“The King I Was”, the brand new video from THE NEW BLACK — the German band featuring members of SINNER, RUNAMOK, ABANDONED and MCF — can be viewed below. The track comes off the group’s sophomore album, “II: Better In Black”, which will be released on January 21 in Europe via AFM Records.

“II: Better In Black” track listing:

01. Better In Black
02. The King I Was
03. Batteries & Rust
04. Downgrade
05. Into Modesty
06. Altar Boys
07. Happy Zombies
08. My Favorite Disease
09. Fading Me Out
10. When It All Ends
11. Last Chance To Throw Dirt
12. Sun Cries Moon

THE NEW BLACK recently released a new song from “II: Better In Black” as part of a three-track digital EP. “The King I Was” is available on iTunes and Amazon and features the following track listing:

01. The King I Was (new song)
02. Simplify (live)
03. The Man Who Saw The Universe (acoustic)

Commented the band: “‘The King I Was’ is one of our favorites of ‘II: Better In Black’, with all the good stuff we like: heavy riffs, magic hooklines and shredding guitars. To give you something more alongside the new tune, we dug out two rare version of songs from the debut.

“‘Simplify’ has been played at almost every show since the band started, but this version is special: It was recorded in Wacken in 2010, when we — deprived of sleep, but high on adrenaline — attacked the tent stage like a overheated godzilla. Most of the performance couldn‘t exactly be called ‘subtle,’ but it definitely had some attitude, and this is what counts. Maybe that‘s why we pulled out a little blues jam at the beginning. After all, the working title of this song was ‘ZZ Pussy’ years ago…

“‘The Man Who Saw The Universe’ comes of our debut as well, a little rock tune that one was called ‘Fabsrocklizzy’. We first played a stripped-down version like this at the night of Fludid‘s [vocals] wedding, not exactly sober and/or rehearsed, but much to the amusement of the guest. And us. So we decided to share this with you.”

THE NEW BLACK‘s music is being described as “BLACK LABEL SOCIETY inviting the NICKELBACK guy over for some THIN LIZZY covers.”

The band’s self-titled debut album, was released in Germany in January 2010.

THE NEW BLACK is:

Fludid (Vocals)
Christof “Leimsen” Leim (Guitar)
Fabian “Fabs” Schwarz (Guitar)
Günt (Bass)
Chris Weiß (Drums)

Kerry is a longtime and noted herpetoculturist and snake breeder who is known to pop up at Southern California reptile events and pet shops with little notice. In 2005 he participated in a chat discussion online with both music and snake fans at the popular online reptile community Kingsnake.com, where he discussed both his involvement with SLAYER and his interest in reptiles.

Drum!magazine conducted an interview with drummer Chad Smith (CHICKENFOOT, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California during the 2011 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention that runs through Sunday. You can now watch the chat below.

Sabian has just introduced Holy China, which was developed with Chad Smith. Using Sabian innovation and forward-thinking cymbal design, the Holy China features a higher profile to raise the pitch, holes for volume and sustain, and a large, unfinished bell for cut and durability. This is truly a modern China cymbal.

“This is the first cymbal of its kind we’ve ever developed,” said Sabian master product specialist Mark Love. “Fans of Sabian O-Zone cymbals will immediately notice the smaller, more frequent hole pattern. The smaller holes create a smooth attack without the lows and distortion created by the larger O-Zone holes. And they look really cool, too!”

The Holy China is not for the faint of heart. The combination of 51 holes in the 19″ model (64 holes in the 21″ model!), large raw bell, high profile and wide lip create a monster of loudness and cut.

Full cymbal specs can be found at this location.

Orange County, California’s ATREYU has released the following statement via Twitter:

“Hey all, you have asked, so here goes.

“ATREYU is taking a long, long break after 11 years of rocking. We aren’t breaking up, but we aren’t writing recording or touring for a while — simply taking a break to recharge and focus on different parts of our lives.

“Thanks to everyone who has supported us and given us a reason to exist over the past 11 years. We hope to see you again one day. Until next time…

“All of us have other projects we are excited about and urge you to check them out if you miss us too much.”

ATREYU‘s latest album, “Congregation of the Damned”, sold 26,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD, produced by Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE), mixed by Rich Costey (THE MARS VOLTA, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE) with select tracks mixed by Noah Shain (ENDLESS HALLWAY, SONNY), is the follow-up to 2007’s “Lead Sails Paper Anchor”, which was fueled by the Top 5 Active Rock hit “Becoming The Bull” and the #2-charting Alternative Rock hit “Falling Down”.

Published by rbtaleman

Heavy metal (fiend/friend?) Writer, frustrat(or), frustrat(ee), decorated U.S. Navy veteran, Husband(twice), father(three times), grandfather(of seven), FM radio veteran, Concertgoer, music collector, muscle car aficianado. Grown up since five. Child since 45. View all posts by rbtaleman