Search Results for: Depeche Mode

For four years, AFI isn’t the only fire Davey Havok and Jade Puget have had inside – they’ve also been trying to flesh out the debut album by their long-pending side project, Blaqk Audio. Now, finally, the LP is good to go.”It’s very different from AFI,” Havok warned us at last weekend’s Live Earth concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey . The album, CexCells, has been in the works since 2003 – around the time Havok and Puget told Rolling Stone that they were hoping to release the project in early 2004. When AFI broke into the mainstream with 2003’s… Read more »

New York – “eMOTIVe,” the new album from Virgin Records recording group A Perfect Circle, was greeted with spectacular one-day sales upon its Tuesday arrival in stores. The collection, which sees APC reimagining radical rock classics for a new generation, is the week’s #1 album on iTunes. In addition, “eMOTIVe” is expected to debut as the top-selling rock record on next week’s Soundscan charts. The album’s first single, a twisted take on John Lennon’s “Imagine,” is lighting up the switchboards at rock radio outlets coast to coast. The song is quickly bulleting up the chart at both Active Rock and… Read more »

eMOTIVEe(Virgin/EMI) Laced with cover songs and rush-released as an anti-war, anti-Bush protest record, there’s no denying A Perfect Circle’s noble intent with eMOTIVe. The checkered musical adventure features, amongst others, takes on Depeche Mode’s “People Are People,” Black Flag’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and the ubiquitous “Imagine.” The problem though, is the atmospheric, swirling and, frankly, passive reinterpretations APC present. Dressed with little more than the occasional industrial splurt, Maynard sings almost exclusively in hushed tones and the guitars are all but muted throughout. The result is a record more suitable as a soundtrack for pushovers… Read more »

Billy Howerdel is usually the quiet giant in A Perfect Circle. Sure, the guitarist does most of the interviews, but frontman Maynard James Keenan has always been the band’s mouthpiece, even if he traditionally has been press-shy. With an important presidential election on the horizon, however, Howerdel is through keeping his thoughts to himself. “Ordinarily, I hate talking about politics,” he said. “I usually heed the warning of many elders that say, ‘Never discuss it with your friends, or certainly publicly,’ but it’s an important time to voice your opinions and feelings.” It’s hardly a secret which candidate A Perfect… Read more »

To hear No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani tell it, she’s just a girl from Orange County following a dream. “I’m just like you, except I write songs,” Stefani says. “I feel like I’m doing something right. And right now, I feel like I’m in a good place in my life.” Indeed. Stefani – rock star, pop culture icon, fashion entrepreneur (clothing line L.A.M.B.), actress (Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” due in December), wife of Bush vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale – is gearing up for the next chapter in a prolific career. Her solo debut album – or as she prefers to call… Read more »

The Lostprophets titled their second album Start Something for two reasons. One was to motivate people out of complacency. “We spent the last three years touring and meeting loads of people who were like, ‘I’d love to do this and that,’ but they never had the drive to get up off their asses and do it,” explained singer Ian Watkins. “Start something. Start anything.” The title’s other meaning reflects the band’s feeling that Start Something is their first musical step, despite releasing their debut album three years ago. They’re neither trying to ignore 2001’s The Fake Sound of Progress nor… Read more »

At a time when ProTools and Technics seem to be all the rage, P.O.D. are adopting a back-to-basics approach to their music. Ironically, they’re currently touring with Linkin Park, a band whose infamous use of digital editing tends to ruffle the panties of traditional musicians everywhere. According to P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval, however, it’s not such a big deal. “They’re good at what they do,” he says of his tourmates. “They have the old synthesizer and Depeche Mode type of vibe, and Chester and Mike and all the guys are great at what they do. But for me personally, I… Read more »

Another year of touring isn’t frazzling AFI – quite the opposite. “I usually bug out off tour at, like, day 10,” explained drummer Adam Carson, who, along with his bandmates, is enjoying his first vacation since before Sing the Sorrow was released in March. “It’ll be nice to do another tour.” AFI’s latest jaunt launches February 18 in Bakersfield, California, with Coheed and Cambria and A Static Lullaby in the opening slots. A few weeks later, Thursday will replace the latter until the tour wraps in mid-March. AFI will then decide whether they’ll release another single and remain on the… Read more »

Sire Records, the label that introduced the world to Madonna, Talking Heads and the Ramones, is being resurrected and will officially rejoin the Warner Bros. Records family of labels. Label founder Seymour Stein’s first signing under the new deal is the Von Bondies. Also on the Sire roster are Morcheeba, Guster, the Distillers, Hot Hot Heat, Less Than Jake and the Hives (through a joint venture with Burning Heart/Epitaph). When Roger Ames was named chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group in 1999, Ames’ London Records was merged with Sire Records to create London-Sire. That label closed its doors in… Read more »

Like the greatest-hits package that preceded it, the upcoming U2: The Best of 1990-2000 will include a limited edition B-sides album. When it hits stores on November 5, the follow-up to U2: The Best of 1980-1990 will be accompanied by The Best of the B-Sides, a collection of 14 non-album favorites including “Summer Rain” and “Your Blue Room.” Ten of the tracks on the B-sides album are remixes, including Paul Oakenfold’s popular take on “Even Better Than the Real Thing.” William Orbit’s remix of the new single “Electrical Storm” is featured on U2: The Best of 1990-2000, while the original… Read more »