V2 Angry Fuzz by Visual Sound

FACT SHEET
♦ Manufacturer: Visual Sound
♦ Official Site: www.visualsound.net
♦ Price: £130.00
♦ Current Draw: 11-17mA
♦ Dimensions: 3" x 5 11/16" (78 x 144mm)

Despite its name, there's nothing to be angry about when it comes to this fuzz pedal by Visual Sound. With an easy-to-use layout and a variety of fuzz tones, two of which are octave-up and octave-down overtones, the Angry Fuzz is well-worth the look.

THE RUNDOWN

The Angry Fuzz features three level controls: volume, fuzz, and (fittingly enough) "Anger." There's also an effect on/off LED and a bright switch. The pedal itself is designed to be tough and has die-cast aluminum housing. In addition, there's an ultra-heavy-duty on/off footswitch that has been tested to withstand over ten million clicks without failing.

The volume control allows for a significant amount of boost to be dialed in. It also lets the user match processed and bypass tones. With regard to the fuzz control, there are ample options, ranging from subtle to full-out tones. The "Anger" level lets the user mix octave-up overtones in varying degrees.

PERFORMANCE

The Angry Fuzz has plenty of character to spare and produces consistently satisfying fuzz effects. By adding in the octave effects of the Anger control, the tone is transformed into something that's sharp and perfect for soloing. Also, strumming chords produces an array of interesting octave-down tones. Fiddling with the Angry Fuzz's tone, volume and pickup settings will produce numerous overtones that are nothing short of outrageous.

THE VEDICT

Visual's Angry Fuzz pedal doesn't skimp on tone. Its bright switch and incredibly durable footswitch are definite positives. The palette of octave and fuzz tones adds to the high-performance of the pedal and makes it a must-try for fuzz lovers everywhere.

Shadows Fall to Offer One on One Music Lessons

Shadows Fall recently announced that they will be teaming up with RockSource360 (a.k.a. RockDoctors) to provide interactive music lessons. "To give you a little bit of background on the RockDoctors, they set up online music lessons," said the Massachusetts metallers, "[and] all you have to do is sign up for an account with them and sign up for a Skype account."

The band later added: "To kick everything off we'll be giving a few of these lessons away for free, so if you got a golden ticket in your pre-order of [the new album], Retribution, you might be one of the lucky ones to win a lesson."

Shadows Fall guitarist Frank Aresti is offering his services to the site, giving users the chance to learn his guitar stylings in a one on one environment. His profile page can be found here.

James Vendera, co-founder of RockDoctors, is a featured vocal coach at RockSource 360. Vendera is the first person in history to shatter a wineglass by the power of his voice alone (whilst being documented on film). He has even demonstrated his glass-shattering ability on the likes of Mythbusters and an array of other international television shows.

Visit www.rocksource360.com for more information.

Future Tour for the Big Four?

Metallica's official website has released footage from the band's September 17 concert at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (See below for clip.)

The following tunes made up the set list for the event:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End of the Line
03. Ride the Lightning
04. Wherever I May Roam
05. One
06. Broken, Beat & Scarred
07. Cyanide
08. Sad but True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. All Nightmare Long
11. The Day that Never Comes
12. Master of Puppets
13. Damage, Inc.
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman

Encore:
16. Last Caress
17. Motorbreath
18. Seek & Destroy

The band recently kicked off a new North American tour, which started on September 14 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Drummer Lars Ulrich has not yet confirmed reports of a future tour featuring the "Big Four" of the 80s thrash metal scene - Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. During a radio interview in Dayton, Ohio with 103.9 The X, Ulrich was quoted as saying:

"I think it would be a super-fun thing to do. It's something that I would definitely support. It's something that I would love to encourage. It's something I love to be very proactive in putting together. But right now . . . it's not something that's like hush-hush being worked on behind the scenes or anything like that. I read some of those Internet sites myself once in a while, and it's not something that's going down, but it's something that I would be totally for at some point if it could happen. And we would love to be a part of that at any level possible."

According to Ulrich, the idea for a Big Four tour started in March 2009. "...a bunch of us were sitting around way later than we should have been sitting around [having] a bunch of very heavily red wine-induced conversations . . . And the idea of doing that at some point came up in that conversation."

However, the chatty drummer's comments have been noted as contradicting those of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo who, despite admitting that a tour was indeed in the works, offered a discretionary note in a Metromix interview saying, "It's not a sealed deal. We're working on it."

Robin Lindström to Join The Cold Existence

The Cold Existence has made a new addition to their line-up. The Swedish melodic death metal band recently announced that guitarist Robin Lindström (Vanishing System) will be joining them.

