It’s a brave level of honesty when a band admits that their touring plans have been scuppered due to apathy. Fear Factory have been marking the 20th anniversary of their much-loved breakthrough opus Demanufacture by playing the album in full on a European tour, and the Floridian cybermetal pioneers were planning to extend the tour across their native USA. However: “It’s up in the air,” the frontman said this week. The reason? “The promoters aren’t interested.” Invited to elaborate by the unconvinced correspondent, Burton reiterated “They are not interested. It costs money. But hopefully we’ll see that change in the next couple of months.”
There was a similar level of brutal honesty this week from ex-Exodus vocalist Rob Dukes, who fronted the Bay Area thrash legends from 2005 until his dismissal last year. “Fuck those douchebags,” was Rob’s blunt assessment of his former bandmates who replaced him with Steve ‘Zetro’ Sousa – the very singer Dukes was originally brought in to replace. “I never have to talk to them again – or their managers, and that’s such a good thing,” he told painfulpleasures.com. “It’s like I cut a cancer out of my life.” Meanwhile, Dukes was shooting from the hip in entertainingly indiscreet fashion on the Opie and Jim Norton talk show, where he discussed being fired while on honeymoon (“which really just sucked balls”) and described his last few months in the band: “I didn’t like the new music they were writing… There was just no passion in it. It was just regurgitated shit that we had just done and done over and over again.” Talk about ‘put up your Dukes…’
Dr Know, guitarist with Washington DC hardcore pioneers Bad Brains, has spent the week in hospital reportedly on life support, and details of his condition are still unknown. On Tuesday, the band posted a Facebook statement announcing “The Bad Brains family ask that you please keep Gary (Dr Know) Miller in your thoughts and prayers. The family respectfully ask that their privacy be honoured during this time and very much appreciate all the great energy that is being sent their way. Positive vibes and PMA.” Ex-Ween guitarist Michael ‘Mickey’ Melchiondo Jr added: “Pray for him, or at least smoke a split and keep him in your thoughts.”
Cro-Mags frontman John Joseph later posted the only subsequent update on his condition thus far: “After seeing Doc in the hospital today I will say this… he’s improving and he feels all the love, prayers and PMA you’ve been sending worldwide – and so does his family who are all very grateful. Keep prayers coming for one of the nicest people, greatest and humblest musicians to ever walk the Earth and also be a big brother to so many.”
And finally, Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon took to Twitter this week to accuse Coldplay of “Jackin our steez hard.” Evidently this means he believes the interminable beige guitar-pop megastars have ripped off the artwork from BMTH’s 2013 album Sempiternal for their new album A Head Full Of Dreams. One Twitter correspondent pointed out, “You didn’t invent the Spirograph, Oli.” However, both designs are based on a geometric symbol known as ‘the flower of life’, a popular recurring pattern which dates back at least 4000 years. So claiming it as your ‘steez’ is a little bit over the top, depending on how one interprets this fairly vague and fluid abstract noun.
