Avenged Sevenfold Releases "Not Ready to Die" to iTunes

Sometimes things just go your way.  Everything you do seems to work out and be successful, if only for an hour or so. Avenged Sevenfold has been on one of those rolls for, oh, about a year or so now.  Everything they've released has been the epitome of success.  So it's no surprise that the band has released a new song for an equally successfully enterprise "Call of Duty." The band recorded the song for the game "Call of Duty: Black Ops" expansion pack "Call of the Dead." The song also marks a landmark in the band's history, as it is the first song that new drummer Arin Ilejay recorded with the band that has been released thus far.

Head here to download the new song from iTunes!

Interview with Ari of Destrophy

Written by Aaron Manogue

It seems like Iowa is good at producing two things: 1) Tons and tons of corn 2) Kick-ass metal bands. HRR has come across yet another of the latter in the band Destrophy. The Iowan quartet based out of Des Moines started all the way back in 2002 by highly-respected and enormously talented producer, singer/songwriter Ari Mihalopoulos, who at the time scouted the entire state in search of his perfect combination of musicians. After all was said and done, Ari had found Joe Fox (Drums), Eric Tisinger (Guitar), and Phil T (Bass) to complete his musical war party. Nine years, 3 albums and 1 EP later, Destrophy prepares for their second release under Victory Records titled Cry Havoc. HRR took some time to sit down with Ari and talk about their upcoming album.

HRR: Tell me about the album and the direction you took. Can fans expect the same Destrophy sound on the new album? What are you most proud of on the new album? (New sound, different directions lyrically, etc.)
Ari: I knew that I wanted this album to be positive or inspiring. I wanted people to feel good while listening to it and felt an obligation to try and energize our fans as opposed to bring them down. Most of my previous lyrical material had a darkness and a pessimism about it that given the current state of affairs; the economy, just the overall vibe of the times, I didn't feel right adding to or wallowing in personal misery. (Even the song titled, "Misery" is actually about reaching out to a person going through a tough time.) I thought about traditional forms of entertainment and the idea of framing the entire work as a play or opera entitled, "Cry Havoc". The theme is meant to inspire people to hold to their dreams and passions and embrace death at the end of a fulfilled life. The phrase, "Cry Havoc" comes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and at least for our album basically means "go kick some ass". The title track and much of the album was directly influenced by the Spartan stand at Thermopylae, which to me is the perfect example of holding true to one's way of life at any cost.

Pre-Order Cry Havoc

In general the album has a very rock sound, and very melodic sound, which we've done before but not this extreme. This time I was interested in having an album of more cohesive material- songs that fit together thematically and sonically; and basically rocked the whole time for some good driving and workout music. I placed highest priority on serving the song, and more emphasis on vocals and melody. Those are our strengths, and after sharing the stage with the likes of Bury Your Dead, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, and Otep, I felt that being brutal and screaming was best left to them! Our whole album can be performed acoustically and sounds great. Maybe we'll have to do that sometime. This also marks the first time I've worked with another producer on a track. I went to Atlanta to work with Corey Lowery (Eye Empire, Stereomud, Dark New Day) and we developed the song, "Still Bleeding" and had his brother Clint (Sevendust) play a couple solos. It was a wonderful experience and I learned a lot from him.

Welcome to the Family, the A7X Family

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has tapped Arin Ilejay, former drummer for Los Angeles-based Christian rock group CONFIDE, to sit behind the kit for AVENGED's upcoming tour dates in support of the "Nightmare" album. ...

AVENGED recruited ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy to play on "Nightmare" and take part in the band's touring activities in 2010 following the death in December 2009 of the band's drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan. Portnoy was Sullivan's favorite drummer.

Commented AVENGED SEVENFOLD: "We recently asked several friends who knew Jimmy and his style, and also knew our music and each of our personalities to suggest drummers to tour with us starting this year. Our longtime studio drum tech Mike Fasano recommended Arin Ilejay. 

"We've rehearsed with Arin and have been impressed with his technical skills, attitude and work ethic. 

"We're very excited to tour with Arin and hope all of you will give him the warm welcome to the family we have."

Ilejay is featured on CONFIDE's full-length debut album "Shout The Truth" (2008) and he performed with the band during the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, among others.

Sullivan was found dead in his Huntington Beach, California home at the age of 28. 

Sullivan's death was attributed to a lethal combination of several prescription drugs, including OxyContin and Valium, with alcohol.

The drummer died just before AVENGED SEVENFOLD was to begin recording its fifth album.

The disc, titled "Nightmare", came out last summer and was AVENGED SEVENFOLD's first No. 1 record.

Portnoy was dismissed from the group in December. 






CREDIT: Blabbermouth - http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=152546