The official lyric video for the song "War" from German metallers RAGE, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "The Devil Strikes Again", which was released on June 10 via Nuclear Blast (July 8 in the U.S. through Metalville). The CD was recorded in September/October 2015 at Megafon Studios (Burscheid, Germany) and at Soundchaser Studios (Zandhoven, Belgium). The production was handled by Marcos Rodriguez and Peter "Peavy" Wagner, while Dan Swanö (MARDUK, OPETH, DISSECTION, KATATONIA) took care of the mixing and mastering at Unisound Studios (Grefrath, Germany). The cover artwork was created by Karim König.

"The Devil Strikes Again" was made available as a 3CD digipack (limited to 1,000 copies; Nuclear Blast mailorder exclusive), 2CD digipack, and 2LP (black, white). All editions contain six bonus tracks (including three cover versions: "Bravado" by RUSH, "Slave To The Grind" by SKID ROW and "Open Fire" by Y&T). The 3CD digipack also features a bonus live CD from the latest European tour with HELLOWEEN.

"The Devil Strikes Again" track listing:

3CD digipack

CD1

01. The Devil Strikes Again02. My Way03. Back On Track04. The Final Curtain05. War06. Ocean Full Of Tears07. Deaf, Dumb And Blind08. Spirits Of The Night09. Times Of Darkness10. The Dark Side Of The Sun

Bonus CD

01. Bring Me Down02. Into The Fire03. Requiem04. Bravado (RUSH cover)05. Slave To The Grind (SKID ROW cover)06. Open Fire (Y&T cover)

Bonus Live CD

2CD digipack

CD1

01. The Devil Strikes Again02. My Way03. Back On Track04. The Final Curtain05. War06. Ocean Full Of Tears07. Deaf, Dumb And Blind08. Spirits Of The Night09. Times Of Darkness10. The Dark Side Of The Sun

Bonus CD

01. Bring Me Down02. Into The Fire03. Requiem04. Bravado (RUSH cover)05. Slave To The Grind (SKID ROW cover)06. Open Fire (Y&T cover)

2LP (Bonus Vinyl 45 RPM!)

Side A

01. The Devil Strikes Again02. My Way03. Back On Track04. The Final Curtain05. War

Side B

01. Ocean Full Of Tears02. Deaf, Dumb And Blind03. Spirits Of The Night04. Times Of Darkness05. The Dark Side Of The Sun

Side C (Bonus)

01. Bring Me Down02. Into The Fire03. Requiem

Side D (Bonus)

01. Bravado (RUSH cover)02. Slave To The Grind (SKID ROW cover)03. Open Fire (Y&T cover)

RAGE released a four-track EP on January 22 to coincide with the band's tour with HELLOWEEN.

"My Way" contained four tracks, including two re-recorded versions of songs from RAGE's 1995 album "Black In Mind" and a brand-new song in both English and Spanish.

"My Way" was the first RAGE release to feature the band's latest additions, Marcos Rodriguez (guitar) and Vassilios Maniatopoulos (drums)

Marcos Rodriguez was born in Venezuela and currently resides in Antwerpen, Belgium. The guitarist is a die-hard fan of RAGE who met Peavy on RAGE's 30th-anniversary tour when his band SOUNDCHASER provided support on parts of the trek. Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos has so far primarily made an appearance as the vocalist of the band TRI STATE CORNER. However, the former drum student and drum technician of former RAGE and current TRI STATE CORNER/REFUGE drummer Christos Efthimiadis is also longtime friend of Peavy's.

Extreme metallers BRUJERIA will release their fourth full-length album, titled "Pocho Aztlan", on September 16 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The release will be followed by a U.S. tour this October alongside CATTLE DECAPITATION and PIÑATA PROTEST.

"Pocho Aztlan" is the band's first release since "Brujerizmo" was released in 2000 via Roadrunner. It was recorded over the course of many years and at several studios around the globe. The end result was mixed by Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, THE EXPLOITED).

Check out the visualizer for the song "Viva Presidente Trump!" below. The track comes from their recent seven-inch release by the same name, which is now available for purchase digitally on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

BRUJERIA's legend has proliferated for nearly three decades. When the band first emerged from the sunbaked hellscape of Los Angeles in 1989, the city was on the brink of chaos. Daryl Gates ruled the LAPD with an iron fist, overseeing a legion of blue-suited stormtroopers who cracked brown and black skulls at every opportunity. Rodney King, the '92 riots, and California governor Pete "Pito" Wilson's anti-immigrant Prop 187 were all on the bleak horizon. The Mexican-American agitators of BRUJERIA captured the mood of the city's minorities with the band's infamous and widely banned 1993 debut, "Matando Güeros" ("Killing White People"), quickly becoming the Spanish-language counterparts to early grindcore masters TERRORIZER and NAPALM DEATH. Led by lyricist and mastermind Juan Brujo, BRUJERIA were alternately rumored to be satanic drug lords and members of well-established metal bands. The truth, as always, lay somewhere in between. Fast forward to right about now: "Pocho Aztlan" is BRUJERIA's first new album in 16 years. The title translates to "Wasted Promised Land", a combination of Aztlán, the fabled ancestral home of the Aztecs, and the term pocho, which native Mexicans use to refer — not always kindly — to their counterparts born in the States. Brujo himself is pocho, a man caught between two worlds. Many pochos are not exactly accepted with open arms in Mexico. Meanwhile, they're too often regarded as second-class citizens in their adopted U.S. home. Brujo has transcended both scenarios through the power of BRUJERIA's uncompromising grindcore and death metal. His all-Spanish lyrics are as vivid as they are effective: Bona fide tales from the frontlines of the drug war, the racial divide, and the battle for the border. "A lot of BRUJERIA songs are true stories," Brujo says. "And if they haven't happened yet, they will happen."

BRUJERIA's current touring lineup includes CARCASS frontman Jeff Walker (a.k.a. El Cynico) on bass, NAPALM DEATH bassist Shane Embury (a.k.a. Hongo) on guitar and drummer Nicholas Barker (BENEDICTION, CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR, TESTAMENT).

BRUJERIA is:

Juan Brujo - VocalsFantasma - Vocals, BassHongo - Guitar, Drum ProgrammingEl Cynico - Bass, Guitar, VocalsHongo Jr. - DrumsPinche Peach - Vocals, SamplesPititis - Female VocalsA Kuerno - GuitarSangron - Backup VocalsGuero III - Backup Vocals

SLIPKNOT played the third show of its tour with MARILYN MANSON Friday night (July 1) at Perfect Vodka Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida. The concert once again saw SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor performing with a neck brace after undergoing surgery last month.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Taylor was ordered by doctors to refrain from headbanging and jumping when the band kicked off its summer tour Tuesday night (June 28) in Nashville, Tennessee. The group 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.

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.

According to the NBC-affiliated television station KVOA, a fraudulent Facebook page recently popped up stating METALLICA would appear at Joe's Crab Shack in Tucson, Arizona on August 7 and August 9. The page also claimed that tickets were being sold at all Los Betos Restaurant locations in town and that five golden tickets would be hidden in carne asada burritos. The lucky winners would receive VIP tickets and a chance to hang out with band members.

Andrea Grey, whose family owns seven Los Betos Restaurants, told KVOA they are not connected to any promotion involving METALLICA, but employees have reported being flooded with calls at their restaurants.

"They were telling us they were getting a lot of random calls talking about tickets and winning concert tickets that we were supposedly selling or raffling off," said Grey. "I don't know which one."

Joe's Crab Shack in Tucson closed its doors earlier in the month, with some employees claiming they found out about the closing from an emergency conference call.

One former employee estimated the location maintained almost 40 jobs.

Check out a video report from KVOA below.

Few rock bands were as successful as the SCORPIONS by the mid-eighties — headlining arenas/stadiums worldwide, scoring two mega-selling albums (the platinum-certified "Blackout" and the triple-platinum-certified "Love At First Sting") and two hit singles/videos ("No One Like You" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane").

But what quite a few newcomers to the band didn't realize was that the SCORPIONS had been regularly recording music since 1972, and that throughout the remainder of the decade, featured two guitarists (Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth) at separate points that are considered legendary among the heavy metal masses.

And while such albums as "Lonesome Crow", "Fly To The Rainbow", "In Trance", "Virgin Killer", "Taken By Force", "Tokyo Tapes" and "Lovedrive" did not come close to obtaining the commercial success of the aforementioned eighties-era efforts, they inspired and influenced countless renowned musicians.

"German Metal Machine: Scorpions In The '70s" by Greg Prato is the first book to focus solely on this period of the band. Interviews include such former members as Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Francis Buchholz and Herman Rarebell, longtime SCORPIONS producer Dieter Dierks, plus members of other bands that are major admirers, including K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST), Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS), Joe Satriani, Tom Hamilton (AEROSMITH), David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) and Eddie Trunk ("That Metal Show"), among many others, while Kirk Hammett (METALLICA) provides a foreword.

You can now read Hammett's foreword at Amazon.com (click on "Look Inside" to view the text).

Greg Prato is a Long Island, New York-based journalist, who has written for Rolling Stone, Songfacts and Vintage Guitar, and has authored such books as "Survival Of The Fittest: Heavy Metal In The 1990s", "Iron Maiden: '80 '81", "The Eric Carr Story" and "Touched By Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story". "German Metal Machine" is his 19th book overall.

"German Metal Machine: Scorpions In The '70s" is available as a paperback version (222 pages, $16.99), a Kindle download ($9.99), a Nook download ($9.99) and an iBook download ($9.99).

Today marks the release of SLAYER's new single, "You Against You", after the thrash titans unleashed their bloody music video to the world earlier this year. You can purchase the two vinyl editions of the single (in black and bi-colored versions) here.

With the video for "You Against You", SLAYER deliver the prequel to their 2015 release "Repentless", which was shot in a prison near Los Angeles. The main character is once again played by Jason Trost ("Hatchet III"), who narrates the story of his tragic imprisonment, even though he was never guilty of the crime.

For "You Against You", SLAYER travelled into the mojave desert to shoot the clip on an aircraft cemetery and find the a haunted location for their story around the prisoner named Wyatt. Again, the clip was directed by BJ McDonnell.

SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph recently told Be In The Loop Magazine about the "You Against You" clip: "We filmed that in southern California in the Mojave desert, and it was close to an air force base. There's this guy, and he's a collector of like, airplane wrecks, decommissioned planes, that kind of thing, so we went out there and filmed it on this guy's property. It was a huge yard, and it was just amazing. He had a C-130 without the wings, and, you know, how often do you get to sit in the cockpit of one of those things? When I was done with my part of the video, I just walked around all day, sitting in cockpits, checking out these planes. It was awesome. The video is killer, definitely the most fun I've ever had making one. When you see it, just know, those aren't props — that's all real stuff."

"Repentless" was McDonnell's first stint directing a music video. He directed the 2013 horror film "Hatchet III" and has worked as a motion picture cameraman.

"You Against You" is taken from SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", which is the band's first album to feature guitarist Gary Holt. The EXODUS axeman replaced founding member Jeff Hanneman, who passed away on May 2, 2013 from liver failure. The band's other guitarist, Kerry King, told ArtistDirect how he worked with Holt during the recording of the record. "When I did leads, I probably did half of them," he said. "Gary came in and did his. Then, I probably did the other half of mine. He got to play off of mine on some songs. I got to play off of his on other songs."

He continued: "[Gary] did 'You Against You' before I did mine. I think that one really captured me and Gary playing off each other. He did the first lead and second lead. I did the third and the fourth. The second and third sound like they were written for each other. They play really well off each other."

"Repentless" was released on September 11, 2015 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" was produced by Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN. The artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with the band's Tom Araya and Kerry King.

"Repentless" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17, 2015.

Photo credit: Martin Hausler

The first teaser for "Sounds From The Heart Of Gothenburg", the forthcoming DVD from Swedish metallers IN FLAMES, is available below. The set, due later in the year via Nuclear Blast, was filmed on November 6, 2014 at Hovet in Stockholm and November 7, 2014 at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden.

IN FLAMES recently signed with Nuclear Blast for all territories excluding North America and Scandinavia.

Formed in 1990, the band is considered one of the forefathers of melodic death metal and the purveyors of the "Gothenburg sound." With eleven studio albums released, countless successful tours around the globe, millions of records sold and a massive fanbase worldwide, IN FLAMES has proven to be an unstoppable force in heavy music. From their 1994 debut, "Lunar Strain", to the most recent CD, "Siren Charms" (2014), the band's intricate twin-guitar attack, melodic vocals and superb arrangements have given them a signature sound that has evolved throughout the years.

"In a way, IN FLAMES and Nuclear Blast share a similar story," said IN FLAMES vocalist Anders Fridén. "Both started in a garage in Europe, both love metal and both have grown a lot bigger over the years. For these reasons, it seemed a natural fit to come back to the place it all started."

"We're enormously happy that IN FLAMES decided to return and trust in us for the second time — Nuclear Blast is their home again from now on. I remember well how their debut album, 'Lunar Strain', inspired me back in the days. I was totally fascinated by their great and absolutely unique blend of death metal with delicate melodies," commented Nuclear Blast CEO Markus Staiger. "One year later, IN FLAMES signed with us and released eight splendid records over the years, including groundbreaking classics such as 'Whoracle', 'Clayman' and 'Reroute To Remain'. IN FLAMES developed all the time, reinvented themselves again and again and enthused fans of various genres with their always innovative sound. We're looking forward to the common future with Anders, Björn, Peter and Niclas."

IN FLAMES has been working on a new studio album, the details of which have not yet been announced.

IN FLAMES last year inked a new management deal with Tenth Street Entertainment, which also looks after MÖTLEY CRÜE and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, among others.

