Alexi Laiho Talks About COB New Album

In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho said that he was happy with the decision to work with Hyde. "Our management was pushing the idea," Laiho said, "so eventually it was, 'All right, fuck it. Just to shut them up, let's do it.' We liked the way [Hyde] talked about music and the way he was already so fucking committed. He wanted to do the best fucking CHILDREN OF BODOM album ever and was pretty serious and convincing about that. After five minutes of talking to the dude, we knew he was the guy."

Regarding the musical direction of the new CHILDREN OF BODOM material, Laiho told Revolver, "It's maybe a little more melodic than [2008's] 'Blooddrunk' was. It's maybe more guitar riff-oriented, really '80s guitar and stuff like that."

According to Laiho, the recording sessions for the new CHILDREN OF BODOM album produced nine originals and one cover song that he says is "gonna be fucking funny as shit. I don't think it's something anybody would necessarily want to cover — not a metal band, anyway."

Among the new tracks that are set to appear on the next CHILDREN OF BODOM CD are "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide", "Ugly" and "Was It Worth It?", the latter of which the band shot a video for on October 6 somewhere in north Pennsylvania." Directing the clip was Dale "Rage" Resteghini, who has helmed over 550 music videos since 2003, including clips for such metal bands as MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED, ANTHRAX and SHADOWS FALL. Rage has also directed videos for some of the biggest names in the hip hop world, including Lil Wayne, Diddy, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube.

Regarding the subject matter covered in the "Pussyfoot Miss Suicide" lyrics, Alexi Laiho told Revolver, "I've been involved with stupid chicks who were trying to get attention by being, 'Oh, I'm so fucking depressed. I'm gonna slit my wrists with a cheese grater...' And it's so fucking boring, like, 'Just let it go. You're really not gonna do it, anyway.' It's kind of harsh, but it's fuckin' black humor." "Ugly", on the other hand, is "really just venting and screaming stupid stuff. Nobody should expect anything deep and poetic and sensitive and intelligent, y'know?"

Kings of Leon Took More Than Musical Cues

The Kings of Leon took more than musical cues when they opened a concert tour for U2 a few years back. They learned that ambition isn't a dirty word. That lesson is clearly evident on "Come Around Sundown," the rock band's first collection of music since the hits "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody" made them Grammy-winning stars. The album cover's palm trees recall the Eagles' "Hotel California" (16 million sold) and the music inside is epic and inviting.

"If the world is looking for a big band from our generation, we at least want to give it a shot," said 28-year-old singer Caleb Followill, one of three brothers and a cousin in the group named for his grandfather. "We'll put ourselves up there against anyone because we're very competitive and we're family. Yeah, we'll give it a shot. I'm not afraid to at least try."

The admission cuts against the grain of an ambivalence toward success that has run strong in the rock 'n' roll world — coinciding with its diminished influence as a force in popular culture — and the Kings' own wrestling with good fortune.

The Beatles and Elvis Presley never thought twice about wanting to be big stars. The attitude is different today, perhaps dating to Bruce Springsteen's pulling back from his "Born in the USA" stardom and, especially, the suspicion that Pearl Jam and Nirvana felt about popularity. An underground ethos took hold. Most rock artists prefer being part of a subculture and don't make the effort to break through to a wider audience, said Brian Hiatt, senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine.

"It has kind of messed with fans' heads and confused rock music fans about what is acceptable and what is not," he said. The quality of work almost doesn't matter; many fans will simply dump a band when they become popular, he said.

For four albums, the Kings of Leon were underground darlings in the United States, with more mainstream appeal overseas. Things changed with the "Only by the Night" disc in 2008. Buoyed by the hit songs, it sold north of 6 million copies.

That messed with the Nashville, Tenn.-based band's heads. Followill told Spin magazine that they got bigger than they wanted to be. "You feel like you've done something wrong," he told the magazine in December of last year, in a quote he'd live to regret. "That woman in mom jeans who never let me date her daughter? She likes my music. ... Not cool."

