French bashers, Gojira, released their new album, Magma, on June 17th via Roadrunner Records. The album takes the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums chart. Magma marks the highest chart debuts of Gojira’s career landing them at #4 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, #6 on Billboard’s Tastemaker Albums chart and Top 25 on the Billboard 200.

Furthermore, Gojira have earned career high chart positions around the globe including Top 10’s in France, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, and Norway with Top 15 debuts in Australia and Germany.

Gojira commented on the momentous occasion stating, “We want to thank the Gojira fans across the globe who helped us achieve many firsts with the release of Magma. We couldn't be more proud and grateful."

Canadian documentary filmmaker Sam Dunn at Banger Films posted his take on Magma for an instalment of Overkill Reviews. Check it out below:

The cover art and tracklisting for Magma are available below:

Tracklist:

"The Shooting Star"
"Silvera"
"The Cell"
"Stranded"
"Yellow Stone"
"Magma"
"Pray"
"Only Pain"
"Low Lands"
"Liberation"

Album stream:

“Silvera” video:

Magma, The Visual Companion:

Gojira have announced details of a massive North American headline tour which will get underway this fall. The nationwide trek will see Gojira joined by Tesseract and is set to kick-off September 21st at Silver Spring, Maryland’s The Fillmore. From there Gojira will traverse North America through October where the tour will eventually wrap up on October 23rd at New York City’s Terminal 5 (tour itinerary below).

Gojira tour dates:

July
2 - Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde
3 - Helsinki, Finland - Tuska Open Air
8 - Viveiro, Spain - Resurrection
10 - Biarittz, France - Atabal
16 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Open Air
17 - Quebec, QC - Festival D’Ete De Quebec
22 - Tromso, Norway - Bukta Open Air Festival
23 - Malakoff, Norway - Malakoff Rock

August
11 - Jaromer, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault Festival
13 - Walton, England - Bloodstock

September (with Tesseract)
21 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
24 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
25 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
26 - Orlando, FL - Plaza Live
27 - Tampa, FL - Ritz Ybor
29 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
30 - Houston, TX - House of Blues

October
1 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live!
3 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
4 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
7 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
9 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
10 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
13 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
14 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
16 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth Live
17 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Ballroom
19 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
20 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
21 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
22 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
23 - New York, NY - Terminal 5

Reverence’s founding guitarist Bryan Holland has issued the following statement:

“As most people are aware the music business is known for its revolving doors of musicians within bands, and it seems that Reverence is not immune to this situation. The band has been in a forced stand still for a while now, Pete, Michael, Doc and I had several talks about the future of the band, we figured there were only two paths to follow, end the band completely or press on with a new vocalist. Knowing our loyal fans would not want us to give up and knowing time was not on our side, after much thought, we decided to take an offer that singer Todd Hall suggested to us many months ago, which was for us to part ways and find a new singer for Reverence.

“We are sad to see this version of Reverence end. Todd has been nothing but a good friend, a great writer and a kick ass singer and it has been a delight to work with him. We all wish him nothing but the best of luck with his endeavours.

That being said, Reverence is proud to introduce their new vocalist Scott Oliva who hails from New York. Scott has recorded with Wind Wraith, Inner Strength and Oceans Of Night and will also be featured as a guest vocalist on the next album from Norwegian band Tomorrows Outlook due later this year. Scott is also the singer of the popular Iron Maiden tribute band Live After Death.

Bryan continues: “We chose to go in a bit different direction when we were looking for a new vocalist. We knew that we wanted to go even heavier on our third album, more classic era Dio, Judas Priest, Queensrcyhe and Savatage with a bit of Maiden thrown in for good measure. Once we heard Scott, we knew immediately he was the guy we wanted to front Reverence into the future. Scott’s vocal style has a bit more grit with similarities to Dio and Dickinson plus the versatility to easily hit all the soaring highs that Reverence is known for, we are confident you will not be disappointed.

“Many thanks to all of YOU our loyal fans, for all the never ending support over the past six years. A new day is dawning, the future is now!”

Below you will find a clip of Scott Oliva singing the title track off the band’s latest release, Gods Of War”

German progressive metal masters Obscura have released a drum-playthrough video of “Ten Sepiroth”. Watch Sebastian Lanser smash the skins in the video below. The track comes off their latest album Akroasis, out now via Relapse Records on CD/2LP/Digital.

Obscura recently released a music video for "Ten Sepiroth”. Watch below:

In addition to their series of festival appearances this coming summer (including Brutal Assault, Tuska Open Air, and more), Obscura have also announced a new headlining European tour this October. They'll be laying waste to Western and Eastern Europe alongside a stellar lineup of Revocation, Beyond Creation, and Rivers Of Nihil. View a full itinerary of dates below.

July
7 - Helsinki, Finland - Tuska Open Air
24 - Tel Aviv, Israel - Gagarin / Progstage Festival
24-30 - Tolmin, Slovenia - MetalDays Festival

August
11 - Jaromer, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault
17-20 - Dinkelsbuhl, Germany - Summer Breeze Festival
21 - Brittany, France - Motocultor Festival

October (with Revocation, Beyond Creation, Rivers Of Nihil)
20 - München, Germany - Feierwerk
21 - Weinheim, Germany - Café Central
22 - Haarlem, Netherlands - Patronaat
23 - London, UK - The Dome
24 - Sheffield, UK - Corporation
25 - Aarschot, Belgium - de Klinker
26 - Paris, France - Divan du Monde
27 - Aarau, Switzerland - Kiff
28 - Les Pennes-Mirabeau, France - Jas'Rod
29 - Calenzano/Florence, Italy - Cycle Club
30 - Brescia, Italy - Circolo Colony
31 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar

November (with Revocation, Beyond Creation, Rivers Of Nihil)
1 - Wien, Austria - Viper Room
2 - Kosice, Slovakia - Colosseum
3 - Dresden, Germany - Scheune
4 - Prague, Czech Republic - Nova Chmelnice
6 - Oberhausen, Germany - Kulttempel
7 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
8 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
9 - Stockholm, Sweden - En Arena
10 - Oslo, Norway - Parkteatret
11 - Aalborg, Denmark - Aalborg Metal Festival

Witches Mark have uploaded their new song “Road Razor”. Stream the track below and purchase the single on Bandcamp.