"Siren Charms" sold around 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 26 on The Billboard 200 chart.

IN FLAMES drummer Daniel Svensson announced last fall that he was leaving the band to focus on his family life. He said in a statement: "It's hard to leave what have become my second family, but now it's time for me to take care and spend more time with the most important people in my life — my wife and my three daughters."

IN FLAMES has not yet named a replacement for Svensson.

IN FLAMES is:

Anders Fridén - VocalsBjörn Gelotte - GuitarPeter Iwers - BassNiclas Engelin - Guitar

Iron Maiden and Robinsons Brewery have commenced the pre-order for their new brew, Trooper Red ‘N’ Black - at this location. The new limited edition beer from their award-winning Trooper range will be available to fans worldwide from September 1st. Check out a tasting session video below:

Red 'n' Black tasting session from Trooper on Vimeo.

Trooper Red ‘N’ Black porter is the third beer in the Trooper range following on from the stunning success of Trooper and last year’s limited edition Trooper 666. The beer, designed once again by Iron Maiden vocalist and ale aficionado Bruce Dickinson along with Robinsons’ Head Brewer Martyn Weeks, takes its inspiration from a very early Robinsons recipe which was first brewed in the 1850’s; a time when porter style beer was becoming increasingly popular in Britain.

Bruce Dickinson explains: “I like tasting outside the box. Stouts and porters were virgin territory for me so I just went by feel. Martyn and I hope we have created a new take on a classic beer and one which I hope will tickle the taste buds of ale fans in a pleasantly unexpected way.”

At 6.8% in bottle or 5.8% ABV in cask, Trooper Red ‘N’ Black is the strongest beer in the range to date.

Taking its name from both the colour of the beer, which glows red when held up to light, and the song “The Red And The Black” from Iron Maiden’s critically acclaimed 2015 album The Book Of Souls, Trooper Red ‘N’ Black uses a blend of chocolate and crystal malts which help give the beer a roasted malt and caramel backbone. Robinsons yeast, the same strain which has been used in the Stockport brewer’s beers since 1942, provides hints of both liquorice and honey to create a delicious warming brew.

John Robinson, Brands Manager for Robinsons Brewery said: “With millions of pints sold in 55 countries worldwide it’s safe to say that Trooper remains a phenomenal success. Last year, we released Trooper 666 at the request of the fans and this year we are happy to be releasing another limited edition beer that broadens the Trooper range in an ever evolving and vibrant beer market.”

Robinsons have been taking global trade pre-orders from the beginning of March, to try and ensure that the limited edition bottles will be available simultaneously in local outlets in as many countries as possible around the world by autumn.

According to the Surrey Mirror, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson and his son Griffin are among a group of 32 friends who are driving to France with the hope of raising £50,000 for four of their favorite charities. The drivers will travel 832 miles in pairs in cheap cars to raise funds for children, domestic violence victims and those less wealthy than themselves.

The Dash To The Med starts on Wednesday, September from Reigate in Surrey and ends in Cannes, on Saturday, September 24.

The rules of the event are simple — each car has to be worth less than £500 and no GPS navigation or motorways must be used throughout the journey.

For more information, click here.

Being lead singer of IRON MAIDEN is just one of Dickinson's many accomplishments.

He gained a commercial pilot's license after learning to fly in the 1990s. In 2012 he set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company which has recently signed an agreement with the Djibouti government to help re-launch their national airline.

The Nottinghamshire-born singer has also relaunched interest in Zeppelin-like airships, having invested a reported £250,000 in the world's largest aircraft: a hybrid of a plane, balloon and hovercraft, the Airlander 10.

If that wasn't enough, he has also created an aircraft fleet as a one-stop solution for airlines to use. On top of this, Dickinson is also an accomplished international fencer.

Having overcome cancer in 2015, the singer is writing his autobiography for release in 2017, crafting a limited-edition beer. This is in addition to the two Trooper beers already in production, which have sold over 3.5 million pints in the U.K.

He has been described as a polymath and, adding to his prodigious talents, he now brings together all his business creativity and experience and, as a speaker, shares it with corporate audiences, entertaining, inspiring and motivating them in keynotes around the world.

Death metal horde WARFATHER, the project fronted by MORBID ANGEL bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker, will release its sophomore album, "The Grey Eminence", on September 16 via Greyhaze Records. The follow-up 2014's "Orchestrating The Apocalypse" was produced by former MORBID ANGEL guitarist Erik Rutan, marking the first time Tucker and Rutan have worked together since MORBID ANGEL's "Gateways To Annihilation" album.

"The Grey Eminence" track listing:

01. Orders Of The Horde02. Headless Men Can No Longer Speak03. Judgement, The Hammer04. For Glory Or Infamy05. The Dawning Inquisition06. Heedless Servant07. Carnage Of The Pious08. Grey Eminence09. Fair And Final Warning

The song "Headless Men Can No Longer Speak" can be streamed using the widget below.

Said Tucker: "I am extremely excited for the release of 'The Grey Eminence'. I feel that this album is one of the best things that I have ever been a part of! Erik Rutan did an amazing job on the production and the songs speak for themselves!" Rutan added: "Recording with Steve and the guys on the new WARFATHER album has been fantastic! It has been a blast to be working on this monster album in the studio once again with my great friend and former bandmate. The songs are heavy as hell and just outright awesome. We have some great tones and performances."

WARFATHER saw Tucker back to fronting a death metal outfit after over a decade since his departure from MORBID ANGEL, and over two years since his participation as a vocalist and writer in the well-received Nader Sadek project.

Tucker said: "WARFATHER is more than just a metal band; it is a belief system and a meeting of the minds, the ones that can see what is truly happening in the times we are living in. [It] is a warning to the eyes that choose to be blind, and a call to arms to the minds that do feel the coming changes. It is pure blackened, apocalyptic death metal."

MORBID ANGEL guitarist Trey Azagthoth announced a year ago that the band had reunited with Steve Tucker and that they were working on material for the group's next record.


The Grey Eminence by Warfather

Montreal's Slaves On Dope have revealed the tracklisting and guests appearing on their upcoming album Horse, due out via the ILS Group (ILS) through its partnership with the Universal Music Group, on September 9th.

Horse tracklisting:
“Electric Kool-Aid”
“Health Food & Heroin’
‘Freebasing”
“K-Hole”
“Script Writer” (with DMC )
‘Interplanetary Mission” (with Mastodon's Bill Kelliher)
“Liquid Sunshine ‘(with HR)
‘Codependency” (with The Damn Truth's Lee-la Baum)
‘P&P”
‘Disco Biscuit”

Formed in 1993 by Jason Rockman, Kevin Jardine, Slaves On Dope somewhat eschewed the grunge music explosion for a new and heavier metal sound. The band relocated from their native Montreal to Los Angeles eventually signing with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s Divine Recordings. The subsequent release, Inches From The Mainline, helped the band reach a much larger audience through radio airplay, retail sales, and touring including Ozzfest and the SnoCore Tour. The group recorded another album in 2003, and shortly after took an extended hiatus, returning with their 2012 independent release Over The Influence.

Horse was recorded in Montreal at Uplift Studio and features several high profile guest musicians. ILS will be undertaking major radio and press campaigns to reintroduce the band to fans new and old. The band will also be playing shows throughout North America starting in September and well into 2017.

 

(Photo - Lana Nimmons)

 

BraveWords brings you the exclusive stream of End The Empire’s new album Ivory. The South Carolina post-hardcore quintet has been slaving over this record for nearly a year. They entered Newland Recordings to track with producer Kevin Newland (Memphis May Fire, Palisades) and create, by far, the most compelling album in End The Empire's repertoire. Ivory is the first record since 2014's Exile EP which was met by fantastic reviews. Now, End The Empire, seek to raise the bar with the release of this new record. 

Guitarist, Steven Bolin, says this about Ivory: "This album has been the culmination of everything we have worked towards as a band for this year. We are beyond excited to release it and can't wait to see what you all have to say about it."

In unison with the release of the new album, End The Empire also announces the IVORY Tour which BraveWords is proud to present.  The tour will be the band’s first headlining run of dates starting August 7th and ending on August 17th. Along with them will be support act Persistent Shadow.  The tour is sponsored by The Monarch Agency and Wavelink.

A new record and a headlining tour, End The Empire will sure be busy for a while. They also are planning a support tour in late August/Early September and will be releasing a music video by the end of the year.

Stay up-to-date with End The Empire by following them on Facebook.

Accept’s guitar powerhouse Wolf Hoffmann's classical handwriting carved a different niche for the German legends since the early music labeling of something called heavy metal, which can be witnessed on his second solo album, entitled Headbangers Symphony, completely dedicated to the grand Classic Maestros, out today via Nuclear Blast. And to coincide with its release is the new video fo the song “Night On Bald Mountain”.

Wolf Hoffmann has a passion. His life-long love and dedication to heavy metal music is documented in dozens of albums spanning four decades with his long time heavy metal band Accept. But beyond heavy metal, Wolf has an incessant craving for the classics, yes, the ones written decades and centuries ago.

Classical music has always been an influence - albeit limited - on Accept's teutonic approach to rock and heavy metal. However, it wasn't until 1997 during a extended hiatus from Accept, that Wolf Hoffmann finally had the chance to fully explore and fulfill this interest by recording his first astounding solo album Classical, a record filled with his rock guitar driven interpretations of some of classical music’s most loved compositions.

"I have always incorporated classical music in my songwriting with Accept, especially with Metal Heart, but I constantly felt there was so much more that I could do and I did not want to overload Accept or force it in any way. I always knew I could make a whole record of it and that’s how the first record Classical was born. Even today, fans tell me that they are still listening to it, that's why it is so fantastic now to do another one."

Headbangers Symphony is truly a bold statement by a genuine musician who simply refused to rest on his laurels and continues to push and challenge himself.

Headbangers Symphony tracklisting:

“Scherzo” (L. v. Beethoven)
“Night On Bald Mountain” (M. Mussorgsky)
“Je Crois Entendre Encore” (G. Bizet)
“Double Cello Concerto in G Minor” (A. Vivaldi)
“Adagio” (T. Albinoni)
“Symphony No. 40” (W. A. Mozart )
“Swan Lake” (P. Tchaikovsky)
“Madame Butterfly” (G. Puccini)
“Pathétique” (L. v. Beethoven)
“Meditation” (J. Massenet)
“Air On The G String” (J. S. Bach)

“Scherzo”:

"I am just so excited about Headbangers Symphony. It has taken a long, long time but here we are, it's done, finally!" Wolf is just bursting with vigor as he talks about his latest labor of love. But why now? "It's truly coincidental, after we completed the last Accept tour, I finally had the time to finish it. I started this a few years ago. The early recordings have been sitting in my archives in my home studio for years, almost completed. The reality was that with the continued success of Accept, I was only able to work on it when Accept was not recording or touring."

The prevalent early challenge was to pick the most suitable compositions. This was an exploratory process that only increased Wolf's adoration for the classics. "I always listen to classical music, it's always playing throughout my house. I have a huge collection of classics and as I listen - often at random, I take notes if something truly strikes me. When I notice that this or that could work in a translation to rock or heavy metal, I remember it and I pursue it! This has been going on for a long time!"

There are several reasons for the necessary experimentations that faced Wolf. Most classical compositions were written to be performed by a full orchestra. The fluid timing, those multiple, complex layers and sections that stretched out for lengthy periods, classical music was simply never designed to be played to the rigid beat so prevalent in rock 'n' roll.

Headbangers Symphony showcases an overabundance of highly skilled improvisations. Wolf took the main pieces, and then wrote riffs that fit them. Lastly, in the grand hard rock tradition, he layered a guitar solo over it. He shaped the sound into a quite adventurous elegance, but the key themes of the originals remained.

The first volume had a focus on the better known pieces; the second - Headbangers Symphony - takes a similar approach. "In general, it does follow the same path," admits Wolf, "but this time I did try to add a couple lesser known compositions. Mostly though, listeners will say, hey, I know that melody… so it’s pretty much the same path as the Classical record. It was my desire to record melodies I like and melodies people recognize."

Now that the album is done, Wolf is proud looking back and is pleased with this true labor of love; something he has wanted to do since the first record Classical came out almost 20 years ago. While Accept's Peter Baltes added several impressive bass lines, and other notable guest musicians made an appearance as well, the bulk of the work was completed by himself and Italian musician and arranger Melo Mafali.

"There are two major categories," Wolf elaborates. "First the heavier stuff like Beethoven, the bombastic, full force epics on which you can simply shred along. Of course then there are the ballads, slower compositions that bring out the deeper feelings in each listener."

The highlights on Headbangers Symphony are plentiful and easy to pin point. The album kicks off with 'Scherzo' from the well-known "9th Symphony" by Ludwig v. Beethoven. Many listeners might recognize the opening riff from the Accept song "Teutonic Terror". "Back in 2009," Wolf explains, "when we started working on the songs for the »Blood Of The Nations« album, I played the classical demos to our producer Andy Sneap. He liked that riff a lot and insisted on using it for the album. So we wrote 'Teutonic Terror' using this "borrowed" riff."

Other highlights follow in rapid succession: "Night On Bald Mountain" by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is a very dramatic dark song on the theme of a witches’ Sabbath, a perfect fit for Wolf's "metal treatment". "Symphony No. 40" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be immediately recognizable. "It's a little more up-tempo, pretty happy, typical for Mozart. Not mean and heavy as most of the other stuff," Wolf points out. Additional high-points include Wolf's interpretations of such masterworks as Tchaikovsky’s "Swan Lake," "Pathétique" also from Ludwig v. Beethoven, "Méditation" from the opera Thais by French composer Jules Massenet, and of course the aforementioned "Madame Butterfly".

All in all, the eleven compositions on Headbangers Symphony paint the perfect portrait of Wolf's life-long passion for the classics and his adoration for heavy metal. "I worked so much and so long on this until I felt it was ready. Now it is and I am thrilled and proud. This is my baby, my labor of love, ready for me to set it free."

Watch both Headbangers Symphony trailers below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

US black metal legends Kult Ov Azazel have released a new official video for the song "Dawn of Luciferian Enlightenment".

Comments Xaphan, Kult Ov Azazel frontman: "The video was something we decided to put together using tour footage and photos from the past year. It was conceptualized between myself and Ricktor (Wolfpack 44/Electric Hellfire Club/Coven) with him creating and editing the video."

On January 1st, 2016 Kult Ov Azazel revealed a new pre-production demo track of “Corpus Edimus, Sanguinem Bibimus” on their Facebook page. The pre-pro demo track featured a guest solo by Phil Fasciana of Malevolent Creation. At this time, the band has half of the album recorded as a pre-production demo and continues to forge forward with the pre-production recordings. Violators Of The Covenant will be the first album recorded with the new line-up and will be the first recording appearances of Hag (vocals), Necrol (guitar), Armanen (bass), along with longtime members Xaphan (guitar/vocals) and Hammer (drums). The album will be recorded and produced by the band at S.B.S. Studio in Fort Lauderdale, FL and will include ten tracks. More information will be revealed shortly.

Hail Mary, featuring Bobby Gustafson (Satans Taint, Overkill), John Gallagher (Raven) and Sid Falck (Infectus 13, Overkill) have released the song “To Hell And Back”, with all of  the proceeds going to The Cheri Pogue Medical Fund.

The band states: “We would like to remind everyone that this is all about charity. We understand that $2.99 is more than the normal song would cost as a download. However, we are counting on the generosity and willingness of the Heavy Metal community to pay a little bit extra in order to help someone in need. Everything has been set up, so that all the income generated from the sales of this song, will be go directly to Cheri Goodale-Pogue. A lot of people have expressed hope, that the song be available from the most popular online Music stores. Initially, we were against that, since those stores dictate their own prices, typically $0.99 per song, and charge very high commissions on each sale (iTunes charge 30%, most others charge 15%-20%). After consulting with Cheri Goodale-Pogue and Steve Pogue, we have agreed to make the song available outside of CD Baby in order to accommodate as many people as possible. However, we would like everyone to consider buying directly from CD Baby as this will generate the most money for Cheri, which is what this is all about.”

A YouTube video can be seen below, featuring Bobby, John and Sid talking about the project, the song and how it came to life. It also features sound bites of the song itself.

“To Hell And Back” was recorded at Blue Halo Studio; the Front Porch Studio and Ravens Nest Studio. It was mixed by Tim Lau at the Front Porch Studio and was mastered by S. A. Adams.

Hail Mary would like to acknowledge the following individuals and facilities for donating all their time, as well as waiving all other fees: Tim Lau and the Front Porch Studio; Shawn Sanders and Blue Halo Studio; S. A. Adams. This would not have been possible without their generous involvement.

For more information and updates visit this location.

 

Newly signed Black Swamp Water with former Illdisposed and Dawn of Demise drummer, releases the first single "World On Fire" from the forthcoming album Chapter One.

Chapter One (including "World On Fire") is produced and mixed by Tue Madsen (Raunchy, Moonspell, Sick Of It All).

According to a press release, Black Swamp Water is old school hard rock and heavy metal with obvious references to bands like Black Sabbath, Ozzy and Corrosion Of Conformity.

 
The long awaited Tue Madsen produced and mixed debut album Chapter One is written with the same energetic approach to rock music - but the band has matured and gathered valuable live experience in the past two years (latest at the Royal Metal Fest 2016).

Check out the ”World On Fire" performance video:

Black Swamp Water:

Vocals: Bjørn Bølling Nyholm
Guitars: Jan Geert & Martin Lykke Hansen
Bass: Jeppe Birch Friis
Drums: Kim Langkjær Jensen

 

FRAGILE MORTALS, the new band that combines hip-hop legend Darryl "DMC" McDaniels (RUN-D.M.C.) with the metal group GENERATION KILL — featuring vocalist Rob Dukes (ex-EXODUS) and bassist Rob Moschetti (ex-PRO-PAIN, M.O.D.) — will release its debut single, "Fired Up", on July 4, followed by another track, "Suicide", on July 5 via Bumblefoot Music, the record label of artist/producer Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ART OF ANARCHY, ex-GUNS N' ROSES), who also produced and added additional guitar solos to the tracks.

"Fired Up" is described in a press release as "a foot-stomping, fist-in-your-face anthem, sort of like a Mack truck crashing into a packed football stadium." DMC says: "'Fired Up' is a sports inspired attitude about giving all you got in this 'game of life.' And, like my verse says, you must do it without cheating!"

And while the message of "Fired Up" is pretty straightforward, "Suicide" tackles darker topics, that, according to DMC, hit closer to home.

''Suicide' is really personal to me because I was fighting depression, so I know what individuals, young and old, go through," he said.

"People will always tell you that you shouldn't feel the way you feel. Easier said than done!

"I discovered the first step to healing is be truthful to yourself about how you're feeling, then look at who and what circumstances are causing these feelings, then deal with those to remove those from your life.

"Me and Dukes wrote these lyrics no holds barred because that's how we, and a lot of others, felt."

"Suicide" will also be featured in the audio version of DMC's memoir, "Ten Ways Not To Commit Suicide", also to be released July 5.

Both "Fired Up" and "Suicide" are taken from FRAGILE MORTALS' full-length debut, "The Dark Project", due later in the year.

Stemming from a chance meeting between Dukes and DMC, an initial one-track collaboration for a DMC solo album turned into a full-on force, as FRAGILE MORTALS was born. The band then recruited the ear of Thal as producer, and their combined creative vision has allowed the band to grow further than expected. Lending the occasional guitar riff and solo to the tracks, Ron's contributions earned him the title of unofficial seventh member.

Addressing issues ranging from suicide, drug abuse, prostitution, life and death, and racism, "The Dark Project" also offers a glimmer of hope and light at the end of a gritty tunnel, exposing the darker side of humanity without glorifying it in any way.

FRAGILE MORTALS offers the listener an intellectual look into real-world issues, as the music takes you on a journey, serving as the soundtrack to this all-too-real story.

Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, The Neal Morse Band, Flying Colors) has checekd in with the following update:

"When I came up with the idea of writing a multi-part suite that was to span five albums (which ended up taking eight years to complete), it was always part of my masterplan to eventually perform it in it's entirely live on stage. It saddens me that I was not able to do so with Dream Theater after completing the final piece of my conceptual puzzle, but I've decided that I owe it to the fans to finally bring my '12 Step Suite' to life on stage as I always envisioned. 

There's no better time and place than at my 50th Birthday Concert aboard Cruise To The Edge!

Joining me for this very special performance will be some great friends and amazing musicians that I know will kick ass in helping me with my unfinished business of bringing this piece of music to life on stage!"

This is the Full 12 Step Suite by Dream Theater. Each song runs into the next over a series of 5 Albums. The songs are about Mike Portnoy's battle of overcoming his addiction to drinking

Each song is as follows:

"The Glass Prison" - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
I. Reflection 
II. Restoration
III. Revelation

"This Dying Soul" - Train Of Thought
IV. Reflections of Reality (Revisited) 
V. Release

"The Root Of All Evil" - Octavarium
VI. Ready 
VII. Remove

"Repentance" - Systematic Chaos
VIII. Regret 
IX. Restitution

"The Shattered Fortress" - Black Clouds And Silver Linings
X. Restraint
XI. Receive
XII. Responsible

Mike Portnoy's 50th Birthday Bash will be an All-Star career retrospective concert spanning 30 years of music. This will be the ultimate Mike Portnoy concert event, a celebration of life and music. Mark your calendars now and book your trip ASAP before this event sells out.

The cruise will run from February 7th to 11th, 2017, leaving from Tampa, FL. Watch CruiseToTheEdge.com for updates and information.

Bands confirmed so far for Cruise To The Edge 2017 include Yes as headliners, Kansas, Steve Hackett, John Wetton and more. Stay tuned for more bands to be announced soon.

Steven Tyler's claims that Aerosmith will be launching a final tour next year are simply "an option," guitarist Joe Perry tells Kory Grow of Rolling Stone. "I always hold my breath whenever Steven does an interview on his own," he says with a laugh.

Nevertheless, the guitarist – who is indecisive about the prospect of a final tour – says the odds are in favor of a farewell. "It could be the last," Perry says. "But it's really hard for me to imagine a last gig. Sorry."

At this point, though, he cannot come to terms with the notion of a farewell tour. "I don't know how it sits with me yet," he says. "To actually call it a 'final tour' and think I'm not going to look over and see Brad (Whitford, guitarist) and see Steven out there. It's really hard for me to imagine that."

Learn more by clicking here.

Joe Perry is currently on tour as part of Hollywood Vampires - an all-star band that includes Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Matt Sorum, among others.

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

The Wounded Kings, doom metal warriors from the South West of England, are due to release their fifth full-length album, Visions In Bone, on August 26th via Candlelight / Spinefarm Records.

Visions In Bone was jointly produced and engineered by Chris Fielding and the band at Mwnci Studios in Wales and Skyhammer Studios in Cheshire, UK. The album swirls and flows with vintage tones and smoky vibes, with the themes of death, despair and redemption very much to the fore.

Formed in 2004, The Wounded Kings proudly uphold Britain's occult heritage via a unique blend of spectral doom and psychedelic horror, creating a desolate, end-of-the-world vibe filled with suffocating heaviness.

The two-time Roadburn alumni are cherished by attendees and popular festival promoters alike, the latter citing them as "British doom of staggering power."

To date the quartet has released four full-length studio albums, plus a well received split LP with American band, Cough. Visions In Bone is a journey to the void… and beyond! Join in…

Self-proclaimed Godfathers of Finnish metal, Sarcofagus, have released their final album with the original lineup entitled Back From The Valley Of The Kings. The first video from this release is the 2016 version of "Talo" which can be seen below,along with the original "Talo" video, released in 1982.

The first Limited Edition CD pressing of the album is only available to buy from sarcofagus.com. Fans are advised to act quickly as stock is already running low and there are no plans for a second pressing. The album is also available on most of the digital delivery sites such as Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon.

Sarcofagus were founded an eye-rotatingly 38 years ago, way back in 1978. The band originally broke up in 1980 after three albums (Cycle Of Life - 1980, Envoy Of Death - also 1980, and Moottorilinnut - 1981). In 2010, the original lineup reconvened for a reunion tour of Finland and this unique album was the result. 

Sarcofagus frontman, guitarist and film-maker Kimmo Kuusniemi talks about the album: "Back in the '90s, I started to ponder whether it would be a cool idea to re-make the two first Sarcofagus albums, Cycle Of Life and Envoy Of Death. These albums where recorded 36 years ago, so the studio technology was fairly primitive. I have always thought that the songs themselves were good and worthy of an update."

"The Back From The Valley Of The Kings album was recorded during a one-day studio session in 2010. Before this session, Sarcofagus had only played together four times (one rehearsal and three gigs) since reuniting. The idea was to achieve a fresh 'live' and original '80s feel on the recording to both do justice to the songs and stay true to the originals." 

"Although it was recorded in one day, this album proved to be the hardest I ever had to mix and master in my 40 year music producing career. The problem was to get the sounds right, as during the studio session there was no time to work with individual instrument sounds. Also, the drums bled the other instruments and the Hammond Leslie speaker broke down in the middle of the recording. I'm very happy about the end result so this is an appropriate way to end this chapter of the original Sarcofagus; all done, all good, good bye."

The tracklisting for Back From The Valley Of The Kings is as follows:

"Subconsious Penetrating"
"Astral Flyer"
"Here I Am"
"Eternal Silence"
"Stolen Salvation"
"Insane Rebels"
"Wheels Of Destruction"
"Back To Black"
"2nd Coming"
"Talo"
"Metallinen Sateenkaari"
"1000 Megawatin Totuus"
"Go To Hell"
"Envoy Of Death"
"Deadly Game"
"Die To Win"

BMG has announced that it has acquired the recording assets of New York based independent label, The End Records.

The End Records specializes in rock, metal, indie and electronic music. Established in 1998 in Pasadena, California, The End Records has grown under the charge of CEO Andreas Katsambas to represent world-renowned and platinum-selling artists including Better Than Ezra, Billy Talent, Dead Letter Circus, Everclear, HIM, Hinder, Petula Clark, Terrorizer, The Zombies, American Sharks and Trapt. As part of the deal, BMG is acquiring the label’s entire catalogue, as well as its rights to future recordings. Upcoming releases on the label include Billy Talent’s fifth studio album Afraid Of Heights; Billy Talent is opening for Guns N’ Roses next month (July).

The move follows BMG’s acquisition of other established labels during the past two years such as S-Curve Records, Vagrant Records and Rise Records, as BMG continues to ramp up its recording business.

Despite the acquisition of its recorded assets, The End Records will continue relationships with artists while retaining its own offices and staff.

Katsambas commented: "I have been very impressed with BMG and its amazing team. It is clear we share the same vision for artists and label partners. This is the start of a great relationship."

BMG US President Creative & Marketing Laurent Hubert said, “BMG continues to invest in the future of music and build our presence in recordings. Andreas Katsambas has built a strong catalogue at The End Records and we look forward to working with its clients.”

Kaaos TV conducted an interview with MAYHEM and SUNN O))) vocalist Attila Csihar prior to MAYHEM's June 24 concert at the Nummirock festival in Nummijärvi, Finland. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On MAYHEM's plans for the follow-up to 2014's "Esoteric Warfare" album:

"I heard some vibes already. We have started to shape stuff. It's gonna be different, as it looks like now, of course, but that's our trademark. We don't feel any stress; we just take it very easy. But I heard some tones from Morten [Iversen, guitar] already, I must say, and that was interesting. And we are just figuring out slowly what to do."

On MAYHEM being rejoined by former singer Sven Erik "Maniac" Kristensen during the band's March 26 performance at the Inferno festival in Oslo, Norway and again at this month's Sweden Rock Festival:

"[The Sweden Rock] show was with Maniac [only], because… It's two things. We had some overbooking things. I was on tour with SUNN O))) in the U.S. and there was really important shows in Canada. And the second thing was, we were thinking it was best to do with this thing, instead of canceling, having him play the show. And that's really good for the fans, the new generation, who haven't seen him. And we just had a show with him at the Inferno festival, where we split the set. People really liked it. Sven is a really good friend, not just mine, but the whole band. And I think it shows. We are MAYHEM. We can fucking do this, and it shows how much we are like a brotherhood.

"From my point of view, MAYHEM is MAYHEM. It's like a logo; it's nobody's band. Like, if you think about, I'm the vocalist of MAYHEM, it's been ten years, but it's still in the set, maybe it's like a few songs that actually I wrote and I sing. So I'm used to that, that I perform a lot of other vocalists' stuff and even styles and incorporate their style in my style somehow and kind of move it ahead.

"For me, this band is more than just a band; it's kind of my life. So, Sven, being the singer for ten years, so, of course, he's welcome to play, if the time and the space is right, like this time it was. It has been a plan for a long time; actually, it was my idea for a long time. I wanted to happen. We had this plan even when we had this other show in Oslo [before], but somehow it was not the right time or vibe or space, or we were just on tour, and we could not rehearse the right way, or he was not in the right mindset, maybe. We had this idea for a while now, and he invited me to the stage too, so naturally, I can invite him anytime. I hope it can happen more in the future."

During a recent interview with the KBAT 99.9 radio station in Odessa, Texas, former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott spoke about the possibility of one day retirining from playing music. He said (see video below): "I'm a big kid. I've never been married. I don't have any kids myself. I'm married to music, and I love playing music. I love being on the road, I love traveling, I love interacting with the fans and friends and fans and metal on the way. And until the day comes along that I can't do this anymore, I'm gonna keep doing it. I love it."

While continuing to stay busy with HELLYEAH, Vinnie is involved with several side businesses, including running strip clubs, a sports bar, a music complex and being the owner of three of his own tour buses.

"[I have] several [strip clubs]," Vinnie said. "I have The Clubhouse in Dallas and then I have a chain of Latino[-themed] strip bars, called Chicas Bonitas. We have one in Las Vegas, one in Austin, one in Dallas. And we're looking at other locations. We're thinking about getting into Arizona sooner or later. So I have that. Then I also have a sports bar in Dallas called The Back 9."

In a 2014 interview, Vinnie Paul talked about why he chose to branch off and do other things besides play in a band. He said: "I've always been a down-to-earth business guy. That was the beautiful thing about me and my brother [late PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] as we worked together, is that I could be the business guy, and he could be the party-all-night-rock-and-roll-all-day guy, and he would be the life of the party and I would be able to make sure we were all getting paid and things were getting done right."

He added: "I like being able to own things, to not have to depend on music to support myself. Music hadn't supported me since 2000. I mean, it really hasn't. I just do it because I love doing it."

Wednesday 13, who mixes punk rock and metal with kitschy horror imagery and who is formerly one-half of The Murderdolls braintrust, is back on the scene and there is lots of activity taking place in his blood-spattered world.

Wednesday 13 will embark on a tour this fall, traversing North America in September and October. One-Eyed Doll will serve as direct support for the entire tour. The Things They Carried will appear from September 8th through October 8th, while Gabriel And The Apocalypse will join the tour October 9th through October 22nd.

Wednesday 13 will perform two shows in London at the Garage on October 28th and 29th to celebrate the 10-year anniversary for his 2006 album Fang Bang. There is also a special show on Halloween Night at the world-famous Whiskey A Go Go with Michale Graves.

In addition to this heavy duty touring schedule, Wednesday 13 will enter the studio in August with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris to work on the seventh Wednesday 13 album, Condolences, which is the follow up to 2015's Monsters Of The Universe. Zuess has also worked with Wednesday 13 and guitarist Roman on the 2010 Murderdolls album, Women & Children Last.

Condolences is slated for an April 2017 release.

"I can't tell you how excited we are to work with Zuess again," Wednesday 13 says. "We've been talking about it for years and now we're gonna finally make it happen. We had such a great time working with him on the Murderdolls album a while back. This will be our heaviest album to date and I can't wait to see what we come up with working alongside Zuess."

Wednesday 13 will release a live DVD later this year titled Almost Dead: LIVE. The release will feature live, acoustic, and backstage footage from the past few years' worth of touring in the UK and from the Monsters Of The Universe Tours in Europe.

Tour dates:

September
8 - The Pin - Spokane, WA
9 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
11 - Falls Venue - Idaho Falls, ID
13 - Pub Station - Billings, MT
14 - Sunshine Studios - Colorado Springs, CO
15 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
16 - Gabes - Iowa City, IA
17 - Diesel Lounge - Chesterfield, MI
18 - The Agora Theater - Cleveland, OH
19 - Emerson Theater - Indianapolis, IN
20 - Skully's Music Diner - Columbus, OH
22 - Rockpile - Toronto, ON
23 - Rockpile - Toronto, ON
24 - The Brass Monkey - Ottawa, ON
25 - Harmony House - Webster, NY
27 - Marlin Room at Webster Hall - New York City, NY
29 - Brighton Bar - Long Branch, NJ
30 - Tubby's Nightclub - Duncannon, PA

October
1 - Hard Rock Cafe - Philadelphia, PA
2 - Shock Fest - Sinking Spring, PA
4 - G|Boones - Boonesboro, MD
5 - Amos' Southend - Charlotte , NC
6 - V Club - Huntington, WV
7 - The Concourse at The International - Knoxville, TN
8 - Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
9 - Purgatory at The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
11 - Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville, FL
12 - Sidebar Theater - Tallahassee, FL
13 - The State Theatre - St Petersburg, FL
15 - The Korova - San Antonio, TX
16 -Dirty Dog Bar - Austin, TX
20 - Juggernaut Lounge - Gallup, NM
21 - Club Red - Mesa, AZ
22 - Vampd - Las Vegas, NV
31 - Whisky A Go Go - West Hollywood, CA (with Michale Graves)

Last month, Avulsed announced that recordings for their forthcoming Deathgeneration double album were finished. The band have now released this new video, focusing on the recordings of the guest guitar solos for the album by Alberto Marín, Víctor Blanco and Miguel Bárez.

A previously posted studio report video can be seen below:

Don't forget to support Avulsed during the pre-orders campaign for their new album, learn more at this location.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Avulsed, the band decided to commit to a very ambitious project which is no other than recording a double album including 18 of their best songs from all their albums, EPs and demos. Instead of just doing a dull compilation with original songs, the band wants to do a "no fillers, just killers" release showing the evolution that the songs have suffered during all these years where the band's sound has been getting heavier and songs have got slight mutations through the times.

This double album (80 min.) will be released in a deluxe double CD digipack with slipcase and a thick 40 page booklet containing the original versions on disc #2 (just for the freaks who hate re-recordings), double gatefold 12"LP and double cassette with slipcase. But to make this release even more interesting, Avulsed will have very special guests from other bands singing in most of the songs. They are: Peter (Vader), Barney (Napalm Death), Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates), Sven (Aborted), Antti Boman (Demilich), Chris Reifert (Autopsy), Per Böder (God Macabre), Anton Reisenegger (Pentagram Chile), Kam Lee (ex-Massacre), Rogga Johansson (Paganizer), Mike Van Mastrigt (ex-Sinister), Ville Koskela (Purtenance), Will Rahmer (Mortician), Ludo (Supuration), Johan Jansson (Interment) and Paul Zavaleta (Deteriorot).

Title for this album will be Deathgeneration, since 25 years means a whole generation devoted to death metal, and cover artwork will be made, once again, by the awesome Juanjo Castellano who worked on the two latest Avulsed cover arts. Release date is autumn, right before the two very special 25th anniversary shows that Avulsed will offer in Madrid (November 19th) and Barcelona (November 26th). Support bands for the show in Madrid will be another Spanish death metal legend Aposento and newcomers Bizarre who will also open on the Barcelona show accompanied by another band which is confirmed, but can't be announced yet. An official live CD+DVD will be recorded and filmed in Madrid.

Deathgeneration will come on a very limited black boxset with silver foiled logo, of which only 100 copies will be made containing the 2CD, 2LP and 2MC. This special cassette release can only be obtained on this boxset that will come with t-shirt, poster, signed photo card, sticker, patch, badge, guitar pick and other goodies. The 2CD, 2LP and t-shirt can be obtained separately or in bundles too.

Atmospheric blackened metal outfit, Wayfarer, will kick off their West Coast tour tonight with a hometown show at Denver's Hi-Dive, celebrating the release of their sophomore album Old Souls, in addition to the unveiling of their new collaboration with infamous metal brewery, TRVE Brewing.

Inspired by their single "Deathless Tundra", TRVE Brewing formed the "Deathless Tundra" roggenbier which will be available on tap at tonights show.

Vocalist/guitarist Shane McMarthy commented, "TRVE never disappoints, and its an honor to have one of our song titles share a name with such a fine ale from them. Doesn't hurt that it's so infinitely drinkable".

TIckets are available here.

Wayfarer, released their sophomore effort, Old Souls, on June 17th via Prosthetic Records. In the new video below, the band discuss the making of the new album:

Recorded at Flatline Audio with Shane Howard (Martriden, Khemmis) while being mixed and mastered by Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cobalt), the album features seven tracks clocking in at almost 50 minutes long. The album's cover artwork was created by Colorado artist and knifesmith Adam Gersh.

Wayfarer’s debut album, Children Of An Iron Age was met with worldwide critical acclaim. Asked how Old Souls differs, guitarist and vocalist Shane McCarthy commented: "This record is a darker and much more focused effort from us. Writing the album was a very cohesive and involved process as a whole band this time around. It has moved further and further away from any particular genre trappings and stepped closer into what we feel our sound is; which is always shifting, always evolving. Life is too short to write music that already exists. We can't wait to get this out there."

The band are hitting on the road with Maine’s Falls of Rauros, joining them in Canada is Numenorean. A tour flyer can be found below.

Tracklisting:

“Ever Climbing”
“Frontiers”
“Old Souls’ New Dawn”
“Catcher”
“Deathless Tundra”
“The Dust Lakes”
“All Lost In Aimless Chaos”

Album stream:

(Photo - Alvino Salcedo)

Swedish hair metal outfit Crazy Lixx will release their first live album, Sound Of The LIVE Minority, on July 8th. The track “21' Til I Die” is streaming below. Pre-order the album via the Amazon link at the bottom of this page.

Coming out of the Swedish hard rock scene - with influences from bands like Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, KISS, Whitesnake/David Coverdale, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe - Sound Of The LIVE Minority is the band’s first live album, coming after four increasingly successful studio albums.

”It’s a milestone for every rock band,” says lead singer Danny Rexon. And a milestone it is, in more than one way. On the one hand, it is the perfect record to sum up four studio albums and more than a decade as a touring band in an hour plus documentation of energetic, live rock n’ roll with the very best songs from their catalogue and most requested fan favourites. On the other hand, it also marks the end of the band’s most successful lineup, with guitarist Andreas Z Eriksson (now with british Hard Rockers Inglorious) as the lead guitar slinger. This live performance was his last show with the band.

“We wanted to release this live album both to mark an end to the old Crazy Lixx, as well as a statement of a new beginning for the current lineup. On this show, Jens Lundgren had already taken over the guitar duties from our former guitarist Edd Liam so in a sense this gig represents both the old and the new,” says Danny.

The album was recorded at Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen, Germany in July 2015 and has been mixed by Chris Laney who has previously been entrusted to mix live albums for Europe, Talisman and CrashDïet, among others.

Tracklisting:

“Intro”
“Rock And A Hard Place”
“Lock Up Your Daughter”
“Blame It On Love”
“Sound Of The Loud Minority”
“Riot Avenue”
“Call To Action”
“Road To Babylon”
“My Medicine (R.O.C.K)”
“Hell Raising Women”
“Girls Of The 80's” (+ intro for “Heroes are Forever”)
“Heroes Are Forever”
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”
“21' Til I Die”

“21' Til I Die”:

“Hell Raising Women”:

“Rock And A Hard Place”:

Lineup:

Danny Rexon (vocals)
Andreas Z Eriksson (guitar)
Jens Lundgren (guitar)
Joél Cirera (drums)
Jens Sjöholm (bass)

 

 

Light & Shade is a new, young supergroup whose members have already acquired extensive live and studio experience having being part or shared the stage with renowned acts such as Nightwish, Dream Theater, Amaranthe, Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, Within Temptation, Arch Enemy, Slipknot, Fleshgod Apocalypse and many more, and having received recognition and awards from the Lollapalooza Festival and the International Portuguese Music Awards among others for their expertise in rock/metal.

Featuring vocalist Adrienne Cowan (US -Seven Spires), guitarist Marco Pastorino (Italy - Temperance, Secret Sphere), bassist Luca Negro (Italy - Temperance) and guest drummer Alex Landenburg (Germany - Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody), their debut full-length, The Essence Of Everything, has been produced by Simone Mularoni (DGM) and is set for release on November 18th (North American) and November 25th (Europe) via Scarlet Records.

More details will be revealed soon.