White Noise: News on Lamb of God, Converge, Guns N’ Roses, Machine Head and More
For the first time ever, I wish I was in Skindred. That's because the band will be embarking on its first ever tour of India later this month. They'll be playing in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi, and, with any luck, the boys will have some time to do a little sightseeing. Last December, this writer took a trip to India with his lady love and has been desperate to return ever since. Seriously. The food, the smells, the architecture, the weather ... if you've never been to India, I recommend taking the trip. Its just a completely different world, and the vibe is so relaxed. Anyways, this news that Skindred was going to be playing shows in India got us reminiscing about our trip, because its going to be a while before we get back there. But believe it or not, India's got metalheads. When we were in India, we saw more Megadeth and Iron Maiden T-shirts than our local Hot Topic. OK, enough of the tourism plug. Today's White Noise is overflowing with news, so lets get to it.
+ Guitarist Mark Morton has rejoined Lamb of God after taking a break from the band to be a dad. Morton returned to the stage on Sunday in Atlanta, relieving God Forbid guitarist Doc Coyle of his stand-in duties. Let's hope no one throws a cup of water at Morton.
+ Machine Head will be performing on Long Island on Nov. 6 with Thy Will Be Done, This or the Apocalypse and Mutiny Within. The band has scheduled a gig at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, N.Y. "We are extremely excited to announce our only U.S. headline show this year, and to have it be in New York is going to be insane," says guitarist Phil Demmel. "We really felt like doing something special for the U.S. fans to get ready for the Canadian Carnage dates. What better place to do it than with our maniacal fanbase in New York."
+ Skeletonwitch have made their entire new LP, 'Breathing the Fire,' available for streaming over at the Terrorizer Web site. The album is out October 13. Check it out before you buy it.
+ According to Reuters, two independent record labels have sued Guns N' Roses for $1 million, claiming the group used portions of two songs by German musician Ulrich Schnauss on their last album, 'Chinese Democracy.' The suit claims frontman Axl Rose copied portions of two of Schnauss' songs for the track 'Riad N' the Bedouins.'
+ A lawsuit has been filed against Ticketmaster, claiming its current chief executive paid a ticket broker to sell tickets at more than their normal face values to concerts by Van Halen, Journey and others.
+ Swarm of the Lotus, who will soon play their first reunion gig, have added original guitarist Bob Brockmeyer to their lineup. "We invited him down to a practice and there again was instant chemistry," the band says. "He has since attended several rehearsals (which have gone great) and as a result, purchased the necessary gear to make this happen. I know we announced originally as a three-piece, but if ever we were going to add a second guitarist to the lineup, what better than another original member." The band plays Oct. 23 in Baltimore with Eyehategod, Goatwhore, Pig Destroyer, Strong Intention and Triac.
+ Converge is claiming someone from Metal Sucks is behind the recent leak of their forthcoming LP, 'Axe to Fall.' The band thanked Shaun Hand at MS "for leaking our album," and the site has responded, saying, "We are horrified and are investigating right now. If Shaun is really responsible, he will be dealt with swiftly." The album comes out on Oct. 20, and presumably, promo copies of the disc boasted a watermarking technology that allowed Converge's label to track the source of the leak.