PREVIEW OF NEW GHOST SONG SURFACES
A preview of what appears to be Ghost‘s new single, “Rats,” has emerged online ahead of the track’s official debut. The 26-second excerpt comes just days before the full song's rumored arrival on Thursday evening (April 12th) or Friday morning (April 13th). "Rats" is taken from the Swedish band's upcoming fourth album, for which more details are also said to be arriving at the end of this week.
Ghost frontman Tobias Forge told Loudwire about "Rats," "When I was a kid, there was a concert called the Moscow Peace Festival . . . Ozzy Osbourne opened with 'I Don't Know,’ and it’s such a f**king great opening track. This was in front of like 80,000 people, who went nuts. I wanted to have that feel with 'Rats.' It's supposed to feel like that sort of opening track. A song that could get 80,000 people to jump. If you ever want to play bigger places, you need to have records that sound like you’re playing in big places."
- Forge, a.k.a. Papa Emeritus and Cardinal Copia, said about the group's new LP, "Essentially, it's a record about survival, even though it's a record totally drenched with the threat of death. But for me, it is pure, very honest, very real, and for lack of a better phrase, very sincere."
- Cardinal Copia is the replacement for Papa Emeritus III and made his live debut last week at a private, three-song acoustic performance in Chicago.
- The new Papa will next perform on May 5th as Ghost kicks off a run of North American dates in Riverside, California.
Story source: Ultimate Guitar
CHECK IT OUT: Listen to an excerpt from "Rats":
NEW GODSMACK ALBUM FEATURES BAND'S FIRST OFFICIAL BALLAD
Godsmack singer Sully Erna says that the band's upcoming seventh album, When Legends Rise, will contain its first full ballad. Erna explained, "We're debuting our first ballad for Godsmack, which is a bit more epic, like a 'Dream On'/'November Rain'-style ballad. There's a lot of textures on this record, a lot of flavors for everybody, and I hope everyone enjoys it."
Erna added that he thinks the new LP is "really strong," saying, "I think people are going to love this record, I really do. It's such a departure from what we've done in the past, but at the same time maintaining the integrity and the power of what the band has always been about."
- The vocalist cited the title track, "Unforgettable" and "Eye Of The Storm" as "a couple of my favorites."
- Asked why the band felt the need to experiment on the new disc, Erna replied, "This is really a reflection of where I am at this time and place in my life, and it's about evolving. It's about not doing the same thing over and over again and growing with your audience and growing with the times and growing as individuals and as songwriters."
- Godsmack will perform at several music festivals this spring and summer, before launching a tour with Shinedown on July 22nd in Clarkston, Michigan.
- When Legends Rise arrives on April 27th. The first single is called "Bulletproof."
- The new disc follows up 2014's 1000 Horsepower and is the band's first release through BMG after splitting with its longtime home, Republic/Universal.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS ALMOST JOINED FORCES WITH BLACK CROWES SINGER
Stone Temple Pilots could have been in a very different place these days if a proposed collaboration with former Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson had worked out. Robinson told AL.com in a new interview that after the Crowes' recent split, he met up with STP bassist Robert DeLeo and guitarist Dean DeLeo, who were on the lookout for a new vocalist.
Robinson recalled, "You know, we sat down and tried to write some songs and stuff and had a nice time, but nothing really came of it. I was already pretty much on my way to, I kind of wanted to get away from the riff-rock oriented, uh, scarves and necklaces and whatever rock 'n' roll -- they're great at it."
- Robinson added, "They have written some great songs. I was like 'I don't want to scream and yell over loud guitars. I want to tell these stories and I want my singing and my poetry to have a different relevance to the music.'"
- The singer went on to front his own band, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, while STP went through an extensive audition process and ended up recruiting one-time X Factorcontestant Jeff Gutt on the mic.
- Gutt made his debut with the group on STP's self-titled seventh studio effort, which arrived last month.
- The band will tour this summer with Bush and The Cult on a triple headlining package.
Story source: Ultimate Classic Rock