Silent Rise started the two-day festival off with good musicianship and lots of fast power chords. There would be no mistaking this for a hippie or mellow fest. Some of the band members were formerly in East West, Seven System and Once to Die).  Fasedown came on next, featuring Mike Phillips on guitar, their longtime vocalist, Devin Shaeffer, whoo suffered from some throat setbacks recently, and drummer Jim Chaffin. Shaeffer introduced a song called “Genocide,” which chronicled over 400 villagers being gunned down and one of the lone survivors being a girl that hid under the body of her mother. I’m guessing the massacre occurred in Rwanda. During the song Phillips played a killer atmospheric, epic and sweeping solo that would make both Ritchie Blackmore and David Gilmour proud.

A somewhat surprise set by Jupiter VI took place next, which featured George Ochoa on guitar with Jimmy Brown (aka Peter Braun) on guitar and vocals and his old sidekick on bass, Brian Khairullah. They sounded great – especially the vocal harmonies by Khairullah, Ochoa, Brown and their drummer (whose name I neglected to write down. Sorry!). Jimmy looked happy in his bright white shirt (he later donned black for the D set later) and the band romped through some of their tunes, like “Back to Mars” and “Lucidia” as well as tunes penned by others, such as the Kinks’ “All the Day and All of the Night” and David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust.” Brown talked about his friend John Tinker figuring out the metaphorical meaning of the song (being about the audience that always stayed in Brown’s mind).

Klank started with a surge of distortion, fast riffing and strobe lights. It was on and it was intense. The band really brought it, which included five guys and even six with the addition of Carl Weaver (E.D.L.) on the song “Downside.” Former EDL drummer Eric Wilkins is now serving as the Klank drummer, too. Klank really holds down the stage as a frontman well, conjuring images of Rob Zombie – both visually and sonically.

Ultimatum put on the best set I’ve ever seen them do. They were happy, smiling and headbanging a lot as they stayed as tight as a well-oiled machine. It was cool seeing a band with so much experience bring it with confidence and metal power. The fans of early Exodus thrash metal would have been thrilled to romp between the quick and well-timed bass runs by Rob Whitlock and the twin guitar attack of Robert Gutierrez and Fabian Aguillar. Drummer Alan Tuma was pounding on the drums, using the full breadth of his kit, and Scott Waters managed to keep most of the attention on himself in an unassuming manner. At times he made faces that were part Les Carlsen and part Dave Mustaine. You could tell they were all having a really good time. They rallied the crowd up by the stage more than any previous band of the day and they just brought tight and brutal thrash for almost an hour.  They also introduced a new song about genocide, called “Blood on a Thousand Hills.” It was about the 1993 atrocities in Northern Africa. The intro featured some killer double guitar. It is one slammin’ tune.

Deliverance capped off the night in supreme fashion. I had heard that frontman Jimmy Brown had missed his scheduled flight the day before, which nixed the bands’ plans for rehearsing. I had to admit I was kind of nervous, half-expecting the set to be disappointing. Boy, was I wrong! Brown and the guys brought the heat, big-time. They were tight and went from song to song without taking a breath several times. This wasn’t some reunion of out-of-breath musicians, explaining each and every song as though it were the most important lyric of all time. These guys were professional and they were slaying the audience with beautifully tight and expressive music. The setlist was littered with material from their entire career, including big hits from the first two albums as well as “Pseudo Intellectual” from What A Joke and tunes from Learn (including its title track and “Sanctuary”), River Disturbance and Stay of Execution.  At one point he slowed things down by sharing for a good while about a period of disillusionment (earmarked by the Camelot in Smithereens album), which set up the ballad “In-U.” It was quite a moment in the show.

Another standout event was when the little guy Junior Reed (son of drummer Mike Reed) came out with his guitar. And all this time I thought the little guy was just acting as a stage hand, ready to hand off a new guitar to one of the guys. Brown introduced him, confirmed that he’d only been playing the guitar – which was almost as big as the lad’s height – for only two years. Then he had the kid start of the song “No Time” all by himself. The little guy nailed that fast guitar intro like a pro! It was a cool and memorable moment. And, of course, there was lots of shredding by Mike Phillips, but I forgot how good of a lead player Brown was. After a long absence from the stage as Deliverance, he also showed how much of a consummate professional he is. This was right up there in terms of best Deliverance set ever. It was so fun and powerful.

Day 2 had its share of awesome highlights. Oz Fox showed up early (but not early enough for his band, Bloodgood, who were waiting around, going, “Where is Oz?” I was tempted to tell them, “Somewhere in Kansas,” but I’m not a comedian … as far as you know), who was whisked over from the airport after flying in from some concert dates with Stryper in Australia. I can only imagine how tired he was from the trip, yet there he was standing in the audience checking out the band FellGuard, who displayed some real musicianship and talent on their instruments. They have a way to go on making their songs stand out from the crowd, but as a band they’ve got a good sound. Troglodyte Dawn came up next with their big and gnarly doom metal. It was like hearing Black Sabbath or some giant romp around the room. Again, there were no doubts we were dealing with a metal show.

Souljourners went on next, but not until after I tried to embarrass them with my introduction. I mentioned that I’d interviewed Kevin Moore, Mike Portnoy, James LeBrie and John Petrucci and had some connections (which sounds like I have them on speed dial, but the truth is I just talked to them in an interview set up by their publicist. It’s not like we’re friends or anything, but I was creating a false pretense for a reason). I explained how I’d begged promoter Bill Bafford to book Dream Theater for this show, but he said, “I’ll do one better – SOULJOURNERS!” And that’s how I introduced them. They sounded really tight and dynamic, allowed their flashy keyboard playing to have its moment when appropriate, as well as every other instrument getting prominent placement without sounding too self-indulgent. There’s a fine balance and these young guys seem to have gotten that part down. As they learn to truly master their craft, they’ll be popular for a long while with the prog rock and metal crowds. They did a cover of “Tom Sawyer,” which was spot-on. It’s hard to cover a band like Rush. You’re either tampering with “perfection” or you’re re-inventing something that’s not broken. They did an above-average job at that.

The Altar Billies, which is a rockabilly or “cowpunk” band covering Altar Boys songs, came on next and one could tell from the stage setup that we were not dealing with a metal band. This was a good thing, though, because it was great. If it had been mediocre, it would have been a horrible deviation. But it was awesome, period. Chuck Cummings made his little 3-piece drumset sound like a monster. The dude should be in the urban dictionary under a musical definition of “less is more.” Johnny X played a giant stand-up bass and he was all over that thing. Mike Stand did a splendid job of keeping their set rolling, talking a little bit here and there, but mostly rocking and posing and belting out tunes in a slightly left-of-center delivery than any of us remember hearing these old Altar Boys songs. “He’s Calling to You” “World Burning” and their Donna Summer cover of “Unconditional Love,” as well as a jam called “Hayride.” The highlight might’ve been “Ride This Train,” which featured a smokin’ and stompin’ harmonica intro.

Leper came on next. It was a little surprise set given to the deserving band, who was touring with Grave Robber. They sounded loud, hard and aggressive. Grave Robber came on and put on a whale of a show. They sounded totally in sync with one another, playing with a passion that made it seem like they were trying to prove something. The stunning zombie walk through the audience was fun – especially with one girl who wouldn’t look Wretched in the face as he stood beside her with his shovel in hand. His hissing and talking from the stage was fun and convincing. The words he shared about the “Re-animator” (aka Jesus) and His suffering was compelling. The band started off fast and furious and kept the audience engaged and upfront the entire set. These guys rule.

Bloodgood decided to take its headlining status and trade it for an earlier time slot, so they switched places with Neon Cross. Boy oh boy, did the band sound great! They played a diverse setlist that was heavy on the self-titled debut and Detonation songs. It was so awesome hearing “Eat the Flesh,” “Killing the Beast,” “Holy Fire” and “Black Snake.” The band (made up of Paul Jackson and Oz Fox on guitar, Mark Welling on drums, Michael Whathisname on bass and Les Carlsen on vocals) was about as good as I’d ever seen them. Probably not the very best show, as these guys are totally pro and have never put in a sloppy set as far as I know, but it was excellent nonetheless. It was energetic. It was flowing from song to song. Take note, Christian bands, don’t belabor your audience with explanation after explanation about how God gave you this song and how we all need to do this or that. Save that for one poignant moment during the show (sure), but let your music establish credibility first. Thankfully, not a single band during the weekend up to this point had made those mistakes. The band started with “Out of the Darkness” and went into “S.O.S,” which included a brief excursion into “To Hell With The Devil” and then flowed into a little bit of “America, America.” Then Les Carlsen spoke up and gave a brief introduction to “Heaven on Earth.” The background vocals were almost as good as Carlsen’s, most notably on tunes like “Out of Love” and “Seven” (which also had the audience chanting along to “God gave Jesus a revelation and the Lord sent His angel to John…”). The “Crucify” and “Messiah” segment was spectacular, as usual, with Bloodgood and Fox using their headstocks to whip Carlsen as Jesus. What was awesome about this show was that it was so good, it seemed like they went from mountaintop to mountaintop. No one segment was allowed to stand tall above the others, because it was just darn good during each and every song. The set had that balance of a wonderful experience that was engaging, where you lost sense of time, so it didn’t fly by too fast and it never faltered or slowed to a lull. After “Blacksnake” the band left the stage and as I jumped up to coax a demanded encore from the band, Bloodgood had started to come back on. They tore through “Never Be the Same,” “Stand in the Light” and “Battle of the Flesh.” Talk about a set weighted in the early years! Ya gotta love that.

One thing worth noting was how good the sound was all weekend. Kudos to the staff, as well as guest mixers during the Altar Billies and Bloodgood (thanks to master knob-twister Paul Doty).

It would have been incredibly hard to follow Bloodgood after they brought the house down, but Neon Cross did an admiral job. In fact, they rocked the house all over again in songs like “Run Into the Light” and “Son of God.”

Bloodgood’s setlist:

HM Mag UFTA III twitter feed:

Up From the Ashes III has begun (with Silent Rise) http://twitpic.com/2j6px7

Fasedown is tearing it up. Yes!!! http://twitpic.com/2j7579 9:37 PM Aug 28th via Twitpic

Mike Phillips (Fasedown and Deliverance) has just great guitar tone. He just played a solo that’d make Blackmore and Gilmour proud. Epic. 9:53 PM Aug 28th via Twitterrific

Yes, that’s Jim Chaffin on drums. http://twitpic.com/2j76wz 9:41 PM Aug 28th via Twitpic

After some gregorian chant intro it’s strobe lights, guitars and KLANK !! http://twitpic.com/2j88w8 11:18 PM Aug 28th via Twitpic

Remember Jimmy Brown? Playing a Jupiter VI set http://twitpic.com/2j7q2g 10:30 PM Aug 28th via Twitpic

Klank and Flying Tart’s Alex Parker http://twitpic.com/2j7kgc 10:15 PM Aug 28th via Twitpic

Ultimatum is sounding really good tonight. Both guitarists are coaxing lots of wriggling fingers. 12:11 AM Aug 29th via Twitterrific

Ultimatum is ripping metal mayhem right now. So tight. http://twitpic.com/2j8qh2 12:05 AM Aug 29th via Twitpic

Deliverance live in California. http://twitpic.com/2j9hyj 1:28 AM Aug 29th via Twitpic

Had such a wonderful time at Day 1 of the Up From the Ashes III show. So tired now it hurts, but looking forward to tomorrow (w/Bloodgood) 5:10 AM Aug 29th via web

The bass player for Souljourners adds an extra element with his big, infectious smile. They’re covering Tom Sawyer. Very well I might add. 5:42 PM Aug 29th via Twitterrific

Souljourners. I just tried to embarrass them by introducing them as “better” than Dream Theater. I’d be mad at me http://twitpic.com/2jhm4q 5:30 PM Aug 29th via Twitpic

It’s great seeing all the Bloodgood guys. Their permanent guitarist (this isn’t new news to y’all is it?) flew in from Australia to play. 5:41 PM Aug 29th via Twitterrific

The Altar Billies http://twitpic.com/2ji4xg 6:35 PM Aug 29th via Twitpic

The Altar Billies. I can’t believe I get to see this band (rockabilly band covering lots of Altar Boys songs). The World Burning is great! 6:32 PM Aug 29th via Twitterrific

The Altar Billies in full swing http://twitpic.com/2jish7 Sunday, August 29, 2010 7:52:22 PM via Twitpic

A real stompin’ version of Ride This Train. Yeah! Sounds great, especially the harmonica intro. Sunday, August 29, 2010 7:44:14 PM via Twitterrific

Leper sounds better almost every time I see em. They’re one of those gothic heavy bands that sound so much better loud and they do tonight. Sunday, August 29, 2010 7:45:50 PM via Twitterrific

Grave Robber rules http://twitpic.com/2jj0lc Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:19:55 PM via Twitpic

Hanging with Bloodgood backstage. http://twitpic.com/2jirjx Sunday, August 29, 2010 7:49:13 PM via Twitpic

Bloodgood’s setlist. I’m drooling. http://twitpic.com/2jj7xb Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:45:08 PM via Twitpic

Love how Bloodgood launches into To Hell With the Devil during the middle of SOS.     about 14 hours ago  via Twitterrific

Paul Jackson solo moment http://twitpic.com/2jk0o3 Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:21:31 PM via Twitpic

Oz and Les take two (better pic) http://twitpic.com/2jjw8n Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:06:27 PM via Twitpic

Oz and Les http://twitpic.com/2jjvfo Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:03:40 PM via Twitpic

Bloodgood live in California tonight!! http://twitpic.com/2jjo77 Sunday, August 29, 2010 9:39:50 PM via Twitpic

Neon Cross http://twitpic.com/2jl4b8 Monday, August 30, 2010 1:00:14 AM via Twitpic

Good to b back home http://twitpic.com/2jsnv1 Monday, August 30, 2010 6:45:46 PM via Twitpic

© 2010 HM Magazine. All rights reserved.

Up From The Ashes III Show Celebrates 25 Years Of HM Magazine
The year was 1985, the Metal scene was alive and thriving, many magazines and fanzines were popping up to cover the latest and greatest in the metal scene. Magazines like Metal Edge and Spin would rise to the top of the rock and metal scenes in covering the hard rock and metal scene and excel at it for many years. But only one magazine would rise to the occasion of exclusively covering the Christian hard rock and metal scene. One magazine that 25 years later is still alive and thriving today, ‘in a print format’, which is a huge accomplishment, amidst the many ongoing changes in the ways we promote music to the world today! Join us for one special weekend as we celebrate 25 years of Heaven’s Metal Magazine! Two days of heavenly metal from artists that have in the past, and still do today, grace the pages of Heaven’s Metal magazine! But wait, not only will we be celebrating 25 years of Heaven’s Metal magazine, we will also be celebrating several seminal anniversaries from some of the key artists that helped shape the magazine, many of which still continue to grace the pages of the magazine today! Featuring performances from Deliverance celebrating the bands 25th Anniversary, Bloodgood celebrating the 25th Anniversary of their ‘Metal Missionaries’ EP, Once Dead celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Vengeance Rising’s ‘Once Dead’ album and a special reunion marking the 25th Anniversary of Stevie and the Saints!!! Not enough for you? How about performances from New Mexico’s very own Ultimatum in their only California appearance! How about Indiana’s very own Grave Robber in their first and only Southern California appearance! Still want more? How about performances from Klank, fasedown, Stricken, Souljourners, Troglodyte Dawn, Fellguard and I built the Cross! August 28th and 29th at the Vault in Temecula California, Limited tickets are available for this very special once in a life time event! Join us as we celebrate the Anniversaries of some of the most influential artists in the Christian Metal and Hard Rock Scene and one of the longest running print rock magazines in the industry, Heaven’s Metal!
For full details and ticket information, visit:
roxxproductions.com

Announcing … the Cool Tour
2010 witnesses the inaugural year of COOL TOUR, in association with Metal Blade Records, Atticus Black by Atticus Clothing, and Musician’s Institute College of Contemporary Music, and features AS I LAY DYING, UNDEROATH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, BLESSTHEFALL, THE ACACIA STRAIN, ARCHITECTS, CANCER BATS, and WAR OF AGES. COOL TOUR is brought to you by Ibanez, Ding, Alternative Press, altpress.com, Invisible Children, Facedown Records, Mesa Boogie, Ampeg, Live Nation, The Agency Group and Good Fight Entertainment. COOL TOUR 2010 begins on 7/12th in Orlando, FL, and comes to a halt in San Francisco, CA on August 1st. A ticket pre-sale is available beginning Tuesday, April 27th, and tickets go on sale to the public Friday, April 30th -Sunday, May 2nd. Check your local listing for on sale dates near you. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster locations and online, unless otherwise noted. Also, starting April 27th, a VIP “Cooler Package” will be on sale to the public, along with general admission pre sale tickets. Fans will be able to purchase an Atticus COOL TOUR T-shirt, a signed tour poster, and a souvenir tour laminate for only $20 plus the cost of a ticket. Cooler Packages will be available through Ticketmaster while supplies last.
Tour Dates:
7/12 – Orlando, FL
7/13 – Atlanta, GA
7/14 – N. Myrtle Beach, SC
7/15 – Charlotte, NC
7/16 – Baltimore, MD
7/17 – Toronto, ON
7/18 – Royal Oak, MI
7/20 – Boston, MA
7/21 – Sayreville, NJ
7/22 – Philadelphia, PA
7/23 – Columbus, OH
7/24 – Milwaukee, WI
7/25 – St. Louis, MO
7/27 – Houston, TX
7/28 – Dallas, TX
7/30 – Mesa, AZ
7/31 – Los Angeles, CA
8/1 – San Francisco, CA

Wintersoul Announce Release Date
The UK ice-cold legionaires, Wintersoul have set the official release date of their debut full length “Frozen Storm Apocalypse” for MAY 17, 2010. The album will be released in the USA by Nokternal Hemizphear and in the June/July timeframe will reach the shores of Europe! To reign in the coming of the winter holocaust, Wintersoul is unleashing a special limited package deal. The Frostland Bundle is exclusively available at Nokternal Hemizphear. This package deal is a limited time offer while supplies last. Available only as a pre–order, the Frostland Bundle will cease to exist at the time of the official release date of the Wintersoul debut album “Frozen Storm Apocalypse” on MAY 17, 2010! The Frostland Bundle offer is the only pre–order available for any of the Wintersoul merchandise!
Frostland Bundle Includes:
1. Full Length Debut CD
2. 11 x 17 inch Poster
3. T – Shirt “Dawn Of Ice Hearts”
4. (2) 2 x 4.5 inch Stickers:
I. “Ice Dragon” Sticker Limited Edition
II. “Winter Holocaust” Sticker Limited Edition

We Are The Fallen Add Tour Dates
Universal Republic Records’ compelling new rock brigade, We Are The Fallen, will release their debut album Tear The World Down on May 11th, 2010. The first single from this iconic band ‘Bury Me Alive,’ is already making its way up the modern and active rock charts. The formidable five-some is comprised of the original members of multi-platinum trailblazing band Evanescence, guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt along with drummer Rocky Gray, joined by breakout American Idol finalist Carly Smithson on vocals. Acclaimed bassist Marty O’Brien (Disturbed and Static-X, among others) rounds out We Are The Fallen’s unique sound. The group has been on a 28-city tour with Finnish rock band H.I.M., which finishes in New York on May 9th. Following the conclusion of that run, We Are The Fallen will head out on their own two week headlining tour beginning on May 13th in Northampton, MA. In June, We Are The Fallen will return to Europe for performances at the Download Festival and Rock am Ring/Rock im Park. Summer U.S. touring plans are also in the works and will be announced shortly. Moody left platinum-plus breakthrough rock act Evanescence in 2003 and has since co-written major hits for Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson among others. Evanescence’s groundbreaking 2003 album, Fallen, spent an incredible 43 weeks on the Billboard Top Ten Albums Chart, selling 15 million copies worldwide and 7 million + albums in the U.S. alone. For Smithson, We Are The Fallen fulfills her destiny as one of rock’s most potent new female voices. She first turned heads as one of American Idol’s more engaging rock candidates, landing a controversial sixth place slot during Season 7 of the landmark television series, but not before gaining traction as one of the show’s most original and uncompromising new talents. The powerful vocalist’s ‘elimination’ sent shockwaves through the ‘Idol’ blogger nation, with her acclaimed performances on the 2008 American Idol Tour cementing her current reputation as a force to be reckoned with – possessing a riveting rock presence that is second to none.
Tour Dates:
5/2 – Orlando, FL
5/3 – Atlanta, GA
5/4 – North Myrtle Beach, SC
5/7 – New York, NY
5/8 – New York, NY
5/9 – New York, NY
5/13 – Northampton, MA
5/14 – Poughkeepsie, NY
5/16 – Lancaster, PA
5/17 – Baltimore, MD
5/18 – Toronto, ONT
5/19 – Flint, MI
5/20 – Chicago, IL
5/22 – Oklahoma City, OK
5/23 – Tulsa, OK
5/25 – Little Rock, AR
6/5 – Nurburgring, Germany
6/6 – Nuremberg, Germany
6/11 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
6/12 – Donington Park, UK

