Guitar legend Paul Gilbert has released an official video for the lead-off single from his new album, I Can Destroy. The clip for "Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal" was directed by Jonathan Pharr using illustrations from Will Krulee,

From platinum album sales and number one chart success as a founding member of Mr. Big, to frightening the guitar community with new levels of ferocious picking technique with shred-pioneers Racer X, to exploring punk, pop, classical, blues, jazz, and progressive instrumental styles in his solo career, Paul Gilbert has recorded a massive amount of stunning guitar music, all while circling the globe to play sold-out arenas from Japan to Jakarta.

His newest record, I Can Destroy, will be released in North America on May 27th via earMUSIC on CD Jewel and digital.

Gilbert’s style stands out for its rare combination of accuracy, creativity, and power – all which are balanced with Paul’s sense of humour and pure love of music.

Although Paul is best known for his work with Mr. Big and Racer X, he has also toured with Joe Satriani’s G3, played in a host of tribute concerts with legendary drummer Mike Portnoy, and been integral in the design of his signature Ibanez PGM and Fireman guitars.

Paul’s legacy as a guitar instructor began when he was eighteen, when he was hired to teach at Hollywood’s Guitar Institute of Technology. His groundbreaking “Intense Rock” videos and DVDs have inspired legions of guitarists to improve their accuracy, speed, and phrasing. Years as a columnist for Guitar Player magazine, and most recently, Premier Guitar magazine, along with giving countless clinics, private lessons, and serving for five years as the dean of MI Japan, have given Paul Gilbert deep experience in the art of communicating music to all levels of guitarists.

Over 25 years in the music business have only increased Paul’s passion to explore the possibilities of music and the art of playing the guitar. Whether he’s playing to 10,000 fans or jamming one-on-one with a student, Paul Gilbert is living his childhood dream of taking the sounds in his head and bringing them into reality – on the electric guitar.

I Can Destroy is Paul’s next solo-masterpiece and will be his 18th solo album. The album features 13 very diverse rock-tunes. With Kevin Shirley producing, and an amazing band of Freddie Nelson and Tony Spinner on guitars and vocals, Kevin Chown on bass, and Thomas Lang on drums, Paul rocks with more power and emotion than ever before.

Tracklisting:

“Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal”
“I Can Destroy”
“Knocking On A Locked Door”
“One Woman Too Many”
“Woman Stop”
“Gonna Make You Love Me”
“I Am Not The One (Who Wants To Be With You)”
“Blues Just Saving My Life”
“Make It (If We Try)”
“Love We Had”
“I Will Be Remembered”
“Adventure And Trouble”
“Great White Buffalo” (Bonus Track)

Fan-filmed video footage of MEGADETH's April 30 performance at the Fort Rock festival, which was held at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The Threat Is Real02. Hangar 1803. Sweating Bullets04. Trust05. Fatal Illusion06. Symphony Of Destruction07. Dystopia08. Peace Sells09. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

MEGADETH filmed a video for the song "Post American World" late last month. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Dystopia", which came out in January.

"Dystopia" shifted 49,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release. In terms of pure album sales, "Dystopia" opened with 48,000 copies, marking MEGADETH's highest-charting album since 1992's "Countdown To Extinction" debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the chart dated August 1 of that year. "Dystopia" also logged the group's best sales week since 2007, when "United Abominations" landed at No. 8 with first-week sales of 54,000. In addition to guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, MEGADETH's current lineup includes longtime bassist David Ellefson, LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA.

Born Of Fire will pay homage to Kansas with their next release, says band manager Steve Dorssom. The group is currently putting the finishing touches on a tribute cover / remake of Kansas' 1976 classic "Carry On Wayward Son", along with an all new music video to support it. The group's latest release is promised to showcase each member's individual talent as seasoned veterans of metal at the same time staying true to the classic edge of the song. 

Band manager / percussionist Steve Dorssom has roots in Kansas, and the group will be paying homage both to the legendary band and the state with their latest release. Kansas was on the bleeding edge of the genre during its era, so bold and experimental in their music that their sound was essentially prog-rock. Born Of Fire channels this in their music, unflinchingly exploring new ground in the genre.

The music video that's set to be unveiled at the same time as the track's release will feature a one of a kind style of visual artistry that's distinctly modern, while simultaneously possessing a throwback vibe. Best of all, BoF's tribute to "Carry On Wayward Son" will be available for free to fans at the band's official website, BornOfFireUSA.com.

Manager Steve Dorssom promises this latest news is only the tip of the iceberg, and that the band is already in the preliminary stages of writing music for a brand new album. Fans should expect to hear even bigger news from BoF in the very near future.

Listen to the original Kansas version below:

 

 

 

Deathcrown are the new, but very old-school, death metal outfit from Richmond, VA. The band includes veteran skins-basher Ryan Parrish (Iron Reagan, ex-Darkest Hour), and seasoned frontman Mikael Parks (former touring vocalist for Arsis), and is rounded out by a group of equally brutal dudes. Their sound is visceral to the original death metal scenes from both Stockholm, Sweden and Tampa, Florida, while retaining it's own originality and attitude.

These guys are not a group of young kids trying to imitate a long-lost sound. The men of Deathcrown are the genuine article. They were buying records like Entombed's Left Hand Path and Morbid Angel's Blessed Are The Sick at the time of their release. Their bands were opening for Grave and Dismember in the '90s. All they've done here is dig up their own filthy, rotting roots, in order to return to their love of brutal, simple, heavy death metal.

