Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, film producer, actor. He is cited as one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time in hip hop, with Rolling Stone placing him in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and labeling him the "King of Hip Hop". After his debut album Infinite and the extended play Slim Shady EP, Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP, which earned him his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, his next two releases, 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002's The Eminem Show, were worldwide successes, with each being certified diamond in U. S. sales and both winning Best Rap Album Grammy Awards—making Eminem the first artist to win the award for three consecutive LPs. They were followed by Encore in another critical and commercial success. Eminem went on hiatus after touring in 2005 due to a prescription drug addiction.
He released Relapse in 2009 and Recovery in 2010. Both won Grammy Awards and Recovery was the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide, the second time he had the international best-selling album of the year. Eminem's eighth album, 2013's The Marshall Mathers LP 2, won two Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album; these were followed by 2017's Revival and 2018's Kamikaze, the latter being the best-selling hip hop album of 2018. In addition to his solo career, Eminem is an original member of the Midwest hip hop groups Soul Intent and D12, he is known for his collaborations with fellow Detroit-based rapper Royce da 5'9". Eminem has developed other ventures, including Shady Records, with manager Paul Rosenberg, which helped launch the careers of artists such as 50 Cent. Eminem has established his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio. In November 2002, he starred in the hip hop film 8 Mile playing himself, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself", becoming the first rap artist to win the award.
Eminem has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash, Funny People, The Interview, the television series Entourage. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Throughout his career, he has had 9 number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, he is the only artist to have nine albums consecutively debut at number one on the Billboard 200. With over 220 million records sold globally, Eminem is among the world's best-selling artists of all time. Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, the only child of Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. and Deborah Rae "Debbie". He is of English, German, Swiss and Luxembourgian ancestry, his mother nearly died during her 73-hour labor with him. Eminem's parents were in a band called Daddy Warbucks, playing in Ramada Inns along the Dakotas–Montana border before their separation. Eminem's father, referred to by his middle name Bruce, left the family, moving to California and having two other children: Michael and Sarah.
Debbie had son Nathan "Nate" Kane Samara. During his childhood and Debbie shuttled between Michigan and Missouri staying in one house for more than a year or two and living with family members. In Missouri, they lived in several places, including St. Joseph and Kansas City; as a teenager, Eminem wrote letters to his father, which Debbie stated all came back marked "return to sender". Friends and family remember Eminem as a happy child, but "a bit of a loner", bullied. One bully, D'Angelo Bailey injured Eminem's head in an assault. Eminem spent much of his youth in a working-class black, Detroit neighborhood, he and Debbie were one of three white households on their block, Eminem was beaten by black youths several times. As a child he was interested in storytelling, aspiring to be a comic-book artist before discovering hip hop. Eminem heard his first rap song on the Breakin' soundtrack, a gift from Debbie's half-brother Ronnie Polkinghorn, close to him and became a musical mentor to him; when Polkinghorn committed suicide in 1991, Eminem stopped speaking for days and did not attend his funeral.
Eminem's home life was stable. When her son became famous, Debbie was unimpressed by suggestions that she was a less-than-ideal mother, contending that she sheltered him and was responsible for his success. In 1987, Debbie allowed runaway Kimberly Ann "Kim" Scott to stay at their home. After spending three years in ninth grade due to truancy and poor grades, he dropped out of Lincoln High School at age 17. Although he was interested in English, he never explored literature and disliked math and social studies. Eminem worked at several jobs to help his mother pay the bills maintaining that she threw him out of the house anyway; when she left to play bingo, he would write songs. At age 14, Eminem began rapping with high-school friend Mike Ruby.