Bombworks/Retroactive Bands Play Unrest In The Midwest Festival
Retroactive & Bombworks Records would like you to know that they will be sponsoring the first Annual UNREST IN THE MIDWEST FESTIVAL. It will be 12 Bands for 12 hours & only $10. Bands play will be DAGON, GRAVE ROBBER, MAIN LINE RIDERS, BOARDERS, KIDNAP THE SUN, DIVULGENCE, A HILL TO DIE UPON, REX CARROLL & THE HEAL etc. Find out more information here.

The Afters News
The Afters’ “Never Going Back to OK” will be featured on the upcoming soundtrack of the family friendly film “Secrets of the Mountain.” Hand-picked for the soundtrack by GRAMMY ® Award winning producer and music supervisor for the film and soundtrack, Randy Jackson, The Afters’ music will be featured with the likes of Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and more on the soundtrack. The “Secrets of the Mountain” will debuted on NBC April 16th. The movie focuses on a single mother who brings her family to a mountainside cabin. The film highlights values such as generosity, honesty and togetherness. The DVD version of the film bundled with the soundtrack will be available exclusively at Walmart. The Afters are currently working on their third studio project titled Light Up the Sky set to hit retailers on Aug. 24. “This record is new and exciting territory for us,” says Josh Havens, band front man. “We’re thrilled with how the songs are turning out! I hope you guys are ready to join us on this journey.”

Carlos Whittaker On Good Morning America
Whittaker gained overnight popularity recently when he posted a clip of his children’s back-seat sing-a-long to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” (and the now-famous incident that followed) on his blog last week, little did he know the priceless moment would grab the attention of CBS’ “The Early Show”, NBC’s “TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda,” ABC’s “Good Morning America, “ AOL, CNN and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” among others, bringing nearly 1 million views to this video on YouTube in less than 4 days. Whittaker will be partnering with Dillon International Texas, For This Child and Adoption Access adoption agencies in Dallas to bring awareness to the issue of adoption, an issue close to his heart. To bring meaning and unexpected depth to the entertaining moment, the viral video sensation is shedding new light on a subject dear to Whittaker’s heart: adoption. Whittaker plans to harness this recent popularity and use it to help others, by partnering with local adoption agencies on his tour. The Whittaker’s four-year-old son, Losia was adopted from South Korea in 2006, and he will be using this as a platform to encourage others to adopt and bring awareness to the issue. The first single from Whittaker’s new project, Ragamuffin Soul, titled “God of Second Chances,” penned by Whittaker, Jason Ingram and Phillip LaRue, was partially inspired by Losiah’s adoption. Radio disc jockeys and listeners will not only hear about Carlos Whittaker’s upcoming album, Ragamuffin Soul, but become better aquainted with Carlos, the family man. A husband and father of three, Whittaker also served as a key planner and teacher at last year’s Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, which drew over 12,000 people. Whittaker can currently be seen on tour with artists Shane & Shane and John Mark McMillan.

Third Day Notches Eighth Career RIAA Gold Certification
The honors and awards for Third Day’s Live Revelations: On Stage, Off Stage, Backstage keep flowing in, as the live concert video project earned a Gold sales certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA Gold certification follows a busy early 2010 that saw the project earn a GRAMMY Award for the band, along with Dove Award nomination for Long Form Music Video of the Year. “We’re definitely both honored and humbled to be receiving this news. It was our desire to give our fans a real sense of what life on the road looks like – just being ourselves; sometimes tense, sometimes funny but always being real,” says bassist Tai Anderson. All tolled, the Live Revelations honor marks the band’s eighth overall Gold certification and second for a video project, with Third Day, Offerings, Offerings II, Come Together, Time, Wherever You Are and the CD/DVD version of Live Wire all hitting Gold status. (Offerings and Live Wire have also hit the organization’s Platinum threshold.)

Mantric’s New Album Streaming Now
Mantric’s new album is streaming now! You can listen to the album here.

Punk Goes Classic Rock
Punk Goes Classic Rock which premiered on MySpace Music, features a selection of the best up-and-coming alternative rock bands, including Mayday Parade, The Almost, Forever The Sickest Kids and Never Shout Never doing their own cover versions of classic tracks by such bands as Journey, Queen, KISS and Def Leppard. Listen to the whole album, streaming in full now on AOL’s Listening Party!
Track Listing:
1. Hit The Lights – “More Than A Feeling” (originally recorded by Boston)
2. Versa Emerge- “Paint It Black” (originally recorded by The Rolling Stones)
3. The Almost – “Free Fallin’” (originally recorded by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
4. Mayday Parade – “We Are The Champions” (originally recorded by Queen)
5. The Summer Set – “Rock ‘n Roll All Nite” (originally recorded by KISS)
6. We The Kings- “Caught Up In You” (originally recorded by .38 Special)
7. A Skylit Drive- “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” (originally recorded by Journey)
8. I See Stars- “Your Love” (originally recorded by The Outfield)
9. Pierce The Veil- “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (originally recorded by Blue Oyster Cult)
10. Forever The Sickest Kids- “Crazy Train” (originally recorded by Ozzy Osbourne)
11. The Maine – “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (originally recorded by Def Leppard)
12. Envy On The Coast- “All Along The Watchtower” (originally recorded by Bob Dylan)
13. Every Avenue- “Take Me Home Tonight” (originally recorded by Eddie Money)
14. Never Shout Never – “Bohemian Rhapsody” (originally recorded by Queen)
15. blessthefall – “Dream On” (originally recorded by Aerosmith)

As Hell Retreats Pre-Order Available Now
Pre-orders are now available for Strike First’s newest member, As Hell Retreats. Strike First’s newest family member comes to us from Hendersonville, TN. As Hell Retreats have been propelling themselves forward since forming in 2005 by setting motivational goals, and step by step they are realizing the benefits of their hard work. They have self released five-song demos each year for the past 4 years, and 2010 will be the year they see the release of their first full length album. The new project promises to be a polished culmination of their past work, showcasing their death metal roots laced with thrash and hardcore.

