NYS Music 20​17

Tag: metal news

  • Corey Taylor Responds to Chad Kroeger’s Comments

    You knew it wouldn’t be long before Stone Sour/Slipknot frontman, Corey Taylor, would enlighten everyone with his thoughts about Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger and his recent comments about him and Stone Sour. Kroeger’s comment about Taylor starting Stone Sour to get away from being under a mask is not accurate, as Taylor started Stone Sour just before getting involved with Slipknot.

    Blabbermouth reports that in a recent interview with Sweden’s Metal Covenant, Kroeger blasted Taylor when he asked the interviewer to name another band that’s as diverse as they are[Nickelback]. Kroeger stated before being cut off: “I can’t think of another band that’s as diverse as we are. I can’t. And I don’t think that’s me talking from pride or ego. I mean, you’re sitting across the table. You know what you’re talking about. Can you name me another band who can play.”

    After the interviewer cut off Kroeger, and spit out Stone Sour as his answer, Kroeger quickly responded: “Stone Sour? Yeah, ’cause they’re trying to be Nickelback. Corey Taylor has said some really nasty things about me before in the press. He talks about how easy it is to write a hit song. Well, show me. Show me. Write one. I have yet to hear one. They’re okay. But they’re not as good as Nickelback. They sound like ‘Nickelback Lite.’”

    Kroeger continued to bash Taylor while talking about Taylor’s other band Slipknot. He said: “They had to put on masks and jump around. How good can your music be if you’ve gotta beat each other up on stage, throw up in your own masks every night…? I mean, music shouldn’t come with a gimmick; music should just be music. None of my favorite music comes with a gimmick. And he got tired of sitting behind a mask — he wanted people to know what he looks like — so he started Stone Sour.”

    Arizona radio station KUPD, had the honor to be the first ones to ask Taylor about Kroeger’s recent comments. Taylor on saying it was easy to write a hit song: “You know what? I’ve never said it was easy to write a hit song, I don’t know what the hell planet he’s living on. Apparently it’s Planet Kroeger, and there must be good weed there, ’cause he’s an idiot.”

    Taylor was set to give a verbal onslaught when hearing the comments, but after seeing fans reactions, Taylor stated: “I don’t have to say a damn thing — he is not a liked person. That’s all we have to say about it.”

    Taylor’s response about Slipknot wearing masks, and jumping around: “You can run your mouth all you want. All I know is I’ve been voted ‘Sexiest Dude In Rock’ wearing a mask. You’ve been voted ‘Ugliest Dude In Rock’ twice without one. Stick that up your ass.”

    He added that it seems Kroeger is the only member of Nickelback that has the problem with him. “I love Mike [Kroeger, Nickelback bassist and Chad’s brother], I love… Everybody else in that band I’m very, very cool with; I’ve hung out with them. It’s just ‘Face Like A Foot’ who I can’t really hang out with. He’s got a face like a foot. Am I wrong? See, that’s the hard thing: I can’t even say anything about the band, Nickelback, because none of ’em have an issue with us. It’s him. So, dude, curl up in bed with your Hello Kitty pillow and shut up.”

    Taylor even brought up a past statement he from over 10 years ago about when both bands shared the same label: “Let’s just say Roadrunner took all the Slipknot money and gave it to Nickelback to sign them. That’s all I’m gonna say about it.”

    In that interview in 2002 with Rock Sound, Taylor suggested that Roadrunner put their promotional machine behind Nickelback instead of supporting Slipknot:

    I’m glad they could use our money to make fucking Nickelback happy. That’s a very, very bitter subject for me, and if I ever see any of those fuckers, it’s going to be brutal. I’m happy for them, but at the same [time], we went out and bust our asses to make what we did. If they’re still here in a couple years then, hey, good for them, but this band isn’t going anywhere, and when the record label basically fucks your loyalty in the ass, it’s really bitter — especially when we went out and fucking bled, sweat and earned every fucking album that we sold. MTV won’t fucking touch us, radio barely fucking touches us and here comes those fucking pretty boys… and the lead singer looks like Shaggy from ‘Scooby Doo’… and what the fuck am I supposed to do? Am I not supposed to feel bitter when I have broken bones and fucking torn corneas? It’s bullshit, and the record label just smiles at you and goes ‘Yeah, yeah whatever…’ It’s fucking not right, dude.

    It’s just the fact we could have used the help. We have fucking fought for everything we have fucking made, when is someone going to help us, and when is someone going to step up and fight for us? The record label doesn’t do that for us. It’ll go to bat for fucking Nickelback, but when it comes to us, it’s fucking shutdown. It’s, like, what the fuck? I’m fucking proud of what we’ve done, but goddamn it, when are we going to get given a hand? I’m so fucking tired of it.”

