Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Carnage Asada," a new song by Iwrestledabearonce.
The track — which features a guitar solo by none other than Steve Vai — is from the band's new album, Late for Nothing, which will be released August 6.
Iwrestledabearonce may be masters of musical unpredictability, but even that couldn't prepare them for life's capricious ways.
After she became pregnant, founding vocalist Krysta Cameron parted ways with the band while on Warped Tour 2012. The remaining members — Steven Bradley (guitar, keyboards, programming, samples), John Ganey (guitar, keyboards, programming, samples), Mike "Rickshaw" Martin (bass) and Mikey Montgomery (drums) — did the only sensible thing. They went online and improvised as quickly as possible. Enter Canadian singer Courtney LaPlante.
"I have no idea how we got so damn lucky," Bradley says. "Courtney is just the perfect fit for us. We met for the first time when she arrived at Warped Tour, and we played a few hours later. It just clicked. Not only is her vocal style perfect for our material, but she's a total weirdo like the rest of us."
"The album came together as a result of us wanting to do something different," Bradley adds. "We didn't want to make another weird IWABO album or whatever people were expecting. We set out to make something different and better than anything we've ever released. It's a more evolved version of the band. We explored new styles and genres as well—especially in terms of the more spacey, epic, and beautiful parts.
"The weird twists and turns and the off-time heaviness haven't gone anywhere, but those parts seem to serve the songs better now. Also, this album has a fucking solo by Steve Vai on it, so it's automatically our best one to date."
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
