Former FLYLEAF vocalist Lacey Sturm has released a new video for her latest solo single, "Impossible". The clip, which was filmed on February 4 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California, is a mixture of commentary on "Impossible" and live performance.

"Impossible" is taken from Lacey's debut solo album, "Life Screams", which was released on February 12 via Followspot Records with The Fuel Music distribution. Writing alone, as well as with husband/guitarist Josh Sturm, SKILLET's Korey Cooper and Grammy Award-winning writer and producer David Hodges, Lacey created a record that is the sonic successor to FLYLEAF's celebrated self-titled debut (which spent a staggering 133 weeks on The Billboard 200 chart). Sturm in 2014 opened up about some of the reasons why she quit FLYLEAF in the fall of 2012, shortly before the release of the band's third album, "New Horizons". Speaking in a video to promote her memoir, Sturm said that several events, including getting married, having a baby and enduring the death of the band's sound engineer Rich Caldwell changed her priorities. Sturm explained: "The one that hit the hardest was the death of our sound engineer. We did one last show with FLYLEAF as a benefit for his wife Katy and their son Kirby. And it was really hard to do a show without him, and it was really hard to think it could be our last show. So I remember looking at my son after Rich had passed and just wondering to myself, if this was the last year I had with my son, how would I spend it?"

Sturm added: "It was really amazing to recognize this season changing in my life and the freedom that I was gonna be able to focus on my family. And I'm so thankful for that time. And although it was really hard, I'm thankful. And that's the reason I stepped down from FLYLEAF."

FLYLEAF recruited singer Kristen May as Sturm's replacement and released its fourth album, "Between The Stars", in September 2014.

Swedish melodic rockers JoNo started as a solo project of singer Johan Norrby (hence the moniker ”JoNo”), who debuted with an independently released record in 2006. That was the starting point of the band who, since then, has released two very well received albums: Requiem (2013) and Silence (2015).

Singer and songwriter Johan Norrby has been singing, writing and playing music in countless bands and projects for years and years – which very much goes for all of the guys in the band.The guitarist, Stefan Helleblad, is also a member of Dutch symphonic rockstars Within Temptation. The drummer Nicka Hellenberg actually played all the drums on Within Temptation's album The Unforgiving and is involved in several band and recordings. Both keyboard player Johan Carlgren and bass player Janne Henriksson are frequently hired for both live and studio sessions. Leo Olsson – also a busy musician – joined JoNo in 2015.

The band says: “We are very thrilled and proud about our cooperation with Frontiers Music Srl, a label which is home to so many great artists we truly respect and admire. As a band this is an excellent opportunity to reach the international markets we’ve been aiming for. We can’t wait to get started with the production of the coming album, and of course hitting the stage to be heard and seen by a wider audience, meeting with old and new fans. See you all out there!”

JoNo’s exciting music is hard to pinpoint. Maybe it is best described as AOR/progressive rock, based on strong melodies, with symphonic arrangements. Dynamics and a contemporary, fat sound are also important ingredients of the JoNo recipe. Often compared to Queen, Supertramp, Kansas, Journey and Sparks, the band has received a lot of credit and praise because of their unique sound and performance.

The band will be releasing a new record for Frontiers Music Srl in 2017 and more exciting surprises for fans of the band are on the way.

JoNo lineup:

Johan Norrby – Lead vocals
Stefan Helleblad – Guitars
Nicka Hellenberg – Drums
Johan Carlgren – Keyboards
Janne Henriksson – Bass
Leo Olsson – Guitars



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"Take Me To Heaven", the new video from FILTER, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's seventh studio album, "Crazy Eyes", which will be released on April 8 via Wind-Up Records. The follow-up to 2013's "The Sun Comes Out Tonight" was produced by FILTER founder, singer and guitarist Richard Patrick.

"Take Me To Heaven" rides a pulse-pounding gallop into an entrancing and ponderous refrain. "I was looking into the eyes of my father when he was passing away, and I held his hand," Richard recalls. "He glanced at me really quickly, focused on me, had this look of gratitude, and then he slipped away. I was almost like, 'I hope you're going to heaven'. Scientifically, the idea doesn't make any sense to me, but if there is a heaven, take me there. That's what happened."

On "Crazy Eyes", Patrick collaborated with old friends such as the man behind 1999's seminal platinum-certified "Title Of Record", producer Ben Grosse (THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS, MARILYN MANSON), and Michael "Blumpy" Tuller (NINE INCH NAILS). He also worked closely with new bandmates Oumi Kapila (guitar, programming), Ashley Dzerigian (bass), Chris Reeve (drums) and Bobby Miller (keyboards), plus former FILTER bandmates Johnny Radke and Danny Lohner. Mixing, meanwhile, was taken care of by Brian Virtue (JANE'S ADDICTION, THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS, DEFTONES), with the mastering being handled by the colorful Howie Weinberg (VAN HALEN, THE MARS VOLTA, THE WHITE STRIPES). "FILTER is the mind," exclaims Richard. "It's your interpretation or my interpretation. Our thing is to look at people's unexplainable behavior and assess it, using sound. It's a way to approximate the insanity of the human condition. The reason this record is so fucking heavy and strange is it's exactly the opposite of what's popular. It's not pretty. It's not cute. It's real." Rather than partner with a producer, Richard took up the reins and oversaw the production side himself… "You recognize it's us from my aggression and singing, but the instrumentation had to change," he admits. "It wasn't about just stacking guitars like we might've done on the last couple of records. There are way more electronics and sound design used." Ultimately, it all comes back to the fact that Richard remains honest. "I'm completely into this for the music," he concludes. "Being yourself is the most important thing. I authentically went to places I'd never gone before. That was from my heart. I'm trying to be as genuine as possible to what FILTER is. It's about sounding fucking different, forward and original."