Check out Deathcrown's first digital single, "The Witch Hammer", via the audio player below.. Their debut EP, Living Hell, will be released on June 17th via Primitive Ways Records.

The Witch Hammer by Deathcrown

Deathcrown is:

Mikael Parks - vocals
Jake Vanderband -  guitar
Tommy Gunn - guitar
David James - bass
Ryan Parrish - drums

Visit their official Facebook page for further details.

 

 

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have shot down rumors that they have enlisted CREED singer Scott Stapp as their new frontman.

The speculation about Stapp's involvement with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS began early this morning (Monday, May 2) when Scott gave a radio interview in which he said that he has "been working on a new album with a new group of guys — guys from some pretty well-known rock bands that you guys will know."

After being pressed to share more details about the project, Stapp responded: "I can't tell you 'till later in June, man. [That's when] we'll be making the announcement." He did, however, offer the following hint about his new bandmates' identities: "This other band that I'm jamming with is its own band with its own band name."

Asked point blank if he got the gig as the new lead singer of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, Stapp said: "I can't say, man, I can't say. I can't confirm or deny. [But] I will tell you this: there is a six-degree-separation connection between this new project and the band you mentioned."

After Stapp's comments were published on various music web sites, including BLABBERMOUTH.NET, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS took to their Twitter page to say: "Despite recent comments, Scott Stapp is not, nor has he ever been considered as the singer for STP."

It is now being speculated that Stapp could be the new lead singer for ART OF ANARCHY, the band which released a self-titled debut album last year that featured former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman Scott Weiland alongside bassist John Moyer (DISTURBED) and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES). Thal has stated in recent interviews that ART OF ANARCHY has found a replacement for Weiland, but has not offered any more details about the new singer's identity.

STP recently held open submissions for a new vocalist after singer Chester Bennington exited the lineup in 2015 to focus on his other band, LINKIN PARK.

Weiland, whom STP parted ways with in 2002 and again in 2013, died last December, dashing any hopes that the band might reunite again with him.

Despite recent comments, Scott Stapp is not, nor has he ever been considered as the singer for STP.

— Stone Temple Pilots (@STPBand) May 2, 2016

Planetmosh recently conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. vocalist Udo Dirkschneider. You can now listen to the chat below.

Speaking about his plans for the next U.D.O. album, Udo said: "I think next year, let's say, we start working on the album, I think, the end of January slowly. So then we have to be finished at the latest with everything at the end of May. So and then touring starts next year, September or October. So that means the next year is a little bit of relaxing."

Udo in February embarked on a special DIRKSCHNEIDER tour during which he is performing ACCEPT songs one last time before he closes the chapter for good. He told Planetmosh: "It was not planned to do a long tour like this [playing] the ACCEPT stuff. You know, a lot of people are know coming up [with ideas], 'Ah, we wanna do this and this, and come to America, and you go [do] this and this.' And I said, 'Hello. No. I have to stop somewhere, someday,' and that will be the end of December. [There are] a lot of things coming up [between now and then]. On the 24th [of April] is the last show of the first part [of this tour]. And then we have a little break, and then we go to Israel and to Japan. [After that we will play] summer festivals then also nearly every weekend until the end of August. Then it looks like we have the whole September and maybe the beginning of October, time to relax, and then we start again until the end of the year."

The April 2 DIRKSCHNEIDER concert at Kaminwerk in Memmingen, Germany was professionally filmed and recorded for a DVD and CD release. Udo said: "The DVD will be out maybe already in the middle of October. I don't know yet. The record company is talking about this. But I think it will be October. It's also good promotion for the next part of the tour."

Regarding why he decided to make yet another DVD, Udo said: "In the beginning, I was saying, Ah. Okay.' But then everybody said, 'Hey, c'mon. This is history. You'll never do this again.' I mean, so many ACCEPT songs — only ACCEPT songs. And I said, 'Okay.' And I was talking to the record company. And they are, like, 'Of course you wanna do this.' So I said, 'Okay. Here we go.'"

U.D.O.'s latest studio album, "Decadent", was released in Europe in January 2015 via AFM.

DIRKSCHNEIDER is:

Udo Dirkschneider - lead vocalsFitty Wienhold - bassAndrey Smirnov - guitarKasperi Heikkinen - guitarSven Dirkschneider - drums

Joe Satriani, Chad Smith, Michael Anthony, and Sammy Hagar - collectively known as Chickenfoot - are coming together once again for a very brief reunion. The group will perform on May 7th and May 8th at Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

 

 

The concerts, taking place over Cinco de Mayo weekend, mark their first reunion shows in more than six years. With the Tahoe shows quickly approaching, the boys met up for a quick rehearsal this weekend.

Says the band: “We're all set for the Foot action to begin and can't wait to see you all at Harrah's Lake Tahoe!”

Thus far, Chickenfoot has released two studio albums: their self-titled debut in 2009, followed by Chickenfoot III in 2011.

Legendary Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant surprised an audience in Hereford, England on Saturday (April 30th), reports Hereford Times.

Plant turned up at the Left Bank where Deborah Bonham – sister of the rock band's drummer John Bonham – was performing with her own band. He performed two songs – a Led Zeppelin track with Deborah's band and a cover of “Shakin' All Over” by Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with Deborah – to the delighted audience.