Don't Shoot the Messenger
Don't Shoot the Messenger is an EP by Puscifer. Three of the tracks were released on soundtracks, "Trekka" being the only exception. "REV 22:20" was released on the Underworld soundtrack, "REV 22:20" was released on the Saw II soundtrack and "The Undertaker" was released on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep and layered sound; the style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, other groups, either from Canada or the Benelux. In the early 1990s, the style spawned the dark electro genre, in the mid-/late-1990s, the aggrotech offshoot; the fan base for the style is linked to the rivethead subculture. After the EBM movement faded in the early 1990s, electro-industrial attained popularity in the international club scene. In contrast to the straight EBM style, electro-industrial groups use harsher beats and raspy, distorted, or digitized vocals. In contrast to industrial rock, electro-industrial groups avoided guitars, other than Skinny Puppy, who used E-Guitar Elements since the mid 80s in songs like Testure or Dig It. Electro-industrial was anticipated by 1980s groups such as SPK, Die Form, Klinik, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly.
Prominent electro-industrial groups of the 1990s include Mentallo and the Fixer, Yeht Mae, Velvet Acid Christ, KMFDM and Pulse Legion. Since the mid-1990s, some electro-industrial groups added guitars and became associated with industrial metal. Skinny Puppy, Download and Haujobb, have incorporated elements of experimental electronic music styles like drum and bass, IDM, glitch and other electronica genres. Electro-industrial groups tend to feature themes of control and science fiction. Electro-industrial groups sometimes take aesthetic inspiration from horror films, including The Exorcist and the work of Roman Polanski, the science fiction films Blade Runner and Alien. Dark electro is a similar style, developed in the early 1990s in central Europe; the term describes groups such as yelworC and Placebo Effect, was first used in December 1992 with the album announcement of Brainstorming, yelworC's debut. The style was inspired by the music of The Skinny Puppy. Compositions included horror soundscapes, grunts or distorted vocals.
YelworC were a music group from Munich, formed in 1988. They laid the foundations of the dark electro movement in the early 1990s, were the first artist on the German label Celtic Circle Productions. In subsequent years, dark electro was displaced by techno-influenced styles such as aggrotech and futurepop. Other groups to practice the style included Das Ich, amGod, Nurgul Jones, early Evil's Toy, Mortal Constraint, Arcana Obscura, Splatter Squall, Seven Trees, Tri-State, GGFH, Ice Ages. Aggrotech, is a derivative form of electro-industrial with a strong influence from the hardstyle/hard trance music that first surfaced in the mid-late-1990s. Aggrotech employs aggressive beats, prominent lead synth lines, lyrics of a dark nature. Vocals are distorted and pitch-shifted to sound harsh and synthetic and static and glitching effects are added. Aggrotech musicians include AciDrome, Aesthetic Perfection, Alien Vampires, Cenobita, Die Sektor, Dark Liner, Das Ich, Dawn of Ashes, Detroit Diesel, Dulce Liquido, DYM, Flesh Field, Front Line Assembly, Funker Vogt, God Module, Hocico, iVardensphere, Panic Lift, Psyclon Nine, Suicide Commando, Tactical Sekt, The Retrosic, Ritual Aesthetic, Unter Null, Virtual Embrace, X-Fusion, X-RX, among many.
List of industrial music festivals List of electro-industrial bands
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: Mer de Noms, their debut album in 2000, followed up by Thirteenth Step in 2003. Shortly after Emotive's release, the band went on hiatus. Band activity was sporadic in the following years; the band reformed in 2017 to record a fourth album, Eat the Elephant, released on April 20, 2018. Prone to downtime due to Keenan's other musical commitments, the band has featured a variety of musicians in the other roles throughout its alternating periods of activity and inactivity; the original incarnation of the band included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, Josh Freese on drums. Primus drummer Tim Alexander had stood in as a drummer prior to Freese in the band's initial live shows, however this was prior to releasing any material. Band collaborator and producer Danny Lohner and Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White were members for a short period in the early 2000s.