The band, who was recently picked up by Pulverised Records, are set to record their third album at Andy La Rocque's (King Diamond) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden. The album will be produced by Peter Laustsen and is expected to be released in early 2010.

Pulverised Records has commented that the new material from The Cold Existence is "very fast and brutal and will be the best album by this band yet." The label's A&R manager, Calvin Chiang, recently commented:

"The Cold Existence approached us some time ago and what we heard on their latest album, Sombre Gates, totally caught us off guard! We have confidence that the third full-length will slay everything else they have done in the past!"

Sombre Gates was released last March when the band was still signed to Kolony Records. At the time of the album's launch, an official press release said:

"...bearing the legacy of Dissection, [The Cold Existence's] blackened/death metal non-compromising sound is also reminiscent of such seminal bands as Behemoth, Nile, At the Gates and Hypocrisy. Willing to tour steadily through Europe, the band now relies on the super heavy and ultra-fast sound of an Andy La Rocque-mastered release. Black/death metal at its finest!"

Morley Signature Wahs: Kiko Loureiro and George Lynch Dragon 2

FACT SHEET
♦ Manufacturer: Morley Pedals
♦ Official Site: www.morleypedals.com
♦ Price: £125.00
♦ Model: Loureiro: KIKO; Lynch: GLW2
♦ Dimensions: Loureiro & Lynch: 19.3"(L) X 5.88"(W) X 2.75" (H)

Morley Pedals, now famous for its wah-wah pedals, got its first major boost in the 1970s when the company's original Power Wah was discovered (and embraced) by funk guitarists. Most seemed to like the pedal's extra-wide sweep range and oversized treadle (which gave the guitarist an enhanced level of controllability). Sometime later, the likes of Mark Tremonti, Adam Darski and Steve Vai brought even more attention to the virtues of Morley with the release of their signature pedals. Even the late Cliff Burton cast an additional spotlight on the company through his use of two original, chrome-cased Morley pedals: the Tel-Ray Morley Power Wah Boost and the Tel-Ray Morley Power Wah Fuzz. Now, Kiko Loureiro and George Lynch have been added to the list of big-name Morley users...and they have the custom-designed wahs to prove it. These signature, multifunction pedals feature Morley's electro-optical circuitry as well as a True-Tone buffered bypass (which allows for a powerful signal regardless of the pedal being off or on).

KIKO LOUREIRO DISTORTION

Kiko's pedal has multiple functionality and acts as a distortion box, volume pedal and wah. Both the wah and distortion have dedicated switches and the distortion can be either mixed with the wah or used on its own. With its three controls - tone, drive and level - the distortion sounds warm, almost tube-like, and is ideal for dirtying up a clean channel or dealing with a crunchy amp. The wah seems tuned to create a deep tone no matter the register. Finally, when the wah and distortion are bypassed, it's always on as a volume pedal. The only major downside of Kiko's pedal is the amount of effort required to return the pedal to full-volume after using the wah.

GEORGE LYNCH DRAGON 2

Switchless and spring-loaded, the treadle on Lynch's pedal immediately returns to the up/off position when your foot is removed. There are two modes, including Wah and Wow. There is a vintage flavour, a distinct smoothness and an overall clear tone with the Wow mode. Low-mid accent is exaggerated in this mode, meaning it can easily tackle heavy distortion. The Wah Lock is activated with another switch and it gives a sound like that of leaving a wah in the half-cocked position (in other words, Wah Lock enables the inductor to filter a tone to any chosen frequency). Sadly, the eye-catching dragon decal on Lynch's textured pedal is not immune to peeling.

THE VERDICT

Kiko's pedal, while taking care of distortion, wah and volume, produces a wah that's well-balanced and capable of complementing the full range of a guitar. Lynch's pedal is switchless and gives the option of either a lockable wah filter effect or a vintage wah tone.

Ozzy says Zakk "Don't Need Me Anymore."

Artisan News Service caught up with veteran rocker Ozzy Osbourne at the Sunset Strip Music Festival and got the skinny on the departure of guitarist Zakk Wylde and his replacement by Gus G.

"I haven't fallen out with Zakk; he's a very good- Our relationship goes way beyond music," Ozzy said. "He's got his own thing now: he's got his own band, he's got his own career — he don't need me anymore." He added, "I've a got a guy, Gus G., a guy from Greece — not the musical, the country of Greece."

In an interview with Classic Rock magazine in June 2009, Ozzy said he was looking for a replacement for Wylde, who played with the band off and on since 1988. "Zakk's got his own band and I felt like my stuff was beginning to sound like [his band] - Black Label Society," Ozzy admitted, adding, "I just felt like I wanted a change, y'know?"