John Thomas, former guitarist for the Welsh hard rock band BUDGIE, passed away last night. He was 63 years old.

His death was confirmed by the band's longtime drummer Steve Williams who broke the news on Facebook.

Williams wrote: "My friend and fellow BUDGIE band member John Thomas sadly passed away last night. My thoughts are with the loved ones he left behind."

John was initially a part of BUDGIE from 1979 to 1988, playing on the "Power Supply" (1980), "Nightflight" (1981) and "Deliver Us From Evil" (1982) albums, then again from 1995 to 1996, and finally from 1999 to 2002.

In a 2007 interview, BUDGIE frontman Burke Shelley stated about John Thomas: "He was a great guitarist with great style and technique and he had a big sound at the time, and it was great, plus he was a good laugh. I think you probably know this, but maybe you don't, but he got ill and had a stroke, and that's why he had to leave. It became impossible for him to play the way he used to. But John is a great guitarist."

He added: "When John was in the band, we were touring with Ozzy [Osbourne], and John was big friends with [Ozzy's then-guitarist] Randy Rhoads. And Randy used to stay up at his place in Birmingham and all that, and they were mates. It's all about guitars, isn't it? [Laughs] They were guitar mad, weren't they? And they were good friends, and they even messed around and taped a few things together.

"It was great having John in the band. It was very sad the way it finished with John. But as a guitarist, he was spot on."

BUDGIE's music is often described as a cross between the progressive textures of RUSH and the heaviness of BLACK SABBATH.

Although BUDGIE remained quite obscure during its early career, many future stars of hard rock/metal have cited them as an important influence and covered their songs, including VAN HALEN, METALLICA and IRON MAIDEN.

Despite the fact that BUDGIE was never more than a cult attraction in the U.S., they always seemed to have a stronghold in Texas, which served as the site for a 2002 live album, "Life In San Antonio". John Thomas later said: "It's really quite strange that Texas really 'got' BUDGIE before anyone else, really. It's about the most un-English place you could ever be in, but for some reason the BUDGIE fans down there are totally into the band and ridiculously devoted. We play shows there and enormous numbers of people turn up just to see BUDGIE. They want to hear all the old classics and they keep asking when we're going back in the studio to do a new record. We could just keep playing in Texas forever."

LINKIN PARK has made its debut album, 2000's "Hybrid Theory", available for free download via Google Play. The offer, which is available to U.S. customers only, ends on March 18.

Says LINKIN PARK in a statement: "Our first album, 'Hybrid Theory', was made with all the love, passion, and naïveté that an artist can give to their first recordings. We are humbled and grateful that it has been embraced so widely, and we still find it hard to believe it became the biggest-selling rock album of the century. As a thank you to our fans, we've partnered with Google Play to give you 'Hybrid Theory' for free."

"Hybrid Theory" — the band's original name before it was changed to LINKIN PARK for legal reasons — was issued in October 2000 and was a breakout success for the group, which had formed in 1996 and had played the Los Angeles club scene for several years.

The album yielded four massive hit singles — "One Step Closer", "Crawling", "Papercut" and "In The End" — while going on to sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

LINKIN PARK singer Chester Bennington and co-frontman Mike Shinoda told The Pulse Of Radio a while back about some of the challenges of making their debut album.

"We walked into every song with a fresh, you know, outlook on it and we focused equal amounts of energy on every song," Bennington said. "And that at times was quite interesting, and also difficult at the same time. So we really learned how to push ourselves to new levels, and that was an accomplishment."

"Our biggest obstacle was putting something together that we felt was strong from beginning to end and doing our best to give each song its proper attention," Shinoda added.

German metallers, Varg, have premiered a video for the song "Streyfzug",  a track from their new album, Das Ende Aller Lügen, available via Napalm Records.  

With their fifth album, Varg prove that offense is often the best defense – and how impulsivity and unpredictability always makes the best generals. In this battle you will need the best and only the best, those who surreptitiously allure one into the trap, but are also open minded for the frontal attack. In this battle you need the brute force that is called Varg, and this force alone.

Tracklisting:

“Der große Diktator”
“Das Ende aller Lügen”
“Revolution”
“Streyfzug”
“Achtung”
“Dunkelheit”
“Totentanz”
“Einherjer”
“Wintersturm”
“Ascheregen”

“Streyfzug” video:

"Achtung" video:

German and English versions of the music video for “Dunkelheit” are streaming below:

Varg tour dates:

March
4 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
5 - Berlin, Germany - K17
17 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
18 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
19  - München, Germany - Backstage

April
1 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
8 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
9 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA
10 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7

 

 



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Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx has issued a new interview conducted with former Scorpions guitar legend, Uli Jon Roth. An excerpt follows:

Q: I imagine since you’ve been touring relentlessly behind Scorpions Revisited — you must have recorded a number of live performances, no?

A: “Well, we have recorded a lot of shows but I just want to release the very best. There will be be a counterpart to Scorpions Revisited and it will be called Tokyo Tapes Revisited. It’s a DVD recording of a 2.5 hour show that I did in the same hall where we recorded Tokyo Tapes. That video looks and sounds really great. We just finished editing it in Japan last week. It will be out later this year. We originally wanted to issue another live performance that we had recorded and I wanted to issue it after the studio album but I wasn’t too happy with that and we decided against that. Then, there was talk about recording the show in Japan where Scorpions recorded Tokyo Tapes and that turned out wonderfully.”

Read the full interview at SleazeRoxx.com.

Uli Jon Roth is currently on his Ultimate Guitar Experience Tour in North America. The trek concludes on April 8th in Melbourne, FL after a thirty five date run in eighteen states and three Canadian provinces. Joining the axe master is Andy Timmons (Danger Danger, Simon Phillips, Kip Winger) and Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck, Michael Sembello). Joining the guitar trio will be vocalist John West, guitarists Niklas Turmann and David Klosinski, keyboardist Corvin Bahn, bassist Nico Deppisch and drummer Richie Monica.