 Taken from the band's forthcoming third album, Road Razor marks the first new studio material from Witches Mark since 2013's Witching Metal Ritual full-length.

Guitarist and founding member Robert Williams elaborates "After we finished playing out in support of the last record we got a little busy playing in some other bands. I joined Ignitor on guitar in January of 2015 and Robb Bockman (Guitar/Vocals) recently joined the black metal band Uada on bass and has been touring with them. Both bands have been doing really well for themselves and we've stayed consistently busy but wherever we'd go people kept asking us about Witches Mark and we've always known that band was something really special so we got together over the holidays and wrote all of the material for the next album. We're gonna try and have it released by the end of the year."

Wrapping up their US and Canadian tour last week, power new wave metallers Striker returned home just in time to receive their award win at this year's Edmonton Music Awards for Metal Recording of The Year for their track “Too Late” from their latest album Stand In The Fire released this past February. 

"Huge thanks to Edmonton Music community, as well as everyone that has helped us out over the years including the AFA, Edmonton Arts Council, FACTOR, and many others! We hope this award can bring some awareness to all the other great bands coming out of Edmonton these days as well," comments guitarist Tim Brown.

Striker were nominated alongside the following Edmonton bands listed below for Metal Recording of The Year.

Face First – “Killing Me”
Monarch Sky – “Hell's A Little Closer”
Striker – “Too Late”
The Order Of Chaos – “Apocalypse Moon”
Vanity Red – “Kingdom Come”

In additional news, Striker are nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for Metal/Hard Rock Artist of The Year alongside KEN mode (MB), Shooting Guns (SK), Third Ion (SK), Van Halst (AB). The awards will be held in Regina, SK on October 13th.

Currently on a Canadian tour in support of their new EP Mouichido, Vancouver, BC's Without Mercy have updated their tour blog with their most recent adventures across the country to share with fans.

"So it’s proven more difficult that I expected to keep up with all the blog posts after this many shows in a row. So here it goes at a recap!"

Read more here.

Remaining tour dates:

June
29 - Regina, SK - TBA
30 - Medicine Hat, AB - TBA

In additional news, the band has released a guitar playthrough for their track “In Waves”, which features vocals from Mark Hunter of Chimaira.

"Crazy things happen when your buddy runs a butcher shop and has an open mind. We shot this video as a playthrough, but with a different spin on the concept. There was so much blood and flesh, I almost went vegan. Almost." comments guitarist DJ Temple.

(Photo by: Shimon Karmel)

With the albums huge orchestral movements, crushing guitar riffs and guttural vocals, Stormtide's debut, Wrath Of An Empire, succeeds where many have failed in joining epic metal with epic story.

Taking influence from European and Asian styles of music, Stormtide has expertly crafted an album that appeals to traditionalists and fans of modern metal genres alike. Effortlessly transitioning between blast beat to soul wrenching quiet passages. This is an album without filler songs, without cliches and without mercy.

Stormtide is a high-fantasy inspired symphonic death metal band formed in Melbourne, Australia in late 2013. Since that time Stormtide has toured extensively to the major hubs in Australia including Sydney, Adelaide and Dubbo - playing alongside elite international artists such as Eluveitie, Finntroll and Gloryhammer as part of various tour support endeavours.

Described as "Fantasy Metal” by most, Stormtide combines heavily orchestrated movements with uniquely heavy guitar and drum work. Paired with deeply guttural vocals, an intense live show involving swords, sorcery and stylish full plate armor and an intricately woven story centering on the adventures of the Warrior, the Prince and the Magician.

Having released the critically acclaimed EP A Skald's Tale and the highly lauded “As Two Worlds Collide” single, Stormtide has spent the better part of three years perfecting their debut album. Which makes it's appearance on US label Metal Hell Records on August 1st on CD, CD and T-shirt bundle and on all the digital networks.

Tracklisting:

“Wrath Of An Empire”
“As Two Worlds Collide”
“Dawnsinger”
“Conquer The Straits”
“Sage Of Stars”
“A Heroes Legacy”
“Ride To Ruin”
“Ascension”
“The Green Duck”

Pre-order the album here.

Lineup:

Reuben Stone - Keyboards/Orchestrations/Vocals
Taylor Stirrat - Vocals
Tyson Richens - Guitars/Vocals
Jake Pickering - Drums
Simon Fragiotta - Bass
Nic Woodhouse - Guitars

Southern California's veteran sludge-rock trailblazers -(16)- return with their seventh full-length album, Lifespan Of A Moth, the band's heaviest, darkest, and most complex material to date.

Self-produced by the band and recorded with Jeff Forrest (Cattle Decapitation, The Locust) at Doubletime Recording Studio in San Diego, CA, Lifespan Of A Moth sees the band sounding uglier, rawer and more visceral than ever. Down-tuned feedback-driven riffs and bludgeoning rhythms violently clash with vocalist Chris Jerue's distorted, tortured howls across eight tracks of -(16)-'s signature blend of hardcore punk, thrash and sludge. Lifespan Of A Moth is the sound of a band that has spent 25 years wallowing in addiction and anguish, and will leave you feeling crushed and confronted by the negativity of existence.

Listen to the album’s lead track, “Landloper”, streaming below.

Lifespan Of A Moth is set for release this July 15th via Relapse on CD/LP/Digital. Physical pre-orders via Relapse.com can be found at this location; digital pre-orders are available through the band's Bandcamp page, here.

Lifespan Of A Moth tracklisting:

“Landloper”
“Peaches, Cream And The Placenta”
“The Morphinist”
“The Absolute Center Of A Pitch Black Heart”
“Gallows Humor”
“Secrets Of The Curmudgeon”
“Pastor In A Coma”
“George”

“Landloper”:

“The Absolute Center Of A Pitch Black Heart”:

(Photo - Shauna Montrucchio)

Official video footage of PROPHETS OF RAGE, the supergroup featuring members of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real, performing the RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE classic "Killing In The Name" on June 3 at the Palladium in Hollywood, California can be seen below.