The band's current lineup features Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, bassist Matt McJunkins, drummer Jeff Friedl, the latter two being contributors to the related Puscifer and Ashes Divide projects. Despite the varied cast and numerous lineup changes, the stylistic content of A Perfect Circle's songs has remained consistent with Howerdel as music composer, Keenan writing lyrics and vocal melodies; the band's studio albums have been well received critically and commercially, with their first three studio albums selling 4 million copies collectively as of 2005. A Perfect Circle was conceived by Billy Howerdel, a former guitar technician for Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins and Tool. Howerdel met singer Maynard James Keenan in 1992, when Tool was opening for Fishbone, the two became friends. Three years Keenan offered Howerdel, looking for lodging, a room in his North Hollywood home; this provided Howerdel the opportunity to play demos of his music for Keenan. Pleased with what he heard, Keenan remarked, "I can hear myself singing."
Although he desired a female vocalist, Howerdel agreed that Keenan would be a good fit, A Perfect Circle was formed a short time later. The two rounded out the band's initial lineup with bassist and violinist Paz Lenchantin, former Failure guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Primus drummer Tim Alexander; the band played their first show at LA's Viper Club Reception in August 1999, followed by a larger-scale, more publicized show at the Coachella Festival the following October. While in talks to release the album on Volcano Records – Tool's record label – Keenan stated that they instead chose to go with Virgin Records, who Keenan felt better understood that Keenan meant for the band to be an important band to Tool, not a minor side project. After the initial shows and securing a record deal, the band entered the studio to begin work on their first album. Alexander was soon replaced with Josh Freese, who worked with Howerdel on the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, with Alexander's only studio contribution being drums on the album version of the song "The Hollow".
The band's debut album, Mer de Noms, was released on May 23, 2000. The album was well received critically, it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling 188,000 copies in its first week and making it the highest selling debut album for a rock band. Mer de Noms was certified platinum by the RIAA, indicating 1 million copies sold, on October 31, 2000; the album was well received by critics. The release earned the band the "Best Debut Album" award from the California Music Awards. In the album review by Rolling Stone, Pat Blashill wrote that Keenan "added an operatic angst to Howerdel's songs" and concluded that "A Perfect Circle sound like a desperate dream of what rock used to be. Maybe that's the point." AllMusic's review expressed that "there's little question that the addicting combination of Keenan's aching voice and Howerdel's accomplished songs and production skills made for one of 2000's best splashes in whatever was left of'modern rock'."Promotions began shortly after recording for the album was finished.
They served as the opening act for Nine Inch Nails on the 2000 Fragility v2.0 tour, but subsequently embarked on a number of headlining tours all over the world, touring for around eight months straight. As Keenan was well known through his other band, he would wear long wigs on his otherwise bald head when performing, to distinguish himself from his Tool persona; the album produced three singles as well: "Judith", "3 Libras", "The Hollow". All three performed well commercially. Activity began slowing down for the band by late 2000, with Keenan returning to Tool to finish the recording of what would be their next album, Lateralus. Keenan returned to A Perfect Circle to tour from January to March 2001, until returning to Tool again for the rest of 2001 to release and tour in support of Lateralus. Initial plans were for Howerdel to collaborate long-dis
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos. Other keyboard instruments include celestas, which are struck idiophones operated by a keyboard, carillons, which are housed in bell towers or belfries of churches or municipal buildings. Today, the term keyboard refers to keyboard-style synthesizers. Under the fingers of a sensitive performer, the keyboard may be used to control dynamics, shading and other elements of expression—depending on the design and inherent capabilities of the instrument. Another important use of the word keyboard is in historical musicology, where it means an instrument whose identity cannot be established. In the 18th century, the harpsichord, the clavichord, the early piano were in competition, the same piece might be played on more than one. Hence, in a phrase such as "Mozart excelled as a keyboard player," the word keyboard is all-inclusive.
The earliest known keyboard instrument was the Ancient Greek hydraulis, a type of pipe organ, invented in the third century BC. The keys were balanced and could be played with a light touch, as is clear from the reference in a Latin poem by Claudian, who says magna levi detrudens murmura tactu... intent, “let him thunder forth as he presses out mighty roarings with a light touch”. From its invention until the fourteenth century, the organ remained the only keyboard instrument; the organ did not feature a keyboard at all, but rather buttons or large levers operated by a whole hand. Every keyboard until the fifteenth century had seven naturals to each octave; the clavichord and the harpsichord appeared during the fourteenth century—the clavichord being earlier. The harpsichord and clavichord were both common until widespread adoption of the piano in the eighteenth century, after which their popularity decreased; the piano was revolutionary because a pianist could vary the volume of the sound by varying the vigor with which each key was struck.
