Music News & Notes

Landmine Marathon Reveals New Album Details

Phoenix metal band LANDMINE MARATHON has announced details of their forthcoming release on Prosthetic Records. The new album, entitled "Sovereign Descent," was recorded at guitarist Ryan Butler's Arcane Digital Recording Studios, where he's recorded past efforts from the band, as well as Misery Index, Phobia, The Funeral Pyre and others. The album will be mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (Converge, Hatebreed, Dillinger Escape Plan). The cover art is being handled by Dan Seagrave (Entombed, Dismember, Morbid Angel, Suffocation). "Sovereign Descent" will be released in early 2010.

The band commented, "We are really excited to be able to announce some more details about our next album, including the title, 'Sovereign Descent.' We have put a lot of hard work into writing and recording this album. We all agree that it is some of Landmine's strongest material so far, both musically and lyrically. Ryan really went above and beyond with the recording and mixing process. Having the opportunity to work with two people who we feel are legends; Dan Seagrave and Alan Douches is a huge honor. We look forward to sharing some of the final results soon and even more so playing these songs live on the road!"

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The Gates Of Slumber To Release New Album "Hymns Of Blood And Thunder" On Vinyl

Rise Above Records will be releasing a limited edition vinyl version of the new album "Hymns of Blood and Thunder" by The Gates of Slumber on October 12th.

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DEAD TO THIS WORLD To Record New EP

DEAD TO THIS WORLD — the speed/thrash/black metal project led by former IMMORTAL bassist Iscariah — has issued the following update:

"Recordings for our forthcoming MCD/MLP will start in two weeks' time. It will contain five songs with a playing time close to 30 minutes. This will be released through Vàn Records on both CD and vinyl format sometime during start of 2010.

"Work on the second full-length is already in progress, but details for this will follow at a later time.

"We do now have a limited re-stock of our 'Dominions of Hell' shirt available. Also LP versions of the debut album which is also strictly limited."

DEAD TO THIS WORLD's debut album, "First Strike for Spiritual Renewance", was released in November 2007 via Dark Essence Records. The CD was produced by Bjørnar E Nielsen at Nielsen's Conclave Media Studios in Bergen.

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Gretchen Wilson Creates New Label, Redneck Records

Gretchen Wilson has launched own record label, Redneck Records, based near Nashville in Lebanon, Tenn. Her first single for the label, "Work Hard, Play Harder," was written by Wilson, John Rich and Vicky McGehee and will be delivered to country radio later this month. As president of the independent label, Wilson will oversee virtually all of the company's operations. Redneck Records will be distributed by RED Distribution, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. In July, Sony Music Nashville announced that Wilson was no longer on its Epic Records roster but that Sony's country division would work with her on future releases from her existing music catalog.

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Chester Bennington of Linkin Park releases new album October 13

I Chester Bennington of Linkin Park fame is releasing an album October 13 with his "other" band Dead by Sunrise.

Orgy's Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck along with Bennington will release "Out of Ashes" this month and the band hopes to tour in small venues in order to build a following.

Bennington says that the music is "grungy, punky, straightforward rock elements mixed with alternative rock, melodic sensibility, as well as some electro-alternative pop stuff." He adds that some Linkin Park fans may like the music; yet some people who do not like Linkin Park nor Orgy may appreciate Dead by Sunrise's approach to music.

The name of the band is personal to Bennington, who admits that he did not know if he would make it to the next sunrise due to partying, which included many illegal substances combined with alcohol. Bennington reflects, " the name of the band comes from that feeling of literally not knowing if you're going to make it to the next day."

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Slumping Music Sales Continue

It was revealed that album sales are down 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, Reuters reported based on figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. That decline comes evenwith the surge in of sales after Michael Jackson’s death and the re-release of the Beatles remasters, as both artists’ respective catalogs have combined for about 6.3 million in sales this quarter. Even with the unexpected push from the catalog albums, total sales are still down 13.9 percent from 2008, a year which itself saw its sales drop 14 percent compared to 2007. If the trend continues, this will mark the eighth time in nine years that the record industry has seen a decline.

According to Reuters, 2009’s biggest seller so far has been Michael Jackson’s Number Ones compilation, which sold 1.8 million copies since the King of Pop’s death on June 25th. Sluggish sales can’t be blamed on a lack of marquee releases, though, as artists who have generally gone multiplatinum in the past — like Green Day, Eminem, Dave Matthews Band and U2 — have all put out high-profile releases this year. Eminem’s Relapse has lead the charge with 1.4 million copies since its release in May. After 30 weeks on the Billboard chart, U2’s No Line on the Horizon reached platinum two weeks ago, while Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown and DMB’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King have yet to pass the million copies sold mark. Lets' hope that the Christmas sales figures help the trend turn upward.

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Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Gets Surprise Visit

The big festival news may have revolved around the muddy Austin City Limits, but there was another little show that drew a number of high profile veteran artists in San Francisco. The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is put on every year in Golden Gate Park, for FREE, by billionaire investment banker Warren Hellman. An estimated 500,000 attended this year to watch music on six stages over three days from artists like John Prine, Steve Martin, Ricky Skaggs, Boz Scaggs (with a band of James Cotton, Nick Lowe, Buddy Miller, Jimmy Vaughan and more), Richie Havens, Marianne Faithfull, Mavis Staples and the traditional closer, Emmylou Harris.

The big surprise of the weekend came early Saturday when Buddy Miller opened the day on one of the satellite stages. He brought out a surprise guest, Mr. Robert Plant, to join him on Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On.