Greek label No Remorse Records has announced reissues of five studio albums of the German thrash metal legends Accuser. Each CD will include thick booklet and bonus tracks, and each LP will be limited to 500 copies, where 350 copies will be available on black vinyl, 100 copies on coloured vinyl, and 50 available as part of the special limited edition box set with all five albums inside. 
 
Out on May 27th: The Conviction CD/LP, Experimental Errors CD/LP and Who Dominates Who? LP.

Out on June 27th: Double Talk CD/LP and Repent CD/LP.

 Accuser recently promote new studio album titled The Forlorn Divide, which has been released by Metal Blade Records on March 11th.

“Black Suicide” from Experimental Errors:

Even though AEROSMITH and Steven Tyler resolved the issues that almost broke them up a few years ago, there is still talk about bringing in a guest vocalist while Tyler is busy with his solo country career.

Guitarist Brad Whitford tells Metal Rules: "Absolutely, we have considered it — but whether it will happen, I don't know. I think it would be great." Asked who he thinks would be a good fit, he says, "A lot of people, everybody from Myles Kennedy [ALTER BRIDGE] to Axl [Rose, GUNS N' ROSES]. [Laughs] We had a bunch of people a while ago like Sammy Hagar. It would be a lot of fun."

Classic Rock magazine reported a few years ago that AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry had approached Paul Rodgers, Chris Cornell and Billy Idol about singing with the band, while representatives for Sammy Hagar denied that he had been offered the gig.

The rest of AEROSMITH fell out with Tyler in 2009 after a canceled tour and Tyler's stated intention to work for two years on a solo project. Tyler subsequently entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers.

Both sides maintained that Tyler never officially left AEROSMITH, and his management and attorneys threatened legal action if the band went forward with finding a new singer for touring purposes.

Asked by Metal Rules if all the turmoil with AEROSMITH ever gets old, Whitford said: "There is still a lot of turmoil and it can be frustrating. It should be easy. The whole thing started because of the music. If the focus was right there, everything would be fine, but we don't. [Laughs] Let the drivers drive and let the music happen, [and] everything will fall into place. We get caught up into a lot of silly stuff."

Los Angeles federal judge R. Gary Klausner recently delayed the trial of a copyright-infringement lawsuit involving Led Zeppelin’s iconic rock anthem “Stairway To Heaven” until June 14th. Led Zeppelin are accused of ripping off Randy California’s 1968 instrumental "Taurus" to create their hit song.

According to Billboard, with time ticking towards the June 14 trial in a California federal courthouse, the plaintiff is demanding that a judge order Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant show up to testify.

On Tuesday, plaintiff's attorney Francis Alexander brought a motion to compel attendance with the penalty for a no-show being a default and the jury being instructed to draw a negative inference from their failure to appear. According to Alexander, Page and Plant's "refusal to specify if they will appear is causing havoc."

Page and Plant may indeed be showing up voluntarily anyway. In an email to Alexander sent on May 6th, Led Zeppelin's attorneys wrote, "We have previously made it clear that Messrs. Page and Plant will attend the trial, but with them coming from England we cannot guarantee the day they will arrive."

Read the full story at Billboard.com.

Finnish hellraisers Santa Cruz have premiered their brand new single "Skydiving Without A Parachute”, streaming below (restricted to certain territories). The song is an advance taste of what's to come from Santa Cruz. Buy the single here.

"We wanted to release a little bit different new single than a kick ass, super fast rock song with shitloads of shredding," the band said about the new track. "Even though we've got the screaming guitar leads and bigger-than life chorus, we slowed the tempo down a bit and played some beautiful chords and lovely notes for you, with acoustic guitar and piano."

They continued, "The lyrics are about how life feels when you don't know where you're going, what's gonna happen next, or how you're supposed to feel when you're living on the edge all the time. In that moment, it feels like you're skydiving without a parachute."

Hide your booze (and your wives, daughters, or significant others) because the Cruz are currently on tour with Sebastian Bach. They're playing 29 shows in six weeks because that's how they roll. Dates listed on the flyer below.

Members of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM and KVELERTAK took part in The Rock Reel's "Stronger Than All" challenge. Each musician was asked to hold a five-kiogram solid steel hammer with his arm stretched out to the fullest and hold it as long as he could. You can now watch the results below.

In a February 2015 interview with Amherst Wire, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach said that he spent the downtime from on-the-road life by indulging himself in the pleasantries that he missed while on tour. According to the frontman, he would average 30 to 40 miles a day on his bicycle so he can maintain a top physical shape before their next tour, and continued perfecting his culinary prowess by making homemade meals for him and his wife.

TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy recently spoke to Full Metal Jackie about how he stays in shape on the road. He said: "Every day, I time myself and make sure [that I do] hopefully a minimum of an hour of guitar drilling and an hour of vocal drilling in addition to jiu-jitsu or yoga or weightlifting. I just find it really important.

"When we were doing [the latest TRIVIUM album] 'Silence In The Snow', we had a lot of time off tour. So I said to myself, I want to make sure I'm doing everything I love in life well. So I took some cooking lessons, singing lessons with Ron Anderson, guitar lessons… classical guitar lessons with a guitar teacher in town who is an amazing guitarist. Jiu-jitsu and yoga classes, personal training classes… [I] make sure I'm lifting weights right. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right, so as I keep pursuing these things that I keep getting better at it, [and that] I'm on the right path.

"I think it's real important that people set impossibly high goals for themselves. My goal in life as a singer is to be as good as Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury, and I know that will never happen, but I'm always going to work for it. I feel everyone should set goals that are that difficult for themselves."

Guitar icon Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) has released a new custom emoji set available starting today via Emoji Fame, the go-to company specializing in making emoji sets for musicians. Thus far, the artist emoji space has been dominated by hip-hop and EDM acts, Zakk Wylde's set is one of the first on the rock/metal side of things, and the first for a guitar god.

"Many members of the Emoji Fame team are secretly guitar nerds, so when Zakk Wylde agreed to do an emoji set with us we were beyond excited," says Gavin Rhodes, co-founder of Emoji Fame. "Zakk is arguably one of the top-ten most influential guitar players of all time and we're immensely proud of the set that we put together with him. His emojis are hilarious with a double dose of SHRED thrown in for good measure.”

The emoji set is available starting today.

Wylde recently announced new U.S. and Canadian tour dates in continued support of his new LP, "Book Of Shadows II". Wylde will hit over 40 cities spread out across the U.S. and Canada this summer including a performance at Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal on August 7, a first for him as a solo artist.

"Book Of Shadows II" was released on April 8 via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music). Zakk's first solo release in 20 years is the follow-up to 1996's "Book Of Shadows", a classic album Wylde released between his work with Ozzy Osbourne that has since become a fan favorite.

On April 8, Fret12 released the latest installment of the "The Sound And The Story" instructional-documentary guitar DVD series starring Grammy Award-winning guitarist and songwriter Jim Root of SLIPKNOT.

"The Sound And The Story" DVD series is quickly becoming known for featuring comprehensive guitar lessons taught by the artist — featuring fan-favorite songs. In "Jim Root: The Sound And The Story - .5: The Gray Chapter", Jim teaches you exactly how he plays the songs on SLIPKNOT's latest album, 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter".

A clip of Jim showing you how to play the track "The Devil In I" can be seen below.

Since 1999, Jim Root has been cultivating a guitar sound and songwriting style that is markedly original and deeply influential. Entire musical movements have formed in the wake of the band's sound. A profusion of impassioned fans, noteworthy musicians, and signature products all take inspiration from Jim Root's approach to music, and Fret12 will be taking you even further into his creative persona.

"When Jim joined, it really became something very special, and I can remember being so excited for the future; because we had someone who could really play anything," said Corey Taylor, lead singer of SLIPKNOT.

".5: The Gray Chapter" sold 132,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The CD was released in October 2014 following a six-year hiatus during which founding SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray died and original drummer Joey Jordison was dismissed.

In a 2011 interview with Roadrunner Records, Root stated about when he first start playing guitar: "My parents had an old nylon string acoustic guitar that I would mess around on, which, I think, had like two stings on it when I was, like, 12-13 years old and then I begged them from the time I was 12 until I was probably 14 or 15 for a guitar and they got me this Memphis — not any brand name or anything — like a Les Paul Jr. copy, like a double cut away. That was alright. Then I begged and begged and begged for a nice guitar and I got a bass, 'cause the person at the guitar shop told them that if I wanna learn guitar, that I gotta start with bass. I got a Cort bass it looked like a Fender P Bass and I did one bass lesson with that and Paul Wilson, the guy I did the bass lessons with, saw I had good dexterity and a good ear and I pretty much schooled the lesson so I went right out from the lesson, and was like, 'Eh, Dad... [laughs] I don't wanna play bass, I wanna play guitar, 'cause all my favorite guys play guitar. And then I got a Takamine electric guitar, so that was kind of, like, my first real quick guitar. My first real real guitar I had was a Charvel, model 1 and that was when I was 15, I think, I got that."

30 years of Doro! 30 years of rock and metal! Last weekend in Las Vegas, Doro received her well-deserved award, acknowledging her decades-long dedication, passion and love of music. She was met with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation by the crowd when she received the "Metal Goddess" Legends Award at Vegas Rocks Hair Metal Awards in the Casablanca Event Center of Eastside Cannery Casino.

Doro: "It was incredibly nice, the people celebrated endlessly and everyone in the hall stood up and clapped for me - even my colleagues couldn't rest on their chairs."

Those colleagues were the Scorpions, who received a lifetime achievement award, as well as Twisted Sister among others.

Doro received her third Legend Award in Las Vegas - she has already been honoured with two "Living Legend" awards; at the awards shows of prominent magazines in London and Berlin in 2013.

"The first two award shows were already phenomenal, but how the Americans celebrated the evening here in Vegas, that's unbeatable," Doro explains after her return to Dusseldorf.

But there isn't much time for Doro to enjoy this happiness as tomorrow, she will fly to Krasnodar, Russia with her band for another show on her world tour - which will take place next weekend.

Three decades of Doro - three unforgettable nights - forever captured on three DVDs and two Blu-rays; including an two-hour plus, great music movie, which delivers deep insights behind the scenes and inside the heart of Doro. Nuclear Blast releases this incredible DORO anniversary package on June 24th, Strong And Proud - 30 Years Of Rock And Metal.

A video for “Raise Your Fist In The Air” - Live At Wacken can be seen below:

Once again, the packaging was drawn by Doro's favorite artist, Geoffrey Gillespie. Strong And Proud - 30 Years Of Rock And Metal will be released in the following formats on June 24th:

- 2Blu-ray-Digi
- 3DVD-Digi
- CD
- Earbook
- 2LP (black) in gatefold
- 2LP (blue) in gatefold (Mailorder + wholesale)
- 2LP (silver) in gatefold (Mailorder-exclusive)
- Earbook in tote bag (Mailorder-exclusive)

Pre-orders can be found on Nuclear Blast.

Tracklisting:

DVD 1 – 30 Years Anniversary Show – Wacken Open Air
“Intro”
“Wacken Anthem (We Are The Metalheads)”
“Burning The Witches”
“East Meets West” (feat. Chris Boltendahl)
“Raise Your Fist In The Air”
“Hellbound”
“Revenge”
“Earthshaker Rock”
“Breaking The Law” (feat. Phil Campbell)
“All We Are” (feat. Eric Fish, Joakim Broden, and Corvus Corax)

30 Years Anniversary Show – Classic Night
“Touch Of Evil”
“On The Run”
“Fear Of The Dark” (feat. Blaze Bayley)
“The Night Of The Warlock”
“You’re My Family”
“Above The Ashes”
“Beyond The Trees”
“Hero”
“Princess Of The Dawn” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“Dancing With An Angel” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“Hard Rock Hallelujah” (feat. Lordi)
“Love Me In Black”
“Für Immer” (Mix Clip Classic Night/Rock Night)

30 Years Anniversary Show – Rock Night
“Raise Your Fist In The Air”
“Save My Soul”
“Running From The Devil”
“Without You”
“East Meets West” (feat. Sabina Classen)
“Rock Till Death” (feat. Hansi Kursch)
“Bad Blood” (feat. Lordi)
“Denim And Leather” (feat. Biff Byford)
“Out Of Control”
“Wacken Anthem (We Are The Metalheads)”
“Metal Racer”
“Herzblut”
“Burn It Up”
“Balls To The Walls” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“All We Are”

DVD 2 – Behind The Curtain, Inside The Heart Of Doro (Documentary)

