Talk’s over: Players must choose between playing or decertifying

On the 133rd day of the lockout, commissioner David Stern called the players’ bluff: Are you going to accept the new era for the NBA, or are you going to decertify?
It is now time for everyone at the table to show his cards.
Players finished 23 collective hours of negotiation Thursday with a final offer from the wholesale jerseys owners that Stern hoped would end the lockout with minimal damage to the season. On Monday or Tuesday, the union representatives from all 30 teams will meet to decide whether they should put this offer to the entire membership for a vote. Should the players accept, Stern said they will be able to salvage a 72-game season starting Dec. 15, with the playoffs and the NBA Finals starting one week later than normal.
The final offer comes amid a swelling movement among the players to pursue decertification. They had been hoping to force the owners to compromise in negotiations by threatening to take the union’s Cheap Basketball jerseys case to court. Union executive director Billy Hunter acknowledged this week that as many as 200 players were prepared to sign a petition that would send the union down a path of 45 days or longer to potential decertification. Now the players face a hard choice of gambling on the courts and the uncertain bargaining leverage of decertifying, or instead embracing the certainty of a proposal that Stern insists is the best deal they’ll ever see.
Union president Derek Fisher declined to assess the quality of the offer, other than to acknowledge it wasn’t good enough to earn his outright approval. Hunter said he was going to leave it up to the player representatives. “It’s not the greatest proposal in the world, but I have an obligation to at least present it to our membership,” said Hunter. “So that’s what we’re going to do.”
Stern might have found a hint of optimism in this ensuing observation from Hunter: “It’s been a long haul and we’re coming near the end of it.”
By agreeing to the terms that emerged from the most recent negotiations, the players will be giving up approximately 12 percent of their salary this year — the pro-rated cost of missing 10 games from the schedule. If they refuse this proposal, however, Stern says the league will revert to its more punitive offer of 47 percent of basketball related income to the players, along with a more restrictive system of contracts and free agency.
The players have expressed anger and resentment over lowering their share of BRI from 57 percent last season to a range centered around 50 percent in the current proposal. “I understand from the union’s standpoint it’s a difficult pill to swallow right now,” said deputy commissioner Adam Silver.
In exchange for surrendering close to $300 million annually, the union wanted the owners to capitulate on system issues that would maintain free agency and player movement at a level to which the players have grown accustomed. But the owners insisted that the luxury tax and other mechanisms needed to be strengthened in order to prevent rich teams from grossly outspending the smaller markets for talent.
The union was unable to negotiate significant movement from the owners on the system, in part because Stern’s owners have provided him with little or no room to compromise, as he hinted while acknowledging that many of his owners are unhappy with many aspects of their final proposal. And yet the latest round of negotiations spawned anonymous rumors that progress was being made, which one union source believed to be an effort by the NBA to reach out to the players in hope that creating expectations for an improved offer may entice the 450 players to demand that the proposal to be put to a membership vote. Adding to the conspiracy theory was a report put out Thursday afternoon — and then retracted — by former Knicks president Dave Checketts that the lockout had been resolved.

 

Broncos turn back the clock for Tebow, and it equals wins

As the Denver Broncos fine-tune the playbook to fit Tim Tebow’s style, they have become increasingly reliant cheap jerseys on the ground game.
With the approach, they’re off and running.
Banking on an unconventional option-style offense led by an unorthodox quarterback, Denver has suddenly surged back into contention in the mediocre AFC West. The Broncos (4-5) have won three of their last four Cheap nfl jerseys games with everyone pretty much knowing exactly what they are going to do — run and run some more.
“We’re trying to do what’s going to help us win and in my opinion that’s all part of coaching — putting players in position to utilize their abilities,” Broncos coach John Fox said.
However, their backfield took a hit Monday with word that backup tailback Knowshon Moreno will have season-ending ACL surgery on his right knee.
But leading rusher Willis McGahee (hamstring) is expected to return for the game Thursday night against the New York Jets (5-4) on NFL Network. As an insurance policy.
The more backs the better, especially with as much as the Broncos prefer to run the ball these days.
Of their 63 offensive plays Sunday in a 17-10 win over Kansas City, 55 were on the ground. Tebow did his part, too, running for 43 yards.
In an offense that’s being tweaked just for him. Tebow has become quite proficient at sticking the ball in a running back’s gut, surveying the defense and either taking it back out to hightail it around the end or allowing the back to continue through the line.
Just like the former Heisman Trophy winner did in college.
“Hey, as long as you’re moving the ball, possessing the ball, giving your defense some rest, it’s all good,” Fox said. “Run, pass, if they let you kick it down the field, I wouldn’t mind doing that either. As long as you’re moving the ball, that’s the key.”
It’s quite a contrast for the Jets.
“They’ve got a top-10 defense in the National Football League so they know what they’re doing,” Fox said. “It’s tough on this kind of turnaround, regardless of what you’re preparing for. It’ll be challenging for both of us.”

 

Dodgers near eight-year deal with Kemp

The Dodgers and outfielder Matt Kemp have reached a preliminary agreement on a franchise-record eight-year, $160 million contract extension pending the passing of a physical exam, according to a baseball source. The deal would be the biggest in franchise MLB jerseys history, eclipsing the seven-year, $105 million deal signed by right-hander Kevin Brown in 1998.
However, at a Dodgers Dream Foundation event Monday in Compton, Calif., Kemp was mum on the subject, unwilling to make anything official just yet. Kemp, a contender for the National League Most Valuable Player Award after winning a Rawlings NL Gold Glove Award and an NL Silver Slugger Award, just finished a two-year, $11.1 million deal. He is eligible for one more arbitration season before hitting free cheap jerseys agency.
“It is unbelievable to be in this position for myself and my family,” Kemp said of the proposed contract. “You dream about this. My dreams have definitely come true.” The Dodgers under general manager Ned Colletti have not given a contract beyond Juan Pierre’s five-year deal.
Colletti has said that locking up Kemp would be an offseason priority, and the center fielder has been the club’s focus, even though Andre Ethier also has one season of arbitration eligibility remaining before he’s able to be a free agent.
Signing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder would add a new, huge salary, with the Dodgers already budgeting Kemp for a big raise as part of an anticipated 2012 payroll similar to the $110 million the club spent this past season. “I want other big-time free agents to consider L.A. as a team that they want to be a part of. I want to win as many games as we can and get to the World Series,” Kemp said. “It is a great city and a great organization to be a part of.”
Dave Stewart, Kemp’s agent and a former Dodger, has said he would advise his client to cut off negotiations if no deal is reached by the start of next season. Kemp, 27, batted .324 (third in the NL) with 39 home runs and 126 RBIs in 2011, leading the NL in homers, RBIs, runs scored (115) and total bases (353). The 2011 NL All-Star also finished among the league leaders in multihit games (57, tied for first), hits (195, second), slugging percentage (.586, second), extra-base hits (76, second), stolen bases (40, tied for second), on-base percentage (.399, fourth) and walks (74, tied for eighth).
“I still want to win the MVP,” Kemp said. “I put all that hard work in the training room and weight room for a 162-game season. The outcome is that you always want to be the best. Being thought of as one of the best makes you want to try harder the next year.”
Kemp became the seventh player in Major League history to finish the season ranked in the top three in homers, batting average, RBIs and stolen bases in his respective league, joining Hall of Famers Ty Cobb (1907, ’09-11), Honus Wagner (’08), George Sisler (’20), Chuck Klein (’32), Willie Mays (’55) and Hank Aaron (’63).

 

N.B.A. Season in Peril as Players Reject Offer

The union representing National Basketball Association players formally disbanded Monday and declared it would take its labor standoff with the league’s owners into federal court, a development that pushed the league as close as it has ever been to losing an entire season of play.
The players, no longer unionized, said they would file an antitrust lawsuit in the next two days and would seek a summary judgment declaring the league’s four-and-a-half -month lockout to be illegal. With negotiations wholesale jerseys effectively ended and legal proceedings about to intensify, a season that has already had six weeks of games canceled may never take place.
“We’re about to go into the nuclear winter of the N.B.A.,” Commissioner David Stern said darkly in an interview with ESPN.
The players’ Basketball jerseys decision came four days after Mr. Stern gave them an ultimatum — take the league’s current offer, or see it withdrawn and replaced by a deal that would be more onerous. The league, Stern said, was done negotiating.
Faced with what they felt were two unpalatable options, the players said they had no choice but to disband the union and to seek legal redress. They announced their decision after a three-hour meeting in Manhattan that involved more than 40 players, including the union representatives of all 30 teams.
“We’ve come to the conclusion today that that process has not worked for us,” said Derek Fisher, the union’s player president, who spoke with the other players packed tightly behind him. “It has not put us in a position to get and to negotiate the fair deal that we’ve been working to try and complete.”
Billy Hunter, the union’s executive director, called the union’s move the end of the collective bargaining process, which he said has “completely broken down.”
By disbanding, the National Basketball Players Association will now be converted into a trade association. It can negotiate with the league, but within limited parameters. For any new collective bargaining agreement to be approved by the players, the union would have to be reconstituted.
The players’ key leaders will now be two high-profile lawyers: Jeffrey Kessler, who had been serving as the union’s outside counsel and chief negotiator in the talks, and David Boies, who earlier this year represented the N.F.L. in its defense against an antitrust lawsuit by its players association.\
Mr. Hunter, meanwhile, will continue as the head of the trade association. He, Mr. Kessler and Mr. Boies can continue talks with the N.B.A. on a possible settlement while any lawsuits proceed — assuming negotiations resume at some point.