Promoter John Hales, of Porkbelly Promotions and Hereford Rocks, said: "I had a suspicion but nothing had been confirmed. It was something like intuition really, obviously with Deborah being John Bonham's sister and his [Robert’s] living close by.”

Read more at HerefordTimes.com, and check out some fan-filmed video from the performance below:

Italian rocker Pino Scotto (Fire Trails, Vanadium) has released the official video for “The Eagle Scream”, a song dedicated to late Motörhead frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister.

“The Eagle Scream” features Pino Scotto on vocals, Dario "Kappa" Cappanera (Strana Officina) on guitars, Franky Ciccio Li Causi (Negrita) on bass, Rob Iaculli (Exilia) on drums. Additional musicians are Alex Mansi (drums), Dario Bucca (bass) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Edge OF Forever) on keyboards.

The video ends with a photo of Lemmy together with 66-year old Pino Scotto and the message: "Hi Brother, keep a place next to you for me".

“The Eagle Scream” is one of the two previously unreleased tracks featured in the new Scotto album, Live For A Dream, which was released on April 1st via Nadir Music.

Live For A Dream is a live compilation of 16 tracks that showcase Scotto's 40 year career, from the beginnings with Pulsar and Vanadium, to Progetto Sinergia and Fire Trails and his most recent solo career.

The sophomore album from First Signal, entitled One Step Over The Line, will be released on June 3rd. An audio stream of the new song “Love runs Free” can be found below.

In 2010, a marriage made in melodic rock heaven between Canadian singer Harry Hess and producer Dennis Ward launched the First Signal project. The concept developed when Frontiers' President Serafino Perugino presented Hess some melodic rock songs that harkened back to the magic of the early Harem Scarem sound, who at the time were on an artistic hiatus. The project was met with excellent reviews and interest from the melodic rock crowd and even when Harem Scarem re-launched with their album Thirteen (one of their strongest to date), Harry was still wanting to go back and sing some excellent melodic rock songs that he had from various songwriters under a different moniker.

So, the idea of another First Signal album started to float around and with the help of Swedish producer Daniel Flores (Find Me, The Murder of My Sweet, etc.), the new record started to take shape. Once again, the inspiration behind the songs are the first two Harem Scarem albums, two absolute classic melodic rock releases. But once again, we have some new twists and interpretations, with songs covering everything from AOR to arena hard rock.

Harry says, “I am very excited to be a part of the new First Signal release. I was pleasantly surprised with the positive reaction surrounding the first CD, so it was an easy decision to be a part of the new recording. Between Serafino, Daniel and myself we gathered some great songs that I'm sure the AOR fans will love. Daniel Flores did a fabulous job and put in a ton of effort to make this happen. We met many years ago on a writing trip to Sweden where I immediately noticed his work ethic and dedication to making music. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's reaction to the new album on June 3rd!”

Musicians on the album include the outstanding new talent Michael Palace on guitars and bass, Daniel Flores on drums and keyboards, and background vocals from Hess' Harem Scarem bandmate (and Red Dragon Cartel singer) Darren Smith, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Nigel Bailey, Daniel Flores, Rolf Pilotti and Angelica Rylin.

One Step Over The Line tracklisting:

“Love Run Free”
“Love Gets Through”
“Still Pretending”
“Broken”
“Kharma”
“Minute Of Your Time”
“She Is Getting Away”
“December Rain”
“Weigh Me In”
“Pedestal”
“One Step Over The Line”

“Love Run Free”:

“Love Gets Through” lyric video:

Trick Or Treat will release their new album, Rabbits’ Hill Pt. 2, on July 8th. The album artwork and tracklisting can be found below.

Originally formed in 2002 as a Helloween tribute band, Trick Or Treat soon became a popular live attraction in their home country of Italy. After recording their first demo of original material, they were signed by an independent Italian label, Valery Records. In 2006 they released their first full-length album, entitled Evil Needs Candy Too, to critical acclaim. The band then spent the following two years on the road playing over 100 gigs in Europe and the USA. The band released their second album, Tin Soldiers in 2009.

Three years later, 2012 proved to be an important year for Trick Or Treat, firstly because singer Alessandro Conti was chosen by Luca Turilli's Rhapsody to be the lead singer on the album Ascending To Infinity and secondly, the band released their concept album Rabbits' Hill Pt.1, based on Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.

Four years on, the second chapter, Rabbit's Hill Pt. 2 is now finally finished and comes with the news of the band signing a worldwide, multi-album deal with Frontiers Music Srl. The recording sessions for the new album have been the longest the band has ever taken part in and the work with producer Simone Mularoni (DGM) captured all the intricate details of their take on power metal. For this album, the band added huge orchestrations and epic choirs mixed to their usual signature power metal sound, in order to sonically reflect all the epic adventures told through the lyrics. The musical vibes range from acoustic and melodic parts to darker, heavy metal anthems.

Once again on this new album, Trick Or Treat had the honour to work with great international guest musicians and friends like Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica, Sara Squadrani from Ancient Bards and, in the role of the evil general Woundwort, Tim "Ripper" Owen (ex-Judas Priest ex-Yngwie Malmsteen).

Frontman Alessandro Conti on the new album: "After a long time spent on the production of the new album, we can finally confirm the official release date and the last guest singer. In addition to our friends Sara Squadrani and Tim “Ripper” Owens, we're so happy and proud to have our friend Tony Kakko on Rabbit's Hill Pt. 2 is an incredible honor for us! These guests did an amazing job, helping us to capture the perfect atmosphere of the concept taken from Richard Adam's novel Watership Down.

“We are so happy about the final result of our new album and we are excited about the new partnership with Frontiers, one of the most important rock labels in the world! This is really a great moment for Trick Or Treat! So don't miss the new album!!"

Tracklisting:

“Inle' (The Black Rabbit Of Death)”
“Together Again”
“Cloudrider; Efrafa”
“Never Say Goodbye”
“The Great Escape”
“They Must Die”
“Beware The Train”
“United”
“The Showdown”
“Last Breath”

Trick Or Treat is:

Alessandro Conti - Voice
Guido Benedetti - Guitars
Luca Venturelli - Guitars
Leone Villani Conti - Bass
Luca Setti - Drums

Canadian progressive power metal band Scythia will unleash their fourth independent full-length album, Lineage, on May 4th. Pre-orders for Lineage are available now via the band's Bandcamp page. The track “Laugh Of The Tsar” is available for streaming below.

"With Lineage,we feel that we've put our best foot forward and succeeded in delivering a follow-up to that progresses upon what we started with ...Of Conquest," states guitarist and vocalist Dave Khan. "This new one is faster, heavier and SLIGHTLY more serious-toned but also more dynamic and original than its predecessor. This story will take the listener on a sonic voyage through peaks and valleys in true power metal style!"

Although the band self-produced the album, Lineage features engineering from Nino Laurenne (Firewind, Finntroll, Wintersun, Ensiferum) and Lasse Lammert (Alestorm, Gloryhammer, Powerwolf), and mastering from Svante Forsback (Rammstein, Volbeat, Firewind, Apocalyptica). Nino Laurenne is also responsible for mixing duties on the album. Lineage was recorded at LSD Studios in Lubeck, Germany and Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

Lineage tracklisting:

“Eternal Oath”
“Laugh Of The Tsar”
“Barbarian”
“Soldier's Lament”
“Loremaster Pt. I”
“Loremaster Pt. II”
“The Sacrifice”
“Lineage”

“Laugh Of The Tsar”:

“Soldier's Lament” lyric video:

Upcoming Scythia dates include:

May
4 - Calgary, AB - Dicken's Pub -Official Album Release Party (with Thunderstone and Viathyn)
6 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater (with Thunderstone, Titans Eve, Terrifier and Mournir)
7 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room - Shredmonton Festival (with Dying Fetus, Goatwhore, Acacia Strain, Black Crown Initiate and Thunderstone)

August
19 - Edmonton, AB - DV8
25-28 - Valemount, BC - Metalocalypstick Festival

Dave Khan adds, "Scythia is quite excited to tour with their Finnish friends in Thunderstone and feel that Shredmonton is the perfect festival for a CD release tour, given the heavyweight bands on the bill. We plan to complete a broader US tour in October so that we can truly showcase the new album to new and existing fans across the US."

Scythia is:

Dave Khan - Guitars, Vocals
Terry Savage - Bass Guitar, Growls
AJ Bergin - Guitars, Growls/Vocals
Celine Derval - Drums, Vocals

Chicago powerviolence quartet Weekend Nachos have just shared a new song from their final LP, Apology, out May 20th via Relapse. A third new song from the album, "Dust," which features guest vocals from Full of Hell's Dylan Walker, can be heard below.

After having been active for over a decade, Weekend Nachos have decided to call it quits and have honoured their name in the best way possible. Recorded by the band's own Andy Nelson at Bricktop Studios (Lord Mantis, Like Rats, Harms Way), Weekend Nachos' final album Apology is a veritable tornado of grindcore/powerviolence/hardcore savagery. The album thirteen tracks of utter punishment that sees Weekend Nachos sounding more dangerous and urgent than ever before and also features guest vocals from Dylan Walker of Full Of Hell.

Apology is set for release on May 20th via Relapse Records on CD/Digital worldwide. Physical pre-orders are available at Relapse.com here, and digital copies can be pre-ordered via the band's Bandcamp page here. Apology will see an LP release via Deep Six Records - more info will be revealed soon.

Apology tracklisting:

“2015”
“Dust”
“Fake Political Song”
“All”
“Judged”
“Dog Shit Slave”
“Writhe”
“N.A.R.C.”
“POW MIA”
“World Genocide”
“Eulogy”
“Night Plans”
“Apology”

“Dust”:

“Eulogy”:

“Writhe”:

 

Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe joined Westfield Massacre - featuring Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy, Snot) on vocals, and new lead guitarist Ira Black (ex-Lizzy Borden, Metal Church) - in the studio for their collaboration on “Underneath The Skin”, a track from the band’s self-titled debut album, out now via Urban Yeti Records.

Westfield Massacre's debut album debuted at #3 on the iTunes Metal chart this past weekend. Westfield Massacre is an all out brazen assault of unrelenting metallic fury, all backed with some of the most catchy and infectious choruses you will ever hear. If you took Five Finger Death Punch and put them in a blender with classic Pantera and Lamb Of God, then you would have Westfield Massacre.

 

 

The video below for the track “Build Your Thrones” was directed by the renowned Stephen Steelman of Brigantine Films and perfectly captures the band’s live performance ferocity mixed with an eye-popping storyline that will quickly suck you in.

Paradise Lost, the genre-defining British doom metal band, are reissuing their seminal 1992 album Shades Of God on 12" picture disc through Music For Nations on July 22nd.

Frontman Nick Holmes comments, "We recorded Shades Of God in a remote farmhouse near Kettering. It was our first album with Music For Nations and producer Simon Efemy and probably the most memorable recording session we have ever done. For the first three weeks, we had no TV to watch, the Internet of course didn't exist so we had to entertain ourselves with Ouija boards, ghost stories and playing tricks on each other for amusement.

"Musically, I think it's one of our heaviest albums and very different to Gothic, heading in a more doomy direction, really riff orientated with a vocal style that would eventually lead to Icon."

The album, a follow up to 1990's Gothic album, is seen as the moment where Paradise Lost moved towards a more doom-centric sound, while still encompassing a wide range of other musical genres, showing off the band's creativity and inventiveness in forging their own distinct take on doom metal, a style that would be continued on 1993's Icon.

The album also saw the band's initial transition away from using traditional death metal growls by blending them in with clean vocals, and quieter passages at times throughout the record.

Alongside the likes of Katatonia and My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost were one of a number of bands in the 1990s who took their initial doom/death-metal style and gradually moved towards a more melodic, goth-metal sound, with Shades Of God being one of the most important steps in this evolution for the band.

Since their formation in 1988, Paradise Lost have been consistent pioneers in the doom metal genre. Maintaining a key lineup of founding members Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh (lead guitar, keyboards), Aaron Aedy (rhythm guitar) and Steve Edmonson (bass guitar), the band released its fourteenth and most recent album The Plague Within last year.

Pre-order here.

Music For Nations is gearing up to release the critically acclaimed live album, Lamentations, from Swedish progressive rock titans Opeth. Originally released as a DVD, the album will be available for the first time ever on triple heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. The release is out July 22nd, with new album art by longtime visual collaborator Travis Smith. The edition of Lamentations will make a great addition to any Opeth fan's collection.

Label manager Joel De'ath commented, "Those who were at this Opeth show saw the band emerging from their chrysalis to become the force we know today. It'' a pivotal moment in their career and it's been a pleasure to immortalize the recordings onto vinyl."

Lamentations features a live performance of Opeth's Damnation album in full, interspersed with songs from the band's masterpieces Blackwater Park and Deliverance. Conceived and recorded alongside Deliverence, Damnation marked a radical shift in style and tone. The band took the opportunity to move away from their earlier death metal sound and towards a style reminiscent of 1970s progressive rock, taking inspiration from their Blackwater Park collaborator and producer Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree).

Lamentations was recorded live at the prestigious Shepherd's Bush Empire venue, shortly after both albums were released.

Having celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band last year, alonside re-issuing Deliverance and Damnation, Opeth are returning to the live circuit in 2016. The band will be making appearances at an extensive series of European festivals, as well as returning for a headline performance at Wembley Arena on November 19.

Pre-orders are now live via the widget below.

 

 

International progressive metallers Universal Mind Project have released a video for the track “Truth”, featured on The Jaguar Priest, the band’s debut album, out now via Inner Wound Recordings. "Truth" features a guest appearance by Mark Jansen (Epica, Mayan).

The album also includes vocal performances by Nils K Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Charlie Dominici (ex-Dream Theater) and Diego Valdez (Helker) - forming an incredibly powerful team of vocalists, each of whom add their own distinctive style to the songs. The guest musicians that appear on the album are Alessandro Bissa (Vision Divine), Mike LePond (Symphony X), Emanuele Casali (DGM) and Johan Reinholz (Andromeda).

In a mix of perfectly executed modern progressive/power metal combined with the unique diversity of male and female vocals that stylistically spread from lyrical and fragile to soothing and powerful, as well as the use of growl vocals at parts of the record, the debut album The Jaguar Priest encloses a most impressive league of artistic creation.

The artwork for The Jaguar Priest was created by Jan Yrlund (Apocalyptica, Korpiklaaini, Leah). The album was mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni (Ancient Bards, DGM, Vision Divine).

The Jaguar Priest tracklisting:

“Anthem For Freedom”
“Truth”
“The Bargain Of Lost Souls”
“Dreamstate”
“Awakened By The Light (Universal Mind)”
“A World That Burns”
“Seven”
“The Jaguar Priest”
“The Force Of Our Creation”
“Xibalba”

“The Force Of Our Creation” lyric video:

Universal Mind Project is:

Elina Laivera - Vocals
Henrik Båth (Darkwater) - Vocals
Michael Alexander - Guitars, Growls
Alex Landenburg (Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody) - Drums

Former Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss was the "secret act" at the Keep It True Festival 2016 in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany this past weekend, performing a special Manowar set on April 29th. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Back in September 2015, Ross The Boss was featured in an interview with MyGlobalMind.com. In the following excerpt he discusses his time in Manowar.

Q: Talk about you time in Manowar in the early days and the connection with Joey DeMaio.

Ross: “Can I pass on that question, thanks.”

Q: Warp to 1988 around your departure from Manowar, did you have any resentments at that time about how things played out?

Ross: “Right before we released Kings Of Metal I was asked to leave. I didn’t want to, but Joey and the guys were sure that Manowar would be better without me.”

Q: Manowar established this “cult” following in the States, and it has remained to this day. What made the band such an enigmatic name? And what lessons that you learned while in this band have you carried over to Death Dealer?

Ross: “Manowar is an iconic band mainly from those six albums in six years which still hasn’t been topped. What lessons have I learnt? Well, when I see an infection growing I deal with it promptly and wont let it fester.”

Read the complete interview at this location.

“There's No Sanctuary”, the new video from Hortus Animae, can be seen below. The clip is for the title track of their upcoming EP, and features very special guest Liv Kristine.

The EP will be released by Azermedoth Records, in collaboration with BlackHeavens Music, this month in North America, and in Europe in June. The release will come in a digipack CD.

Tracklisting:

“There’s No Sanctuary” (with Liv Kristine)
“Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)”
“Dunkelheit”
“Inno a Satana”
“Pure Fucking Armageddon”
“There’s No Sanctuary” (Martyr Sway mix)
“There’s No Sanctuary” (with Liv Kristine / video edit)

“There’s No Sanctuary” video:

Teaser:

Bay Area thrash legends Death Angel will release their new album, The Evil Divide, on May 27th via Nuclear Blast Records. A fourth promo video for the upcoming release is now available. Check out four parts below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Death Angel recently released a music video for the track "Hatred United / United Hate". The clip was directed and edited by Tommy Jones for Videohammer Studios during the band's recording sessions for The Evil Divide and features renowned tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell. The song also includes a special guest guitar solo from Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA).

Receive the tracks “Hatred United / United Hate”, “Cause For Alarm" and "The Moth" instantly when you pre-order The Evil Divide digitally via iTunes, Amazon and Google. Pre-order various packages for The Evil Divide at this location.

The CD was once again recorded at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, Deicide), who previously worked on 2010's Relentless Retribution and 2013's The Dream Calls For Blood. Mastering duties were handled by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City.

Three decades into their celebrated career, Death Angel remain as hungry as ever. As a result, uncompromising urgency and unpredictability define the Bay Area thrash quintet’s eighth full-length album, The Evil Divide. The group - Mark Osegueda [vocals], Rob Cavestany [lead guitar], Ted Aguilar [guitar], Will Carroll [drums], and Damien Sisson [bass] - satiate the appetite for buzzsaw speed riffs, double bass mayhem, and scorching vocals over the course of ten new anthems.

The album artwork was created by tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell.

"Both Mark and I had been tattooed by Bob, and when the subject of album artwork came up," comments guitarist Rob Cavestaney. "We approached him to create the design. We wanted an image that would represent the idea of The Evil Divide; something beautiful, yet simultaneously wicked, hence the death moth. Bob realized our vision with mere pencil and paper, and now we proudly present to you the cover art for our 8th studio album, The Evil Divide."

Tracklisting:

“The Moth”
“Cause For Alarm”
“Lost”
“Father Of Lies”
“Hell To Pay”
“It Can’t Be This”
“Hatred United / United Hate”
“Breakaway”
“The Electric Cell”
“Let The Pieces Fall”

Bonus:
“Wasteland”

+ “Making Of” DVD

"Cause For Alarm”:

“The Moth”:

Trailers:

Combining elements of technical extreme metal, industrial, and the avant-garde into a whirlwind of bombastic audio atrocities, Skin Drone are set to release debut album, Evocation, on June 14th via Bluntface Records.

The web-based duo of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Erik Martin and multi-instrumentalist/producer Otto Kinzel have created nine songs of genre-defying metal with stories plagued by insanity and darkness on Evocation. Check out the band's brand new video for album track "Death Sentence" below. The tracks "God Complex" and "Witching Hour" are also available for streaming.

Tracklisting:

“Scarlet Road”
“God Complex”
“Death Sentence”
“Shepherd Of The Damned”
“Ghost Reflection”
“City Lights”
“Witching Hour”
“Darkness Within”
“Salvation”

"Death Sentence" video:

"God Complex" / "Witching Hour”:

Evocation by Skin Drone

Pre-order Evocation at this location.

French avant-garde black metallers Glorior Belli will release their new album Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes), on May 6th via Agonia Records. A full album stream can be found below.

"The production is by far one of the best that Glorior Belli ever had”, comments the band. "Drums and bass are absolutely devilish and placed under the spotlight. Everything was recorded, mixed and mastered in our own studios, having an absolute control as usual over the sound. The guitar work overall will bring you back to the origins of Glorior Belli.”

"Conceptually wise, Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) will smother you with darkness and light, both stuffed down your throat with the same rage that could be heard on Glorior Belli's ealier records. When the Night is coming down on you, will you find a way through the dark? A record for the very few of us who truly embrace the desire to break from the cosmic prison.”

Tracklisting:

“Lies-Strangled Skies”
“World So Spurious”
“Rebels In Disguise”
“Thrall Of Illusions”
“Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)”
“Satanists Out of Cosmic Jail”
“Upheaval In Chaos Waters”
“We Whose Glory Was Despised”

Album stream:

“Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)” lyric video:

Formats:
- Jewelcase CD
- Regular black gatefold LP (limited to 200 handnumbered copies)
- Gold gatefold LP (limited to 100 handnumbered copies)
- T-shirt in two different designs
- Digital

Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) is available for pre-orders here.

Steadily climbing the ladder of artistic development, the French band Glorior Belli has developed a very unique sound and image in the often stiff frames found within the black metal genre. While the band's last album Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (2013) was a combination of southern stylistics and crushing heaviness, its upcoming successor Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) will reveal a new chapter in this unusual relationship of genres, only this time, the emphasis is on the black metal side.

The band is led by Infestvvs (aka Billy Bayou), since its inception in Paris in 2002, who currently takes care of all instruments. He is endorsed by Randall Amplifiers and will be accompanied on stage by fellow Luciferian silhouettes known as "The Innominati".

Austin, Texas based traditional heavy metal band Ignitor, featuring vocalist Jason McMaster, will be releasing a new limited edition EP at the 2016 Ragnarokkr festival, to be held in Chicago, Illinois on May 6th - 7th.

Vocalist Jason McMaster has checked in with the following comment: "Ignitor cannot wait to introduce the new line up and play with legendary true metal bands. We are excited about the new material and are giving a peek into our current recordings with a special edition EP exclusive to the festival attendees.

Tracklisting:

“Haunted
“Throw Them From The Cliff”
“No Sanctuary”
“Hung, Drawn & Quartered” (Raven cover)

Upcoming Ignitor shows:

May
6 - Reggie's Rock Club - Ragnarokkr Fest - Chicago, IL
21 - South Austin Brewery - Austin. Texas
31 - Grizzly Hall - Austin, Texas

Dubai-based death/thrash metallers Nervecell have finished writing their new album, stating: "We have 11 songs written for the new Nervecell album. Looking forward to finally record this beast in June. Stay tuned folks, you will not be disappointed!"

In addition, Nervecell have confirmed dates for a tour of Brazil this May and two festival shows in Germany. Their schedule is as follows:

May
6 - Riotous Rhino Mosh Fest - Metzingen, Germany
7 - Bavarian Battle Open Air 2016 - Pfaffing, Germany
12 - Jandira, Brazil - Caveira Velha Rock Bar
13 - Pomerode, Brazil - Vox Club
14 - São Paulo, Brazil - tbc
15 - Uberlandia, Brazil - Valvulado Fest
17 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - tbc
19 - Macapa, Brazil - Green Hall
20 - Parauapebas, Brazil - CDC
21 - Marabá, Brazil - Disel 
22 - Bragança, Brazil - Tentáculos Festival

In a brand new interview with SF Weekly, SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt was asked about the band's motive for covering a lot of violent, dark topics in its lyrics, like murder, necrophilia, Satanism, Nazism, and terrorism. He said: "People in bands such as SLAYER and my other band EXODUS get asked that all the time. But it's like no one really questions when you see these same topics in movies and are bombarded by them on a day to day basis on the news. Maybe it's because they feel music glorifies and everyone else reports. But I think in our own musical way that's all any of us are doing as well: just reporting. And obviously there's flights of fantasy mixed in with all the stuff. But it's music. If you took the SLAYER classic 'Angel Of Death' and removed the lyrics and changed it to 'angel of life,' it just wouldn't work. It wouldn't have quite the same impact. Like our songs about Josef Mengele. If you made it about Mother Teresa, it wouldn't quite work."

Holt also talked the accusations of white supremacy and Nazism that have been leveled against SLAYER. He said: "I think that's one of the most ridiculous things when people say that. [Late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman] was a big World War II historian and Jeff wrote all those songs. I'm old enough to remember when the History channel showed nothing but shows on history and then it was basically Adolf Hitler all day long. But if someone writes a song about it, it's like all of a sudden, whoever wrote it is obviously a Nazi sympathizer, which is so untrue. It's a history lesson. You're covering dark subject matter and you're looking for something that you find twisted enough to go with the riffs you're writing for the song. You know, you can make a movie about it and it'll win an Oscar, but a band writes it and all the sudden they're Nazi sympathizers. I always found that to be completely ridiculous."

Holt, who is still a member of San Francisco Bay Area thrash icons EXODUS, has been the touring guitarist for SLAYER since January 2011 when Jeff Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Holt did not contribute to the songwriting process on SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", although he did lay down guitar solos on most of the album's twelve tracks.

Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

Kazagastão conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna during the band's recent tour of South America with IRON MAIDEN. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his exit from ANTHRAX in 1992 before officially rejoining the band in 2010, Joey said: "It's sucky that I was gone for that long, you know what I mean? I never understand that. It does bother me [that I was fired], even today, 'cause… We didn't miss a beat and I think we would have done… I can't imagine what we could have done along the way. No offense to anything else, but I just didn't see any reason for it."

Asked if he has heard any material ANTHRAX recorded with singer John Bush during the time Belladonna was away from the band, Joey said: "I don't listen to it. I have no interest in it. I don't know… Something about it. It doesn't really appeal to me, for some reason. I mean, I enjoy that they play the way they do and everything, I just never… I never was interested in it. It wasn't anything against [Bush] at all."

Although Joey did perform the John Bush-era song "Only" live with ANTHRAX on a couple of occasions, the track has since been dropped from the band's set. "We've got enough songs [that were originally recorded with me on vocals]," Joey explained. "We don't even do [all the songs] we should… We've got all these other songs we could play. But now we've got new stuff, so now we've gotta try to fit in four or five brand new songs."

He continued: "I always like to look at it like… I remember when [Sammy] Hagar came in [after joining VAN HALEN], he had to do the old stuff. But when [David Lee] Roth came back, he wasn't gonna touch anything, even though he probably would have a hard time doing it. So we've got enough material; I don't need to go back. I'd just as soon leave that alone. I mean, once in a while I get people complaining, and then after a while, it got really old too. I hate that whole thing, 'cause we're not even the same… We happened to be in the same band, but it's a completely different thing. And who's judging? What's the deal with that? To think that what he was doing, that he could have done what I did in the beginning, I don't believe that."

Joey went on to say that he dislikes being compared to any other other ANTHRAX singers. "That's what I hate about the whole thing," he said. "I hate that there was even anybody else in there that I have to… But now I just don't care about it — I really don't — 'cause I can't. To me, it's just a bunch of hype. It sucked in the beginning; it really did."

Belladonna, whose most recent return to ANTHRAX was officially announced in May 2010, was originally the lead singer of ANTHRAX from 1984 to 1992, and was considered part of the band's classic lineup (alongside Dan Spitz, Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante), which reunited and toured during 2005 and 2006. His voice was featured on over 10 albums, which reportedly sold eight million copies worldwide.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", came out on February 26 via Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe.

David Ellefson spoke to Greensboro.com about the attempted reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup prior to he making of the band's latest album, "Dystopia". Ellefson and MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine tried to re-team with drummer Nick Menza and guitarist Marty Friedman for a new album and tour, but instead ended up recording the LP with MEGADETH's latest additions, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA, and LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler.

"There was always this calling from our fans to revisit the 'Rust In Peace' lineup, which we had all moved on from, including those former members," Ellefson said. "So, we all had a meeting. Had a discussion. We even did a little bit of playing together. And we realized that it would be better to remain friends and leave that legacy sit as the heroic memory that it is in the minds of so many of our fans. It was clear — the past is the past. We're going to let that truly rest in peace, if you will. No pun intended."

He added: "What's really cool about 'Dystopia' is that fans used to always clamor for things of the past. Those days seem to be over. I think we finally transitioned past that. MEGADETH has been reborn."

Ellefson also praised Adler, who came into MEGADETH as a lifelong fan.

"He got to have his fan boy moment, saying, 'Man, I listened to the ['So Far, So Good ... So What!') cassette so much, I wore it out!'" Ellefson said. "And I think a lot of fans are thinking Chris might come in and bring his LAMB OF GOD sensibilities into MEGADETH ... and that's not easy, because artists always bring with them their own signature sound. And I think what you hear on 'Dystopia' is you hear Chris Adler being a phenomenal MEGADETH drummer."

Mustaine had previously said that the planned reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup failed to materialize for a number of reasons, including a difference in vision for the group's new music. He said: "Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?' So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

Menza claimed in a 2015 interview that "Rust In Peace" lineup reunion fell apart because Mustaine "didn't wanna show me any love at all."

The drummer said that he was approached by Mustaine and Ellefson to replace Shawn Drover at the end of 2014, and that he had started working out new tracks with the band. But the plan collapsed after he was offered a contract he described as "very unfair."

Speaking to Canadian journalist Mitch Lafon, Nick said: "I tried to make it happen by all my means and efforts, I tried to make it go down, but they just didn't wanna show me any love at all, is really what it boils down. You know, I don't need to do this. I wanted to."

He went on to say: "We should have done an album this time. I was ready. I was out there recording with Dave, new songs, and we played a bunch of old songs for a weekend in San Diego, and then no agreement was put on the table for me — nothing in writing. I'm, like, 'Dude, I'm not coming back until you give me a contract and some kind of agreement here.' And they wouldn't produce that. So… If you don't wanna split the profits with me on the tour, forget it. I've got other stuff I can do that's more exciting to me."

American progressive power metal legends FATES WARNING celebrated the 30th anniversary of their "Awaken The Guardian" album with an exclusive headlining live appearance at the 2016 edition of the Keep It True festival on April 30 in Lauda-Konigshofen, Germany. The band — in its original "Awaken The Guardian" lineup, featuring John Arch (vocals), Jim Matheos (guitar), Frank Aresti (guitar), Joe DiBiase (bass) and Steve Zimmerman (drums) — played the complete LP, as well as other songs from the Arch era of FATES WARNING. This was an exclusive European show and the first time FATES WARNING performed an old-school set with Arch on vocals.

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

Metal Blade Records in 2005 released an expanded edition of the "Awaken the Guardian" album. The three-disc set — consisting of two CDs and one DVD — included remastered versions of the album's original eight tracks, a complete CD of live and demo tracks, and a DVD featuring live footage from 1986.

In a 1995 interview, Arch stated about the songwriting process for "Awaken The Guardian": "The music came first and we'd work on that music until it really got flowing. Sometimes Jim would write parts that were designed for a lead and I would listen to it and say, 'Y'know, Jim, I think I could write something vocally really nice over that.' He would give me that part and then he would write a lead part, so we had spare parts filed, who knows what, where we would put the songs together and they started to flow, and then the lyrics came in and then the song would sort of inspire me. I'd lay back, y'know, 12:30, 1 o'clock in the morning with the headphones on, over and over again, I'd just close my eyes and use my imagination, and, before you know it, I had kind of a theme or a topic to write around. And I'd have one line... the first line, of course, was always the hardest, and once you get past... and I always wanted to have something from beginning to end, a complete message and a complete thought, and I'd do my damndest to fit it all in! That's why it seems so busy; there was so much crammed into one song just because of the way we wrote. That's why it would be hard for me today to write anything where I would just sit down and just write lyrics and then write music around it. That would be ass-backwards compared to what it used to be like."

The "Awaken The Guardian" lineup of FATES WARNING will also perform at the sold-out ProgPower USA festival in early September.