Remaining dates include:
 
March
3 - New Orleans, LA - HOB
4 - Houston, TX - Concert Pub North
5 - San Antonio, TX - The Korova
6 - El Paso, TX - Mesa Music Hall
8 - Phoenix, AZ - Joe's Grotto
9 - Las Vegas, NV - LVCS
10 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Theater
11 - Ramona, CA - Ramona Mainstage
12 - Hollywood, CA - The Whisky
13 - Fremont, CA - Saddlerack
14 - Concord, CA - Vinnies Bar and Grill
15 - Reno, NV - PB&J's
16 - Redding, CA - The Dip
17 - Portland, OR - Dantes
18 - Seattle, WA - Studio 7
19 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
22 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
23 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
24 - Moorehead, MN - The Garage
25 - Savage, MN - Neisen's
26 - St. Charles, IL - Arcadia Theater
27 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
28 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge
29 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
30 - Montreal, QC - Katacombes
31 - Londonderry, NH - Tupelo Music

April
1 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
2 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
4 - NYC, NY - BB Kings
5 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater
6 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
8 - Melbourne, FL - Black Box Theater

More info can be found at this location.



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Below you can see the documentary Horrors Of The Unknown, featuring the bands Bloodway (Romania), Valborg (Germany) and Perihelion (Hungary), created by Gina Sandulescu.

The documentary features footage from the tour with the same names, undertaken from September 25th to October 1st, 2015 in Romania.



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UK melodic thrash/death metallers, Thirteenth Sign, will release their third album, entitled Evolutions End, worldwide through Casket Music on March 4th.

This is the bands first full-length album since 2012's Rise Of The Black Angel, and the first featuring new vocalist Rob Norrington. The album (the first release through Casket) features 12 tracks of epic thrash and keeps punishing for over 70 minutes.

Whilst the band is still true to its fast, thrashy, deathly heavy roots the addition of Rob's vocals have enabled to band to expand into a new epic, trad metal territory previously unobtainable. Any fans who have enjoyed their brand of thrash/death over the years will not be disappointed by the new material, which has already received glowing reviews from both critics and fans at their shows.



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Slovakia's Wastage are a brutal blend of thrash, hardcore and metalcore with no-nonsense lyrics about the dystopian society we live in. Featuring former members of Xibalba, Stone Cold Bitch, Eternity and The Weed, Wastage released their debut album worldwide last October via Sliptrick Records. Now the band have released a music video for the album cut “No Way Out”. Check it out below.

Slave To The System tracklisting:

“Away From Darkness”
“Slave To The System”
“Game”
“No Way Out”
“Ham-Let”
“You Can’t Stop”
“Right Now”
“I Walk Alone”
“Nobody”
“Let Me Go”
“Confidence”

“No Way Out” video:

More on Wastage here.

 



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The debut album from the Finnish folk metal band Vetten Äpärät, entitled Syntyi Talven Kyynelistä (translated: Born Of Winter’s Tears) will be released through Inverse Records digitally and in Finland on April 1st. International release date for the physical version will be May 13th. Two songs from the album can be heard below.

The tracklist is as follows:

"Ancient's Call"
"Exile"
"Brothers Of Hate"
"Winterheart's Silence"
"Winter Darkness"
"Grief Of Woods"
"Sydäntalven Viha"
"Herätys"
"Sword's Dance"
"Wind Of Exhaustion"
"Ice Made New Kingdom"
"I Heard Them"
"Vala"

The band will be holding an album release party in Helsinki, Finland at On The Rocks on April 7th. Go to this location for event details.

 



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For the last two decades, Church Of Misery have sawed off only the finest in uncompromising doom. The revered Japanese masters are lifelong practitioners of the genre, honouring and extrapolating upon the Sabbathian legacy from which all detuned life springs forth.

Church Of Misery's sixth and latest album, And Then There Were None, is another blood-soaked trip through homicidal hell, with songs inspired by killers both infamous and obscure. But while the murderous inspiration for the tunes remains the same, the cast of characters is almost completely new.

And Then There Were None is set for a March 4th release via Rise Above Records. A full album stream can be found below.

In 2014, Church Of Misery bassist and mastermind Tatsu Mikami was forced to assemble a new lineup for the band's follow-up to 2013's Thy Kingdom Scum. His chosen few reside on American soil: Blood Farmers guitarist Dave "Depraved" Szulkin, Earthride drummer Eric Little (ex-Internal Void) and Repulsion frontman (and former Cathedral bassist) Scott Carlson on vocals.

"All the musicians involved in this album are undoubtedly the best in this scene," Tatsu enthuses. "So you will enjoy listening to all play tastefully."
 
And Then There Were None marks Tatsu's first Church Of Misery endeavor with foreign musicians. He, Szulkin and Little met in Maryland to rehearse the bassist's riff-ready material.

"It was a challenge because there was not much time to make this record-only two weeks," he explains. "One week for rehearsals and then one week to record all materials. Before I arrived in Maryland, I was a little bit nervous. But after the first rehearsal, I knew it was gonna be a good album."
 
Carlson wrote all the lyrics for And Then There Were None, which also marks the first time he's done vocals for a full-length album since Repulsion's genre-inventing classic Horrified.

"I was afraid to listen to it for a while because I haven't recorded a full album of vocals in almost 30 years," he says. "Once Tatsu had mixed everything I listened back and was able to enjoy it. The riffs are so strong on this record that even my 50 year-old vocal chords couldn't bring it down! I'm very pleased to be a part of this and I can't wait for Church Of Misery fans to hear it!"