    During the interview with KUPD, the host joked that Stone Sour should open up for Nickelback during their Canadian tour, which made Stone Sour guitarist Josh Rand reply that they were actually asked a couple of months ago to open for them on that tour, but they of course declined Nickelback’s offer. With that being said, maybe hard feelings are starting to set in.

  • Godsmack Frontman Backpedals On 20th Anniversay Plans

    In a recent interview with Nivens from Kansas City rock radio station 98.9 The Rock, Godsmack frontman, Sully Erna, talks about working on the band’s seventh studio album, when fans can expect to hear new music from the new album, and back pedals a bit on his past comments regarding Godsmack’s plans to celebrate band’s 20th anniversary in 2018.

    After asking Erna if his statement about working on a new album was legit, Nivens asked when fans can expect new music from the band. Erna replied: “I’ve been working on it all year. Everyone’s been writing. That’s our main focus again right now – getting a new record out. Definitely next year. We’re gonna try to time this so we can drop the single right at the beginning of the year, January, and maybe drop the record by first week in April at the latest.”

    Blabbermouth reports that in a recent interview with Wisconsin radio station 93X, Erna back tracked on previous comments about the bands plans to tour and perform the bands self titled 1998 debut album in it’s entirety to celebrate the bands 20th anniversary. Erna stated: “We don’t know that yet. That’s been circulating, ’cause I opened my mouth a little bit soon, but as we get deeper into writing this new record, that may change. So we’re not making any promises on that yet.”

    In March, Erna told Houston radio station 94.5 what Godsmacks original plans were. Erna stated: “We’re gonna do a massive production. We’re gonna kind of base it around the theme of the first record. We’re even talking about coming out and doing the first record front to back to open the show.”

    Erna added the reason why the band has held off writng the new album until recently. Erna commented: “We wanted to do something this year, but we were just, like, ‘You know, let’s just wait another second, because if we release this at the top of 2018, it will be our 20th-year anniversary of the first record, and we wanna do something special.”

    Erna then added: “I have to write a really great record for us, and that’s the tough part.”

  • Joey Belladonna On His Vocal Longevity and That One Thing That Has Haunted His Career

    Oswego native and Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna was recently interviewed by Roy Turner of Trickykid Radio. In the interview, Belldonna talks about his one regret that has haunted him, how he keeps his vocals on point through the years, and being asked to perform John Bush era tracks.

    Turner asked Joey Belladonna how he can still perform at a high level today after decades of performing, and if he thinks that he’s better performer now than in the ’80s. Belladonna responded:

    I just love music a lot. I strive on getting better; I work at it all the time. I’m real conscious of just elevating my vocals and just being in a band…I don’t want to go out there and not do it well. That’s why I’m always trying to do it better. I always try. I have a cover band too. I also do that on the side. We do four hours of classic rock.

    I really focus. I really try. I’m not in fear of anything right now. Back in the day when I first started, I didn’t know the music so well. Vocally, it was really a challenge to just find a way to sing over that stuff. Because I like to sing so I’m not going to do something outside of all the new styles you hear now, it’s just finding a way to make it comfortable and legible and fun to sing as I can. You realize there’s a lot of words in our stuff and the keys and the speed…it’s real hard to sing over that stuff and make it work.

    On being asked to perform John Bush era music when he returned to Anthrax:

    Personally, I felt we had enough music. I was just trying to be a champ and try something. For some reason, when we get that rivalry crap that went on, it bugs the shit out of me. I have nothing against him or nothing against them. I don’t sit around and have a grudge, but I didn’t want to try… It’s hard enough when you do covers but doing something with the singer of the old [version] of the band. He had it rough, because for the sake [of it], he had almost to do older songs because then they’d really be fighting the good fight there. For me, I didn’t want to get too involved with doing that. I didn’t want to keep opening that door and what was I trying to prove? I’m glad I don’t have to. I just don’t really feel like it. I could, I’m sure, I always felt, nothing against those songs, forget you ever heard them, we could have done any of those records and I think they would have been cool. We don’t know because I never did them before other than that.

    If he has ever thought about what would have happened if Joey Belladonna never left the band, and lent his vocals to Anthrax’s sixth studio album Sound Of White Noise:

    That will always haunt me. The fact that those 13 years went away and they’re gone. They’re just gone. Maybe I just feel good about it now, right? With all the crap… I could add to this, but at the end of the day, it’s all good. I’m really glad for the fans too, and even myself, I’m proud, but I also love that people are enjoying it and all of these new people are coming up and get to see what was there before.