Californian death metal act Skeletal Remains have launched the official music video for "Seismic Abyss", the first single off the band's forthcoming new album Devouring Mortality.

Guitarist / vocalist Chris Monroy comments on the video: "The song is simply based on devastation of earthquakes and how unpredictable they can be with SR's own touch on the topic. The footage from the video was filmed here in Los Angeles. It was our first time doing something like this and we had a lot of fun doing it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!"

Skeletal Remains will release Devouring Mortality, on April 13th via Dark Descent Records in North America and Century Media Records for the rest of the world.

Tracked at Trench Studios (Abysmal Dawn, Exhumed, Hirax) in California and mixed by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studio (Asphyx, Dissection, Bloodbath), Devouring Mortality features cover artwork by Dan Seagrave (Entombed, Morbid Angel, Pestilence).

Devouring Mortality tracklisting:

"Ripperology"
"Seismic Abyss"
"Catastrophic Retribution"
"Devouring Mortality"
"Torture Labyrinth"
"Grotesque Creation"
"Parasitic Horrors"
"Mortal Decimation"
"Lifeless Manifestation"
"Reanimating Pathogen"
"Internal Detestation"

Skeletal Remains formed as Anthropophagy back in 2011, released the two much lauded studio albums Beyond The Flesh (2012) and Condemned To Misery (2015) via German label FDA Rekotz, constantly toured Europe, the US and Japan, performing at such renowned festivals as Maryland Death Fest, Party.San, Brutal Assault, Obscene Extreme and Hellfest.

Progressive power metal act Borealis will release their new album, The Offering, on March 23rd via AFM Records. Pre-orders are available at this location, and a lyric video for “River” can be found below.

"The Offering is our best creation yet, it's a mix of Fall From Grace and Purgatory with an atmospheric twist. We feel better than ever and can't wait to take this album on the road." - Matt Marinelli (vocals)

The Offering now marks the return of the five Canadians with an album full of new material. But it is also a premiere for the band in a different way. As Marinelli explains, The Offering describes a story concept resulting from an interest in cults sparked by his fascination for horror movies. “The album follows the creation, rise and ultimate demise of a cult who practices human, more specifically child sacrifice. They believe this method of belief, sacrifice and devotion will bring an end to the suffering of humanity, as well as bring back the innocence of mankind that was lost to greed and industrialism. However, due to their lack of respect to powers greater than themselves, they unwittingly create a deity out of the sacrificed kid, whom ultimately delivers punishment due to their injustice. The men in the cult are too self-consumed with their righteous quest, they've completely overlooked the fact that children are the true key to restoring and preserving lost innocence.”

Underlined by this story concept the album again delivers forceful, sometimes progressive metal riffs which are accompanied by epic melodies and Matt Marinelli’s expressive voice which elegantly guides through the twelve songs. The dense atmosphere Borealis are creating with this mixture adds a depth to “The Offering” which only few others can achieve and which will amaze fans of bands like Evergrey, Kamelot or Nocturnal Rites.

The Offering was produced and mixed again by drummer Sean Dowell, who was also responsible for mastering this time.

Tracklisting:

“The Fire Between Us”
“Sign Of No Return”
“The Offering”
“River”
“The Second Son”
“The Devil’s Hand”
“Into The Light”
“Scarlet Angel”
“The Awakening”
“The Path”
“Forever Lost”
“The Ghosts Of Innocence”

"River" lyric video:

“Sign Of No Return” lyric video:

Paris, France-based metal band, Born From Lie, will release their new album, The New World Order Part 1, on April 13th.

Founded in 2014, Born From Lie is a band at the intersection of rock and metal music. Their third album, The New World Order Part 1, launch the band into a concept where each track is a chapter of a single overall story.

Synopsis: A group of people who left their country by boat to find a promised land in a city, but this one is surrounded by a wall. It will be possible for them to attempt to enter in the city via a cell controlled by the army after having carried out various tests (psychological and medical). The sick are taken aside to be treated, but after several days, none of them return from the Infirmary.

The protagonists who stayed in the cell decide to send one of them, pretending to be sick, in order to see what happened to the others; he will not come back either. A part of the group is convinced that the military are lying to them, and decide to quit the cell while another part of the group decides nevertheless to try their luck in the city.

The group that decided to quit the cell remains lock up and finally learn the truth: in order to avoid any rebellion and coalition around the city, they accept all the people who come to them and make a selection once they are inside: sick, embarrassing people or people unable to work are eliminated while others enter in the city to accomplish dirty work.

Tracklisting:

"An Endless Journey"    
"The Path Of Hate"
"The Cell"
"Draw Straws"
"Insomnia"
"With Their Lies"
"The Split"
"The New World Order"

The Heretic Order and Massacre Records will continue to work together. The British horror metallers will release their new album this June, just in time for the upcoming UK tour with Pist.On.

The band's new record will be titled Evil Rising and will be recorded by Will Maya (The Answer, Breed 77), who already worked with the band on the debut album All Hail The Order. The cover artwork will once again be created by Five Miligrams Artworks (Napalm Death, Shadows Fall, etc.).

Live dates:

June
23 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Academy 3*
24 - Glasgow, UK - O2 ABC2*
25 - Newcastle, UK - O2 Academy 2*
26 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion*
27 - Sheffield, UK - O2 Academy 2*
28 - Southampton, UK - The Brook*
29 - London, UK - O2 Academy Islington*

* supporting Pist.On

(Photo - tinaK Photography)

Quality video footage of LAST IN LINE performing the DIO classic "Holy Diver" on March 3 at the Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan can be seen below (clip edited and produced by George S Pogacich).

LAST IN LINE recently put the finishing touches on the follow-up to its acclaimed 2016 debut album, "Heavy Crown".

Drummer Vinny Appice, guitarist Vivian Campbell and bassist Jimmy Bain were part of the original DIO lineup which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to launch LAST IN LINE.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.


"We've all become really good friends," Andrew told Q103. "It kind of started as a little bit of a tribute, in a sense. Those guys wanted to play the songs that they wrote. Vivian's been with DEF LEPPARD for over twenty years now. [Vivian, Vinny and Jimmy] hadn't played together in really a long time, so they wanted to get back together and do something. So we started playing the old songs, and then it just turned into this other thing where we did a record [in 2016], and the record actually sold units and charted on Billboard. And it's become a whole another thing now — it's like a new original band that throws back, with an old catalog of big hits."

Bassist Phil Soussan joined LAST IN LINE two years ago as the replacement for Bain, who passed away in January 2016 at the age of 68. He was reportedly suffering from lung cancer at the time of his death.

On April 20, PENNYWISE will release its new album, "Never Gonna Die". The legendary punk band's twelfth full-length is the first full album of new songs with singer Jim Lindberg, guitarist Fletcher Dragge, drummer Byron McMackin, and bassist Randy Bradbury in over a decade.