©2010 HM Magazine All Rights Reserved

More news from last week:

still fresh (as far as you know)

The year was 1985, the Metal scene was alive and thriving, many magazines and fanzines were popping up to cover the latest and greatest in the metal scene. Magazines like Metal Edge and Spin would rise to the top of the rock and metal scenes in covering the hard rock and metal scene and excel at it for many years. But only one magazine would rise to the occasion of exclusively covering the Christian hard rock and metal scene. One magazine that 25 years later is still alive and thriving today, ‘in a print format’, which is a huge accomplishment, amidst the many ongoing changes in the ways we promote music to the world today!

Join us for one special weekend as we celebrate 25 years of Heaven’s Metal Magazine! Two days of heavenly metal from artists that have in the past, and still do today, grace the pages of Heaven’s Metal magazine! But wait, not only will we be celebrating 25 years of Heaven’s Metal magazine, we will also be celebrating several seminal anniversaries from some of the key artists that helped shape the magazine, many of which still continue to grace the pages of the magazine today!

Featuring performances from Deliverance celebrating the bands 25^th Anniversary, Bloodgood celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of their ‘Metal Missionaries’ EP, Once Dead celebrating the 20^th Anniversary of Vengeance Rising’s ‘Once Dead’ album and a special reunion marking the 25^th Anniversary of Stevie and the Saints!!!

Not enough for you? How about performances from New Mexico’s very own Ultimatum in their only California appearance! How about Indiana’s very own Grave Robber in their first and only Southern California appearance! Still want more? How about performances from Klank, fasedown, Stricken, Souljourners, Troglodyte Dawn, Fellguard and I built the Cross!

August 28^th and 29^th at the Vault in Temecula California, Limited tickets are available for this very special once in a life time event! Join us as we celebrate the Anniversaries of some of the most influential artists in the Christian Metal and Hard Rock Scene and one of the longest running print rock magazines in the industry, Heaven’s Metal!

For full details and ticket information visit http://www.tvsomata.com/thevault/ or www.roxxproductions.com

Also be sure and check out the Official UFTA3 My Space for up to the minute news and updates!  http://www.myspace.com/ufta30810

HELP PROMOTE
Help us promote, promote, promote!
This is sure to sell out in this intimate venue, so help us spread the word and let’s make sure we get all the true fans in the door! Or below here is the html code you can use to link everyone straight to the ticket page!

As I Lay Dying Streaming New Stuff
AS I LAY DYING premiered their first single, Beyond Our Suffering, from The Powerless Rise on Liquid Metal (Sirius 27, XM 42). Along with the premiere, fans also could hear Liquid Metal’s Jose Mangin interview guitarist Nick Hipa. Beyond Our Suffering is available NOW on iTunes. The Powerless Rise iTunes pre-order has been launched today with an exclusive bonus track, Paralyzed – fans can check that out HERE. THE POWERLESS RISE marks the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed fourth album An Ocean Between Us which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the Rock Chart, earning the group a Grammy nomination for “Best Metal Performance” alongside metal heavyweights Slayer and King Diamond. For the new album, the group re-teamed with producer Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage and mixer Colin Richardson who they’d previously worked with on An Ocean Between Us.

Seabird Debut New Video
The new music video for Seabird’s “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” is debuting today exclusively with the online home of the popular Seventeen magazine, Seventeen.com. The band’s single was also recently used on an episode of CBS’ Ghost Whisperer. After touring with Switchfoot earlier this year, Seabird just wrapped up their tour with Myspace Record’s Sherwood and Black Gold and Reece. They will also join NEEDTOBREATHE and Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers on the road later this month. Cincinnati-based Seabird comprises brothers Aaron (vocals/keys) and Ryan (guitar) Morgan as well as Preston Lane (drums) and Brandon Weaver (bass). The band signed with Credential Recordings in late 2007 and released its debut label project,‘Til We See The Shore, June 24, 2008. A collaborative effort with producers Jacquire King (Modest Mouse, Kings Of Leon, Tom Waits, Switchfoot) and Allen Salmon (Mute Math, This Beautiful Republic), the album received phenomenal national publicity, featured on episodes of “Numb3rs,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and promos for ABC’s 12-time Emmy-nominated series, “Pushing Daisies.” Their latest, Rocks Into Rivers, was produced by Paul Moak at the Smoakstack in Nashville, and Matt Hales at Ocean Studios in Los Angeles. The band was also recognized by its hometown as “Artist of the Year” at the 2008 Cincinnati Entertainment.
For more information on Seabird & their tour dates, visit:
myspace.com/seabird

Free Song From I Am Terrified
The Birmingham-based quintet I AM TERRIFIED is a study in contrasts, always zigging when you thought you saw a zag coming. After six years of constant performing and forceful sonic development, the blazing rock band served up their debut self-titled 6-track EP from Gotee Records as compelling documentation of their unique, spirit-driven journey. 2009 proved to be a banner year for IAT with their single “Falling on Everlasting” reaching #9 most requested video on TVU and the follow up single “To the Service” reached #18 most requested single on RadioU. I AM TERRIFIED is currently finishing up the final few touches on their debut full length album… but this summer they’re going to hit the road hard by sharing the stage with Newsboys, Skillet, Red and Family Force 5! Download the free song from I Am Terrified here.

X-Sinner News
Following on the success of their last release “World Covered In Blood” on Image Records – X-Sinner readies themselves for another round in the studio later this year after they blast their way through Europe this spring and summer first headlining The Elements Of Rock Festival in Switzerland and then performing at the Legends Of Rock show in Germany. The working title for the new album is “Sinner’s Xtreme” and promises to be a grinding hard hitter. Image Records is currently strategizing how the new release will actually be released since it has determined that over 30,000 illegal downloads of World Covered In Blood have been done online through various illegal file sharing sites. The label utililized web search reporting/tracking tools such as Google Alerts among others to locate and identify many of the illegal sites. “As soon as they get shut down many of these sites pop up a short time later under a new name” says Image CEO Dorn Reppert. “We figure about $180,000 U.S.(wholesale) has been stolen through free downloads. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of lost income for the band and for us as their label and is one of the reasons the band will not be doing a full U.S. tour even though the album was a hit. We’ve considered doing an all digital release via online stores like i-Tunes to help curb the losses on the next one but that won’t solve the problem – only delay it some.”

