LED ZEPPELIN will release an expanded version of its 1997 "BBC Sessions" on September 16. The updated set, retitled "The Complete BBC Sessions", was produced by Jimmy Page and features eight previously unreleased tracks — including "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You Shook Me" and the only recorded performance of "Sunshine Woman".

LED ZEPPELIN has just released a 1971 take on "Communication Breakdown", one of eight previously unreleased songs on "The Complete BBC Sessions". Recorded on April 1 at the Paris Theatre in London, this version was broadcast three days later on the BBC's "In Concert" program but has never been included on any official LED ZEPPELIN release.

"The Complete BBC Sessions" will be available in multiple formats from Atlantic/Swan Song on September 16: * Deluxe Edition (3CD) – Remastered original album plus a third disc of unreleased audio.* Deluxe Edition Vinyl (5LP) – Remastered original album, plus a fifth LP of unreleased audio, on 180-gram vinyl* Digital Download – Remastered album and unreleased audio will both be available.* Super Deluxe Boxed Set (3CD/5LP)– This collection includes: * Remastered album. 2 CDs, each in a replica sleeve.* Unreleased audio on CD in a separate card sleeve.* Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl.* Unreleased audio on 180-gram vinyl.* High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit.* 48-page book filled with photos of the band, the recording locations, BBC memorabilia, and session information.* High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 20,000 of which will be individually numbered. "BBC Sessions" was originally released in 1997 and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. "The Complete BBC Sessions" builds on that collection with a third disc that boasts eight unreleased performances. In addition, the set includes extensive session-by-session liner notes written by Dave Lewis. For the first time ever, it provides accurate details and notes about all of the band's BBC sessions. Musical highlights on this new collection include the debut of a long-lost radio session that has achieved near-mythic status among fans. Originally broadcast in April 1969, the session included three songs: "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You Shook Me" and the only recorded performance of "Sunshine Woman". Also included are two unreleased versions of both "Communication Breakdown" and "What Is And What Should Never Be". Separated by two years, the performances vividly demonstrate the young band's rapid evolution over a short period of time. Jimmy Page spoke about the band's growth in an interview with Guitar World. "The 'BBC Sessions' show in graphic detail just how organic the group was," he said. "LED ZEPPELIN was a band that would change things around substantially each time it played…We were becoming tighter and tighter, to the point of telepathy." Speaking with Wall Of Sound, John Paul Jones added: "We'd been on the road a lot by the time those sessions were recorded. The albums were always the starting point of the music, and then we'd take it out and expand it on the road. Then we'd come straight off the road into those BBC studios." Recalling the BBC experience in an interview with Mojo, Robert Plant said: "The whole thing was very quaint: the politeness of the audience, the technicians fumbling about, proper hallowed low-key introductions. Like there was some sort of holy moment about to occur." "The Complete BBC Sessions" CD track listing Disc One

01. You Shook Me02. I Can't Quit You Baby03. Communication Breakdown04. Dazed And Confused05. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair06. What Is And What Should Never Be07. Communication Breakdown08. Travelling Riverside Blues09. Whole Lotta Love10. Somethin' Else11. Communication Breakdown12. I Can't Quit You Baby13. You Shook Me14. How Many More Times Disc Two

01. Immigrant Song02. Heartbreaker03. Since I've Been Loving You04. Black Dog05. Dazed And Confused06. Stairway To Heaven07. Going To California08. That's The Way09. Whole Lotta Love (Medley: Boogie Chillun/Fixin' To Die/That's Alright Mama/A Mess of Blues)10. Thank You Disc Three

01. Communication Breakdown *02. What Is And What Should Never Be *03. Dazed And Confused *04. White Summer05. What Is And What Should Never Be *06. Communication Breakdown *07. I Can't Quit You Baby *08. You Shook Me *09. Sunshine Woman * * Previously Unreleased

Chiaki of the "Metal Moment" podcast has uploaded video footage of BABYMETAL's July 14 performance at The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, California. Check out the clip below.

The breakout all-girl-fronted Japanese heavy metal/teen-pop hybrid group featuring 18-year-old Su-Metal and 16-year-olds Yuimetal and Moametal, backed by a four-piece band, slated to perform their first-ever Tokyo Dome concert on Monday, September 19, recently announced that it will play another show at the same venue on September 20. The two-day event will be known as "Babymetal World Tour 2016 Legend - Metal Resistance - Red Night & Black Night". The attendance over the two days is likely to be 110,000 people, marking the largest number in the history of BABYMETAL's headline shows. BABYMETAL's new album "Metal Resistance", released simultaneously worldwide on April 1, ranked No.15 on the U.K. official chart, the highest rank in the history of Japanese artists, as well as charting in the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard chart, being the first Japanese artist in 53 years to have made the charts since Kyu Sakamoto. The 12-track second full-length CD, featuring tracks "Road Of Resistance", "Karate" and "The One", is available as a standalone CD, vinyl and limited-edition bundle package.

Following the release of the official video for the new album's lead single "Karate", BABYMETAL unveiled the second video for the new album, for the song "The One". The seven-minute live video features singer/dancers Su-Metal, Moametal and Yuimetal performing within a triangular enclosure that's suspended above an arena-size crowd at Yokohama Arena in Japan on the final date of the 2015 world tour. Since the announcement of the their concert at Tokyo Dome marking the end of their third world tour, pre-sales took off with overwhelming response from fans, hence the decision to add a second date.

BABYMETAL made its U.S. late-night TV debut on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" in April, performing "Gimme Chocolate" off their debut album.

Frontiers Music Srl will release "Resurrection", the new album from OPERATION: MINDCRIME, the band led by former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate, on September 23.

The CD's first single, "Left For Dead", can be streamed below. "Resurrection" is the second part of Tate's musical trilogy. One year after the release of the debut album in September 2015, OPERATION: MINDCRIME continues in the spirit of the historic album of the same name, spawning concepts as grand as the music, and intertwining the intensity of the former QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist's iconic past with the provocative, progressive mindset that has made him one of music's most resolute forces and frontmen. "The album 'Resurrection' is the second part of our three album presentation or trilogy," explains Tate. "It continues the story that began on the first album 'The Key' with the near death experience of the lead character known as 'H' and his subsequent recovery of the missing encryption key. With the Key finally in his possession, 'H' has everything he needs to finally launch his long awaited project called 'The New Reality'. Or does he..." Tate continues: "I'm excited for people to hear and experience 'Resurrection' because I think it answers some of the questions that were posed in the first album, 'The Key'. Musically, it offers some of the most diverse and challenging material that I've ever written." "Resurrection" track listing:

01. Resurrection02. When All Falls Away03. A Moment In Time04. Through the Noize05. Left For Dead06. Miles Away07. Healing My Wounds08. The Fight09. Taking On The World (feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens and Blaze Bayley)10. Invincible11. A Smear Campaign12. Which Side You're On13. Into The Hands Of The World14. Live From My Machine Musicians featured on "Resurrection":

* Geoff Tate - Vocals, Keyboards, Saxophone* Kelly Gray - Guitar, Bass, Vocals* Scott Moughton - Guitar, Keyboards* Randy Gane - Keyboards* David Ellefson (MEGADETH) - Bass* John Moyer (DISTURBED) - Bass* Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO) - Drums* Scott Mercado - Drums* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE) - Drums* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) - Vocals* Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) - Vocals* Mark Daily - Vocals* Nick Greatrex - Guitar

Demon Records will release a new must-have GILLAN vinyl boxset on September 23. "The Vinyl Collection 1979-1982" will feature five albums — seven LPs in total — including "Mr. Universe" (1979), "Glory Road" (1980; 2 LPs, with bonus disc "For Gillan Fans Only"), "Future Shock" (1981), "Double Trouble" (1981; 2 LPs) and "Magic" (1982).

A trailer for "The Vinyl Collection 1979-1982" is available below.

Ian Gillan was delighted with the vintage feel of the finished product. He said: "It's a wonderful thing, vinyl… Best held in two hands and treated with respect, as you place it carefully upon the turntable. You just bought something significant, not easily disposable. And look at the sleeves," he commented, observing one of the records. "Aren't they cool? Read the lyrics and enjoy the artwork, while you are in the groove. No computers involved in the making of this music… Enjoy."

The 180-gram heavyweight vinyl records will all be exact replicas of their first pressings. "Future Shock", GILLAN's highest-scoring album, having reached No. 2 in the U.K. chart, will include the same 16-page booklet as featured in its original release. An exclusive edition available via Amazon will also contain a bonus seven-inch single for Spanish Guitar. Other Gillan classics featured in this priceless collection include "Sleeping On The Job", "No Easy Way", "Trouble", "Mutually Assured Destruction", "New Orleans", "No Laughing In Heaven", "Nightmare", "Restless" and "Living For The City".

GILLAN was born on the ashes of the IAN GILLAN BAND in 1978, when Ian decided to abandon the jazz-fusion style of his previous project in favor of a more progressive direction, together with keyboardist Colin Towns. The band was dissolved in 1982 following the "Magic" tour, partly due to Gillan's health issues with his vocal cords. Still, in its brief existence, they managed to release five Top 20 albums and ride the popularity of the NWOBHM sweeping the continent.

Ascended to rock royalty status as the lead singer of DEEP PURPLE, Gillan continued making an impact on the rock scene, and has become an erudite elder statesman of the genre. He sang in the role of Jesus in the original Andrew Lloyd's Webb's "Jesus Christ Superstar" and he co-wrote and sang the iconic "Smoke On The Water", among dozens of other hits. He has played to tens of millions of fans, and sold over one hundred million records. To this day he approaches writing, recording and touring with the zeal, passion and commitment of an 18-year-old.

One thing you won't ever catch Dee Snider doing is being complacent. "I've never been about living in the past," Snider says. "The past is wonderful to reflect on and enjoy, but for me, I'd rather show you the latest thing I've been working on. I'm all about looking ahead, and this new record is very much about me moving forward." Dee's vibrant new solo album, "We Are The Ones", is due out in October on Red River Records (distributed by BFD/RED). Produced by Grammy-, Emmy- and Oscar-winning songwriter Damon Ranger, "We Are The Ones" crackles with modern energy, from the call-to-arms manifesto of "Rule The World", to the anthemic bonding of "So What" (complete with, yes, a string section) to the intensely synth-driven "Close To You", to the thematically soaring "Superhero" (a song tailor-made for running over the end credits of the next Marvel or DC movie blockbuster if ever there was one). Another significant highlight of the album is a newly re-recorded acoustic version of "We're Not Gonna Take It" which has also been tapped the official anthem for The Recording Academy's advocacy efforts, including the "Fair Play Fair Pay" act. Recently performed in Washington D.C. at the annual Grammys On The Hill event, a video of the song premiered earlier today on Entertainment Weekly's web site and can now be viewed below. Also featured is an explosive cover of NINE INCH NAILS' "Head Like A Hole". "I always thought it was a great song, a powerful song," Dee explains, "I can't wait to do that one live. Like 'We're Not Gonna Take It' is iconic, 'Head Like A Hole' is iconic for that era." With TWISTED SISTER effectively entering the rearview mirror, Dee now has his sights dead-set on his new musical direction. "You can't expect others to embrace what you do if you don't embrace it yourself," he admits. "I have to believe it first before I can expect anybody else to believe it. When you're creating a new record, you want to make a statement, and you want to have music you can stand behind and feel strongly about. So it was a little unnerving when I started heading down this path. After Damon and I cut the first four tracks, I said, 'Oh yeah, there is a place for me here.' This is music I feel excited about, and I also look forward to playing it live." Earlier this summer, Dee took part in the unveiling of the new Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame exhibit, "Louder Than Words: Rock, Power And Politics", which will remain on display in Cleveland during the 2016 Republican National Convention. To commemorate the new Hall Of Fame exhibit, Dee performed a new acoustic version of TWISTED SISTER's legendary song "We're Not Gonna Take It". This moving new version of Dee's epic anthem is currently available on iTunes. In April 2016, Dee was called to Capitol Hill for the second time — the first at the infamous 1985 Senate hearing instigated by Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) — to speak on behalf of The Recording Academy's "Fair Play Fair Pay" initiative. On September 18, Dee will be presenting his new music at Riot Fest at Douglas Park in Chicago, Illinois. Dee is unapologetically energized about where he's going as an artist. "Music inspires that genuine enthusiasm," he says. " I'm not anti the past — I'm just not one of those guys sitting there singing about the glory days. To me, these are the glory days, and the days to come are the glory days. And this new record is the part of my next glory days."

Frontiers Music Srl will release SEVENTH WONDER's first live album, "Welcome To Atlanta Live 2014", on September 23.

A trailer for the set is available below. One of the major draws of the fifteenth edition of ProgPower USA, that was the opportunity to get to see Sweden's finest progressive metal band, SEVENTH WONDER perform their signature album "Mercy Falls" in its entirety. And judging by the crowd's reaction on that night, it was obvious that the fans had been waiting for this for a long time. Not content, the band played again the following day to a crowd of gold badge-holders and VIPs, including singer Tommy Karevik's mates from his other band KAMELOT, and performed a bunch of songs from other albums which were not played the night before. All in all it was a genuine and raw performance and this live album sums up very well all the best material included in SEVENTH WONDER's acclaimed first four albums and lets you know what to expect in terms of direction of new material to come. In fact, the band decided to round out this amazing release with two studio tracks. One is the awesome "Inner Enemy", already available on YouTube. The other song, "The Promise", is an epic track of almost ten minutes in length which highlights the multifaceted talents of this band. Bass player Andreas Blomqvist says: "It has been a dream of mine for many, many years to be able to record and release a solid live product.

"Fans of music such as ours usually enjoy watching live performances, as the musicianship is often very much in focus.

"'Mercy Falls' was the perfect album to bring to the live setting, but we just never had a chance to pull it off before. Finally the stars aligned, and we made it happen. As icing on the cake, Frontiers stepped in to release it for us, which we are delighted about. We are very happy with the way it turned out, and the mix is nothing short of amazing!

"I am thrilled to be able to bring you guys this release and thankful that Frontiers chooses to prioritize this release right away, so that the fans starved for SEVENTH WONDER releases at last gets something solid to sink their teeth into while waiting for the upcoming studio album!" This album aptly closes the first chapter of the band's history and works as a tasty appetizer for the new studio album planned for release in early 2017. "Welcome To Atlanta Live 2014" will be available in two physical configurations: a two-DVD set and a very special, limited-edition deluxe digibook containing two CDs and two DVDs.

Final track listing (CD version is only available in the deluxe edition 2CD/2DVD): DVD1 - "Mercy Falls Live"

01. A New Beginning02. There And Back (Overture)03. Welcome To Mercy Falls04. Unbreakable05. Tears For A Father06. A Day Away07. Tears For A Son08. Paradise09. Fall In Line10. Break The Silence11. Hide And Seek12. Destiny Calls13. One Last Goodbye14. Back In Time15. The Black Parade16. Encore: Inner Enemy DVD2 - Bonus Tracks

01. Taint The Sky02. Banish The Wicked03. Alley Cat04. Walking Tall05. The Edge Of My Blade06. King Of Whitewater07. Seventh Wonder Odyssey CD1 - "Mercy Falls Live" (deluxe edition only)

01. A New Beginning02. There And Back (Overture)03. Welcome To Mercy Falls04. Unbreakable05. Tears For A Father06. A Day Away07. Tears For A Son08. Paradise09. Fall In Line10. Break The Silence11. Hide And Seek12. Destiny Calls13. One Last Goodbye14. Back In Time15. The Black Parade CD2 - Bonus Tracks (deluxe edition only)

01. Taint The Sky02. Banish The Wicked03. Alley Cat04. Walking Tall05. The Edge Of My Blade06. King Of Whitewater07. Seventh Wonder Odyssey08. Inner Enemy (new studio track)09. The Promise (new studio track)

SEVENTH WONDER is:

Vocals: Tommy KarevikBass: Andreas BlomqvistGuitar: Johan LiefvendahlKeys: Andreas SöderinDrums: Stefan Norgren

ARCH ENEMY will put on the biggest stage production of its career at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany on Saturday, August 6 around midnight, making this the pinnacle of a highly successful album campaign. It all started in March 2014 when the band announced the new singer Alissa White-Gluz and the video for the album title track "War Eternal", which became the most successful video in the group's career and reached close to 20 million YouTube views.

The "War Eternal" album reached the highest U.S. and German chart positions in ARCH ENEMY's career and the band played over 200 shows in over 40 countries around the world. In late 2014, Jeff Loomis (ex-NEVERMORE) joined ARCH ENEMY during the world tour with KREATOR and in 2015 they played arenas as direct support of NIGHTWISH. Wacken Open Air won't be the last "War Eternal" show — dates are currently booked through the end of September, including a run of four U.K. headline shows next month — but it's going to be something very special.

ARCH ENEMY's press conference at Wacken Open Air will take place on Friday, August 5 from 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. CET in the press tent / VIP area. Fans can follow the press conference on an online live stream at: www.facebook.com/archenemyofficial.

In a recent interview with Roppongi Rocks, former ARCH ENEMY singer Angela Gossow, who is still involved in the band's management, ruled out a possible return to the group for some special appearances. She said: "For me personally — and the band — it's too early to consider. We've been asked a couple of times, but for the time being, it's a definite no."

ARCH ENEMY was rejoined by the band's original members Johan Liiva (vocals) and Christopher Amott (guitar) for their appearance at last year's edition of the Loud Park festival in October at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Liiva and Christopher Amott along with current ARCH ENEMY members Michael Amott (guitar), Daniel Erlandsson (drums) and Sharlee D'Angelo (bass) toured Japan in May under the name BLACK EARTH.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based progressive rock/metal outfit ANCIIENTS will release its new album, "Voice Of The Void", on October 14 via Season Of Mist.

A song from the CD, "Following The Voice", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

The band stated: "'Voice Of The Void' [is] somewhat of a step in a new direction lyrically and musically. [We] think it still has the sound we developed on 'Heart Of Oak' but the riffs are a lot heavier at times and the lyrics are far more cynical and dark.

"With all of the chaos happening on this planet as of late, it seems as though things will get worse before they get better, and that kind of embodies the theme of this album as a whole.

"Jessie Gander did a great job capturing the music, and the production far surpassed our expectations.

"'Following The Voice' is about struggles with inner demons that many people face. Knowing what the right thing to do is, but not listening to your conscience and choosing the path that is best for yourself but harms others in process. It is about following the evil voice in your head as opposed to the voice of reason."

"Voice Of The Void" track listing:

01. Following The Voice02. Buried In Sand03. Worshipper04. Pentacle05. Descending 06. Ibex Eye07. My Home, My Gallows08. Serpents09. Incantations

You can pre-order the album at the Season Of Mist webshop.

ANCIIENTS is:

Kenneth Cook - Lead Guitar, VocalsChris Dyck - Guitar, VocalsAaron Boon Gustafson - Bass, VocalsMike Hannay - Drums

During a brand new interview with EonMusic, AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton was asked about the band's current status, a little over a month it was announced that the group would embark on a farewell tour in 2017.

"Well, things have been on hold and I think they're about to not be on hold over the next few months," he said. "We have a show, a festival we're doing in September out [on the] West [Coast], and then we have a South American tour in October and then a few months later we'll start what we're thinking of as pretty much our last conventional AEROSMITH tour. Who knows how long that will go? This band still has a lot of shows in 'em. AEROSMITH still has a way to go before we completely finish."

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry recently told Guitar World magazine that the band's final tour "could go on for two years." He added: "There are still a lot of places we haven't played yet that we want to play."

While on hiatus, the members of AEROSMITH have been keeping busy with solo projects — Perry recently hit the road with his star-studded side project HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Matt Sorum, and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bassist Robert DeLeo. AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford joined forces once again with Derek St. Holmes for a spring and summer run.

Hamilton is currently on the road with THIN LIZZY as part of a tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of the band's frontman Phil Lynott and to celebrate 40 years since the release of the "Jailbreak" album.

Bay Area progressive death metal collective Inanimate Existence will release their third full-length this fall via Unique Leader Records. Titled Calling From A Dream, the nine-track follow-up their critically-lauded A Never-Ending Cycle Of Atonement studio offering was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Zack Ohren at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California (Suffocation, Fallujah, The  Zenith Passage etc.) and will see release on September 19th, 2016.
 
"After the release of our last album, we decided to take our sound to a new place while incorporating our roots," the band elaborates. "Expect deep compositions with many emotional ups and downs. Inspiration was drawn from music theorists and composers dating back thousands of years. Within Calling From A Dream, listeners will encounter a wide array of musical elements blended to form a rich contrast of sonic textures that result in a dynamic aural experience."
 
Calling From A Dream is the story of a young man's journey to reunite with the soul of his lost lover. Through his dreams, she guide's him across a dark mysterious world filled with gods and demons.

 
Tracklisting:

"Calling From A Dream"
"The Arcane Crystal"
"The Shore Of Rising Shadows"
"Pulse Of The Mountain's Heart"
"Upon Whirling Winds"
"Dreaming Of New Beginnings"
"Beneath The Mist"
"Falling Into Malice"
"Burial At Sea"
 
Inanimate Existence formed in 2012 and is notorious for pushing the boundaries of metal. Their fresh approach to songwriting and arrangements shine an innovative light into the dark and grim genre. With the output of Calling From A Dream, they promise to deliver an even more refined and mature sound.
 
Inanimate Existence is:
Joel Guernsey - guitar
Cameron Porras - guitar/vocals
Taylor Wientjes - vocals
Scott Bradley - bass
Ron Casey - drums
Adrianna Tentori - vocals
Steve Marshall - flute

Deathgasm Records will release the eleventh official studio full-length album from long-running Kentucky-based death metal legion, Abominant, on July 29th. Listen to the full album stream below.

For 23 years, Abominant has done their best to write individual songs rather than repeating the same style, in the process simultaneously enticing or alienating much of the metal underground, causing them to maintain a purely cult status. With no interest in trends or genres, they've always carved their own path through the metal underworld, recognizing the appeal of individuality and attempting to separate themselves from getting lost in the sea of brutality. The band's relentless eleventh album, Napalm Reign was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Scott Briggs and Abominant inside Velocity Studios during the Winter months of 2015/16. Napalm Reign spews forth eleven brand new aural assaults and showcases the band executing their subterranean thrash-tinged blackened death with the passion and vehemence of true scene veterans. Check out the cover art and tracklisting:

"No Peace"
"Reborn Through Bloodshed"
"Iron Clad"
"Hordes Of Desolation"
"Burning Hemispheres"
"The Watchers"
"Truth Beyond Belief"
"As Evil Rears Its Head"
"The Villains Veil"
"Out Of The Shadows"
"Scream In The Night"

Album stream:

"Burning Hemispheres":

Preorders for the CD and digital versions of Napalm Reign can be placed at this location where you can also sample streams of "The Watchers" and "As Evil Rears Its Head", or alternately enjoy them via the audio player below.

Abominant has shared the stage with dozens of national and international acts including: Deicide, Aborted, Rotting Christ, Death Angel and Belphegor as well as personal underground favorites like Nunslaughter, Incantation, Deceased, and many others. Expect new tour dates in support of Napalm Reign to be announced in the coming weeks.

Napalm Reign by Abominant

 

North Carolina drone/experimental project Horseback has premiered "In Another Time, In And Out Of Form". The tune comes by way of the forthcoming Dead Ringers full-length.

Issues Horseback mastermind Jenks Miller, "'In And Out Of Form' is built on traditional 'rock band' instrumentation, and it's the only track on Dead Ringers with its basic tracks recorded live. The other musicians featured on this one -- John Crouch (drums), Nick Petersen (bass), and Rich James (rhythm guitar) -- also appeared on Half Blood (2012) and Piedmont Apocrypha (2014)."

Dead Ringers, Horseback's newest full-length album, is a lush, heady, and singular blend of organic and synthetic textures. The new LP sees the one-man Chapel Hill, North Carolina experimental project continuing to evolve while staying true to their distinctive sound. Written, produced, engineered, and mixed by Jenks Miller, Dead Ringers finds Horseback weaving a bright web of drone, Krautrock, shoegaze, metal, and psychedelic elements, driven by wispy guitars, synths, beats, and clean vocals, and bolstered by dense layers of hypnotic resonance. The music is heavy yet light, stretching across eight tracks (including one mammoth 17 minute epic). Taking influence from the doomiest grooves and the nuance of minimal electronics, Dead Ringers is the most cohesive representation of Horseback's musical vision to date.

Dead Ringers is set for release this coming August 12th via Relapse on CD/2LP/Digital. Physical pre-order packages are available via Relapse.com here; digital pre-orders can be found via the band's Bandcamp page here.

Dead Ringers tracklisting:

“Modern Pull”
“Shape Of The One Thing”
“A Bolt From Blue”
“The Cord Itself”
“Lion Killer”
“In Another Time, In And Out Of Form”
“Larkspur”
“Descended From The Crown”

"Another Time, In And Out Of Form":

“Shape Of The One Thing”:

If flaccid, identikit, breakdown-laden "metal" is the disease, Necromancing The Stone is the cure. With their upcoming debut full-length, Jewel Of The Vile, due out August 5th, the group - featuring current/former members of Arsis (James Malone, guitars), The Absence (Jeramie Kling, drums), The Black Dahlia Murder (Ryan "Bart" Williams, bass) and Brimstone Coven (guitarist Justin Wood and vocalist "Big" John Williams) - plans to vanquish "Breakdownicus Gratuitous" with 11 tracks that are uniquely Necromancing The Stone. A lyric video for "The Descent" is streaming below.

Featuring artwork by Ariel Zucker-Brull and guest appearances by Taylor Nordberg (The Absence, Infernaeon) and Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Nevermore), Jewel Of The Vile immerses the listener in fantastical tales, like those found in fantasy novels, or in the playing of an intense game of D&D. The sparing inclusion of death metal growls for characters within the stories adds an extra dynamic to the already epic vocals, which are backed by gigantic riffs and pulverizing rhythms. From the moment the aptly titled "Crusher" rushes from the speakers, Necromancing The Stone own you. True heavy metal fans, look no further - your salvation has arrived with Jewel Of The Vile.

Tracklisting:

“Crusher”
“Bleed For The Night”
“The Descent”
“The Siren's Call”
“Ritualistic Demise”
“The Old One”
“Rotted Reunion”
“Unfinished Business”
“Honor Thy Prophet”
“From Graves to Infamy”
“The Battle of Morningstar”

"The Descent" lyric video:

"Crusher" guitar play-through video:

"Ritualistic Demise":

“The Siren’s Call”:

Pre-order options can be found at this location.

Necromancing The Stone lineup:

"Big" John Williams - vocals
James Malone - guitars
Justin Wood - guitars
Ryan Williams - bass
Jeramie Kling - drums

Guitar legend Steve Vai has checked in with the following update:

"Dear friends and fans, 

Unfortunately, recent heartbreaking events happened in Istanbul that forced us to take some measures for our shows in Istanbul (August 3rd), and as a result of scheduling Sofia, Bulgaria (August 5th). Both dates have been cancelled. We share our condolences with our fans and hope to see you in the very near future."

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of his landmark album, Passion And Warfare, Steve Vai is currently in Europe on the first leg of his very special world tour celebrating one of the greatest instrumental rock guitar recordings of all time.

This fall, Vai will bring his tour to North America starting on October 8th with a performance in Riverside, CA at the Fox Performing Arts Center. For the first time Vai will be performing the entire Passion And Warfare record from top to bottom, with some very special surprises in store. The first 20 North American Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary World Tour dates have been announced (see list of dates below). These 20 concerts represent the first half of the tour. The remaining half will be announced soon.

“The enjoyment that the band is having and the audience response to the shows we are playing in Europe has taken us a bit by surprise,” Vai said. “The collective support for the PAW 25th, Modern Primitive and this show is humbling. There is deep appreciation from us in having the opportunity to honor this record with this tour and we are smiling every moment of it.”

The tour will feature three unique premium Passion And Warfare VIP packages: the Front Row EVO Experience, the Meet & Greet EVO Experience, and the EVO Tour Package. With the Front Row and Meet & Greet EVO Experiences, fans will have an opportunity to sit with Steve in a Q&A session, attend soundcheck, and receive exclusive merchandise. A limited number of EVO Experience and EVO Tour Packages will be available for each show.

Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary World Tour Dates:

July
28 - Budapest, Hungary - Park Budapest
30 - Tbilisi, Georgia - Tbilisi Open Air

August
1 - Moscow, Russia - Moscow Annual Arts Festival

October
8 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center
9 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues - Las Vegas
11 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues - San Diego
12 - Ventura, CA - Majestic Ventura Theatre
13 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
14 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
16 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
17 - Nanaimo, BC - The Port Theater
18 - Kelowna, BC - Kelowna Community Theatre
19 - Calgary, AB - Jack Singer Concert Hall
21 - Saskatoon, SK - O’Brian’s Event Centre
22 - Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre
23 - Burnsville, MN - The Ames Center at Burnsville Performing Arts Center
25 - Northfield, OH - Hard Rock Live
26 - Milwaukee, WI - The Pabst Theater
28 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Orbit Room
29 - North Tonawanda, NY - Riviera Theater
30 - Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square

November
1 - London, ON - London Music Hall
2 - Ottawa, ON - Algonquin Commons Theatre

Additional North American tour dates to be announced soon.

Echelon has announced their second album The Brimstone Aggrandizement. The band features Dave Ingram (Hail Of Bullets, ex-Bolt Thrower) on vocals, Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Ribspreader, and, along with Ingram, Down Among The Dead Men) on guitar/bass, and Travis Ruvo (Cropsy Maniac and Akatharta) on drums. The album will be released later this year on Indian record label Transcending Obscurity. The album artwork was specifically commissioned from the artist Propraetor.

Tracklisting:

“Plague Of The Altruistic”
“The Forbidden Industry”
“Lex Talionis”
“Of Warlocks And Wolves”
“The Brimstone Aggrandizement”
“Vital Existence”
“The Feared Religion”
“Monsters In The Gene Pool/Sonic Vortex”

Dutch blackened heavy/death metal band Onheil has announced the digital release of their last two albums Storm Is Coming and Razor. Besides the CD format, these two albums are now also available through web stores and streaming services like Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. Both albums are published by German record label Cyclone Empire.
 
The digital release is accompanied by a music video for the song “The Omega Legions” which contains mostly footage from one of their live shows, both filmed professionally as well as by fans in the audience.

“The Omega Legions” is not only a song about nihilism and revolution, it's also how Onheil has named their fans. Especially the ones supporting the band at their live shows, headbanging like crazy or getting into the mosh-pit. The song and video is Onheil's way to pay tribute to these metal maniacs.
 
Onheil will also play a special headline show on August 27th at the legendary underground venue Baroeg, The Netherlands, to celebrate the occasion.
 
Onheil's latest album Storm Is Coming, which features the song “The Omega Legions' was produced and mixed by Bart Hennephof (Textures) and Yuma van Eekelen (ex-Pestilence) at the Final Focus Studios, The Netherlands. The mastering was done by Tore Stjerna at the Necromorbus Studios, Sweden (Watain, Deströyer 666). The album booklet holds 16 pages of high-quality artwork of which a large part is done by an upcoming artist of the GrimTwins Studios (Deicide).

Influenced by legends such as Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Accept and Metal Church, Chilliwack, BC heavy metallers Medevil are set to unleash their debut full length Conductor Of Storms on August 26th.  The Canadian metal scene has been anticipating this release since the band placed in the top 6 during the 2015 Wacken Metal Battle Canada competition where they won over many fans with their self-described “power thrash” full of blistering fast riffs, strong choruses and front man Liam Collingwood's impressive vocals (you can swear is Udo Dirkschneider from a distance). Their second single, “Angel Of Rain”, is streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“Nightwalk”
“Machination Factory”
“An Empty Glass”
“In The Distance”
“The Angel Of Rain”
“A Sacrifice”
“Escape”
“The Fabled Uxoricide”

“The Angel Of Rain”:

“Machination Factory”:

Medevil will also will be hitting the road this coming August and September for their Western Canadian tour presented by PureGrainAudio.com.

Dates:

August
25 – Vancouver, BC – The Media Club
26 – Victoria, BC – The Copper Owl
27 – Nanaimo, BC – The Cambie
28 – Chilliwack, BC – Main Street Night Club

September
5 – Kelowna, BC – Muninn’s Post
8 – Calgary, AB – Verns
9 – Edmonton, AB – DV8

Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn’s birthday bash was held on Saturday, July 23rd, at The Oakland Metro in Oakland, California.

Flynn (aka The General) along with members of Machine Head, Slayer, Rancid, Death Angel, Forbidden, Vio-Lence, and more took to the stage to celebrate Robb's “40-somethingth birthday”. The all-star jam was to consist of “old-school metal, glam, punk, and hip hop covers from the 70's, 80's and 90’s played very sloppily by drunken participants”.

Performances of tracks from Iron Maiden, Van Halen and Cheap Trick can be seen in the fan-filmed video streaming below:

Prior to the event, Flynn and some Bay Area legends got together and jammed on some cover tunes for the bash. Check out video below:

Belgium's progressive heavy music outfit Oathbreaker have announced their best and most groundbreaking album yet, Rheia, which will be released September 30th on Deathwish Inc.  Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Loma Prieta), the album’s first single, “Needles In Your Skin”, blurs lines and dissolves the boundaries of heavy music; listen below.

Rheia sees Oathbreaker carving a new path for their sound; album opener "10:56" begins with a haunting guitar riff and Caro Tanghe's beautifully sung vocal before abruptly soaring to new heights with "Second Son of R". Its blasts of melody mutate into a blackened buzz while waves of tempo changes pound down with intense emotional weight. "Being Able To Feel Nothing" then rolls in like a storm, chaotically breaking apart to reveal the eye before churning once again. "Stay Here / Accroche-Moi" is an otherworldly reverb-drenched acoustic number that leads to "Needles In Your Skin”, a deeply personal song that showcases the artistic strength that vulnerability brings. "Immortals" then unfurls as a goosebump-inducing monster, which leads to the ambitious "I'm Sorry, This Is", "Where I Live", and "Where I Leave”; a musical triptych that needs to be heard to be believed. All of it comes to an end with mesmerizing closer "Begeerte”, ethereally materializing before vanishing into the beautiful unknown.

Tracklisting:

“10:56”
“Second Son Of R.”
“Being Able To Feel Nothing”
“Stay Here / Accroche-Moi”
“Needles In Your Skin”
“Immortals”
“I’m Sorry, This Is”
“Where I Live”
“Where I Leave”
“Begeerte”

“Needles In Your Skin”:

Sweden-based progressive rockers, Karmakanic, released their fifth album, Dot, on July 22nd. Now they have released a lyric video for the track “Steer By The Stars”, which you can find below.

Jonas Reingold had this to say: “This 4 min. song stands in contrast to the 30 min. epic that is on the album. I like the Yin and Yang philosophy; dark / bright, complex / simple. It has always been a real thread throughout the musical history of Karmakanic. It showcases Göran Edman at his best, Gentle Giantish vocal harmony arrangement with a stunning lead performance. This is also my very first compositional collaboration with my long time buddy Andy Tillison, he also recorded some awesome hammond organ for the track. Start the engines and steer by the stars, it might take you to places never seen before."

The is the band's first studio album since 2011's In A Perfect World, and the current lineup includes Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings), Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen), Morgan Ågren (Casualties Of Cool, Frank Zappa, Steve Vai), Lalle Larsson (Agents Of Mercy), Nils Erikson, Krister Jonsson, Andy Bartosh and Ray Aichinger.

The artwork for Dot (below) was created by Hugh Syme, who has previously made covers for Rush, Aerosmith and Iron Maiden. The album will be available as a CD/DVD jewel case (featuring The Making Of Dot, Karmakanic Live In The US and Interviews), LP with CD and digital download.

Tracklisting:
 
”Dot
”God, The Universe, And Everything Else No One Cares About, Pt. 1”
”Higher Ground”
”Steer By The Stars”
”Travelling Minds”
”God, The Universe, And Everything Else No One Cares About, Pt. 2”

”God, The Universe, And Everything Else No One Cares About, Pt.1" lyric video:

 

 

Bay Area rock outfit Black Map have signed a worldwide deal with Entertainment One Music (eOne) with plans to release a new record in the early part of 2017.

"We are extremely happy to announce that we signed with eOne," says singer and bassist Ben Flanagan. "We recently began recording our second record in Oakland, California and will complete it as we return from summer touring with Bush and Chevelle."

Black Map features Dredg guitar player Mark Engles, Far/††† (Crosses) drummer Chris Robyn and singer/guitar player Ben Flanagan of The Trophy Fire. The band released their debut album, …And We Explode, back in 2014 to some high critical acclaim. Within a month of their first jam session, the trio hit Hellam Sound in Oakland with producer Aaron Hellam behind the board. They cut their independent Driver EP, featuring their standout song, "Gold" and went on to support Chevelle on tour and play various shows with the likes of Circa Survive, Highly Suspect,  ††† (Crosses), Tombs, Pelican, and Kill Devil Hill.

The band has been on the road supporting Bush and Chevelle for the past few weeks and will continue on that run until mid-August. Click here for all tour dates.  

(Photo - Jen Cash/Calibree Photography)

The Cleopatra Records family has lost one of its closest friends and brightest stars. Nektar vocalist/guitarist Roye Albrighton passed away peacefully at the age of 67. Albrighton had just recently completed the text for a full-length book (co-written by Dave Thompson) about the group he founded and led, prog rock heroes Nektar. The book chronicles the rise of Nektar from their formation in Hamburg, Germany 1970 through their early releases that culminated in the now classic Remember The Future album (1973). Later albums found the band collaborating with Peter Gabriel keyboardist Larry Fast on Recycled (recorded by famed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerich). Albrighton left the band in 1977 before returning to the fold two years later for Man In The Moon. Though the group officially disbanded in 1980, they reformed stronger than ever with a new album in 2000, Prodigal, and followed that with 2004’s Evolution and 2006’s Book Of Days.

Cleopatra’s relationship with Nektar dates back to 1998 when the label released The Dream Nebula, a best of compilation album. Years later, in 2011, Roye Albrighton collaborated with the label on an in-depth 2CD collection called Retrospektive, which contained two very rare tracks from Albrighton’s pre-Nektar band, Rainbows. This led to the label purchasing the rights to the entire Nektar catalog of albums, which it began reissuing and putting back in print for a whole new generation of Nektar fans to enjoy. Albrighton also participated in other projects for the label including A Classic Rock Salute To The Doors and Songs Of The Century: An All-Star Tribute To Supertramp. In 2012, Albrighton and founding drummer Ron Howden released A Spooful Of Time, the first ever covers album from Nektar, which featured guest appearances by members of Yes, King Crimson, Symphony X, Dream Theater, Tangerine Dream and more! Finally, the label was proud to release Nektar’s next original studio album Time Machine in June of 2013. The album featured Yes bassist Billy Sherwood who both played and produced the album. As the years have passed, it seems that Nektar’s reputation only continues to grow, even inspiring hip hop artist Riff Raff who sampled “It’s All In The Mind” on the track “Lava Glaciers” feat Childish Gambino in 2014. 