Later, on July 29, Wylde responded to Ozzy's comments to Classic Rock during a radio interview in Eugene, Oregon:

"I've gotta be honest with you. The boss hasn't even given me a phone call, so I mean- I'm just like- I don't know what's going on over there. Are we doing this thing or are we not doing it? I mean, it's like, dude, you don't wanna play with me anymore? Fine. Play with whoever the hell you wanna play with. I couldn't give a rat's ass. Like I'm gonna get all jealous or whatever. But you know what? Man up and give me a phone call and tell me what the hell's going on."

Wylde went on to rant about Ozzy, using ample expletives and causing the radio station to insert censor "beeps" into the majority of the tirade.

Ozzy, who has been working on a solo album in Los Angeles, confirmed that Wylde had recorded material for his latest project, but admitted, "I don't know if I want to use it."

And just when it seemed the plot couldn't thicken any further, Wylde's wife announced in an online posting that her husband suffers from "a rare genetic clotting disorder" and that he is receiving treatment in California.

Meanwhile, Gus G. has told the Greek edition of Metal Hammer magazine that MySpace played a part in his new job with the former Black Sabbath frontman:

"I got a message on my MySpace page from Rob "Blasko" [Nicholson], Ozzy's bass player, asking me what I was doing, if I was living in America or not and saying that he wanted to talk to me. I never thought he'd want me for something like that [playing with Ozzy]. I initially thought that maybe he wanted to talk to me about doing a project or something and then he told me that one of Ozzfest's managers was looking for me. The manager said that they wanted me to fly out to Los Angeles immediately for a show that Ozzy was about to do in Anaheim, California."

Regarding his replacement of Wylde in the band's line-up, Gus said, "Zakk is a tremendous guitar player, just like all the guys that have played with Ozzy. In fact, Zakk is my favourite Ozzy guitar player ever and my biggest influence of them all. It's quite an honour for me to step into his shoes."

Gus G., whose real name is Kostas Karamitroudis, currently plays with Firewind. He has also played with Arch Enemy, Dream Evil, Mystic Prophecy, and Nightrage.

Orange Dual Terror Head

FACT SHEET
♦ Manufacturer: Orange Music Electronic Company Ltd.
♦ Official Site: www.orangeamps.com
♦ Price: ₤525.00
♦ Features: Power Switch, output valve switch, 1.5mm Zintec Chassis with steel vented top case.
♦ Controls: Independent volume, tone and gain for each channel.
♦ Output: 30, 15, 7 watts
♦ Valves: Preamp: 4 x ECC83; Output: 4 x EL84

Ever since Orange released the all-tube Tiny Terror in 2007, the company has worked to keep up with the demand for the 15-watt portable guitar head. However, Orange somehow found the time to introduce both the Tiny Terror Combo and the Tiny Terror Hard Wired Edition along the way. Now they've made another addition to the family with the release of the Dual Terror head. This latest Terror has both 7- and 15-watt settings and can put out an additional 30-watts from the EL84-driven power section.

FEATURES

The Dual Terror is more versatile than the Tiny Terror, but all the highly praised features of its predecessor remain unchanged. Even the aesthetics, which include vented, cabinet-free chassis and a chrome handle, have been preserved. Despite the fact that the Dual is slightly larger than the Tiny, it still manages to maintain its portability.

One major difference between the Dual and the Tiny is the tubes. The Dual uses four EL84 tubes whereas the Tiny used two, meaning the Dual is capable of more power and more overall volume. The Dual also has an on/off switch, a single input, a two-way switch for selecting channels and a three-way switch for full, standby, and half power. There are three speaker outputs but no effect loop.

PERFORMANCE

While the four EL84 tubes give the Dual a slightly upper hand over the Tiny, the difference isn't overtly noticeable. The Dual is denser in its harmonics than the Tiny (a detail that is more obvious when the Dual is set to 30 watts, causing a higher level of speaker movement and sound pressure). Also, top notes tend to sound slightly more round and the low end has a bit more kick.

The Dual's design captures more of the warm tube sound. The rhythm and lead channels are much the same, although the lead channel has slightly more fat and gain. The amp's high-gain settings are more rich and defined and the crunch tones are denser.

THE VERDICT

The Dual Terror offers lovers of the Tiny Terror added power combined with the option to switch between rhythm and lead settings. The new 30-watt setting means the Dual can easily be used in live settings of moderately loud volume and can be used with large speaker cabinets. In addition, the four EL84 tubes add some extra punch. The Dual lacks an effect loop, but features three power options, incredible tones and convenient portability.