 

Goodell ‘disappointed’ HGH testing hasn’t begun

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday night that he’s optimistic that testing for HGH can begin this season but that he’s “disappointed” with the slow movement by the players’ union.
“We’re completely focused on that. We think it’s the right thing to do,” Goodell said. “We agreed to it. We think it’s the right thing to do for player safety, we think it’s important for the credibility of the wholesale jerseys game, we think it’s important as a message to kids who not only play our game, but play any game. You shouldn’t be taking performance-enhancing drugs and HGH is certainly something we need to be testing for.”
The league and NFLPA tentatively agreed in the contract that ended the lockout to implement testing for human Cheap nfl jerseys growth hormone. But the union had to approve testing procedures and has not done so, saying it wants more information.
“I’m disappointed. Never discouraged,” Goodell said. “It’s something we agreed to. We had talked about it for well over a year. It wasn’t something that came up at the last minute. It’s important for us as the NFL to continue to be the leader for sports, and that includes performance-enhancing drug testing. We’re proud of our program, but clearly this aspect of the program, meaning HGH testing, needs to be implemented, to make sure you have the best program in sports.”
Goodell said he doesn’t think the NFL will need Congress to intervene.
“Again, we agreed to it, so I’m hopeful we can all live up to our agreements and get it done,” he said.
“I respect the fact we want to have a valid test. We didn’t initially wrap our arms around this test when it was created in 2004, but there’s seven years of history, a lot of science, a lot of medicine is behind it. And we’re comfortable that this is a valid test. We respect the fact that the players’ association wants to have confidence in that, too. They have access to all the information we have and should be in a position to be able to be confident in that.”
The commissioner made his comments before attending a benefit dinner for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America San Diego chapter.
On the subject of concussions, Goodell said everybody who’s on the field needs to be aware if a player needs medical attention.
Last week, the NFL told its game officials to watch closely for concussion symptoms in players.
The move came after San Diego guard Kris Dielman sustained a head injury against the Jets and later suffered a seizure on the team’s flight home from New York.
“That’s something that we believe is the responsibility of everybody who’s on the field, whether you’re a coach, medical professional, other players or officials,” he said. “If you see somebody you think needs medical attention, safety is a priority and they should make sure the right medical attention is given, which means just alert the team and let the medical professionals make those decisions. We’re not asking them to make any medical decisions.
Goodell said he’ll meet with San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders on Thursday for an update on the Chargers’ attempt to get a new stadium built. The city expanded Qualcomm Stadium for the Chargers in 1997, but the team began a campaign for a new stadium in 2002.

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Peliculas Online

N.B.A. Needs Drastically Different Approach

The N.B.A. has exported its product to every corner of the world. The league, more than any other, has made rock stars out of its players, who are among the most recognized athletes on the planet.
But by missing one innovation — forging a true partnership with its cheap jerseys players — the league threatens to choke its growth. Commissioner David Stern likes to talk about partnership, but in the rough-and-tumble world of stalled labor negotiations, the fundamental relationship is anything but.
Shame on the league for not pushing for true partnership, but shame on the players for not insisting that equity in the league become a nonnegotiable plank in the labor talks. Instead, the currently stalled negotiations have involved the same wage-based scuffles between employer and employees: we give you a piece of the pie, and we’ll fight over the size of the slice every few years.
The N.B.A. and the players are engaged in another season-threatening Cheap Basketball jerseys battle over the distribution of what has become about $4 billion a year in revenue. This is not what a partnership looks like. If the N.B.A. and the players were actually partners, with players having an ownership stake in the league, we might be watching basketball instead of owners against players, owners against owners and players against player.
The concept of players’ equity would probably be met with great resistance from the owners and take years to work out. But given the tangled state of current negotiations, why not strategize now for the next contract?
“There’s not a better time than now,” said Steve Stoute, the founder and chief executive of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging. Stoute works closely with entertainers and athletes, including Jay-Z and LeBron James, to help Fortune 500 corporations extend the companies’ marketing reach. He has written a book, “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy.” He thinks that players — like many star actors — should have been negotiating for equity stakes a long time ago.
He pointed out that in James’s involvement with Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, Cannondale Bicycles and a new company, Sheets, which sells energy gel strips that include caffeine, James’s services are used for little up-front money in return for future payoffs.
Athletes would be open to that arrangement with franchises “if ownership and value and equity are discussed,” Stoute said.
“They’re asking for a piece of value,” he said. “Players will take less money and get a percentage of the value based off their contribution; they invest by taking less money in advance. Sandra Bullock takes less money up front in ‘The Blind Side’ but gets a huge back end. It’s apples and oranges in the arrangement but not in the concept: the more you invest, meaning the less you take up front, the more you get as a result of success.”
In the end, the N.B.A. would benefit because players would be sharing the risk. Under the current system, owners take all of the risks; players, whose contracts are guaranteed, take very few.
Under an equity arrangement, players would give up some of the money that is now guaranteed. In return for smaller guarantees, players would receive a share of the league’s profits — including a percentage of profits from the sale of N.B.A. franchises.
Taking less guaranteed money would be a risk for the players but would have a big upside. And the equity model would help sports owners — and the overall health of the league — because players would have additional incentive to maximize their efforts, on and off the court, and understand how onerous, long-term contracts and franchise-hopping can hurt their teams.

 

Pujols arrives in Miami to meet with Marlins

All week, the Marlins have courted some of the top talent on the free-agent market. On Friday, the biggest name of the class came to town. Albert Pujols, accompanied by his agent, Dan Lozano, arrived in Miami cheap jerseys to meet with Marlins officials, a source confirmed. Pujols is expected to tour the Marlins’ new ballpark and be in South Florida for the weekend.
Team officials are entertaining Pujols on the day the franchise is officially being renamed the Miami Marlins. On Friday night, the team will have a naming ceremony, complete with the unveiling of its new uniforms and logos. It will be streamed live at www.marlins.com.
Hosting Pujols, who is coming off a World Series championship with the Cardinals, is yet another busy day in what has already been a frantic week for the Marlins. In recent days, the Marlins gave left-hander Mark Buehrle and shortstop Jose Reyes Baseball jersey the tour of their 37,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark.
Also on Thursday, a contingent from the team, including owner Jeffrey Loria and manager Ozzie Guillen, traveled to the Dominican Republic to give Cuban-born center fielder Yoenis Cespedes a private workout.
Cespedes, who defected from Cuba last summer, is regarded as big league ready. The 26-year-old is expected to be declared a free agent later this month. While the Marlins are pursuing Pujols, the team isn’t sure the slugger is set to leave St. Louis. A source told MLB.com that the Marlins feel signing Reyes and Cespedes is a more likely scenario than Pujols.
The Marlins are not expected to finalize any major signings until after the new collective bargaining agreement is completed. Reyes’ visit went very well, and there is a feeling within the organization that the shortstop may be ready to leave the Mets to join the Marlins. And with the strong Cuban community in Miami, Cespedes is a natural fit for the Marlins.
Also, Guillen, who managed Buehrle with the White Sox, is pushing hard for the left-hander. The feeling about Pujols is it will be a business decision and cause the Marlins to have to make the slugger the highest-paid player in the game. The courtship of Pujols also is expected to take a while. The Marlins may be first looking to see if they can secure Reyes, Cespedes and/or Buehrle. If that doesn’t happen, their attention then could turn more seriously to Pujols.

 

Nickelback teams up with United Way for annual Thanksgiving halftime show

Nickelback will take the stage for the 2011 United Way Thanksgiving Halftime Show during the first game of the NFL’s tripleheader when the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at 12:30 p.m. ET. The game and halftime show will be broadcast live on FOX.
“We are honored to perform at the United Way Soccer uniforms halftime show on Thanksgiving Day,” commented Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. “We always love playing in Detroit, our fans there have been tremendously supportive of us through the years and we can’t wait to come back and celebrate an exciting day for the Lions and the city of Detroit.”
In addition, American Idol Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina will kick off the game in Detroit with the national anthem. She will be joined by PLAY 60 youth ambassadors from the NFL Youth Education Town — Boys & Girls Club at the Dick & Sandy Dauch Campus in Detroit, a United Way agency. The PLAY 60 youth ambassadors will then help form the fan tunnel during player introductions.
The halftime show, highlighted by Nickelback’s performance, aims to inspire viewers to LIVE UNITED®, United Way’s call to the Cheap nfl jerseys public to get involved in the community by focusing on the building blocks of life: education, income and health. Now in its 38th year, the United Way/NFL partnership connects NFL PLAY 60 with United Way’s 2018 goal to get 1.9 million more young people healthy and active.
Designed to tackle childhood obesity, NFL PLAY 60 brings together the NFL’s long-standing commitment to health and wellness with partner organizations like United Way. PLAY 60 is also implemented locally, as part of the NFL’s in-school, after-school and team-based programs. Since the program was launched in 2007, the NFL has committed more than $250 million to youth health and fitness through programming, grants, and media time for public service announcements. The NFL and its teams have built more than 100 NFL Youth Fitness Zones and organized more than 1,500 PLAY 60 youth events since the campaign launched.
“We’re grateful to Nickelback for donating their time and resources to the United Way Thanksgiving Halftime Show,” said Tracey Holmes, NFL partnership director at United Way Worldwide. “Nickelback is demonstrating how they LIVE UNITED® by giving something back during the holiday season.”
This is the 13th year that United Way has worked with the NFL on the Thanksgiving Halftime Show to inspire NFL fans across the country to get engaged in their communities. Previous performers at the Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show have included Detroit-native Kid Rock, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, Enrique Iglesias and the Goo Goo Dolls. It takes hundreds of people from throughout southeastern Michigan volunteering their time and talents to deliver the 10-minute show, which is produced annually by sports/entertainment company e2k.
Nickelback, one the biggest rock bands in the world with sales of over 45 million worldwide, has sent 18 singles rocketing onto various Billboard charts, have won three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People’s Choice Award, 12 JUNO Awards and earned five Grammy Award nominations. Nickelback was the first band in Nielsen BDS history to send five singles from one album onto the CHR charts. The band has had over 132 million You Tube video plays, has almost twelve million Facebook likes and have sold over five million concert tickets making them one of the top live acts in the world. The Nickelback song “Burn It To The Ground” was the third-most played song at major league sporting events for the 2009-2010 season.

