Heavy Metal Power

I gotta admin I’m pretty excited about this! Technical heavy metal innovators Watchtower are finally making progress on a new album. Check out the video below of drummer Rick Colaluca “drum cam” recording the song Projections from the forthcoming album Mathematics. There is no release date set for the record as of yet but guitarist Ron Jarzombek had this to say: “We are doing our best to finish up a 62-minute, 11-song disc, are having bi-weekly rehearsals, drum studio sessions happen bi-monthly, I personally work on the material nearly every day (recording guitars, drum production, etc.) and we’re slowly chipping away at the wall that we’ve been unable to tear down for the past two decades.”

He goes on to say (I think) that this is all fresh material for the new album. If this snippet of progressive metal greatness is any indication, the album certainly has promise. I loved Control and Resistance and it will be nice to have a follow up after 20 years. I consider Control and Resistance one of best technical progressive heavy metal records.

If you haven’t heard Ron’s latest progressive metal disc check out the video below. It’s a song from Blotted Science which Ron refers to as progressive death metal although its all instrumental. This video is from his forthcoming instructional DVD and its really inspiring. The guy is highly creative and experimental. He plays the whole song ‘Oscillation Cycles’ at the end of the video, so skip all the music theory if you’re not interested. You can see why Ron Jarzombek is regarded as one the premiere prog metal guitarists. The guy really knows music theory and pushes himself to greater heights of creativity and uniqueness with each release. Heavy metal music needs people like this!

According to Dio’s own website, Ronnie James Dio has stomach cancer. This is devastating news. Horrible! I sincerely hope he can make a recovery and continue his reign as the greatest heavy metal singer of all time.

Here’s the message from Wendy Dio on Dio’s website http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/

“Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans.

“Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio.

“Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up.”

Best wishes Dio, we love you.

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Update from Eddie Trunk of that VH1 Metal show

11/25/09: Just hung up the phone with both Wendy Dio and Ronnie James Dio himself. Obviously the news was just released about Ronnie having stomach cancer. I was aware of this a number of days ago but did not say anything public until Ronnie’s camp was ready to release the news. As I have said in the past, Ronnie has always been one of my closest friends and biggest supporters over the many years we have worked together doing various things. We have a friendship far beyond just music and he being a musician and me being a host. So I have been in a knot over this news when I was first told about it around a week ago. The results of the many tests he has had were made known yesterday, so now he knows exactly what he is dealing with and will soon find out the course of action. The GREAT news is that it did not spread and is in an early stage! I just hung up with him and he sounded great. The usual RJD, totally commited to “killing the dragon”, and he will!. He is not in pain, sounded great, and was ready to do what he has to do and get back on stage and sing like only he can! It was great to have spent about 20 minutes on the phone with him and hear how positive he was and thankful for all the support from his many fans. He’s already made a few changes to his diet that he said has helped him feel great and admitted his days of having a few drinks are mostl likely behind him. I will share what I can when I can, but know Ronnie is ready to fight and win, and anyone who knows the man knows he will succeed! Lets all continue to keep him in our thoughts and prayers going forward for a speedy recovery. Yes Ronnie is a great singer and icon for the music we love, but he is an even better person and I know he will beat this!

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Stomach Cancer Treatments
There a a few options for treatments for stomach (gastric) cancer. Here is a small bit of information on some of the treatments metal legend Dio may experience. (from Mayoclinic)

Surgery
The goal of surgery is to remove all of the stomach cancer and a margin of healthy tissue, when possible.

Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of energy to kill cancer cells. The energy beams come from a machine that moves around you as you lie on a table.

Radiation therapy can be used before surgery (neoadjuvant radiation) to shrink a stomach tumor so it’s more easily removed. Radiation therapy can also be used after surgery (adjuvant radiation) to kill any cancer cells that might remain around your stomach. Radiation is often combined with chemotherapy. In cases of advanced cancer, radiation therapy may be used to relieve side effects caused by a large tumor.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs travel throughout your body, killing cancer cells that may have spread beyond the stomach.

Depressing stats from Wikipedia

Metastasis (the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part) occurs in 80-90% of individuals with stomach cancer, with a six month survival rate of 65% in those diagnosed in early stages (Dio is in early stage) and less than 15% of those diagnosed in late stages.

And lets experience one of Dio’s magical performances: