METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT Selling San Francisco Home For $16 Million

According to Curbed San Francisco, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett is selling a house in Sea Cliff, a neighborhood in northwestern San Francisco, California, for $16 million. Hammett's name apparently does not appear on the deed for the Spanish Colonial-style home, which last sold in 2010 for $8 million. When you adjust for inflation, that itself was roughly double its 2003 sale price of $3.1 million. The four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom, three-story house is said to be the fourth most expensive, publicly listed home in the entire city....

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RUDY SARZO: RONNIE JAMES DIO 'Was The Most Musically Trained Singer I've Ever Worked With'

Legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, DIO) was interviewed on a recent episode of "Cover Your Ears", the podcast hosted by Brian Geller, the lead singer of the ATOMIC PUNKS. You can now listen to the chat below. Asked what the first thing is that comes to mind when someone mentions Ronnie James Dio's name, Sarzo said: "The first is hard to put it into words, because it would be a combination of what made Ronnie so magical. It was his kindness, humble[ness] and ferocity and talent. So many things, 'cause we're talking...

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AT THE GATES Members Launch THE LURKING FEAR

AT THE GATES members Tomas Lindberg (vocals) and Adrian Erlandsson (drums) have joined forces with Jonas Stålhammar (guitar; THE CROWN), Fredrik Wallenberg (guitar; SKITSYSTEM) and Andreas Axelsson (bass; DISFEAR) in a brand new band called THE LURKING FEAR. According to the new group's official mission statement, "THE LURKING FEAR is bringing sheer, natural weirdness and horror back to the scene, as we want our death metal ugly, twisted and possessed....

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METALLICA's ROBERT TRUJILLO On Performing Live: 'I Just Sort Of Let The Show Come To Me'

On November 30, 94.9 The Rock's Doug Elliott conducted an interview with METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below. Asked how he prepares for METALLICA's live performances, Trujillo said: "For me, what I've been doing lately is I just sort of let the show come to me. Of course, you stretch out, you get ready, you go through your routine. I'm the first one in the jam room, and I'm just basically there kind of reconnecting with the instrument, maybe going over some parts and stuff like that. And...

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MAX CAVALERA On SEPULTURA: 'Tell Me One Great Song They Have Written Since I Left'

Former SEPULTURA member Max Cavalera (guitar, vocals) spoke to Metal Rules about the "Return To Roots" tour during which he and his brother Igor are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the band's classic album "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety. Asked if the tour was something that he and his brother had been planning for a long time, Max responded: "We haven't really planned this for a long time. We've been trying to do the reunion for a long time with the other jackasses. But they don't want to do it. They keep fucking it up, and...

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Ex-QUEENSRŸCHE Singer GEOFF TATE: 'You Have To Know When To Shut Up Sometimes'

Labtv Ireland recently conducted an interview with former QUEENSRŸCHE and current OPERATION: MINDCRIME vocalist Geoff Tate prior to his December 6 acoustic show at Crane Lane in Cork, Ireland. You can watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On how his recent acoustic shows came together with Irish acoustic group THE BAND ANNA: Geoff: "I needed a break from the drums. [Laughs] Drums are really loud. And I like...

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STEVE HARRIS Says BRITISH LION Is 'Getting Heavier And Heavier'

Sam Sheppard of Mammoth Metal TV recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN and BRITISH LION bassist Steve Harris. You can listen to the full chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On if any of the songs from BRITISH LION's 2012 self-titled debut album were written in the early '90s when Harris was mentoring the band: Steve: "A couple were written from back then. 'A World Without Heaven', 'Eyes Of The Young' and...

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AIRBOURNE Frontman: 'You Have To Have Fun With Rock And Roll'

A Music Blog, Yea! conducted an interview with Joel and Ryan O'Keefe of Australian hard rockers AIRBOURNE prior to the band's October 7 show at The Opera House in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can watch the full chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On releasing their new album, "Breakin' Outta Hell": Ryan: "It took a bit. [It's] the first record we recorded in Australia, but to finally have it out, is a big relief. The reception has been really good. We couldn't be happier." On the band's motto of "No ballads, no...

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Austin Carlile leaves Of Mice & Men

If this year was a roller coaster for Of Mice & Men, they’re ending 2016 on a big drop. Vocalist Austin Carlile released a statement on his social media that he will be leaving the band due to his health. Carlile has Marfan Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder, and it’s gotten progressively worse over […] from Metal Insider http://ift.tt/2hDwEaD via IFT...

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HENRY ROLLINS: 'I Don't Know If You Could Even Have A BLACK FLAG In 2016'

Earlier in the year, Moshcam conducted an interview with Henry Rollins, former lead singer with BLACK FLAG and current spoken-word performer, actor and "punk" journalist, while he was in Sydney, Australia. You can now watch the chat below. Asked how he thinks a band like BLACK FLAG would be received if it was formed in 2016 and not forty years earlier, Rollins said: "I don't know if there's ingredients in society in America that would birth a band like BLACK FLAG right now. With cell phones and Bandcamp sites and relative convenience, I don't know...

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Video: QUEENSRŸCHE Performs In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE's December 7 performance at Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania can be seen below. QUEENSRŸCHE recently embarked on a month-long headlining tour of the United States. Support on the trek came from ARMORED SAINT and MIDNIGHT ETERNAL. QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Condition Hüman", debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015. The band plans to enter the studio in January to write and record the follow-up to "Condition Hüman"...

