Bloodsimple's Tim Williams
Photo: Robin Laananen

It was important for former Vision of Disorder frontman Tim Williams to establish his latest project, New York hard-rockers Bloodsimple, as a band with its own identity, and not just VOD: The Sequel. And thanks to Bloodsimple's 2005 debut LP, A Cruel World, they accomplished just that, Williams believes. These days, though, the singer is more concerned about longevity.

"In any standard career, the first record puts you on the map," he explained. The second one — which Bloodsimple have been working on since August and have tentatively titled Red Harvest — "is when the haters come out. That's the true moment of a band's career and determines whether a band makes it to that third record.

"This is the hump right here," he continued. "I do think a lot of people will see our sound has truly evolved into our own brand of heavy music with this record. That's what we set out to do. We really have come into our own on this record — that I can say with confidence. Whether or not it's going to blow us up, or take us to that next level, remains to be seen. But ... the band as a whole has really grown into a tight unit. It's a little bit different than what I think people are going to expect, which is always good."

Red Harvest, which is being mixed at the moment and was produced by Machine (Lamb of God, White Zombie), should surface before the summer, Williams said. The LP will contain around 11 tracks, including "Dead Man Walking," "Dark Helmet," the title cut and "El Myr" — the name of an Atlanta burrito bar the band loves to visit while on the road.

"With the first record, we really just had to get it out," he explained. "We put down some really amazing songs, too. But this record, we really purposely were like, 'Let's try not to do the run-of-the-mill Bloodsimple number two — let's focus on expanding our horizons.' We wanted to make a more organic record, rather than just a set, themed, heavy record. We wanted to bring out some different colors that are going to scare some fans away but bring in a whole new element of people. There are a handful of songs that are for the typical Bloodsimple listener, but there's a good five songs that are out there on the edge. They're still heavy, but they're different. ... We're really going to make our mark with this one."

Williams said the album title was inspired by Dashiell Hammett's 1929 novel of the same name. In that book, "blood-simple" is when, in a situation where a person is surrounded by murder, murder becomes a viable solution to practically any problem. Hence, life is devalued, and killing begets even more killing.

"I took the definition from the book and applied it to some of the lyrics, and it really started taking shape," Williams said. "We did a lot of different things in the studio this time around, and we wanted to try and tell more stories. We wanted to develop characters that would really pull the listener in and make them pay attention and wonder, when the next song comes, what it's going to be about. It's not a concept record at all, but we did dig into the lyrics to try and get people to want to know what happens next.

"I think anyone who listens to this record's going to go, 'Man, this is some sick, original sh--,' " he continued. "It's this new heavy — for me as a singer, for Bloodsimple as a band. It's still heavy as hell. It just sounds different."

Williams said Bloodsimple will release their first DVD, "Some Kind of Morons" — an obvious knock on the 2004 Metallica documentary, "Some Kind of Monster" — in March. The video will provide fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of A Cruel World and feature tons of live footage. The singer also said the DVD will let "people see we're just normal people — guys who like to drink a lot of beer and play heavy music."

And while the band has yet to firm up any solid touring plans around the release of Red Harvest, he's keeping his fingers crossed for an Ozzfest invitation. "Bloodsimple kind of has the VOD disease," Williams said. "We tour really well up until the summer, and then for some reason we don't ever land any of the big festival runs. The last two summers, we kind of slipped under the radar. We're hoping to get some love this time around, and I'm sure we will."

As for VOD, Williams said there's a DVD on the way that chronicles the group's string of 2006 reunion shows, which were shot by director Bill Yukich (Queens of the Stone Age, Marilyn Manson). Williams said the gigs "brought us down Memory Lane," and that the DVD will include a live CD as well.

"We just need to find a home for it, and I'd like to release it this spring," he said. "And then, if we have time, we're planning to do a week's worth of shows, just to promote the thing."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Bay Area bashers Testament have been out of the loop for a minute, but the band is working to change that. Guitarist and main songwriter Eric Peterson has recently been working in a Northern California practice space with ex-Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth drummer Nick Barker on songs for the band's first album of original material since 1999's The Gathering. "It's feeling pretty good so far," Peterson told Metal File. "Nick's playing has sparked some fire in me like [Slayer drummer Dave] Lombardo did back in '99 when he played for us on The Gathering." Not only are Testament back, they're back with the crux of their powerhouse '80s lineup: Peterson, guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Greg Christian and singer Chuck Billy. Next week they'll leave for a tour of Australia but plan to resume work on the new album when they return. ...