And Then There Were None tracklisting:

“The Hell Benders”
“Make Them Die Slowly”
“Doctor Death”
“River Demon”
“Confessions Of An Embittered Soul”
“Suicide Journey”
“Murderfreak Blues”



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Swiss death metal horde, Omophagia, have released a video for the track “Down We Fall”, featured on their upcoming album, In The Name Of Chaos. Watch below:

Omophagia is the latest addition to Unique Leader Records' expanding roster of extreme metal.

Comments the band in a collective statement, "We couldn't be happier about the fact that we just signed a label contract with Unique Leader Records for the next few Omophagia album. It's an absolute dream come true and we feel honoured to be part of that specific label which brought out so many bands we love. It's been our absolute first choice and we are very glad that Unique Leader is putting enough trust in us to sign us. We are looking forward to a great cooperation over the next few years."

Omophagia, a name relating to the consumption of raw flesh, will unleash their eleven-track, sophomore release In The Name Of Chaos on April 15th. The record was tracked at the band's own studio in Switzerland, mixed and mastered at Hertz Studio in Poland (Decapitated, Vader, Behemoth, Hate etc.) and promises to be their fastest, heaviest and most brutal output to date.

Tracklisting:

“Intro”
“Willing Whore”
“Man Machine”
“Until The Sky Turns Red”
“The Leader”
“Despair”
“The Dominant”
“Love Song”
“Down We Fall”
“Wheel In The Engine”
“Instramentalized”

Pre-order the new album here.

In conjunction with its release, Omophagia will bring their sonic savagery to the stage on a near-two-week run of European live abrasions supporting Morgoth, Incantation and DarkRise.



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Classic Rock magazine has uploaded video footage of DREAM THEATER members John Petrucci (guitar), Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and James LaBrie (vocals) performing an acoustic cover version of the PINK FLOYD classic "Wish You Were Here" in Oslo, Norway. Check it out below.

Said Petrucci: "'Wish You Were Here' is one of my favorite FLOYD songs of all time. I have many memories of playing that back in high school even at parties. It was just the one song that everybody kind of seemed to know and loved to sing along.

"PINK FLOYD is a huge influence not only on me, but on the rest of the guys.

"Of course, [DREAM THEATER's] 'The Astonishing' is a concept album written around a story. PINK FLOYD's 'The Wall' was definitely an inspiration, and they've been a huge influence, as I said. I love the fact that they have so many great songs that you can actually just pick up the acoustic guitar, strum and have people sing along and know it, and there's a real art to that."

"The Astonishing" was released on January 29 via Roadrunner. The CD was made available in a wide range of distinctive versions, including standard 2-CD set, 4-LP vinyl box set and a limited-edition deluxe box set.

Recorded at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York, with John Petrucci producing, studio luminary Richard Chycki (AEROSMITH, RUSH) engineering/mixing and legendary arranger, composer and conductor David Campbell orchestrating, "The Astonishing" paints a tale of a retro-futurist post-apocalyptic dystopia ruled by medieval style feudalism. It's a place aching for a Chosen One to rise above the noise and defeat an Empire defined by the endless drone of noise machines and the illusion of safety in bland conformity.

Denver-based thrash metal stalwarts, Havok, have released a live video for the track "Claiming Certainty”, which will appear on their forthcoming Century Media debut album (release information to come soon).

Says the band: ““Claiming Certainty” is a pounding new song from our upcoming 4th record. This cut of the song was filmed/recorded live in in our hometown at the Denver Black Sky Festival inside the Gothic Theatre. We decided to play this high energy tune live because it gets the adrenaline pumping and never lets up. Our new album is full of bangers like this with even more attitude, dynamics, and musical intricacy. Fans of Havok and fans of metal will not be disappointed in our newest record. Every member of the band is positive that the 4th Havok album will be the best one yet!"

Havok has worked nonstop since their formation in 2004, releasing three albums and touring the world in support of them. Now with their recent signing to Century Media Records, the band will continue taking their music and career to the next level with the release of their brand new album, which has yet to be given a title.

For an early preview of what promises to be the band's most intense, neck-wrecking effort to date, catch Havok on current tour dates across North America supporting the mighty Megadeth along with Suicidal Tendencies, and Children Of Bodom. Havok plays every night at 7 PM so get there early to get in on the action! All dates below.

March
3 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
5 - Penticton, BC - South Okanagan Events Centre
6 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Resort
8 - Dawson Creek, BC - Encana Events Centre
9 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10 - Moose Jaw, SK - Mosaic Place
13 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
14 - Dayton, OH - Rockstar Pro Arena
15 - Niagara Falls, NY - The Rapids Theatre
16 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
17 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
19 - Bethlehem, PA - Sands Bethlehem Event Center
20 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
21 - Boston, MA - House Of Blues
23 - Bangor, ME - Cross Insurance Center
24 - Quebec, QC - Centre Videotron
25 - Montreal, Canada - Corona Theatre
26 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
27 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry
28 - Louisville, KY - Highlands Taproom

Havok is:

David Sanchez - Lead vocals / Guitars
Pete Webber - Lead drums
Reece Scruggs - Lead guitar / Vocals
Nick Schendzielos - Lead bass / Vocals



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Prog metal outfit Third Ion, featuring former members of The Devin Townsend Band and Into Eternity, recently announced that the band's new vocalist is none other than Dave Padden (ex-Annihilator). Padden replaces departed vocalist Tyler Gilbert. The new band has announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo in order to complete the production of their second album, entitled Biolith. Check out the clip below.

Third Ion are currently recording the follow-up to 2015 Glasstone Records debut album 13/8bit.  The sophomore effort will also be released on Glasstone. An audio clip of the band recording with Padden can be heard below:

Third Ion is:

Justin Bender - Guitar
Aaron Edgar - Drums
Mike Young - Bass
Dave Padden - Vocals


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Atlanta based death metal band Withered have revealed details of their forthcoming album, Grief Relic. It will be released by Season Of Mist worldwide on May 27th; pre-orders are currently available here.

Guitarist / vocalist Mike Thompson commented: "Having been five years since our last release, we felt the need to do something very intentional with Grief Relic.You know that sense of timelessness you get when you go back and listen to some 20 year old metal record and it’s just as relevant now as it ever was? It’s not really about nostalgia and definitely not about rehashing anything. Just the need to continue carving out a sonic identity like the great bands of the late '80s and early '90s. We focused on song arrangements and an album structure that would offer a real emotional experience and, of course, we loaded every song with a lot of typical Withered twists and turns. It’s progress for the sake of progress without abandoning our identity."

The artwork, painted by Paul Romano (Mastodon, Baroness), and tracklisting for Grief Relic can be found below.

"Leathery Rind"
"A Realm Of Suffering"
"Withdraw"
"Feeble Gasp"
"Husk"
"Downward"
"Distort, Engulf"
"To Glimpse Godliness"

 

 

 



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About two years after the release of their debut EP, Feel Alright, French alternative nu-metal outfit Blunderbuss premieres its brand new single "Last Day Before Resurrection", announcing an EP called Resurrection coming out in CD and digital formats on April 19th.

 

 



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Moravia, NY death metallers NilExistence have unleashed a new song "Pitch Black Perception" from their debut album Existence In Revelation. Stream it via the SoundCloud audio player below.

NilExistence will release Existence In Revelation on March 25th. The album includes a 12-page booklet with artwork by Seth Siro Anton (Septicflesh), and was mixed / mastered at Hertz Studio (Behemoth, Decapitated, Vader)  by the Wiesławski brothers in Poland. 

A lyric video for "Primordial Transgression" can be enjoyed below.

Drummer / vocalist Kyle Kratzer (ex-Disfigured Dead) had this to say about the album title and lyrical content:

"Existence In Revelation is based on the life experiences that have affected Dave Gruver (guitar / vocals) and myself during the writing period.  The idea behind the title comes from how I personally felt when in the midst of a darker period.  When one finds himself in a 'revelation' type state, they have a few choices in which to handle the new information or realization they discovered;  they may take the newly acquired knowledge and expand upon their problem/life, take nothing from the experience and brush it off, or stay stuck in the revelation itself (which is the route explored on the album.)  As if in a bubble, one neither acts nor fails to act upon the new knowlegde, but instead remains within the revelation (bubble).  The lyrics are based upon what I saw and learned within this revelation."

Tracklisting:

“The Quietus”
“This Throne's Carved From Greed”
“Primordial Transgression”
“If Snakes Could Talk, My Words Would Slither”
“Pitch Black Perception”
“To Give Is To Serve”
“Tyranny Is Blind, And The Tyrant”
“Screams Form Silence”



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Hailing from Edmonton Canada, Mortillery are on a mission to deliver true thrash metal. They stand out with their smashing riffage, raw energy and dynamic female vocals. The band has announced the details of their upcoming metal beast including, the album title, tracklisting, artwork, and release date.

Tracklisting:

“Radiation Sickness”
“Age Of Stone”
“Bullet”
“Mantis”
“Black Friday”
“Wendigo”
“At The Gates”
“Torture”
“Shapeshifter”
“Patient Zero” (bonus track)
“Neckbreaker” (bonus track)
“Shine” (cover) (bonus track)

This heavyweight release is the perfect blend between melody and aggression. Mortillery’s third album Shapeshifter is a ferocious beast drunk on speed, venomous guitar solos and the rabid vocals of Cara McCutchen. Shapeshifter is set to be released on May 27th via Napalm Records. Preorders will be available soon.



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In a brand new interview with INDY Week, SLAYER and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt was asked how he has been received by SLAYER fans as the replacement for the late Jeff Hanneman. He responded: "I've been here long enough — five years-plus — to where I'm pretty much well accepted now. In five-plus years, I think I've had a grand total of four hecklers in countless shows. The odds have been in my favor as far as acceptance, originally in the absence of Jeff and then after the tragic loss of Jeff. I think the acceptance stems from the fact that I am one of the insiders, I guess you would say. I've been friends with this band, Jeff included, for decades, since the infancy of thrash metal. I'm one of the originators of it, so I've got old-school street cred. It's difficult being in two bands — I can't always be in the same place at the same time. But I've been made to feel like family here since day on. As far as the band members, we are family, going back to the early eighties."

Holt spoke in more detail about the exchange he had with the hecklers. He said : "With most of them, it was fun; we were bantering back and forth. With one, on the first Mayhem tour, at the end of the set, this kid goes, 'I just miss Jeff, man,' and I said, 'I miss Jeff, too.' I had one on my first European tour — this guy with this awful skullet, flipping me off the whole time. Little did he know that all I had to do was say something to have him beaten senseless by the SLAYER road crew of thugs, but I didn't. He did see our production manager looking at him on the radio, and he vanished. He kept flipping me off and tapping on his SLAYER shirt. I mean, you knew Jeff wasn't here, and you bought a ticket, anyway. That kind of shit just never made sense to me."

He continued: "I had a guy in Milan of all places — which is a very good home to EXODUS as well — who was kind of a dick. But I got in his face the whole time. I'm not gonna back down to anyone because they're out trying to ruin my show. By ruining my show, they're by extension trying to ruin SLAYER's set, because they're trying to take down one-fourth of the band. I went right up and stood on the subwoofers and grabbed him by his hand. I got right in his face to see how much he had to say when I was within striking distance. He had nothing to say. He didn't expect that, that I would step off the stage, hop a few feet over on to the subwoofer, to where I was directly in his face. The last thing I wanna do is break my hand on some dude's head. I'm a thick-skinned guy, and that shit doesn't mean anything to me. But I am going to give as well as I take, that's for sure."

According to Holt, the age of the Internet has given power to the cowards who hide behind their keyboards and blast away — something that didn't exist when he was growing up. "I look back at when I was a kid, long before the Internet, the late, great, legendary Bon Scott died, and I guarantee not one soul in the crowd was flipping off Brian Johnson," he said. "I was there waiting in line to buy 'Back In Black' the day it came out, because I'm old enough to remember record stores. I went both nights, and I was completely stoked. There was not a negative vibe in the audience, but the Internet just breeds that. You get keyboard warriors. Then you'll see one guy post something like, 'All right, my metal brothers and sisters, we gotta stick together.' Now, that doesn't happen. It's so segregated. When I was a kid, I liked all kinds of metal. The Internet breeds all kinds of idiots, but it is great for spreading the word of new bands. You got an instant worldwide outlet for spreading music."

Holt, who is still a member of San Francisco Bay Area thrash icons EXODUS, has been the touring guitarist for SLAYER since January 2011 when Jeff Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Holt did not contribute to the songwriting process on SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", although he did lay down guitar solos on most of the album's twelve tracks.

Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spoke to The New Yorker magazine about his involvement in unveiling the world's largest aircraft. The Hybrid Air Vehicle (HAV), which has been named Airlander, can stay airborne for up to three weeks and will be vital in delivering several tons of humanitarian aid.

Airlanders are low noise, low pollution, and are environmentally friendly. They have ultra-long endurance, and a point-to-point cargo-carrying capacity. They can take off and land vertically and operate from a range of remote environments including water, desert, ice and fields.

The 302-foot-long Airlander 10 is set to make its maiden flight later this month from its home at Cardington, England — 40 miles from London.

Dickinson, who has reportedly invested around £250,000 ($360,000) in the Airlander, told The New Yorker: "You want to put a hospital into Africa? You put the whole hospital in the inside of this —whoosh. Start the generator. 'Here's your hospital, buddy!' Job done. You know? You can just plunk the vehicle straight down on the farm, load it with fifty tons of green beans or whatever, and twenty-four hours later you land right next door to the processing plant. It's a global conveyor belt. And water! With these vehicles, you could drop off a twenty-ton slab of water that is clean, drinkable, to an African village. It's astonishing what you can do that you just can’t do with anything else. Shit, you can do that with it? Wow, you can do that with it? Seriously fantastic!"

Dickinson said that he hoped to one day take the Airlander to the North Pole and the South Pole, with the entire journey being live-streamed via the Internet. "You just drop right down onto the ice cap," he said. "Or drop right down on the Atacama Desert, and you go up through the rain forest or whatever, just for shits and giggles. You know?"

Dickinson decided to put his cash into the project after meeting the "genius behind it," the late inventor Roger Munk. The singer told The Guardian: "I told my wife: 'I'm about to put £100k into a big bag of helium. It may go up in smoke.' She said: 'People have to dream, and unless you can dream something, it's never going to happen.'"

He added: "I'm not expecting to get my money back anytime soon, I just want to be part of it. Being a rock person, I could put it up my nose, or buy a million Rolls Royces and drive them into swimming pools, or I could do something useful. There are very few times in your life when you're going to be part of something big."

Unlike traditional airships, the Airlander has no internal structure but it becomes rigid through being filled with helium, at just above atmospheric pressure. The super-strong hull material has been specially designed for Hybrid Air Vehicles by Warwick Mills and assembled by ILC Dover, the company who make NASA spacesuits. Its innovative composition includes a woven fabric for strength on the inside, and a Tedlar layer for protection on the outside, sandwiching a mylar film to retain the helium.

For more information, visit www.hybridairvehicles.com.

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian says that he would "make all of the Internet go away" if he could because it would be "much better for the music business."

In a new interview clip released by ANTHRAX's European record label Nuclear Blast, Ian talks about the amazing commercial success of Adele's "25" album, which broke records many people long since ruled out as logistically impossible, most notably smashing N SYNC's 15-year-old record for most album sales in a week in just four days.

Ian said (see video below): "The Adele phenomena isn't, like, some great wake-up call for the record [labels]… Well, it is a wake-up call, in a sense, to show the companies that they shouldn't be so short-sighted and they're going for the quick kind of cash-in, I think, on this record. But there are people out there who will buy something quality."

He continued: "In a very, very small way, metal bands like us, IRON MAIDEN, SLAYER — bands that have been doing it for so long — AC/DC… and have built and maintained an audience, you can say, in a lot of ways, on a much smaller level, we have the same thing; we have our fans who will go out and buy our records. Granted, we don't have twenty million of 'em. But our fans are very loyal and very strong, and they want that physical product, and I think that's great. And that's why I would say, I wish, if there was that option to have the Internet go away, I just think the experience for everybody, when it comes to music, would be that much better, because the Internet has devalued music to where people think you can just have it for free, and it shouldn't be that way."

Ian added: "If I had the option to make all of the Internet go away — like, let's say if I could go like that [snaps fingers], and it's like it never existed and we never knew we had it — I would choose that, because it'd be much better for the music business."

In the past, Ian has been critical of music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora as a source of revenue for artists like ANTHRAX, telling From Hero To Zero in a 2015 interview: "Music doesn't have the same value in people's minds on this planet as it did ten years ago, twenty years ago… The commodity of music is worth less these days. Albums couldn't be cheaper. You could buy a brand new album, let's say on iTunes, you could buy a brand new CD for ten dollars. I mean, it wasn't that long ago where you had to go to, let's say, Virgin Megastore, which used to be everywhere. Albums back then in the States, a brand new CD would cost you at least seventeen dollars. That's not even including the gas to get there in your car, paying for parking sometimes. Now you could just sit at home and pay ten dollars. It's never been cheaper, and people still have a problem with that, apparently, because they'd rather steal it or stream it."