The piano's full name is gravicèmbalo con piano e forte meaning harpsichord with soft and loud but can be shortened to piano-forte, which means soft-loud in Italian. In its current form, the piano is a product of the late nineteenth century, is far removed in both sound and appearance from the "pianos" known to Mozart and Beethoven. In fact, the modern piano is different from the 19th-century pianos used by Liszt and Brahms. See Piano history and musical performance. Keyboard instruments were further developed in the early twentieth century. Early electromechanical instruments, such as the Ondes Martenot, appeared early in the century; this was a important contribution to the keyboard's history. Much effort has gone into creating an instrument that sounds like the piano but lacks its size and weight; the electric piano and electronic piano were early efforts that, while useful instruments in their own right, did not convincingly reproduce the timbre of the piano. Electric and electronic organs were developed during the same period.
More recent electronic keyboard designs strive to emulate the sound of specific make and model pianos using digital samples and computer models. Each acoustic keyboard contains 88 keys. Weighted keys, found on electronic keyboards, are designed to simulate the resistance of a key on an acoustic keyboard, via pressurization. There are 4 types of weighted keys. Keybeds, or non-weighted keys place the weights within the base of the keyboard; the second type, Semi-weighted uses springs, the third type is hammer keys. Most electronic keyboards use the fourth type: graded simulate keys. Weighted keys are made of wood, or metal/wood substitute. Enharmonic keyboard Musical instrument Orchestrina di camera Piano Symphony Young, Percy M. Keyboard Musicians of the World. London: Abelard-Schuman, 1967. N. B.: Concerns celebrated keyboard players and the various such instruments used over the centuries. ISBN 0-200-71497-X The general keyboard in the age of MIDI Renaissance Keyboards on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bob Rock
Robert Jens "Bob" Rock is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, record producer, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, the Tragically Hip, the Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Our Lady Peace, Bryan Adams, the Offspring, Michael Bublé, Black Veil Brides, David Lee Roth, Ron Sexsmith. Rock began his music career in Langford, British Columbia, as a guitarist playing with friends William Alexander and Paul Hyde in the former's household basement. After high school graduation, Rock left Victoria and became the co-founder of the Payolas, who became well known with the success of their 1980s hit, "Eyes of a Stranger", used as part of the soundtrack of the movie Valley Girl starring Nicolas Cage. In 1983, the Payolas won the Juno Award for Single of the Year. Rock worked as an assistant engineer at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver. In 1987, the band again changed their name to Rock and Hyde and had a hit single in Canada with the song "Dirty Water"; the song charted on Billboard's Hot 100.
In 2007, the Payolas became active once more as a touring and recording act, releasing the EP Langford Part One. Rock is best known as a producer for heavy metal bands such as Metallica and Mötley Crüe, he has worked with Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Blue Murder, the Moffatts, the Cult, David Lee Roth, Skid Row, Veruca Salt, Nina Gordon, the Offspring, 311, Our Lady Peace, the Tragically Hip, the Tea Party, American Hi-Fi, Simple Plan, Nelly Furtado, Jann Arden, Ron Sexsmith. Rock returned to performing, forming the band Rockhead with ex-Payolas drummer Chris Taylor; the band released two singles before splitting up. Rock produced the five finalist songs of CBC Sports's Hockey Night in Canada Anthem Challenge in late 2008. In 1990, Rock was chosen to produce Metallica's diamond-certified self-titled album Metallica, he subsequently produced Load and ReLoad as well as the new material for the band's cover album Garage Inc.. After Jason Newsted left Metallica in January 2001, Rock wrote and recorded all of the bass guitar parts on the 2003 album St. Anger.