Today, PENNYWISE has shared "Never Gonna Die"'s title track: a thrashing and furious look into "the seemingly immortal practice of handing down our ancient biases, prejudice, and religious dogma from each generation to the next," according to Lindberg.

"The goal of the song is to try and get young people to finally say enough, and that the system isn't working," Lindberg adds. "It's going to take a massive evolutionary shift in consciousness to change it, starting with the youth, because unless we do, we'll just have more of the same carnage we've seen happening all over the world reincarnated with every new generation."

Produced by longtime PENNYWISE collaborator Cameron Webb (MOTÖRHEAD, NOFX, ALKALINE TRIO), "Never Gonna Die" came to life in the same space where the band penned classic songs with late bassist Jason Thirsk. With its quintessential power to merge the subversive and the celebratory, PENNYWISE has built the album on fast-paced anthems expertly engineered to inspire radical change, personal empowerment, relentless hijinks, and reckless fast times.

Formed in the South Bay of Los Angeles — a neighborhood with a rich punk-rock history — PENNYWISE began in 1988. The band went on to amass an international following with their relentless touring and a melodic, high-energy sound fusing classic punk, surf punk, and blistering hardcore. Through the years, PENNYWISE has solidified its place in punk history with iconic songs like "Fuck Authority", "Alien" and "Bro Hymn" (their timeless ode to brotherhood and departed friends).

PENNYWISE has released 11 albums over the last three decades. Resolutely working outside the margins of the mainstream, the band has emerged as an enduringly vibrant staple on SoCal radio airwaves and the worldwide festival circuit.

PENNYWISE tour dates:

Mar 09 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Mar 10 - Bend, OR - Midtown Ballroom
Mar 11 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House
Mar 13 - Victoria, Canada - Capital Ballroom
Mar 14 - Vancouver, Canada - Commodore Ballroom
Mar 15 - Kelowna, Canada - Sapphire
Mar 16 - Calgary, Canada - MacEwan Hall, University of Calgary
Mar 17 - Edmonton, Canada - Union Hall
Mar 19 - Saskatoon, Canada - O'Brian's Event Centre
Mar 20 - Winnipeg, Canada - Garrick Centre
Mar 22 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's
Mar 23 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
Mar 31 - Chiba, Japan - Vans Warped Tour Japan 2018
Apr 7-8 - Sacramento, CA - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (State of California Dohney State Beach)
Apr 28 - Denver, CA - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre)
Apr 29 - Albuquerque, NM - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (Isleta Amphitheatre)
May 05 - Tucson, AZ - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (Rillito Park Race Track)
May 12 - Auburn, WA - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (White River Amphitheatre)
May 13 - Portland, OR - Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival (Portland Meadows)

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill says that he found it surprising to hear that Kenneth "K.K." Downing was "shocked" that he wasn't asked to rejoin the band following Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from the road due to his battle with Parkinson's disease.

Tipton, who is now 70 and has performed on every PRIEST album since the group's 1974's debut set, "Rocka Rolla", is not quitting the outfit, but simply cannot handle to rigorous challenges of performing live. Joining PRIEST for its upcoming dates will be the band's co-producer and HELL/ex-SABBAT guitarist Andy Sneap.

In a statement released last week, Downing said that was "shocked and stunned" that he "wasn't approached to step into [his] original role as guitarist for JUDAS PRIEST." He added that he now knows "more clearly than ever" that he did the right thing by leaving the band when he did because he believes that his contributions to PRIEST's legacy are "unappreciated by more than one member."

During a brand new interview with Metal Wani, Hill was asked for his thoughts on Downing's comments and whether PRIEST considered approaching K.K. to return to the band following Tipton's decision to step aside from the stage.

"Well, I don't know where Ken is coming from, to be honest," Ian replied (hear audio below). "He retired seven years ago and he made it clear at the time that he didn't wanna come back. So I'm surprised that he's saying that he was surprised that he wasn't asked. I think we all thought he probably would have been surprised if we had asked him. So I don't know. It's a bit like your quarterback retiring, you replace the guy, and then two or three years down the line, [when the new guy] gets injured, you're not gonna come back to the guy that just retired. You'll find somebody else. And it's pretty much the same thing."

Downing announced his retirement from PRIEST in April 2011. He has since been replaced by Richie Faulkner, who was once the guitarist in the backing group for Lauren Harris, daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

PRIEST's new album, "Firepower", will be released on March 9 via Epic.

The North American leg of the "Firepower" tour will kick off on March 13 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and will wrap on May 1 in San Antonio, Texas.

An official video for Bon Jovi's new single, "When We Were Us", is available for streaming below.

Bon Jovi performed the single, from the reissued version of their This House Is Not For Sale album, on CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on February 22nd. You can also watch video of that performance.

Bon Jovi’s former #1 album, This House Is Not for Sale, is back atop the Billboard 200 chart for a second week. The set re-enters the tally with 120,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 1st, according to Nielsen Music, up from a negligible figure in the previous week. Essentially all of its sum is traditional album sales. The surge back to #1 is owed nearly entirely to sales generated by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with Bon Jovi’s upcoming US arena tour.

Tour dates:

March
14 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
16 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena
17 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
20 - Little Rock, AR - Verizon Arena
22 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
23 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
25 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
26 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center

April
2 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
4 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
7 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
8 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
18 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center
20 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
21 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
24 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
26 - Chicago, IL - United Center
28 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
29 - Milwaukee, WI - BMO Harris Bradley Center

May
2 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center
3 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
5 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
7 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
9 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
10 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
12 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
14 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena

TRIVIUM's Paolo Gregoletto has commented on his Twitter fight with ALL THAT REMAINS's Phil Labonte, explaining that it gave him a chance to say "something that needed to be said and said by someone in a band."

The war of words between the two musicians started after Labonte appeared on Internet provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos's InfoWars show to discuss the contentious issue of U.S. gun control in the wake of last month's mass shooting in Florida.

After video of Labonte's appearance on Milo's program was posted on YouTube, Paolo took to Twitter to call out the singer for his comments, at one pointing referring to Labonte as "a discount Jesse Leach." Labonte fired back by accusing Paolo of "riding coattails" and calling him "the third most important guy in a four-man band."

In a brand new interview with Metal Wani, Gregoletto was asked why he thinks Labonte went out of his way to respond to the bassist's comments, going so far as to make a YouTube video about it. "Probably 'cause I'm in a band that is prominent and a lot of other band guys don't really say much," Paolo said (hear audio below).

"I generally don't dive into stuff like that, and I really don't care about the content of any of the [Phil's] interview [with Milo Yiannopoulos] or what was said — it's irrelevant.

"It's something I felt that needed to be said and said by someone in a band, because it's usually just maybe fans saying something back, and it's kind of easy to bat that stuff down.

