Iceage Kick Off 'You're Nothing' Tour With Fierce Brooklyn Show

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

On the first real winter day in New York, Danish punk band Iceage officially kicked off their tour at 285 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show (which followed a last-minute free gig at Wesleyan University) came less than three months after the band announced its move from small independent label What’s Your Rupture? to the much larger Matador Records, and the difference was apparent. By the time the band took the stage, the cavernous warehouse space was packed with sweaty bodies, perspiring from both the physical intensity and feverish romanticism of an Iceage performance.

The 285 Kent show was the first of two New York gigs on a 41-date tour in support of Iceage's new album, You're Nothing (due out February 19th), and the band dedicated nearly its entire set to the new material. The rest of the lineup, with New York hardcore staples Deformity opening, followed by the recently reformed Raspberry Bulbs and Nomad, work in a similar format to the headliners, with anxious bass-driven punk cloaked in reverbed vocals.

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

As Iceage opened their set with "Ecstasy," the latest single from the upcoming album, frontman Elias Rønnenfelt commanded the stage with his unique blend of indifference and spirit. Thirty seconds into the song's distorted riffs, someone in the crowd launched a firework onto the stage, leaving a small trail of destruction as fleeting as its initial flame. This didn’t seem to bother Iceage in the slightest, as they kicked the attack back into the audience.

Album Review: Iceage, 'New Brigade'

After years of touring, the young Copenhagen band have tightened up. Dan Kjaer Nielsen’s drumming felt especially cadenced as he played militaristic drum marches against the clever, subtle disco influences on "Ecstasy," adding to the track's interplay of self-doubt and sexual exploration. Next came "Everything Drifts," with Jakob Tvillig Pless launching into a distorted bass line, gaining momentum with each hit of Nielsen's snare and reaching the climax while Rønnenfelt crouched low to deliver the line "You come empowered, but power sparks fear." The audience transformed into a body of attentive faces, patient fists in the air, but they fully engaged only as the band launched into one of the set's few older hits, "White Rune," with Rønnenfelt crawling out into the crowd.  

Two years have passed since the band’s debut record, New Brigade, and the anxious post-punk clangor of guitars, drums and bass continues to choke the vocals, making their live songs hard to shout along to. Yet "Morals," arguably the catchiest song on You're Nothing, managed to command an audience chant of the chorus, "Where's your morals?" well ahead of the track's public release.

Even before they announced the new album, Iceage would often end sets with its title track, "You’re Nothing," an anthem that seems to encapsulate who they are: "Remove yourself / from patterns laid / all through a life / Look at yourself / That’s right, you’re nothing." Breaking free from the confines of a punk show by ignoring everything but the music, they ended "You’re Nothing" – and the night – the way they began: looking at the ground, standing strong, playing for themselves first. Iceage knows there’s no freedom without control, and they’ll make damn sure you know it, too.

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Iceage Kick Off 'You're Nothing' Tour With Fierce Brooklyn Show

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

On the first real winter day in New York, Danish punk band Iceage officially kicked off their tour at 285 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show (which followed a last-minute free gig at Wesleyan University) came less than three months after the band announced its move from small independent label What’s Your Rupture? to the much larger Matador Records, and the difference was apparent. By the time the band took the stage, the cavernous warehouse space was packed with sweaty bodies, perspiring from both the physical intensity and feverish romanticism of an Iceage performance.

The 285 Kent show was the first of two New York gigs on a 41-date tour in support of Iceage's new album, You're Nothing (due out February 19th), and the band dedicated nearly its entire set to the new material. The rest of the lineup, with New York hardcore staples Deformity opening, followed by the recently reformed Raspberry Bulbs and Nomad, work in a similar format to the headliners, with anxious bass-driven punk cloaked in reverbed vocals.

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

As Iceage opened their set with "Ecstasy," the latest single from the upcoming album, frontman Elias Rønnenfelt commanded the stage with his unique blend of indifference and spirit. Thirty seconds into the song's distorted riffs, someone in the crowd launched a firework onto the stage, leaving a small trail of destruction as fleeting as its initial flame. This didn’t seem to bother Iceage in the slightest, as they kicked the attack back into the audience.

Album Review: Iceage, 'New Brigade'

After years of touring, the young Copenhagen band have tightened up. Dan Kjaer Nielsen’s drumming felt especially cadenced as he played militaristic drum marches against the clever, subtle disco influences on "Ecstasy," adding to the track's interplay of self-doubt and sexual exploration. Next came "Everything Drifts," with Jakob Tvillig Pless launching into a distorted bass line, gaining momentum with each hit of Nielsen's snare and reaching the climax while Rønnenfelt crouched low to deliver the line "You come empowered, but power sparks fear." The audience transformed into a body of attentive faces, patient fists in the air, but they fully engaged only as the band launched into one of the set's few older hits, "White Rune," with Rønnenfelt crawling out into the crowd.  

Two years have passed since the band’s debut record, New Brigade, and the anxious post-punk clangor of guitars, drums and bass continues to choke the vocals, making their live songs hard to shout along to. Yet "Morals," arguably the catchiest song on You're Nothing, managed to command an audience chant of the chorus, "Where's your morals?" well ahead of the track's public release.

Even before they announced the new album, Iceage would often end sets with its title track, "You’re Nothing," an anthem that seems to encapsulate who they are: "Remove yourself / from patterns laid / all through a life / Look at yourself / That’s right, you’re nothing." Breaking free from the confines of a punk show by ignoring everything but the music, they ended "You’re Nothing" – and the night – the way they began: looking at the ground, standing strong, playing for themselves first. Iceage knows there’s no freedom without control, and they’ll make damn sure you know it, too.

Iceage performs at 285 Kent in Brooklyn, New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Marilyn Manson, Johnny Depp to Cover Simon's 'You're So Vain'

Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson during the premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' in Anaheim, California.

Marilyn Manson's upcoming Born Villain LP will feature a guest appearance by his friend Johnny Depp, who collaborates with the macabre rocker on a cover of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain." The album, due May 1st, will be released on Manson's own Hell, Etc. label in conjunction with Cooking Vinyl/Downtown Records. 

Manson and Depp have been mutual admirers for years, with the performer joining the actor as his "date" at the Disneyland premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Manson's headlining appearance at the Golden Gods Awards on April 11th in Los Angeles, his first U.S. gig in three years, will be followed by a tour in support of the new album. 

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Marilyn Manson, Johnny Depp to Cover Simon's 'You're So Vain'

Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson during the premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' in Anaheim, California.

Marilyn Manson's upcoming Born Villain LP will feature a guest appearance by his friend Johnny Depp, who collaborates with the macabre rocker on a cover of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain." The album, due May 1st, will be released on Manson's own Hell, Etc. label in conjunction with Cooking Vinyl/Downtown Records. 

Manson and Depp have been mutual admirers for years, with the performer joining the actor as his "date" at the Disneyland premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Manson's headlining appearance at the Golden Gods Awards on April 11th in Los Angeles, his first U.S. gig in three years, will be followed by a tour in support of the new album. 

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Slash Talks 'You're A Lie,' Reveals Tracklist for New Album

Click to listen to Slash's 'You're A Lie'

Slash has announced the tracklist, below, from his forthcoming album Apocalyptic Love, out May 22nd. The single "You're A Lie," which you can stream above, was "ignited" by Slash, as he puts it, and features lyrics by frontman Myles Kennedy. "I completely left the lyrics to Myles. As far away from lyric writing as I can get, the better," Slash tells Rolling Stone, laughing. "He's a good lyricist, so it's not an issue."

The song was the second track Slash brought to Kennedy, but it wasn't done until the very end of the sessions. "We changed the arrangement twice, and it was the last thing we worked on in the studio when we were doing the album," he says. "It was the last one we did and, funnily enough, the first one we released."

Did he know it was a single?  "The single concept has always been the last thing I ever want to deal with," he says. "I come from that AOR mentality where a single to me can be a five-minute, six-minute, really cool rock track."

Now that one is chosen and the record is nearly done, save for a few mixes, Slash can turn his attention to the upcoming live shows. "I'm looking forward to going out and jamming the stuff live and doing what it is that I do best," he says.

The concert will feature several new songs. "There's a song called 'Anastasia,' which would be killer for us to play live because it's probably the longest, most instrumentally adventurous song on the record. There's a lot of guitar in it," he says. "There's the song called 'Apocalyptic Love,' which is the title track of the record and the first song we ever did together."

There are a few one-off dates before the tour kicks off in full in May. Slash has some big shows in April, including the Golden Gods Awards in L.A., where he will share a stage with Marilyn Manson, Sixx A.M., Evanescence and more on a night when KISS' Gene Simmons will be honored. "I love Gene. Gene's awesome, so it's good that he's getting an award at that event," he says.

A few days later Slash and his former bandmates in Guns N' Roses will be at the center of the rock universe as they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. According to Slash, he still doesn't know what will happen. "It's just far enough away at this point where I'm not focusing on it at all and there's been no new news about what's gonna happen there," he says.

Apocalyptic Love tracklist:
"Apocalyptic Love"
"One Last Thrill"
"Standing in the Sun"
"You’re a Lie"
"No More Heroes"
"Halo"
"We Will Roam"
"Anastasia"
"Not for Me"
"Bad Rain"
"Hard & Fast"
"Far and Away"
"Shots Fired"

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Slash Talks 'You're A Lie,' Reveals Tracklist for New Album

Click to listen to Slash's 'You're A Lie'

Slash has announced the tracklist, below, from his forthcoming album Apocalyptic Love, out May 22nd. The single "You're A Lie," which you can stream above, was "ignited" by Slash, as he puts it, and features lyrics by frontman Myles Kennedy. "I completely left the lyrics to Myles. As far away from lyric writing as I can get, the better," Slash tells Rolling Stone, laughing. "He's a good lyricist, so it's not an issue."

The song was the second track Slash brought to Kennedy, but it wasn't done until the very end of the sessions. "We changed the arrangement twice, and it was the last thing we worked on in the studio when we were doing the album," he says. "It was the last one we did and, funnily enough, the first one we released."

Did he know it was a single?  "The single concept has always been the last thing I ever want to deal with," he says. "I come from that AOR mentality where a single to me can be a five-minute, six-minute, really cool rock track."

Now that one is chosen and the record is nearly done, save for a few mixes, Slash can turn his attention to the upcoming live shows. "I'm looking forward to going out and jamming the stuff live and doing what it is that I do best," he says.

The concert will feature several new songs. "There's a song called 'Anastasia,' which would be killer for us to play live because it's probably the longest, most instrumentally adventurous song on the record. There's a lot of guitar in it," he says. "There's the song called 'Apocalyptic Love,' which is the title track of the record and the first song we ever did together."

There are a few one-off dates before the tour kicks off in full in May. Slash has some big shows in April, including the Golden Gods Awards in L.A., where he will share a stage with Marilyn Manson, Sixx A.M., Evanescence and more on a night when KISS' Gene Simmons will be honored. "I love Gene. Gene's awesome, so it's good that he's getting an award at that event," he says.

A few days later Slash and his former bandmates in Guns N' Roses will be at the center of the rock universe as they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. According to Slash, he still doesn't know what will happen. "It's just far enough away at this point where I'm not focusing on it at all and there's been no new news about what's gonna happen there," he says.

Apocalyptic Love tracklist:
"Apocalyptic Love"
"One Last Thrill"
"Standing in the Sun"
"You’re a Lie"
"No More Heroes"
"Halo"
"We Will Roam"
"Anastasia"
"Not for Me"
"Bad Rain"
"Hard & Fast"
"Far and Away"
"Shots Fired"

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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