Green River Ordinance Launch Headlining Tour
Following the success of 2009’s Out of My Hands debut and its first single, “Come On,” Green River Ordinance launch a headlining tour that will not only benefit their many fans, but also five charities chosen specifically by each band member. On the road supporting the second single, “On Your Own,” Green River Ordinance is spreading the word about their thehopeGROs.com site and aiding their charities of choice—including Autism Speaks, charity: water, Freedom Is Not Free, Nuru International, and International Justice Mission–via the sales of downloaded music. GRO explains the motivation behind thehopeGROs.com: “This is the heart and soul of the band. We play music for a reason. Not just to be rock stars, not just to play music, not just to make money. We play music to reach out… and to use our gifts to push back the darkness in the world.” On thehopeGROs.com, the band chose 10 of its rare songs from previous recordings and demos (no longer available to purchase anywhere else), and 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of those songs go a charity of a band member’s choice–as selected by each consumer. The goal is to raise $100,000 for the collective group of charities in 2010.
Tour Dates:
4/24 – Dallas, TX
4/26 – Denver, CO
4/27 – Salt Lake City, UT
4/28 – Boise, ID
4/30 – Seattle, WA
5/01 – Portland, OR
5/03 – San Francisco, CA
5/04 – Modesto, CA
5/06 – West Hollywood, CA
7/23 – Louisville, KY
8/05 – Rock Springs, WY
8/22 – Des Moines, IA
8/30 – Cottleville, MO

Bread of Stone Starts New Ministry
Ben and Bill Kristijanto, founders of Bread of Stone recently visited their homeland, Indonesia to do mission work with Scavengers (people surviving from trash). Little did they know, the tugging at their heart that would happen. As they worked with their hands helping people, the command that God gave to take care of your own, came to light – thus forming “The Light Project.” “The Light Project was something we started to reach out to the Muslim community in Indonesia,” said Ben Kristijanto, lead singer. “We are working in partnership with a local church in Surabaya to help spread the love of Christ one community at a time, by helping them with every day necessities such as food, transportation, and to just be there as a family in Christ. Our visit there was nothing short of wonder. They have shown us how Jesus truly is the answer for us all. Even with having no worldly possession, the people there feels as though they have everything.” Going above and beyond in their giving to support the ministry of working with the Scavengers, Bread of Stone believes they are called not to ask their fans for support, instead, the band will donate an extra 10% from all of their merchandise sales. Bread of Stone is partnering with Christ in Action, a 501c3 organization that will monitor all the donated funds for “The Light Project.”
For more information on Bread Of Stone, visit:
breadofstone.com

New Klank Album
The new KLANK release titled NUMB…Reborn are available for download now here. f you are a fan of Electronic Industrial Techno Groove Metal you will NOT be disappointed!!!! NUMB…Reborn features 15 tracks of the classic KLANK sound with guest appearances from Jim Chaffin, Larry Farkas and Michael Phillips. Stand out tracks like Broken, The Rules, Don’t Count Me Out and Blind are here along with 3 killer remixes!!! Please pass the word along to all your friends and fellow music heads. Download your copy and experience the Heavy Dancy Electronic Grooves of KLANK. See for yourself how KLANK is where the Mosh Pit meets the Dance Floor!!!
For more information on Klank, visit:
facebook.com/klank

To Speak Of Wolves Unleash New Track
Freshly signed to Solid State Records, TO SPEAK OF WOLVES are starting to mark their territory with the release of the lead track from their forthcoming debut, Myself < Letting Go. The track, ‘Darkness Often Yields the Brightest Light’ is representative of the brutal yet melodic soundscapes that TO SPEAK OF WOLVES are bound to become known for, and is available to be streamed today on the band’s MySpace page. Mixed by metal mastermind Jason Suecof (ALL THAT REMAINS, AUGUST BURNS RED, TRIVIUM), Myself < Letting Go careens wildly between road-rash riffage and soaring, arena-worthy choruses. Rick Jacob’s vocals hammer and haunt, vaulting seamlessly from sky-high melodies to visceral screams. “It’s a good mix between catchy choruses and heavy parts,” says guitarist Corey Doran of the album. “It’s also very raw and dirty sounding, but still clean.” Previously members of already established touring bands, TO SPEAK OF WOLVES seem to have been bound together by something bigger than themselves, gravitating towards one another through the most unlikely of circumstances. A chance meeting at the Cornerstone music festival, a phone call in a bowling alley, a recommendation from a local video producer – one by one, the members fell in line according to some cosmic script. That dichotomy – the polished sound of seasoned musicians, the unhinged rage of a hungry, unproven band – is part of what makes TO SPEAK OF WOLVES so compelling. The band has toured relentlessly since just a week and a half after its inception, hitting the road with some of the most recognized names in its genre, from Emery to Underoath (fronted by WOLVES drummer Phil Chamberlain’s brother, Spencer), but has refused to be grandfathered into the big leagues. This is a hardworking band that is going to earn every accolade and every fan by fighting like the savage beast it’s named after.
With the release of Myself < Letting Go on May 18th, TO SPEAK OF WOLVES are ready to sink their fangs into the national music scene.

The Rocketboys Release Debut
The Rocketboys have pre-released their debut full-length album, “20,000 Ghosts”, on vinyl ONLINE ONLY. For a limited time, you will receive a live CD/DVD combo and a disc of unreleased tracks with every vinyl order. You can order the item at our online store. You will receive the vinyl within 3 to 5 business days, and a digital download code for the album when you purchase it on vinyl. At the bottom, there’s a description of “20,000 Ghosts”. About “20,000 Ghosts”: “20,000 Ghosts” is The Rocketboys’ debut full-length release. Recorded in Austin, TX, over three months in the spring of 2009, it displays a new range of diversity and maturity, while maintaining the pop-sensibility that fans have come to love in The Rocketboys’ signature sound. It finds the balance between a light, drum-driven brand of indie rock and deeper, more atmospheric moments coupled with lyrics and melodies you can’t get out of your head. The album was engineered by Louie Lino (Nada Surf, Matt Pond PA), mastered by Alan Douches (Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective) and features artwork from “Dark Was The Night” artist, Ryan Feerer.

Damien Jurado Announce US Tour
In order to create a live reproduction of the grandiose recordings of his upcoming record, Saint Bartlett, Damien Jurado enlisted eight musicians from Seattle band Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground to join him on tour as The Saint Bartlett Band. The resulting concerts will be unlike anything Damien Jurado fans have seen before – the songs done justice with an orchestra adding violin, cello, tuba, french horn and keys. Richard Swift, Damien’s Secretly Canadian Soul Brother, talented filmmaker and producer/engineer of Saint Bartlett, has provided us with a couple of album trailers to get officially stoked. Check them out at our vimeo here and here.
Tour Dates:
5/29 – Seattle, WA
6/02 – Boise, ID
6/03 – Salt Lake City, UT
6/04 – Denver, CO
6/05 – Lincoln, NE
6/06 – Des Moines, IA
6/07 – St. Paul, MN
6/08 – Milwaukee, WI
6/09 – Chicago, IL
6/10 – Louisville, KY
6/11 – Cincinnati, OH
6/12 – Indianapolis, IN
6/13 – Bloomington, IN
6/14 – Columbus, OH
6/15 – Cleveland, OH
6/16 – Cambridge, MA
6/17 – New York, NY
6/18 – Brooklyn, NY
6/19 – Philadelphia, PA
6/20 – Arlington, VA
6/21 – Charlottesville, VA
6/22 – Asheville, NC
6/23 – Nashville, TN
6/24 – Birmingham, AL
6/26 – Austin, TX
6/28 – Phoenix, AZ
6/29 – San Diego, CA
6/30 – Los Angeles, CA
7/01 – Visalia, CA
7/02 – San Francisco, CA
7/03 – Portland, OR
To pre-order the new album, visit:
scdistribution.com/cat/scd_catalognew.php?action=set_site_id&site_id=3

Amber Pacific’s New Album Hits
Amber Pacific’s incredible new album, Virtues, is in stores and available digitally everywhere. Virtues marks the tremendous return of AMBER PACIFIC’s creative, hook-laden and infectious pop-songwriting ability. Virtues, is a refreshing blend of everything you have come to love from AMBER PACIFIC. But, the songs are catchier, the songwriting is more developed and after a few listens you will want to instantly sing along. If you are a fan of Blink 182, Green Day and Jimmy Eat World, discover the fun, yet mature, pop-punk anthems that make up on Virtues. This could easily become your soundtrack to the summer.