"For us, this genre is all about bringing up new bands, bringing up good stuff, and I feel like that sort of shit really overshadows what matters, which is good music, good players, good vocalists, people that deserve a chance to be heard," he continued. "And we're about empowering that, and the attention-grabbing stuff takes away from all of that. And when you don't do your actual job good, and you're using it as an attention-seeking thing, I think it's fucking stupid. And if that's what you wanna get out of this, fine, but I wanna drag it back to new bands, I wanna drag it back to better bands, the bands that never get any attention, because it's always sucked into the bullshit of people like that. The bands that we're bringing out, I want people to know those bands, because they give a shit — they're busting their ass. And they deserve the attention — not the people that don't give a shit, don't put any effort into their craft or music, have given up on it or given up on the genre but wanna use it when it's convenient to them."

Paolo added: "That was really all it was about it. It was sort of me being, like, 'I don't really care. I think I'm gonna break the seal here, which is stepping back down from the fray, or into the fray.' I don't like to be a drama, attention seeker, but if that's what it's gonna take to maybe force people to kind of think about other things — like I said, new bands, bands that try hard — then it is what it is. But at the end of the day, what matters is our music, our touring, focusing on that. That's why it didn't go anywhere else past those two days [of the Twitter back-and-forth]. It is what it is. Everyone has their views on how that was or what it achieved. But it is what it is. And it's nice to just be able to say what you think and not always pretend that everything is great and stay silent when you don't really need to be or want to be."

Last month, Labonte, a staunch gun-rights advocate, posted a video message in which he offered his thoughts on the gun debate, expressing his belief that a ban on semi-automatic rifles would not reduce mass shootings and insisting that this nationwide crisis of firearm injuries and deaths would not be solved by a formal change to the Second Amendment.

Myles Kennedy has released the song "Love Can Only Heal", taken from his debut solo album, "Year Of The Tiger". Due on March 9 via Napalm Records, the effort was helmed by ALTER BRIDGE's longtime producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

The acclaimed singer/songwriter known for his work with ALTER BRIDGE as well as SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS recently completed the highly anticipated record, which is available for pre-order in various bundle configurations at this location.

On "Year Of The Tiger", Kennedy embarks on his first venture as a solo artist by embracing musical elements and influences he hasn't explored until this point in his career. His appreciation for the blues and acoustic based music can be heard throughout the 12-song concept record inspired by the loss of his father when he was a child.

The multi-instrumentalist played lap steel, mandolin, banjo and bass in addition to the guitar on the record. This shift in instrumentation helped create a new sonic canvas that some might consider a departure from the high gain wall of sound Kennedy has been associated with. Examples of this can be heard throughout the record, from the hypnotic drone of the title track, to the intricate finger style approach of "Haunted By Design" and "Ghost Of Shangri La".

"Year Of The Tiger" is a personal story framed in a new context from an artist willing to take chances. It's also a story that took decades to summon up the courage to tell.

"Year Of The Tiger" track listing:

01. Year Of The Tiger
02. The Great Beyond
03. Blind Faith
04. Devil On The Wall
05. Ghost of Shangri La
06. Turning Stones
07. Haunted By Design
08. Mother
09. Nothing But A Name
10. Love Can Only Heal
11. Songbird
12. One Fine Day

"Year Of The Tiger" was described by Kennedy in a recent interview with Metal Wani as "probably the closest thing to a full-on concept record that I've ever written. I mean, the story is congruent throughout the entire... It basically tells a story from start to finish, and it documents when my father passed away when I was a kid and basically what happened after that with my mom, my brother and I — it tells that story," he said. "So it's a full-on concept from start to finish."

Video footage of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY performing an acoustic version of their new song "Bad Habit" at the Dr. Feelgood rock bar in Paris, France can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Family Tree", which will be released on April 20 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.

"Family Tree" is the much-anticipated follow up to 2016's "Kentucky". As was the case on "Kentucky", the BLACK STONE CHERRY members opted to produce and track the new disc at David Barrick's Barrick Recording in Glasgow, Kentucky, the same studio where the four-piece recorded its eponymous debut. BLACK STONE CHERRY also chose to not over-rehearse upfront of the album sessions, instead preferring the immediacy and spontaneity of in-the-moment takes. The band also entrusted frontman Chris Robertson to mix the songs, which perfectly fit the loose, creative process that birthed "Family Tree".

"Family Tree" boasts BLACK STONE CHERRY's tried-and-true lucky number with its 13 songs, and like all BLACK STONE CHERRY releases, features songwriting contributions from each member.

Drummer John Fred Young says: "'Family Tree' showcases all of our collective musical influences and how we have taken those to create something that is truly our own unique Southern American rock 'n' roll sound."

Two special guests appear, one bringing the concept of family full circle. Chris's five-year-old son contributes backup vocals on the swaggering "You Got The Blues", while the other, revered jam-band musician Warren Haynes (GOV'T MULE) offers a guitar cameo and vocals on the delta stomp of "Dancing In The Rain". The band first met Warren 17 years ago as freshly signed youngsters on their first visit to New York City.

The concept of family looms large in the world of BLACK STONE CHERRY's four band members. Young's father Richard and his uncle Fred are founding members of the Grammy Award-winning country rock 'n' roots band THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS.

BLACK STONE CHERRY's four high school-aged friends — Young, plus frontman/guitarist Chris Robertson, guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Jon Lawhon — grew up honing their craft in the HEADHUNTERS' Practice House, an abandoned property on the Young family's farmland. John Fred says: "We grew up in THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS' rehearsal space, looking up at posters of CREAM, LED ZEPPELIN, URIAH HEEP, THE [ROLLING] STONES MONTROSE, and THE FACES. We were like kids someone took in a time capsule and put in the woods."

"Family Tree" track listing:

01. Bad Habit
02. Burnin'
03. New Kinda Feelin
04. Carry Me On Down The Road
05. My Last Breath
06. Southern Fried Friday Night
07. Dancin' In The Rain (feat. Warren Haynes)
08. Ain't Nobody
09. James Brown
10. You Got The Blues
11. I Need A Woman
12. Get Me Over You
13. Family Tree

According to Deadline, Rebekah Graf ("The Amityville Murders", "Lycan") has been tapped to play actress Heather Locklear, ex-wife of Tommy Lee, in the film adaptation of MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt - Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band".

The movie, which is being helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, will also reportedly star Daniel Webber ("The Punisher") as frontman Vince Neil, Douglas Booth as bassist Nikki Sixx, Machine Gun Kelly as Lee, and Iwan Rheon ("Game Of Thrones") as guitarist Mick Mars. Playing rock and roll legend Ozzy Osbourne in the film will reportedly be actor-comedian Tony Cavalero.

"The Dirt" is being produced by LBI Entertainment's Julie Yorn and Rick Yorn, along with Erik Olsen and Amanda Adelson, who wrote the script. Netflix will distribute the project, which was previously at Focus and before that at Paramount.