PROPHETS OF RAGE recently entered the studio to record a brand new song called "The Party's Over", which the band premiered at its recent live shows. Helming the sessions is veteran producer Brendan O'Brien, who has previously worked with RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, PEARL JAM, AC/DC and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, among others.

Guitarist Tom Morello told Billboard.com that the members of PROPHETS OF RAGE have set a very high bar for the material that they want to release. "The goal is a simple one: The music has to be devastating," he explained. "In all these interviews, we talk a lot about the politics, but the cornerstone is that the music has to be devastating and we have to not just be competitive with our legacies, but in 2016, it has to be something that goes beyond that and is very authentic, unapologetic and contemporary."

The guitarist added that PROPHETS OF RAGE is still finding its direction.

"When we got in the room, it was like, 'Well, hold on, we're getting ahead of ourselves. We have to figure out what this band's chemistry is to be great. How do we win with this team on the field?'" he said. "And that took awhile to figure out. I would say that it really came together a couple days before the Whisky show [May 31], where it was like, 'Oh, shit, that's what PROPHETS OF RAGE is going to sound like!' And it's still a process. I always look at it like it's never done and will continue to be refined as we go along."

PROPHETS OF RAGE made their live debut late last month in Los Angeles, playing numbers from all three acts.

The band will embark on a North American tour in August.

OF MICE & MEN performed "Pain", the blistering first track and video from the band's much-anticipated new album, "Cold World", live for the first time last night (Tuesday, June 28) at the opening show of the group's tour with SLIPKNOT and MARILYN MANSON in Nashville, Tennessee. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

"Cold World" is set for a September 9 release on Rise Records.

Fans can get "Pain" as an instant download by pre-ordering the album.

The "Pain" video was directed by Mark Lediard at J6 Films and can be seen below.

The full track listing for "Cold World" is:

01. Game Of War02. The Lie03. Real04. Like A Ghost05. Contagious06. -07. Pain08. The Hunger09. Relentless10. Down The Road11. +12. Away13. Transfigured OF MICE & MEN (vocalist Austin Carlile, guitarist Alan Ashby, drummer Valentino Arteaga, vocalist/bassist Aaron Pauley and guitarist Phil Manansala) recorded "Cold World" with producer David Bendeth, who they worked with on 2014's "Restoring Force", which hit No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart and No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Independent and Top Rock Albums charts. The SLIPKNOT tour runs through August 27 and will be followed by OF MICE & MEN's headlining U.K. tour, which begins September 30 in Birmingham. Over the course of the past few years, OF MICE & MEN has shared stages with artists such as METALLICA, LINKIN PARK and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, blanketed rock radio airwaves, garnered critical acclaim, amassed over 153 million Spotify streams, 20 million YouTube views and close to 5 million social media followers on the strength of an blistering sound and live show.

Freddy Lim, frontman of the Taiwanese metal band CHTHONIC, was interviewed by Red Carpet News TV at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, which took place June 13 at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London, England. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about CHTHONIC's future plans, Lim — who was elected in January as a legislator in Taipei's 5th District — said: "Hopefully next year we will come out with a new EP and also a movie."

Regarding the upcoming CHTHONIC movie, Lim said: "It's a political comedy. And not just CHTHONIC members will play some roles there. And also the LAMB OF GOD vocalist Randy Blythe will play a role. Hopefully, I think metalheads will like it. And [there will be] some martial arts in the movie as well."

Famous for his long hair and tattoos, Lim was the first rock star in Eastern Asia to run for office and is a lawmaker for Taiwan's pro-independence New Power Party (NPP), which was founded in January 2015.

Formed in 1995, with the existing lineup having been together since 2005, CHTHONIC blends metal with traditional Taiwanese instrumentation, mythology, Taoist folklore and the country's labyrinthine history, each album bearing a deep, conceptual story.

CHTHONIC is notorious for their elaborate costumes, stage makeup and highly visual stage shows as well as their outspoken political views on human rights and Taiwanese independence.

CHTHONIC has graced the stages of some of Europe's biggest rock and metal festivals, including Wacken Open Air, Download festival and Bloodstock. Their music relates to many histories in Eastern Asia, which are not being taught by the government.

BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has set "Bloodlust" as the title of its next album, due in 2017 via Century Media Records. The group is recording the CD with producer Will Putney (MISS MAY I, UPON A BURNING BODY), who also helmed BODY COUNT's last effort, "Manslaughter".

Ice-T said: "With our last album, 'Manslaughter', we tested the waters and got a great response from the fans and critics. Now it's time to go kill it and make a more aggressive album and keep the BODY COUNT style intact.

"Will Putney is like a member of the band and has an excellent ear. He's a great producer because he captures the true essence of our band's sound. Once we are done writing the song, it's his job to step in and make it sound better. He helps move the record in the right direction. We're anticipating working with him again.

"Once the record's done, we're going to shoot a lot of music videos and perform spot-dates on certain tests, etc."

BODY COUNT's 2014 comeback album "Manslaughter", saw Ice-T modernizing some of the lyrics, adding references to Xbox, email passwords and vegans.

"Manslaughter" sold around 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 102 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on June 10, 2014 via Sumerian.

In an interview with Esquire, Ice-T stated about his decision to bring back BODY COUNT: "The band wanted to get back together. The band lives in L.A., and I live [in New Jersey], so Ernie [guitar] was calling me, saying, 'Ice, let's rock and roll!' I said that I didn't want to do a mixtape. I don't want to do another album unless I write the music, because on the previous album, in 2006, I kinda mailed it in. They wrote the music in L.A. and sent me the tracks, I wrote the lyrics, and I just kinda walked away. I didn't mix it, I didn't do anything to it, and the record suffered. And I didn't want to do another one unless we had a real shot at making a good record together."

BODY COUNT's current lineup includes guitarist Juan Garcia (a.k.a. Juan Of The Dead; AGENT STEEL, EVILDEAD), who made his live debut with the group in November 2013 at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas.

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HATRIOT have released a new demo song called "Carnival Of Execution". The band's first track to be recorded without EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza, it features Zetro's song Cody Souza on vocals.

"Carnival Of Execution" was written by guitarist Kosta Varvatakis, with lyrics by Cody and drummer Nick Souza.

In the next month or so, HATRIOT plans to release a lyric video for another new song called "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed".

The band will return to Trident Studios with producer Juan Urteaga later this year to begin recording its third album. Zetro will produce the effort and will help out lyrically.

In a 2015 interview with DC Heavy Metal, Zetro stated about HATRIOT: "[Cody] does a really, really good job at [the vocals for the band]. So him and I are writing songs together 'cause he's not a lyricist yet, but he's learning and he's gonna be great. I'm watching over them. I'm making sure they get going."

Zetro sang on HATRIOT's first two albums, 2013's "Heroes Of Origin" and 2014's "Dawn Of The New Centurion".

HATRIOT 2016 is:

Cody Souza - Vocals/BassJustin Sakogawa - Lead GuitarKosta Varvatakis - Lead GuitarNick Souza - Drums

According to The Pulse Of Radio, LINKIN PARK vocalist Mike Shinoda made public a note he sent to his fellow band members about the progress of their seventh studio album, in which he stated: "I want this album to be our best."

Shinoda wrote: "I had an epiphany today about the album. Right now, in the studio, the foundations of the songs are there… I think it's time to shift into the next gear. Let's discover the voice of this album. I want to get into experimentation mode, get weirder, and record more live instruments.

"I said at the beginning, I want this album to be our best.

"Let's do this! Feel free to give me a call to discuss, or we can talk on Monday. I'm AMPED."

Shinoda also recently appeared in a video giving a 360-degree tour of the band's studio. He also offered a few more insights on the next album, saying: "We've got basically like vocals and chords, like words and melodies and chords on a lot of our favorites and we’ve narrowed it down recently to like under 20 hopefully."

One other thing that Shinoda notes in the video is that he's not sure if the new album will be finished in time to come out in 2016, saying: "We're doing our best."

The new disc will follow up 2014's "The Hunting Party", which featured the No. 1 singles "Guilty All The Same" and "Until It's Gone".

LINKIN PARK has been mostly out of the public eye since an early 2015 tour in support of "The Hunting Party" was scrapped when singer Chester Bennington injured his foot. Bennington also ended his two-year run as STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman in late 2015 so he could refocus on LINKIN PARK.

Long Island, NY-based rockers, Taking Back Sunday, have released a video for “Tidal Wave”, the title track of their new album, out on September 16th via Hopeless Records. The new clip can be found below.

"Tidal Wave" will be included as an instant grat track with the pre-order here. Physical and vinyl pre-orders can be purchased here. The song can also be heard on Spotify.

"Throughout each song on the record, there are a lot of references to water," vocalist Adam Lazzara tells Entertainment Weekly who broke the news about their seventh studio album.

"I'm very excited for people to hear it," guitarist John Nolan told hometown newspaper New York Newsday. "I think it’s going to be a surprise to some people. We're all extremely excited about what we've done. It's the culmination of things we've tried over the past two records. I think it's the strongest record we've done since getting back together. We’ve freed ourselves up to go in new directions."

The classic punk aesthetic of the title track thrusts Taking Back Sunday into a different world of songwriters. Lazzara told Entertainment Weekly, "With our first records, we were writing from the perspective of 17, 18-year-old kids and now it's like, as you grow old, the blinders get pulled back and you have a different way of looking at the world. There’s more of an Americana feel. But we realize anything we do is going to sound like Taking Back Sunday."

Their first new album since Happiness Is in 2014, Tidal Wave is a forceful and fluidly cohesive tsunami of a record. Kicking off with "Death Wolf" whose one-minute atmospheric intro explodes at breakneck speed fueled by Mark O'Connell's muscular drumming, the album pushes the band’s musical boundaries, challenging them into experimenting with different textures and sounds while remaining very true to their trademark sound.

From the anthemic "You Can't Look Back" to the balladic "I Felt It Too" to the mid-tempo closer "I'll Find A Way to Make It What You Want," Tidal Wave is a genuine evolution for the platinum-selling band. "I couldn’t put any more of myself into these new songs and we’ve grown as musicians," Lazzara says about how they've continued to innovate and expand with each progressive record.

Tidal Wave was produced by Mike Sapone (O'Brother, Mansions) in Charlotte, NC and mixed by Claudius Mittendorpher (Weezer, Drowners, Ra Ra Riot).

Tidal Wave tracklisting:

“Death Wolf”
“Tidal Wave”
“You Can't Look Back”
“Fences”
“All Excess”
“I Felt It Too”
“Call Come Running”
“Holy Water”
“In The Middle Of It All”
“We Don't Go In There”
“Homecoming”
“I'll Find A Way To Make It What You Want”

“Tidal Wave” video:

Taking Back Sunday is:

Adam Lazzara (Vocals)
John Nolan (Guitars, Vocals)
Eddie Reyes (Guitars)
Shaun Cooper (Bass)
Mark O’Connell (Drums)

(Photo - Greg Hunter)

Japanese avant-garde metallers Dir En Grey will release a new single on July 27th. The band have released this video trailer for the upcoming release:

Dir En Grey’s new live Blu-Ray/DVD, entitled Arche At Nippon Budokan, is out today, June 29th. Video footage for the track “Obscure” can be found below.

The release contains live footage from the band’s two-day performance at the Nippon Budokan on February 5th and 6th. Limited edition bonus content includes a third disc, in the DVD’s case, and second disc, in the Blu-ray’s case, featuring live performances from Japan and overseas, backstage footage, interviews with the members of the band and multi-angle as well as solo-angle recordings. It also includes a bonus CD with seven songs from their China Tour held in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, and eight songs from their national tour held on January 2016.

“Obscure”:

“Chain Repulsion”:

Trailer:

Orders for various packages can be placed at this location.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor performed with a neck brace during his first show since undergoing surgery.

Taylor was ordered by doctors to refrain from headbanging and jumping when the band kicked off its summer tour last night (Tuesday, June 28) in Nashville, Tennessee. The band was forced to postpone its North American trek with MARILYN MANSON by three weeks after Taylor underwent what he described as "an unplanned spinal surgery."

SLIPKNOT played a 17-song set at the Bridgestone Arena, with Taylor telling the crowd: "Let's address the elephant in the room: I fucking broke my neck. But there was no way I wasn't coming to Nashville to do this show."

He later added: "It sure is weird playing with this pillow on my neck."

Before the show, Taylor tweeted: "First day back. Haven't smoked in two months. Broken neck, weird scar. Not enough coffee."

Taylor previously revealed on Twitter that his follow-up appointment with the doctor went "great," but added that "for now," there will be "no headbanging" or "jumping" for him for the foreseeable future. He also offered that he expects to be "back to 90 percent" within the next four to six months, and "100 percent" in a year.

Taylor said a while back that once he and SLIPKNOT take the stage, it's all about delivering the best show possible for their fans. "Once you're in front of that audience, it's all about them," he said. "You know, you can't stop like in the middle of a show and go, 'Okay, we need to work on this and work on that,' you know. It's got to be bulletproof right from the get-go. So you need to know that it's almost like a science now in your head, like, 'We've done it, we've done it, we've done it.' It's all about repetition and confidence after that."

The summer trek is likely to be SLIPKNOT's last U.S. tour in support of its latest album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which was released in October 2014.

Following the tour, SLIPKNOT and BLACK SABBATH will co-headline the combined Ozzfest Meets Knotfest, a two-day festival scheduled for September 24-25 in San Bernardino, California.

Hell of a night in Nashville with Slipknot at Bridgestone Arena pic.twitter.com/q7bQ0b5yPi

— Richard Bond (@richbond111) June 29, 2016

Death metal veterans MORBID ANGEL are preparing to enter the studio to begin work on their first album since the departure of bassist/vocalist David Vincent and return of Steve Tucker.

Vincent confirmed a year ago that he was no longer working with MORBID ANGEL guitarist Trey Azagthoth. His announcement followed the exit of drummer Tim Yeung and Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren).

Speaking with DJ Jet on her radio broadcast "The Metal Magdalena" on Metal Messiah Radio, Tucker said about MORBID ANGEL's current status (hear audio below): "Right now what's going on with MORBID is pretty much scheduling. Everything right now is just scheduling. We're getting everything together to make a new MORBID ANGEL album — getting dates set to start that process."

Last June, Tucker said that he was back in MORBID ANGEL to make a "full-on death metal" album. He continued: "Obviously, it's a MORBID ANGEL album, [and] there'll be twists and turns on the album, there'll be stuff that's different, but I think it being aggressive and it being underground is really what it's gonna be about. I think that MORBID ANGEL is a death metal band, and that's what this album — this next one — will be."

Tucker added: "When I got the phone call from Trey, when he called me to ask me to come back this time, when he called me, he told me, 'Man, I want the band to be death metal. I want the band to be brutal. I want the band to be underground. I wanna do what we used to do, because I love doing that, and that's what I wanna do.' And he asked me, would I like to do it as well? And I said, 'Yeah. I think I would.'"

MORBID ANGEL's controversial 2011 album, "Illud Divinum Insanus", which incorporated industrial and electronic elements into the band's traditional death metal sound, marked the group's first CD to feature Vincent since 1995's "Domination".

Stillbirth Records (A division of Gore House Productions) has announced the addition of Skewered to its roster.

Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Skewered came into fruition in 2006 under the moniker Necrosis. After self-releasing two demos, their vigorous work helped capture the attention of Inherit Suffering Records, who later released the bands self-titled debut album in 2012.

“We're delighted to finally announce our second album is set for release later this year,” states guitarist Andy Sweeney. “Stillbirth Records, a division of Gore House productions have signed us up on a two album deal. Some of the cool bands they're working with include Party Cannon, Mortal Torment, Stages Of Decomposition, and so on. We will be working closely with Gore House / Stillbirth Records on all the updates on this so keep an eye out on both pages over the coming months. More news on dates, merch, giveaways and gigs coming soon”.

More details about Skewered's upcoming album will be revealed soon.

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX performing the song "You Gotta Believe" on June 14 in Cork, Ireland can be seen below.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", sold 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. According to Billboard, ANTHRAX was last in the top 10 back in 1993 with "Sound Of White Noise", which debuted and peaked at No. 7. "For All Kings" also gave ANTHRAX its largest sales week for an album since "Sound Of White Noise"'s second week on sale (40,000; it debuted with 62,000).

"For All Kings" is ANTHRAX's first studio album since 2011's "Worship Music" (No. 12 peak with 28,000 sold in its first week) and follows the 2013 covers set "Anthems" (No. 52; 8,000 sold in its debut frame).

"For All Kings" also topped the Hard Rock Albums chart in both the U.S. and Canada, and landed at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively, on the U.S. and Canada's Top Current Albums charts. Additionally, "For All Kings" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart, No. 4 Physical Albums, and No. 5 Vinyl Albums chart.

ANTHRAX will join forces with SLAYER and DEATH ANGEL this fall for a seven-week North American beat down. The dates start in Cleveland on September 9 and will hit both major and secondary markets across the continent.

SLAYER frontman Tom Araya has weighed in on the debate about gun control in developed countries, saying that people need to be able to protect themselves from "invaders."

In the wake of the recent massacre in Orlando, which killed 49 people, many Americans feel that the U.S. needs tighter gun control in order to curtail the ongoing gun violence. A recent poll showed a majority of Americans narrowly support an assault weapons ban yet also support carrying guns for self-defense after the Orlando shooting.

While introducing the song "Mandatory Suicide" during last night's (Monday, June 27) SLAYER concert in Pratteln, Switzerland, Araya voiced his opinion on the subject, telling the audience (see video below): "Is it true that every household has to own a rifle or a gun? No? I thought everybody was supposed to have a rifle or a gun in their home. It's not right? How else are you gonna defend your country?"

He continued: "Where you are in the world, you need to protect yourselves. Not from each other, but from invaders. And you know what I'm talking about, right? You should be aware of your invaders — people that come here to do you harm. It's not right. You should be able to protect and defend your country. That's the way it should be everywhere. 'Cause when you don't have anything to protect yourself or your fellow countrymen, what happens? People fucking die. They do! Don't they? Yeah. Did you see it going on?"

Araya added: "I'm not gonna name names, but you can see what's going on in other countries. 'Cause they can't protect themselves. And that's what I'm talking about: being able to protect yourself and your fellow countrymen and your fucking country. I'm being serious, man. This isn't a fucking joke. You know, it really sucks to know that other people die, because you can't protect them. That fucking sucks."

As previously reported, SLAYER will join forces with special guests ANTHRAX and DEATH ANGEL this fall for a seven-week North American beat down. The dates start in Cleveland on September 9 and will hit both major and secondary markets across the continent.

SLAYER is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Repentless", which debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17, 2015.

Former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott says that he was "floored" by the recent shooting death of Christina Grimmie, explaining that he "never thought" another musician would lose his or her life to an obsessive fan.

Grimmie, a former contestant on NBC's "The Voice", was shot and killed following her June 10 performance in Orlando, Florida. The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Kevin Loibl of St. Petersburg, Florida, didn't appear to know Christina personally and is believed to have traveled to Orlando specifically to attack her and then fatally shot himself.

The manner in which Grimmie was murdered struck a chord with Vinnie Paul, whose brother, PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was killed onstage more than a decade ago.

During an interview with the KBAT 99.9 radio station in Odessa, Texas, Vinnie spoke about how he felt when he first heard about the way Grimmie lost her life. "It just floored me, man," he said (see video below). "I never thought it would happen again after [Dimebag's murder]. And that's really almost the same scenario that happened to my brother.

"It's just unbelievable that there's still people that are that fanatical and that crazy out there in today's world that we don't have enough security to keep that from happening."

Vinnie added: "It's a dangerous world, man. You've gotta keep your eyes and ears peeled and be on the alert all the time."

Two days after Grimmie's death, PANTERA issued a statement calling out the concert industry for not doing more to prevent future tragedies. The group posted a Facebook message juxtaposing pictures of Grimmie and Abbott. They wrote: "After Dime's murder, we all prayed that our industry (i.e. club owners & promoters) would do whatever they needed to do to protect artists from gun wielding fanatics. Sadly, that's not the case and another rising star had to pay the consequences with her life. SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!"

Dimebag was co-founder and lead guitarist for PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, Dimebag and Vinnie Paul formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. He was 38 years old.

Gale, an auto mechanic and ex-Marine, was described by some as an unstable man who once asserted that PANTERA had stolen his song lyrics and even his identity.

Vinnie Paul sued Alrosa Villa over his brother's death. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007 for what was described at the time as a nominal amount.

Fighting the lawsuit cost "in the hundreds of thousands of dollars," Rick Cautela, the club's owner, told The Columbus Dispatch. "We went from doing damn good to being broke — and came back."

In a 2014 interview with the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Vinnie spoke about his brother's passing. He said: "It was a really hardcore, tragic event, and the guy [Nathan Gale] wanted to kill me too. And somehow or another, I was lucky enough to escape that, and I'm still here, and I will do everything and anything I can to carry on the legacy and the tradition that my brother always had."

San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans TESTAMENT have set an October 28 release date for their new album, "The Brotherhood Of The Snake". Guitarist Eric Peterson told Metal Maniac about the new disc (see video below): "It's finished — recorded, done — and it's now on its way to [British producer] Andy Sneap to get mixed.

"It came out really, really good," he added. "I'm really happy with it. It's very diverse, but it's very epic. There's nothing on there that breeds commercial. And I think for thirty years of recording music and trying different formulas and stuff, I think we've found a formula that is very metal. I think for the metal fan that is looking for something for the nook and crannies… not just your normal, 'Oh, it's got a thrash beat and a riff.' There's a lot going on here. And just the title: 'The Brotherhood Of The Snake'. You're gonna expect something more in-depth. It's not, like, 'Satan's Death' or 'Kill 'Em All'. Well, no, 'Kill 'Em All' is killer. Sorry. But you know what I mean. I mean, it's more in-depth sounding."

Peterson also talked about TESTAMENT's decision to promote "The Brotherhood Of The Snake" with an eight-week European tour this fall as the support act for AMON AMARTH. He said: "A lot of bands wouldn't do this — a band like TESTAMENT opening for AMON AMARTH. A lot of people are, like, 'Huh?' But at the same time, when you think about it, AMON AMARTH is doing great right now, and they're a new band. They're drawing a lot of people, and that's good for TESTAMENT. And they're not so bad; they're fucking pretty good. I like AMON AMARTH, you know. I think they're pretty good. Their new record's pretty good. Not pretty good; it's really good. And if there's a lot of people and they're good venues, why not?"

Peterson previously told Metal Forces about the musical direction of "The Brotherhood Of The Snake": "It's different. This one is more thrash. I mean, this has got some of the fastest stuff that we have ever played. Usually, we have one or two thrash songs, and then we have some mid-tempo, and then we have a slow, heavy one, and then up-tempo kind of stuff. Half of the new record is thrash, which we've never done before. Even with our first record ['The Legacy', 1987] , there's 'Over The Wall' and 'First Strike Is Deadly', but then there's stuff that's back and forth from mid-tempo to thrash like 'Do Or Die' or 'Apocalyptic City'. Full-on thrash though, like six or seven songs, has never been done by us. It's kind of a trip to hear it."

He continued: "It's kind of like 'Demonic' and 'The Gathering', but a little bit wiser, I think. Chuck's [Billy] not singing so death. I mean, he does some death stuff but he's singing more like he did on the last record and then with the craziness of 'The Gathering' or even heavy stuff like 'Demonic'."

Billy echoed Peterson's sentiments, saying "The Brotherhood Of The Snake" "is definitely gonna be geared up to a little more faster than 'Dark Roots Of Earth' record, definitely a little more aggressive musically, for sure, probably vocally as well. I think I'll probably attack with a little more heavier voice on this one. I'll kind of feel my way through the song, which voice to use. But there's definitely gonna be some 'Demonic' [-type] stuff, but again like 'The Gathering', 'cause I think I did a little bit of everything on that record, which that's what we'd like to accomplish."

Chuck also talked about the lyrical themes covered on "The Brotherhood Of The Snake". He explained: "[The title track is] basically about a lot of the early secret societies that started taking over power, trying to control the society and spawned off into illuminatis and stuff like that so it's kind of going back to a lot of that — a lot of human control and religions and the similarities between religions and alien beings and stuff like that. I've been fascinated a lot by a lot of programs that show a lot of different religions and all the writings or hieroglyphics on the walls always have the same type beings with all of these religions. And it makes you think, wow, so long ago, these people didn't know people on the other side of the ocean, but yet they have these common sightings within their religions that they talk about and reference. And it just really was interesting to me, opening my eyes a little more to religion. I was raised Catholic, but growing up and just seeing these connections just really makes me think about all the religions, you know? And the connection between the human race and aliens, it's just really fascinating to me. So we started spotting a lot of ideas for songs off of that."

FAITH NO MORE bassist Billy Gould was interviewed by Red Carpet News TV at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, which took place June 13 at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London, England. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked what made late MOTÖRHEAD leader Lemmy such a great man, Billy said: "Lemmy was his own guy. And he didn't judge people, and he wouldn't let people judge him. And I think that's something that… I mean, especially it being 2016, people respect that, because sometimes it's harder to find than ever. And I think that the only way that's gonna continue is by people to do that themselves. And I think he set an inspiration for that."

"Sol Invictus" (Reclamation Recordings/Ipecac Recordings), FAITH NO MORE's first new album since 1997's "Album Of The Year", arrived in May 2015, debuting at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart and landing at similar spots worldwide (including No. 2 in Australia, No. 4 in Germany and No. 6 in the U.K.). The months surrounding release found the band headlining a number of festivals, including Sonisphere, Download, Riot Fest, Bumbershoot and Rock In Rio. Returning to late night television for the first time since the mid-'90s, FAITH NO MORE took the stage on "The Tonight Show", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call With Carson Daly".

According to The Pulse Of Radio, ALICE IN CHAINS singer and guitarist William DuVall told Flint, Michigan radio station WWBN Banana 101.5, a few days ago that despite opening for GUNS N' ROSES several times already on the band's reunion tour, he has yet to meet frontman Axl Rose. DuVall explained: "I have not met with W. Axl Rose as of yet, so perhaps that will happen over the next few days."

He added that he understood why Axl kept to himself, saying: "I understand completely the desire, or need, to keep to oneself, particularly on the road when you’re a vocalist and you’re faced with so many challenges, and your instrument is literally your own body. I totally understand, but nevertheless, I hope it happens, at least say hello. I really admire the guy."

ALICE IN CHAINS is opening the first five shows on GUNS' North American summer stadium run, which began last Thursday night (June 23) at Ford Field in Detroit. ALICE IN CHAINS also opened for GUNS N' ROSES twice when they kicked off their reunion tour in Las Vegas in April.

The two bands will play together in Kansas City on Wednesday (June 29) and will finish their time together with a two-night stand in Chicago on July 1 and July 3. ALICE IN CHAINS will then begin its own headlining jaunt on July 6 in Portland, Oregon, with dates booked into the fall.

DuVall said in a different interview last week that it was "too early" for the band to talk about new music, adding that he expecting those discussions to begin in the fall.

ALICE IN CHAINS' last studio effort, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", came out in 2013 and featured the rock hits "Hollow", "Stone" and "Voices".

Guitar World’s James Wood recently spoke with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry about the Hollywood Vampires North American tour, new music, the future of Aerosmith and more. An excerpt follows:

Q:  Steven (Tyler) recently spoke about a final Aerosmith tour in 2017. What are your thoughts on that?

A: “It’s one of many things we’ve talked about as a band, but I don’t know if it’s the end. We take it from album to tour and day to day. It’s the same philosophy we’ve always had. But even if that final tour comes about, it could go on for two years. There are still a lot of places we haven’t played yet that we want to play. More to follow; let's just put it that way.”

Q: What are your thoughts on Steven’s new solo album, We’re All Somebody From Somewhere?

A: “I’m really happy he did it because he’s been talking about it for years. It’s given us a chance to take a break and has worked out well for everyone that he’s finally getting to do it. I know he’s doing some gigs and going on the road after he releases the record, but the main thing is he’s having fun doing it. That’s why you do a solo record - to explore new music and work with different musicians. As long as he’s doing what he wants, that’s what counts.”

Read the full interview at GuitarWorld.com.

Hollywood Vampires tour dates:

July
1 - Bethlehem, PA - Sands Bethlehem Event Center
2 - Mashantucket, CT - The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Casino
3 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Resort Spas and Casino Event Center
5 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest BMO Harris Pavilion
7 - Aurora, IL - River Edge Park
8 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama Entertainment Center
9 - Niagara Falls, ON - Stage at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino
10 - Brooklyn, NY - Coney Island Amphitheater
12 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion
13 - Mt. Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
14 - Cadott, WI - Rock Fest
16 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
18 - Fargo, ND - Scheels Arena
22 - Rohnert Park, CA - Weill Hall
23 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Pavilion
24 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
25 - Paso Robles, CA - Mid State Fair

AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer says that he sees "absolutely nothing wrong" with singer Steven Tyler pursuing a solo career.

Tyler's country-tinged solo album, "We're All Somebody From Somewhere", will arive on July 15 via Big Machine Label Group's Dot Records. The vocalist co-produced the disc with such heavyweights as T Bone Burnett, Dan Huff, Marti Fredriksen and Jaren Johnston.

During an appearance on the SiriusXM satellite radio show "Eddie Trunk Live", Kramer was asked for his opinion on Steven branching off and doing his own thing away from AEROSMITH. The drummer replied: "Well, you know what, man? Steven has been talking about doing that… It was a dream of his for years; he's always wanted to do it. So my take on it is that he's getting it out of his system, and he's doing what he wants to do. And I see absolutely nothing wrong with it at all. You know, if he's having a good time and it's going good for him, I wish him all the best."