©2010 HM Magazine All Rights Reserved

More news from last week:

still fresh (as far as you know)

Destroy The Runner In Ernie Ball Contest
Destroy The Runner has a chance to play at San Diego’s Warped Tour & need your help. Here is what the bands says: “This is super easy and can change our lives forever. We have a really good shot at this. If you go to this link, you can vote for Destroy The Runner to play San Diego Warped Tour for the “Metal” genre. If we win we get $15,000.00, we record with a famous producer, and we get to be on Van’s Warped Tour next year. This would drastically change our lives. We have a very good chance to win this because of our fans, friends, and family. S if there is anything that you can do, PLEASE, help support us. This is legit. They will ask for your email, but you can uncheck or check boxes to never get spam or emails from Ernie Ball. Super easy. All we ask for is your vote and anything extra is amazing. Amazing.
Thank you so much friends and family. Much love and thanks.
- chad & destroy the runner

Tobymac Tune Chosen As MLB Theme Song
Following the highest sales debut of his solo career with his new CD TONIGHT (No. 6 on Billboard Top 200/No. 1 Christian SoundScan/No. 2 iTunes® overall), multi-platinum and GRAMMY® Award winning artist TobyMac is now celebrating the project’s title track being chosen as the theme song for Major League Baseball Network’s (MLB) 30 CLUBS IN 30 DAYS spring training series. The song will be featured throughout each episode. With just 41 days until Opening Day, MLB Network recently announced it will once again televise the Spring Training series 30 Clubs in 30 Days, with hour-long features on each of the 30 Major League clubs previewing the 2010 season. The new season of 30 Clubs in 30 Days will provide extensive coverage of each team with field reports, interviews, predictions and inside access to every club’s training camp as Opening Day approaches. A preview of the new season can be viewed on MLB Network’s web site. 30 Clubs in 30 Days premieres on Wednesday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m. ET with the Detroit Tigers, followed by the New York Yankees on Thursday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m. ET (check www.mlbnetwork.com for updates).
Sold out and packed crowds helped TobyMac kick off the AWAKE TONIGHT tour with Skillet last week, which runs through April 11.

Soundmass Signs Coram Deo
Soundmass is pleased to announce the signing of Coram Deo for the release of their new EP “Death is Dead”. Formed in 2003 in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, this EP follows on from Coram Deo’s “Escape to the Heaven” demo (2005) and their debut album “Evangelion” (2007). “Death is Dead” sees the band honing a melodic thrash/death metal sound. Influenced by the likes of Arch Enemy, Carcass, Holy Moses and Dark Tranquillity, be on the lookout for “Death is Dead” to be released mid 2010 but, in the meantime, check out the title track from the new EP on the Coram Deo MySpace.

For Today Release New Video
For Today have just released their latest video for the song “Saul of Tarsus (The Messenger)” off of their album Portraits. They worked with Drew Russ to produce great results. “Drew was a blast to work with!” says Mattie Montgomery. “He was incredibly organized and thoughtful. He was a ton of fun, and he really took our loose concept for a video and made it his own. I think our finished product is much better for having had him involved.”
Tour Dates:
3/26 – Fresno, CA
3/27 – Anaheim, CA
3/29 – Salinas, CA
3/30 – Santa Rosa, CA
4/3 – Saltillo, Coahuila
4/4 – Monterrey, Nuevo Le’on
5/14 – Mansfield, OH
5/15 – Bristol, IN
5/16 – Windsor, ON
5/17 – Toronto, ON
6/18 – Wilmore, KY
6/19 – Evansville, IN

Queens Club Post New Song
Queens Club have put up a new song Dust on their myspace today. he song is from their forthcoming album Young Giant to be released on 3/23 via Tooth & Nail Records. Zambooie.com has also launched a unique pre-order today as well. All pre-order customers for the album placed on Zambooie will receive a link and login to listen to the album in it’s entirety IMMEDIATELY! Pre-Order is sold with a special t-shirt and CD package or as CD only (links below). Queens Club produces music that wields throbbing post-punk energy with a dollop of electronic pop gloss and infectious melodies. The band was formed by Dan Eaton (vocals/guitar) and Jake Ryan (drums/vocals) both of whom are former members of hardcore/noise rock outfit The Chariot. The band has just completed a tour with Breathe Carolina and will be announcing new tour dates shortly.
For more information on the pre-orders, visit:
Shirt & CD Bundle –
zambooie.com/toothandnail/detail.tpl?sku=TNDCOMBO56959
CD Only –
zambooie.com/toothandnail/detail.tpl?sku=TND56959

Tourniquet Rocking Again
As posted on the Tourniquet forums by Ted Kirkpatrick of Tourniquet: “I have three exciting things to tell you about. I have just completed recording my first solo album called ODE TO A ROADKILL.” The title track refers to the sad reality of the millions of animals who die each year on our roadways. 7 songs, over 40 minutes of brand new music. I have been a fan of slow “stoner” music for many years, and this album definitely fits that category, with my own influence to it, of course. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out and look forward to having you all hear it as it is super, super heavy. All “vocals” are done utilizing majestic, creepy, haunting, unaltered animal calls. Cool album art designed by Jared Meyer – aka Lucid Hysteria. The album will be available as a 6 panel Digipak CD and an online download. Looking at a release date of March 10, 2010 – right around the corner. At the same time, I have been working on a different solo project also very soon to be released called IN THE SHADOW OF THE MASTERS. It is a very technical drumming album featuring drums played over classical music. I’ve done a few things on past Tourniquet albums, but I think this is beyond anything so far just in length of the pieces. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MASTERS will feature music by Mozart, Chopin, Rossini, Beethoven and more. Release date: March 30, 2010. Finally, we will be recording a brand new epic TOURNIQUET album in July or August, 2010. We are excited to announce that we will be working with legendary English producer NEIL KERNON. Neil has either produced, recorded, mixed, or engineered a staggering amount of cool music from classic metal (Queensryche, Dokken, Judas Priest, Autograph) to death metal (Nile, Cannibal Corpse) to progressive music (Nevermore, Magma) to hair metal (Britny Fox) to Christian bands like Petra, to classic bands like Kansas, to platinum selling albums like Hall and Oates “Private Eyes”. We plan to release it as soon as it’s finished in fall of this year.”

