Denver – Skin Back Alley

Primus recruit Tool’s Danny Carey to fill the drum stool whilst Tim Alexander recovers from surgey

19/08/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Primus have recruited Tool drummer Danny Carey as a temporary replacement whilst Tim Alexander recovers from open heart surgery.

Carey will play with the band at a handful of live shows in September, and at Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver. Alexander is expected to be well enough to occupy the stool once more sometime during October.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Pirums’ Les Claypool said: “The mighty Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander is a polyrhythmic viking of extreme and unique talent so the one person that we thought could step into his shoes and do it justice is the one and only Mr Danny Carey.”

“Whereas Herb is the stocky, Easter Island-faced, boulder of a drumming human, at nearer to seven feet, Danny Carey is the mighty redwood tree of percussion – towering over his kit like a golden-haired noble sequoia.”

“I can’t wait to see that menacing grin of Danny’s shine out as we pound our way through Here Come the Bastards and Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers. He’s a dear old friend and we are extremely excited to have him aboard, and I would wager we are equally if not more intrigued than most by what kind of sounds are going to come out of the three of us once we actually get in a room together and do more than just consume fancy booze.”

Claypool said that Primus chose to go through with the live shows in order to help give Alexander some financial relief whilst he recovers from his surgery. The Primus drummer suffered a minor heart attack a few weeks ago and had to undergo a triple heart bypass.

Claypool adds: “When Tim had a minor heart attack a few weeks back we were all startled. When he went in for an angioplasty the next morning and they said he needed a triple bypass we were all shocked. Tim is the ‘Ginseng drummer’ for a reason. He was always the non-meat eating, teetotaling, mastodon of a man who could throw a football over a mountain, chuck a curve ball at 89 miles per hour and could play his drums for hours on end without breaking a sweat, but unfortunately genetics and a taste for dessert have a way of catching up and kicking one’s balls.”

Primus are set to release their new album, Primus & The Chocolate Factory, on the 21st of October.

Machine Head announce 21 date US tour

29/07/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Metal veterans Machine Head have announced a 21 date US tour, with support coming from heavyweights such as Children Of Bodom, Epica and Battlecross.

Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn said: “Machine Head raised the bar with concert production for 2012‘s Locust tour, and now we plan to raise the bar again with our biggest US show yet, and the strongest lineup out there for 2014, period. This is a must-see event for any heavy metal fan in America.”

“I am stoked that we were able to join up with our friends in Children Of Bodom, one of the premier power metal bands of our time, and our friends in Battlecross, who we toured with on Mayhem last year, and are going to bring the old-school thrash vibe. Epica’s symphonic metal will add a touch of much-needed class to the drunken shenanigans that will surely take place on this raucous tour.”

Children Of Bodom singer Alexi Laiho said he’s looking forward to being able to get vocal points from Machine Head mainman, Flynn: “We’ve rolled with Machine Head quite a few times in the past. My best memories are kick-ass shows, parties, camaraderie and vocal coaching from Robb Flynn way back in 2008, so I think we’ll have a good time tearing it up all over North America. Not a bad way to end the long and non-stop tour cycle for Halo Of Blood.”

The tour kicks off in Denver on the 4th of October and draws to a close in Hollywood on the 1st of November.

Weezer, Slayer, Jane’s Addiction to play classic albums in full at Riot Fest

16/05/2014 by skinbackalley, posted in News

Riot Fest organisers have announced a new spin to this year’s shows.

To celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary, 10 bands will be playing their classic albums in full.

Performers will include Slayer (Reign in Blood), Descendents (Milo Goes to College), Weezer (The Blue Album), Jane’s Addiction (Nothing Shocking), the Get Up Kids (Something to Write Home About), NOFX (Punk in Drublic), the Offspring (Smash), Glenn Danzig’s reunited band Samhain (Initium), Naked Raygun (Throb Throb), with one more act still be confirmed.

Some records will only be performed during the festival’s Chicago dates, including those by Jane’s Addiction, the Get Up Kids, Descendents, the Offspring, Samhain, and Naked Raygun. The rest will be performed in both Chicago and Denver.

Riot Fest takes place this year in Toronto on September 6th-7th, in Chicago’s Humboldt Park on September 12th-14th, and in Denver on September 19th-21st.