DVD 3 – Bonus Concert Movie

30 Years Anniversary Show – Classic Night
“Celebrate”
“Burn It Up”
“Breaking The Law”
“All We Are”
“Metal Racer”

30 Years Anniversary Show – Rock Night
“True As Steel”
“Evil”
“Egypt (The Chains Are On)” (feat. Chris Caffery)
“Revenge”
“Hellbound”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (feat. Biff Byford)
“Fight”
Drum Solo
“Ich Will Alles” (feat. Andy Brings)
“Metal Tango”
“Unholy Love”

30 Years Anniversary Show – Wacken Open Air
“Metal Tango” (feat. Eric Fish and Frau Schmitt)
Drum Solo
“Fur Immer” (feat. Uli Jon Roth)

Rock Hard Festival 2015
“Hellbound”
“Fur Immer”

Russia Tour 2015
“Touch Of Evil”
“I Rule The Ruins”

CD/Digital
“On The Run”
“Save My Soul”
“Raise Your Fist”
“Fear Of The Dark”
“Revenge”
“Earthshaker Rock”
“Without You”
“Rock Till Death”
“Egypt (The Chains Are On)”
“Fur Immer”
“Hellbound”
“Balls To The Walls”
“You’re My Family”
“All We Are”

Blu-Ray 1 – 30 Years Anniversary Show – Wacken Open Air
“Intro”
“Wacken Anthem (We Are The Metalheads)”
“Burning The Witches”
“East Meets West” (feat. Chris Boltendahl)
“Raise Your Fist In The Air”
“Hellbound”
“Revenge”
“Earthshaker Rock”
“Breaking The Law” (feat. Phil Campbell)
“All We Are” (feat. Eric Fish, Joakim Broden, and Corvus Corax)

30 Years Anniversary Show – Classic Night
“Touch Of Evil”
“On The Run”
“Fear Of The Dark” (feat. Blaze Bayley)
“The Night Of The Warlock”
“You’re My Family”
“Above The Ashes”
“Beyond The Trees”
“Hero”
“Princess Of The Dawn” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“Dancing With An Angel” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“Hard Rock Hallelujah” (feat. Lordi)
“Love Me In Black”
“Für Immer” (Mix Clip Classic Night/Rock Night)

30 Years Anniversary Show – Rock Night
“Raise Your Fist In The Air”
“Save My Soul”
“Running From The Devil”
“Without You”
“East Meets West” (feat. Sabina Classen)
“Rock Till Death” (feat. Hansi Kursch)
“Bad Blood” (feat. Lordi)
“Denim And Leather” (feat. Biff Byford)
“Out Of Control”
“Wacken Anthem (We Are The Metalheads)”
“Metal Racer”
“Herzblut”
“Burn It Up”
“Balls To The Walls” (feat. Udo Dirkschneider)
“All We Are”

Blu-ray 2 – Behind The Curtain, Inside The Heart Of Doro (Documentary)

30 Years Anniversary Show – Classic Night
“Celebrate”
“Burn It Up”
“Breaking The Law”
“All We Are”
“Metal Racer”

30 Years Anniversary Show – Rock Night
“True As Steel”
“Evil”
“Egypt (The Chains Are On)” (feat. Chris Caffery)
“Revenge”
“Hellbound”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (feat. Biff Byford)
“Fight”
Drum Solo
“Ich Will Alles” (feat. Andy Brings)
“Metal Tango”
“Unholy Love”

30 Years Anniversary Show – Wacken Open Air
“Metal Tango” (feat. Eric Fish and Frau Schmitt)
Drum Solo
“Fur Immer” (feat. Uli Jon Roth)

Rock Hard Festival 2015
“Hellbound”
“Fur Immer”

Russia Tour 2015
“Touch Of Evil”
“I Rule The Ruins”

(Top photo - Gordeon Music)

TWISTED SISTER was joined by QUIET RIOT drummer Frankie Banali for a two-song set on Sunday, May 15 at the first annual Vegas Rocks! Hair Metal Awards at the Casablanca Event Center At Eastside Cannery Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Video footage of the "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" performances can be seen below (courtesy of Joel Neufeld a.k.a. Deathrattle).

SCORPIONS made an appearance at the event to receive the "Classic Rock Outstanding Lifetime Achievement" award. In addition, German metal queen Doro Pesch was presented with the "Metal Goddess" award. Other artists that appeared and were honored/featured included QUIET RIOT, WINGER and ANGEL (full original lineup).

TWISTED SISTER is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with the release of the acclaimed documentary "We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!", a three-CD live set, the release of a memorial concert to their fallen brother A.J. Pero, and a farewell tour titled "40 & F*ck It!"

In a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider was asked if he feels the band has finally gotten its due and the respect it deserves, more than forty years after its inception. He responded: "I've often taken personal responsibility for wherever I went in my head, making the wrong decisions. All of the right decisions that I made to get us there, I started to make wrong decisions to crash and burn too early. And the band is dismissed as being a flash in the pan, one-hit wonders — actually, two hits. That's troublesome.'

He continued: "The thing that bothers me more than anything is that TWISTED SISTER is one of the best live bands. We really didn't tour in the scheme of things on an international scale for that long of a time. There was a couple of years where we were out there in the thick of things. A few years, but we aren't known as that and it's a shock to people when we do these festivals and we annihilate everybody. And we do and people are going, 'Holy shit! I didn't know!' So, it's still one of the best-kept secrets."

Snider added: "You know, out of all of the things that I do personally — and I do a lot of things, you know, I act and I do radio and I write screenplays , all of that stuff — the thing that I do best, I front a band and I front it like few front a band. But I'm not [part of that conversation]. I see a list of the greatest frontmen of all time and I'm like 46 and I'm going, '46?' I'm looking at the people in front of me going, 'Seriously, Tom Araya?' I mean, nothing against SLAYER, but, I mean, he's a bass player; he's not even a frontman! But that just speaks to the fact that, hey — and I think if Tom saw that list, he would go, 'Holy shit, I really shouldn't be in front of Dee.'

"I remember that we played some huge festival and I'm going to the stage — oh, it was Heavy Montreal and it was METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER and TWISTED SISTER's on the bill. Seventy-five thousand people are going, 'What the fuck is TWISTED SISTER doing here?' We're walking to the stage and I see Kerry King and the band up there and I go, 'What are you doing up here, Kerry?' He goes, 'I told the guys, you've got to go up and watch Dee.' And we took that fucking place apart. You go look online at Heavy Montreal, it was like, holy shit! TWISTED SISTER, a bunch of old men, came up there and just melted every fucking bit and destroyed every band, and nobody saw it coming. So, that's frustrating to me and so no, I don't feel like really the band has gotten its due."

Quality fan-filmed video footage of DEF LEPPARD's May 17 performance at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

Earlier in the year, DEF LEPPARD was forced to postpone the last ten dates of its tour with STYX and TESLA due to LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott suffering from vocal issues. Speaking to the Corpus Christi, Texas radio station C101, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen said: "We toured nine months last year and Joe was actually touring with walking pneumonia for most of the time. And when he got better… He actually got a nasty cough just after Christmas, after pneumonia had gone, [he got] this awful hacking cough. So that's really what kind of messed him up. You know, when we'd done these dates in Florida… We'd only done one show and, all of a sudden, his voice just kind of went out. And the doctor said, 'Look, you've gotta stop singing for a month.' So he's doing great now. He's actually all back to normal."

A while back, Joe Elliott told The Pulse Of Radio that there's nothing more important than staying healthy on the road, and explained how he preps strenuously before each and every one of the band's tours. "I've seen a lot of people start a tour out, and then three days into the tour have to cancel at least a couple of gigs 'cause they've blown their voice out," he said. "So what I try and do is make the first gig we do actually the 20th that my body's done, and I have my blowout 17 days before the tour starts. It's a muscle. You've just got to stretch it and get it into shape."

Last October, DEF LEPPARD released its eleventh album, titled "Def Leppard", which peaked at No. 10 on The Billboard 200 album chart.

MUSHROOMHEAD paid tribute to legendary artist Prince by performing a cover version of "When Doves Cry" during the band's May 5 concert at the Jewel nightclub in Manchester, New Hampshire. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

MUSHROOMHEAD reportedly tried to include a cover of "When Doves Cry" on its 2006 album, "Savior Sorrow", but was unsuccessful in securing the rights to release the song.

MUSHROOMHEAD is currently touring without vocalist Waylon Reavis, who severed all ties with the group and their record label, Filthy Hands, last October due to "irreconcilable differences with band ownership."

MUSHROOMHEAD's current lineup still includes two vocalists, J. Mann (a.k.a. Jason Popson) and Jeffrey "Nothing" Hatrix.

The band's eighth studio album, "The Righteous & The Butterfly", sold around 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 13, 2014 via Megaforce Records, the CD was recorded in Cleveland with longtime co-producer Bill Korecky.

UK metallers Dark Forest have recently finished the recordings of their upcoming new long player Beyond The Veil at HellFire Studio and are currently in the process of mixing and mastering. 

The release date is set for August 26th via Cruz Del Sur Music.

 
Beside almost 70 minutes of astonishing heavy metal with folk and medieval elements, Beyond The Veil will feature an amazing artwork provided by Duncan Storr, the English Artist that has already worked for Skyclad and Rage.

Tracklist and first audio samples will be revealed soon.

Former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick was interviewed on the April 22 edition of the "Music Mania" podcast. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On getting the phone call asking him to join MEGADETH:

Chris: "For me, it was definitely, you know, something I couldn't believe that was happening. At first, actually, when I put down the phone, I almost thought it was somebody playing a prank on me, but I quickly realized that that wasn't the case. So I got to work, you know?"

On the songwriting process in MEGADETH:

Chris: "Well, the writing process was one where… Dave [Mustaine] is MEGADETH and he very much has the reins on the writing. But he would always ask for our input and get our opinions on things, so we would definitely try and contribute as much as possible. But at the end of the day, you want it to sound like MEGADETH, and you're going to the source, [which] is Dave Mustaine."

On the defining moments in his career:

Chris: "Well, there are different aspects of that. I would definitely say that the very first 'Big Four' [show] was when I was on stage. Just the overwhelming reality of where I was at, I couldn't believe, you know. It was so awesome to play to that many people. And you could feel the energy in the air, there were so many people there. It was great. And then METALLICA, they were generous with not only their time and letting us jam with them up on stage, but also… They were, like, 'If you need to use our rehearsal room, just let us know.' They really opened up the gate and made you feel like it was a thrash community as opposed to just a large bill. And then, for me, it's not all about what you do on stage. I think one of my most defining moments was when a kid had come up to me and told me that he was using one of my compositions — this piece called 'Downward Fall' — for his audition material to get into Berklee College Of Music. So that, to me, is a really definining moment as well — that you can have that kind of an impact on people."

Broderick joined MEGADETH in late 2007 as the replacement for Glen Drover, who left the group in order to focus on family life.

Chris has been playing guitar since he was eleven years old and had been teaching for 15 years prior to joining MEGADETH. Styles range from classical, rock, blues, and jazz. He started taking lessons at 14 years of age studying guitar as well as voice, violin, and piano. Chris has a degree in classical guitar music performance at the University Of Denver and the Lamont School Of Music. He has performed in many master classes including ones given by David Russell, Benjamin Verdery, and his primary instructor, Ricardo Iznaola. In addition, Chris has taken classes such as jazz improvisation, chord voicing, advanced music theory, and sight-reading.

In addition to Broderick, ACT OF DEFIANCE features former MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover, ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner and SHADOWS FALL's Matt Bachand (bass).

ACT OF DEFIANCE's debut album, "Birth And The Burial", was released on August 21, 2015 via Metal Blade Records.

Copenhagen, Denmark-based metallers, Manticora, and founding member/drummer Mads Volf, have decided to part ways after two decades of musical endeavours. The departing of Volf is a decision that has been long under way, but the split is happening in orderly fashion, and Mads and the rest of the band are still the best of friends.

Mads decided he simply didn't have the spirit to carry on anymore, with a business that seems to appear as an uphill battle for the majority of bands today. Moreover, he has been playing in the Danish party/metal band Red Warszawa for the last two years, and this has evolved to being his focus, musically.

Mads Volf: "After almost 20 Years with Manticora, I have made the decision to pull the plug. It has not been an easy decision. On one hand, it feels like leaving your baby behind in a traffic jam with drunk drivers. On the other hand, I can feel in my heart and my bones that this is the right time.

“I would like to thank first of all, Lars and Kristian for all the years. They will always be my metal brothers. I would also like to thank everybody else who have been involved with the band through the years. Manticora has been a crazy ride of ups and downs. I have experienced things with this band, that only a few bands will. Even though we never had the big break-through, I think Manticora have made some of the best power/thrash metal albums out there, and we always had a party whenever we were on stage. I hope that Manticora will continue their relentless mission to bring metal to the people.

“Last but definitely not least. To all the fans that have followed us: we could not have done this without you… I could not have done this without you. So continue, supporting your favourite band. Thanx.

“Mads out - Horns up, beer down. Ohh. And if you really miss me, Check me out in my new band Red Warszawa.”

Lars F. Larsen (vocals) comments: "We've been aware that Mads' involvement in the band has been declining for the past two years, so it doesn't come as a surprise to any of us, that he decided to quit. Nevertheless, it's a sad day for Manticora as Mads was a founding member (with Kristian and I). He is definitely our brother in metal and in life. He is one of the sacred people, that has the Manticora logo tattooed on his body, showing his commitment and dedication to the band, and he leaves a legacy of insane drumming for a future drummer to fill.....

“Mads has been fantastic to work with. He was involved in both musical and lyrical writing, and he is probably the funniest person, I have ever met in my life. The guy is insanely funny to be around, no matter if you're sober, drunk or both, at the same time (sorry - I'm not as funny, as Mads), and sharing 20 years of writing, recording touring and intimacy (yes, of course we have showered together on tours - and of course, I have had Mads, crawling - naked! - over me, in the tourbus, hahaha), will stay with me and the other guys forever. We have released 7 albums, played all over Europe and in the US on tours. We have played at Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival and so many other great festivals. Been there, done that - living out our dreams - together!

“The greatest of salutes to the man, who's also known as: Yig, Sdam, Madschine, Chewbacca, The Old Lady and so many other names. Thank you, Mads, and good luck with your future dreams."

Manticora has released seven critically acclaimed albums since 1999, and toured numerous times around Europe as well as in the US, and is currently working on their next album.

Lineup:

Kristian Larsen - guitars
Lars F. Larsen - vocals
Stefan Johansson - guitars
Sebastian "Ceppe" Andersen - bass
Drummer - tba

(Photo - Manticore website)

During an April 26 appearance on "The MARR Army Rock Show", drummer Josh "Chachi" Marunde of Michigan-based rockers POP EVIL discussed his decision to leave the band. He is said to be taking a new opportunity that will allow him to spend more time with family.

"Definitely music will always be a part of my life and I'll always play. I might honestly… I'll probably jam a lot more," he said. "A lot of people don't think about that, but we tour so often and we're on the road and playing, we don't really have a lot of time to just go play drums; like, I don't get to just go goof around. I definitely am gonna continue to play, write… I really enjoy working with writing and producing. I don't think I'll become a producer, but I don't wanna say I won't… But that's not my plan.'

He continued: "There may be a time where, down the road especially, once I'm settled and everything is relaxed and the dust has settled, where I make myself available to be a hired gun on very short terms — whether it be for an album or whether that be for three to five days on a tour. That's something I've already talked to POP EVIL about. A year from now, who's to say I won't wanna come out and play three songs on a show, or play a show with the guys — you know, who knows? — whether they are in Michigan or I'm on the road. I'm never gonna stop playing drums."

Marunde will reportedly make his final appearance with POP EVIL on May 24 in Grand Rapids on a bill which will also include DISTURBED and ROB ZOMBIE.

POP EVIL's latest album, "Up", was released last August via eOne Music.

California’s Night Demon are stoked to present a live video for their deliciously nostalgic take on the Golden Earring classic, "Radar Love”. A first rate sneak peek into the Demon live, this rare cover exudes classic metal mastery, whilst simultaneously paying homage to influencers and ushering in a new wave of heavy; creating an intimate fan experience fresh from the stage.

"“Radar Love” is a cover rarely played by the band. It first appeared as a live version on the expanded edition of our first EP from the first ever Night Demon show. The only other time it was performed was at the drummer of Golden Earring's club in The Hague, Netherlands on our last European tour. We had a recent request in Cleveland from one of our most diehard fans Jim Nostra-Demon Bartek to bust it out live for him. The video proof is here, and the song has since found a regular spot in the Night Demon set for the remaining dates of the Final Curse tour,” states Night Demon’s Jarvis Leatherby.

Following The Final Curse tour, Night Demon’s summer of shred continues with the One Foot In The Grave tour featuring Carcass, with special guests Crowbar and Ghoul. Upcoming tour dates below with more to be announced.

July
17 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
19 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
22 - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades
23 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
24 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Theater
25 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
26 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
27 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
29 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre
30 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
31 - Columbus, OH - Park Street Saloon

August
1 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Sound Stage
2 - Richmond, VA - Broadberry
3 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
4 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
5 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place

Canadian prog outfit, Heaven’s Cry, have released a lyric video for the title track of their forthcoming album, Outcast. The “Outcast” lyric video can be found below.

Continuing where their 2012 full-length Wheels Of Impermanence left off, Outcast is a concept album that examines the corruption of governments around the world and incites humankind to rally up and fight as this will be the key to our survival and growth.

Scheduled for release on June 3rd via Prosthetic Records, Outcast was self-produced by the band along with Yannick St-Amand.

Tracklisting:

“The Human Factor”
“Outcast”
“The Day The System Failed”
“If I Only Knew”
“A Shift In Scenery”
“Symmetry”
“Alive”

“Outcast” lyric video:

“The Human Factor” lyric video:

Teaser:

Outcast will showcased live during three record-release shows in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. Additional support will be provided by Borealis and Hillward.

Dates are as follows:

June
3 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks
4 - Montreal, QC - Piranha Bar
5 - Quebec City, QC - L'Anti

Taking a mighty step out of their usual musical comfort zone, monolithic metallers The King Is Blind today reveal “I Love You All The Time (Requiem)”, their take on the Eagles Of Death Metal track “I Love You All The Time”. Recorded in memory of Nick Alexander, who also lived in Colchester, local producer Tom Donovan offered free studio sessions to bands in the community with all profits going to The Sweet Stuff Foundation to help those affected. The King Is Blind were the only extreme metal act to take up this offer, creating a cathartically haunting 6-minute epic.

The cover was recorded in two stages – initially with Tom in December 2015, then Musikzimmer, Vienna, under the direction of Mark Royce (Entwined) who introduced live orchestral elements.

Purchase the song via iTunes. Listen to the track, streaming below, or at Spotify.

“Colchester is a small town, with a close-knit music scene. Nick Alexander was someone we knew from the pubs and gigs in our home town for many years and we felt tremendous shock and sadness when we heard about his death, along with so many others in the Paris attacks in November 2015.

“Tom Donovan took the concept that EODM had presented, and took it to the extreme by offering free studio time to bands wishing to record their version of the song. Jumping head-first into the project to record as many covers of the EODM track as humanly possible, he asked if TKIB were interested in getting involved. I've known Tom for nearly 20 years so I know what he's like when he's fired up about an idea, so I said yes on behalf of the band before I'd even heard the EODM song.

“As soon as I got off the phone to Tom, I looked up the original EODM track online and the fear kicked in - the song was a jaunty little ditty without a hint of Metal, let alone TKIB’s ‘monolithic' metal.  It became pretty clear that, instead of doing a straightforward cover of the song, we would need to tear up the original and use only the blueprint of the music to design a track, guided by our feelings surrounding Nick and Paris. With the path now clear, we began to focus on delivering a much more sombre, emotional tone to the track.

“At certain points, we felt overwhelmed with emotion during the process, but with the help of Tom and our colleagues in Vienna we have been able to come up with a track expressing our compassion and grief which, we hope, will be a fitting tribute to Nick and all who were directly affected by the Paris attacks.” – Lee Appleton (TKIB Lead Guitarist)
 
The King Is Blind recently released their debut album, Our Father. Boasting an impressive heritage, with members drawing from a wealth of experience in Cradle Of Filth, New Model Army, Extreme Noise Terror and Entwined, the band are gearing up to play both Download and Bloodstock this summer.

Incite released their new album, Oppression, in late April via Minus Head Records. The album features the track "Life's Disease", which Incite is bringing to life today via new, state-of-the-art 360º virtual reality filming technology. This is the first music video ever filmed by a heavy metal band that utilizes this technology.

Video director Robert Sexton states, "Incite's "Life's Disease" is the first-ever concept-driven heavy metal video shot in VR. We trapped the audience in various 360º environments where we built an occult underworld packed with imagery that's designed to whip viewers into a state of frenzy. The visual action is designed to draw attention to specific details of the narrative and performance, but the audience can also explore the space on their own terms. VR is defining the future of both shared viewer experiences and storytelling. We're pioneers in this space. Every piece of content we create forces us to reinvent everything we know about filmmaking and how an audience interacts with a story."

The track features Minus Head labelmate All Hail The Yeti lead vocalist Connor Garritty, who also makes a guest appearance in the music video. Richie Cavalera discusses the music and Garritty's cameo: "Life's Disease is a song that I feel everyone can relate to! Whether old, or young, a metal head, or not, you're going to dig this song. The vibe is unlike any Incite song before - it's very chuggy and has a bass line that crushes, not to mention our labelmate Connor of All Hail The Yeti brings some killer screams to it so it just became an instant stand out on this record. This 360º VR video will set it apart from everything else. We have always pushed our videos to be pure art and leave you speechless. Videos are huge to us and this one is our monster. It's very dark and next level for sure - possessions, insane asylums."

Incite will begin the second leg of their tour with headliners DevilDriver and special guests Holy Grail and Hemlock on June 13th, headlining three dates prior.
 
Tour dates:

June
8 - Austin, TX - The Dirty Dog (no DevilDriver; Incite headlines)
9 - Houston, TX - Walters (no DevilDriver; Incite headlines)
11 - Atlanta, GA - 529 (no DevilDriver; Incite headlines)
13 - Columbus, OH - Park Street Saloon
14 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar
16 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
17 - Window Rock, AZ - Window Rock Sports Center
18 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
19 - Glendale - Complex, CA (no DevilDriver; Incite headlines)

Due to unleash their self-titled debut on June 3rd via Metal Blade Records, Poison Headache is now launching their third single, "Gray Skies", in anticipation of their album's release. Listen to the track below:

Prior to Poison Headache's release, Southern California fans can hear the record in its entirety at a special album listening party, which will take place on May 21st at Brick by Brick immediately following the Soulfly show. The event will feature Hail, Colossus - an exclusive, small batch beer by Coronado Brewing Co. - plus giveaways for Poison Headache CDs, t-shirts, and more.

With Poison Headache, fans can expect a 10-song monster: a heaving, teeth-bared mass of anger, violent intent, aggression, and terrible certainty - mixed by Taylor Young (Nails, Twitching Tongues) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Black Breath, Inverloch, Sleep) of Audiosiege Mastering. One part Entombed Wolverine Blues, one part Motörhead “Ace Of Spades”, and one part Converge “Jane Doe”, Poison Headache is crossover for the new age.

Poison Headache tracklisting:

“Sin Eater”
“Pity The Backseat”
“Rot With Me”
“Conspirator”
“Gray Skies”
“Benumbed”
“Death's Design”
“Hail, Colossus”
“Never. Again.”
“Discloser”

"Conspirator":

“Sin Eater”:

Lineup:

Andy Kukta - vocals/guitar
Phil Sgrosso - vocals/guitar/bass
Kyle Rosa - drums

The futuristic Finnish metal rebellion known as Ember Falls have debuted their video for "Shut Down With Me”. Watch it below. This brainworm, released independently in August 2015, tallied over 2 million plays on various platforms.

“We are extremely happy to kickstart our collaboration with Spinefarm with this song, as it perfectly encapsulates what Ember Falls is all about. It also happens to be quite frigging good," the band said.

Thematically and musically, "Shut Down With Me" combines elements of melodic death metal, electronic, and flashy melodic hooks, with two singers' engaging in interplay comprised of brutality and massive choruslines to drive the point home. The song takes a bold peek into the digital dimension of the not-too-far future where humanity is all but diminished to virtual existence. But there are six rebels who won't succumb. The Resistance is here. Its name? Ember Falls.

Ember Falls are:

Thomas Grove - lead vox
Jay V - lead guitar
Calu - guitar + brutal vox
Ace - drums
OneOfHaze - bass, keys, and backing vox
Oswald - bass

Spanish melodic progressive metal masters LORDS OF BLACK — who feature in their ranks new RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero — performed a cover version of the DIO classic "We Rock" during their May 14 concert at Sala Chango in Madrid, Spain. Fan-filmed video footage of their rendition can be seen below.

LORDS OF BLACK's second album, "II", was released on March 18 via Frontiers Music Srl.

LORDS OF BLACK is the band formed by Romero, renowned guitarist Tony Hernando and monster drummer Andy C. Their vision was to form a metal band with a modern approach blended with catchy, melodic and progressive elements.

After months of intense and hard work on the songs, LORDS OF BLACK independently released its acclaimed self-titled debut which was co-produced by Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN, ex-HELLOWEEN). Metal Hammer Spain deemed it "the best metal album released in Spain this year."

LORDS OF BLACK supported the release with a series of very successful live shows, some of them as "very special guest" for high-profile international acts. Then the news of Ronnie Romero joining the new incarnation of RAINBOW broke out. This brought the band to the attention of the international media, with RAINBOW legend Ritchie Blackmore describing Romero's voice as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury."

However, now LORDS OF BLACK are ready to conquer the world with "II", an album which will blow the minds of fans of modern melodic metal. Once again co-produced, mixed and mastered by Roland Grapow, the disc is not only the follow-up to LORDS OF BLACK's outstanding and acclaimed debut album, but is an album with superbly crafted songs that will instantly become absolute metal classics.

"The new album, being the follow-up to a first record that was so greatly received, had to get to a higher place," says Tony Hernando. "After an intense year of writing and producing, along with the live performances, we came up with songs that are still deep and complicated in some arrangements, but have been written with the live performance in mind… The quest was to come up with something that artistically was meaningful for us as musicians and at the same time could catch the attention of the listeners. We really hope you enjoy this new album and come with us for a great ride!"

Tracks like "Merciless", "Everything You're Not", "Insane", "New World's Coming" and "Shadows Of War" showcase the heavy and complex yet very melodic style of the band. The song "The Art of Illusions Part III: The Wasteland" is the conclusion to the trilogy that commenced on the debut album, while the song "Cry No More" is inspired and dedicated to the late, great, Phil Lynott.

Regarding how he landed the RAINBOW gig, the Chilean-born Romero told Rafabasa.com: "I don't know from how long they had me on their list, but they contacted me some months ago, at the beginning of summer, to tell me about a chance to an audition . I deeply remember that 'day one' and that first 'hi,' been doing your daily activities and receive an email from Ritchie Blackmore himself is quite hard to assimilate, after a few days days, even weeks."

Romero also talked about Ritchie's recent description of his vocal style as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury." He said: "I just think about how lucky I feel, not just to get the gig, but how the hell they found me. Having so many good singers worldwide. From the first contact, I just tried to give my best to get it. I always believed in myself, and with the support of my family and close friends, even more. About his words, I just can be thankful, he put the bar quite high with his description. [Laughs] But I'm also glad with his confidence on me to this huge task."

German metal queen Doro Pesch paid tribute to legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio by performing a cover version of the DIO classic "Rainbow In The Dark" on Sunday, May 15 at the first annual Vegas Rocks! Hair Metal Awards at the Casablanca Event Center At Eastside Cannery Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was joined on stage by bassist Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO), guitarist Robert Sarzo (HURRICANE), guitarist Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) and drummer Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE). Fan-filme video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Vegas Rocks! Hair Metal Awards featured a special performance at the end of the show by TWISTED SISTER, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with the release of the acclaimed documentary "We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!", a three-CD live set, the release of a memorial concert to their fallen brother A.J. Pero, and a farewell tour titled "40 & F*ck It!"

SCORPIONS made an appearance at the event to receive the "Classic Rock Outstanding Lifetime Achievement" award. In addition, Pesch was presented with the "Metal Goddess" award. Other artists that appeared and were honored/featured included QUIET RIOT, WINGER and ANGEL (full original lineup).

Ronnie James Dio died on May 16, 2010 from gastric cancer at the age of 67.

On June 24, Knoxville, Tennessee death metallers WHITECHAPEL will release their sixth full-length album, "Mark Of The Blade", via Metal Blade Records. According to a press release, the new record "remains true to the band's roots while venturing into previously unexplored territory, both sonically and lyrically."

The song "The Void", taken from "Mark Of The Blade", can be streamed below.

Commented WHITECHAPEL guitarist Alex Wade: "This track is the opener for the record and it sets the pace nicely for the rest of the CD. It's a different sound for us but still heavy and aggressive. As you can see from the title track to this, the dynamic between songs on the album is quite different so we hope the fans enjoy all the new sounds we brought to the table on this record."

Reunited with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CANNIBAL CORPSE), WHITECHAPEL has redefined who they are and what they are capable of with "Mark Of The Blade". Kicking off with "The Void" — which has a SLAYER-esque ferocity that is perfectly suited to the band's three-guitar attack — the songs that follow all leave a distinct impression, and by the time the rich, dark melodies on "Decennium" bring the record to a close, it's impossible to deny the emotional weight brought to bear. "It's the most dynamic record we've done, in the sense that one song can be very aggressive while the next one will be softer and sentimental," Wade asserts. "At this point in our career and as we grow older, we are taking a more open-minded approach to creating our music, allowing what we think sounds good to evolve naturally, rather than to just write what is expected of us."

"Mark Of The Blade" track listing:

01. The Void02. Mark of the Blade03. Elitist Ones04. Bring Me Home05. Tremors06. A Killing Industry07. Tormented08. Brotherhood09. Dwell in the Shadows10. Venomous11. Decennium

WHITECHAPEL is currnetly headlining a U.S. tour with FIT FOR A KING, THE PLOT IN YOU and ENTERPRISE EARTH as support — thus concluding the campaign for 2014's "Our Endless War" (which debuted at No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart). Following that trek, WHITECHAPEL will join ATREYU, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, EVERY TIME I DIE, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, and many more on this year's Vans Warped Tour.

Two legends of rock music, ALICE IN CHAINS (pictured) and Lenny Kravitz, are set to join GUNS N' ROSES on their historic "Not In This Lifetime" tour. ALICE IN CHAINS joins the tour from opening night, Thursday, June 23 in Detroit, Michigan at Ford Field and will perform through the tour's second Chicago date at Soldier Field on Sunday, July 3. Lenny Kravitz will then join the tour from Tuesday, July 19 starting at the first Boston, Massachusetts date at Foxboro Stadium and perform through the tour's second date at East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, July 24.

Demand for tickets to the "Not In This Lifetime" tour continue at an unprecedented pace as additional shows were recently announced, including Chicago (July 3), Boston (July 20), New York City (July 24) and two brand new dates in Los Angeles (August 18 and August 19).

Only singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan from GN'R's "Appetite For Destruction"-era lineup took part in the first Las Vegas gig and the five official reunion shows that followed (one in Las Vegas, Nevada and a pair each in Mexico City and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. They were joined by keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Also appearing with them was second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

For the shows, Rose performed on what was apparently the same custom throne Dave Grohl used last year for FOO FIGHTERS shows after breaking a leg. Rose told the audience before GN'R launched into "Rocket Queen" on April 8: "I wanna thank Dave Grohl for this; it was very nice of him."

GUNS N' ROSES got a reported $8 million for its two appearances at Coachella and will make an average of $2.75 million per show on the "Not In This Lifetime" tour.

Rose launched his stint as guest vocalist with AC/DC on May 7 in Lisbon, Portugal. Axl is also slated to perform ten rescheduled North American shows with AC/DC, with the dates yet to be announced.

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.

Hear "The Absolute Center Of A Pitch Black Heart”, the debut single from the album, 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”

“The Absolute Center Of A Pitch Black Heart”:

Roadrunner Records’ group, The Amity Affliction, have announced details for their new album. This Could Be Heartbreak, the platinum-certified Australian band’s new LP, will arrive on August 12th.

This Could Be Heartbreak is available now for pre-order in a variety of limited edition physical bundles via theamityaffliction.net, with all DSP pre-orders going live Thursday, May 19th at 12 AM, local time. All digital pre-orders will receive an instant download of the album’s gripping first single, “I Bring The Weather With Me”, which debuted today along with the track’s official music video (see below).

Deeply personal and emotionally wrenching, This Could Be Heartbreak is The Amity Affliction’s most transformative and revealing record yet. Recorded by producer and longtime collaborator Will Putney at Melbourne’s Holes and Corners with additional drum tracking done at Sing Sing Studios, the album finds The Amity Affliction evolving their signature powerful and cathartic song craft. Both ambitious and grand, album standouts “This Could Be Heartbreak” and “All Fucked Up” are equal parts heavy and hopeful, fuelled by frontman Joel Birch’s desperation which achieves extraordinary transcendence through radical honesty and absolute power.

This Could Be Heartbreak tracklisting:
 
“I Bring The Weather With Me”
“This Could Be Heartbreak”
“Nightmare”
“Tearing Me Apart”
“O.M.G.I.M.Y.”
“All Fucked Up”
“Fight My Regret”
“Some Friends”
“Wishbone”
“Note To Self”
“Blood In My Mouth”

“I Bring The Weather With Me” video:

 
Furthermore, The Amity Affliction have announced a run of Australian headline shows taking them back to venues they haven’t played in over four years. After a massive arena tour in December 2015, these new dates will see The Amity Affliction getting up close and personal with their Australian fans in smaller and more intimate venues. Tickets for the upcoming dates will only be available for purchase with pre-orders of This Could Be Heartbreak at this location through Sunday, May 22nd with a limited amount of tickets released to the general public the following week.

This summer, The Amity Affliction will head to the UK where they will embark on a series of festival dates and headline shows with highly anticipated sets slated for the United Kingdom’s Slam Dunk Festival and Download Festival. Following the UK run The Amity Affliction will then touch down in the US for a string of stateside festival dates kicking off September 10th at Denver, Colorado’s High Elevation festival. For complete details and ticket information, please see theamityaffliction.net/tour.

Veteran radio personality Jenn Marino, who in 2014 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX:A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx as co-host of "Sixx Sense With Nikki Sixx" and "The Side Show Countdown With Nikki Sixx", conducted an interview with DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan at this year's Welcome To Rockville festival, which was held Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 at Jacksonville, Florida's Metropolitan Park. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On attracting younger fans to their shows after returning from a four-year hiatus:

Dan: "It's amazing to have… I mean, to be off the road for four and a half years and come back and see that next generation of kids… That's some great parenting there. Bringing their kids out to the shows now, and it's a wide demographic of fans that we've kind of developed over the years now."

On the success of DISTURBED's "comeback" album "Immortalized":

Dan: "Hey, you know what? It's great for everybody who's just clawing away, and it's great for rock music to kind of shake things up a bit for everyone; we all win that way. When we're stomping around, making some noise, it's just a reminder to the rest of the world that there's a huge rock fanbase out there. And we may be the black sheep of the music industry, but that's fine. We do our thing. This is a lifestyle-type music; this isn't a trendy thing. I'm not trying to knock all the other genres, but that stuff kind of comes and goes. Rock music, you get lifelong fans out of this genre."

"Immortalized" was released last August and debuted at the top of The Billboard 200 chart. That made it DISTURBED's fifth effort in a row to enter the chart at No. 1, a feat shared only with METALLICA and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND.

Interview (audio):

German speed/power metallers Iron Savior are gearing up for the May 20th release of their new album, Titancraft. The band are streaming the album track “Beyond The Horizon”, which can be found below.

"Under Siege" (intro)
"Titancraft"
"Way Of The Blade"
"Seize The Day"
"Gunsmoke"
"Beyond The Horizon"
"The Sun Won't Rise In Hell"
"Strike Down The Tyranny"
"Brother In Arms"
"R&R Addiction" (limited edition bonus)
"I Surrender"
"Rebellious"
"Protector 2016 (limited edition bonus)

"Beyond The Horizon”:

"Way Of The Blade" video:

Iron Saviour recently announced a string of live dates for Europe and issued an update: "Now it's official: the Savior is about to land in Tokyo for the first time ever! We are proud to announce Iron Savior live in Tokyo on July 12th. Looking forward to this very very much!"

May
26 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo (tbc)

June
18 - Fosser, Norway - Oak Metal Club

July
2 - Hostim, Czech Republic - Rocková
12 - Tokyo, Japan - Tsutaya O-West

September
2 - Berlin, Germany - Blackland
3 - Zgierz, Poland - City of Power Festival
10 - Zollernalb, Germany - Umsonst Und Draußen Festival

December
2 - St. Petersburg, Russia - tba
3 - Moscow, Russia - tba

Iron Savior released their first ever DVD/Live CD Live At The Final Frontier on May 29th, 2015. It includes the recordings of the band's show in their hometown Hamburg (from January 2015) and comes as exclusive DVD/2CD digipak.