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Day in Rock Report for 03/12/2015


Slipknot Guitarist Hospitalized After Being Stabbed In Knife Fight

Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson was hospitalized after reportedly being stabbed in the head during a knife fight with his bother. The incident took place outside of the guitarist's Clive, Iowa home early Wednesday morning.

Thomson and his brother were both reportedly intoxicated and suffered non-life threatening wounds during the fight, according to here, who also report that they the brothers were both transported to a local hospital by separate ambulances.

Slipknot frontman confirmed via social media that it was Thompson involved in the incident and said "from what I've heard he's okay. We're sending him all your thoughts."

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Gregg Allman Biopic Train Accident Video Surfaces

(Radio.com) Video from the tragic train accident that occurred during the filming of the Gregg Allman biopic 'Midnight Rider' has surfaced. The story of the ill-fated biopic has been well-publicized, as an accident while filming resulted in the death of camera assistant Sarah Elizabeth Jones. Subsequent lawsuits were filed by her family against everyone involved, with many of them settling out of court.

Now The Daily Mail (via Ultimate Classic Rock) has posted startling video of the events. None of the actual impact is shown (thankfully), but in one clip you can see the cast and crew rushing to move away from the train as it approaches. While the footage does not show anyone being hit by the train, the clip could be considered graphic for some audiences.

A second video has also emerged from the point of view of the train. Through it you get an idea of how fast the thing was moving (55 mph) and just how little of a chance the 27-year-old Jones stood in the impact

Randall Miller, the director of Midnight Rider, will serve two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter stemming from the incident, which also injured six other people in February of 2014. Miller did not receive the necessary permission to film on that location, and as a result put his whole crew in danger. See the video here.

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Muse Reveal New Album Details and Announce Release Date

Muse announced that Warner Bros. will be releasing their new studio album, entitled "Drones," on June 9th and also announced the premiere of one of the new tracks.

The band co-produced the album with acclaimed producer Robert "Mutt" Lange who is best known for producing AC/DC albums "Highway To Hell" and their blockbuster "Back In Black" as well as a string of hit Def Leppard albums including the multi-platinum "Hysteria" and "Pyromania."

The band will be giving fans their first taste of the album today (March 12th) on their YouTube channel at 6:00pm GMT with the release of the song "Psycho".

A short time after the premiere the song will be offered worldwide as an instant download to fans that preorder the album, according to the official announcement.

Fans will get another taste of the new album on March 23rd when the band releases the first official single from the album, a track called "Dead Inside.".

Frontman Matt Bellamy had the following to say about the album and tiele, "To me, 'Drones' are metaphorical psychopaths which enable psychopathic behavior with no recourse. The world is run by Drones utilizing Drones to turn us all into Drones.

"'Drones' explores the journey of a human, from their abandonment and loss of hope, to their indoctrination by the system to be a human drone, to their eventual defection from their oppressors."

Fans in the UK will be able to catch the band starting this weekend when they kick off their Psycho UK mini-tour that will features concerts at six smaller venues. See the tour dates and the new album tracklisting here.

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Rush's Upcoming Tour May Be Their Last

(hennemusic) Rush manager Ray Danniels says in a new interview that it's possible that the band's upcoming R40 40th Anniversary tour may also serve as the group's farewell tour.

Rush have recently announced North American dates that will see the band hit 34 cities across the continent this summer, with shows beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK.

Asked if the trek will be Rush's final, farewell tour, Danniels tells Celebrity Access: "Somewhere between possible and probable. There are some of us who would keep going forever, and there are some of us who wouldn't. So it's a process of working that out. And what somebody thinks today may not be what they think in a month.

"I am focused on making this as good as it can be, and then seeing where we are," he continues. "I did not want to do a farewell tour. There was no one in the band who wanted to do that because there is nobody who thinks it is that final or thinks that they won't make music or do something.

"But I will tell you this: I am probably not going to be able to get a band full of 65 year olds out again on the road - which is what would happen next time with any potential tour - they all would be 65-ish. Neil is as much an athlete as he is a musician, but with these 2 1/2 and 3 hour length sets, I don't know if it possible to keep up with that (physical) demand. And they each want to go out on top in every single way." Read more here.

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Fleetwood Mac Postpone Tour Dates Due To Illness

(hennemusic) Fleetwood Mac have been forced to postponed two concerts this week due to illness. There's no further information on the band member or members involved or the nature of the issue that forced the postponement.

The band's March 11 show at the Verizon Center in North Little Rock, AR has been rescheduled for April 19. The March 12 tour date at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City, OK has been postponed and rescheduled for April 17.

This is the second time this year the group have had to deal with illness in their camp. On January 17, Fleetwood Mac ended their show in Lincoln, Nebraska early after drummer Mick Fleetwood fell ill with a stomach flu during the concert. Read more here.

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Mastodon Streaming Their Song From Game Of Thrones Mixtape

(hennemusic) Atlanta rockers Mastodon have released a stream of "White Walker", their contribution to the newly-released second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape" from the HBO fantasy series Game Of Thrones.

Building on the success of Volume 1 - with over 2.5M streams to date - Volume II will feature Method Man, Snoop Dogg and Yandel and will transcend genres by adding metal bands Anthrax, Killswitch Engage, Mushroomhead and Mastodon to the mixtape lineup.

Produced by Launch Point Records, the 15-song mixtape features diverse artists representing Game Of Thrones families, leveraging themes and highlights from Season 4. Stream the song here.

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New Found Glory Release Bloody 'One More Round' Video

(Radio.com) New Found Glory have been tweeting for what feels like month about the "One More Round" video, and for good reason. It's bloody good--bloody being the key word.

Dressed all in white, with white instruments on a white floor in front of a white wall, the pop-punk foursome start playing the song only to be brutally attacked by a variety of serial killer-like villains. Armed with an assortment of weapons including brass knuckles, baseball bats, hatches and more. Singer Jordan Pundik is actually stabbed with a running chainsaw covering his bandmates in blood.

The song about trolls that love to hate others on the Internet shows that the band is not only unaffected by harsh words, but also revel in the fact that haters have already taken notice of the band. "One more round, kick me when I'm down, but I've already won. when my name rolled off your tongue," sings Pundik.

"Our 'One More Round' video was inspired by foreign horror films," explained guitarist Chad Gilbert in a release. "It's an extreme metaphor of the lyrics. Just trying to do what we love most, but like how it goes in life. When you do what you love people try to bring you down. As we have proven time and again. NFG can't be stopped."

Watch the video here.

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Black Star Riders Star Explains What Happened To Joe Elliott

Black Star Riders guitar player Scott Gorham explains in a new interview with Classic Rock Revisited why the band decided not to record under the name Thin Lizzy and also why Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott backed out of producing their new album "The Killer Instinct."

When asked why they abandoned the Thin Lizzy name before releasing their first album, Gorham explained, "We had so many people who thought it was a mystery why would do that. We walked away from a brand name. The record advances were easily twice as much as we got with Black Star Riders for obvious reasons. In my mind, especially, as well as everyone else in the band, it was the right thing to do.

"We were thinking about it for two or three years when the question came up as to when we were going to make an album of new material. Every other band that got together did just that. We were the only ones that hadn't done it. As the time got closer and closer to closing this thing out, and we were going to go in the studio, I told everybody, 'You know guys, this has been going on for a while, but I just feel too f***ing uncomfortable going into the studio and recording an album under the name of Thin Lizzy. Everything that I've done under that name, recording wise, has been with Phil Lynott and I am too uncomfortable to do this.' Ricky Warwick chimed in and said, 'I agree with that. It would be great doing an album under this name, but I think you're totally right.' Most everybody out there thinks it was the right way to go."

He was then asked "is it important to Black Star Riders to write music in the Thin Lizzy style? I am talking the twin guitars and overall vibe. Not all songs are like that but there is that elemental Lizzy style."

Scott replied, "It is not a pre-meditated kind of things where we go, 'Let's go write in the Thin Lizzy vein.' That is absolutely not happening. What is happening is that people do know where we come from. It is almost like they hear the twin guitars and immediately 'that's Thin Lizzy.' Then again, people have brought songs to me that other bands have done and said, 'This band sounds like you.' Really, all there was going on was a harmony guitar. We are never going to lose that tag and I don't want to lose that tag. Thin Lizzy has been a massive chunk of my life. I don't know what to tell you. We write the songs the way we write them and they come out sounding the way they do. We don't try to sound like something that has already been."

Gorham then provided some more details about why Joe Elliot pulled out of producing their new album. He said, "During the embryonic stage of this new album he came to us. He said, 'Listen guys, I would love to produce your second album. I've got the studio. I've got the know-how and I've got the kick ass engineer. What do you think?' We said, 'Yeah that sounds great.' We've all been friends with Joe for decades and we knew it would be a really kick ass situation. We would be in the studio with this really competent guy, who has had a lot of success and he's got his own studio. Hell yeah.

"What happened is that the f***ing guy's band, you may have heard of them, they are called Def Leppard. They got their first record deal, the first one they've had in years. The record company threw a boat load of cash at them and told them they needed a release by such and such a date, which meant that they needed to record right in our time frame. He couldn't apologize enough and we were a little cheesed off. What it did is pave the way for Raskulinecz, who I thought was just a killer find as a producer."

Read the full interview here.

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Jimmy Page Was Frustrated By Led Zeppelin MP3 Quality

(TeamRock Radio) Jimmy Page hopes he's dealt with the problem of poor-quality Led Zeppelin MP3s - and that he's also made his latest remasters future-proof. The latest in his series of re-releases is classic album Physical Graffiti, launched last month complete with a companion disc featuring additional material from the studio sessions from four decades ago.

And he says that, of all the current formats, MP3 is the one that he finds "most annoying." Page tells Kerrang Radio: "I wasn't listening - but I'd be confronted with Led Zeppelin music on MP3. It almost sounded like it had been remixed, and not very well at that."

He regrets that his efforts to achieve "transience and depth" in the original productions seemed to have been lost. "They were mixed in stereo with a depth-of-field to them, with everything in focus," he says. "To have it squashed down is not how it was intended to be.

"It's the jiggery-pokery that goes on. But if you review the situation of how things are listened to, and approach vinyl, CDs and digital separately, it's not one size fits all. I wouldn't do that - not at this point in time." Read more and watch the full interview here.

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King's X and Living Colour Singers Teaming Up For Tour

(TeamRock Radio) King's X frontman Doug Pinnick and Living Colour counterpart Corey Glover have announced a US tour together. They'll hit the road in April, delivering a set made up of tracks from both their careers.

Promoter Michael Smith says: "These virtuoso vocalists are routined mentioned in the same conversations about strength, quality and individuality of their voices.

"The tour will showcase a side of each that's rarely been seen before." Pinnick's most recent work includes work with supergroups KXM and Pinnick Gales Pidgen. Living Colour last year launched sixth album Shade. See the dates here.

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New Corrosion Of Conformity Album With Pepper Keenan Likely

(Classic Rock) Corrosion Of Conformity say the positive reaction to their reunion with Pepper Keenan means a new album with the Down man is more likely than ever. Keenan played his first gig with COC since 2006 in Manchester this past weekend.

And the crowd reaction at that show and subsequent shows in Glasgow and Nottingham has got bass player Mike Dean and drummer Reed Mullin itching to get in the studio.

Keenan last worked with COC in 2010, although he never officially left the band. They made two albums without him in the interim. But last year Keenan said it was only a matter of time before he returned to the fold, and they are now on tour.

On the prospect of recording again with Keenan, Mullin tells Metal Gods TV: "I think it's gonna happen. I think it'll come to fruition. This was kind of like the testing ground to see how folks reacted, and right off the bat, everybody has been super stoked, super positive. So I can't imagine anything but us gearing up to do an album." Read more and stream the interview here.

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Judas Priest Plan To Reconnect With 'Nostradamus'

(Classic Rock) Rob Halford says Judas Priest are working on plans to "reconnect" with their 2008 concept album Nostradamus. Although he stops short of confirming the band will follow-up last year's Redeemer Of Souls with another concept record, frontman Halford hints that such a move might be on the cards.

He tells The Sick Room: "It's been about six years since Nostradamus was made and as much as we love that record, and we still have some exciting things that we're working on to reconnect with that in the not-too-distant future.

"But at the end of the day it is all about new music. You're only as good as your last record. We thought it was time after Nostradamus to re-establish all of the elements that make Priest what it is.

"I don't know else we have to prove other than we can still make a bloody good metal album, and that's what we've done." Read more here.

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Limp Bizkit's Revenge Against The Bullies Backfired

(TeamRock Radio) Fred Durst has recalled the "uneasy" experience of realizing that bullies enjoyed Limp Bizkit's music - even though they'd been formed as a way of fighting back from bullying.

Durst tells KTLA5: "When I got the microphone I figured I had to say something. I felt like standing up for myself and what I'd gone through. I was a big misfit where I grew up - I was abused and bullied a lot. If you're someone that's tortured and bullied, wearing that target on your back, you need an outlet. It was a revenge against the bullies."

But as the band's reputation grew, he recalls, "the sound was so ferocious that bullies themselves would embrace Limp Bizkit. It was uneasy for us to see the people we really hated being fans of the music, alongside the people we were fighting for." Read more here.

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Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck Trailer Released

(hennemusic) HBO have released the trailer for "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck", the new documentary about the late Nirvana frontman, ahead of its premiere on the cable channel on May 4.

The clip mixes archival family footage with interviews, live material and animation for a film billed as a raw and visceral journey through the singer's life, providing no-holds-barred access to Cobain's never-before-seen home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, journals, demos, personal archives, family archives and songbooks.

Directed by Brett Morgen with Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean, as executive producer, "Montage Of Heck" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January to rave reviews.

A soundtrack album will feature unreleased material, including an epic, 12-minute acoustic song by the Nirvana frontman. Watch the trailer here.

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Robben Ford Streaming New Song Featuring ZZ Ward

(Classic Rock) Robben Ford has launched an exclusive stream of his track Breath Of Me, featuring guest ZZ Ward. It's taken from upcoming album Into The Sun, to be released via Mascot Label Group on March 30, also including guest spots withWarren Haynes, Keb' Mo', Sonny Landreth and others.

Ford recently explained: "The rule was to have no lid on things. I made sure there was room for new ideas and everything my collaborators brought to the music.

"When you're open to different concepts and approaches, the most beautiful things can happen." Ford plays London's O2 Academy Islington on April 29, followed by a run of European shows. See the dates and stream the song here.

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KISS Announce Australian Tour Dates

(hennemusic) KISS have announced the dates for an upcoming Australian tour. The band will also be playing in New Zealand and will announce those show details next week.

The 2-week, 6-show run opens October 3 in Perth and wraps up in Brisbane on October 13. A KISS fan club members presale runs Monday, March 16 @ 2.00pm - Wednesday, March 18 @ 10.00pm.

KISS just wrapped up a tour of Japan, where they performed covers of tunes by Led Zeppelin and The Beatles during a meet and greet acoustic performance for VIP ticket holders prior to their March 3 show at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. See the announced Australian dates here.

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Revolution Saints' Doug Aldrich Lost Solo To Neal Schon

(TeamRock Radio) Revolution Saints guitarist Doug Aldrich had to give up his favourite solo on the supergroup's debut album when Journey axeman Neal Schon sent in his own take.

The former Whitesnake man teamed up with Journey's Deen Castronovo and Night Ranger's Jack Blades for the self-titled record, launched last month.

But his plans for their song Way To The Sun were changed when Schon's guest appearance was confirmed. Aldrich tells Classic Rock Revisited: "I think it's my favourite track on the record. They told me Neal was going to be on the album, and I was like, 'F*** yeah!' as I'm a huge fan.

"Then they said he might not be able to do it, so I put a solo on the song. I fell in love with that solo and I fell in love with the song. Then they said, 'Neal is able to play on it after all.' I was like, 'No!'" Read more here.

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Nekrogoblikon Announce New Album and Stream First Track

(TeamRock Radio) Nekrogoblikon have announced their new album Heavy Meta will be released on June 1. The self-styled goblin metallers have also made one of the album's songs - Full Body Xplosion - available to stream.

The band say: "A thousand years ago, we began writing an album. Then we spent 998.5 years dicking around in the cave networks of rural Kentucky. After we were all spelunked out, we decided we might as well finish the album. The album is Heavy Meta."

The 10-song album arrives via the multimedia outfit's new label, Mystery Box, which is distributed by Razor & Tie. Mystery Box will serve not only as the band's label but also as a freestanding production company headquartered in downtown Los Angeles. Read more and stream the new song here.

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Fire From The Gods Stream New Song and Announce Tour Dates

Fire From The Gods has released the lyric video for their forthcoming single and announced that they will be hitting the road for a headlining tour later this month.

The band will be releasing their new single, "Eat" via all digital retailers on March 17th but they are giving fans an early chance to listen to the song with the release of the lyric video. Watch it here.

The will be kicking off the Headbang For The Highway organized "The Alumni Tour" on March 21st in Grand Prairie, TX with an appearance at the South By So What!? festival. Read more here.

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Gilmore Trail Release 'Memories Of Redfern' Video

(Prog) Gilmore Trail have released a video for their track Memories Of Redfern, taken from second album The Floating World. The follow-up to 2013 debut Sailing Stones is released on May 18 via Chasmata, and headed up with a launch event at the Corporation, Sheffield, on May 16.

The post-rock outfit name King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Mogwai, Sigur Ros and Intronaut among their influences. Chasmata Records say: "Always seeking to expand what the band would call their 'sonic reach', Gilmore Trail's nature-inspired soundscapes vibrate and hum with life injected from their enormous range of diverse musical influences.

"Masterful musical technique and a mind-boggling array of effects pedals all help to create a sound that's both melancholic and uplifting by turns, often resulting in poignant crescendos that collapse and cascade in wondrously evocative ways." Watch the video here.

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Klone Premiere New Song 'Grim Dance'

(Prog) French band Klone have debuted their track "Grim Dance" with Prog. It's taken from sixth album Here Comes The Sun, to be released via Pelagic Records on April 27.

The label describe the 12-year-old band's latest work as continuing their drift away from their metal roots, saying: "2012's The Dreamer's Hideaway already showed more progressive outlines. This time, the band gives each melody time to unfold. This is where the strength of this album lies: coherence, patience, and continuity.

"Transitions between riffs and songs never feel rushed or forced - everything is happening at the right time, and for a reason. The music, the lyrics and the artwork reflect upon one another, and suck the listener into a universe revolving around the sun, which is the central theme of the album." Stream the new song here.

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Thunder Announce The Sunflower Jam's Eat and Greet Event

(Classic Rock) Thunder fans are being offered the chance to share a meal with the band as part of a charity fundraising event. The veteran rockers are to take part in The Sunflower Jam's Eat&Greet event in London's Mayfair on April 8 at the 28-50 Wine Workshop and Kitchen.

The evening includes an informal drinks reception at 6.30pm, then a luxury three-course meal, drinks and a Q&A session with the band from 7pm. Fans will have the opportunity to take pictures, get stuff signed and chat to the band. There are also tickets available to sit at the band's table for dinner.

Singer Danny Bowes says: "Sunflower Jam funds vital therapies and research into various forms of cancer. They also put on great live shows, so when they asked if we wanted to eat lovely food and drink lovely wine, and raise money at the same time, we jumped at the chance. Who wouldn't?" Read more here.

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Behemoth Recount Visit To Scene Of Salem Witch Trials

(TeamRock Radio) Behemoth drummer Inferno says that the band enjoyed their "weird" visit to Salem, Massachusetts, which was the scene of the infamous Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

The 15-month drama saw over 350 people accused of witchcraft and resulted in the execution of 20, while another five died in prison. It's regarded as one history's most extreme examples of mass hysteria.

Inferno - real name Zbigniew Prominski - tells Metal Wani: "Salem was an interesting place. The women look weird there, like real witches. They have their own fashion. 'What the f*** is this?' Every single woman looks exactly the same, like they're witches. I really enjoyed it. There was a nice atmosphere; something weird in the air."

Behemoth are touring the US in support of last year's release The Satanist, and hope to perform it in full on the road. Read more here.

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Counting Days Ink Deal For New Album

(TeamRock Radio) Counting Days have inked a deal with Mascot Label Group ahead of the release of their debut album. The metal newcomers released their EP The War of the Wolf in 2014.

They will hit the studio this summer to work on their full-length debut with At The Gates and In Flames producer Fredrik Nordstrom at Fredman Studios in Sweden. A late 2015 release is expected.

On signing with Mascot, guitarist Charlie Wilson says: "We're really excited to be working with a strong label with such a diverse roster as Mascot Label Group.

"It has also been a dream to work with Fredrik Nordstrom at Fredman Studios for a very long time." Read more here.

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Singled Out: The Ivins' Mountains

Today Jim Ivins from The Ivins tells us about their new single "Mountains" which comes from their forthcoming album "The Code Duello". Here is the story:

"Mountains" was a major breakthrough in the writing process for our new album The Code Duello. We had just met our manager, Michael Caplan, and had played him four songs we had previously recorded for the record but he obviously wanted to hear where everything else was going. Jack and I locked ourselves in our dad's garage and began fine tuning some ideas, with most of the music for what would become "Mountains" being one of them. We felt kind of bored with the state of rock at the time, so I loved writing something huge like this. Jack and I fine-tuned the music and sent it to Michael. His exact text to me after hearing it: "Don't you DARE f*** this up!"

As such, now Jack and I felt some pressure on the vocal side and really started digging into the melodies, trying to make it as grandiose and catchy as we could. We knew we needed something huge in the chorus to match the scope of the music�since this was all of a sudden now being groomed for being a single, we had to really get in the zone.

When it came to the lyrics, however, I was stumped. Like, completely stumped. The time kept ticking by, with the date for recording quickly approaching and I had nothing. Finally, just a few days before recording, I did something I had almost never done before: I wrote a poem. I was listening to a lot of Smashing Pumpkins (not out of the ordinary for me) and I thought, "what would Billy do?" so I just started writing. I wrote about a page's worth of stuff... Music is my life. It's both our lives. We have come this far and felt we had hit a tipping point: we could call it quits, or go all in. And I realized in asking myself the question of which path to take, the answer was simple. I have no other choice. I am going to be a career musician, and I am going to be successful. With this song, I thought let's really go all in and make the biggest statement possible: the one where we tell the world that this is who we are, and we are not changing. I picked out some lines from what I wrote and created lyrics that fit the melodies. Michael made some notes, Jack and I re-jiggered a few lines and "Mountains" was born.

When it came time for the video, we found ourselves in an interesting position, given that Jack and I are really the only two "official" members of the band. Do we put the live guys in the video? Do we do it White Stripes-style? Ultimately, we decided rather than use anyone else, we would just have two versions of ourselves and mess with the viewer a little bit. We shot the whole thing on a green screen and decided that when we got out of the car and opened the door, we were entering some kind of all-white oasis/alternate universe where this was a normal thing. It was a blast.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch the video here and learn more about the album right here!

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