Neil previously told Las Vegas Magazine that "The Dirt" movie script stays "pretty close to 'The Dirt', so if you've read 'The Dirt', it's really something to look forward to."

Asked how it struck him that he would be seeing an actor playing him on screen, Vince said: "That's gonna be strange. It's funny, I saw the table read of the last script. They have these different actors playing each person, and even just the table read of the script was weird when the Vince guy was talking. [Laughs] It wasn't the guy that's gonna play me, but it was just kind of weird hearing somebody say your words. It's a bit of a trip."

AC/DC's classic 1980 LP "Back In Black" will be released on cassette on Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the annual celebration of independent record stores, taking place on Saturday, April 21. The cassette will be made available through RCA in a limited edition of 2,500 copies.

On July 25, 1980, AC/DC released "Back In Black" in the U.S., followed by the album's U.K. release on July 31. It was the band's first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who had died a few months earlier after passing out and choking on his own vomit following a long night of drinking.

The group quickly decided to press on and hired Brian Johnson from the band GEORDIE to take over on vocals, and they headed to the Bahamas for about six weeks to do the album. AC/DC had made some serious headway in America before Scott's death, but no one knew how "Back In Black" would be received. The album took off, and eventually sold over 22 million copies in the U.S.

Johnson told The Pulse of Radio that he didn't have a clue how successful "Back In Black" would turn out to be. "I'd just melted me brain in there, and I didn't know if it was good or bad," he said. "That was the first time I'd been in the Bahamas, anyway, or near America, you know, and you (have to) remember, I was just fascinated by the whole culture and all, and I had no idea what the hell I was doing! And (laughs) lucky, really — I was a bit lucky, I think."

"Back In Black" included the singles "You Shook Me All Night Long", which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Back In Black", which peaked at No. 37.

Despite its massive success, it never got higher than No. 4 on the album charts. The band's next album, "For Those About To Rock", reached No. 1.

"Back In Black" is No. 6 on the list of the biggest-selling albums in the U.S.

The album was produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange, who went on to produce DEF LEPPARD, FOREIGNER, THE CARS, and BRYAN ADAMS.

In 2012, "Back In Black" was added to The Recording Academy's legendary Grammy Hall Of Fame collection.

MOTÖRHEAD will release a seven-inch picture disc of its cover version of David Bowie's "Heroes" on Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the annual celebration of independent record stores, taking place on Saturday, April 21. The single's art will be a new "sketch" take on the classic war-pig. The flip-side will be "Heroes (The Wacken Family Choir Mix)" with previously unheard audio of the crowd at 2017's Wacken Open Air festival singing along to the single as it was being officially launched via the festival P.A., an emotional moment of celebration and tribute which can now be shared globally.

MOTÖRHEAD's version of "Heroes" originally appeared on the compilation album "Under Cöver" — a collection of some of the band's best covers — which was released last September.

Laid down during the "Bad Magic" sessions in 2015 by Cameron Webb, "Heroes" was one of the last songs MOTÖRHEAD recorded together.

"It's such a great Bowie song, one of his best, and I could only see great things coming out of it from us, and so it proved to be," says Phil Campbell, "and Lemmy ended up loving our version."

"He was very, very proud of it," says Mikkey Dee, "not only because it turned out so well but because it was fun! Which is what projects like this should be — fun!"

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on December 24, 2015, learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, 2015, at his home in Los Angeles.

The MOTÖRHEAD frontman had dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniels habits.

The band canceled a number of shows three years ago, although they did manage to complete one final European tour on December 11, 2015.

Former SCORPIONS drummer James Kottak has once again confirmed that he is in discussions with singer Lenny Wolf for a reunion of the original lineup of '80s rockers KINGDOM COME. Kottak played on the group's first two albums, 1988's "Kingdom Come" and 1989's "In Your Face" before leaving. The drummer went on to play on MCAULEY SCHENKER GROUP's 1992 "MSG" album before joining SCORPIONS in 1996.

Asked by Maximum Metal in a new interview for an update on the KINGDOM COME comeback talks, Kottak said: "The story behind this is, when the SCORPIONS announced the farewell tour in 2010, I was meeting with Lenny in Hamburg, who's the singer from KINGDOM COME, and we talked many times about this reboot. So I was, like, 'Okay, wait, so I have two years [of touring left with SCORPIONS]. I have PROJECT ROCK [now A NEW REVENGE] together, which we toured Russia three times, I was doing my KOTTAK band and another album; we toured Germany, Japan and America. And then KINGDOM COME, we went so far... We were all in L.A. We rehearsed together. We had it all set up and running, and then the phone rang one day in February 2012 and it was Mr. Klaus Meine [SCORPIONS singer]. He was, like, 'Hey, James, you know, I noticed you've been doing these bands on the side, and we've decided not to retire and to continue on. So, can you please not play with these other bands?' I was going, 'You've got to be joking.' But I respect Mr. Meine and the band, and I love SCORPIONS and that's my allegiance, so I put everything on hold. That meant putting 20 people's lives on hold. 'Cause we had managers, agents and bandmembers and we had the original lineup [ready to go]. Now, I've been talking to Lenny [again] and we're reaching out to promoters and we have some offers and everything looks really good for a KINGDOM COME reboot with the original five members." He added: "I hope it happens. I really worked hard on it. It hasn't been easy. We'll see."

Last year, Kottak told Shut Up & Rock On that he is "so proud" the first two KINGDOM COME albums. "I co-wrote on both of them on a few songs," he said. "They're just great albums. The songs are great. Lenny's incredible. We just killed it."

LED ZEPPELIN comparisons dogged KINGDOM COME throughout the latter band's '80s peak, in particular, Wolf's vocal resemblance to ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant and the group's penchant for blues-based hard rock, a style ZEPPELIN helped pioneer. Kottak was asked by Shut Up & Rock On how he felt about these ongoing claims. "If you're going to be accused of something, at least rip off the best," he said. "It was just great music. My drumming compared to [legendary ZEPPELIN drummer] John Bonham? Thank you, I'll take it. I think some of the responses from a couple of the guys in the band maybe misled people.

"The press is so funny when a band comes and they get huge really fast. They love to knock them down, some press people do. Sometimes the press won't. It's like, good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster. That's what happened to KINGDOM COME. The same thing happened to QUIET RIOT in the early days. It's what it was. I'm super-proud of this stuff. I never had a problem with it. Call us 'ZEPPELIN rip-offs.' Who cares?

"Before I even went to audition, I got this tape and these four songs were on there. It was just Lenny with his drum machine and him singing. I went, 'Oh my God! This is phenomenal.' I listened to the tape three times in a row. It was 'Get It On' and 'What Love Could Be' and '17' and some other song. I was just going 'This is great!' If anything, '17', if you listen to STP's [STONE TEMPLE PILOTS] 'Vasoline', it's a complete rip-off of '17'. It's the exact same riff. It goes round and round. Who cares? It's just rock and roll."

After its early run of success in the '80s, KINGDOM COME released several albums, with Wolf remaining the only constant member of the band. The group's most recent effort was 2013's "Outlier".

DANGER DANGER singer Ted Poley has partnered with Frontiers Music Srl for the release of another solo album.

Ted is currently hard at work in Sweden on this still-untitled effort. This time around, he is collaborating with some incredibly talented Swedish musicians, namely Mats Ericsson, Micke Jansson, Daniel Johansson and Robin Ericsson (on additional vocals).

"You might know some of those guys other musical work as the band DEGREED," says Ted. "I am also getting some vocal layering with the help of my good friend, the Italian stallion of vocals, Alessandro Del Vecchio. The album is being co-produced by Mats Ericsson and myself in Kopperberg, Sweden."

Ted continues: "After almost 40 years of recording and releasing music, I wanted to stretch out a little bit musically and I am proud to say that I have come up with a magical combination of amazing musicians and songs! The songs are awesome, and the musicianship will blow you away. Every one of the players are masters of their instruments and you might hear just a hint of modern prog interlaced with my usual catchy choruses this time around! This is going to be my favorite solo album ever and an album that I felt I had to make. And I am so happy with the results so far!"

Poley will also appear live at this year's Rockingham Live with his project with Steve Brown of TRIXTER, TOKYO MOTOR FIST.

Ted's last solo album, "Beyond The Fade", was released in May 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl.

"We Avenge!", a new song from Swedish death metal veterans THE CROWN, can be streamed below. The song is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Cobra Speed Venom", which will be released on March 16 through Metal Blade Records. Produced with Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman, the record promises to be one of the biggest surprises of the year — a return to death metal speed and darkness in full glory!

THE CROWN comments: "We are really looking forward to finally be able to show our fans how damn good this band can be when the circumstances are right. With that, [we] mean to be able to do an album the way we want to do it: creating as a band, rehearsing as a band, recording as a band. You will hear a band performing here, with fierce energy and hunger!"

With their motivation at an all-time high, THE CROWN spent most of 2017 intensely rehearsing 13 new songs. They eventually entered Studio Fredman with Nordström to record what would become "Cobra Speed Venom". The sound is massive, brutal and a real punch in the face. Extreme speed and aggression mixed with classic heavy metal and rock 'n' roll, which really shows that THE CROWN has no boundaries. The apocalyptic theme of the lyrics and music also fits perfectly with the outstanding artwork of Christian Sloan Hall.

"Cobra Speed Venom" track listing:

01. Destroyed By Madness
02. Iron Crown
03. In the Name of Death
04. We Avenge!
05. Cobra Speed Venom
06. World War Machine
07. Necrohammer
08. Rise In Blood
09. Where My Grave Shall Stand
10. The Sign of the Scythe
11. Nemesis Diamond (bonus track)
12. The Great Dying (bonus track)

THE CROWN is:

Johan Lindstrand - Vocals
Magnus Olsfelt - Bass
Marko Tervonen - Guitar
Robin Sorqvist - Lead guitar and backing vocals
Henrik Axelsson - Drums

Rhythm-driven heavy rock band SAULT — featuring members of internationally acclaimed power metal group KAMELOT and groove metal outfit ARCANIUM, and guest appearances by members of KING DIAMOND, ONE EYED DOLL and more — has just released its debut full-length album, "Seeds Of Power".

The official video for the song "Last Man Standing" can be seen below. The clip features Michael McCallum and Pat Bird as actors, and was directed by Pat Bird, Pat Dowdle and Jasper Thewes at Bad Trip Design.

The new video is the second of two videos shot with producer Roy Warner — the first being video for the single "Adonai". Unlike "Adonai" that was shot in a studio in Detroit, Michigan, band takes for "Last Man Standing" were shot in a warehouse reserved for artist. The story line was filmed in the outskirts of town in a wooded area. The band and producer's crew all brainstormed after the initial shoot to come up with a plot for the story line. SAULT didn't want it to look dystopian or to look old school either; they were aiming for somewhere in the middle. The story meshed well with the music and captures an element of suspense, and the hero of the story did a great job of building up the character to become, in fact, the Last Man Standing.

Bassist and composer Sean Tibbets commented about the song: "When I originally wrote the song, I wasn't sure I wanted to use it. But once the guys in the band started putting their own vibe and feel to the song, it became this crushing riff that sticks in your head. It is my personal favorite SAULT song so far."

SAULT originally formed in 2014 as a solo project of acclaimed bassist Sean Tibbetts, who sought to write hookier metallic rock music while not in the studio or touring with his full-time band KAMELOT. After deciding to branch the project out to a full band, Tibbetts joined forces with solo guitarist/tattooist Curtis Jay, and — after an introduction via ONE EYED DOLL and SAULT guest vocalist Kimberly Freeman — linked up with singer Benjamin Riggs of groove metal group ARCANIUM. "Seeds Of Power" features the talents of two rotating drummers — Matt Thompson (KING DIAMOND) and Casey Grillo (KAMELOT).

SAULT draws influence from the heyday of '90s alternative and grunge rock — ebbing and flowing with inspiration from bands like TOOL, LIVING COLOUR, SEVENDUST, SOUNDGARDEN and beyond — and accented by a further heavy metal impact. The sound is catchy and hard-hitting that will appeal to diehard rock fans and metal headbangers alike.

"Seeds Of Power" track listing:

01. Balance *
02. Guilt ^
03. Adonai ^
04. Entropy (feat. guest vocals by Kimberly Freeman of One Eyed Doll) *
05. Fragile ^
06. Peaceful Moment ^
07. Save Myself ^
08. Last Man Standing *
09. Null Space *

* feat. guest drummer Matt Thompson (KING DIAMOND)
^ feat. guest drummer Casey Grillo (KAMELOT)

"Seeds Of Power" was recorded using the power of the Internet, with different members recording their parts in Florida, Kentucky, Colorado and Texas. The album was then produced, mixed and mastered by Oliver Palotai (KAMELOT, ULI JON ROTH, DORO) in Stuttgart, Germany. Vocal tracking is credited to Adam Stewart of ARCANIUM and additional vocal edits were made by Jason Sewell of ONE EYED DOLL. Contributing writers on the album include Kole Kruger, Vic DeLeon and Jeff Garner.

Jeramie Kling of the Tampa-based melodic death metal band THE ABSENCE has revealed that he will play drums for VENOM INC. on the U.K. outfit 's upcoming European tour.

The "Blood Stained Earth Tour 2018", which also features SUFFOCATION, NERVOSA, AETERNAM and SURVIVE, will kick off on March 9 in Bristol, U.K.

Says Jeramie in a Facebook post: "Cat's outta the bag. I'll be out on tour playing drums for heavy metal legends VENOM INC. in Europe.

