[Welcome to the second entry of our exclusive blog series from the new thrash supergroup Iron Steel, featuring Morgan Rose (Sevendust) on drums; Jim LaMarca (Chimaira), Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth) and Rachel Bolan (Skid Row) all on bass (!); with vocalist and guitarist Fran Strine and guitarist Tommy Redd. Each week a different member will be posting a blog entry at MetalSucks. This week Chimaira's Jim LaMarca reports on the post-NAMM show apocalypse.]

As the wild NAMM weekend came to a close, Iron Steel almost broke up. Hung over from our release party, we had our first band meeting. Tommy was late, as usual, because he and Diggity Dave from Pimp My Ride closed down the party and moved it over to the custom shop, bringing the majority of the women in attendance with them. Fran had been barricaded in the bathroom of his hotel suite, hiding from Lacey from Rock of Love. She stalked him during the party and chased him all the way back to his hotel room. Morgan took his Sevendust bandmates, John Connolly and Sonny Mayo, left the party early and somehow wound up in jail for performing lewd acts at nearby Disneyland. Ellefson, in his usual ‘work mode’ did an impromptu ‘side-side project’ with some of the remaining musicians in attendance at the party – recruiting Mick Thomson (Slipknot), Josh Rand (Stone Sour), Marc Rizzo (Soulfly), Doc (God Forbid) – into a band that was all guitar players – and he was the only bassist (finally). I observed it all with Rob and Matt from my other band, Chimaira, sitting in the ultra-ultra-VIP section where nobody could see or speak to us – it was an invisibility chamber, actually – created just for Iron Steel.

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Next didn’t do much for me and Alpha did even less; so the news that Chris Daughtry will do a guest spot on the new Sevendust album, Hope and Sorrow, would seem to signal the official end of my interest in Sevendust. Yes, they now join Metallica, Megadeth, Aerosmith, AC/DC, and whatever band Vinnie Paul is playing with this week in my “Who gives a shit anymore?” pile. If working with some dip shit from American Idol is what gets the dudes in Sevendust off these days, then we were clearly headed down divergent paths anyway; Bon Jovi basically plays country these days, so I understand that sometimes bands I enjoyed in my youth and I are just going to have irreconcilable differences.

I’m sure at least one of our fine readers will accuse me of being close minded, and yet another will call me a hypocrite for ever liking Sevendust when I so openly loathe Korn; to those people, all I can say is “Your mother sucks cocks in hell.” Sometimes I have an itch for melodic pop metal that requires something a little more substantial than “All Day I Dream About Sex” but a little less weighty than “Stinkfist.” So blow me.

Anyway, it looks like there’s finally gonna be a new Dark New Day album this year. Maybe that’ll cure my jones for something cool n’ catchy.

-AR

[Welcome to the first of our exclusive blog series from the new thrash supergroup Iron Steel, featuring Morgan Rose (Sevendust) on drums; Jim LaMarca (Chimaira), Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth) and Rachel Bolan (Skid Row) all on bass (!); as well as Fran Strine on vocals and guitar and Tommy Redd on guitar. Each week a different member will be posting an exclusive blog only at MetalSucks. This week we start you off with Fran Strine, reporting from the trenches of the NAMM show in Anaheim.]

So, today I was walking around the 2008 NAMM show checking out all the new gear that everyone is going to give me because I’m so fucking rad, when I heard a loud ‘bang.’

I hit the floor as soon as I heard it – taking one of our many bassists, Dave Ellefson, along with me. “They’re coming,” I screamed. Dave was looking left to right and doing a military crawl, dragging me along until we got under the table at the Peavey booth. As people walked by, we saw our drummer, Morgan Rose, we called out to him “save yourself, Morgan!” He came over, yanked Ellefson out from under the table and shook him by the shoulders, screaming “Dave – we are in Anaheim!” Next he did it to me, and once we were both shaken and sat down at the booth, we calmed down a bit. Morgan went and got LaMarca and Tommy and told them what happened. I could see them shaking their heads and when I read their lips, they were saying “Not again!”

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Perhaps coinciding with the release of their latest greatest hits collection Retrospective Vol. 2, perhaps not, Sevendust have a new video for “Beg to Differ” from their latest proper album, Alpha. It’s a video of live clips, but you know what? Sevendust has always been all about the live show anyway.

Retrospective Vol. 2 — not that there was ever a release called Retrospective Vol. 1 (but there was a “Best Of” album put out by old label TVT a couple of years back) — features a DVD with a live show and documentary, and a CD with some audio cuts from the DVD as well as 3 b-sides from the Alpha sessions. And they’re pretty damn good — “Losing You” and “Rim” are solid but I can see why they were left off the album. The third unreleased track “Sleeper,” along with “Burn” (from Alpha) is a legitimate contender for one of the most progressive and adventurous songs the band has ever written. “Sleeper” is the sound of 7D taking a chance instead of rehashing the same old riffs and rhythms with different notes.

Kokoro Data MP3 Blog has all of Retrospective 2 available for download (it’s the “Try It” link hidden underneath the track listing!). Enjoy.

-VN

According to an anonymous industry insider close to the negotiations, Sevendust have parted ways with their management firm and are currently seeking new management. Neither the band nor their former management firm have commented yet on the matter, though the inside source confirms that Sevendust have left their management firm.

Just today Sevendust released Retrospective 2, a CD/DVD package chronicling the band’s career throughout the Next and Alpha album cycles, the band’s two most recent full-length releases. The band is said to currently be in the studio working on their seventh record tentatively titled The 7th Chapter, loosely slated for a March 4, 2008 via the band’s own 7 Bros. Records and Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group.

Could this be a response to their recent problems selling tickets?

-VN

It’s beginning to look like we may soon a new Dark New Day album pretty soon; according to a post on the band’s MySpace written by guitarist Clint Lowery (ex-Sevendust):

Hey everyone,

Quick update. The new records getting mixed right now and its sounding great. Dave Bendeth who produced it is also mixing it. I think its gonna be well worth the wait. Thanks to all that have stuck by us and hope to see you all on tour next year. The new DnD will be out early next year and as soon as we have a hard date on it you’ll be the first to know.

God bless

clint

But if the band is already in the mixing stage, why haven’t we heard anything about it other than updates directly from the band members? Generally by this phase of making a record we’d have been inundated with various press releases of the “producer announced,” “track listing revealed” and “cover artwork revealed” variety, not to mention video updates from the studio and interviews with band members about the new material. Looks to me like Dark New Day, whose first album didn’t sell all that well, is getting the shaft from their record label, Warner Bros. Could it be that key label personnel involved with DND have since been dismissed, or is DND just not a high priority over there? In defense of the label, it seems like a new record hasn’t exactly been a priority to the band either, what with the members taking gigs as touring musicians for the likes of Korn, Evanescence, and Vince Neil.

-VN

Sevendust have always been about touring, touring and more touring, and as such seem perfectly suited to embrace what is quickly becoming the”new” model: using recorded music as a loss-leader to make money on the road. And the road is where Sevendust shines; they put on one of the most kickass and exciting live shows around, and they never skimp on production. So it comes as no surprise that Sevendust have announced they will head into the studio this month to record yet ANOTHER album, their third in 4 years, tentatively titled The 7th chapter and due March 4, 2008.

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Axl and I were scratching our heads when we saw that Sevendust — who are returning to New York tonight on the third leg of their tour supporting their latest release Alpha — booked the Roseland Ballroom for their NYC stop. The venue is one of the city’s biggest all-General Admission rooms with a capacity of approximately 3,000, and the last time through Sevendust failed to sell out the 2,100 capacity Nokia Theater in midtown (I walked up and bought a ticket at the window right before Sevendust started). So it comes as no surprise to us that according to a post this morning on Sevendust’s official website, the Roseland show has been moved to the much-much-smaller Gramercy Theater:

Due to unavoidable utility repair at Roseland Ballroom, tonights [sic] show has been moved to Blender Theater at Gramercy located at 127 E. 23rd St, between Lexington Ave & Park Ave S.

Utility repair??? I call BULLSHIT with a big, humongous capital “B.” The Gramercy’s capacity, at its packed-like-sardines maximum, is 600 people. That is one-fifth the size of Roseland. The conclusion ain’t rocket surgery; if there had been any significant amount of advance tickets sold, this would be impossible. Part of me is bummed that I’m out of town and unable to see Sevendust’s awesome live show in such an intimate setting, but the other part of me is sad to hear that Sevendust can’t even sell 600 advance tickets in one of the biggest markets in the U.S. On the other hand, I won’t have to deal with the Gramercy’s (Blender?? Kiss my ass!) notoriously shitty sound system.

-VN

Dark New Day and Ex-Sevendust member Clint Lowery, who has been collecting cash as serving time as the touring guitarist for Korn all summer and fall, has left the band mid-tour. Sound familiar? Lowery departed Sevendust mid-tour in late 2004 forcing the band to scramble to find a replacement. This time, though, we can’t help but applaud — not only does this add to the continually comical saga of guitarists leaving Korn (will they please die already?), but it means Lowery can get back to what’s important, finishing the new Dark New Day album. Presumably Lowery has been amply compensated for his duties this year and can lay low for a whle while focusing on new music.

According to Lowery’s MySpace, he departed due to a family emergency. “Everything’s fine — just had to get home. Hated to leave. Love all the Korn guys and had a blast with them.”

Whatever, dude. Now let’s all go listen to some Dark New Day and rejoice.

-VN