 

Nieuwendyk earns his rightful place in Hall

Joe Nieuwendyk was eligible for the Hall of Fame last year. He didn’t make it, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Nieuwendyk, the great two-sport athlete from Whitby, Ont., is now a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hey, the guy did score over 500 goals, register over 1,200 points NHL jerseys and win the Stanley Cup in three different decades with three different teams.
Oh, and he was also a heck of a lacrosse player. Nieuwendyk started his speech by adjusting the microphones. He talked about being blessed in his life because he has so many wonderful people who are responsible for him getting into the hall of fame.
“It simply has been humbling,” Nieuwendyk said. Nieuwendyk rehashed the crossing emotions he was having after receiving Replica Jerseys his call from the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee in June.
“I was packing to go on a trip to Calgary to pay my last respects to the most caring and kind man I ever had the privilege of meeting in hockey, Harley Hotchkiss,” he said. “As I was flying out there I had time to reflect on my own life and all that was important. After seeing so many familiar faces and Harley’s wonderful family, it made me realized that tonight is all about friends and teammates.”
He thanked his parents, Gord and the late Joanne, who made sacrifices for their four kids — Rick, Gil, Wendy and Joe.
Joanne died of cancer in 1996, but her passion stays inside of Nieuwendyk. He recalled the time after the Flames won the Cup in Montreal in 1989, when after the game Joanne grabbed Joe’s hockey stick and started directly traffic in the streets so the team bus could get through. “Mom was the nurturer and No. 1 supporter. She was always the hockey mom that led the cheers. I miss her everyday and I know she’s proud tonight.”
Nieuwendyk had a lot to say about his best friend and former teammate, Gary Roberts, who he grew up with in Whitby, Ont. They played against one another when they were five year old and eventually became teammates.
“When I played my first game with the Flames, Gary was by his side. Twenty years later when I laced ‘em up for the final time as a Florida Panther, he was again by my side. He truly is a remarkable person and a terrific friend. I always knew throughout my career that he had my back. He always knew I had his back, too, unless Marty McSorley was chasing him around the ice. In those cases he was on his own.” Nieuwendyk said that he called his parents every night for a month after he went to Cornell because he wanted to come home. He was happy that they made him stick it out in Ithaca, N.Y.
“My dad told me to stick with it and I’m glad that he did because it was there I had an experience that far exceeded anything I could have imagined. Those truly were some of the best years of my life.” After Nieuwendyk played his final game at Cornell, he was with his teamamtes scrounging for money so they could get a pizza. The next night he was in New York City going out to dinner with Lanny McDonald as a member of the Calgary Flames.
“I truly learned what the term, ‘Kid, you’re in for the full share’ meant,” he said. “My life in the National Hockey League started.”
Nieuwendyk talked at length about Cliff Fletcher, the GM in Calgary who drafted him and then served as his mentor when he decided to start a managerial career.
He thanked McDonald for being his teammate and friend. “The greatest lesson I received winning the Cup at the age of 22 was to see what it meant to you and some of our wonderful veteran players,” he said to McDonald during the speech.

 

Players to regroup, discuss revised proposal next week

Players, however, aren’t prepared to make that happen just yet.
If they choose to reject the league’s latest ultimatum, they will get a far harsher offer, one that could put the entire cheap jerseys NBA season in jeopardy.
The answer should come early next week — and Stern made it clear: Yes or no, no more negotiating.
“I would not presume to project or predict what the union would do,” the NBA commissioner said. “I can hope, and my hope is that the events of next week will lead us to a 72-game schedule starting on Dec. 15.”
The league presented the players’ association with the new offer Thursday after nearly 11 hours of bargaining, hoping it would be enough to end the lockout. Stern had previously said the original wholesale jerseys proposal needed to be accepted by the close of business Wednesday to avoid the less favorable proposal, but had “stopped the clock” while the sides were bargaining.
The clock starts again once the union has had time to meet and plot its strategy.
Union president Derek Fisher said the revised proposal doesn’t address all the necessary system issues that players are seeking before they would agree to the economic concessions owners are demanding.
“It does not meet us entirely on the system issues that we felt were extremely important to try and close this thing out, and so at this point we’ve decided to end things for now, take a step back,” Fisher said. “We’ll go back as an executive committee, as a board, confer with our player reps and additional players over the next few days. Then we’ll make decisions about what our next steps will be at that point.”
And that could include disbanding the union, too.
Union executive director Billy Hunter said the hope was to get the player reps to New York for a meeting by Monday or Tuesday, then discuss whether the new proposal was good enough to present to the full membership for a vote.
Stern made it clear that whatever they say, they shouldn’t bother to ask to meet again about this proposal.
“There comes a time when you have to be through negotiating, and we are,” Stern said.
He added if there’s another bargaining meeting, it would be off the proposal in waiting: a 53-47 split of revenues in the owners’ favor, a flex cap with a hard ceiling and salary rollbacks.
That leaves the union to decide if it can persuade its members to accept the revised offer. The league has been willing to offer a 50-50 split of basketball-related income, and Stern said the proposal put in play Thursday night attempted to meet the union on its system issues.
Hunter provided only one specific change, allowing the “mini” midlevel exception for teams over the luxury tax to be for three years at $3 million a year, as opposed to two years at $2.5 annually. The league has been trying to curb spending by the big-market teams to create more competitive balance, but players want a system like the current one that leaves them with the most free agent options.

 

Theory of a Deadman

Honesty is always the best policy.  Theory of a Deadman adheres to that age old adage on their fourth album for Roadrunner/604 Records, The Truth Is…

The platinum-selling Vancouver quartet builds arena-ready hooks around hard rocking stories of good times, bad times and everything in between.  “Lowlife," is a raucous anthem celebrating simple pleasures. Meanwhile, "The Bitch Came Back" gives a hilarious send-off to a bad ex with roaring guitars and flourishes of horns. "Hurricane" stirs up a storm of emotions over an orchestral hum of guitars and massive chorus. Then there's "Head Above Water," which delivers an uplifting, contemplative message encased in mid-tempo rhythms. Theory of a Deadman—Tyler Connolly [Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar], David Brenner [Rhythm Guitar], Dean Back [Bass], Joey Dandeneau [Drums]—are telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth, like it or not.

For The Truth Is…, Theory of a Deadman preserved the sound that fans worldwide have grown to love on Scars & Souvenirs [2008], Gasoline [2005], and Theory of a Deadman [2002], while expanding, enhancing, and evolving their approach. The band solidified their place at the top of modern hard rock by exceeding Platinum sales with their breakthrough Scars & Souvenirs and with #1 Mainstream Rock Radio hit "Bad Girlfriend."At the same time, other singles, "So Happy" and "By The Way," became crowd favorites on tours with everyone from Mötley Crüe and Godsmack to Daughtry and label mates Stone Sour. For The Truth Is… the band stuck to what works best and are taking it to the next level.

"Musically, not too much changed," says Connolly. "We had a bit of an epiphany when it came to songwriting though. We've been a band for over a decade now, and we realized what we're doing makes sense. There was a lot more confidence. I was able to dig in lyrically and be wide open. When I write, I either want to kiss someone on the lips or punch them in the face. Anything in between is boring."

To capture those two ends of the spectrum, the band hunkered down once again in Los Angeles’ Bay 7 studio during January 2011 with Howard Benson [My Chemical Romance, 3 Doors Down]. Brenner adds, "We really found our sound on Scars & Souvenirs."

"Lowlife" pulsates with stadium-sized energy, and it tells a clever tale in the process. Connolly reveals, "I thought it'd be cool to write a fun anthem about being a lowlife. It's okay to drive an old piece of shit car, get arrested and be a dirtball. Our fans aren't wearing suits and ties. They don't have diamond necklaces. They're regular people who like to party and sing rock 'n' roll music. The song speaks to them."

Elsewhere, Theory sneak in some humorous jabs on "The Bitch Came Back," a song that exudes a theatrical swagger with a rousing chorus and propulsive riff. The song began in a fashion that saw Theory reaching way back. “We love to mess around and try things, and we tried horns here. Horns can be rock 'n' roll," says Brenner.

Theory makes the horns sound very rock 'n' roll especially when they're wrapped in soaring distortion. For Connolly, these songs came from one of the most intense periods of his life. “There are a lot of lyrics that came from going through the roughest period of my life. I don't think I've ever been that beat up physically and emotionally. It took me awhile to get better, but as a result, this record is the best work that we've done," he said.

Ultimately, The Truth Is... stands out as the band's best work to date because it's about a shared experience with the audience for Connolly and Co at the end of the day. The frontman concludes, "I want to make a great song that can help get fans through hard times. I want them to take that music with them for the rest of their lives. I'm trying to write songs and change people, make them laugh, smile, or sing along. That's what I'm looking for."

The Truth Is… Theory of a Deadman found it.

 

Megadeth

It’s a rare thing when a musician comes face to face with what made them great to begin with.  ENDGAME is that moment for Dave Mustaine and Megadeth.  It’s the record where it all comes full circle in a career that has set not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them.  Megadeth are rage on a tight rein, as precise and beautifully destructive as a laser guided missile. 

“After the smoke had cleared from personnel and label changes, I knew that regaining respect for me and for Megadeth was going to be a huge undertaking,” says Mustaine of the process re-tooling Megadeth after what is considered the “classic” line-up. “It was much like trying to turn a battleship -- no, more like an aircraft carrier-- around.”

Mission accomplished on ENDGAME, which is as extreme as anything Megadeth has ever recorded. The album’s signature track “Head Crusher” should not merely serve as a wake-up for old fans but also a new generation ready to keep Mustaine & Co.’s brand of shredding guitar and bellicose songsmanship at the forefront of today’s metal scene.

This, however, is not surprising for the man who has created and branded “Gigantour,” which for the past three years has united some of metal’s most musically literate players including Dream Theater, Children of Bodom and Opeth.  Then again, what else would one expect from someone who culled a sound from The New Wave of British Heavy Metal and created metal’s then new chic, which was state of the art speed metal?

The Megadeth machine is built on a blueprint of stark, complex musicianship. Over time, with album sales nearing 25 million worldwide, Mustaine has balanced rabid-dog aggression with staggering song-craft. The albums Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good!, Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? , So Far…So Good…So What? and Countdown to Extinction remain true metal classics. No surprise then that Mustaine was awarded the title of “Riff Lord” at 2008’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in the U.K, or that he was crowned “Golden God” at the 2009 Revolver Golden Gods Awards in America.

Which of course shouldn’t negate the flirting with commercial success on Youthanasia, Cryptic Writings or Risk. Or even Megadeth’s road back to the standing at the top of metal’s top players with World Needs a Hero, The System Has Failed and their Roadrunner debut, United Abominations. “It was a good lesson about the need to follow your heart,” says Dave of the creative process with Endgame. “I am grateful to have fans who have let me stretch my wings musically. But this is where I am most comfortable.”

At this point, Dave Mustaine has nothing to prove. To make the record he wanted, Mustaine found himself building a full-blown recording studio in San Marcos, California, just outside of San Diego, dubbed “Vic’s Garage” after Megadeth’s iconic, skull-faced mascot Vic Rattlehead. His rationale for building a studio for Megadeth was simple: “When we went into the studio last time it was too expensive, too extravagant, too arrogant and I think it made us a little lazy,” muses Mustaine.

Andy Sneap, metal-producer and mixer par-excellence and a Megadeth cohort from United Abominations, returned to work alongside of Mustaine. The result of this metal-mongering synergy speaks for itself. “It’s a great relationship,” says Mustaine of his ongoing dealings with the acclaimed British producer, also known for his work with Killswitch Engage and Machine Head.  “We had a few intense moments, but that is part of having a real working relationship. I am a better guitarist, singer and producer due to my tremendous respect for Andy and my open ears when he is listening or isn’t listening to my point of view.”

Part of Megadeth’s new energies on ENDGAME goes to the induction of guitarist Chris Broderick, who joins Mustaine, drummer Shawn Drover and bassist James LoMenzo in the ‘Megs tightest line-up in years.  Mustaine even went on record to say, “With this album, I am also very excited to be introducing my new lead guitarist, Chris Broderick, to the world. I have always felt lucky to have had top shredders in that position, but after touring with Chris in support of my last album, I couldn't wait to get into the studio and see what he could do."

Not one to keep an exactly cheery lyrical stance, ENDGAME finds Mustaine more scalding and articulate than ever. Sure, there’s “1,320”, a paean to the thrills of nitro funny car racing, but from there, it grows darker and darker. The Edgar Allen Poe waxing “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With A Kiss” finds the narrator entombing his beloved in a wall of bricks whilst Broderick shifts from beautific acoustics to Megadeth’s riffy snarl. 

But it’s a landscape of bitter realities where Mustaine’s lyrics resonate. “Bite The Hand That Feeds” and “The Right To Go Insane” delve into an economically disenfranchised nation of have and have-nots. Mustaine himself is no stranger to politics, a self-admitted CNN junkie who in 1992 was MTV’s floor commentator at the National Democratic Convention.

ENDGAME’s title track is Mustaine at his darkest. "Thematically, I've never been known to be a silent bystander in a world that needs our participation,” he says. ‘Endgame’ specifically is a document signed into law that further strips away personal civil rights. “It’s a bill that George W. Bush had signed into law that could put an American citizen in a prison, much like a concentration camp,” states Mustaine. Far-fetched?  Surprisingly not.

Musically and lyrically  Dave Mustaine remains metal’s true iconoclast whose latest musical offering rumbles with the intensity his career has been built on. Megadeth has come full circle. Megadeth are back to the killing business…and business has never been better.

 

Opeth

Opeth has spent over two decades steadily amassing a body of work that is at once possessed of a fervent and unrelenting devotion to aesthetic progression (and perfection) while simultaneously scaling the summits of power, mysticism and might aspired to by the group's hard rock forefathers in Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

The band's roots in the doom-laden shade of occult-infused Scandinavian death metal and dark romanticism are undeniable and will never elicit apology. But the transcendent emotional and melodic heights achieved on the brilliantly titled tenth full-length Opeth album, Heritage, mark a new chapter in the storied quintet's career. Bandleader, singer, guitarist, songwriter and long-running consistent member Mikael Åkerfeldt has reshaped the pathway forward for his artistic vehicle without sacrificing the hard-won spiritualism of previous endeavors.

"I’ve become synonymous with Opeth," he says, acknowledging his dedication to perfectionism and his studied decisionmaking regarding the group's methodical and deliberate shifts. "I’ve been writing the material since the first album. I’ve been steering the ship for many years now and I’m quite comfortable. It’s something that I created and the people that have been in Opeth with me have helped make this into a very special band."

The latest masterwork from the Stockholm, Sweden-based virtuoso musicians is a mind-bogglingly dense maze of tempo shifts, off-time signatures, percussive experimentation and warped rhythms. It is all expertly melded together by a myriad range of emotional outpouring and breezy melodic optimism which soars above the songs like a woodland spirit surveying its forest. There are multiple hints of darkness but Heritage moves the band forward into broader dimensions.

"This album is not really an 'extreme metal' type of record, I suppose, but it is 'extreme' in a different way," Åkerfeldt offers. "It's intense in a different way. It felt right for us to do a record like this right now. Most of the people who have been with us for a while are getting into this album. They seem to like it as much as we do."

An Opeth album is created to be experienced as a continuous whole. In this age of downloading, singles and increasingly put-upon attention spans, preternaturally listenable Opeth albums like Still Life, Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries and Heritage stand like shining beacons amongst an ocean of disposable short-term placebos.

"It's a slightly old school idea but when we put out a record there are no 'key songs.' It's the album that matters," states Opeth's frontman. "We'll never have a 'hit single.' By no means would I want one song to be more important than another. We always put out an album and I personally enjoy listening to entire records. That is the kind of art that I like. I like bands with strong albums as opposed to just a couple of strong songs."

Opeth in its latest musical incarnation is as meticulous, focused and impassioned as ever. Yet those elements are presented with a newfound openness, spirited generosity of feeling and long visits to the astral plane. Heritage somehow pulls off the impossible task of doing more with less and less with more at the same time. There's plenty of room to breathe on the surface but peek inside and you'll be met with heady complication.

Åkerfeldt returned to Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson to mix Heritage with him. The pair have been friends for well over ten years. "We’ve worked with different engineers, but we never had anyone that we wanted their opinion on our music apart from Steven. The last album we did with him was Damnation. He was busy when we were doing Ghost Reveries and Watershed. He’s just one of those guys I completely trust musically. He’s been sort of a mentor to me in some way. I’ve learned a lot of stuff from him about production."

The album artwork for Heritage looks exactly like how the album sounds - yet another deliberate decision. Åkerfeldt wanted to make a statement with packaging containing more colors and detail than previous Opeth albums. Furthermore there is symbolic imagery present on the cover that directly correlates with the group's past and present. It's a detailed illustration one can contemplate for hours, like Iron Maiden's Powerslave.

Longtime collaborator Travis Smith is responsible for the cover. He worked from a series of references provided by Åkerfeldt, including Flemish renaissance painter and printmaker Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Triumph of Death (recognized by metal heads from Black Sabbath's Greatest Hits), the works of Hieronymus Bosch (such as the piece used by Deep Purple on their eponymous third album) and The Beatles' Yellow Submarine.

At the center of the painting is a tree containing the heads of each member: Åkerfeldt, Martin Mendez (bass), Martin "Axe" Axenrot (drums) and Fredrik Åkesson (guitars). The head of Per Wiberg, who exited the band after recording his keyboard parts, is falling off of the tree into a pile of ex-members' skulls. The tree's base extends deep into an underworld populated by devilish figures, representing Opeth's roots in death metal.

Nine stars dot the sky. Each represents a previous entry in the Opeth catalog. There's the epic debut album, Orchid, which uniquely melded death metal, black metal, progressive rock and folk elements into breathtakingly long and mournful compositions. Next came Morningrise, which fanzine Lamentations of the Flame Princess heralded as "perfect." The follow-up album, My Arms, Your Hearse, was called "a trip to heaven" by Metal Storm.

A concept album like its predecessor, Still Life marked even further progression. The Village Voice compared Opeth to King Crimson on Blackwater Park, which CMJ called "a metal fusion of Pink Floyd and the Beatles." The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde collaboration of Deliverance and Damnation, which fans know were conceived to be a double album, was followed by Opeth's totally captivating Roadrunner jewels, Ghost Reveries and Watershed.

"The sun in the sky symbolizes the new album, Heritage," Åkerfeldt explains. In the background there's a city on fire representing the decline of civilization with a line of people marching from it to nourish themselves with the artistic fruits of the band. "There's a crowd of people in line to get to the tree. Everybody wants a piece of us."