"Come out and bang your heads to a lot of classic VENOM tunes as well as some really heavy new cuts."

VENOM INC. features original VENOM members Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (drums) alongside ex-VENOM bassist/vocalist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan.

It is not presently clear why Bray is unable to join his VENOM INC. bandmates on the European tour.

VENOM INC.'s debut album, "Avé", was released last August via Nuclear Blast.

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released three albums as VENOM between 1989 and 1992 — "Prime Evil" (1989), "Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

The classic lineup of VENOM — Lant, Dunn and Bray — is often credited with kickstarting the whole black metal movement, but is more accurately seen an early example of extreme metal.

VENOM's second album, 1982's "Black Metal", was a major influence on on the early Norwegian black metal scene.

THE ABSENCE will release "A Gift For The Obsessed", its first album in eight years, on March 23 via M-Theory Audio.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

The first new RAINBOW single since 1996, "Waiting For A Sign", will be made available on March 16. The track will be included on "Memories in Rock II", which is due on April 6 via Minstrel Hall/Soulfood. The set will also contain a double CD of the June 2017 U.K. RAINBOW concerts, a DVD containing over 80 minutes of interview footage with the band and crew, an additional backstage clip and a video for the 2017 studio version of "I Surrender".

A one-and-a-half-minute snippet of "Waiting For A Sign" was made available via the Japanese iTunes store and can now be streamed below.

In 2017, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore brought his new RAINBOW lineup to the U.K. for three unique concerts; these memorable musical moments will be released in high-quality format on a double-disc CD set. Also included in this amazing package will be the backstage videos. Special interviews exclusive to this video set include those with Blackmore, Ronnie Romero, Jens Johansson, Bob Nouveau, Drummer Dave, the lovely backing singers Lady Lynn and Candice Night — as well as the phenomenal crew that brings these shows to the fans; production managers, lighting director, guitar technician, etc.

The setlist, combining classic tracks from both DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW, was exactly what the fans have requested most and will be found in this double-CD package. A few of the highlights are "Spotlight Kid", "I Surrender", "Mistreated", "Man On The Silver Mountain" / "Woman From Tokyo", "Perfect Strangers", "Black Night" and "Smoke On The Water" — each with Blackmore's stellar performance on guitar and solos executed to perfection by the master. His brilliant fretwork can never be duplicated and is clearly a highlight of each track of this double-CD package.

"Memories in Rock II" track listing:

Disc 1

01. Over The Rainbow
02. Spotlight Kid
03. I Surrender
04. Mistreated
05. Since You've Been Gone
06. Man On The Silver Mountain/Woman From Tokyo
07. 16th Century Greensleeves
08. Soldier Of Fortune
09. Perfect Strangers
10. Difficult To Cure
11. All Night Long
12. Child In Time

Disc 2

01. Stargazer
02. Long Live Rock'n'Roll/Lazy
03. Catch The Rainbow
04. Black Night
05. Carry On Jon
06. Temple Of The King
07. Smoke On The Water
08. Waiting For A Sign

Disc 3

01. Ritchie Blackmore Interview
02. Ronnie Romero Interview
03. Jens Johansson Interview
04. Bob Nouveau Interview
05. David Keith Interview
06. Candice Night Interview
07. Lady Lynn Interview
08. Dave David Interview
09. Andreas Bock Interview
10. Michael Bockmühl Interview
11. Bonus Backstage Clip
12. I Surrender 2017 Backstage Clip

Back in May 2017, the revamped version of RAINBOW released its first new music in more than two decades. Two tracks were made available on iTunes: an instrumental song called "Land Of Hope And Glory", which is is a reworking of the 1902 British patriotic song of the same name from Edward Elgar's "Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1", and a re-recording of the RAINBOW classic "I Surrender", which was written by Russ Ballard and was first released by RAINBOW in 1981. The latter song features vocals recorded by Ronnie Romero, who is originally from Chile but is now settled in Madrid.

Blackmore stepped away from his Renaissance-inspired brand of music with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in 2016 to perform a handful of shows with a brand-new lineup of the band he had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

Although Ritchie initially said that he had no plans to make a new RAINBOW album — explaining in early 2016 that he wanted to "just get back to playing the old songs one more time" — he revealed to Japan's Burrn! magazine that he changed his mind.

In addition to Blackmore and Romero, the current incarnation of RAINBOW includes STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

After Ritchie left DEEP PURPLE for the final time in 1993, he reformed RAINBOW for one album (1995's "Stranger In Us All") and one tour, ending things in Denmark in 1997.

British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS have parted was with guitarist Ben Ash and have replaced him with Tom Draper (POUNDER, ex-ANGEL WITCH, PRIMITAI).

Draper, who is from the United Kingdom but currently resides in California, made his live debut with CARCASS this past weekend at the Netherlands Deathfest at 013 in Tilburg. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

In a video message confirming his departure from CARCASS, Ash said (see video below): "At the start of 2018, I decided to come away from the touring circuit and focus on getting back into an educational role and also focus on a bit of study and some individual music projects. And from the footage that I saw of the band playing at the Netherlands Deathfest, I knew they'd knock it out of the park. They sounded killer and the chap who's now in the place I was is doing a cracking job. And from the bottom of my heart, I wish the guys all the best for the upcoming shows this year."

In a 2016 interview, CARCASS guitarist Bill Steer said that it was "not clear" if Ash would appear on the band's seventh album. Ash joined CARCASS following the release of the band's comeback LP, 2013's "Surgical Steel".

When asked by Dead Rhetoric whether Ash would contribute to CARCASS's next disc, Steer said: "At this stage, it's not clear whether he will actually be on the record, in all honesty. What he does live works in that environment. Recording is putting everything under a microscope.

"If somebody’s bringing in influences that are not within the scope of the band, it's going to be problematic.

"Ben's a killer guy and he works hard on his playing, but some of his favorite stuff is not our favorite stuff. If some of those things bled into our music, it would really dilute it, to be honest with you."

Steer continued: "It remains to be seen, but I'm just saying we wouldn't just make another album. We want everything to be as good as it can be.

"You could have the best guitarist on earth. I'm sure if Steve Vai played on it, that would excite a lot of people, but it would dilute it. It wouldn't work with our stuff."

Joining Steer, Walker and Draper in CARCASS's latest incarnation is drummer Daniel Wilding, who played on "Surgical Steel".

"Surgical Steel" sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart.

According to a new Instagram post from TOOL guitarist Adam Jones, the band has finally entered the studio to begin recording its next LP.

Last month, TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan revealed that he had finished writing the "words and melodies" to all but one new song for the new disc. Jones later wrote on Instagram that recording would begin in March.

Keenan has said very little about the new TOOL album in recent years, with his last message being perhaps his most specific in a long time. He also sings on the new album from A PERFECT CIRCLE, which arrives in April.