Cleopatra Records extends its deepest sympathies to Roye’s family and friends.

The Nektar biography written by Roye Albrighton and Dave Thompson, finished just weeks before Roye’s passing, will be published and released by Cleopatra later this year.

The band releaed a statement saying: "It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our friend, comrade, rock legend and father, Roye Albrighton, who passed away peacefully last night. May his six fingered chords and the warmth of his smile last eternal."

US doom heavy stoner metal band, Mos Generator, recently released their new full-length album, Abyssinia, via Listenable Records. A full album stream can now be found below.

Tony Reed comments: “These new songs show major change and growth for the band, I wanted the cover to represent that as well. I knew it was going to be collage art style and in searching for an image that moved me I came across this untitled piece. Abyssinia is slang for "I'll be seeing you". Sometimes my brain feels like the image on the cover."

In 2014 the band released Electric Mountain Majesty on Listenable and played two prestigious festivals in Europe - Freak Valley Festival in Germany in May and the massive Hellfest in June. 2015 brought in a new rhythm section and touring possibilities far beyond the limitations of the original lineup. This new lineup has taken the music of Mos Generator all over the US and Europe more than once. 2016 is already looking like it’s going to top ‘15.

Tracklisting:

“Strangest Times”
“You've Got A Right”
“Catspaw”
“Easy Evil”
“Wicked Willow”
“As Above So Below”
“Red Canyons”
“There's No Return From Nowhere”
“Time & Other Thieves”
“Outlander”

Album stream:

Mos Generator is:

Tony Reed - guitar, vocals, keyboards, assorted instruments
Sean Booth - bass
Jon Garrett - drums

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has commented on the incident last week when he had a concertgoer ejected from the band's concert in Toronto. Fan-filmed video footage showed Taylor pointing at someone in the crowd during the show and saying into the mic, "You don't show me shit, you little pussy." Within 15 seconds, security escorted the person out, with Taylor waving and saying, "Bye bye, bitch."

He later called the person a "cunt" on Twitter and explained that he has been "doing this too long to deal with that disrespect."

Speaking to the Q103 radio station in Albany, New York, Taylor said that the person who found himself at the receiving end of the singer's wrath at the July 19 concert was "just a typical idiot. The only thing I can say is he was a troll in a real life, man. He was just showing some serious disrespect; nothing I can say on the radio. But I had watched it… Honestly, what you're seeing [in the video] is the culmination of me trying to ignore it for the entire show and finally getting to the point where I'm, like, 'No. We're not doing this anymore. I've been doing this for twenty years now. I'm not doing that.' So he was gone."

He continued: "The thing that sucked, though, was the girl that was with him was a fan, and she had to leave because he was her ride. So he gets pulled, and he's acting like, 'Oh, I don't know what happened. I don't know why I'm getting kicked out.' I'm, like, 'You're an idiot, and we all know why you're getting kicked out.' And then his girl is, like, 'But… What… I… Okay, I've gotta go.' I mean, I felt bad for her, but, honey, get a better dude. That dude you're with sucks at life."

Corey had a simple explanation for why a supposed "fan" would taunt him at a SLIPKNOT concert. He said: "'Cause you're a punk, and that's the kind of negativity you thrive on. And, honestly, I'm at the age… We're done here. You know? You wanna talk smack? You're gonna get smacked. That's the way it is."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, one user on SLIPKNOT's Reddit page claimed the fan was hurling insults at Corey and flipping him off, while another wrote that the man was attacking people in the crowd for no reason.

Taylor made headlines earlier this month when he smacked the phone out of the hand of a texting fan during a recent SLIPKNOT concert. The singer later explained his action by tweeting, "If you're gonna text, stay home."

Taylor recently discussed his dislike for people using their phones at concerts in an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF, saying, "So many people have their faces glued to their phones... Get off your phones and pay attention to what the hell you're doing."

Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL played in China for the first time ever on May 2 at the Taihu Midi festival. A video recap of the visit, as well as the April 30 performance at the Pulp Summer Slam festival in the Philippines, can be seen below.

LACUNA COIL's latest album, "Delirium", entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 33 with first-week sales of just over 13,000 units — nearly all from pure album sales. The set follows the No. 27-peaking "Broken Crown Halo", which also opened with around 13,000 copies back in 2014.

"Delirium" was released on May 27 through Century Media. The CD was recorded at BRX Studio in Milan between December 2015 and February 2016. The effort was produced by LACUNA COIL bassist and main songwriter Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, with engineering by Marco Barusso and additional assistance from Dario Valentini. Coti-Zelati also created the artwork for "Delirium", which is based on an atmospheric session captured by Italian photographer Alessandro Olgiati.

LACUNA COIL has recruited Diego Cavallotti as a fill-in guitarist for the band following the recent departure of Marco "Maus" Biazzi.

Biazzi left LACUNA COIL in January, explaining in a statement: "I felt I couldn't add more in this project any longer so I decided to leave my second family, LACUNA COIL, to take a different path for a new challenge in my life.

The long-awaited live album from DIRKSCHNEIDER's "Back To The Roots Tour" will be released on October 28th as 2-CD DigiPak and triple vinyl in 4 different vinyl colors (black, gold, silber and clear) via AFM Records.

The album "Live - Back To The Roots" was recorded at the sold out show at the "Kaminwerk" in Memmingen on April 2nd, 2016 and contains the following tracks:

01. Intro
02. Starlight
03. Living For Tonite
04. Flash Rockin‘ Man
05. London Leatherboys
06. Midnight Mover
07. Breaker
08. Head Over Heels
09. Neon Nights
10. Princess Of The Dawn
11. Winterdreams
12. Restless And Wild
13. Son Of A Bitch
14. Up To The Limit
15. Wrong Is Right
16. Midnight Highway
17. Screaming For A Love-Bite
18. Monsterman
19. T.V. War
20. Losers And Winners
21. Metal Heart
22. I’m A Rebel
23. Fast As A Shark
24. Balls To The Wall
25. Burning

CD version:
CD 1: tracks 01 - 13
CD 2: tracks 14 - 25

Vinyl version:
Side A: tracks 01 - 05
Side B: tracks 06 - 09
Side C: tracks 10 - 13
Side D: tracks 14 - 19
Side E: tracks 20 - 23
Side F: tracks 24 - 25

Howling Giant is what happens when three nerds write about space travel, doomed seafarers, and a sentient android hellbent for a camel killing death crusade. Howling Giant plays self-indulgent, drop-tuned, fuzzed out riffs that could curdle milk.

With the release of their upcoming EP, Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 1, due out on August 12th, the fuzz rockers from Nashville, TN have premiered their video and second single “Dirtmouth” (streaming below).

Howling Giant! The very name summons up mental images of a huge mutated orc-warrior astride an even more gigantic mastodon, ready to bring death, doom, damnation and destruction (and many other things beginning with “d”) down upon its enemies.

Names matter, and something magical happened when three nerds obsessed with all that is fuzzed-out, riffed-out, and heavy came together to compose cosmic odes to space travel, doomed sea-farers, and even an android on a camel-killing crusade (what harm did the poor camel ever do to him?), under the name Howling Giant.

Drummer Zach Wheeler says the name is no accident and reflects the band’s music. “Howling Giant sounds a lot like a loud beast, which is what we strive to do musically. We aim to create a full sound that people might normally expect from a five-piece rather than a power-trio.” Indeed, by employing the three-piece format, Howling Giant is following in the footsteps of legends like Motorhead, MC5, Cream, and Corrosion of Conformity; good company to be in! As the band’s philosophy would have it wisely: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Hailing from Nashville, Howling Giant obviously had some special metal immunity to all the country and western music in the air. The boys started jamming at school in Boston with an aim to move away from overtly serious music and have fun, describing their music accurately as “loud, energetic, heavy, melodic, and cosmic.”

Overall, Howling Giant’s music forms part of a fascinating Black Hole Space Wizard concept EP series. As guitarist Tom Polzine explains, “Musically we aim to write songs that are melodic, catchy, and head bang-able. As a concept series, we strive to conjure up space-themed imagery of heroes and villains at war, introducing the story and setting the scene of things to come within the Black Hole Space Wizard Universe. We’re not trying to spell out the entire story so much as we are creating scenes to provoke your imagination.”

Writing is very much a collaborative effort. “We usually come up with a general theme, then we write riffs and musical passages to support said theme. After that, we work on overall arrangements to create a nice flow and build within the song. Lyrics and vocal melodies come last as an icing on a very meaty cake. We find the flow of an album is just as important as the flow of an individual song and we strive to make each song unique. We wanted to include a combination of heavy, spacey, doom, and thrash, all wrapped up in a crunchy garage-sounding blanket. Fans can expect two more EPs within the Black Hole Space Wizard Universe. And with an overflowing riff bank, who knows how long we’ll go.”

Such far-out music deserves far-out lyrics, and Howling Giant is prepared to go to extreme lengths to get them. As bassist Roger Marks reveals, “We have a strict regimen of smashing our heads into walls daily until lyrics finally come to us.” As for inspiration, “We are inspired by science fiction and occult rituals, as well as books, movies, and other music.”

As part of an overall concept, the EP paints four distinct scenes.

The pinnacle of mankind.
An exodus from Earth.
The Black Hole Space Wizard destroying everything.
A lone survivor trapped on a ravaged Mother Earth.

In Roger’s own words, “The first track is a little more progressive, packed with riffs both dark and triumphant. The second track is all about build and groove. The third track is thrash, metal, and destructive. The final track is spacey with doom elements.”

Overall, it you are one of the many that wishes Mastodon had continued in the cosmic, crushing progressive manner of Crack The Skye and Blood Mountain, Howling Giant is your dream band!

Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 1 was produced by Howling Giant, mixed by Kim Auch plus mastered by Chris Fasco as the follow-up to their 2015 self-titled debut.

Tracklisting:

“Mothership”
“Exodus Earth”
“Dirtmouth”
“Clouds Of Smoke”

“Dirtmouth” video:

(Photo - Kim Auch)

Negură Bunget's new album, ZI (English for 'Day' or 'Say') is the second part of the group's ambitious Transilvanian Trilogy, released on the heels of 2015's celebrated album, TAU (English for 'Your' or 'Thy'), a record accurately hailed as "earthshaking" as it focused on unique native, natural landscapes and the mystique, legends, lore and meanings behind them.

In creating its most luminescent recording to date, Negură Bunget has further immersed itself in the traditions and practices of local Transilvanian inhabitants, exploring their connection with nature, and the way this relationship has shaped spiritual horizons. Within this framework, ZI closely examines the core of the most important traditions and rituals connected with the well-being of this community. Life events such as funeral ceremonies, soil tillage, and human growth and evolution (i.e. youth to teen to man to warrior, through to outcast) are spotlighted, in what is undoubtedly some of the most heady, thinking-man's metal produced in recent memory.

Musically, ZI builds upon the hallmarks of Negură Bunget's impressive catalog; the juxtaposition and interweaving of grim black metal elements, ambient soundscapes and acoustic counterparts based on native Romanian folk music, giving life to panoramic atmospheres, intensity and power unequaled in the band's rich discography.

An impressive musical statement and crucial bridge between root-bearing beginning and impending finale of the trilogy (scheduled to be released in early 2018), ZI is a mystical, tension-building recording that mirrors the size and scope of the deep forest fog for which the band is named.

The album was recorded at Negura MUSIC studio January-June 2016. Produced and mixed by Negură Bunget and Mihai ‘Mtz' Neagoe. Mastering by Alin Luculescu. Cover design by Daniel Dorobanțu. Outfit design by Anita Ramona.

Tracklisting:

“Tul-ni-că-rînd” (Horn-ing)
“Grădina stelelor” (Garden of Stars)
“Brazdă dă foc” (Furrow of Fire)
“Baciul Moșneag” (The Old Shepherd)
“Stanciu Gruiul” (Stanciu Gruiul)
“Marea Cea Mare” (The Vast Sea)

Bonus CD (only artbook)

“Tul-ni-că-rînd” (remixed version by Daniel Dorobanțu)
“Brazdă dă foc” (remixed version by Silent Strike)
“Schimnicește” (remixed version by Tibor Kati & Ionuț Cârja)
“Baciu moșneag” (remixed version by Adrian “Oq” Neagoe & Tragacanth)

Bonus DVD (only artbook)

ZI - album short film
“Tul-ni-că-rînd” - visual
“Stanciu Gruiul” - visual

The album will be available in the following editions:

- CD digipak with extra hard cover
- Gatefold LP (180g vinyl, white) incl. special vinyl mastering, poster, printed inner sleeves and PVD protection sleeve (500 copies)
- 2CD+DVD Artbook, hardcover, 28x28 cm, 72 pages with additional artwork, texts and English translations of the lyrics plus bonus CD with two songs and bonus DVD with three videos (1.000 copies)
- the band are also offering some custom handmade editions through their fundraising campaing, where they build a box on your suggestions

Pre-orders:

- custom editions, signed versions, here
- regular editions, here

The band will present the new album live, along with a special anniversary set in a complex tour plan that will spread over the second part of 2016 and all over 2017, with some support for the crowdfunding campaign they have set-up in order to help accomplish their goals. They will start in September with a European tour.

Find the band’s live itinerary at this location.

(Photo - Negura Bunget Facebook)