Woe Of Tyrants News
Woe Of Tyrants’ new album, Threnody, will be in the hands of fans by April 14th. Vocalist Chris Catanzaro explains the concept behind the song, “Threnody”: “This song was written to describe a point in “Threnody” which our traveler is within a dream, a dream that is one of the few points in his journey that he experiences any semblance of peace and serenity.” Read the full explanation on MetalSucks.net HERE.

New Klank Album Readies
The new KLANK titled NUMB…Reborn will be available for download thru FIXT ONLINE on 4-20-2010. Featuring guest appearances by Jim Chaffin, Larry Farkas and Michael Phillips. Spread the word.
URBAN WARFARE coming late summer… Will u be ready???? To enter the Klank Ringtones Kontest, send an email to contest at hmmag.com and list your three favorite Klank songs. The winners will be forwarded to Klank, who will make your custom ringtones. How cool is that? Now enter!

White Collar Sideshow Update
White Collar Sideshow has released an update via their newsletter: “Wow…time has just slipped away from me…and as it flies by, the thought of an update has become more and more intimidating! How in the world do I wrap up the last almost 5 months in an email?!? Well…here goes my best effort…”. “We had some amazing experiences in October. We participated in the Unified Underground Conference in Annapolis, MD. Long story short, they had “The Sideshow” picked as their theme and when they heard about us, they asked us to play and speak. It was so awesome-we highly recommend it to everyone! The second half of October was spent playing shows in Florida with our dear friend Levi the Poet. We adore him. He does poetry from the heart…very intense, very real. Check him out if you have the chance-you won’t be disappointed. Florida was awesome. Amazing weather, amazing people! We got to go to a few of the theme parks, too. Way fun. Our highlight of November was touring with The Great Transparency. We spent a solid week with them and they are solid guys! Also throughout Oct and Nov, we helped collect socks for Faceless International. They were originally going to go to India, to help a village devastated by a tsunami, however, when they were about to send them, the Hatian earthquake happened, so the socks were sent down there. Thanks to all of you who donated socks!!! We ended up with hundreds of pairs! We took December and January off. We really needed time to regroup and just rest after traveling for a year straight. It was great to be able to spend time with family and friends. I saw my first official White Christmas and I even had a white birthday! Never seen either! Pretty cool. We started back on the road mid-January and on the way to our first show, Harvey the RV started smoking so bad that the smoke alarm went off!! We had to cancel that show (sorry Dallas!) and head back to Fort Smith for a few days to get it repaired. We then made our way to California. We were there during the week of rain! They drive in the rain the same way us southerners drive in the snow. eek! Had such a great time in Cali. A few of the guys from XXX Church came to our show at Epic Ventura. Epic is the same location where we filmed our episode of The Dog Whisperer-which still hasn’t aired. They promised they’d keep me informed, so as soon as I find out, I will pass the info along to all of our pages. Anywho…while the XXX Church guys were there, they filmed some of our set and we sat down for an interview with them. You can check out the podcast at their home page, or you can visit our YouTube to watch it. Leave us a comment to let us know what you think! After Cali, we worked our way back east and while we were up in South Bend, IN, T and I got to do an interview with The Harvest Show. It’s part of LeSEA broadcasting and is shown all over the world!! It aired on Feb 5 and you can watch it HERE.We were interviewed about 20 min into the show and our interview was about 15 minutes long. It was a great experience! Wow…this hasn’t been too bad February has been good to us. Got to spend Valentine’s Day with The Leech as well as dear friends in Arkansas. We all went on our annual Valentine’s date to McDonalds…10 years running! It’s about the only tradition T & I have! Then we headed south and got to visit New Orleans for a few days. T had never been there-we walked around, people watched and ate some biegnets. It was a good time. While we were there, we finally met Brandt Russo. This guy is legit. You may remember a few tweets back in the day about Operation Starvation or Adopt-a-Jesus…that’s Brandt. Operation Starvation was crazy. He went on a hunger strike until he was able to raise $15000. With that money, 1,000,000 children were provided deworming medicine. 30,000 children die every day from hunger! If they do get food, most of it is eaten by stomach parasites. Brandt’s strike lasted 9 days. His story is similar to ours in that he sold everything he owned to follow Christ’s lead. He has been such a blessing to us and we are so happy know him! I’m sorry if I left something out-perhaps I’ll do a better job about sending regular updates So, here I sit, in Houston, TX…Ecclesia Houston has been so gracious to let us park here while my father is recovering from surgery. This church has been incredible. They’re a 7 day a week facility-so if you’re in Houston, please stop by!! We are also borrowing a car from a complete stranger. It has been amazing to see the body of Christ at work. We have several shows/festivals scheduled for this year, and hope to fill our dates up like last year! You can always check our dates at our MySpace to see if we are coming to your neck of the woods! If we are not-then email me and let’s make it happen (whitecollarsideshow@hotmail.com)! Our MySpace also links to our merch store, so if you would like to sport some WCS gear, you can get it online. We updated the look of our page as well, so if you haven’t seen it, I’d suggest a visit-it’s pretty sweet, I must say. Since I’m talking MySpace, I might as well give our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube a shoutout as well. Since I got my new phone, I’ve been posting silly mini-vids. Check’m out. We have really started talking about The Witchunt (WCS II) and trying to figure out how to make it a reality. WCS was 3 1/2 years of dreams, my Jump Day, then about 2 years of elbow grease to get to our first show. Obviously, money is a factor, but time and creative also play in. T has been working hard at writing and trying to get his visions on paper. I’m stoked to see it all happen-I just know how much work it will take to get where we want to be. We would love to see it launch in 2012.

War of Ages Pre-Order
The brand new album from War Of Ages titled “Eternal” will be released on April 13, 2010. You can pre-order it here. There will be a very limited pressing of colored vinyl copies made (only 500!), so make sure to check that pre-order option out so you don’t miss out on these very rare records. Also, all pre-orders will be entered to win a test pressing of the vinyl (only 5 made) and a $200 Facedown Records shopping spree! You can hear a brand new song from the album called “Desire” on the bands myspace. Check that out and stay posted for some big touring news that will be announced shortly.

Creed Release New Video
Creed’s new video for “A Thousand Faces” is now available on iTunes! Click here to get your copy now and make sure to leave a review! Don’t forget to listen for “A Thousand Faces” on your favorite radio station!

©2010 HM Magazine All Rights Reserved

More news from last week:

still fresh (as far as you know)

Spread the word…

URBAN WARFARE coming late summer… Will u be ready????

To enter the Klank Ringtones Kontest, send an email to contest at hmmag.com and list your three favorite Klank songs. The winners will be forwarded to Klank, who will make your custom ringtones. How cool is that? Now enter!