Soilwork have been writing material for their next album and plan to begin tracking the LP in March. No additional information has been offered about the follow-up to 2005's Stabbing the Drama. ... Cephalic Carnage are also in the studio, working on their next, yet-untitled full-length. Guitarist Zac Joe said the material "gives me that excited naughty little feeling in the pit of my stomach that can only be compared to the first time you make out with your best friend's girl." ... Since the Flood's sophomore album, No Compromise, hit stores January 23. Frontman Chuck Bouley told Metal File that the band "didn't try to do anything differently" in the studio but feels the LP shows the group's "natural progression." He added that he hopes "this is the album that helps us be seen by a larger fanbase, because we've done so many of the smaller underground tours, and now we're hoping that, if we sell enough [copies] of this album, we'll be able to create some mass appeal and work our way onto bigger stages." ...

Original Tool bassist Paul D'Amour is scoring the sinister soundtrack to the upcoming film "On the Doll." The dark drama — currently in post-production — was helmed by Thomas Mignone, who is best known for directing videos for the likes of System of a Down, Sepultura, Mudvayne and Slipknot. ... Philadelphian metallers Starkweather have begun writing material for their next studio offering, though there's no word yet on when it might surface. So far the band has composed about eight songs, including "Junkyard Jazz," "The Nightmare Factory" and "Drug Holiday." ... King Diamond is writing lyrics for his band's still-untitled 12th LP, the mixing of which will begin in early March. The frontman hopes to have the entire thing in the bag by April, for a tentative late-summer release. ...

Candlelight Records will release Carnal Forge's sixth album, tentatively titled Testify for My Victims, in May, according to the band's Web site. Look for the disc to feature "Numb" and "Burning Eden." ... Joey Kamka, drummer for Phoenix death-metal band Autumn's End, was severely injured when his motorcycle was hit by a drunk driver Sunday morning. Kamka flew into — and then over — the windshield of the truck, fracturing his skull and severing his right ear and brain stem in the process, according to a statement from the band's management. Three days after intensive surgery, Kamka was still in the hospital in grave condition. "He's fightin' hard right now and it's stacked against him," bassist El wrote on the band's MySpace page. "But if you know Joey like I do, you know he's one of the toughest SOBs around, and one of the most stubborn. He won't go down without a fight." ...

DevilDriver's forthcoming album The Last Kind Words will drop June 5, according to a spokesperson for Roadrunner Records. ... Neurosis have set Given to the Rising as the title of their next LP, which should surface in May. ... Total F---ing Destruction, the Philadelphia grind band featuring ex-Brutal Truth drummer Richard Hoak, will release Zen and the Art of Total F---ing Destruction this spring on Translation Loss Records. The release will consist of three pieces: The first is a shower of noise recorded at Super 8 Studios in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, and mixed by Dan O'Hare; the second features a series of unsettling acoustic songs recorded by the bandmembers in their house; and the third is Live From Hazel's, an enhanced CD that contains a concert performance. ...

Extreme noisemakers Pig Destroyer are in Rockville, Maryland's Omega Studios recording their new album Phantom Limb. The disc, the follow-up to 2004's Terrifyer, will be the band's first as a quartet, thanks to the recent addition of guitarist Blake Harrison. Tentative track titles include "Heathen Temple," "The Machete Twins" and "Rotten Yellow." "The songs feel great and we've been having a load of fun playing them for the last five months," singer J.R. Hayes said. "It's the 14 most deranged metal songs we could make up, so get ready to sink your f---ing teeth in." ... German melodic-metal band Masterplan will release their third album, MKII, March 20. The follow-up to 2005's Aeronautics will feature ex-Riot singer Mike DiMeo, who joined last year after Jorn Lande left due to "musical differences." The new album will also be the debut for drummer Mike Terrana (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Rage.) MKII was produced by guitarist Roland Grapow, formerly of Helloween. ...

Experimental San Francisco outfit Oxbow are in the studio finishing up their seventh album, The Narcotic Story, which is tentatively scheduled for June release. The band's first studio offering since 2002's An Evil Heat was engineered by Joe Chiccarelli, who has previously worked with such headbang-free acts as Tori Amos and Counting Crows. "It's quiet and creepy and desperate and successfully broken, like me when I wrote it," singer Eugene Robinson said of the new LP. Guitarist Niko Wenner added: "If I live through the making of this, I can die with a smile on my face." ... Ambient instrumental-metal band Pelican will release their new album, City of Echoes, May 22. The album was recorded in Chicago at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios last month with Andrew Schneider (Daughters, Cave In). Tracks include "Bliss in Concrete," "Lost in the Headlights" and "Dead Between the Walls." The disc will include a live DVD shot in London as well.

• Bloodsimple
• Starkweather
• Testament

"Heavy Metal Thunder"
Photo: Chronicle Books

A few years back, metal journalists James Sherry (Metal Hammer, Kerrang!) and Neil Aldis (Rock World, Terrorizer) decided to sift through their record collections and put the best of the bunch into coffee-table-book form. That spawned "Heavy Metal Thunder," an extensive archive of the most kick-ass metal-album art of the last four decades, set to land in bookstores June 1.

According to Sherry, the book's intended to guide lifelong metalheads down memory lane — a time when you'd buy an LP based solely on the image that graced the sleeve, a time when ridiculous album covers were a genuine art form.

"We wanted the book to be entertaining for people who aren't necessarily into metal," he said. "I wanted it to appeal to people who are really heavily into the music and can look through the book and go, 'Oh, I remember that record — I had it when I was a kid.' ... But we also wanted it to appeal to people who have no interest in the music and can look through it and go, 'These covers are hilarious.' We're not afraid to poke fun at it."

The book's documents everything from the earliest days of groundbreaking bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest through today's current class of metallers, like Mastodon and High on Fire. The book covers all the bases, with chapters devoted to black metal, death metal, nü metal, thrash, stoner rock and glam rock. There's even a forward penned by Anthrax's Scott Ian and an interview with Derek Riggs, the man who created Iron Maiden's symbolic Eddie icon.

"We were originally going to do each chapter in a different theme," Sherry explained. "We were going to have a chapter of all covers that just featured men with swords, which there are many. It's an ongoing theme in old metal records. We wanted a whole chapter on glam-rock covers, fantasy covers, ridiculous covers — even covers with babes on them. That became way too complicated, so we decided to do it genre by genre."

Several chapters are devoted to specific bands that've become known for their album imagery. "One of the first things we decided was that we had to give Manowar their own chapter," he said. "With this book, you get a taste for the imagery of each genre. I just think that metal, more than any other music, is very visually led. As a child, I would often buy records on the strength of the album cover, on how metal the cover looked. That doesn't happen anymore. Kids can hear stuff before they buy it."

One of the more amusing chapters is the one that examines the punk-inflected thrash era. "I love the thrash covers because it's all pre-computers, and these bands would have a friend who would say, 'Hey, I could draw you a picture for your cover,' " Sherry said. "That's why there was so much drawn artwork on those sleeves, and some of it's just terrible, but brilliantly funny as well."

Several album covers were cut from the book, including Marduk's 1995 masterpiece, F--- Me Jesus, and Autopsy's 2003 album, Sh--fun.

But Sherry's favorite album cover, and one of the first that readers encounter in "Heavy Metal Thunder"? "I love the first Black Sabbath album cover, because I think that one's genuinely creepy. You kind of look at it, and it's genuinely a quite scary album cover," he said. "I like a lot of the black-metal covers, too, because there's just something a bit creepier about them that's genuinely quite scary, whereas it's hard to get too scared by men with swords."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Megadeth have signed to Roadrunner Records for the release of their upcoming album, according to a source close to the deal. The studio sessions — held at Sarm Studios, outside of London — were filmed by director Michael Sarna (Anthrax, Obituary) and are available at Megadeth.com to fan-club members. ... The first batch of dates for Rob Zombie's American Witch Across America Tour with Anthrax has been revealed. The trek will kick off in El Paso, Texas, June 30 and last — at least until more dates are announced — through July 28 in Billings, Montana. ... Trivium have finished recording their upcoming CD The Crusade. On Thursday, frontman Matt Heafy started tracking vocals at Audiohammer Studio in Orlando, Florida, where the band also recorded guitars and bass. Heafy is co-producing the disc with Audiohammer owner and previous collaborator Jason Suecof, and the album will be finished by the end of May for a fall release. Songs include "Ignition," "Contempt Breeds Contamination," "And Sadness Will Sear," "Vengeance," "To the Rats" and "Contemporary Plague." "There's one acoustic song, a Skid Row/ Mötley Crüe-sounding song, a Def Leppard, Southern-rock metal song and then 11 ridiculously technical thrash songs," Heafy said. "It's a solo insanity CD, but in a good way." ...

Bloodsimple — which features ex-members of Long Island, New York, hardcore icons Vision of Disorder — are working on material for their sophomore LP. The band plans to record the effort this summer, and guitarist Mike Kennedy claims "the new tunes are sounding killer so far." ... Hold on to your horns: Cattle Decapitation have infiltrated the mainstream. Icing by Claire's, a teen girls' accessory shop, has built a storefront display of a trendy-looking punk-rock girl wearing a Cattle Decapitation T-shirt. Even more flabbergasting, the shirt she's wearing was only sold on tour. Icing shoppers will be pleased to know that the new Cattle Decapitation record, Karma Bloody Karma, comes out July 11 and the band will be on tour through July 22. ... Nepotism is one thing, but this is ridiculous: Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger has produced the debut album by Agent Sparks, which features younger brother Ben on guitar and stepbrother Paul Fried on bass. The disc, Red Rover, comes out June 20. Ben Einziger and Fried were previously in Audiovent, which featured Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd's brother Jason on vocals. The group released Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris in 2002, but broke up soon after. ...

Horse the Band will hit the road with Gatsbys American Dream, Portugal. The Man and Forgive Durden starting May 24 in Salt Lake City. Dates are scheduled through June 14 in Nashville. ... Candice Night, the singer for Blackmore's Night — ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's new outfit — will be crowned 2006 Queen of the Fairies at the Western Pennsylvania Fairie Festival, which takes place June 10-11. Attendees can enjoy the parade of the Fairie Queen and her court, special guest fairie artists, the astrologer to the queen, and holistic and metaphysical-medicine practitioners. ... When most metal singers shout "Kill!," they're living a fantasy, but Manowar frontman Eric Adams causes as much carnage with handheld weaponry as with his vocals. On June 27, Adams will showcase the brutality on the DVD "Wild Life and Wild Times," which he created with outdoorsman and wildlife journalist Chester Moore. The disc features the two bagging emus, American bison, snakes, elk and wild boar with shotguns, bows and arrows, and hunting knives. ...

Soilent Green, the Acacia Strain and Demiricous will tour together starting June 10 in Cleveland, with dates running through June 30 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ... This year's nominees for the second annual Peta2 World's Sexiest Vegetarian poll include Rob Zombie, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Cannibal Corpse bassist Paul Mazurkiewicz, Dillinger Escape Plan's Liam Wilson and Atreyu guitarist Travis Miguel. Cast your vote at Peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-sexyveg06.asp. ... Every Time I Die will re-release 2005's Gutter Phenomenon on June 13 with a bonus 30-minute DVD. The footage was edited from their upcoming DVD "Sh-- Happens," which is scheduled for release this fall. Every Time I Die will head out on the Warped Tour starting June 15 in Columbia, Maryland, and remain on it through August 13 in Montreal. ... Misery Signals have started working on their second album, Mirrors, with producer Ben Schigel (Zao, Chimaira). The album will feature new singer Karl Schubach, who replaced Jesse Zaraska in January. Mirrors will be the follow-up to 2004's Of Malice and the Magnum Heart and is scheduled for September. ... Progressive metallers Behold ... the Arctopus have signed with Black Market Activities. Look for their forthcoming LP to drop sometime in late summer or early fall. ...

• "Heavy Metal Thunder" Photos

• Megadeth
• Trivium
• Manowar
• Bloodsimple
• Horse The Band

Bloodsimple (file)
Photo: Warner Bros. Records

Second chances in the music business are as rare as size 20 pop stars. But with Bloodsimple, former Vision of Disorder members Tim Williams and guitarist Mike Kennedy are getting just that.

The demise of V.O.D. came too early, at least for the band's fans. Sick of major-label ass-dragging and the industry in general, the pride of Lawn Guyland's hardcore scene called it quits in 2002 — just as harder music started to gain commercial momentum. Right now, the timing couldn't be more perfect for a band like Bloodsimple, the first signing to Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray's Bullygoat imprint. Williams described the band's brutally melodic debut, Cruel World, as his greatest work.

"We went through a more rigorous recording process," he explained. "If the song wasn't good enough, we threw it out or did what we had to do to make it better. And in the long run, it made these songs better."

Comparisons to V.O.D. are to be expected, but drummer Chris Hamilton, a former member of Downset and Medication, thinks that "musically, it's pretty far off from a lot of stuff that we've done. It's more well-rounded than anything anybody's really done before. One of the things that I'm the most excited about with this band is I don't think we sound like anybody that's out right now."

Bloodsimple — which also includes guitarist Nick Rowe and bassist Kyle Sanders — will release Cruel World on March 29, the same day the band hits the road with Mudvayne, Life of Agony and American Head Charge.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Rob Zombie has recruited ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist John5 to join him on this summer's Ozzfest. Zombie met John5 while the two were playing with Los Angeles supergroup Camp Freddy, and after the gig the guitarist offered his services. ... According to Hatebreed's Web site, the Connecticut hardcore heroes will be hitting the studio in May to record their fifth album, which has no title yet. ... Reunited death-metal icons Obituary have finished a new as-yet-untitled record, according to the band's Web site. The album, the first collection of fresh songs since 1997's Back From the Dead, will be released this summer through Roadrunner Records. ...

God Forbid will hit the road with Caliban, It Dies Today and Full Blown Chaos for a 25-city North American trek on April 1 in Montreal, Quebec. The tour will make a stop at New York's CBGB on April 26 before winding down April 29 in Philadelphia. The New Jersey metallers recently began pre-production on IV: Constitution of Treason with producer Jason Suecof and will begin tracking the new effort in May. Look for that album in October. ... The release date for Life of Agony's new album, Broken Valley, has been pushed back to June 14, thanks to what was described as "production issues." ... Ozzfest 2005's Killswitch Engage will perform the title track from The End of Heartache on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" April 20. ...

Atlanta punk-metal band Fight Paris will release their debut album in June. The band is currently wrapping up recording with producer Lee March (Minus Driver), after which it will tour with Dead to Fall and Twelve Tribes. ... After building a substantial underground buzz, New Jersey metalcore band Bedlight for BlueEyes will release their still-untitled debut on August 9. The album is being produced with John Naclerio (My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail). The band will play select dates on the Warped Tour this summer. ... Gothic Italian metal band Lacuna Coil are currently in pre-production for their new album, which will be produced by Waldemar Sorychta. The band hopes to have the album out before the end of the year. ...

Original Foghat member Rod Price died Tuesday in Wilton, New Hampshire, after suffering fatal head wounds from a fall down a flight of steps. He was 57. ... Swedish Christian metal band Blindside are in a Stockholm studio working on their new album with producer Lasse "Lars" Marten. The album is due this summer. In addition, the band will re-release its first two albums, Blindside and A Thought Crushed My Mind, and the DVD "Ten Years Running Blind" in May on their new label, DRT Entertainment. ... Unforeseen "union-enforced time constraints with venues" have forced DevilDriver and Trivium to drop off of Slipknot's Subliminal Verses Tour, according to Roadrunner Records. That tour's other headliners, Shadows Fall and Lamb of God, will stay on the bill. Meanwhile, DevilDriver's The Fury of Our Maker's Hand is due June 21. The disc, produced by Colin Richardson, will include the tracks "End of the Line," "Driving Down the Darkness" and "Ripped Apart." ...

Canada's premiere all-female metal group, Kittie, is short two members. Frontwoman Morgan Lander confirmed on the band's message board that guitarist Lisa Marx and bassist Jennifer Arroyo have left the band. "For the past few years, Artemis Records has denied us critical things ... that help a band to keep making money and pay the people that needed to be paid, like Jen and Lisa," Lander wrote. Marx and Arroyo were brought in to replace original members Fallon Bowman and Talena Atfield. ... Former Cradle of Filth bassist Dave Pybus has launched Sixsixsix Records, an independent metal label, with Paul Beavis and former Christian Death manager Tim Fraser, according to the fledgling label's Web site. The first two Sixsixsix records will drop May 23: symphonic black metallers Draconian Order's debut, In Absence of Light, and Italian goth specialists Bloody Mary's Blood 'N' Roll. ...

Doom-metal force YOB recently started tracking their next album, The Unreal Never Lived. The record will feature five songs including "Quantum Mystic" and "The Mental Tyrant," and will clock in at 67 minutes. ... Melodic death metallers Callenish Circle will start recording their next album in May. The disc will feature a bonus DVD with "a lot of cool video footage," according to the band's Web site. ... Metal Blade recently signed Tampa, Florida, band the Absence. The band will hit the studio April 10 with Erik Rutan (Soilent Green, Hate Eternal). ... Dutch metal mavens Gorefest, reunited after a long hiatus, have signed a deal that brings them back to the Nuclear Blast roster. The band recorded a number of albums for the label during the 1990s but made the switch to SPV for the group's last album, 1998's Chapter 13. ...

• Bloodsimple
• Rob Zombie
• Killswitch Engage

Roadrunner United 12.15.2005

• Slipknot
• Stone Sour
• Hatebreed
• Murderdolls
• Deicide