He went on to say: "Now, look, I get streaming — it's a modern convenience, it's the next step of where things are going, as far as how to get your music, and I don't have a problem with that. Look, I was one of the first people to get an iPod. I love iTunes, I love having all my shit right here in my phone; I love the convenience of that. I even like streaming, because it will turn me on to music that maybe I wouldn't have heard before and then I'll go and buy the record. But I just feel like, once again, bands are getting ripped off by these streaming services. If Spotify would pay more money to the bands for the art they're creating, I think just in general people would have a better view of music and think it was worth more. Music should be worth something. It is worth something. We're creating art, and these businesses have completely devalued what we do, and obviously I think that's bullshit."

According to music industry web site Hits Daily Double, ANTHRAX's new album, "For All Kings", is likely to sell between 20,000 and 23,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The SPS figure is expected to be between 21,000 and 24,000.

SPS, a practice used by Billboard magazine, stands for "sales plus streaming," which includes album sales and converted track sales plus converted streaming data.

For those interested: 10 tracks sold equal one album sale (since $1.29, the cost for an individual track, multiplied by ten gives you $12.99, a common price for an album, and 1,500 streams is equivalent to one album sale.

ANTHRAX's previous album, 2011's "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The disc followed up 2003's "We've Come For You All", which opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122

"For All Kings" was released on February 26 via Nuclear Blast in Europe and Megaforce in the U.S.

Tremonti, the band led by guitarist Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge), will release their new album, Dust, on April 29th via Fret 12. A sample of the new song, “The Cage”, can be found below.

The album, which was recorded during same sessions as Cauterize, features Mark Tremonti on vocals/guitars, Eric Friedman on guitars, Wolfgang Van Halen on bass, and Garrett Whitlock on drums. Long-time friend and collaborator, Michael “Elvis” Baskette, produced Dust.

To coincide with the announcement of Dust, several exclusive fan bundle pre-orders are now available at this location. These bundles include autographed CD’s, t-shirts, hoodies, and other exciting experiences for the Tremonti fan.

From the first riffs of album opener “My Last Mistake” to the final notes of closer “Unable To See”, it is clear that Dust is not a collection of B-sides or leftovers. These ten new tracks continue to showcase Mark’s hard rock/heavy metal influences alongside the material from Cauterize. Songs like “Once Dead”, “Betray Me”, and “Rising Storm” authentically hold their own in Tremonti’s musical arsenal.

Dust tracklisting:                                                      

“My Last Mistake”
“The Cage”
“Once Dead”
“Dust”
“Betray Me”
“Tore My Heart Out”
“Catching Fire”
“Never Wrong”
“Rising Storm”
“Unable To See”

“The Cage” sample:

“Catching Fire” sample:

Tremonti have announced a short European tour in May/June. Dates are listed on the poster below:  



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AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler has commented on longtime bandmate Joe Perry's lukewarm response to the singer's decision to record a country album.

In May 2015, Tyler released his first country single, "Love Is Your Name", which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Streaming Songs chart. He followed it up with "Red White & You", which came out in January.

Perry seemed dismissive of Tyler's country debut, telling USA Today in an interview last month: "Hey, if I didn't know him when I heard the song I'd go, 'It's okay, next.' I'm not going to say anything else about that."

He added: "Steven is in Nashville doing whatever he's doing. He's got a [bleeping] rhinestone cowboy hat going 'Yippee ki yay.' I don't know what else to say about that."

Now Tyler has responded to Perry's comments, telling a TMZ cameraman at the Los Angeles airport about his AEROSMITH bandmates: "[That's] how they are. That's why I'm doing a country record. It's all right. You know what? Jealousy runs deep in this family."

Steven did stress, however, that everything was still fine between him and Perry, explaining: "Oh, yeah. He's doing what he's doing and I do what I do."

Tyler's full-length country debut is tentatively due later in the year. The effort will be released via Dot Records, the legendary label that Scott Borchetta and his Big Machine Label Group revived in 2014.

The AEROSMITH singer's country album will feature songs that he has written and recorded in Nashville with writers like Paslay, Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlowe and THE CADILLAC THREE's Jaren Johnston.

"My earliest influences put me somewhere between THE EVERLY BROTHERS and the CARTER FAMILY, and this project is all about me paying homage to my country roots," Tyler told Rolling Stone. "I've been working with some fucking epic Nashville songwriters, getting my feet wet with the style and groove."

AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford said last year that he was less than thrilled with Tyler's plans to devote most of 2016 to his country-tinged debut solo album. He said: "I guess he seems to think his solo career is going to go great guns and he doesn't seem to realize — in my opinion — that his fans around the globe want to see him in the context of AEROSMITH and don't really care for whatever he thinks he's going to do. I don't know if he gets that, but, hey — that's what he wants to do. I can't put a gun to his head."

Sweden's lauded melodic death/doom metallers and Agonia Records recent signess, In Mourning, have revealed details surrounding their new album. Entitled Afterglow, the opus will be released on May 20th. The cover artwork has been prepared by Kristian Wåhlin (Bathory, Tiamat, Amorphis, Dark Tranquillity).

In Mourning commented: "The new album is called Afterglow and its story takes off from where The Weight Of Oceans ends. It’s a bit more complex than our previous albums and it has got a bit of a different sound than the older ones, a bit more alive like a band and maybe not always as studio corrected as our earlier material. However, the foundation of the music is still what we’ve always done and the key elements are pretty much the same but with some new additions and a few new twists and turns of course.”

This will be the first album featuring new drummer, Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia).

Hailed by many as the heir to Opeth's melodeath throne, In Mourning was formed in the Swedish woods in the year 2000. Since then the band has evolved over the years striving to refine its sound to what it is today. April 2012 marked the release of the bands third and latest album The Weight Of Oceans, a mythology inspired conceptual story that journeys to the sea. Musically, the group blends a broad spectrum of influences into a foundation of melodic death metal. Thrusting from doomy metal-riffs, blasting drumbeats and deep growling vocals to calm breezes of clean flowing melodies and harmonies.

Afterglow was recorded between November 2015 and March 2016 in Nordin Music Studios (drums) and Libra Studios (guitar, bass and vocals). Mixing and mastering duties have been handled by Jonas Martinsson in Necrosavant Studio.

Afterglow will be available in the following formats:
-Digipack CD (with 12 page booklet)
-Jewelcase CD (with 12 page booklet)
-Regular Double Black LP
-Double Orange Crush Transparent LP (hand-numbered to 135 copies)
-Black t-shirt in two different versions
-Digital formats

Find preorders at Agonia Records.

Tracklisting:

“Fire And Ocean”
“The Grinning Mist”
“Ashen Crown”
“Below Rise To The Above”
“The Lighthouse Keeper”
“The Call To Orion”
“Afterglow”

Line-up:
Tobias Netzell - guitars and vocals
Pierre Stam - bass
Björn Pettersson - guitars
Tim Nedergård - guitars
Daniel Liljekvist - drums



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In a career that spans nearly 30 years and includes over 60 album credits, Joe Lynn Turner remains one of rock and roll's most distinctive, soulful and expressive vocalists. Best known for his work with hard rock band RAINBOW, during his career, Turner fronted pop rock band FANDANGO, and had stints with Yngwie Malmsteen and DEEP PURPLE. From the mid-1990s, he worked with various musical groups (MOTHER'S ARMY, HUGHES TURNER PROJECT, SUNSTORM, etc.), while pursuing a solo career.

Now, much to the excitement of Joe Lynn Turner fans worldwide, Cleopatra Records is issuing a vintage unreleased live album from the vaults of legendary hard rock vocalist of the mighty RAINBOW titled "Street Of Dreams - Boston 1985". Recorded during the tour of Turner's then-newly released debut solo album "Rescue You", the set includes a couple of nods to RAINBOW with brilliant renditions of "Stone Cold" (RAINBOW's first ever Top 40 U.S. single) as well as "Street Of Dreams".

Says Joe about the concert recording: "That night at the Boston Paradise, it was outstanding. I can remember seeing the audience and I remember there was an awkward pillar — I guess it was a support column in front — not directly in front, but enough to block some of the view. But the stage was an actual concert stage. AEROSMITH and all those guys used to always play there, the Paradise. So I can remember actually going on and playing the set, how it felt because it was absolutely exhilarating, and the audience was just crazy."

A year out from departing Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, whom he led through three classic albums earlier in the decade, Turner had just released his first solo album, "Rescue You", produced by Roy Thomas Baker. This live show was, for obvious reason, weighted towards "Rescue You".

Joe recalls: "This was our first tour out, and I’m not sure if we were opening for someone at the Paradise, but if we were, then they had a pretty difficult time because the crowd was absolutely bananas for us, and we were hot. We were really on top of our game, the whole band and it sounds it, you can hear it, everyone is playing with incredible energy and enthusiasm and very precise."

Accompanying Turner was the band that recorded the album, a tight unit of Bobby Messano (guitar, background vocals), Alan Greenwood (keyboards), Chuck Burgi (drums) plus one newcomer, Barry Dunaway (bass).

"Street Of Dreams - Boston 1985" track listing:

01. I Found Love02. Losing You03. Soul Searcher04. Young Hearts05. Endlessly06. Rescue You07. Stone Cold08. Street Of Dreams09. Feel The Fire10. Guitar Solo / Good Girls Gone Bad11. Get Tough12. On The Run13. Them Changes

"Street Of Dreams - Boston 1985" will be released on March 4.

Montreal’s Demise Of The Crown are streaming their upcoming self-titled debut album ahead of it’s release. Produced by Kevin Jardine (Uplift Studios, guitarist of Slaves On Dope) and mastered by Joao Carvalho (Protest The Hero, Alexisonfire, Rush), the album is due out on March 4th (pre-order here) and features this Canadian power metal band's strong melodic death metal and hard rock influences fused with epic choruses, classic high ranged vocals plus explosive guitar solos that are reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen with undertones of Yngwie Malmsteen sure to leave fans humming.

Tracklisting:

“We Are Invincible”
“Human Denial”
“Save Me”
“Sides Of The Wave”
“Don’t Worry”
“Cold Dead Eyes”
“Eons”

Album stream:



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Chicago extreme metal band Lord Mantis will release a new EP titled, NTW, on April 29th via New Density. Recorded at Bricktop Recording with engineer Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Like Rats) and mastered by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room (Windhand, YOB, Voivod), the release features searing new songs that build on the music of the group's 2014 LP, Death Mask (Profound Lore).

NTW marks the recording debut of the new Lord Mantis lineup, which now features vocalist Dylan O'Toole and bassist Will Lindsay - each formerly of Indian - and guitarist Scott Shellhamer (also of American Heritage) joining the core of guitarist Andrew Markuszewski and drummer Bill Bumgardner. The EP delivers incendiary music that strikes with savage force and hammers the listener with razor-sharp intensity, wielding sustained tension like a scythe. Ominous imagery from artist Manuel Tinnemans (Comaworx) perfectly complements the dark aura of the record.

"The music delves to and draws from the same place Lord Mantis has always drawn from; taking the most vicious aspects of the beast and shoving that in everyone's face," comments Markuszewski. "The songs can move anywhere. You have moments on this recording that go from fervent aggression to areas more nauseous and grimey. Every time we write new music we're more confident than before with what we're doing. The sound and technique of Lord Mantis is second nature to us, but we're also never afraid to explore new territory with it."

Tracklisting:

"SIG Safer"
"NTW"
"Semblances"
"Final Division"

Lord Mantis will hold a hometown album release party, performing at Chicago's Empty Bottle on April 28th. Stay tuned to the band's website and Facebook page for updated news and information.
 



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