Kings of Leon were approached to have their music covered on the Fox television musical series "Glee" and turned down the opportunity. "If you want to be a rock star, you have to keep your credibility," he said. "You need to be offending someone."

Followill acknowledged this week that the popularity initially scared him, making him wonder if he had lost his edge. That's when he thought back to his time spent with U2 — one of the few remaining rock bands that can fill a stadium yet remain a creative force. It's not a bad life, traveling to gigs in plush jets instead of drafty vans.

"You have to step up to the plate and say, `All right, do I have it in me to be one of the biggest bands?'" he said. "Even though that's a lofty goal, you have to come to terms and say, `Can I take the pressure?' We all agreed that we could. There are definitely times where we are second-guessing and wondering why we thought that because there is so much negative that comes along with the positive. People are going to hate you and people are going to want to see you fail because you reach a certain level."

Any remaining self-doubt wasn't evident in the music. Kings of Leon don't fall prey to an indie rock small sound, esoteric for the sake of being so. Guitars soar — U2 is a handy reference point here, too — but Followill's distinctive rough croon prevents edges from being smoothed away.

Yes, there are naysayers. The website The Zeitgeisty Report seemed visibly angry at the size of the bandwagon: "They've become the band that vacuous idiots and bimbos think is `edgy' only they're anything but now."

"They've made an album with an old-fashioned commitment to greatness, a determination to fashion something bold and original," wrote Neil McCormick in the Telegraph newspaper in Britain, where the Kings are seeking their third No. 1 disc.

Reaching the same spot here is a goal they may reach next week. It's no coincidence the Kings released "Come Around Sundown" a week before Taylor Swift dropped her new disc.

The Followill brothers Caleb, 31-year-old Nathan and 24-year-old Jared grew up as the sons of a fundamentalist Christian minister who traveled around the South. They sought big-city energy in recording the new disc in New York. The band, which also includes cousin Matthew Followill, 26, tends to kick around musical ideas in sound checks or in the studio, with Caleb retreating to write lyrics when they settle on a tune they like.

Caleb's particularly proud of the song "Back Down South," where the band invited friends to sing and add a fiddle. It illustrated the strengths of using the studio as an instrument of experimentation, an approach he'd like to expand upon in future recordings. Their father resisted rock 'n' roll when his sons were growing up, Followill said, and now he's one of their biggest fans. Caleb is also pleased to be making something of the family name to Kings of Leon. Before, Followills mostly were known for painting houses. "We've still got a lot of family painting homes," he said. "But they're wearing Kings of Leon T-shirts while they're doing it." Source:

Blink-182 Mark Hoppus Posts Video Update

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has posted a video update from the studio as the band continue to record a long-awaited new album, their first new music since the self-titled effort of 2003. The clip is, conveniently, right below.

"I think we're going to try and come back [to the UK] in Summer next year," Mark Hoppus"It all depends on how fast we write the next record but we're already making plans to come back as soon as possible."

told at Reading Festival. Mark Hoppus, the video was great but get on with it, finish the record and come tour already! The clip is, conveniently, right below.

Paramore Announce New Single - Playing God

Tennessee five piece Paramore are set to release the single ‘Playing God’ on November 15th. This will be the fifth release taken from their Number 1, platinum certified album brand new eyes. Brand New Eyes is their third album, released September 29, 2009 through Fueled by Ramen in the United States and Canada.

Critical response to Brand New Eyes was mostly positive. According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Paramore also try and showcase their maturity by chucking a couple of slowies into the mix. ‘The Only Exception’ turns out to be a rather sappy, nondescript love song, which doesn’t quite warrant the abrupt change of pace. It feels like something Katy Perry would dismiss for being too lightweight, with its mechanical, campfire strumming and general uninspiring air.

Currently on a headline tour of Australia, Japan and New Zealand, and fresh from performing at this year’s VMA’s, Paramore will be back in the UK for a run of headline dates in November. The forthcoming UK tour follows their sold out arena tour at the end of 2009, as well as performances at this summer’s Reading & Leeds festival.

Having so far performed live in front of over 1 million people in 2010, Paramore are due to play their biggest headline shows to date in the UK, adding over a 100,000 people to that already impressive audience figure.

Green Day's European cinemas

MTV is taking its live music initiative World Stage into cinemas across Europe next month, with a gig from Green Day.

MTV World Stage: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown will be screened in more than 150 cinemas across 10 countries, including the UK and Ireland, from November 15.

The 80-minute concert film captures the band live at the Olympia Halle in Munich. More details are available from greenday.mtv.com, including full screening times.

Screening live gigs in european cinemas has become increasingly popular over recent years, with Bon Jovi and Metallica among the bands who have experimented with it.

Take That

Take That are a five-piece pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Gary Barlow is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Manchester in 1990, the band achieved major success, selling more than 25 million records between 1991–96 alone before disbanding.

In 2005 the group reformed without Williams and achieved new success as a four-piece scoring a string of chart hits whilst taking the number of records sold to over 40 million worldwide. In July 2010, Robbie Williams' return to the band was confirmed. In total the band have had 22 top forty singles in the UK alone, 11 of which have reached #1 as well as having five number 1 albums.

Williams having left the band in 1995, the rest of Take That split up in 1996. However, after a 2005 documentary and the release of a new greatest hits album, they officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the United Kingdom, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that Take That were set to record together as a band once again.

On 7 June 2010 the news broke of a single called "Shame" which had been written by Barlow and Williams and which would features the vocals of both artists. This was the first time the pair had worked together since 1995 and would appear on the second greatest hits collection of Williams. The single peaked at number 2 on the UK singles chart whilst also achieving success throughout Europe.

On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."

The lead single from Take That's forthcoming album Progress has been announced as "The Flood" and will be released 07 November, with the album released a week later on 15 November. Take That announced on 19 October that they had considered changing the name of the band to The English prior to the release of their sixth studio album. They decided against this after Williams' return to the band, choosing to maintain the name that made them famous.

Take That held a press conference in London today to announce Take That new tour dates. The band revealed that the Progress Live 2011 tour will include cities such as Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow and London, kicking off in Sunderland on May 30. It’s been a big couple of months for the reunited group and especially for Robbie, who married Ayda Field in August.

Slipknot's Issues Threat

Slipknot percussionist Sean ‘Clown’ Crahan, who started the band with tragic bassist Paul Gray, says the outfit will come back stronger and leaner as a result of his death.

Gray’s body was found in a hotel room in May after falling victim to an accidental overdoes of subscription painkillers. The band have sent crossed signals about their future since then – but now Crahan has issued a threat on his colleagues’ behalf.

In an emotional heart-stirring speech he tells Sirius XM: “Starting the band with Paul, I have a heavy responsibility to think about what he would have liked for what we started together. It wasn’t just Paul and I in this band, let’s make that clear, but we started something together.

“He’s so big right now, so it’s time for the rest of us to get what we’ve always needed. The big bands need to get the fuck out of my face. The industry needs to get the fuck out of my face. Everybody needs to get out of our way because we’re going to spread the seed.

“It’s going to take time, but this is a threat. Today is a threat, a new beginning. And that’s how I want it to be.”

Crahan says coming to terms with the loss of Gray has helped him understand more about what Slipknot are as a group of artists. He believes the loss will act as the strongest motivation they’ve ever had.

“It’s horrible, but he speaks in volumes,” the percussionist explains. “As bad as this sounds, everything happens for a reason – and I’m going to miss him every day of my life. There’s not going to be a day I don’t mention Paul Gray.

“But every day I wake up is a blessing, and I want to remember that. I want everybody in the world to remember that. The world is on its way out and we’ll be the band that will play the music for its way out.

“We will never be the same. You will never be the same. Here’s to the future and our continuing evolution.”

In recent months various members of the now eight-strong band have voiced support for continuing its career, with the notable exception being frontman Corey Taylor, who’s refrained from committing himself, insisting it’s too early for him to understand how he feels.