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Bruce Dickinson speaks about Iron Maiden's new album
Posten on: 2006-08-25 16:01:24
Since 1999, when longtime singer Bruce Dickinson returned to the fray after an eight-year absence, Iron Maiden have striven to write the ultimate metal album — one that was complex without being overindulgent and memorable without being predictable. Now, following 2000's ambitious but spotty Brave New World and 2003's titanic but overblown Dance of Death, Iron Maiden have achieved their goal with their new album, A Matter of Life and Death. And, compared to previous efforts, they barely even tried."We did the whole thing in just a shade under four months," said Dickinson of the LP, due September 5. "We don't get together to make records that much anymore, so when we finally did, we were really excited, and that excitement turned into this really productive period."The band started writing in late 2005, and right away the machine clicked. There was a complete absence of the types of arguments that used to hamstring the bandmembers."In the past we may have been a bit more uptight, but we're all just seriously relaxed and chill about things now, so we're able to work well together and not get worked up," Dickinson said. "Ideas were just buzzing through the air, and everybody was listening to each other and feeding off the energy."Iron Maiden rehearsed the new songs at home in early 2006, then entered Sarm West Studios in London with producer Kevin Shirley, who has worked on their last three records. But while they had booked three months, they were done in two."We haven't worked that fast since we did Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind in the early days, and back then we didn't have a choice," Dickinson said. "We were just having a great time, writing really good music, and then all of a sudden we were like, 'Wow, we're done!' "Nothing about A Matter of Life and Death sounds rushed. Most of the songs are more than seven minutes long, and the album is packed with complex rhythms, sudden tempo shifts and acrobatic musicianship. Vocals soar from a whisper to a wail; keyboards swell through atmospheric interludes before being trampled by clattering drums and rabid bass lines. And buzzing guitars gallop, stop, saunter, then gallop some more."We are still getting to grips with the album ourselves, and we made it," Dickinson laughed. "It really is tremendously deep. There's a huge amount of stuff on it because we just didn't see any point in trying to make an album that was just like all the others. There's lots of bands making albums with five-minute pop-metal songs, so we thought, 'Let's do something really extraordinary.' "Many of the songs address various aspects of war. "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" chronicles life in the shadow of the atomic bomb, "The Longest Day" is about the World War II D-Day invasion, and "These Colours Don't Run" confronts patriotism in times of combat."There's a business of soldiering, and it has always run the same way, no matter what war we're talking about," Dickinson said. "It's guys whose fathers and grandfathers were soldiers, and some father is kissing his family goodbye and going off to war, and no one knows if he's going to come back in six months alive or in a body bag."On the surface, Life and Death might seem political, but Dickinson said it's not."We make observations because we like to use our brains," he said. "But I think we shy away from political statements because that implies you're picking one side over the other. We try to look at the human side behind what's going on. One of the things that happens during wars is people get dehumanized. Whole nations become dehumanized. If you say, 'Mr. and Mrs. Hussein used to live in this house, but then a bomb landed on them by mistake and killed all their children,' you think, 'Oh, that's tragic.' But when you just reduce them and call them 'Iraqis,' it's easy to forget the human tragedy."The band, whose last U.S. jaunt was a controversial stint on the 2005 Ozzfest (see "Iron Maiden Pelted With Eggs At Final Ozzfest Performance" and "Sharon Osbourne Admits Cutting Iron Maiden's Power, Says To 'Move On' "), will launch a comparatively brief North American tour that begins on October 4 in Hartford, Connecticut, and winds down October 21 in Irvine, California. Then the band will launch a lengthy European tour and may not return to North America before its next album."We have no interest in hitting dozens of cities in America, because let's be honest — there probably aren't enough Iron Maiden fans to justify an extensive tour on the scale we like to play. Do we think Iron Maiden could sell out a 20,000-seat arena in Iowa? Probably not. So we'll do these big shows on our terms indoors and then see what happens with the record."
Posted in: News | Iron Maiden | 0 Comments
Jet ready the release of their second album
Posten on: 2006-08-18 16:34:15
After months spent recording it, mastering it, promoting it and shooting videos for it, Jet have finally gotten around to announcing the track list for it."It," of course, refers to Shine On, Jet's high-octane follow-up to their 2003 breakout Get Born (see "Jet Say New LP Is 'Five Times Better' Than Get Born"). The new disc is due October 3.Produced once again by Dave Sardy — and written and recorded during globe-trotting sessions in Barbados, Australia, Los Angeles and, um, Massachusetts — Shine On features 15 tracks, including the album opener "L'espirit D'escalier" (which translates roughly into "the spirit of the staircase"). The LP also comprises the swaggering first single, "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," and a rather bossy run of four tracks in which the band commands listeners to "Shine On," "Come On Come On," "Stand Up" and "Rip It Up."The band kinda sorta documented the recording process for the album via an infrequently updated blog on their site, JetTheBand.com (see "Jet Make Progress On New LP ... And Cocktail Mixes, 'Moon Tans' ").Over the coming weeks, Jet will announce a string of U.S. dates — scheduled to run from September 18-October 6 — in support of Shine On. According to their label, Atlantic Records, Jet will return in late November for a full-blown run of North America.Track list for Jet's Shine On, according to Atlantic Records:"L'espirit D'escalier""Holiday""Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is""Bring It On Back""That's All Lies""Hey Kids""Kings Horses""Shine On""Come On Come On""Stand Up""Rip It Up""Skin and Bones""Shiny Magazine""Eleanor""All You Have to Do"
Posted in: News | Jet | 0 Comments
Albert Hammond prepares solo debut
Posten on: 2006-08-13 08:07:21
The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. will release his solo debut, "Yours To Keep," Oct. 9 in the United Kingdom via Rough Trade. There are no plans to release the set in the United States at present.The 10-track set features guest turns from Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas as well as the band's manager, Ryan Gentles, plus Sean Lennon, Fountains Of Wayne's Jody Porter, the Mooney Suzuki's Sammy James Jr. and Ben Kweller.Hammond, who handles most of the singing himself, is backed on the album by bassist Josh Lattanzi and drummer Matt Romano. Gentles said some live shows are a possibility in the United Kingdom. Asked to describe the sound of the disc, he reports, "It sounds like Albert. If you don't know him, you just have to listen to the record, and you will know him intimately."As for the Strokes, the group is presently touring in Australia, after which it will play two shows in Mexico City. A fall North American trek, including five previously announced shows with Tom Petty, will run through Oct. 17.The band remains on the road in support of its third album, "First Impressions of Earth," which has sold just 262,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Despite those numbers, the Strokes continue to sell out venues worldwide. "Out record sales get to their lowest point and our ticket sales get to their highest point," Gentles says with a laugh.
Posted in: News | The Strokes | 0 Comments
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