TOOL hasn't released any new music since the "10,000 Days" LP, which came out in May 2006.

Jones told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that everyone in TOOL respects the fact that the other members also have lives outside the band. "Everyone's got their own lives," he said. "We have kids, we have other projects, we have other interests. You know, it's like a marriage, you know, as you get older you kind of have to work at it and, you know, your partner changes and you have to kind of work to keep it going and keeping it positive and keeping the communication going and compromising and the respect and all that stuff."

The instrumental members of the band have been working steadily on music for the past year, with drummer Danny Carey recently saying that the disc could be released sometime this year.

TOOL's only currently scheduled appearance of 2018 is a May 18 headlining performance at Somerset, Wisconsin's Northern Invasion festival.

UK melodic rockers Vega will release their fifth studio album, Only Human, on May 11th on CD, LP and digital formats. Pre-order the album here, and listen to the track "Last Man Standing" below.

The band self-produced the record but teamed up with legendary Canadian musician and producer Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) for the mixing and mastering to bring their fans another gem of a release.

If you're very lucky, there may be occasions in your life when you find a band and you realize you’ve discovered something a bit special. We've all heard groups who release 'great' albums, but Vega certainly make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and provide butterflies in the stomach excitement when all fans of modern melodic rock listen to their new records for the first time. The 12 songs that comprise Only Human truly see Vega take their songwriting and musicianship to the next level.

Tracklisting:

"Let’s Have Fun Tonight"
"Worth Dying For"
"Last Man Standing"
"Come Back Again"
"All Over Now"
"Mess You Made"
"Only Human"
"Standing Still"
"Gravity"
"Turning Pages"
"Fade Away"
"Go To War"

"Last Man Standing":

"We wear our love of 80's rock music on our sleeves, but we also have injected our love of modern rock music to it. We aren't trying to rehash anything: the sound we have achieved is 100% Vega. We didn't want to try and guess what people expect and get it wrong," says singer Nick Workman.

Lineup:

Nick Workman: lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Tom Martin: bass guitar
Marcus Thurston: lead guitar
James Martin: keyboards
Mikey Kew: guitar, backing vocals
Martin ‘Hutch' Hutchinson: drums

Melodic metal act Artizan have announced that legendary vocalist Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer, Satan's Host, Titan Force) will be a special guest on their forthcoming album.

Artizan founder/drummer Ty Tammeus states, "We have always been a big fan of Harry! This track is a special bonus for the fans on which Harry performs all vocals, and he sounds stronger than ever!"

Artizan previously confirmed that bassist Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint) will guest on their upcoming project, tracking all bass parts.

Ty Tammeus said, "It is an honour for us to announce that Joey will be making a special guest appearance on the upcoming Artizan project. When I think of the elite bass players in rock/metal, Joey is at the top of the list. I have always admired his skills and the pure energy that he delivers. Joey absolutely nailed it!"

Fans can expect a first quarter 2018 release for the new album. Stay tuned for updates.

Studio Diary #1:

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Founded by drummer Ty Tammeus in 2008, Artizan crafts powerful, traditional metal. Dynamic arrangements, dominant rhythms and soaring melodies are key ingredients to the Artizan formula. The band has released three critically acclaimed albums via German record label Pure Steel Records, all produced by legendary producer Jim Morris (Iced Earth, Death, Jag Panzer, Crimson Glory): Curse Of The Artizan (2011), Ancestral Energy (2013) with guest vocalist Matt Barlow (Iced Earth), The Furthest Reaches (2015) - an epic sci-fi rock opera featuring guest vocalists Sabrina Cruz (Seven Kingdoms) and Matt Barlow (Iced Earth). Artizan was honored to be direct support for Fates Warning on their 2013 tour and recently performed at the legendary Keep It True festival in Germany.

New York progressive rockers Edensong have announced the addition of drummer Nicholas DiGregorio and koto player Kento Iwasaki to the band roster. The duo joins the eclectic lineup of James Byron Schoen (vocals/guitar), TD Towers (bass/vocals) and Barry Seroff (flute), following the departures of Tony Waldman (drums) and Stefan Paolini (keyboards) last year after a successful North American tour.

DiGregorio, a dear friend of the band for twenty years who has a background in jazz and improvisational drumming, and Iwasaki, a koto player and composer who is at home playing anything from traditional Japanese music to jazz and modern pop, further expand the sonic palette of Edensong, a band already known for its constantly evolving sound.

Edensong explained these lineup changes in a new video, which can be viewed below:

Regarding the new additions to the band, bassist TD Towers states: "Edensong is in crush mode like never before...With Nick, we've knocked out all the pillars of rigidity and embraced a fluidity that this band has never experienced. The way he plays the drums is very different; a technical virtuoso, but so much more about finding the inspiration of the moment and keeping this complex music eternally fresh. You'll find it's a freer, very fierce and fearless Edensong on stage where no two sets are the same...

...Kento is remarkable - not only is he a bafflingly talented koto player who manages the very tricky job of making a 13-string zither work gorgeously across very complex music, but he's a charismatic performer, and a compelling personality"

He adds of the recent departures: "The 2009-2017 lineup will always be classic, and what we achieved with YITGOY and the subsequent shows was monumental...Stefan is an esoteric spiritualist and chaos magician...in the top tier of prog keyboard players...endlessly inventive, and responsible for a lot of the technical challenges that helped those of us remaining really level up our musicianship...

...There are no words to express what Tony did for Edensong. As a promoter, unique personality, community builder, tireless advocate for the scene in general and genuinely generous friend, he is in a class of his own...While it is hard to imagine life after Tony, I am grateful that he is free to pursue boundless personal growth, new creative outlets, and remain a scout on the very frontier of the gorgeously unusual."

Edensong are gearing up for a North American tour in April and their first European tour in October, which includes a performance at the esteemed Summers End Progressive Rock Festival in Wales. The band have released the following tour dates:

April
13 - Boston, MA - The Lilypad
14 - Winooski, VT - The Monkey House
15 - Quebec, QC - Centre d'art la Chapelle
16 - Ottawa, ON - details TBA
17 - Syracuse, NY - details TBA
19 - New York, NY - DROM
20 - Nyack, NY - Olive's

October
5 - Chepstow, UK - Summers End Festival
9 - Southampton, UK - The Talking Heads
10 - Leicester, UK - The Musician

Singer/Guitarist James Byron Schoen says of the upcoming tours and musical direction: "Rehearsing for this tour and working with this incredible new lineup has been an opportunity to dig a little deeper into our back catalog and rework some classics. We'll also be trying out some brand new music that will likely find its way onto the next Edensong album. While 2017 was about promoting Years in the Garden of Years specifically, the new set is about unifying the past, present, and future sounds of the band. We're all excited to get out there!"

Morbid Angel's 2003 album, Heretic, is available in a Full Dynamic Range vinyl edition via Earache. An unboxing video can be seen below.