Opeth writes, records and creates albums for themselves first and foremost. But that isn't to say that they aren't gratified or inspired by those people grabbing fruit from their tree, because they are. "I’m not a complete attention whore in that I want us to have constant confirmation of how great we are all of the time," Åkerfeldt says. "But over the years there's been people who approach us who we can tell have been moved by our music or our lyrics. When someone comes up and tells you that they got married to one of your songs, that’s big if you know what I mean. I don’t need some kind of prize in the future saying what I’ve actually achieved in the music world. It doesn’t matter to me. But individual things that we're being told by fans? That's what matters the most."

Luckily for those folks who are standing in that symbolic line depicted on the cover of Heritage, there's no sign of stoppage for the band. "Opeth will be around as long as we feel that we can put out interesting music," Åkerfeldt predicts. "The idea with Opeth is to do music we want to hear. So unless we can do that, we’ll just quit.

"Every album could be the last, of course," he adds. "It’s not a threat, but we really want to honor that tradition of putting out records we want to hear. It feels like a little bit of rejuvenation with Heritage. We found a new sound we’d like to explore a little further. We just have to see where it takes us."

 

Sepultura

December 16, 1996: A day that will live in infamy eternally for Sepultura fans.

That night, following a sold-out performance at London's hallowed Brixton Academy, singer/guitarist Max Cavalera left the band he co-founded more than a decade earlier. While Sepultura would continue on without Cavalera, who soon re-emerged with Soulfly, his departure marked the end of an era for a legendary, trailblazing group All Music Guide praises as "perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the 90s."

In certain respects, 1996 was the most successful year in Sepultura's storied history. Its sixth album, Roots, earned the group its highest critical praise to date. The band also participated in the inaugural Ozzfest tour, where it performed before the largest American audiences of its career.

But tensions within the group had been running high ever since the August 1996 death of the teenage son of the band's manager, who was also Cavalera's wife. When the rest of the band -bassist Paulo Jr., lead guitarist Andreas Kisser and drummer Igor Cavalera -approached Max about finding new management just months after the tragedy, he viewed the suggestion as a form of betrayal and severed ties with Sepultura shortly thereafter.

Luckily for fans, the final concert with Sepultura's most celebrated lineup was recorded, and the resulting double-CD Live at Brixton documents one of the most powerful metal bands of all time. Although it features three covers - Motorhead's "Orgasmatron," Titas' "Policia" and the Cro-Mags' "We Gotta Know" (featuring guest-stars Strife, a hardcore band that served as the tour's opening act) - the album also provides a thorough retrospective of Sepultura's first decade of destruction.

Included are well-known favorites such as "Necromancer," the first song the group ever recorded "Biotech Is Godzilla," featuring lyrics written by the Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra "Ratamahatta," sung in the band's native Portuguese "Inner Self," the track for which Sepultura shot its first music video and "Attitude," which Cavalera dedicates to his late stepson, Dana.

Because it was recorded during the Roots tour, Live at Brixton - mixed by veteran producer Colin Richardson (Machine Head, Fear Factory) - naturally showcases renditions of many songs from that album. The album also features several tracks from each of the three Sepultura records - Beneath the Remains, Arise and the gold-certified Chaos A.D. - which many metal observers consider to be landmark releases and cornerstones of the genre.

Although Sepultura's first two albums, Morbid Visions and Schizophrenia, garnered the group much attention in its native Brazil, it wasn't until the 1989 release of Beneath the Remains that the band earned mass worldwide acclaim. Called "one of the most essential death/thrash metal albums of all time" by AMG, it led to Sepultura's first international tour. No other Brazilian metal band had ever achieved such success abroad.

The group re-teamed with Beneath the Remains producer Scott Burns - also well known for his work with extreme acts such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Obituary - on 1991's Arise. Due to its apocalyptic religious imagery, the controversial music video for the title track was banned by MTV, but the album - praised by CMJ as "one of the heaviest albums you're likely to find" - still sold more than a million copies worldwide. To support the record, Sepultura toured even more extensively internationally, performing two sold-out stadium concerts in Indonesia and also appearing at Holland's giant Dynamo Open Air festival.

The success of Arise led Roadrunner to strike a co-distribution deal with Epic Records for the 1993 release of Chaos A.D., a recording that prompted Rolling Stone to laud the group as "the undisputed leader of the neo-metal pack." Featuring the singles "Territory" and "Refuse/Resist" - both of which are included on Live at Brixton - the album went GOLD furthering Sepultura's reputation as metal pioneers, and saw the band begin to incorporate both political commentary and native Brazilian rhythms into their music for the first time.

Those rhythms figure even more prominently into Roots, hailed by CDNOW as "a career high point (that) took metal in a direction few headbangers would dare go." The record's extended percussion passages - as portrayed in the live rendition of "Endangered Species" - added exciting new elements to the group's still-fierce sound. Ten of the album's 16 tracks were included in Sepultura's Brixton Academy set.

Nearly six years have passed since Cavalera left Sepultura, but the band's impact on hard music continues to reverberate. The group's influence extends to current heavyweights such as Godsmack, System of a Down and Slipknot, while young fans discover Sepultura for the first time with each new release by both Cavalera's Soulfly and Sepultura itself.

In other words, Sepultura's legacy is ensured. It's now time to go back to the Academy for a history lesson you'll never forget.

 

Slipknot

Slipknot singer Corey Taylor knew his band was destined for greatness. He also knew that it wouldn't come easy.
"When we were starting out, we had all these strikes against us," he says. "We were from Iowa, there were nine of us, we wore masks, we wore coveralls, we played metal. Hard metal."
"It was tough getting people to come out to Des Moines," adds bassist Paul Gray. "I don't know why, it's a pretty cool place. But A&R dudes -- jaded folks from Los Angeles or New York -- it's hard to get them to come to Iowa."
"And then there were all the haters," says Taylor.
Ah, the haters. The people who liked nothing more than to give the band flack for its look, for substituting numbers for names, for putting on a show full of over-the-top chaos and unmitigated mayhem. Some of the comments came from the usual assortment of web sites and so-called music critics. But, surprisingly, "we also took a lot of shit from other bands," says guitarist James Root. "When we hit the road with Ozzfest in 1999, I heard a lot of condescending remarks from other musicians. They were saying, 'Slipknot won't sell enough records, they won't survive, they've got too many people, nobody's gonna get it, they're all about image.' "
"The joke's on them," says Taylor with wicked glee. "Our music stood up. We're much more popular now and it wasn't because of our image. It was the music."
Now, most of the bands who turned slagging Slipknot into an extreme sport have fallen off the face of the earth. The 'Knot, on the other hand, have spent nearly a decade cementing their place as one of hard rock’s most extreme acts. They've dropped three albums and two DVDs, all of which went Platinum or better. They've sold out festivals and tours around the globe. And they are preparing to release their fourth record, All Hope Is Gone.
    
Slipknot -- which features DJ Sid Wilson (0), drummer Joey Jordison (1), Gray (2), percussionist Chris Fehn (3) Root (4), sampler Craig Jones - 133 (5), percussionist M. Shawn Crahan - Clown (6), guitarist Mick Thomson (7) and Taylor (8), -- is still heavy, still enamored of great, big walls of deeply textured layers of sound. But this time, they've approached their music with an eye towards stylistic expression that completely invalidates any and all comments about heavy metal clichés. Moreover, they've continued the exploration of melody that began on their first record.  
Songs like "Sulfur" and "Psychosocial" deliver crushing verses and bridges, but then explode into soaring choruses that provide a powerful showcase for Taylor's voice. The song "Vendetta" features a sleazy, rough-and-tumble kind of swagger, but still delivers Slipknot's trademark balls-out fury. And "All Hope Is Gone" just spews raw anger, aggression, hate and foulness that serves as a reminder to anyone still stupid enough to harbor doubts that Slipknot are experts at delivering pure, heavy-metal punishment.
"It's our fourth album, and we wanted to do something different," says Gray. "You can't put out the same record over and over again. At the same time, you can definitely still tell that this is Slipknot."
"I'm looking forward to the expressions on people's faces when they hear the new record," says Taylor. "There's very, very heavy stuff on this album, and it's gonna blow people's minds. But I'm also excited for them to see the stuff that's different on this album, the more experimental music. No one's going to expect it."
Much of the album's diversity comes from the band's new approach to writing and recording. Over the years, most of the members have worked on various side projects, none of which sound remotely like Slipknot. It's no surprise to find out that these efforts influenced the writing process. Perhaps even more importantly, All Hope Is Gone was the first album on which contributions came from nearly all the band members, with each person bringing his own unique voice to the mix.  The band co-produced the album with Dave Fortman.
"I think everyone just went in with an open mind. We would always listen to everyone's ideas, and if they worked, they worked, if they didn't, they didn't," explains Gray. "This time, we really tried to build off the ideas, really tried to work on them.  I think it helped that so many of us were able to spend time doing our own thing, too.  Just writing with different people really makes a difference in how you think about music. When we finally came together, we were able to bring that to the mix."
Slipknot also made the executive decision to abandon Los Angeles, where they had recorded previous records. Instead, they came back home and set up camp in Iowa. The differences were immediately apparent.

“It gave us more time and energy to experiment in the studio.   I was able to come up with more guitar sounds than ever,” says Root.

While the heart of Slipknot remains its music, its soul is planted firmly on stage. Today, Slipknot are playing in sold-out arenas, but the band developed their talents by slogging it out in the Midwest, playing any show they could find. These were frequently one-off shows; the band would travel from their hometown of Des Moines to places like Omaha  and Chicago. "There were never any actual tours in those days," says Thomson. "Our shows were like sporting events: We’d put everything into them and then afterwards, we'd be fucking exhausted. We weren't going to pile into a van -- all nine of us -- and then drive all night to the next show. We'd have fallen asleep at the wheel and died."
"Those early shows were rough, but I loved the small stage," says Gray. "There was something intimate about it.  It was like an old-school punk show, which is what I grew up with."
"I don't miss that shit at all," disagrees Thomson. "It was 8,000 degrees, you're bumping into people, you're tripping over equipment. Those small stages have low ceilings, so the heat's trapped real low -- right at your head. Those shows are about survival, not about playing."
As difficult as those early shows were for the band, they were just as challenging for whoever might be standing in the front row.     
"Shawn used to bring chop saws on stage to grind pipes for sparks," remembers Thomson. "Once, a chunk broke off and sent a kid to the hospital.  But people who got hurt at our shows were cool about it -- we'd follow them to the hospital and sign some shirts and shit. It was like, you know, no harm, no foul."
"Everyone tried to control us, though," says Taylor.
"Yeah, those fuckers," says Thomson. "We'd be on tour and fire marshals would show up with camcorders and accuse us of all kinds of crazy bullshit. They'd say, 'We heard you set yourselves on fire.'
"Well… okay, we'd done that!" Thomson continues, laughing. "Sid and Clown would spray each other with lighter fluid and then they'd pull out lighters. That got us in trouble. One promoter would call the next -- they'd warn each other and they'd hit us with 'do not' lists. We were castrated."
Surviving for 10 years is an accomplishment for any band. With Slipknot, it feels like some sort of miracle. Personalities frequently collide, side-projects abound, and on-stage fights are common. And yet, year after year, album after album, all nine men keep coming back for more. "We're banded together in hate," says Jordison. "Sometimes we hate each other, sometimes we hate the world, sometimes we just hate our own lives. But when we get together, something monstrous happens and we pull this amazing sound out of all that energy.
"Plus," he adds, "we believe in world domination, and this is the band that's gonna get us there."
"You know, we went from being some local band in a basement to selling millions of records," says Gray. "It's going to be a decade since the first album came out. I'm so happy and amazed and proud and thankful for where this band has gone. I've gotten to see the world -- and I get paid for it! I'd have done it for free."
Chris Fehn agrees. "I think the best part about being in this band has been getting exposure to the rest of the world. You realize that everything in the world is the same -- people feel the same, they have the same desires, hopes, fears. Being worldly is a gift that I don't ever want to give back. It changes your life -- especially when you're from a small town in Iowa."
"I always knew we'd go far. I just knew it," says Taylor. "There was no way this band was going to fail. But I never knew we'd reach the heights we've come to. We've traveled the world so many times; all the different countries are like our second homes. To this day, it still blows me away that we took this crazy idea and made it a global sensation."

All Hope Is Gone will be released on Roadrunner Records on August 26th.

 

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

There are few artists whose names are synonymous with one instrument and how it's played in service to an entire genre.

Utter the phrase "young blues guitarist" within earshot of anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the modern musical vanguard and the first name they are most likely to respond with will be Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Still barely in his 30s, the Louisiana-born axeman and songsmith has been selling millions of albums, throwing singles into the Top 10, shining a light on the rich blues of the past and forging ahead with his own modern twist on a classic sound he has embodied since his teens. He met Stevie Ray Vaughan at 7, shared the stage with New Orleans legend Bryan Lee at 13. As an adult, he continues to create genre-defining blues-infused rock n' roll.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd's How I Go not only serves as a strong reminder of the chops that caused Guitar World to place him right behind B.B. King and Eric Clapton on their list of blues guitarists, but it's the strongest indication yet of his gifted songwriting talent. The album pairs Kenny's deeply soulful and impassioned takes on classic material like Bessie Smith's "Blackwater Blues," Albert King's "Oh, Pretty Woman" and The Beatles' "Yer Blues" alongside the strongest writing and co-writing of his career thus far.

Let's not forget that Kenny co-wrote "Blue on Black" very early on. The song was #1 on the Rock Charts for 17 consecutive weeks. All of the accolades heaped upon his playing are well deserved and well earned. But there is so much more to offer.

"At this point, most people who know about me know I can play guitar," Shepherd says. "As far as my approach to guitar on this record, it's not about showing people how much I can play. It’s about really choosing the right notes and playing them at the right times so that every note penetrates people, and they feel it inside and it’s not just some fleeting thing that just goes right by them.

"I wanted to be conservative, and selective, and tasteful in the solos that I did," he adds. "I wanted to concentrate on the song as a whole: the vocals, the arrangements, so every instrument that is being played contributes to the song and takes it to a better place."

Where Ledbetter Heights (1995) was a little more bluesy; Trouble Is… (1997) offered more blues-based rock; Live On (1999) took a turn to more blues-based rock; The Place You're In (2004) went straight ahead rock and the 10 Days Out (2007) documentary exemplified the best of straight blues, Kenny says this one "falls right down the middle between blues and rock."

"Never Lookin' Back" is a rocking song that sets the tone for album, with lyrics about moving on and rolling with life's punches. The song "Cryin' Shame" has that straight Texas shuffle longtime fans love to hear from Kenny and his band. "Show Me The Way Back Home" is a powerful blues ballad for the ages. "We hit a really great balance," he says of the album, which he co-produced.

"Who's Gonna Catch You Now?" is a very personal song. "I've become a father over the past couple of years. It's about a parent accepting what it's like to be a parent and having to accept a certain degree of powerlessness. It's just learning about acceptance. If you're a parent, it will pull on your heart strings for sure."

The hard-rocking, blues-based, guitar-driven album sounds young, it sounds fresh. Yet it has that distinctive energy and vibe drawn from the deep heritage of the genre. Kenny Wayne Shepherd is growing as a songwriter, musician and producer. Which isn't to say he's not proud of his past. "I don't have any regrets, other than maybe a couple of outfits that I wore on stage," he laughs.

"My approach from day one was that I was not going to record anything that I couldn't completely wrap my mind around and that I wasn't prepared to play for the rest of my career. As a result of that approach and not letting anybody talk me into doing anything that I didn't want to do, and nobody forcing me to record anything I didn't want to, I've got a body of work that I'm proud of. I still enjoy playing all of the songs off my first album. They are as much fun to play today as they were in 1995 when that album came out. I'm not one of those guys who doesn't want to listen to his own music. I don't go around listening to it all the time, but, my thing is, if I'm making music that I don't want to listen to, then why am I making music? I enjoy what I do. I have a lot of stuff that I'm proud of. Every album that we've done I've tried to do different things. I've never wanted to be an artist where people could predict what was next."

The name "Kenny Wayne Shepherd" is absolutely synonymous with "young blues guitarist" but that phrase isn't the totality of his person.

"Blues player is definitely one of the labels I've accumulated, because I'm a huge blues fan and I love to play the blues," he says. "But if you listen to my music, especially over the course of my career, everything that I do is not blues. It's the foundation of what I do, but my stuff has a lot more of an edge to it. It's a little more contemporary. And there's a certain youthfulness to what I do. I started writing and recording music when I was a teenager and that energy has been consistent throughout my career."

Last year's Live in Chicago! captured epic performances from Kenny and an assemblage of living legends in the blues world. Kenny's incredible presence and perpetually giving performances, designed to get every person in the room on their feet and to leave them smiling, are all of the evidence one needs to determine that he'll continue to do this for decades to come - just like his heroes.

"I’ve got a lot of a career left ahead of me and a lot of records left to make," he says. "I’m hoping to be playing music when I’m in my 80’s like B.B. King. I’ve got a lot more songs left in me to write and record. My fans want to hear new music, they want to hear new albums, and then when they hear a new record they want to come out and hear us play that stuff live."

Kenny Wayne Shepherd is very cognizant of the emotional role music can play in the lives of his listeners. He's in awe of that responsibility and works hard to bring happiness to people with his considerable gifts. With that said, he's bound and determined to be remembered as a guy who just straight-up kicked a lot of butt. "I get up on stage every night to play my heart out and to try to turn people on their ear, man. I want to bring light into people's lives with my music. If I can make people feel good for an hour and a half to two hours and forget about whatever might be stressing them out, then I'm doing my job."

 

Nickelback

While 2011 proved one of the most turbulent years in recent history, Nickelback has emerged rock-steady with an album that both shakes rock and roll to its core while offering a true sense of escapism to their millions of fans across the globe. If ever the world needed to feel good again, that time is ... Here and Now.

Traversing the sonic spectrum with a pulsating energy and enthusiasm reflected in the musical diversity, Here and Now is the much-loved Nickelback experience propelled to new levels as the band continues to lure listeners into their trademark party brew of fast-lane indulgences; some tunes tamed by somber reflection while others wickedly embraced with a devilish wink and a smile. With almost 45 million sold worldwide, music fans remain thirsty for the vicarious thrills of Nickelback's newest intoxicating elixir.

"I think we're very lucky because from the beginning, we never painted ourselves into a corner of saying we're only going to make one kind of music," explains Chad Kroeger, during the final days of recording Here and Now at his Mountain View Studios outside Vancouver. "As a result, we're kind of all over the map with the songs that get accepted by our fans. And that's fantastic, because that means there's always going to be a ton of diversity on all our records."

It's a conviction shared by guitarist Ryan Peake, who recounts the band's early days of bucking trends as key to Nickelback's longevity. "When you fashion yourself after musical fads, you'll find out you're yesterday's news in a couple years. Suddenly, you wake up one day and find out you've completely pigeonholed yourself. But when you're honest in what you do and concentrate on the songwriting, people will follow you. Fortunately, we have such a well-rounded fan base. And in these days of extreme ups and downs and cyclical musical movements, our fans have always stuck by us.”

"Because at the end of the day," adds Peake, "people just really like hearing good songs, plain and simple. They like to feel good; whether they're singing along or just listening to it. It's something innate in all of us."

So what better way to uncork Here and Now than a double-shot of kickoff singles that toasts the band's enduring potency: "Bottoms Up," a blazing paean to unlimited libations crafted with unmistakable Nickelback hooks and epic chorus, fueled even further by Peake's blistering guitar, Daniel Adair's thunderous drumming and Kroeger's gritty and commanding vocals as the song's raucous ringleader. Guaranteed to become a party staple, "Bottoms Up" will assuredly earn a place in the pantheon of fist-pumping rock classics.  Serving as an equally vibrant mixer is Nickelback's other lead single "When We Stand Together," a decidedly up-tempo anthem that underscores the social conscience still beating in the hearts of those small-town boys from Hanna, Alberta. The highly melodic, foot-stomping anthem belies the more serious underpinnings of lyrics challenging societal apathy as Kroeger sings: "One more depending on a prayer / And we all look away / People pretending everywhere / It's just another day / There's bullets flying through the air / And they still carry on / We watch it happen over there / And then just turn it off."

It's a recurring theme that surfaces over the many Nickelback albums - from previous hits like "If Everyone Cared" to "If Today Was Your Last Day" - that Kroeger sees as a way of raising public consciousness, even if in small doses. Not one to commandeer a soapbox, Kroeger is earnest when he explains the genesis of "When We Stand Together" that "we can bring awareness to the fact that we can make the world a better place if we actually just stood together and acted as one world, instead of acting as so many different countries with their own agendas."

"It's just so easy for us to see things unfold on TV and then just change the channel," Kroeger continues. "I wanted to draw attention to a couple things in a general sense that might hopefully resonate. And regardless of how 'pop' sounding it may be, I felt the lyrics of  'When We Stand Together' just carried such weight that I needed to offset it with a lighter musical sound. And I think it turned into this really cool balance."

Indeed. Both singles are making a huge impact on the rock and pop charts - further testament to Nickelback's wide appeal in an increasingly fractured music scene. But Nickelback has always defied conventional norms; they've pushed boundaries and marched to the beat of their own drum. Call it wisdom or stubbornness, but the band's tenacity has paid off in droves. Billboard magazine named Nickelback "Group of the Decade" and their 2001 breakthrough hit "How You Remind Me" as "Top Rock Song" of the decade. They've achieved a remarkable five Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award, and 12 Juno Awards. Their 2005 album All The Right Reasons  remained in the Billboard Top 30 for over two years, was certified 8-times platinum in the U.S. and sold a staggering 11 million copies worldwide, spawning five Top 20 singles "Savin' Me,” "Rockstar," "Photograph,”  “Fall Away” and “If Everyone Cared.”

Nickelback's phenomenal success quickly attracted the attention of veteran producer Mutt Lange, famed hit-maker, who signed on as producer of 2008's Dark Horse. The band's aptly-titled album showcased their unwavering resolve, racking up over five million digital single sales of hits like "Gotta Be Somebody," "Burn It To The Ground,” "If Today Was Your Last Day," and "This Afternoon” plus more than 52 million video plays over the course of the album's campaign. Dark Horse also fueled a record-breaking two year world tour for Nickelback, who so far have played to well over five million fans across the globe. With 15 radio hits charting at #1 since 2000, Nickelback has earned the unique distinction of being the second best-selling foreign act in America - right beside the Beatles.

Not bad for a group of guys who as teens simply dreamed of one day performing "to more than just the steering wheel” as Kroeger so famously sang in his nostalgic confessional "Photograph.” "Geez, I remember playing every night in a cover band in these small clubs and maybe making $300 a week and thinking to myself, 'This is so awesome! What am I going to do with all this money?'" chuckles Kroeger, reflecting on his humble beginnings as a musician. His brother, bassist Mike Kroeger, remembers those early days well. "We would always think, 'God, wouldn't it be cool to play our songs for someone other than just our roommates or family - somewhere where people actually showed up to watch music?' But believe me, none of us as kids were learning how to play the pentatonic scale going, 'Yup, Wembley Arena here we come!" says Kroeger with a huge laugh.

"It really wasn't until we got a record deal and then once Silver Side Up did what it did that all of a sudden we were like, 'Okay, we need to start behaving like a world class act and we've got to put together a show that can really entertain people in an arena,’" adds Chad Kroeger, who likens himself to the Master of Ceremonies of a wild private party for over 20,000 of his closest friends every night. "When I'm on stage, I'm definitely in über party mode. I mean, we put on this huge rock and roll show entertaining people, but everyone always says it goes beyond that - it's like this enormous celebration where all these Nickelback fans can get together and really let loose."

Which brings us full circle to Here and Now, the band's seventh album and quite possibly their most creatively liberating. "The dynamic in the studio was much more fun again," notes Adair. "This time I felt like, 'Okay, it's just the four of us again, we're self-produced, lets just do our thing.' And it flowed extremely well.”

"I mean, we actually had weekends off, which we didn't on the Dark Horse sessions," continues Adair. "When you're working 14 hour days, 64 days straight, it's just not healthy. It's actually counter-productive. Because in the big picture, you can actually get more accomplished in the same amount of time with a more normal schedule."

As the band convened from April through early October, Here and Now's 11 tracks grew organically, according to Peake. "It wasn't calculated at all," he says. "That's why this album is really across the board - from heavy rock and pop-sounding songs, to lighter, more middle-of-the-road songs. We brought a lot of ideas to the table and sussed them out until we were all happy."

The challenge, admits Mike Kroeger, "is that the more records we make, the more we feel like we have to dig deeper and do stuff that we haven't done yet, but also expand and go even further on the type of songs our fans love. There's a lot of  'No, that's not good enough' and we’ve gotta tear it all down and start again or completely re-tool.”

"Because we know very consciously what we've done in the past and where the bar has been set," adds Kroeger, "and you can phone it in - that's very easy to do - but our fans will know that immediately. So every time we go into the studio, it's about making our fans happy and hearing them say that it's not only a record they love, but that it's a Nickelback record that they love amongst all the other Nickelback records. That's what we strive for every single time."

Nickelback strikes all the right chords as they once again prove their uncanny knack for crafting catchy songs with unforgettable hooks and indelible lyrical wordplay. Whether it's melodic ballads like "Lullaby,” "Trying Not To Love You" and "Don't Ever Let It End" (an acoustic gem about lovers caught in the “friend zone” that Chad Kroeger calls "very special"), to the metallic roar of "This Means War" and the reckless abandon of grinding rockers like "Gotta Get Me Some" and "Midnight Queen,” the band undeniably has hit a home run with Here and Now.

"So as long as people want to hear us play, then we'll just keep going," Kroeger states. "And until that day comes, this is the absolute best gig in the world and we'll just keep rolling with the punches."

Bottoms Up!

 

The Amity Affliction

While many bands can claim to have a large fanbase, it’s rare to find a group with a following as incredibly dedicated as The Amity Affliction. Their fans travel the country, get lyrics and band art tattooed, and make their love for the band known as often as they can (the band and their records constantly top media polls). It’s why they sell out shows across their home country of Australia to deafening roars and why they are constantly one of the top bands on all social media networks. Most recently, their new album Youngbloods debuted at #6 on the Album Charts in Australia and went on to get unprecendented nominations for Best Hard Rock Performance at both the ARIA and IMA Awards – surprising the entire industry and proving that a real fanbase wins over media hype and radio play. Following extensive touring overseas and an early evening slot on Soundwave 2011, the band returned to headline Australia in late May, selling over 15,000 tickets in 8 shows, including 4500 tickets at their Brisbane homecoming at the outdoor Riverstage arena. Youngbloods was voted Best Album of 2011 on Triple J’s Short Fast Loud program and in Blunt Magazine, where they are set for their third cover in 18 months this coming October 2011.

So what is it that has made people lose their mind over a heavy band that originated 6 years ago in a small town in Queensland, Australia? Well part of it is hard work, with the band being a mainstay of the touring circuit for their entire existence. They also understand small towns and make an effort to constantly tour places that many bands can’t be bothered with.

But that’s only part of the chemistry that made this band what it is today. The truth it’s the stories and personalities of the members themselves that has set Amity apart from the pack and made them one of the most loved and respected acts in Australia.

Behind the cheeky song names and party atmosphere the guys carry around on tour, The Amity Affliction is a band with a message and a story. In a recent blog to fans Joel Birch explained a lot of the album – about the struggles of the past year in the lead up to it’s release, and always delivering the positive message that no one is alone, and everything is fixable. The entire album is delivered in the same tone from the opening track “I Hate Hartley” and its gang chant of “I Won’t Die Defeated” right down to the finale “Fuck the Yankees” – which Birch offers as a thank-you to his mother for all she’s given him. The music and the message are both delivered with impact and experience – this is a band full of people who have fought for everything they have, and a band of people who are encouraging young people to do the same.

In a day and age where few heavy bands of any substance cross over to a greater audience, The Amity Affliction are using their voices to deliver a message as powerful as their music.

 

Within Temptation

With the rise of gothic metal, dozens of bands have combined crunchy power chord volleys with ethereal vocals and orchestral arrangements, but none have done so as convincingly or with such a keen grasp for symphonic arrangements as Holland's Within Temptation.

Formed by chanteuse Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt in 1996, Within Temptation have become superstars across Europe over the course of three studio albums. Now, with a new deal with Roadrunner Records and their epic new album, The Heart of Everything, the band seems destined bring its majestic, emotion-swept music to new heights.

"We pushed ourselves to make these songs the best that we could," says Westerholt of the new record. "We wanted to have a more organic feeling and more energy than ever. I think our last one, [2004's The Silent Force], went a bit too far in one direction; at times the orchestra pushed away the drums and guitars. This time we tried to get the guitars more prominent and have more riffs. It still has a big feeling and there's still plenty of classical parts, but I think we did it without losing the power of the band."

The Heart of Everything, Within Temptation has never sounded more powerful or alive. The first single "What Have You Done," featuring Keith Caputo of Life of Agony, which see-saws between caustic guitar crunch and gothy, gauzy textures, is the perfect marriage of melodic rock and metal. The equally powerful track "The Howling" showcases Den Adel's trademark haunting vocals and soaring melodies, while the glacial "Frozen," features heartrending vocals and staccato string bursts and "The Cross" which starts like an intro to a film score, segues into a winding, dramatic number that's equal parts Richard Wagner, The Gathering and Kate Bush.

"Our biggest goal besides writing the best songs we can was to give this record more energy than the last one," says singer Sharon den Adel. "I used my voice in a different way on every song. Sometimes it's high and melodic, almost classical, and in some songs it's lower with power."

"We made very careful choices when we were writing these songs," adds Westerholt. "We didn't use orchestra everywhere and we also cut down a bit in the layering of the arrangements so they were more efficient and had less choruses so they could work better together with the band."

While Within Temptation was more selective about their compositions and less effusive with their classical elements, they experimented as much as ever, adding mandolin to "The Cross," cello to four tracks and working with the Prague Orchestra instead of individual players or synthetic strings.

"We like to try different things and when we're writing a song, we never know where that inspiration comes from," adds Den Adel. "It's always very spontaneous and that's what makes the music unique."

The band chose the album title The Heart of Everything because the songs address feelings and ideas that exist under the surface and can't be excavated without introspection. "So often, we live our lives without thinking," Westerholt explains. "We just do things because we're born in a certain environment and people are expecting certain things from you. Sometimes its important to look within yourself and discover what really makes you happy and what's important to you."

In their search for self-discovery, Within Temptation address a variety of subjects, including the futility of war ("Our Solemn Hour"), the strength of unconditional love ("Forgiven") and personal hardships faced by certain bandmembers ("The Cross"). Books inspired some tracks, like "Hand of Sorrow." Others were based on films.

"We wrote ‘The Heart of Everything' after watching ‘Braveheart,' says Westerholt. "And ‘The Truth Beneath the Rose' is based on ‘The Da Vinci Code' and is about the idea that belief is sometimes used to justify sins. On the other hand, it may be more important with belief that it's your own belief and you can stand behind it instead of following the belief other people may want to put upon you."

Within Temptation started writing the new songs at the end of 2005 and fine-tuned the material until late 2006. "We take our time to make our record," explains Den Adel. "We are not easily satisfied with ourselves, and the recording process is very time consuming because we record many instruments and sounds on our record beside the usual band stuff."

"Actually, this was our fastest follow-up," adds Westerholt. "So I think this was our easiest album to do. However, no album is ever really easy because there are big ups and downs in the writing and recording process. But in comparison to the other ones, this one felt the best."

With good reason. The Heart of Everything recaptures everything Within Temptation has thrived upon while taking their music to newer, more thrilling places. And in the process, through all the melancholy atmospheres, cinematic riffs and angelic vocals, the band delivers its most pragmatic and proactive message to date.

"If you want to make something out of your life, it's in your own hands," Westerholt says. "Life can sometimes be pretty rough and not very easy, but still you have a lot of power within yourself and there's always the possibility to bend things your own way."

 

Dream Theater

Dream Theater have steadily achieved a startlingly sublime synthesis of soaring and unmistakable melody, progressive instrumentation and aggressive heaviness unrivaled within hard rock music. The legacy established throughout their virtuosic career of astounding aesthetic alchemy has made their very moniker synonymous with the power of talent, ability and momentum when brilliantly forged together.

As the world around them unravels, unfurls and transitions toward an uncertain destiny economically, militarily, spiritually and politically, Dream Theater have refashioned a way forward from the molten hot iron of their own internal transition to create the career-defining album A Dramatic Turn of Events. It's an evocative collection of fully-realized soundscapes that stands alongside landmark Dream Theater albums like Images and Words and Scenes from a Memory with an even greater prestige, ambition and cunning.

Over twenty-five years since their formation, Dream Theater continue to cultivate, curate and protect their status as worldwide niche tastemakers on their eleventh studio album, which was produced by the band's own John Petrucci and mixed by hi-fidelity magician Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Prince, System Of A Down).

"I'm ecstatic with the way the album came out," proclaims James LaBrie, whose lead vocals are instantly recognizable as one of the strongest elements of the well-established Dream Theater sound. "It's the album we had to make. I think we've once again touched on what in the earlier years gave us our originality and our identity. We infused definitive styles that were predominant in our music: the progressive end and the metal end, with the melodic element pretty high up on the list of priorities."

It is an album born from transition, crafted with studied persistence and possessed by newfound freedom and free-flowing invigoration. A Dramatic Turn of Events strikes the perfect balance between Dream Theater's intimate history with all that is heavy, progressive and melodic with each element fully realized. Longtime fans of the band intrigued by the speediness of the notes on display from Dream Theater have much to study on the new album, while fans of melodic hooks will find equal pleasure within the songs.

Perhaps most excitingly, as always, the progressive and the heavy compliment one another without the risk of one overshadowing the other. Dream Theater knew they wanted the album to be both heavy and melodic (musically and vocally) and with that determination of vision they obtained that goal. It's the natural culmination of a rightfully celebrated career that has endeared them to millions of fans.

Lead guitarist Petrucci and bassist John Myung have a relationship dating all the way back to middle school. Kindred spirits united by their shared devotion to constant study and rehearsal on their respective instruments, they formed the nucleus of what would become Dream Theater with a fellow student at the Berklee College of Music named Mike Portnoy. The second Dream Theater album, Images and Words, introduced the world to LaBrie while achieving gold status and heavy MTV rotation for "Pull Me Under."

The band took a step toward its modern lineup with the addition of keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who made his recorded debut on their sixth album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Thanks to fan-embraced releases like the dark Train of Thought (2003) and the much more diverse Octavarium (2005), Dream Theater has sold well over ten million albums worldwide, including over two million in the United States.

Dream Theater found themselves at a career crossroads following the departure of longtime drummer, co-producer and unofficial spokesman Portnoy. But the addition of Mike Mangini (the result of a search and audition process documented in a highly-viewed YouTube series) and the remaining members rededication to each other and their band has resulted in a creative resurgence overall. The personalities and individual talents possessed by Dream Theater behind the scenes were strengthened by adversity, with each rising to the challenge individually and collectively as Dream Theater pushed forward.

"When I came upon the title A Dramatic Turn of Events, it really spoke to me as so perfect to what the content of the album is in general," Petrucci explains. "Most of the songs deal with some kind of major change, whether in one person’s life or the lives of many on a grand scale. Whether it be uprising that’s happening now in the Middle East or some even in history or some incredible spiritual or personal journey that somebody went on that they had to go through to get somewhere else and become a better person.

"That theme of metamorphosis was really constant throughout the lyrics," he continues, noting the obvious change within Dream Theater as well. "Not on purpose, maybe subconsciously, because of what was happening to us, that album title just fit so perfectly. 'White elephant' or not, it was perfect."

The positive recharge within the re-calibrated group played into the dismissal of an angrier side they had previously experimented with. "Dream Theater has always had a basis of metal mixed with prog, that's who the players are at the core, [but] over recent years we were going into the arena of being growly," Rudess points out. "We withdrew from that a little bit. We thought about who we are - the remaining forces in the band - our personalities and where we were coming from. The music remains heavy, of course."

"There's as much metal as there's been in the past," he continues. "We also focused in. When we got progressive and instrumental, we took it an extra step. We've gotten a little crazier than we've done before. There are some tunes like 'Outcry' which is such an example of us going full tilt and turning on the progressive maximum. We had fun. The instrumental madness really comes through on that."

Which isn't to say the new Dream Theater is all about the blur of fast-paced notes they are often (rightly) credited with popularizing within the genre, because they also love great melodies. "I always tell young musicians that having a good technique is not about playing fast, it's about playing slow," Rudess clarifies. "If you say someone has really great technique it's because anything they have in their musical mind can come through the mechanism that they're using. JP can express a beautiful melody lyric melody line as well as anyone else. That to me is a really good technique - It’s not always about 64th notes."

A Dramatic Turn of Events is the perfect representation of Dream Theater for 2011 and beyond. There's the progressive elements, deeply serious lyrical topics ("I often joke with JP about how he can't just write straight love songs," notes Rudess), strong ballads, some wacky fun and no shortage of heaviness.

"This is a top three Dream Theater album for me," LaBrie states. "There’s just something about this album that I think really touches on some of the elements on our music that really made this band shine as far back as 1992 when we released Images and Words. I think that put us on a level that was hard to ignore. I think this album solidifies that. We’re still the band we’ve always been. We’re keeping it contemporary and taking it to a whole new level. With all the body of work, this album proves we’re continuing to better ourselves and continuing to write the material we think is the best material we’ve ever written."

Petrucci concurs. "The mood the songs have, the infectious nature and depth of the music, the depth of the subject matter, I think it’s going to be something of a shining light amongst a few others in our catalog for years to come. You always hope people enjoy it, you can’t predict, but I have a strong feeling that this is going to be something that our fans, and even new fans relate to on a different level."

"We're just having a great time on the road. Everything has really come together," Petrucci concludes. "To deal with the departing of one band member to finding a new one that fits in like a glove, making a great record and finally be out on tour and playing in front of people has been unbelievable. Everyone has been incredibly accepting, gracious and wonderful. I look out every night and see hands up in the air and smiles. We had a definite mission that we were on from the moments before we walked into the studio with our whole tour and upcoming album. I feel great about it. I feel like we’re in a really great headspace."