As some of you may have seen on social media recently, AXEMASTER now has an almost entirely new lineup; we are now taking this opportunity to officially announce and introduce the new band. Remaining from the lineup that recorded "Crawling Chaos" is vocalist Geoff McGraw and guitarist Joe Sims; joining them in this new version of Axemaster is guitarist Edwin Ortiz, drummer Jason "Coz" Causley, and bassist Jimmy Newcomb.
Edwin is the band's newest edition. He is a guitarist extraordinaire originally from Puerto Rico who has been influenced by some of the greatest shredders around, including Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Alex Skolnick, and James Murphy; his ability and style definitely reflect those influences. Edwin is also a skilled producer who has his own personal studio. This, along with Joe Sims and his studio, gives the band extra options when recording a new album.
Jason is a very aggressive and energetic drummer whose intense style is just what Axemaster needed; his playing fits with the material perfectly, to the point of actually improving some of the tunes. His influences include Tim Alexander, Dave Lombardo, Neil Peart, Gene Holgan, Matt Cameron, John Bonham, and Bill Ward. As side note, Jason studied music at a local college while attending tech school where he earned a degree in multimedia.
Jimmy joining the band is a unique situation because he played with Joe Sims from 1987 until 1995 in both Axemaster and The Awakening. He was part of recording the Axemaster releases "Death Before Dishonor" and "5 Demons", as well as "Invictus" from The Awakening. Jimmy is a very skilled player who can play just about anything from a variety of musical genres. He cites his main influences to be Geezer Butler and John Paul Jones.
As previously advertised on the Axemaster Facebook page, the "new" band did recently play one show with an incomplete lineup (supporting NMOBHM legends Cloven Hoof); Edwin had not been with the band long enough to be ready to play a show. However, the band isn't going to play any more shows until Edwin can be included and the band can be at full strength. We hope that all will check on http://www.axemasterofficial.com/ and/or https://www.facebook.com/axemasterofficial for updates and future shows; this new version of Axemaster has the potential to be the best ever, will DEFINITELY be worth checking out!
Also, new material for a new album is being written and is on the horizon, be looking for future updates!!!!!!!!
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AXEMASTER / Blog
AXEMASTER new and rebuilt lineup
As some of you may have seen on social media recently, AXEMASTER now has an almost entirely new lineup; we are now taking this opportunity to officially announce and introduce the new band. Remaining from the lineup that recorded "Crawling Chaos" is vocalist Geoff McGraw and guitarist Joe Sims; joining them in this new version of Axemaster is guitarist Edwin Ortiz, drummer Jason "Coz" Causley, and bassist Jimmy Newcomb.
Edwin is the band's newest edition. He is a guitarist extraordinaire originally from Puerto Rico who has been influenced by some of the greatest shredders around, including Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Alex Skolnick, and James Murphy; his ability and style definitely reflect those influences. Edwin is also a skilled producer who has his own personal studio. This, along with Joe Sims and his studio, gives the band extra options when recording a new album.
Jason is a very aggressive and energetic drummer whose intense style is just what Axemaster needed; his playing fits with the material perfectly, to the point of actually improving some of the tunes. His influences include Tim Alexander, Dave Lombardo, Neil Peart, Gene Holgan, Matt Cameron, John Bonham, and Bill Ward. As side note, Jason studied music at a local college while attending tech school where he earned a degree in multimedia.
Jimmy joining the band is a unique situation because he played with Joe Sims from 1987 until 1995 in both Axemaster and The Awakening. He was part of recording the Axemaster releases "Death Before Dishonor" and "5 Demons", as well as "Invictus" from The Awakening. Jimmy is a very skilled player who can play just about anything from a variety of musical genres. He cites his main influences to be Geezer Butler and John Paul Jones.
As previously advertised on the Axemaster Facebook page, the "new" band did recently play one show with an incomplete lineup (supporting NMOBHM legends Cloven Hoof); Edwin had not been with the band long enough to be ready to play a show. However, the band isn't going to play any more shows until Edwin can be included and the band can be at full strength. We hope that all will check on http://www.axemasterofficial.com/ and/or https://www.facebook.com/axemasterofficial for updates and future shows; this new version of Axemaster has the potential to be the best ever, will DEFINITELY be worth checking out!
Also, new material for a new album is being written and is on the horizon, be looking for future updates!!!!!!!!
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AXEMASTER on The MentalMetal Show
AXEMASTER's Joe Sims and Shannon Rivera will be interviewed live on The MentalMetal Show at http://rzzrradio.club/ on Wed, Jan 16th at 8pm EST. Join Joe, Shannon, DJ MetalGod, and DJ Wild Walt as they discuss the "rebuilt" Axemaster and get into the other insanity that always goes down when Axemaster joins the MentalMetal Show!!!!!!
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AXEMASTER honored with music award
AXEMASTER has just received a "Music Award of Excellence" from THE AKADEMIA for the song "10,000 Pound Hammer" from their current album "Crawling Chaos". The Akademia award recognition program is a formal A&R review process in which every music submission is heard, discussed, debated, and rated by their executive team which is comprised of artists, producers, and record executives. Some of the specific comments concerning their evaluation are: --The song craft furnished here is superb and substantive --The commercial potential of this work is excellent, making is highly accessible to mainstream audiences --The vocal quality is excellent and enhances the overall listening experience
Their official quote concerning the song overall is: "This patiently rendered metal monster imposes a new standard on the downtempo domain of the genre; '10,000 Pound Hammer' exemplifies the conscientiously articulated requirements of the style."
The band is extremely proud for having been so recognized by an organization such as this; you can see the page declaring Axemaster's award at https://www.theakademia.com/music/AXEMASTER-10000PoundHammer-Song.html ------------------------- For anyone who would be interested in sampling clips of all the songs from AXEMASTER's albums "Crawling Chaos", "Overture to Madness", and "Blessing in the Skies" (as well as a couple other Axemaster songs that are currently on I-Tunes), they are all on Music Aficionado at the link below. It's a great opportunity to be able to sample all the tracks in advance if anyone is thinking of buying any of the albums and/or are just interested in hearing more Axemaster material (possibly prior to seeing the band live) https://web.musicaficionado.com/main.html#!/search?queryString=Axemaster§ion=recommendations&category=all
--The clips of songs from "Blessing" and the other older songs on that page are NOT the mastered versions from Pure Steel Records' recent vinyl re-release
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Masters for new album done!!!!
From Joe Sims........ IT'S DONE!!!! I finished production and mastering for the new AXEMASTER album "Overture to Madness" and everything is off to Pure Steel Records. Really excited to hear what they have to say because I'm really happy with all the tunes and sounds, I think it came out great!!!!! I also found some VERY cool artwork for the cover, can't wait to see what the label does with it. It's so nice after all the LONG hours and hard work doing this over such a long period of time, to be finished with this part and be able to move on. Now the fun starts!!!!! Seeing the final product then getting it around, promoting the hell out of it, and getting the show on the road to let everyone see what Axemaster does live!!!!!! Thanks to everyone out there who helped and supported me through all the tough times on this project and helped keep me moving forward toward the ultimate goal that we have been able to reach!!!!!
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New AXEMASTER band member and other news
After a successful show and great weekend overall at the Ragnarokkr Metal Apocolypse festival in Chicago last April, the band decided that a change was needed in order for Axemaster to best move forward. We are now proud to announce that Denny Archer (who played with the band at the festival) is now the permanent drummer of AXEMASTER. As mentioned in our previous press release, Denny and Joe Sims played together for a number of years in the late 90's with a very successful band called Reign, so they already have chemistry in both playing and writing together which has already proven to be very beneficial. Denny is highly experienced, an absolute professional, and a greatly respected world-class drummer who has played and/or recorded with a number of higher level projects. It's an honor to include him in the Axemaster family, his addition has already done and will continue to do a lot for the project in every way. Joe Sims said "I can't totally express how happy and excited I am that Denny decided to come on board for the long run. I have known him since we were little kids, we're like family! Actually, all the way around, this band has an AMAZING lineup. It's beyond great to be able to work with a group of guys who are not only outstanding musicians, but also professionals in every sense of the word and the best of friends. No egos, no drama, no problems; unless you have been in or worked closely with bands you have no idea how rare that is!!!!" Although a lot of work still needs to be done to finish the new Axemaster album "Overture to Madness", enough has been completed to allow us to submit material and begin talking to labels about its release. Quite a few have expressed interest, and the band is currently in negotiations with one in particular. We will go into more detail once there is more definite information. Although mixing and mastering each song takes quite a length of time to compete (due to several different factors), all the work is proving to be VERY worthwhile as we believe the most recently completed masters definitely have the sound quality necessary to be considered entirely professional. Lastly, as fate would have it, the album that Joe and Denny recorded with Reign (originally released independently in 1997) titled "Now and Forever" was recently re-released on CD by Divebomb/Tribunal Records. It's been re-mastered (much improved sound) and includes new killer artwork, vintage photos, song lyrics, and an interview with Joe. You can find more information about the disc at: http://tribunalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/now-forever. www.axemasterofficial,com www.facebook.com/axemasterofficial
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New official website and radio interview
AXEMASTER would like to announce their new official website which is now online at www.axemasterofficial.com. The site currently contains a lot of information, music, pictures, and press articles, but more material is yet to come so we hope you will check back from time to time for updates!
The interview with Joe Sims and Geoff McGraw of AXEMASTER which was broadcasted on Aug. 22 on the MentalMetal radio show is now available for listening or download (link at bottom of the page) at http://thementalmetalshow.podomatic.com/entry/2013-08-23T10_03_45-07_00. It includes a lot of interesting topics and information, definitely worth a listen!!!!!
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Compilation CDs
We just received our copies of the compilation CD we are featured on titled "Metallic Commandments Volume 1" as well as a copy of That's Metal magazine. We couldn't be happier with how professional they both are and thank them for including us! If you would be interested in purchasing a copy, you can find information at https://www.facebook.com/ThatsMetalMagazine?fref=ts
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Help create a new AXEMASTER song!!!!
Over the last couple months Axemaster has been writing lyrics for the new album. The process has been going extremely well and over half the songs are finished. BUT NOW IS WHERE THE FANS COME IN!!!!!! In true metal fashion, Axemaster has decided to allow the community to participate in the band's songwriting process and help create one song for the new album.
We are starting a contest where fans submit ideas of a topic/concept the band could base lyrics around for one of the yet unfinished songs that will appear on the album. Submissions will be taken via e-mail (axemaster@axemasterofficial.com) or through the Axemaster Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/axemasterofficial). The deadline is June 1, 2013, at which time the band will chose which topic they think would best fit one of the unfinished songs and be the most interesting to write lyrics about. We are looking for a subject (either detailed or more general) that shows creativity, originality, and is something METAL! The winner's name will be included in the liner notes of the new Axemaster album as well as in announcements throughout the internet, and will receive both a free copy of the new CD and a collectible limited edition release of "Blessing in the Skies" on disc (a promotional copy made by Burning Star Records that has never been available for sale).
Titles for the songs that have already been written include Forsaken, Statutes of Liberty, Thirty Pieces of Silver, Sanity's Requiem, Peeling Skin, Dream or Nightmare, Crimson Haze, and Sinister. So what would you like to hear a song about? Choose a topic (historical, sci-fi, the human condition..... whatever) and send it to us! We will accept up to 3 subject ideas per person.
WE HOPE YOU WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS CHANCE TO BE A PART OF MAKING NEW METAL THAT WILL BE HEARD WORLDWIDE!!!!!!!
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AXEMASTER song from compilation now posted here
The band just received permission from That's Metal magazine to post their track which will appear on the compilation CD "Metallic Commandments - Volume 1", the song ("Bed of Nails"). is now posted here. Although many of you may have previously heard the version of the track that was formerly used briefly for promotion, it has since been partially re-recorded, totally re-mixed, and professionally mastered (the sound is now FAR superior to what it was). It's also the first (and currently only) AXEMASTER song available that features Geoff McGraw on vocals, so we hope you will give it a listen!!!!!
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AXEMASTER to be featured on compilation CD
AXEMASTER is proud to announce that a new version of the band's track "Bed of Nails" (re-mixed, professionally mastered, and featuring Geoff McGraw on vocals) will be one of the songs included on the compilation CD titled "Metallic Commandments - Volume 1" which is being produced to help publicize the return of the German magazine "That's Metal". For complete information about the magazine and its re-launch, please see http://www.facebook.com/ThatsMetalMagazine. The section concerning the compilation is as follows........
As a special extra the crew of „That's METAL“ compiled an exclusive compilation called „Metallic Commandments – Volume 1“ that consists of ten songs, all of them were unreleased on CD before.
This CD (including a four page booklet, playing time: 47 minutes) is ONLY available with issue number 17 of „That's METAL“ magazine: STEEL PROPHET preview the song 'Trickery Of The Scourge' from their upcoming 'Omniscent' album, AXEMASTER recorded an exclusive new track called 'Bed Of Nails' and GOTHIC KNIGHT present 'Valley Of The Kings', one of the last recordings with their original singer Rick „Warlock“ Sanchez. Chicagos ION VEIN introduce their new vocalist Scott Featherstone (ENERTIA) with the song 'This Is Me' and the Finnish True Metal band TOMBSTONE provides their new song 'The Battle Of Kalascha' from their yet unreleased second album. Metal Funsters NASTY DISASTER demand: 'Don't Bust My Fucking Balls' while DAMMAJ and SKELATOR present two stunning live versions of their songs 'Leather Master' and 'Birth Of Steel'. (Former) ATTACKER members Lou Ciarlo and Mike Sabatini prove with their project UNIVERSITY OF LIFE and the song 'Invisible Dreams' that their singer Paul Taylor (Ex-ELIXIR) is the perfect choice for this kind of music and as an exclusive bonus there is also the track 'Messenger Of Death' from the legendary 1990 demotape of Chicagos LATENT FURY.
For only 10 Euros (plus postage – foreign orders please inquire) you can buy „That's METAL“ issue # 17 including the „Metallic Commandments – Volume 1“ CD through mailorders like underground-power.de. The mag will also be available at the official merchandise booth at „Keep It True“ Festival (19th/20th of April 2013 in Lauda-Koenigshofen).
The re-mixing and partial re-recording of "Bed of Nails" caused a slight delay with being able to work on the songs for the album, but things are now moving forward better than ever before. Although still a very slow process, the work on re-writing lyrics and mixing is going even better than expected. Joe Sims said: "I always had really high hopes for this album, but now with the totally killer job Geoff's doing with his writing and performance and with the production sounding the way it is, I think this is gonna turn out to be something very special". .
(In our photos is a JPEG of the section of the CD insert where Axemaster appears)
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