Order the release here.

Morbid Angel's 1998 album, Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, will be reissued in a Full Dynamic Range 2x12" gatefold vinyl edition on March 9th. Pre-order the release here.

More details at this location. Check out the video trailer below:

Amoriello is the project of guitarist and children’s picture book author, Thomas Amoriello, who has teamed up with a stellar roster of special guest musicians including former members of Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, and the Michael Schenker Group to bring the 80's inspired metal with a modern feel.

The first Amoriello release on 7" vinyl via H42 Records of Hamburg, Germany features a power ballad called "Flood" with Swedish vocalist Goran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum), British bass legend Neil Murray (formerly of Whitesnake and Black Sabbath), session ace drummer extraordinaire Atma Anur (Jason Becker, Cacophony, Richie Kotzen) and former Yngwie Malmsteen keysman Michael Troy.

An epic guitar instrumental called "Nightmusic MCX" with former Ozzy, Ultimate Sin-era bassist Phil Soussan, Canadian drum virtuoso Shane Gaalaas (Michael Schenker Group, Uli Jon Roth) rounded out by Michael Troy fills up the B-Side with anthem like, 80's inspired metal.

Amoriello’s books, A Journey To Guitarland With Maestro Armadillo and Ukulele Sam Strums In The Sand, have received favourable reviews in Guitar Player Magazine (US), Rock Hard Magazine (Germany), Screamer Magazine (Los Angeles) and praise from guitar legends Brian May, Steve Hackett and Jennifer Batten.

"Flood", a beautiful 80's inspired power ballad being the first single from Amoriello. Thomas Amoriello's gothic lyrics are a tale of a 19th century Massachusetts woman named Jerusha Howe. He co-wrote the music with Edman who dazzles at the climactic ending. Troy lays down lush keys that breath while Anur brings power to this untypical metal ballad. Neil Murray who played bass on one of the biggest power ballads of all time ("Here I Go Again") glues and weaves the fabric for a Flood Ravaged Heart. Oh yea, don't forget the triple harmonized guitar solo!!!

The B-side "Nightmusic MCX" is a seven and a half minute instrumental that was composed by guitarist Amoriello in a heavy metal style. The anthem like track features Scottish bassist Phil Soussan, Canadian drummer Shane Gaalaas , and American keyboardist Michael Troy displaying taste and virtuosity from Soussan laying down the fretless courtesy of a WAL Pro II bass and Gaalaas double bass tribal rhythmic onslaught, Troy conjuring spirits while Amoriello powers fifths, slithering from moody slide to elegiac nylon string guitar. The track is more of an homage to the classic instrumentals of the 50's and 60's than a typical neoclassical shred rocker. Amoriello is a huge fan of classics such as Rebel Rouser, Green Onions, Rumble, Buckaroo, Misirlou, Walk Don't Run, Wipe Out, mixed with a touch of Yngwie, Iommi, Depeche Mode, Sisters Of Mercy and Goblin.

Get the single here.

Edge Of Paradise, hailing from sunny California, are heading to the land of ice and snow, to bring you an epic taste of their third full length album. This captivating rock group is getting ready to film a music video in Iceland, for their first single, "Face Of Fear".

Frontwoman Margarita Monet explains, "Over the last six years we've worked extremely hard, we've had many highs and lows, we even released a 6 year anniversary book about all our trials and tribulations :) But we've experienced and learned so much from traveling and sharing our music with people. I have many fears, one of them is loosing inspiration, but I can tell you that right now I am fearless, we have so much fire, and it's fuelling the new music in an incredible way! I know this next album will define our band in a major way, and we want to make the most epic video to introduce you to this album!"

Edge Of Paradise teamed up with Swiss based foundation Souls Of Rock, who's aim is to support talented bands and help bring their music to the stage. Souls Of Rock foundation will help sponsor the making of the video shoot in Iceland. "Face Of Fear" will be directed by award winning film maker, Christian Filippella.

On picking the location, Margarita explains, "The idea came from Christian, when we first met to plan the video. It sounded overwhelming at first, but to capture the essence of the song, we knew we had to make it happen! Nature can be very powerful in making us feel a certain way, and the vast and majestic landscape of Iceland is the perfect combination of mystery and grandeur, to bring forth the empowering message of the song! I can't wait to tell you more, but for now i want to let you know that we will be documenting the making of the video on our social media pages, we want to share with you the magic of Iceland and what it takes to make this video come to life!"

The band is recording their third full length album with Mike Plotnikoff (Halestorm, Three Days Grace) and Chuck Johnson (Korn). Edge Of Paradise broke a lot of ground in 2017, with their Alive EP reaching the Billboard charts, as well as making their European live show debut, among the few achievements for the band, but Edge Of Paradise dove into the new year and is ready to make some serious noise.

Stay posted for the tour announcements, but for now you can catch their electric at a festival in Arizona May 19th - 20th, and at the City National Grove of Anaheim, as Edge Of Paradise share the stage with Hammerfall, June 15th.

The eighth annual Monsters Of Rock Cruise set sail February 11th - 16th aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator Of The Seas visiting two new ports: Falmouth, Jamaica and the private isle of Labadee. During Stryper frontman Michael Sweet's live acoustic set, he invited Symphony X singer Russell Allen and Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra on stage for a killer rendition of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer".

In the clip below, new Stryper bassist Perry Richardson (ex-Firehouse) joins Sweet for acoustic renditions of Stryper "Soldiers Under Command" and "To Hell With The Devil".

Stryper have released a visualizer for "Take It To The Cross", the opening track of the band's upcoming God Damn Evil album.

"'Take It To The Cross’ is our answer to many fans asking us to do something a little heavier and even bordering on thrash,” says frontman Michael Sweet. “The verses are heavy with a vocal and lyric delivery that's bold and relevant yet the chorus kicks in with a fast, thrashy vibe. We brought in Matt Blanchard (Act Of Defiance, Shadows Fall) to handle the vocal growl on the choruses and the end vamp. This song is 100% high octane.”

Watch the video below and pre-order the new album via the options at http://www.stryper.com/.

God Damn Evil will be released on April 20th. The band's follow-up to 2015's Fallen album was recorded at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts. Artwork and tracklisting below.

Michael Sweet recently stated: "The new Stryper album is our best to date. If this was 1987 (when rock and metal ruled the charts) we might have a Grammy waiting with our name on it. But since this is 2018, we're just happy knowing that our fans will love it. We are blessed. Can't wait to get this one into your ears!"

God Damn Evil tracklislting:

"Take It To The Cross"
"Sorry"
"Lost"
"God Damn Evil"
"You Don’t Even Know Me"
"The Valley"
"Sea Of Thieves"
"Beautiful"
"Can’t Live Without Your Love"
"Own Up"
"The Devil Doesn’t Live Here"

"Take It To The Cross" visualizer: