JINJER Announces 2020 North American Headline Tour Dates
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JINJER Releases New Video for “Pit of Consciousness”
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GWAR Announces “Use Your Collusion” Holiday Tour Dates!
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V – Swedish Sludgy Doom Quartet Stream Entire New Album “Led Into Exile”
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Modern Metal Favorites JINJER Return with New Album, Macro, out October 25, 2019!
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Music Industry Legend Jon Zazula, a.k.a. Jonny Z, to Release Tell-All Book, “Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula”
Lived and Told by Megaforce Records Co-Founder Jon Zazula
Brought to Life by Harold Claros-Maldonado
Foreword by Testament Vocalist Chuck Billy
Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula Available for Pre-Order in Hardcover and Paperback Here
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Jonathan Zazula, known the world over as Jonny Z, has lived an intense life. Born in 1952, he began his extraordinary journey as a renegade youth who went from living on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, to later working on Wall Street, and eventually (and unexpectedly) transitioning into the music business and discovering Metallica and others. Today, Jonny Z remains one of the most respected names in heavy metal and the music industry as a whole.
Jonny Z tells all about his incredible life in a brand new book that he describes as, “not a typical rock n’ roll book, but rather, a blue collar success story” – entitled Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula, scheduled for release on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. Heavy Tales is the detailed, never before told story of how Jonny Z founded legendary New Jersey-based label Megaforce Records with his wife, Marsha, and built a dynasty unmatched by others – forever changing the scope of heavy metal.
Pre-orders for standard and signed hardcover and paperback copies of Heavy Tales are now available via www.jonzazula.com, as well as digital retailers such as Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble and Ingram Content Group.
The ebook version of Heavy Tales will be available for pre-order soon, and will be released on Black Friday, November 29, 2019.
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Jonny Z and Marsha Zazula in the Golden Era of Megaforce
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Jonny Z says about deciding to release a book about his life, “I wanted to tell the story of my life before someone else did. This is a story that has a motto behind it – “nothing to it but to do it”. There were a lot of odds factoring in for Marsha and myself, and we did it. No matter what anyone says to Marsha and I, we did it, and I just wanted to get that story down – that it took two people. I wanted our love story in there. I was also never very forward and transparent about my manic depression and bi-polar condition, and I just wanted to tell the story of how a man can get through that, poverty, incarceration and humiliation and rise to succeed with everything against him.”
After experiencing the horrors of Wall Street, in order to put food on the table for his children, Jonny Z began selling records at a flea market store he dubbed Rock N’ Roll Heaven in 1981, which blossomed into a major record store in the United States and influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. Seminal Megaforce Records publicist and Adrenaline PR CEO Maria Ferrero was his first customer before the store was even open.
Zazula adds, “I sold metal records because metal is foreground music, not background music. It inspires you to listen and pay attention to it. The fans of heavy metal music all came into the store with their painted jackets and denim vests and patches, which was very reminiscent to me of the late 60s and early 70s music scene that I was such a part of.”
In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from underground, unsigned band Metallica. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny and Marsha, founded Megaforce Records in 1983, and soon after, released Metallica‘s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. Through this release, Megaforce cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for heavy metal – but that’s just the start. The bands they would go on to work with released some of the most prolific and important albums in heavy metal history, giving it its Golden Era.
Heavy Tales details the stories of how Jonny Z worked miracles by managing and releasing albums by Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Ace Frehley, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits and others, and how one night in 1984, he jokingly created rap metal before anyone else conceived the idea.
With a foreword written by Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, plus over 100 rare photographs unearthed from the MegaVault and photographer friends worldwide, Heavy Tales is the definitive American story of a family man with a dream, determined to prove to the world that heavy metal belonged on the stage, in your car, on the radio, inand in your living room.
Chuck Billy mentions in the foreword, “After reading this book and learning about Jonny Z and how he helped to shape the future of heavy metal, I think you will agree that being a bat shit crazy genius is what it took to create the biggest independent record label in the world.”
Together, Jonny and Marsha built a musical dynasty out of modest beginnings unmatched by any other underground heavy metal label, a partnership that has stood the test of time, deaths, egos, and grunge.
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Outside Rock N’ Roll Heaven record store in Clark, NJ
Photo: Brian Keith Nyers
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Jonny Z and Scott Ian of Anthrax
Photo: Mark Weiss
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The stories told in Heavy Tales were captured and compiled by Harold Claros-Maldonado, a lifelong fan of heavy metal who originally contacted the Zazulas to write a report on early Metallica. After several discussions, Zazula felt Claros-Maldonado would be the ideal partner to help him tell his story in a book.
Harold Claros-Maldonado says, “Jon Zazula is without question the Godfather of thrash metal. Having the opportunity to work together, I learned about the miracles he worked in order to release some of the most potent heavy metal albums of all time. With this book, I know many fans of Megaforce Records releases will have a greater sense of how a working-class man built an empire out of nothing to give us all the soundtrack to our lives.”
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L to R: James Hetfield, Scott Ian, Jonny Z, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton
Photo: Metal Mike Rijswijk
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Jonny says, “At one point we were one of the biggest indie record labels in America. With all of the mistakes and all of the successes, we managed to thrive. Readers may learn what to do and what not to do as fledgling industry hopefuls getting started in the business. The book is a hard, brutal unraveling of the truth, and tells it all. I’m putting this book out around Halloween, because there’s nothing scarier than the truth.”
Release parties are currently being planned for the fall – stay tuned for more details!
For more information on Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula, please visit www.jonzazula.com, www.facebook.com/heavytales and www.instagram.com/thejonzazula, and stay tuned for more information coming soon.
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Photo: Gary Schwartz
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DEVILDRIVER and STATIC-X Announce Second Leg of Co-Headline North American Wisconsin Death Trip 20th Anniversary Tour
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Progressive Metal Prodigies Sifting Announce New Album The Infinite Loop Out September 27
Album produced by Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicide Silence, Poison the Well) and mixed by Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, The Contortionist)
Watch the new music video, ‘A Critical Affair’ via YouTube, stream the single at Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer
Pre-orders for The Infinite Loop now available at this location
Progressive metal prodigies SIFTING will release their upcoming third full-length album entitled The Infinite Loop on September 27, 2019 via Eclipse Records. The album was produced by Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicide Silence, Poison the Well), mixed & mastered by Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, The Contortionist), and the album’s artwork was designed by Jimmy León. See below for the full track listing.
The Infinite Loop is a masterpiece of progressive metal featuring 70 minutes of mind-blowing jedi-like musicianship, perhaps only rivaled by the likes of Rush, Megadeth, Dream Theater or Metallica. That’s a big statement to make, but if one takes the time to listen, the songs on this album back it up. The first single, “A Critical Affair,” simply shreds the listener’s ears with fast-paced, finger-twisting riffs and unbelievable drumbeats that one would think could only be performed by a human-octopus hybrid. The second single, entitled “Stop Calling Me Liberty,” could very well be considered a modern-day masterpiece with its pummeling verse-chorus-verse structure, insanely epic guitar solos and acoustic reprieve in the middle of the song. More importantly, however, are the lyrics in which the Statue of Liberty comes to life and tells the world how the concept of liberty has been adulterated towards the agenda of the first-world elites. The third single, “Enough,” takes things down a notch and tackles the scandal of college admissions and parents providing material necessities to their children instead of what they really need – quality company, love, affection and acceptance. Other highlights on the album include “Ghost of A Lie,” which features Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo, Dream Theater) on keyboards, and of course the title track, “The Infinite Loop.” One could go on and on about each song on this album, as there’s just so damn much to say about it, but in the end… you just NEED to listen to it for yourself. Open your mind to something new and discover the magic of SIFTING.
The band have also revealed the first music video from the album for the single A Critical Affair, which was directed by Alejandro Fumero Gil.Watch it right now at this location.
“A Critical Affair is a song about the world we live in today, a place that beats you down, scares you and tests your limits,” says frontman Eduardo Gil. “The only path to enlightenment is to stand up for yourself and raise your voice against the injustice. The voice of protest is the weapon of the people! Regardless of your origins, or what you have done, make your voice heard and take action to preserve the future for our children!”
Pre-order the album on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, or CD and stream the singles via Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and more here.
For more information on SIFTING, please visit them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Eclipse Records, and follow them on Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer.
The Infinite Loop track listing:
01. Agony
- A Critical Affair
- Enough
- Stop Calling Me Liberty
- The Fifth Element
- What If (Dichotomy)
- To Who I Am
- Ghost Of A Lie (feat. Derek Sherinian)
- Emotionless Shells
- The Infinite Loop
SIFTING tour dates
August 6 – Hollywood, CA @ The Viper Room w/ 3rd Ear Experience
SIFTING discography:
Not From Here (LP) – 2017
All the Hated (LP) – 2013
SIFTING is:
Eduardo Osuna Gil – guitar & vocals
Joey Aguirre – drums
Wins Jarquin – bass
Xavi Leon – guitars
SIFTING online:
www.siftingofficial.com
www.facebook.com/pg/SiftingOfficial
www.twitter.com/siftingofficial
GWAR Announces Unveiling of Memorial Marker for Dave Brockie
At 2:00 PM on Friday, August 30th, 2019, GWAR will unveil a monument to the band’s co-founder and longtime leader Dave Brockie, which will be set in Richmond, Virginia’s famed Hollywood Cemetery (412 S Cherry St, Richmond, VA). All are invited to the unveiling, and to a free party the next day, August 31st, at the GWARbar (217 W Clay St, Richmond, VA).
The party will feature a performance by RAWG, the greatest GWAR tribute band of all time. Friday, August 30th marks what would have been Dave Brockie’s 56th birthday. The erection of this monument has been a long time coming, and we are grateful and happy we can finally do this for Dave.
We thank the many people who donated time and money to make this a reality. We hope the marker will provide a long-needed place for Brockie’s friends, family, and fans to pay their respects to this wonderful and deeply talented human being, and of course, to Dave’s famous creation; Oderus Urungus, who will always be remembered as one of the greatest frontmen in rock and roll history.
GWAR Announces Killer “Use Your Collusion” Fall Tour!
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