He played bass during the band's few live performances until Robert Trujillo joined the band in February 2003. Rock was featured prominently in the 2004 documentary film Some Kind of Monster; the film dealt with Metallica's internal strife and their struggles with the creative process during the recording of St. Anger. In February 2006, Metallica chose producer Rick Rubin to produce their next album, ending the band's long-time relationship with Rock. At Metallica's 30th Anniversary Concert on December 10, 2011, Rock joined Metallica onstage and performed bass alongside Trujillo on the songs "Dirty Window" and "Frantic". Rock's career both as a producer and musician was recognized at the 2007 Juno Awards Ceremony in Saskatoon for his lifetime contribution to popular music, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. "Bob is a musical craftsman whose wide range of talents show no signs of slowing," said Melanie Berry, CARAS President.
"He has helped to define rock as we know it today, we are proud to recognize him in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame."Rock confirmed his acceptance of the award: "It is an honour to join great producers like Bob Ezrin, Bruce Fairbairn, Daniel Lanois, Jack Richardson, David Foster in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame" said Rock. "They are all giants of the industry, to be recognized, means that I had to have worked with great artists. I thank them for their confidence and inspiration."Rock has received nominations for 17 Juno Awards in various categories including "Producer of the Year", "Recording Engineer of the Year", "Composer of the Year", "Entertainer of the Year". He has won on numerous occasions for both his production work and his work with the Payola$ and Rock and Hyde. Rock last won Producer of the Year in 2005 for Simple Plan's "Welcome to My Life", he has been nominated for 2007 Producer of the Year for his work on The Tragically Hip's album World Container. In 2014, Rock won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for his work on Michael Bublé's album To Be Loved.
Payolas – In a Place Like This Payolas – No Stranger to Danger Strange Advance – Worlds Away Payolas – Hammer on a Drum Paul Hyde & The Payolas – Here's the World for Ya Zappacosta – A to Z Rock and Hyde – Under the Volcano Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood Rockhead – Rockhead Metallica – St. Anger 1979 – Young Canadians – Hawaii 1979 – The Subhumans – Death Was Too Kind 1980 – Pointed Sticks – Perfect Youth 1981 – Payolas – In a Place Like This 1986 – Zappacosta – A to Z 1986 – The Cheer – Shot with Our Own Guns 1987 – Rock and Hyde – Under the Volcano 1988 – Kingdom Come – Kingdom Come 1988 – Colin James 1989 – The Cult – Sonic Temple 1989 – Blue Murder – Blue Murder 1989 – Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood 1989 - Loverboy - Big Ones 1990 – Little Caesar – Little Caesar 1990 – Electric Boys – Funk'o Metal Carpet Ride 1991 – David Lee Roth – A Little Ain't Enough 1991 – Metallica – Metallica 1991 – Mötley Crüe – Decade of Decadence 1992 – Cher - "Love Hurts" 1992 – Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith 1992 – Rockhead – Rockhead 1993 – Quireboys – Bitter Sweet & Twisted 1994 – Mötley Crüe – Mötley Crüe 1994 – The Cult – The Cult 1995 – Skid Row – Subhuman Race 1996 – Metallica – Load 1997 – Metallica – Reload 1997 – Veruca Salt – Eight Arms to Hold You 1998 – Metallica – Garage Inc. 1998 – Bryan Adams – On a Day Like
Troy Van Leeuwen
Troy Van Leeuwen is an American rock musician and producer. He is best known as the guitarist for the rock band, Queens of the Stone Age, for which he has served since 2002, he is known for his work with the seminal rock band Failure, with alternative rock supergroup A Perfect Circle, as well as recordings with QOTSA members' side projects such as the Desert Sessions, Mondo Generator, Eagles of Death Metal and the Gutter Twins. Van Leeuwen created his first side-project, Enemy, in 2005, Sweethead, in 2008, Gone Is Gone, in 2016, toured with Iggy Pop supporting his album Post Pop Depression made with QOTSA bandmates Josh Homme and Dean Fertita. Van Leeuwen has a Dutch surname, he became interested in music at an early age and his dad would play early rock and roll records such as Chuck Berry. His first big influence in learning how to play rock came through listening to Led Zeppelin records. Playing drums Van Leeuwen sought to imitate Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham, but switched to guitar and discovered that he had an aptitude for it.