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SEPULTURA Guitarist Doesn't See The Point Of MAX And IGOR CAVALERA Playing Entire 'Roots' Album

In a brand new interview with Australia's Loud, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked if the band has any inclination to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of its "Roots" album, or the twenty-fifth anniversary of "Arise", by performing either LP in its entirety on an upcoming tour. He responded: "Not really, man. It seems like a waste of time, actually. It doesn't bring anything new to your career. Of course, we did [play full albums for], like, special occasions, like we played the whole 'Arise' [LP] here in São Paulo [Brazil for] the...

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AUSTIN CARLILE Quits OF MICE & MEN

Austin Carlile, the vocalist and founding member of California's OF MICE & MEN, has left the band. The singer, who suffers from Marfan Syndrome, is now unable to scream as a result of his longstanding health issues, and said, "I realized that I had to step away from OF MICE & MEN." In a lengthy, emotional statement, he also paid tribute to those who have supported, or been involved with, OF MICE & MEN from the start, including the four remaining members of the group, who he says will carry on as a quartet. "I never thought in a million...

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KREATOR Frontman On 'Gods Of Violence': 'We Didn't Wanna Put Out An Album That Was Just Okay'

Finland's Kaaos TV conducted an interview with KREATOR guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza and guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö on November 23 in Helsinki, Finland. You can now watch the chat below. Asked how the songwriting process for KREATOR's new album, "Gods Of Violence", was different from that of the band's previous efforts, Mille said: "It's never the same. When I started writing the first songs in 2013, I just had to start somewhere, and the first...

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CHILDREN OF BODOM Drummer Says 'Severe Back Pain' Has Made It Difficult For Him To Enjoy The Band's Live Shows.

Drummer Jaska Raatikainen of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM says that "severe back pain" has made it difficult for him to enjoy the band's live shows. Raatikainen, who co-founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993 under the name INEARTHED, revealed his condition in a Facebook post recapping 2016. He wrote in part: "Even though so many great things happened to me this year, it was still overshadowed by severe back pain that made me really frustrated and anxious. I needed painkillers to be able to perform a show and still wasn't able to enjoy it. Sometimes...

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ARCH ENEMY: Watch 'Ravenous' Performance Clip From 'As The Stages Burn!' DVD

ARCH ENEMY will release a new live DVD, "As The Stages Burn!", on March 31, 2017 via Century Media. The set contains video footage of the band's largest stage production to date from their performance last summer at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. This performance marks the pinnacle of a highly successful album campaign in support of "War Eternal". It all began in March of 2014 when the band announced new vocalist Alissa White-Gluz...

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LIFE OF AGONY's 'A Place Where There's No Pain' To Arrive In April

"A Place Where There's No Pain", the first new album from LIFE OF AGONY in over a decade, will be released on April 28, 2017 via Napalm Records. The band's fifth studio LP will mark LIFE OF AGONY's first release since singer Mina Caputo (formerly known as Keith Caputo) came out as transgender in 2011. LIFE OF AGONY bassist Alan Robert previously stated about the upcoming effort: "I think our fans know that our music comes from a very real place of...

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GENE SIMMONS Says KISS Was Never Asked To Perform At DONALD TRUMP's Inauguration

Gene Simmons has shot down reports that KISS was invited to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration. Word of KISS's possible involvement with the president-elect's big event next month began circulating last week when Simmons's wife Shannon Tweed said Trump's camp approached her husband about participating, but he politely declined. TMZ's cameras caught up with Simmons, his wife and their daughter Sophie outside of Catch in West Hollywood on December 21. When asked if Simmons would play the inauguration, his wife and daughter spoke on his behalf....

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Metal Insider’s 10 most shocking moments of 2016

Well, it’s been a year, 2016 has. A year where a gorilla getting shot was one of the least shitty things that happened, 2016 opened with the metal community still in shock over the passing of Lemmy and closed with the death of Princess Leia and her mom a day later, meaning all bets are […] from Metal Insider http://ift.tt/2ipMcQO via IFT...

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5 Great Decibel Posts from 2016

2016 has been a tough, disappointing and perhaps even tragic year for many people. Despite some very real bright spots and positive innovations, there is an ominous and uncertain feeling among many of us as the year draws to a close. But luckily enough, great art is always there as a refuge, and great writing about great art always helps as well. So with that in mind, here are my five favorite Decibel articles from the website in 2016. Most of these...

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Concert By BOBBY BLOTZER's RATT Shut Down Over Name Dispute

A concert by by Bobby Blotzer's version of RATT was canceled last night at just hours before showtime after the venue received a cease-and-desist letter from the drummer's former bandmates. Blotzer is embroiled in a legal a dispute over the group's name with singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini and bassist Juan Croucier. The Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan explained the show cancelation in a Facebook post,...

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GEOFF TATE Remembers RONNIE JAMES DIO: 'He Was Such A Unique, Giving, Responsible, Friendly, Good Person'

Former QUEENSRŸCHE and current OPERATION: MINDCRIME vocalist Geoff Tate was recently interviewed by Honolulu, Hawaii radio host Dave Lawrence of Hawaii Public Radio's "All Things Considered". You can now listen to the chat below. Speaking about the impact legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) had on QUEENSRŸCHE in the band's early years, Tate said: "Ronnie was very, I would say, inspirational and instrumental in my career. He was the first major act to invite us on a tour of Europe. And we spent two...

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Demo:listen: Best of 2016

Welcome to Demo:listen, your weekly peek into the future of underground metal. Whether it’s death, black, doom, sludge, grind, thrash, heavy, speed, progressive, stoner, retro, post-, etc. we're here to bring you the latest demos from the newest bands. On this week’s Demo:listen, with a little help from some of our friends, we reflect on 2016, a year of great demos. Because we’ve already featured so many outstanding demos this year—from bands like...

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