A three-CD/DVD deluxe reissue of the critically acclaimed 1997 album "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray" from progressive metal legends FATES WARNING will be made available on October 2 via Metal Blade. "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray" is a single song that is divided into twelve tracks. The album is notable for its darker mood and mixture of progressive rock and metal with hints of industrial, classical, and psychedelia.

This all-encompassing and expansive collection features the original album on the first CD. The second CD features a live version of the album recorded during the band's 1998 European tour as well as a soundcheck recording of "We Only Say Goodbye" and a studio cover version of the SCORPIONS' "In Trance". The third CD in the package consists of demos from the pre-production and writing sessions for "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray". Finally, the DVD portion of the set consists of two complete live performances of "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray". The first is a restored and re-edited version of the band's 1998 VHS release and the second was filmed at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California in 1999. Pre-orders as well as the first samples of music from this special edition will be available next Thursday, August 6.

FATES WARNING will tour North America this fall. The trek kicks off October 9 in Hartford, Connecticut and runs through November 2 in Ramona, California. Exclusive VIP Packages are available for all shows and can be purchased here. There are two different VIP Packages: the first includes a chance to watch the band's soundcheck, meet the band, take photos with the band and a VIP laminate; the second package includes everything from the first package and in addition a signed copy of the deluxe reissue of "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray".

FATES WARNING's eleventh studio album, "Darkness In A Different Light", sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was issued in North America on October 1, 2013 via InsideOut Music.

Featuring founding guitarist Jim Matheos alongside classic-lineup members Ray Alder (vocals) and Frank Aresti (guitar), longtime bassist Joey Vera and drummer Bobby Jarzombek, "Darkness In A Different Light" was produced by Matheos and mixed by longtime FATES WARNING engineer Phil Magnotti. The effort was mastered by Maor Appelbaum (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, SEPULTURA, ANVIL) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in California. The cover artwork was designed by Conte di San Pietro.

In addition to the standard CD jewel case and the digital download format, "Darkness In A Different Light" was made available in Europe as 2CD mediabook edition and as gatefold 2LP version (180-gram vinyl in black, red or white vinyl) with four bonus tracks.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

According to The Pulse Of Radio, KORN's Jonathan Davis is being sued by his lawyers for failing to pay them after they settled a pair of lawsuits. The original suits were filed concerning his involvement in a serial killer museum called the American Curiosities Museum, TMZ.com reports.

The museum failed to get off the ground and a fellow investor filed a lawsuit. In 2006, Davis's lawyers allegedly stepped in and negotiated a settlement that involved a payment plan. Davis reportedly owed $159,407 and was supposed to pay off $1,000 per month, but after two payments, Davis reportedly stopped sending checks. The legal team is suing for the balance, plus interest, which would total $256,021.

Before his singing career, Davis was a professional embalmer; he has been a collector of serial killer art and memorabilia for more than a decade.

KORN recently announced the details of a fall North American tour, on which the band will perform its self-titled 1994 debut album in its entirety at every stop to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its release. The trek kicks off on October 1 in Chicago, winding down a month later on October 30 in Oakland.

Seattle's Black Breath has completed their third LP, Slaves Beyond Death, and is preparing the album for worldwide release this September through Southern Lord Recordings.

Slaves Beyond Death arrives three years after Black Breath's 2012-released Sentenced To Life, a revered album of morbid metal anthems laced with a deadly allure that few could resist. A foul den of thrashing potency, reanimated hardcore muscle and icy death metal, it's a record that partly sets the tone for this nefarious third chapter of the band, but it's safe to say that Slaves Beyond Death represents a harder, bleaker Black Breath than ever before.

Recorded in the Winter months of 2014 at GodCity studio in Salem, Massachusetts with Kurt Ballou (Converge),Slaves Beyond Death delivers the best part of an hour of stern, unforgiving death metal that resonates with the absolute classics of the genre. The Seattle five-piece is entirely relentless in their intensity, presenting innumerable ferocious riffs across the eight songs, with wicked inventiveness at the heart of its might. Galloping, triumphant melodies reminiscent of Sweden lead in to grueling slammers that unravel at a torturer's pace, while the rasping death-rattles from vocalist Neil McAdams paint a vivid picture of unending suffering in life and beyond the grave. Devoid of self-serving technicality and bombast, Slaves Beyond Death works torrents of scorn in to lively, undeniably entertaining songwriting, an enviable quality that has been present in all of Black Breath's material, and is certainly still the case now. With all of the tracks breaching the five-minute mark at least, and a storming crusade of an instrumental closer, Black Breath is taking big strides forward with this album, and it is sure to be one of the highlights of the musical underworld in 2015.

Slaves Beyond Death's artwork was painted by Italy's Paolo Girardi, who most recently created stunning covers for Inquisition, Manilla Road and Bell Witch, and Southern Lord is once again the proud record label behind this monumental release, which will be available on September 25th on digital, CD and LP formats.

Tracklisting:

“Pleasure, Pain, Disease”
“Slaves Beyond Death”
“Reaping Flesh”
“Seed Of Cain”
“Arc Of Violence”
“A Place Of Insane Brutality”
“Burning Hate”
“Chains Of The Afterlife”

Following their triumphant North American tour with Ringworm, Goatwhore and Theories, Black Breath will return to the road heavily in support of Slaves Beyond Death beginning with a Southern Lord West Coast tour package also including Goatsnake, Battalion of Saints and Obliterations in September. The final details on the tour are coming together this week, the trek also including a hometown Seattle record release show for Slaves Beyond Death on September 26th.

Tour dates:

September
16 - Mystery Box - Los Angeles, CA
17 - Alexs' Bar - Long Beach, CA
19 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
20 - Club Red - Mesa, AZ
22 - Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA
23 - Boardwalk - Sacramento, CA
24 - Catalyst Atrium - Santa Cruz, CA
26 - Highline - Seattle, WA (Black Breath Slaves Beyond Death record release show)
27 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR

(photo: Invisible Hour)

UK-based black metal horde, Barshasketh, are streaming their third album, Ophidian Henosis. The album is set for international release on July 30th via Blut & Eisen Productions.

Originally hailing from New Zealand but later relocating to Scotland, Barshasketh have been patiently perfecting their bewitching craft these past five years, away from prying eyes but with sights set on diabolical fullmoon mysticism. Theirs is a sound that resonates with the stripped-bare, nightsky purity of second-wave black metal, from the ancient days when black metal was truly a cult for criminals and diehards.

Ophidian Henosis is Barshasketh's grandest distillation of these eldritch energies yet. At once familiar and foreign, Ophidian Henosis explodes forth with cryogenic violence and fog-drenched atmosphere, arcing about with subtle shifts in texture and twists in composition, maintaining a headspace of otherworldly splendour whilst never lingering too long in a monochromatic mire.

For however committed to purist black metal Barshasketh may be, their journey across Ophidian Henosis is a multi-hued one, recalling the early days of Sacramentum, Kvist, Setherial, and Isvind among others - in other words, the spectral darkness of the mid-1990s - and brimming with a passion and poignancy that can only come from the most obsidian of souls.

Ophidian Henosis tracklisting:

“Ophidian Henosis - I”
“Ophidian Henosis - II”
“Ophidian Henosis - III”
“Ophidian Henosis - IV”
“Ophidian Henosis - V”
“Ophidian Henosis - VI”
“Ophidian Henosis - VII”

Album stream:

 
Barshasketh was formed in 2007 as a solo-project by Krigeist with the intention of creating pure black metal, intentionally free of genre cross-pollination: second-wave blasphemy re-imagined and reinterpreted through extensive use of layering and counterpoint. After two well-received demos via Wolfsvuur Records, the debut album Defying the Bonds of Cosmic Thralldom emerged in 2010. Following the release of the first full-length, Krigeist relocated to Scotland after travelling through southeast Asia. After settling there, he went about piecing together a live lineup, and a series of live performances followed, culminating with a show in support of Negative Plane.

Out of this live lineup, GM (guitars and vocals) was made a permanent member and BH was recruited on drums. This trio recorded the second full-length, Sitra Achra, released in 2013 through Todestrieb Records. After recruiting bassist BB on bass, the lineup was complete, and Barshasketh recorded two split EPs in quick succession. The band went on to record a third full-length, Ophidian Henosis, at the infamous Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm.

This most recent full-length undoubtedly presents the band’s finest work to date and showcases a new level of musical and lyrical maturity. Extolling an adversarial spirituality, these seven hymns of darkness evangelize the impure and the obscene.

England’s Copro Records was the label which released Greek progressive/technical metallers Acid Death’s first full-length album, Pieces Of Mankind, back in 1999. Now, Copro Records will re-releases the band’s first full-length albums, Pieces Of Mankind and Random’s Manifest, in October, recordings that were sold-out for many years. Both albums will be remastered, including extra material.

Says the label: “We are really happy to have again band’s first albums out the same period that Acid Death’s new album Hall Of Mirrors will be released from band’s new label-home, 7Hard Records.”

Acid Death recently signed a deal with Germany’s 7Hard Records. The 5-year deal starts with the release of their upcoming album, Hall Of Mirrors. The album will be on market worldwide in early September, possibly September 11th (tbc).

Says the band: “We as Acid Death feel that a new and impressive era is starting for the band. We are really happy to start working with 7Hard Records and we will give our 100% to this cooperation!”

Hall Of Mirrors tracklisting:

“Hell’s Maw”
“Mental Slime”
“Truth Revealed”
“Life And Death”
“The Unfair Fight”
“Hall Of Mirrors”
“Taste Of The Erratic”
“Ghostship”
“Planes Of The Eternal Dead”
“Supreme Act Of Heroism”

Audio samples:

 

Hall Of Mirrors Album Sample by ACID DEATH

 

Guest musicians on Hall Of Mirrors include:

Manthos “ManSter” Stergiou (Tardive Dyskinesia) - backing vocals
Nick Melissourgos (Suicidal Angels) - lead guitar
Jon Soti (Floating Worlds) - melodic vocals
Illiana Tsakiraki (Enemy Of Reality) - female vocals

Vision Of Disorder are two weeks into recording of their still untitled new album. Currently being recorded at Frankie Nasso’s Staten Island-based Nova Studios, the new album is expected for a fall release and follows up 2012’s The Cursed Remain Cursed. The album is being be produced by Zeus (Agnostic Front, Crowbar, Hatebreed, Whitechapel).

"Things are going very well," shares vocalist Tim Williams of the recording process. "Rhythm guitars, bass and drums are now all completed. I am 5 songs deep with vocals and the songs are killer. We should be finished tracking by August 9th." Williams previously revealed, “The new songs are dark, heavy, and melodic in a way only Vision Of Disorder can deliver.”

A few working song titles for the still-to-be-named album include “Razed To The Ground”, “War On The Police” and “Nightcrawler”.

Vision Of Disorder is vocalist Tim Williams, guitarist Mike Kennedy, bassist Mike Fleischmann, and drummer Brendon Cohen. Updates to follow.

In the fourth episode of Metal XS's interview series of Jimmy Page, the LED ZEPPELIN guitar legend talks about ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham's passing and legacy.

Said Page: "[John] and I were really good pals. We were really, really close in our musical collaboration, if you want… the camaraderie. And just the sheer fact that, you know… 'Bonzo's Montreux' [the drum solo by John Bonham, which is the seventh track on the band's final studio album, 'Coda'] says it all, really. It was just the two of us working on it over there in the studio."

He continued: "The passing of John Bonham… Let's just put it… Before we say, 'the passing of John Bonham,' the introduction of John Bonham on the first album and 'Good Times Bad Times', it changes drumming overnight. So that's in 1968. And we're talking about 1980. It's twelve years of John Bonham's musical input being appreciated by the whole world of music in every way — the fact that it changes drumming, the fact that it changes people's appreciation of drums and music.

"[John's passing] was a massive loss to everybody. Everybody had been touched by John Bonham's music."

Page also spoke about where he thinks LED ZEPPELIN's music would have gone had if the band hadn't broken up following Bonham's death. He said: "John and I had discussed what the next album was going to be after 'In Through The Out Door', and… If I say to you, if you listen to what the sort of drumming he liked to play was, where he could really get into. And, you know, 'Bonzo's Montreux', the attitude of drumming on that. And he loved the riffs, he loved the riffs that I'd come up along with the way, he loved playing them, and he loved the whole, sort of, groove and swing to it, and he was keen to have a return to there on the next album, and so was I. I mean, that's a good illustration of when he was given a chance to make a drum orchestra, you can hear the attitude of it. But it would have had everybody's personality combined in it."

In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Page was asked why the band didn't take time to heal and rebuild itself following Bonham's passing in 1980.

"LED ZEPPELIN wasn't a corporate entity," he replied. "LED ZEPPELIN was an affair of the heart. Each of the members was important to the sum total of what we were. I like to think that if it had been me that wasn't there, the others would have made the same decision. And what were we going to do? Create a role for somebody, say, 'You have to do this, this way?' That wouldn't be honest."

He continued: "There were attempts [at reunion] that didn't work — trying to push it together in a hurry. That's why the [2007] show had to be done with such intent — rehearsing as much as we could so Jason [Bonham's son] felt he was part of the band as opposed to a novelty. He was filling big shoes, and we needed all of that."

Jason Bonham revealed in a 2012 inerview that singer Robert Plant's emotional difficulties continuing the band without Jason's dad ultimately ended any hoped-for reunion of the group's surviving members.

"It wasn't just [Robert] going, 'I don't want to do it,' there were other things going on," Jason explained. "He told me, 'It doesn't matter how great you are on the drums, Jason. I love you to bits, and you play absolutely amazing. But John was the drummer in LED ZEPPELIN, and John was part of me and Jimmy and John Paul. We shared something very, very special. I struggle sometimes just thinking about trying to create some magic again when he's not there. He was a very, very dear friend of mine, that I miss every day.'"

John Bonham died on September 25, 1980 of pulmonary edema which is fluid accumulation in the lungs. He was 32 years old.

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe has slammed Kevin Lyman over comments the co-founder of the annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival made regarding the state of the heavy metal scene and the future of the traveling event.

In an article published on July 8 by Detroit Free Press, Lyman was quoted a saying about the difficulties of booking headline-worthy acts for the festival: "The bands at the top all demand a certain level of fee to be on tour. Unlike punk rock, metal never knows how to take a step back to move the whole scene forward. That's how punk rock was. That's how we nurtured punk rock. BAD RELIGION would take a little less than they could on their own to bring the whole scene forward, so we could make sure we had a good [touring] package around them. Metal doesn't seem to have that concern, never has, never has since I was working in the clubs in the '80s. It's always about a 'me, me, me' thing."

Lyman added that part of the problem is the fact that metal's audiences have dwindled as the established headlining acts got older. "What happened was metal chased girls away because what happened was metal aged," he said. "Metal got gray, bald and fat. And metal was about danger. When you went to a metal show, it was dudes onstage; there was some danger in it."

In a posting on his Instagram account, Blythe addressed Lyman's comments, writing: "Y'all know I don't talk about my band much here — it's not my thing. This account is for my photography and other creative endeavors — but I must take a moment to speak about something that irked me recently, as I felt it was a bit insulting to our fans and the metal scene that supports my band (especially the females).

"'What happened was metal chased girls away because what happened was metal aged. Metal got gray, bald and fat.' "This generalization was recently made by Mayhem Fest co-founder Kevin Lyman about our metal scene. I call bullshit.

"I wanted to wait until we were on tour to address this, soooooooo.... looking at the huge crowds we have played to on this four-band bill [also featuring SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE] so far (all singing along to our metal songs and with plenty of girls in attendance), I gotta laugh. I ain't the youngest dude in the world, but from my vantage point, the metal scene appears to be doing just fine."

He continued: "I, a dude from the punk scene of the '80s (ahem... punk rock existed long before Warped tour, [by the way]. I know, because I was there) who somehow became the singer of a metal band, just became a nationally best-selling author, I've met plenty of younger fans who have bought my book, and many were female. LAMB OF GOD, a metal band, has a new album out — at this very second, we are in a very tight race with Jill Scott (an awesome R&B singer I am a fan of who has a huge audience) for the very top slot of the Billboard charts, and if enough folks buy the album before Thursday, we will have our first #1 record. Jill Scott has a much larger fan base than us, but metal fans actually buy records. Even if we get a #2 or #3 (again, by the way — not our first Top 10 debut), it will still be huge. There's tons of younger metal bands too. The metal scene is alive and healthy, and it will continue to grow and the younger bands will become headliners, if the fans support it. So far, that doesn't seem to be a problem."

Blythe added: "So, sorry, metal isn't watered-down pop bullshit for the teenybopper masses, but it is healthy. So thanks for coming out, buying our records, and singing along, y'all! Thanks for forming new bands and keeping it alive! We appreciate and love you! We ain't pretty, but we are definitely here, and I'm not bald or fat."

LAMB OF GOD's new album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", was released on July 24 via Epic in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Entertainment in all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

Children Of Bodom are set to release their ninth studio album, I Worship Chaos, worldwide on October 2nd via Nuclear Blast Records. The band have released a second trailer in which the band explains the concept behind the lyrics for the new album:

In the first trailer, bassist Henkka explains the concept behind cover artwork:

Pre-orders for I Worship Chaos are underway. The album will be available in following formats:

- CD + DVD digibook (incl. bonus DVD and three bonus tracks!)
- CD
- 2LP (black, clear, silver, yellow, picture)
- digibook + canvas (mail order edition)

Pre-order your copy at this location.

COB frontman, guitarist, and mastermind Alexi Laiho commented on the new album: “We are close to putting the finishing touches on the new COB record I Worship Chaos and as much fun (but most importantly raw, literally bloody knuckled hard work) it has been making it, I’m more than happy and even more anxious to share this chaos with the rest of the world.  So people, put your shades and helmets on, it will get very dark and it might hurt, in a perfect COB fashion of course!”

Returning to Finland’s Danger Johnny Studios (located at a top secret, undisclosed location in Helsinki) to record I Worship Chaos, the album was produced by COB and Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their earlier albums Halo Of Blood, Hatebreeder, Follow the Reaper and Hate Crew Deathroll. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

Tracklisting:

“IHurt”
“My Bodom (I Am The Only One)”
“Morrigan”
“Horns”
“Prayer For The Afflicted”
“I Worship Chaos”
“Hold Your Tongue”
“Suicide Bomber”
“All for Nothing”
“Widdershins”

*The deluxe version of I Worship Chaos will include bonus tracks.

“Morrigan”:

Check out a message from the studio from Alexi and Janne:

In support of I Worship Chaos, Children Of Bodom will join forces with Lamb Of God to tour Europe this fall.

COB fronter Alexi Laiho comments: “We're all super psyched to hit the road with Lamb Of God this fall as we have a long history of touring and kicking some serious ass all over the globe with those guys! This is something you might not wanna miss, trust me!“

Opening support will come from Sylosis. For a few dates in the UK and Ireland, this touring package will team up with mighty Megadeth.

 Tour dates:

October (with Sylosis)
25 - Gdansk, Poland - B90
26 - Krakow, Poland - Fabryka
27 - Brno, Czech Republic - Club Fleda
29 - Marseille, France - Espace Julien

November
4 - Bordeaux, France - LeRocher De Palmer
5 - Lyon, France - Le Transbordeur
6 - Paris, France - Le Bataclan
7 - Strasbourg, France - Le Laiterie

November (with Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Sylosis)
9 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
11 - Glasgow, Scotland - Braehead Arena
12 - Manchester, England - O2 Apollo Manchester
14 - London, England - The SSE Arena Wembley
15 - Birmingham, England - Birmingham o2 Academy

November (with Lamb Of God, Sylosis)
17 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
18 - Tilbourg, Netherlands - 013
19 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
20 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
22 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex
23 - Lausanne, Switzeland - Les Docks
24 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
25 - Munich, Germany - Kesselhaus
26 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
28 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
29 - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
30 - Hamburg, Germany - Docks

December (with Lamb Of God, Sylosis)
1 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Store Vega

December (with Sylosis)
5 - Södra Hammarbyhamnen, Sweden - Fryshuset
6 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller Music Hall

Other Children Of Bodom tour dates include:

July
31 - Ratinan Stadion - Tampere, Finland (with Nightwish)

August
1 - Kuopio Rockcock - Kuopio, Finland

October
10 - Loud Park - Saitama-Shi, Japan

In an unprecedented event in extreme metal, Canadian powerhouse Kataklysm will release ten music videos in the ten days leading up to the release of their new album, Of Ghosts And Gods. Today, the band has released a video for “Soul Destroyer”.

Mastermind Maurizio states: ““Soul Destroyer” was written after we spent time in South Africa the first time. We met a person who worked for the preservation of wildlife in Africa and told us the horrific things done to wildlife in order to profit from their deaths.”

Kataklysm will release Of Ghosts And Gods on July 31st worldwide via Nuclear Blast. Guitarist J- F Dagenais tracked drums, guitars and bass for the album, while vocals were recorded by producer Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, DevilDriver, Cannibal Corpse). The entire process was mixed and mastered in the UK by legendary producer Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Testament, Exodus, Amon Amarth)

The new album artwork was done by up and coming dark and macabre artist Art by Surtsey. The new Kataklysm cover art echoes a sinister artwork depicting the reality of humanity’s beautifully disturbing existence and its impending death through the Mortal and the Everlasting, the background shows an ancient Incantation written in Aramaic.

Of Ghosts And Gods track listing:

“Breaching The Asylum”
“The Black Sheep”
“Thy Serpents Tongue”
“Soul Destroyer”
“Vindication”
“Marching Through Graveyards”
“Shattered”
“Hate Spirit”
“Carrying Crosses”
“The World Is A Dying Insect”

“Thy Serpents Tongue” video:

“Vindication” video:

“Marching Through Graveyards” video:

“The Black Sheep” video:

“Breaching The Asylum” video:

“Soul Destroyer”:

Preview:

About the album, the band previously stated: “It has all the elements that make Kataklysm the force that it is with unrelenting power, melodic hooks, extreme passages and the head stomping grooves Kataklysm is well known for, plus it jumps into new territory in the true nature of the band’s adventurous exploits to push the limit. The end result will be our fans head banging with their horns in the air and shouting the hymns - and that’s our satisfaction right there. We will be hitting the road this summer with a string of festivals in support of the album. This is a determined Kataklysm like you’ve never seen before. Be ready."

Kataklysm have announced dates for their Of Ghosts And Gods European tour 2016

Mastermind Maurizio states: “It’s been a little awhile since we have visited the clubs and theaters of Europe , the last run was incredible as we remember it well, this time we come stronger then ever supporting the bombastic Of Ghosts And Gods with an unprecedented 44 shows across the old continent as we will be visiting new cities and also countries such as Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia for the very first time… excitement is an understatement! We will be bringing a full Kataklysm show so you can feel the real experience our way and we are bring with us our brothers:  the Greek titan kings of SepticFlesh and Belgian gore masters Aborted to bring the power and the blood, in true Kataklysm tradition the tour will be in January / February, so come start the year the right way and experience this sonic assault when it comes to destroy your town.”

Tour dates:

January
7 - Berlin, Germany - C-Club
8 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
9 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
10 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
11 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
12 - Göteburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
13 - Oslo, Norway - Blå
14 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Strand
16 - Helsinki, Finland - Nosturi
17 - Tallin, Estonia - Tapper
18 - Riga, Latvia - Melna Piektdiena
19 - Vilnius, Lithuania - New York
20 - Warschau, Poland - Progresja
21 - Cracov, Poland - Fabryka
22 - Prag, Czech Republic - Meet Factory
23 - Vienna, Austria - Arena
24 - Budapest, Hungary - Dürer Kert
25 - Lubljana, Slovenia - Kino Siska
26 - Wörgl, Austria - Komma
27 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic
28 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA
29 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
30 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z 7
31 - München, Germany - Backstage

February
1 - Genf, Switzerland - Lùsine
2 - Montepellier, France - Rockstore
3 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 2
4 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol
5 - Limoges, France - CC John Lennon
6 - Vannes, France - Echonova
7 - Rouen, France - Le 106
9 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
10 - St. Etienne, France - Le Fil
11 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
12 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob
13 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
14 - Paris, France - La Machine
15 - Bristol, UK - Fleece
16 - Glasgow, UK - Audio
17 - Dublin, Ireland - Voodoo Lounge
18 - Manchester, UK - Sound Control
19 - Nuneaton, UK - Queens Hall
20 - London, UK - Underworld
21 - Tilburg, Netherlands - O13

Kataklysm and diabolical death / black metal giants Belphegor will co-headline an uncompromising raid on North American shores this fall

“We've had a very busy year preparing for the world campaign for our new album, Of Ghosts and Gods, that is currently underway in Europe for the festival season,” commented vocalist Maurizio Iacono. “This fall, we will return to the US and Canada with our crazy brothers in Belphegor, to destroy your souls and cities one by one. We hope to see you guys there joining in on the madness!"

Adds Belphegor guitarist/vocalist and mastermind Helmuth Lehner: "Ave! Belphegor are looking forward to returning to US shores and celebrating our 9th North American raid to promote the latest offering, Conjuring The Dead. Revel in brutal musick and join the pit with us!“

Confirmed dates are as follows:

October
24 - San Bernardino, CA KnotFest 2015
25 - Las Vegas, NV - LVCS
26 - Oakland, CA - Metro Opera House
27 - Portland, OR - Panic Room
28 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
30 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
31 - Chicago, IL - Reggies

November
1 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
2 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
3 - Amarillo, TX - Yellow City Bomb Shelter
4 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
6 - Orlando, FL - The Haven
7 - Charlotte, NC - The Casbah @ Tremont
8 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
9 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
10 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
11 - Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
12 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
13 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
14 - Quebec City, QC - Complexe Meduse *
15 - Sherbrooke, QC - Theatre Granada *
16 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's *

* - no Belphegor

 

Prog/death metal powerhouse Subterranean Masquerade, which features members of Green Carnation, Orphaned Land, Novembers Doom and Tristania, have release a video for the track “Blanket Of Longing”, from their album The Great Bazaar.

 

 

Tracklisting:

"Early Morning Mantra"
"Reliving The Feeling"
"Tour Diary"
"Nigen"
"Waiting"
"Specter"
"Father And Son"
"Home" (Bonus Track)
"Beyond The Pale" (Bonus Track)

“Blanket Of Longing” video:

“Tour Diary” video:

“Tour Diary” lyric video:

Hailing from Kotka, Finland, female-fronted quintet Crimson Sun play modern melodic metal with an in your face attitude. Crimson Sun have signed with Canadian label Maple Metal Records to release their debut album, Towards The Light, on August 3rd worldwide. As part of the deal Maple Metal Records will re-release the band’s 2013 EP The Border, recorded with the same lineup as the new album.

Check out the official lyric video for the new song "The Storm" below:

  
 
Towards The Light was recorded last Fall at Deep Noise Studios, Kouvola, Fi with Saku Moilanen, and the mastering was done by Jacob Hansen (Epica, Volbeat, Amaranthe, Primal Fear)in Denmark. The album cover art is by renowned Serbian artist Slobicus Doomicus. An official video for the title track Towards The Light will be streamed online to coincide with the albums release.

Jacob Hansen has shared his comments on Towards The Light: “I really enjoyed the songs and the band. To me, this band could easily become ‘the Next Big Thing’! The song structures and overall sound is catchy, as well as being heavy. Fine tuning this combination could mean big business!”

Towards The Light tracklisting:

“The Storm”
“Eye Of The Beholder”
“Awaken”
“Towards The Light”
“The Herald”
“Portrait Of A Ghost”
“Enter The Silence”
“The Spark”
“Clockwork Heart”
“Memories Burning”

Album teaser:

Intro video:

Crimson Sun was founded in 2001 by guitarist Joni Junnila, and the band went through various member changes before settling down with the quintet that recorded their EP The Border in 2013. Crimson Sun will be supporting Finnish metallers Poisonblack on a mini-tour in August, with some fall dates to be announced soon with other artists.

Dates:

August
14 - Dark River Festival 2015 - Honkala, Finland
15 - Virgin Oil - Helsinki, Finland

Crimson Sun is:

Sini Seppälä - Vocals
Joni Junnila - Guitars
Jukka Jauhiainen - Bass
Miikka Hujanen - Keyboards
Antti Rantavuo - Drums

SEVENDUST's eleventh studio album, "Kill The Flaw", will be released on October 2 via 7Bros. Records with ADA/Warner Brothers distribution. The CD was produced by SEVENDUST and recorded at Architekt Music in Butler, New Jersey with engineer/mixer Mike Ferretti.

"Kill The Flaw" is available for digital pre-order at iTunes. Fans who order the album will receive an instant download of the first single, "Thank You", which can be streamed below as well as via streaming partners Spotify and Apple Music.

"We took some time off from the heavy side of SEVENDUST, and when it came time to record some new music, Clint, John, Vinnie, Morgan and I put everything we had in to what became 'Kill The Flaw'," states vocalist Lajon Witherspoon. "We love this new music and we can't wait to share it with our amazing SEVENDUST family!" Throughout the album, SEVENDUST's musical development flourishes while never losing the signature sound that has garnered the band fans worldwide.

Tracks like "Death Dance", "Cease And Desist" and "Not Today" showcase the growth of the band as songwriters.

"Kill The Flaw" track listing: 01. Thank You 02. Death Dance 03. Forget 04. Letters05. Cease And Desist06. Not Today07. Chop08. Kill The Flaw09. Silly Beast10. Peace And Destruction11. Torched

In a recent interview with Loudwire, SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly stated about the band's new material: "It's funny, you come out of acoustic world and immediately you're, like, 'All right, let's get metal again. Let's get heavy.'"

He continued: "There's a lot of heavy on this one, but there's also a lot of melody. There's a lot of spillover from where our headspace was at on an acoustic perspective, which is great.

"I love being as heavy as we can be but Lajon, he's a melodic singer, and I think he's going to be excited about a lot of stuff. As heavy as we're trying to be, there's still a ton of melody on it."

Connolly added: "We've had such a good time during the last two records, collaborating together as a five-piece which is something we haven't done since the first album. All we had was a rehearsal room, each other, paying the rent and a few shows. Someone would come up with a riff or a demo and bring it in and we'd really hammer it out as a band. We had so much fun on 'Black Out the Sun' and 'Time Travelers & Bonfires', really, just being in each other's face instead of wondering is this going to work or is that going to work?

"Having five cooks in the kitchen at all times, most times, with most bands can be counterproductive, but for us, it just works so much better for us; we're so much more efficient. We're much happier without the guesswork. You play a riff, then Vinny [Hornsby, bass] starts playing, then Clint comes in, and questions get answered, and then you move on to the next thing.

"It's the stuff that we create together that's usually the stuff that gets us the most excited."

SEVENDUST's latest acoustic album, "Time Travelers & Bonfires", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available on April 15, 2014 via 7Bros. Records, in conjunction with ADA Label Services. SEVENDUST will be the direct support on GODSMACK's upcoming tour. The trek kicks off on September 23 on Detroit, Michigan and wraps on October 19 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

SEVENDUST is comprised of vocalist Lajon Witherspoon, guitarists John Connolly and Clint Lowery, bassist Vince Hornsby and drummer Morgan Rose.

Victor A. Nieto has uploaded video footage of GUNZO performing the MONTROSE classics "Bad Moter Scooter" and "Rock Candy" on June 15 at Ramona Mainstage in Ramona, California. Check out the clip below.

GUNZO is the new band featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (ex-L.A. GUNS) and legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo (ex-QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE), alongside singer Keith St. John (X-DRIVE, BURNING RAIN, MONTROSE, QUIET RIOT) and drummer Shane Fitzgibbon.

In recent interview with the "Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley", Guns stated about GUNZO, "We're actually gonna start writing brand new music, which is something I wasn't really that looking forward to doing that with anybody. I just finished a record with DEVIL CITY ANGELS [the band Tracii formed with drummer Rikki Rockett (POISON), bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA), and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Brandon Gibbs (CHEAP THRILL)], and it's a really good middle-of-the-road rock record. But playing with Rudy and Shane and Keith has really inspired me to write some kind of neoclassical metal. So that's what I'm doing right now. Any spare minute I have right now, I've got a guitar in my hand and I'm trying to come up with really nice pieces of music and kind of take it from there. And everybody in the group and anybody that's involved with us, there's a lot of genuine enthusiasm to see this thing grow and do something meaningful in the future here."

Guns also talked in more detail about the kind of music fans can expect to hear from GUNZO's live shows and upcoming record release. He said: "Keith was in MONTROSE, on and off, for a lot of years. So [when we play out] we're doing a couple of MONTROSE songs, we do WHITESNAKE stuff, DIO stuff, OZZY [OSBOURNE]… Eventually we'll be doing more QUIET RIOT stuff. We did 'Killer Girls', which is a QUIET RIOT song that Randy Rhoads wrote; it was on their second record with Randy Rhoads — a very old song. So we're trying to, right now, celebrate all this great stuff we've done over the years, and in doing so, our setlist is unbelievable — from 'Rainbow In The Dark' to 'Crazy Train', 'Never Enough'…. Just great stuff. So anything that we will write and put out in the future will be that vein of music, which is something that I haven't had any interest in writing in years. But this is the perfect vehicle to do that."

He continued: "When I say 'neoclassical,' I really mean it. I'm writing some really, kind of…. for lack of a better expression, kind of soundtracky classical music that I have been writing for other projects, 'cause I also try to weasel my way into movies and television and stuff like that, so I have a lot of different kind of stuff kind of on the backburner that I can draw from, and, if nothing else, it inspires me to write stuff specifically for this."

Tracii added: "The plan is to not ever really play [any new songs with GUNZO] until it's out. We're very aware that when you go to see a band like this, people wanna hear hit after hit after hit after hit; we don't really wanna have to have anybody sit through a six-minute brand new song that they've never heard before live. And sometimes live isn't the best place to do every type of music. I mean, it's great to present straight-up rock and roll live, because it's immediate, but I think what we're gonna be writing isn't gonna be exactly immediate."

Frontiers Music Srl will release the brand new studio album from ROYAL HUNT titled "Devil's Dozen" on August 21 in Europe and North America.

The song "Until The Day", taken from "Devil's Dozen", can be streamed below.

With keyboardist and songwriter André Andersen still at the helm, ROYAL HUNT have once again created an album that combines the basic sound and core values of classic rock with progressive rock and more current musical elements.

André Andersen says: "We're very pleased to be able to present our new, thirteenth studio album. While staying on course with all traditional ROYAL HUNT's musical values this one contains quite a bit of variety — from an up-tempo, double-kick-driven 'May You Never (Walk Alone)' to the bluesy 'Heart On A Platter' and probably our best ballad to date — 'Until The Day'. Counting in ROYAL HUNT's usual attention to details — playing wise as well as production wise — I'm sure that any fan of symphonic/melodic yet hard rocking music will be pleased with our latest offering." The new recording stays true to the original, larger-than-life ROYAL HUNT sound, with imaginative instrumentation, intricate arrangements, soaring vocals and catchy, massive choruses. Yet the addition of classical musicians/instruments and contemporary, modern day production elements move to twist the outcome into a unique sonic palette. The album is chock full of carefully crafted songs, recorded and mixed by a team who combined crystal clear sonics with a weighty punch.

Featuring once again the talents of the awesome American singer D.C. Cooper — who, after numerous requests from fans and promoters worldwide decided to reunite with the band in 2011 — ROYAL HUNT features, besides Andersen on keyboards, longtime member Andreas Passmark on bass, Jonas Larsen on guitar and new drummer Andreas Habo Johansson (ex-NARNIA).

"Devil's Dozen" track listing:

01. So Right So Wrong02. May You Never (Walk Alone)03. Heart On A Platter04. A Tear In The Rain05. Until The Day06. Riches To Rags07. Way Too Late08. How Do You Know (bonus track)

ROYAL HUNT is:

D.C. Cooper: vocalsAndre Andersen: keyboardsAndreas Passmark: bassJonas Larsen: guitarsAndreas Habo Johansson: drums

As the Finnish summer draws to an end, the once white nights grow darker and colder by the day. Antagonist Zero delivers a fitting soundtrack for the season, complementing the darkening skies with a blend of atmospheric melodies and aggressive melancholy. On August 14 the band's latest offering, No Tears MCD, is released via Inverse Records. No Tears continues on the path set by Antagonist Zero's previous releases, Doomed and Nighttime Harmony, blending together elements of doom, death and post shades of metal.

No Tears consists of five songs: three originals and two covers. The originals are a harbinger of an upcoming full-length album, demonstrating new elements in Antagonist Zero's music - such as the title track’s this-will-get-stuck-in-your-head riffs, “Profound Oblivion”’s wrecking ball groove and “Suru”, which is sung completely in Finnish. The two cover songs are familiar to listeners from the band's live shows: Doom:VS's melodic doom suits the band like a glove in the form of “The Lachrymal Sleep”, while “Missä Muruseni On”, by Finnish pop queen Jenni Vartiainen, has received a workover which has already charmed live audiences all over Europe, Russia and China.

The release of No Tears will be celebrated on August 15 at Dark River festival in Kotka, Finland, where Antagonist Zero will be playing with such bands as Ghost Brigade, Poisonblack and Stam1na. More tour dates will be announced soon.

Tracklisting:

“No Tears”
“Profound Oblivion”
“Suru”
“Missä Muruseni On”
“The Lachrymal Sleep”

Preorders are available from this location.

Antagonist Zero is:

Ben Pakarinen - guitar and vocals
Juho Suokas - guitar
Jussi Ruokolainen - drums
Fredde Sjöblom - bass
Ville Siikamäki - vocals

Naples, Italy-based power/thrash band, Savior From Anger, has signed a worldwide deal with Pure Steel Records. The new album, Temple Of Judgment, will be released next year.

Says the band: “This is Savior From Anger’s fourth album. So we are proud to sign with Pure Steel Records from Germany. It is an awesome label and we are sure that will do a great work with our album."

 

 

Temple Of Judgment tracklisting:

“In The Shadows”
“Bright Darkness”
“The Eye”
“Thunderheads”
“Chosen Ones”
“The Calling”
“Starlight”
“The Eye Opens”
“Repentance”
“Temple Of Judgment”

This will be the band’s first album to feature singer Bob Mitchell (Attacker, Old School). More details to follow.

Fair Winds Brewing Co. has brewed Seas Of Annihilation, a crisp and refreshing black kolsch for Yesterday's Saints. Brewer Will Cook created the recipe with YS. The beer is dark as the night sky and has a touch of smoke from the embers of hell.

At 5.1% you can drink it all day in the summer sun. It'll keep you cool while your flesh boils from your animated carcass. Seas Of Annihilation will be available at Fair Winds Brewery in an exclusive release on August 1st at 7 PM in the Fair Winds Tap Room at 7000 Newington Rd., Lorton, VA. Artwork for Seas Of Annihilation is being created by Adam McCarthy (Drogoth of Sothis) and will be unveiled at the event.

In addition to the Beer Release Party, Yesterday's Saints have lined up a handful of shows for August and an additional show in October. Included in this run are headline shows, dates with Battlecross, IKILLYA and Arkona. A complete list of dates can be found below.

August
1 - Fair Winds Brewery - Lorton, VA (Beer Release and Metal Listening Party)
20 - The Backstage Cafe - Covington, KY
21 - The Token Lounge - Westland, MI (Battlecross CD Release Party, with Battlecross and Black Fast)
22 - Reggies - Chicago, IL (with Battlecross and Black Fast)
23 - Centerstage Bar and Grill - Kokomo, IN (with Battlecross and Black Fast)
24 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH (with Battlecross and Black Fast)
25 - Broadway Joe's - Buffalo, NY
28 - Poncho N Luigi - Norfolk, VA (with IKILLYA)

October
2 - Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD (with Arkona, Winterhymn, and Helsott)

Italian multi-instrumentalist/composer Zombie Sam has checked in with the following update:

"It's official! The new album is finished! Just vocal lines are left. Curious eh? It's a big level up comparing to my first album. It's a moving album written under circumstances that changed my life.

Art can be a message. I want to give a message. I mixed all my love for Tim Burton, soundtracks and something else. The more I listen to the songs the more I think they are addictive. 

Getting many messages from fans asking about more news. I will tell you more as soon as possible. I can't wait to get the vocal lines and get ready to master the album. Working on this album since months now. My whole soul is in the songs."

Zombie Sam released his previous album Self Conscious Insanity on June 4th, 2013 via Coroner Records. A video for the track "A Hallow Tale" featuring Season Of Ghosts vocalist Sophia can be viewed below:

Zombie Sam also collaborated on the Season Of Ghosts debut, The Human Paradox, released on December 8th, 2014 via Coroner Records. Mastermind/vocalist Sophia has posted a behind-the-scenes clip from the recording sessions of her debut album, The Human Paradox, featuring Zombie Sam. Check it out below:

A full length audio clip of the third song on the album, "Time Travellers", can be heard below:

Season Of Ghosts is a groundbreaking music project, dedicated to the love for the unseen and film soundtracks, combining extreme rock and metal sounds, harsh electronics and powerful, compelling vocals, through the eerie spectrum of a Sci-Fi and horror movie.

Tracklisting:

"Nothing Disappears Without A Trace"
"Genesis - The Phoenix Syndrome"
"Time Travellers"
"Dream; Paralysis"
"The Human Paradox"
"[NE]: MESIS - The Kiss Of Justice"
"Beautiful Eternal Things"
"Dreaming In The Gray Lands"
"The Road To Acheron"
"Quantum - Through The Looking Glass"
"Reincarnation"
"There And Back Again"

Preview:

For information on Zombie Sam go to this location.

Bloodred have recently started recording for the longed-for by many debut album.

For this Ron Merz has teamed up with Alexander Krull (Atrocity, Leaves' Eyes) in its Mastersound Studio in Germany on July 17. This continues the successful cooperation from last year.

Recording master Krull produces the whole and overtakes mixing and mastering. After the EP The Lost Ones, which was released in August last year, the current cooperative represents the second collaboration of this team.

In the technically well-equipped halls of the renowned Mastersound Studios releases of known acts like Atrocity, Leaves' Eyes, Belphegor and Obscura have already been provided with a great sound. The guitars get recorded by Thorsten Bauer (Atrocity, Leaves' Eyes).

Once more with the mystical blackened death metal game in Swabian realms is also Joris Nijenhuis (Atrocity, Leaves' Eyes), who overtakes the drums just as he did at last year's EP The Lost Ones.

Bloodred mastermind, singer and multi-instrumentalist Ron Merz comments: 

"I am insanely blazed with great joy at the new recording sessions! In the Mastersound one can work as relaxed as fully focused. And Alex is always close with words and deeds."

Equally important to the studious Bloodred main actor is the competent and experienced Joris Nijenhuis who plays the drum parts for the upcoming longplay crusher:

"Joris is a world-class drummer, bringing in a whole new way ennobling, powerful dimension to my music with its style!"

The release of the debut album strike of Bloodred, to date untitled, is scheduled for the autumn.

MDD Records has announced the signing of German thrash metal five piece War Agenda.

After a 3-Track demo in 2013, the Bay Area influenced thrashers will release their full-length debut album this fall. 

A press release states: “You can expect a heavy thrashin’ bastard and if you a fan of bands like Slayer, Anthrax and Exodus you should be prepared and give War Agenda a try.”

3-Track promo:

Demo 2013 by War Agenda

Queen on vinyl: This is how listeners first heard the now legendary Queen in the 1970’s when vinyl was the predominant format for recorded music. This September Queen will hit the crest of an already massive wave – a world-wide renaissance of vinyl and record players – with the ultimate set of vinyl LPs, the complete collection of Queen studio albums, re-mastered to the highest standards of quality in both audio and artwork.

The band and their label Universal Music, today announced Queen: The Studio Collection, an 18 disc theme-coloured vinyl LP collection to be released September 25th. This unique package will be complimented with a fully customised limited edition Queen branded turntable made by Rega.

15 albums. 18 discs? What’s the story? Queen always had a special fondness for vinyl, the medium in which they first began to create, around 1970. As a matter of principle, every Queen studio album was offered at the time of original release on vinyl, even well into the era when CD’s had taken over as the medium of choice for most of the public. However, the final two albums, ‘Innuendo’ and ‘Made In Heaven’ were actually formatted primarily with the CD in mind, with a longer running time, so the contents had to be edited down to fit them on to the two sides of a vinyl album. Now, specially for this edition, for the first time, these two albums have been cut at full length as double vinyl LP’s - four sides each – making up a vinyl set that is complete in every way.

The box-set offers many other special features. Most noticeable is the coloured vinyl: designed for collectors, each album has been given a different colour, in keeping with its original artwork, giving a unique record-deck experience. The colour discs have been custom-produced especially for this set, using new material technology which ensures the sound quality is uncompromised.  

There are more surprises in the box set;  Queen II originally never had a designated ‘A side’ or ‘B side’ - but ‘Side White’ and ‘Side Black’. For this new edition, the album has been cut on two separate discs, black and white, each with a custom etching on the reverse side, a nice bonus for collectors.  

The collection has been five years in the making. Throughout this time Queen’s production team has worked extensively on all stages of this painstaking mastering process. The first step was the tape research; locating and confirming the correct versions and best sources for all tracks. Most notably, Under Pressure, plus five tracks on the Innuendo album, were improved hugely after the discovery of better sources during this period. Particular attention was paid to the original releases to ensure that nothing was lost or changed for the worse by reverting to earlier sources.

Mastering: To ensure optimum quality in mastering the music, the Queen team asked a number of world-renowned mastering engineers to deliver their best efforts on the same three songs; after double-blind comparison tests, Bob Ludwig’s work was a clear winner, and he was asked to master the entire catalogue for this project. Ludwig is probably the best-known mastering engineer in the world. His skills, combined with a perfect acoustic environment and the some of the world’s finest analogue and digital equipment at Gateway Mastering in Portland, USA, allow him to produce matchless quality in the final result. The Queen team were pleased to confirm his reputation, as well as fulfilling their own exacting demands.

The original plan was to master everything straight from the analogue mix tapes, where available. But in fact most of those tapes, having suffered from the effects of time, were in need of some restoration. The problems encountered included speed errors, missing audio, newly developing clicks and other unwanted noise.  So the decision was made to create new super-high quality digital masters, using 24 bit samples and a sampling rate of 96 kHz. All the restoration was then performed in the digital domain, and the vinyl was cut from these perfected files.  All restoration was carried out with the lightest of touches, with a profound respect for the originals, and the resulting masters are undoubtedly the finest ever.

The Cut: Of course, with the vinyl process, everything depends on the final stage – the physical cut – one continuous modulated spiral groove on each side, carrying all the sound information which will eventually reach our ears.  

For this process, there was only one man in the frame: Miles Showell at famed Abbey Road Studios, London, has perfected the technique of cutting at half speed. Showell runs the source file and the cutting lathe at 50% of the normal speed, which means double the accuracy in the cutting of the groove, resulting in superior reproduction of the music via the stylus in your record player. Showell uses a beautifully maintained Neumann VMS80 lathe boasting cutter-head amplifiers fitted with custom designed RIAA filters. These filters have been optimised for the very cleanest sound. Showell started by cutting the albums onto acetate discs to check the process for every track, and only after he’d fixed any sibilance or other vinyl-specific problems did he cut the lacquers to be sent to the manufacturing plant.

More trials were carried out before eventually deciding to manufacture at Optimal in Germany. Optimal have an enviable reputation for audiophile-quality pressings, plus unparalleled capability for the printing and manufacture of all the elements to be contained in the box set. The Queen team worked closely with the technicians at Optimal in an exhaustive quality control program where test-pressings of every disc, in black and coloured vinyl, were checked to minimise unwanted noise. Finally, the finished results were compared with original pressings of the LPs, on a top quality modern record player, to answer the question: “Was it all worth it?”  

True to the final words of the song: “Yes, it was a worthwhile experience!!!”

The 18 vinyl LP box set comes with a lavishly illustrated 12 x 12 inch 108 page hardback book which features introductions to each album, quotes from Queen themselves, hand-written lyrics, rare photographs, memorabilia, and information on singles and videos - all made possible with unlimited access to Queen’s own archive plus the personal archives of Brian May, Roger Taylor and some generous fans. Thanks to all.

The Queen Studio Collection:

Queen
Queen II *
Sheer Heart Attack
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
News of the World
Jazz
The Game
Flash Gordon
Hot Space
The Works
A Kind of Magic
The Miracle
Innuendo
Made in Heaven

* 2 disc special edition exclusive to the box set. 1 disc standard edition available separately.

Trailer:

To complete the package, Queen have teamed up with one of the worlds most recognised and respected turntable manufacturers, Rega.

Queen and Rega are proud to announce a brand new limited edition official turntable to coincide with the release of the re-mastered vinyl multi disc box set. The design of this unique custom deck includes reproductions of classic Queen logos, and incorporates the tone arm technology of the multi-award-winning ‘plug and play’ Rega turntables. Both brand and band are quintessentially English and the combination of engineering and musical achievements make for a perfect match.

Features:

A custom designed high gloss acrylic laminated plinth silk screened with ‘Queen by Rega’ logo
Hand built RB101 tone arm
Factory fitted Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge
New low noise low vibration 24v synchronous high performance motor
Silk screen printed ‘Queen crest’ platter after Freddie’s original art work
Queen dustcover lid badge

An optional upgrade is available to a handmade high performance (weight matched) moving magnet Rega Bias 2 cartridge. This cartridge is designed specifically for the ‘plug and play’ RB101 tone arm mounted on the Queen by Rega turntable.

For list of Rega distributors head here. Find the official Studio Collection website here.

 

LAMB OF GOD and MEGADETH drummer Chris Adler was recently interviewed on "Elliot In The Morning", the morning radio talk show hosted by DJ Elliot Segal. You can listen to the chat in two parts below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On playing his first show with MEGADETH:

"Yeah, we just got back. We just did Quebec City last Saturday night [July 18 at the Festival D'été De Québec]. And [it was] just an incredible show. I think we had seventy or eighty thousand people at this [event]. It was my first show with the band — first of many — and it was great. I loved every bit of it. It was a stressful period of time getting that together, because LAMB was on tour, and I was trying to learn the MEGADETH set. But I did the album with [MEGADETH mainman] Dave [Mustaine] and the guys earlier this year — the [new] MEGADETH album, that is — and, so, we definitely get along. Dave wants me in the band. I've let him know that LAMB is the priority, but anything and everything I can do… [MEGADETH] has been my favorite band since I was a kid, so I wanna be there."

On whether it was difficult telling Dave Mustaine that some of the MEGADETH mainman's early musical ideas for the band's new album were not up to par:

"For me especially, because I really am such an 'über fan.' To me, this [Dave Mustaine] is the guy… he changed the whole world of rock with a guitar. So, for me, he's kind of the father of this whole thing. So, for me to get in there and say, 'I don't really like the ideas,' it's almost like a suicidal kind of thing. But I really had to feel good being able to contribute and really feeling like I was there for a reason. I think he chose me to play drums 'cause we've toured together in the past, we've kept up here and there. I think he's familiar with what I do, he likes the energy that I bring into LAMB OF GOD, and I think he wanted that. I don't think he wanted me to come in and just say, 'Okay, whatever you want.' Because he could get anybody to do that and probably pay 'em a lot less than what he offered me. So I think he expected me to come in and have some constructive criticism of what was going on. And it was tough, because I'm a fan of him first, but for me to feel good about it, I felt like… And it was very… at the top of the process. I came in and said, 'Thank you for sending me all this stuff. I really like some of it. This is why I like it. But there's some of it that, as a fan of MEGADETH, this is why I feel like the band is starting to fall off, and I think we can do something better than this, now that we have this new team of people that's bring a lot of energy into the songwriting.' And he agreed. So we just kind of took it from there. 'Cause he had been doing all this stuff on his own, by himself, without really anybody there. He had these hired guns come in and record at the studio, but never on the writing process; he didn't really have any help. So, at this point, he's on record fifteen, and at some point, you say, working with other people might reinvigorate the process, and I think it did."

On whether it was weird having to negotiate to be an employee with MEGADETH after being in a five-way partnership with LAMB OF GOD:

"I think the weirdest… To me… Like you said, LAMB OF GOD is a full partnership, so all of us in LAMB OF GOD are responsible for everything that LAMB OF GOD does — for every second of music, for every tour we say 'yes' to, for every show we say 'no' to; we're all very responsible for that. The weird thing for me is not negotiating a fee — we both have management companies that kind of sort that thing out — but the weird thing for me is not being a part, so I know when I go and, even if I contribute three songs, as soon as I'm done playing the drums, I've gotta walk away — they're gonna drop me off at the airport, and that's it. They can go with replacement drums, they can hire somebody else, they can change the songs around a hundred times and I'm no longer involved. So it's hard to give yourself to a process like that and then know that it's just over. I worked with a band called PROTEST THE HERO in Canada, where I said, 'I'm never doing a session gig again,' because I just feel like I'm so attached to it by the time I leave, and it's just… There's no… The guitars are going on, there's vocals going on… I don't get to be involved. And that, to me, is tough. So I said, 'I'm never doing another session again.' But then, of course, when Dave Mustaine calls, you show up."

On pulling double duty during MEGADETH's upcoming U.K. tour with LAMB OF GOD in November:

"Certainly one of the most exciting parts about that is we're doing Wembley Arena, which LAMB has never done before, and I got word last night, even though the show is November 15, there's only two thousand tickets left out of… I don't know what it is… fifteen thousand or something. So they're considering possibly [adding] a second night. And I might be the only person to play two gigs at a sold-out gig at the Wembley Arena the same night. So, yes, I'm very excited to do that, and we're talking about shows together in 2016 as well — in the U.S. and Canada — and possibly bringing that same tour around. So we'll see where it goes."

Lita Ford, a former member of the pioneering '70s all-female rock band THE RUNAWAYS, says that she was unaware off original RUNAWAYS bassist Jackie Fox's claim that she was raped by the group's notorious manager, Kim Fowley. In her account of the incident, Fox — whose real name is Jackie Fuchs — claimed that at least two of her bandmates in THE RUNAWAYS, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, were both witnesses to her brutal attack at the hands of Fowley, but did nothing to intervene or help.

Speaking to the WHMH (Rockin' 101) radio station, Lita said how she first found out about Jackie's allegations (hear audio below): "I got a phone call from a journalist who just started screaming at me about THE RUNAWAYS and I had no idea what he was talking about. I hadn't read the tabloids and I didn't know what was going on. He just started screaming at me. And I'm, like, 'Dude, you have a serious issue.'"

Lita went on to say: "Honestly, I was not there when this happened, as Jackie says it did, so I really can't tell you much. When you do read my [upcoming] book, you'll see that I never really hung out with Joan or Cherie [Currie], and whatever went on between Joan and Cherie kind of stayed between Joan and Cherie. Scott Anderson, who was the manager, along with Kim Fowley… Scott went on tour with us. So if anybody knew anything, it would have been Scott, Cherie and Joan, and Scott now is passed away, along with Kim Fowley. But I do know that Jackie's not a liar, and if she says that somebody was watching her, and if she says that this happened, then I believe her; I do. She's a little extreme sometimes, but still… it's not right. I really don't know what to say about it. I wasn't there, and no one told me about it. This is the first I've heard of it."

Ford also talked about her current relationship with Currie and Jett after a photo of the three of them was taken at the 2014 edition of the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. She said: "There was one picture taken of me and Cherie and Joan at the Golden Gods Awards — one picture. And Cherie and I had gone to go see Joan, because she was getting an award and we thought we'd pay our respects. And I hadn't seen Joan in decades. Cherie has, but I hadn't. And when we went in to see Joan, she gave us a t-shirt, took one quick picture and said goodbye. And that was it — one picture [which is] circulating around."

According to Lita, there has been no talk about a possible RUNAWAYS reunion, despite the fact that she and Cherie have publicly expressed their desire to resurrect the group.

"Joan doesn't want anything to do with it, which… I think she's wrong," Ford explained. "'Cause now is the perfect time, and we would all love to see it now. There was a time when they called me and asked me for a RUNAWAYS reunion, but it was early '90s — NIRVANA was just kicking in, and it was really bad timing; it wouldn't have worked. People would have just turned their nose up at it. But now, to do it now, I think now is the perfect time. And I'm all for it, Cherie was all for it. We never spoke to Jackie about it, because we couldn't get Joan's approval. Had we gotten Joan's approval, we would have spoke to Jackie. But we couldn't get a 'yes' or a 'no' out of Joan."

Ford also discussed the status of her long-awaited autobiography, "Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", which is now set to arrive in March 2016 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

"We pushed [the release date] back," she said. "We had to change a couple of things, and I've been on the waiting list to be distributed. HarperCollins, they have other artists, so they do one artist at a time. So we picked March. We figured it'd be out of the way, [after] the holidays. Otherwise it was November or October. We thought, 'Nah, it's too close to the holidays. Let the holidays go by and then we'll release the book.'"

It is important to note that Jett and Currie have responded to Fox's allegations on social media, and both have refuted their former bandmate's claims. "Anyone who truly knows me understands that if I was aware of a friend or bandmate being violated, I would not stand by while it happened," Jett stated on the JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Facebook page. "For a group of young teenagers thrust into '70s rock stardom there were relationships that were bizarre, but I was not aware of this incident. Obviously Jackie's story is extremely upsetting and although we haven't spoken in decades, I wish her peace and healing."

Currie released her own comments about Fox's accusations. She wrote on her Facebook page: "I have been accused of a crime. Of looking into the dead yet pleading eyes of a girl, unable to move while she was brutally raped and doing nothing. I have never been one to deny my mistakes in life and I wouldn't start now. If I were guilty, I would admit it. There are so many excuses I could make being only one month into my sixteenth year at the time that people would understand, but I am innocent. When I return from Sweden I will seek a qualified polygraph examiner to put to rest any and all allegations. I will make public the questions, answers and results of that test."

TheUnTicket.com recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how his voice has held up after forty years of singing heavy metal music:

Halford: "You know, it's a blessing — thank the Lord. I still love to go out there and play, like all of us do in the band. We're forging ahead on a world tour that's taking us pretty much around the world. We're getting ready to take a little break after this upcoming leg in Europe to come back to the States and do another run. So the voice holds it together, you know. And much like sports, where you've gotta look after your body and take care of yourself, because of the physical aspect of what you do, that's where I find myself these days. It's hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…. That kind of thing. And get the rest and all the other important aspects of being a band that make you able to go out as a team night after night and thrill your fans, give everybody a great time, pack your bags, get on the bus and go and do it again in another place twenty-four hours later. So it's very similar to the incredible world of sports in that respect."

On his exit from JUDAS PRIEST in the early 1990s and eventual return to the band:

Halford: "I think I was on a bit of a journey, quite honestly. Musically, I've always been very curious and intrigued about other aspects of my own particular world in metal. And I enjoyed it. And I think what it did for me, maybe like it did for [basketball player] Lebron [James] when he went back to Cleveland from Miami. You go back to the home where you really feel you belong, you know, and that's how it turned out for me as a singer and as a musician. I had a good time, but I was yearning to go back to the band that I love more than anything else in the world. So it was a bit of a journey of self-discovery and trying to, kind of, put things in the right place, put things in the right perspective. Sometimes you have to leave the house for a little bit to realize how important it is to get back to your family. So that's how it turned out for me."

After the release of JUDAS PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", Halford wanted to do a solo record, but the rest of the group wouldn't let him. So he left the band and did it anyway, while his bandmates continued without him. PRIEST recruited vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens in 1996 and released two studio albums, 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition", before reuniting with Rob in 2003.

Interview (audio):

Glenn Danzig recently spoke to LasVegasMagazine.com about his long-awaited covers record, "Skeletons", which will be released in Europe this fall via Evilive Music/AFM Records. The CD, which was recorded with PRONG guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor and former TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly, will include the former MISFITS frontman's take on songs by BLACK SABBATH ("N.I.B."), ZZ TOP ("Rough Boy"), THE TROGGS ("A Girl Like You"), THE EVERLY BROTHERS ("Crying In The Rain") and others.

Asked how he decided which songs to cover on "Skeletons", Glenn said: "I just start thinking of what songs I want to record, especially for the covers record. What do I want to cover? Can I bring a new element to it? Can't just be songs I like. It's got to be songs I like and that I think I can give a new direction to, and bring a new dimension to."

He continued: "That's my attitude with covers. Unless you're going to do something different with it and give it a new life, or give it a new dimension, leave it alone. It's going to be judged against the original anyway. If you just try to record it exactly like the original, everyone's just going to like the original better because they've heard it a million times. Also, why cover it if all you're going to do is just cover it? At least that's my opinion, and that's why if I'm going to cover a song, I'm going to give it a new life, new dimension, new feeling. Do something different with it."

Danzig also spoke about some of the other tracks that were recorded for "Skeletons". "[There is an] Elvis cover, of course. It wouldn't be a DANZIG covers record unless there was an Elvis and a SABBATH track. The Elvis cover I did was 'Let Yourself Go'. There's two biker movie theme songs from the old A.I.P. (1950s-1970s low-budget, independent film company American International Pictures) movies that I covered, 'Devil's Angel' and 'Satan's Sadists'. Then there's a RASCALS cover on there, an AEROSMITH cover. A lot of people have been like, 'Wow, this is all over the place,' but it gives insight into some stuff that I listen to."

According to Glenn, the full skull makeup which he wore for the first time since his MISFITS days nearly 40 years ago for the "Skeletons" photo shoot was inspired by legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie.

"One of my favorite covers records is David Bowie's 'Pinups' and I wanted to do a take on that and the record is called 'Skeletons' so I decided I'd do the skull face," he told OC Weekly.

Photo credit: Corey Soria