He cites Jimmy Page as a big influence: I would have to say that Jimmy Page was the first influence I had as a guitar player. There were so different sounds that he got; the riffs that he made were undeniably great. Every one of them; the mistakes he made were great. So to me, a great first influence. In the late 1980s, Van Leeuwen played in Jester, a successful southern California band fronted by vocalist Eric Book. Jester released an EP, the earliest and most rare recording of a 16-year-old Van Leeuwen, he played in a small band called Little Boots, with which he recorded a number of demos and played a few shows before the band's breakup. His next band was 60 Cycle, which released their debut "Pretender" in 1995, their self-titled album the following year, it was during his time in 60 Cycle that Van Leeuwen met Kellii Scott, the two started working on a project. Van Leeuwen went on to play in Failure; the band released three records and didn't enjoy any commercial success, but was praised by critics as a talented and revolutionary group.
It was during a tour with Failure when Van Leeuwen met former Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme, presently playing rhythm guitar with The Screaming Trees. After the breakup of Failure, Van Leeuwen became a session musician and recording engineer, working with groups such as Orgy, Crazy Town, Coal Chamber and KoRn, it was during his time as a session musician that Van Leeuwen met Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, who offered him a spot in his and Billy Howerdel's new band, A Perfect Circle. The band played their first show at LA's Viper Club Reception on August 15, 1999. After playing shows in Los Angeles, the band entered the studio to begin work on their debut album, Mer de Noms; the album was released on May 23, 2000, making it the highest debut for a new rock band, selling over 188,000 copies in its first week, appearing at number four on the Billboard 200. Van Leeuwen toured extensively with the band as the opening act for Nine Inch Nails, followed a number of headlining tours around the world.
Van Leeuwen recorded guitar parts on only three tracks of A Perfect Circle's second album, Thirteenth Step, before auditioning for a spot in Josh Homme's Queens of the Stone Age. After outperforming Jeordie White and others in the audition, Van Leeuwen was welcomed as the band's second guitarist for their Songs for the Deaf tour. Besides playing guitar, Van Leeuwen performed on lap steel guitar, backing vocals and bass guitar. Due to the band's schedule, Van Leeuwen had only one week to learn 30 songs. For the European leg of the album's supporting tour, Dave Grohl left to return to his main band Foo Fighters, he was replaced with former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo. Songs for the Deaf was a critical and commercial success, the singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow" became hits on both radio and MTV; the tour culminated in a number of headline dates in Australia in January 2004. Van Leeuwen's first recording with QOTSA was Lullabies to Paralyze; the band entered the studio with long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes, who replaced Nick Oliveri on the album.
Van Leeuwen aimed to fill in some of the gaps in the music where he felt the sound could be expanded through atmospheric and ambient textures made by guitar, lap steel and piano. The album featured several guest appearances, most notably ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, who performed backing vocals and lead guitar on "Burn the Witch" and the ZZ Top cover and Grace. Despite turning down an invitation to remain with the band, Mark Lanegan recorded vocals on new tracks, appeared with the band on the supporting tour when scheduling and his health permitted; the album was leaked onto the internet in February 2005, was aired by Australian radio on March 3, 2005 as an unsubstantiated'World Premiere'. The album was officially released on March 22, 2005 in the USA, debuted as number 5 on the Billboard Music Chart: the greatest initial success of any QOTSA record to date. On November 22, 2005, the band released a live album/DVD set called Over the Years and Through the Woods, which featured a live concert filmed in London, bonus features.
After touring to support the album, the band headed back into the studio in July 2006. A year Van Leeuwen reported that the band had written new material, "still in its infancy", which Homme suggested mig
