THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED…
We will be working with the winner to schedule, edit, and post the interview in a couple of weeks. Thanks to all who sent us entries! It was a very difficult decision.
~SDM
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We are excited to bring you this unique contest featuring drummer, Chris Pennie, of Return To Earth. Most of you know Chris from his work as a founding member and long-time drummer of The Dillinger Escape Plan or some of his later work with Coheed & Cambria. In either case, Chris’ drumming has always been on our radar here at SDM, and we are huge fans of his work. We were going to interview Chris about the new Return to Earth record, Oblivion, then we thought it would be fun to turn it into a contest and let someone else have the opportunity to conduct the interview on ZOOM.
‘Oblivion,’ is the follow-up to Return To Earth’s 2010 release entitled ‘Automata,’ which was released on Metal Blade Records. Chris Pennie played drums, percussion, some guitar, and synthesizers on that release.
How To Enter:
- Anyone 18 (eighteen) years of age or older can enter.
- Record a video of yourself asking 3 questions you would like to ask Chris Pennie about his drumming.
- Upload your video as ‘unlisted’ to youtube and send us a link via our contact page here.
- Your video must be uploaded to YouTube no later than 2/21/2022 at 11:59 PM EST.
- The video should be under one minute in length and preferably recorded in your own drum room or practice space.
- You must introduce yourself and say your video is for the “Sick Drummer Magazine – Chris Pennie Contest with Return to Earth.”
We will review all the videos and select a winner when the new album is released on February 22, 2022. Once we have notified the winner they will be sent their signed sticks and a download link for the new Return to Earth ‘Oblivion’ record. The winner will then have 10 days to review the music and prepare 10-15 questions for Chris. We will then schedule a ZOOM conference and invite the winner to interview Chris face to face.
What Can You Win?
- A ZOOM Interview with Chris Pennie!
- A pair of signed Chris Pennie Signature Vater Drumsticks
- A free (one-time) download link for Return to Earth’s ‘Oblivion’ Album
Additional Contest Details:
- Sick Drummer Magazine is the creator and sponsor of this contest.
- This contest is in no way administered by or associated with Facebook or any other social media outlet.
- You may be disqualified if this contest does not adhere to your local laws.
- The Prize(s) is/are non-transferable. No substitution or cash equivalent of prizes is permitted.
- Grind Percussion LLC dba Sick Drummer Magazine will own all rights to the video interview.
- The entry period for the contest will end on 2/21/2022 at 12:59 PM EST and one winner will be chosen shortly after.
- The Contest is open to legal residents of their respective countries where not prohibited by law, who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry who have Internet access and a valid e-mail account prior to the beginning of the Contest Period/Post date of the contest on our website. The sponsor has the right to verify or reject the eligibility of each entrant.
Here is a video for the track “Void” from the forthcoming ‘Oblivion’ release:
More about Return To Earth:
Return To Earth — the New Jersey-based alternative metal band featuring influential drummer Chris Pennie — has announced a new studio album, Oblivion — to be released worldwide on February 22, 2022, via Bald Freak Music. A pre-order of the limited-edition colored vinyl release will be available via the Bald Freak website in the coming weeks.
Oblivion is the mind-bending next chapter from Return To Earth — the band’s third album, following 2007’s Captains of Industry, and 2010’s Automata (released on Metal Blade Records).
In the decade following the release of Automata, the band became more self-sufficient as producers and engineers. They also may or may not have dissolved before reuniting virtually in 2020 to finish their latest record.
Oblivion was conceived, written, and produced by Return To Earth, and mixed and mastered by Pennie, known for his work as a founding member of The Dillinger Escape Plan and a long stint playing drums in Coheed & Cambria. The new album is the darkest and most symphonic of the band’s career — featuring guitar-driven singles “Codex” and “Wolf Bait” and the electronic, cinematic “Favor From God” and “Forget My Face.”
Regarding the long layoff between albums, Pennie says: “We’re not tied to any scene or label or any outside trend. That gives us the freedom to create what we want and enjoy the process of taking however long to craft something that we enjoy making.”
Return To Earth began writing and recording Oblivion in 2013, a final installment of a long-planned three-album trilogy. Then, as Pennie says, “life happened” and the material lay dormant.
In 2020, Return To Earth singer Ron Scalzo approached Pennie and guitarist Brett Aveni about resurrecting songs from those 2013 sessions, which, in turn, inspired new material that would comprise the rest of the album. Scalzo wrote lyrics and recorded vocals in Washington DC and Nashville, and Pennie mixed the album from his home studio in New Jersey in the summer of 2021.
Pennie: “I went down to visit Ronnie and just hang with him. I played him a bunch of tunes that I had on my iPod and he was like, ‘Why don’t you put any of this stuff out?’ And I said… ‘I don’t care.’ I just wanna make music and enjoy the process of making the music. Personally, I’d done enough of the touring and being ’in the scene’ and all that stuff. For me, it’s always about making records, writing music — and that’s something that we’ve all done in that massive gap between the Automata record and this one.”
Scalzo: “I kept coming back to these unfinished symphonies we had worked on years earlier that, now, felt more relevant than ever. What was happening in my own life — and in the world we all found ourselves in — inspired some immediacy to pull some songs off the shelf and rework them.”
“Writing for Return To Earth has been an outlet to expel some personal demons, but also to kind of stew in the darkness,” says Scalzo. “Laying down vocals felt like an exorcism at times.” The results: nine new songs that showcase Return To Earth’s progressive songwriting and eclectic musical style.
Pennie: “I don’t feel the same thing every day. I wake up one day and I wanna hear Michael Jackson and the next day, I’ll wanna hear Deicide. That’s kinda how it’s always been. I think that’s why our records sound the way they do. Getting out of the safe space… that’s how you grow.”
Return To Earth is: Chris Pennie, Brett Aveni, Ron Scalzo
Digital album audio is included with every vinyl record. The Digital version contains three additional tracks: Big Ideas, Void, I Am The Machine.
Return To Earth is an American alternative metal band formed in 2005 in New Jersey, featuring Chris Pennie, Brett Aveni, and Ron Scalzo. Their debut album, Captains of Industry, was released in 2007 on Bald Freak Music. Their sophomore album, Automata, was released in 2010 on Metal Blade Records in conjunction with Bald Freak.
Chris Pennie is an influential drummer who has toured with numerous bands including Metallica, Soundgarden, Deftones, System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Mr. Bungle, Clutch, and Slipknot. He has performed at the world’s largest rock and metal festivals and has since taken an extended hiatus from touring.
Follow Return To Earth:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/returntoearth
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/baldfreakmusic
Bald Freak Music – http://www.baldfreak.com/returntoearth
