set paths, no boundaries or steps to follow, SLAYER assaulted the world with its new hybrid of metal and punk. Heavier, faster and darker than the rest, Slayer – guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo – set the new standard that all others continue to follow.

    And that has continued through to 2010. Revolver, SPIN and Metal Hammer have all named Slayer “Best Live Band.” Esquire presented them with an Esky Award. They’ve got two Grammys, a Kerrang! Hall of Fame Award, and multiple Revolver Readers’ Poll Awards. And Slayer continues to be a groundbreaker as they become the first major artist to have a music-themed Apple app – “Slayer: Pinball Rocks.”

    Slayer’s most recent album, World Painted Blood (released 11/09), offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world – God’s terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. As one major daily wrote, “If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he undoubtedly would be listening to Slayer.” For “American Carnage,” Slayer’s Tom Araya promises, “no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos.”

    ANTHRAX
    With worldwide sales in excess of 10-million, Anthrax, who along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, is credited with originating the thrash genre, is about to celebrate its 29th year as a band, and continues to be one of metal’s all-time great acts. Over the band’s career, Anthrax has received multiple Gold and Platinum albums, multiple Grammy nominations, and a host of other accolades from the press, industry and fans.

    Earlier this year, Anthrax announced that vocalist Joey Belladonna, an essential part of Anthrax’s lineup from 1985 to 1992,was rejoining the band, and has taken his place onstage this summer as Anthrax has joined Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth – The Big Four founding members of Thrash – as co-headliners of a series of Sonisphere Festivals in ten European cities. Plans are for the “classic era” Anthrax to write and record a new album for a 2011 release.

    Confirmed dates for Leg Two of the American Carnage Tour are as follows:

    SEPTEMBER
    24 Verizon Wireless Theatre, Dallas, TX*
    25 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX*
    26 Verizon Wireless Theatre, Houston, TX*
    28 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA*
    30 Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
    OCTOBER
    1 The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA*
    2 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
    3 Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, Miami, FL*
    5 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
    6 Eagles Auditorium, Baltimore, MD*
    8 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, NY*
    9 Toyota Pavilion @ Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA*
    10 LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH**
    12 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
    14 War Memorial Coliseum, Ft. Wayne, IN*
    15 DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids, MI*
    16 Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI**
    19 E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
    20 The Pearl, Las Vegas, NV
    21 Gibson Amphitheatre, Hollywood, CA*

    * $10 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale (excluding the special $10 tickets)
    ** $5 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale

    Canadian and American Carnage/Leg One Tour Dates
    (Slayer, Megadeth, Testament)
    JULY
    23 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC CANADA
    24 Heavy MTL, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC CANADA
    26 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS CANADA
    27 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB CANADA
    29 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA
    30 John Labatt Centre Center, London, ONT CANADA
    AUGUST
    11 Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
    12 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
    14 Tsongas Arena, Boston, MA
    15 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
    16 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
    18 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH
    19 Cobo Arena, Detroit,MI
    20 UIC Pavillon, Chicago, IL
    21 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
    23 Cap Fed Park @Sandstone, Kansas City, KS
    25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO
    26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
    27 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
    29 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
    30 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
    31 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA
    SEPTEMBER
    1 Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
    3 Wamu Theatre, Seattle, WA
    4 Washington County Fairgrounds, Portland, OR”

  • A recent posting on Twitter from Megadeth has revealed that the band will be playing a bigger part in the upcoming “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock” game than previously expected. In the tweet the band confirmed that in addition to their new song “Sudden Death“, which was written exclusively for the game, their tracks “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” and “This Day We Fight!” will also appear. “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock” is currently set for a September 28th release date.

  • 5

    Megadeth Frontman Comments On “Big Four” Touring

    29.06.10 @ 1:15 pm Posted by wookubus 

    Megadeth frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine recently commented on his experiences touring with the “big four” (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax) overseas, here’s what he had to offer on the experience:

    “So now that the Big Four dates have come and gone, I feel it is time to check-in, say, “Hello” and tell you what has been going on in my world.

    First off, when we left San Marcos and Mustaine Music Studios aka ‘Vic’s Garage,’ we had no idea what to expect, other than the fact that we wanted to make a point; we wanted to make the other bands feel comfortable, we wanted the fans to all leave this momentous occasion feeling completely satiated, we wanted the guys in Metallica to know that we could be depended on to pull our share…

    I don’t know if we delivered for everyone, but for the tens of thousands of people each night, and ultimately hundreds of thousands of fans over the entire run of the Big Four festivals (affectionately dubbed “Sonisphere”), it seemed to me that the fans were finally able to put aside the silly stuff that the press has kept on life support for so many, many years. We did several round-table interviews with a member from each camp of the Big Four, and one thing that was a constant and that we all agreed on was that the press was the responsible parties for keeping the feuds alive.

    You heard it straight from our mouths; we are all at peace with one another, and we all are friends. End of story – or in other words, several shit magazines will now have to learn how to write real interviews, reviews, and features, instead of causing so much turmoil with us four, all in the spirit of selling their publications.”

  • 5

    The “Big Four” Offer Video Tribute To Ronnie James Dio

    26.06.10 @ 1:13 pm Posted by wookubus 

    Members of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax recently sat down together to offer their thoughts and pay tribute to late metal icon Ronnie James Dio. You can find the footage below:

  • 0

    Megadeth To Release “Rust In Peace” Live Effort In September

    23.06.10 @ 12:21 pm Posted by wookubus 

    Megadeth are preparing to release a live Blu-ray, CD and DVD of their recent “Rust In Peace” 20th anniversary tour on September 07th through Shout! Factory. Directed by Kerry Asmussen (Green Day, Jay-Z), the effort will capture the bands March 31st, 2010 set at the Hollywood Palladium and feature the following track listing:

    Rest In Peace Live“:

    01 – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
    02 – “Hangar 18
    03 – “Take No Prisoners
    04 – “Five Magics
    05 – “Poison Was The Cure
    06 – “Lucretia
    07 – “Tornado Of Souls
    08 – “Dawn Patrol
    09 – “Rust In Peace…Polaris

    The following bonus performances will also be featured:

    Bonus Content:

    01 – “Skin O’ My Teeth
    02 – “In My Darkest Hour
    03 – “She-Wolf
    04 – “Trust
    05 – “Symphony Of Destruction
    06 – “Peace Sells
    07 – “Holy Wars – Reprise

    Both the DVD and Blu-ray versions will also include special behind the scenes rehearsal footage.

  • Members of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax all joined forces on stage yesterday in Sofia, Bulgaria for a cover of Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?“. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be found below. Furthermore, all of the bands ‘big four’ overseas touring is being documented for a future DVD release.

  • A preview of Megadeth’s new track “Sudden Death“, which was written for the new “Guitar Hero” video game “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock“, has been posted online and can be found below. The footage comes from a recent E3 demo of the aforementioned game. “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock” is set for a September 28th release date.

  • Metallica, Slayer and Slipknot are among the various metal artists who will have playable tracks in the next installment of the “Guitar Hero” videogame franchise, “Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock“. The game will also feature a brand new Megadeth track dubbed “Sudden Death” which was written exclusively for the game. The official press release showcasing the first 35 tracks to be revealed for the game can be found below:

    “This autumn, living room legends and their friends will join together and embark on an epic rock journey to save rock n’ roll with Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero ® : Warriors of Rock. The latest installment in the world’s most popular music game series, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will once again redefine music gaming with an all-new, story-driven Quest Mode, a completely redesigned rock-inspired guitar controller, the biggest on-disc selection of rock music ever in a Guitar Hero ® game and Quickplay+, which invites challenge-starved fanatics to test their rock skills in any of the on-disc or over 500 songs in the Guitar Hero Music Library.

    Running on the powerful Guitar Hero engine that has been expanded and refined, coupled with the return of the critically acclaimed and fan favorite features like Party Play’s jump in/jump out gameplay, a host of Competitive modes and the ability to play any combination of guitar, bass, drums and vocals, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock offers the complete interactive and connected experience bringing friends and foes to the stage in the ultimate rock music adventure.

    Guitar Hero has set the standard for music based gaming and with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and the game’s all-new Quest Mode, robust and authentic set list, over-the-top challenges and rock-inspired new hardware, we are once again bringing the soul and energy of rock n’ roll to fans around the world,” said David Haddad, Chief Operating Officer, Guitar Hero.

    In Quest Mode, using any combination of instruments, players will embark on a larger-than-life, epic rock journey from the stage of CBGBs, the infamous punk-rock club in New York City, to the molten lava fields of rock treachery as eight Guitar Hero characters transform into rock warriors that must join together to use their unique, game-changing powers to help the Demi-God of Rock take down “The Beast” and save rock n’ roll.

    “The world is a boring place. Come with me, and enter a world populated of Demi-Gods and Beasts. Transform from an everyday person and become the savior of rock and roll,” said Gene Simmons of KISS. “It was an honor and privilege to narrate Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, even more so, to voice the Demi God. From the God of Thunder to the Demi-God, how cool is that…”

    Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock breathes new life into gamers’ current Guitar Hero music libraries providing literally hundreds of hours of replayability with the introduction of Quickplay+, which features 13 totally unique gameplay challenges for every on-disc track as well as most downloadable and importable songs from Guitar Hero ® World Tour forward. Gamers will complete challenges such as Band Streak, High Score and Power Challenge, which allows players to choose any two warrior powers they have unlocked to try and earn ridiculously high scores, to rank up and unlock more rewards and content than ever before. All-new Challenge Leaderboards have been created in order to capture the outrageous scores that are capable with Quickplay+.

    Delivering the largest on-disc rock music set list to-date, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock features more than 90 tracks that include guitar shredding hits from bands such as Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Slipknot and larger than life anthems from Queen, Muse and KISS. Additionally, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth wrote and recorded “Sudden Death,” an original track for the game, which was inspired by Quest Mode’s storyline. Along with original songs, the set list also includes special re-records by famous artists and tracks from bands that are making their music video game debut. The first songs off of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock’s set list to be revealed are:

    AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday
    Anthrax – “Indians
    Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country
    Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave
    Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?
    Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace… Prepare For War
    The Cure – “Fascination Street
    Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”
    Dethklok – “Bloodlines
    Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing
    DragonForce – “Fury of the Storm
    Drowning Pool – “Bodies
    Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance
    Foo Fighters – “No Way Back
    Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time
    The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom
    Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing
    Jethro Tull – “Aqualung
    KISS – “Love Gun
    Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out
    Megadeth – “Sudden Death
    Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”
    Muse – “Uprising
    My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
    Night Ranger – “ (You Can Still) Rock In America
    Nine Inch Nails – “Wish
    The Offspring – “Self Esteem
    Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody
    Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil
    The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues
    Silversun Pickups – “There’s No Secrets This Year
    Slayer – “Chemical Warfare
    Slipknot – “Psychosocial
    Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song
    ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”

    To maximise players’ shredability, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock delivers the next evolution in finger-fretting with an all-new, show-stopping guitar controller that was inspired and born from the game’s unique art style and specifically made for shredding.

    Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360 ® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation ® 3 computer entertainment system and by Vicarious Visions for the Wii TM system from Nintendo. rating TBC. For more information about Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, please visit GuitarHero.com.”

    The game is expected to see a fall release date while an initial reveal trailer can be found below:

  • Hail! have announced that they will go forward with their planned European summer touring despite the recent death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray. Gray had been tapped to handle the bass duties for the band following the departure of David Ellefson from the outfit. In Gray’s place will be former Megadeth bassist, James Lomenzo. Ironically Ellefson originally left Hail! to replace Lomenzo in Megadeth.

    Speaking on the swap and Gray’s passing, HAIL! offered the following statement:

    “On Monday we were dealt a devastating blow with Paul’s passing two days before our departure. We discussed the situation and unanimously thought that in the face of this tragedy we needed to remain strong and push forward because Paul would have vehemently insisted that the show must go on. In a desperate situation we made an emergency call to James Lomenzo and James responded with a Herculean effort, on only one day’s notice, to fly to Portugal and rescue the Rock In Rio Festival. His immediate and unselfish call to arms single-handedly saved this entire tour.”

    James Lomenzo has had a long and very successful career, having played with White Lion, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society and most recently Megadeth.

    HAIL! have epitomized the old-school unity and brotherhood of the metal culture that they have all grown out of and this is another example of that close knit circle of friends coming together to help in a time of need.”

    Dates for the trek run as follows:

    May 30th Lisbon, POR – Rock In Rio Festival
    June 01st Novosibirsk, SIB – Izjum
    June 02nd Tomsk, SIB – Fakal
    June 03rd Omsk, SIB – Kristall
    June 04th Ekaterinburg, RUS – TeleClub
    June 05th Moscow, RUS – Tochka
    June 06th Kiev, UKR – Bingo
    June 08th Helsinki, FIN – Dante’s Highlight
    June 09th Tallin, EST – Rock Cafe
    June 11th Kouvala, FIN – House Of Rock
    June 12th Tampere, FIN – Sauna Open Air Festival
    June 14th Madrid, SPA – Rock In Rio Festival

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