He continued: "I mean, you know, you think about it. If he's doing a couple of songs off his album [during his solo concerts] and the rest AEROSMITH songs, you put two and two together and it's not what you would call a solo career. But he's having a good time and he's got a passion for it, and I think that that's what counts even more. If you're having a good time doing what you're doing and you love it, it's gonna come out good; it's gotta be a positive thing. And, you know, Steven's not one to do things half-assed, and so he's doing it, and he's having a good time, and I wish him all the best."

AEROSMITH is currently on break after a tour last summer. The band hasn't put out a record since 2012's "Music From Another Dimension!" In the interim, Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry have swiped at each other in public, most notably about Tyler's solo work.

Said Perry: "He's got a fucking rhinestone cowboy hat going, 'Yippee ki yay.' I don't know what else to say about that."

In a recent interview, Tyler claimed there were no hard feelings. "I've read what Joe has said," Tyler admitted. "But then I really, really, couldn't be here doing what I'm doing now if if wasn't for Joe Perry. It's a strange catch-22, but if you slow down enough you get to see it. It's as obvious as balls on a tall dog. I wouldn't be anywhere without those guys, so I'm as grateful as I can be."

THE WINERY DOGS, the power trio featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB), legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON), launched another U.S. headlining tour on Saturday, June 25 in Hinckley, Minnesota at the Grand Casino Amphitheatre. The band is on the road in support of its second album, "Hot Streak", which was released last October in North America via Loud & Proud Records.

During an appearance on the SiriusXM satellite radio show "Eddie Trunk Live", Portnoy was asked if there are any plans for THE WINERY DOGS to record a third album once the current run of dates is completed. He said: "Yeah, at some point. We haven't discussed specifics. We just know that this cycle is coming to a close after about nine or ten months on the road. And, you know, when it's time to reconvene and make the next record, we'll do that. But in the meantime, we're gonna be putting out a live DVD/Blu-ray that we filmed in Santiago, Chile [this past May], and I think I'm also gonna be working on a CD companion with that as well with some unreleased tracks. So there'll be some more product later in the year to kind of wrap up the cycle. And we'll look towards a third album after we've recharged our batteries and all gone and done our different things. Of course, I have five other bands and Billy's got MR. BIG still, and Richie's got his solo career still. So, you know, we all have these other things that we could do in between."

"Hot Streak" debuted at No. 30 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 13,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

GREAT WHITE will enter WireWorld Studio in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, in January 2017 to begin recording its new full-length album. Helming the sessions will be legendary rock producer Michael Wagener, who previously worked with GREAT WHITE on the "Out Of The Night" EP (1983) and the band's 1984 self-titled album.

Prior to the sessions for the new album, GREAT WHITE will release professionally filmed video footage of their May 2015 performance in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of the "Metal Meltdown" concert series. Due later in the year, the special concert was produced by the award-winning production company Rock Fuel Media and the retail package will include both Blu-ray and DVD formats as well as an audio CD. GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall told RockBandReviews.com about the set: "They had forty cameras at this show. It's gonna be a DVD concert series that's also gonna be on a cable network, which I don't know which network. And it's gonna be with… TWISTED SISTER was in there, EXTREME, SKID ROW… And I think they're releasing TWISTED SISTER first and then us."

According to Kendall, the DVD and Blu-ray will include a GREAT WHITE documentary where he and his bandmates "got to back and tell our entire story. They followed us around with cameras for probably two months. You know, we really got to give details of our entire… from the ground up to now. And I think it'll be great for the fans, 'cause us being fans, I know I like to see behind the scenes from all my heroes. So I think it'll be fun for the fans to kind of go behind the stage, if you will, and kind of see where we came from and how everything unfolded."

Asked why GREAT WHITE is choosing to make new music at a time when record sales are rapidly diminishing, GREAT WHITE guitarist Michael Lardie told MyDaytonDailyNews.com last year: "Thank goodness we can still create and release new music. I can't see anybody in the band being happy about turning into a greatest-hits band. I'm not criticizing anybody that does that, because God love anybody that still has a career in this business. For us, personally, we want to keep moving forward and improving upon our craft rather than just resting on our particular laurels, however big or small they might have been."

GREAT WHITE is Kendall, Lardie, Audie Desbrow (drums), Scott Snyder (bass) and lead singer Terry Ilous.

The band's last album, "Elation", sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. Issued on May 22, 2012 via Frontiers Records, the 12-song CD marked GREAT WHITE's first effort with singer Ilous following the band's split with founding singer Jack Russell.

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, which features Russell alongside Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar, Dan McNay on bass, Tony Montana on guitar and Dicki Fliszar on drums.

GREAT WHITE released a live album, "30 Years - Live From The Sunset Strip", on February 22, 2013 in Europe and February 26, 2013 in North America via Frontiers Records.

On June 24, former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE singer Joe Lynn Turner performed an acoustic set at Prague Live Stage in Kastoria, Greece. Video footage of the show, during which Turner was joined by Greek guitarist Bob Saganas, can be seen below (courtesy of Rock Overdose).

Joe Lynn Turner recently slammed Ritchie Blackmore for the guitarist's decision to go out and perform classic DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW material with a new group musicians instead of reforming RAINBOW with a more "authentic" lineup.

Regarding why he thinks Ritchie has chosen to go out with a whole new RAINBOW lineup instead of bringing back some of the musicians who played on the band's classic records, Joe said: "The first thing I think I can say is that he's been misguided by people around him. That's what I really believe. I believe he's been misguided, and I believe he trusts these people and I think that he made a mistake doing this."

He continued: "I wanted an authentic reunion. I wanted guys from Doogie [White] and Graham [Bonnet] and [bassist] Bob Daisley and [drummer Bobby] Rondinelli, and all these guys, and I wanted to have a RAINBOW extravaganza, because there are a lot of fans that love RAINBOW that still haven't even seen RAINBOW, and this would be the ticket for them — you know, maybe a two-hour extravaganza. So I guess the people, his advisers or whoever, could not sell him that particular [idea], or maybe they never even told him that. I actually have a feeling that he was not full of the information at the time, because certain things have come to pass that sort of indicated that he didn't know about it, to me."

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

Blackmore was joined at the recent RAINBOW gigs by LORDS OF BLACK singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT).