"This album is certainly the darkest album I've ever recorded", states Bloody Hammers mastermind Anders Manga, who stays on the dark path to the nether world and opens the seven gates with Lovely Sort Of Death. Today Bloody Hammers unveils the album artwork, tracklisting and release date of their upcoming album.

Lovely Sort Of Death tracklisting:

“Bloodletting On The Kiss”
“Lights Come Alive”
“The Reaper Comes”
“Messalina”
“Infinite Gaze To The Sun”
“Stoke The Fire”
“Ether”
“Shadow Out Of Time”
“Astral Traveler”
“Catastrophe”
 
Deluxe Edition Bonus CD:
“Altar Of Fear”
“The Shrine”
“Halloween”
“At Dawn They Sleep”

Fomats:

Limited 4 Panel Digipack CD
1LP Gatefold edition
Strictly Limited 4 Page Digipack & Bonus CD - 300 worldwide
Strictly Limited 1LP Gatefold & Bonus CD - 200 worldwide

Lovely Sort Of Death will be released on August 5th via Napalm Records.

Anders Manga on Lovely Sort Of Death: "We live high on a mountain with a steep treacherous driveway so when any snowfall happens, we're stuck for days. Luckily, as a result of all the isolation, my songwriting mood ended up much more on the darker side than previous records. The songs are heavy, but not always heavy. I wanted to create more atmosphere than before. It's a stylistically varied record, which I'm very proud of. I used the Moog more on this album, which blends well with the heavy guitar fuzz tones. It's definitely my favourite album so far in every way."

Bloody Hammers are a duo who hail from the mountains of Transylvania County, NC. The project and first self-titled release was originally formed as a studio only project with vocalist/songwriter, Anders Manga producing and recording all instruments. Soon Anders decided to take the project from the studio to a real band by recruiting his wife Devallia to play keyboards and other local musicians for live shows.

In late 2013 Anders was approached by one of Europe's largest rock and metal labels, Napalm Records. In 2014 Napalm released Bloody Hammers' third official album titled Under Satan's Sun. Through the snowy winter of 2015, Anders began writing again, but this time took a much darker and atmospheric direction. For the first time he added thick Moog sounds along with his normal fuzzed-out guitar, with more atmospheric keys provided by Devallia. They emerged from the winter with Lovely Sort Of Death, their darkest album yet.

Cadaveric Poison, the old school death/thrash metal project featuring members of Master (Paul Speckmann) and Witchburner (Simon Seegel and Felix Darnieder), will release their self-titled debut album on April 29th via Metal On Metal Records. A lyric video for the track “Bombs Away”, as well as a new promo clip, can be found below.

Tracklisting:

“Cadaveric”
“The Few”
“Rollover”
“Fight For Evil”
“Forfeit The Race”
“Never Put All Your Stones In One Basket”
“Face The Whore”
“Bombs Away”
“Violence Breeds Violence”
“Poison”

“Bombs Away” lyric video:

Promo clip:

“The Few”:

Rudra, Singapore's unholy kings and the true pioneers of Vedic metal, have announced details of their upcoming eighth album. The extreme metal veterans are on the verge of celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band. Their upcoming eighth album is said to be the band's most aggressive release so far.

Rudra’s eighth album is now officially titled Enemy Of Duality. Front man Kathir Aryaputra says, "The whole album is based on a Sanskrit text called Mandukya Karikas. The text takes a radical stand on non-duality. So we coupled that philosophy with Extreme Metal. Hence, we thought Enemy Of Duality could be the best suitable title for this album.”

Further more, guitarist Vinod adds, "This is probably the first album where we have introduced numerous instruments such as Digeridoo, Sitar, Tabla etc., for various tracks in this album. A lot of time and thought has been put in each track, hence it took a lot of effort to get the right tone for all the instruments during the recording stage.”

Studio footage of Rudra's drummer recording for the eighth album can be seen below. Stay tuned for more details, coming soon.

 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee has listed his Calabasas, California home for $5.99 million.

Official description of the house courtesy of Rodeo Realty: "Unique celebrity-owned view property with recording studio in a guard-gated community of Calabasas. This custom estate has panoramic jetliner views of the valley and is perched on its own hilltop in a cul-de-sac enclave w/other custom homes. The main house is almost 10,000 square feet with a subterranean (approximately 3000 square feet) garage, of which approximately 2000 sqft. now houses a state-of-the-art recording studio with control and two live rooms. This property features an Atrium in the middle of the home with retractable roof, and sprawling bamboo that sets the tone for a very serene zen-like feel to the open floor plan. Additional features of the home include indoor koi pond, indoor spa, wood-beamed ceilings, home theater, wine room with secondnd kitchen, separate bar area, five bedrooms, including stunning master retreat with views, six baths, library/office, two fireplaces, piano shaped swimming pool with spa. All this just up the street from Calabasas country club which features a championship golf course."

Check out photos of the property at this location.

Lee sold his last house, in nearby Malibu, in late 2004 for $2,475,000, according to public records. Lee had paid $800,000 in 1995 for that 7,462-square-foot house on 2.49 acres. The house had made the news back in 2001 when a four-year-old boy died after accidentally drowning in the house's swimming pool during a birthday party.

Selling your home may be the most stressful shit EVER! Who wants it?

— T❍mmy L33 (@MrTommyLand) April 13, 2016

"X", a brand new song from HELLYEAH, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's fifth album, "Unden!able", which will be released on June 3 via Eleven Seven Music.

The band gave fans the first taste of "Unden!able" with lead single "Human", which was welcomed by fans who are embracing the band's return to form with more than three hundred thousand views on YouTube after two months.

"Unden!able" marks the first time HELLYEAH's current lineup — vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Tom Maxwell and Christian Brady, drummer Vinnie Paul and bassist Kyle Sanders — has recorded together as a unit, promising a very special return to their true metal roots.

HELLYEAH's official video for "Human", which is due out very soon, was filmed in Los Angeles under the direction of Robert Sexton, who also helmed clips for "Hush" and "Moth", both Top 10 singles from 2014's critically acclaimed "Blood For Blood" album.

"Unden!able" was produced in Las Vegas at The Hideout Recording Studio by Kevin Churko (PAPA ROACH, ROB ZOMBIE), and showcases everything that the band’s fans have come to know and love in a more focused, concise, and powerful sound, with Churko co-writing all songs.

The album art by William Felch and Chad Gray features a predatory, gleaming eye with an exclamation point pupil — the ultimate signifier of what’s inside: anger, pain and a hyper-focused, high octane, heavy metal collection for the ages.

Maxwell offered: "There's a lot of new stuff coming out that we've never tried before, and a lot of heavy shit… It's gonna be moody, it's gonna be dark, it's gonna be crushing, it's gonna be heartbreaking, it's gonna be everything. So it's going to be a proper take-off from our last record, but with a lot of new surprises, musically and lyrically. We are moving forward with the path that we've taken with 'Blood For Blood'. It's a really, really savage album, and we’re really excited for fans to hear it."

"Unden!able" will be available just in time for HELLYEAH's upcoming "Hell Pop Tour" with IN THIS MOMENT, which starts on June 18 in Des Moines, Iowa. This run will follow HELLYEAH's "We're All In This Together" headlining tour which also features ESCAPE THE FATE, NEW YEARS DAY and FROM ASHES TO NEW, kicking off May 2 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Fans who purchase tickets from participating venues for the "We're All In This Together" tour receive a free tour eight-track sampler — comprised of two songs from each band, including "Human".

"Unden!able" track listing:

01. !02. X03. Scratch A Lie04. Be Unden!able05. Human06. Leap of Faith07. Blood Plague08. I Don't Care Anymore09. Live Or Die10. Love Falls11. 10-3412. STARTARIOT13. Grave

Iconic rockers SCORPIONS will hit the road in May for twelve North American headlining dates with Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD, sitting in on drums. Dee will be filling in for James Kottak, who is currently on break while he seeks medical attention.

Swedish-born Mikkey Dee joined MOTÖRHEAD in 1992 and is well-respected among the rock and metal community. SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine states: "We would like to continue our 'Return To Forever' tour with James, but we have to realize that his health is priority. We wish James a speedy recovery and he will be back to rock you later in the fall! We look forward to seeing all our fans this month."

SCORPIONS kick off the 2016 U.S. leg with twelve dates in May beginning at Carolina Rebellion in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 6. The run includes a Las Vegas residency.

Kottak rejoined the SCORPIONS on the road in November 2014, eight months after he spent a month in a Dubai, United Arab Emirates jail in April for insulting Islam.

Kottak, who had been receiving treatment for alcohol abuse, released a statement in June 2014 in which he said "this entire incident caused me to realize that it is time to stop drinking once and for all so that I can become the father, musician, and friend that I know I can be."

For some of SCORPIONS' 2014 concerts, Swedish drummer Johan Franzon filled in for Kottak.

Because of his arrest, Kottak did not perform with his bandmates at the April 5, 2014 show at the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and was replaced at the gig by Mark Cross (TAINTED NATION, FIREWIND, OUTLOUD, HELLOWEEN, METALLIUM).

SCORPIONS vocalist Klaus Meine told the SCORPIONS French fan club Crazyscorps in October 2014 about Kottak: "With James, you know, when he went through this unfortunate incident in Dubai, we said, 'At this point, it's good if you take a break. Not so much for us, but for yourself. And not so much being the drummer of the SCORPIONS, but for yourself being a family man. And you should go into rehab and don't think about anything else but just try to clean out yourself and come back the same James we know for so many years that's been not only our drummer, but also our friend, and a great guy.' So, giving him that time, we played this whole stretch of shows with a great Swedish drummer, Johan Franzon. And now, of course, we want James back, and we said to him, 'The door is open for you to come back. But first, it's up to you, and you have to take care about yourself, take it serious, go through a serious rehab, and then the door will be open for you.'"

Dee was originally scheduled to play drums for THIN LIZZY on the latter band's forthcoming anniversary shows planned for 2016 and 2017 but recently bowed out of the dates. He has since been replaced in that group's touring lineup by JUDAS PRIEST's Scott Travis.

Sweden’s The Order Of Israfel will unleash their second studio album, The Red Robes,  on May 27th via Napalm Records. A music video for the track “Von Sturmer” can be seen below:

The album will be available as 6-page digipack with bonus DVD, as well as 2LP Gatefold edition with bonus DVD.

Tracklisting:

“Staff In The Sand”
“The Red Robes”
“In Thrall To The Sorceress”
“Swords To The Sky”
“Von Sturmer”
“Fallen Children”
“A Shadow In The Hills”
“The Thirst”

Bonus DVD: Live At Sweden Rock Festival 2015

“The Noctuus”
“The Earth Will Deliver What Heaven Desires”
“On Black Wings, A Demon”
“Promises Made To The Earth”
“Wisdom/Morning Sun” (Satanas)

DVD trailer:

After excessively touring with their recent album Berlin in 2015, Kadavar has cooked up a new and exciting project for 2016, to keep them and their followers busy during the winter-break. Together with long-time friend and collaborator Nathini van der Meer , who has created artwork and videos for them in the past, they are working on their first "Visual Album"- 12 short films accompanying each of the albums' songs, to be released once a month throughout the entirety of the year.

Check out a new video for the Berlin album track “Filthy Illusion”, streaming below:

A video for “Pale Blue Eyes” can be seen below:

Kadavar recently teamed up with Scion A/V Metal and Skybound Entertainment (The Walking Dead, Outcast) to release "Words Of Evil," a brand new, unreleased song.

Commented Kadavar singer Lupus: "Originally we had written the song for our album Berlin, but thought it would stick out too much and decided not to put it on the album. Nevertheless I think it is one of the best songs we've ever written. At least it is one of my faves. A lot of NWOHBM and straight to your face!"

Download the track via the Soundcloud player below:

"Screaming Mad" Dee Calhoun, the voice of doom legends Iron Man, will issue his debut solo release, Rotgut, on June 6th via Argonauta Records on CD/DD. A music video for the album’s title track is streaming below.

Rotgut was recorded at Dee's home studio, The Dustbuster, in Frederick Maryland. Mastering was done in nearby Thurmont Maryland, by Doug Benson at Commodore Recording Studio. The album cover is based upon a concept by Dee Calhoun, and photographed by Jaki Cunha.

Rotgut tracklisting:
 
“Unapologetic”
“Rotgut”
“Not Everyone Wins A Prize”
“Little 'Houn, Daddy 'Houn” (featuring Rob Calhoun)
“Babelkowa”
“Backstabbed In Backwater”
“The Train Back Home”
“Sincerely Yours”
“Deifendör”
“Cast Out The Crow”
“Winter: A Dirge”
“At Long Day's End”

“Rotgut” video:

Teaser:

MOTÖRHEAD has dismissed as a "lie" BLACK STONE CHERRY bassist Jon Lahwon's claim that he was offered cocaine by late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy and other members of the MOTÖRHEAD camp when the two bands toured together more than six years ago.

Asked by Sweden's RockSverige.se if he had any good Lemmy stories from BLACK STONE CHERRY's 2009 tour with MOTÖRHEAD and whether he had a chance to sit down and talk to the iconic MOTÖRHEAD rocker, Jon said: "Not at a length, no. But we did meet him and did speak with him. The funniest thing from the whole tour was [that] all of them — not just Lemmy, [but] all of them — would offer us whisky and coke every day. Not whisky and [Coca-Cola], but whisky and cocaine. They would offer it to us, like, every day, and we were, like, 'Well, we can get down with the whisky, but the cocaine, we're all right.' But it was every day that they would offer it to us, and it was, like, every day we'd tell 'em that no, we didn't [do cocaine], and we got the same speech every day: 'Wow! We can't believe you're in rock and roll and don't do cocaine.' And we were, like, 'We just talked about this yesterday.' They didn't remember. They just didn't realize they had just said the same thing to us the day before."

A day after the above quote was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, the administrator of MOTÖRHEAD's Facebook page posted a link to the article and added the following message: "Mikkey [Dee, MOTÖRHEAD drummer] has never done drugs. The only coke Lemmy loved went in his Jack Daniel's.

"Sad to see people the band helped lie.

"An apology would be the decent thing..."

BLACK STONE CHERRY has since taken to Facebook to respond to the criticism the band has received for its bassist's allegedly faulty memory. The group wrote: "For the record, we LOVE and RESPECT MOTÖRHEAD 100%. We have nothing bad to say about them whatsoever. Gotta love how publications take something you say lightly and run with it."

Dee was reluctant to discuss Lemmy's drug use when asked about it by Sweden Rock Magazine during a recent interview. He said: "I don't know if I want to sit here and say what he was and wasn't doing. I can say this: he quit doing everything for quite a long while, because he was actually shocked when he became ill [in 2013]. I just know that he told me: 'The day you try drugs, you're fucking fired.' [Laughs] I've never tried drugs. I drink my beer, but he made sure that I would never try drugs. If I'd done that, the whole thing would've crashed."

BLACK STONE CHERRY's fifth studio album, "Kentucky", was released on April 1 via Mascot Label Group.

In a brand new interview with Syracuse.com, Joe Perry was asked if there will be another album and tour from AEROSMITH at some point in the not-too-distant future. He said: "We go through a cycle. We'll make a record, and then we tour behind it..."

"Everybody wants to do another AEROSMITH record, but I really can't say when it's going to be or when the next big tour will be."

AEROSMITH briefly toured last year but hasn't released a studio album since 2012.

Despite what Steven Tyler hinted at earlier this month, Perry said that AEROSMITH has not yet decided on whether its next major tour will be a farewell trek. While on hiatus, the band members have been keeping busy with solo projects — Perry will be hitting the road with his star-studded side project HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Matt Sorum, and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bassist Robert DeLeo. AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford has joined forces once again with Derek St. Holmes for 19-date spring and summer run, while Steven Tyler puts the finishing touches on his debut solo album.

Perry spoke frankly about the state of AEROSMITH today, admitting to Rolling Stone: "A farewell tour is something we've talked about doing for years, let's say roughly in the last five years. It's just something the band's talked about at various times. At this point, the five of us have never sat down and said, 'It's time to do it.' So 'considering' is an appropriate word for that statement. A farewell tour is definitely not confirmed."

Perry spoke about the band gravitating towards working on their own in 2016: "It's very rare you get this much time, considering the way we've always been on the road or been in the studio doing whatever, so it's been a good time to do some of these other projects. Steven has been off working really hard on his solo thing. I know it's something he's always wanted to do. He puts so much into AEROSMITH, he's never really given himself the time to do this, so it's worked out really well for him. I don't really hear from him much but I wouldn't expect that I would considering he's working on a record and doing gigs and the whole thing. But when things start gearing up, we start rehearsing for the South American tour, I'm sure we'll start forming a plan for the next year or two or whatever."

Perry said that although AEROSMITH splitting isn't something he's looking forward to, he feels that the band is nearing the end. "It's getting to be about that time, but I'm really looking forward to the VAMPIRES thing," he said. "And I know Brad's doing stuff with Derek and they're buddies from way back. Everybody's got stuff that they're doing, so it's kind of up the middle. It's inevitable that once we get back together I'll be ready to play 'Dream On' again."

Legendary musician Prince was found unresponsive on the morning of Thursday, April 21st at his home at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, a Minneapolis suburb, and later declared dead. The Grammy/Oscar/Golden Globe winning artist was 57.

According to Billboard, Prince’s legendary song "Purple Rain" might not have happened without a little cooperation from the members of Journey.

Singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain tells Billboard that he was notified in early 1984 that Prince wanted to speak with him. Curious, Cain went to Columbia Records' offices in Los Angeles and took a call from Prince, who told Cain, "I want to play something for you, and I want you to check it out. The chord changes are close to “Faithfully”” - a top 20 single from Journey's 1983 album Frontiers - "and I don't want you to sue me." After listening, Cain says, "I thought it was an amazing tune, and I told him, 'Man, I'm just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you're that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it's gonna be a hit.' And it was “Purple Rain”.”

The two songs definitely share more than just similar chords, including the wordless outer vocals and the tone of the guitar solos. "Prince felt, I guess, it was obvious enough that he was worried we were going to sue him," Journey guitarist Neal Schon recalls. "I think he called our office asking about it and we all talked about it and everybody said, 'Nah, it's the highest form of flattery. Let it go.'"

 But Cain never had a moment's second thought about even asking for a co-writing credit on the anthem. "No, no, that'll just bring bad juju on you, and you don't want to do that," Cain says. "I just thought it seriously showed the kind of caring, classy guy Prince was. He wanted to check in with Jonathan Cain and make sure I wasn't going to say, 'That sounds like "Faithfully”.’ There's so many other things that have come down the pike that were more of a rip-off, that have stolen Journey songs. There was a One Direction song I was upset about and I just let it roll. But that particular phone call [from Prince] was amazing."

Read the full story at Billboard.com.

 

To celebrate Record Store Day on April 16th, Metallica invited members of their Fan Club and some old friends from back in the day to Rasputin Music for a little gig. Videos for all songs that the band performed can be seen below.

The show is available to download from Live Metallica.

Setlist:

“Helpless”
“Hit The Lights”
“The Four Horsemen”
“Ride The Lightning”
Kirk Solo
“Fade To Black”
“Jump In The Fire”
“For Whom The Bell Tolls”
“Creeping Death”
“Metal Militia”

Fly on the wall footage shot by the MetOnTour reporter at Rasputin Music can be see below. Footage includes a loose, unplanned jam on "Helpless”, a ripping performance of "Jump In The Fire" and a bit from the after party at the old El Cerrito Metalli-mansion.

On August 20th, Metallica will headline the first rock concert at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the new home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. They are currently in the studio working on a new album.

Swedish riff lords GRAND MAGUS will release their eighth studio album, "Sword Songs", on May 13 through Nuclear Blast. The cover artwork for the CD was created by acclaimed artist Anthony Roberts.

The song "Forged In Iron - Crowned In Steel", taken from "Sword Songs", can be streamed below.

GRAND MAGUS vocalist Janne "J.B." Christofferson commented: "We put all of our sweat, blood and tears into this new album and I think that you can hear that. For me, 'Sword Songs' is the best GRAND MAGUS album ever! The new songs are faster and more aggressive than on 'Triumph And Power', and we have also included some more extreme and harder stuff. I'm convinced that there are some future classics on the disc!"

"Sword Songs" was produced by Nico Elgstrand at Studio Supa in Stockholm, Sweden. Guitars, vocals and bass were recorded at Studio Supa while the drums were laid down with Roberto Laghi at Top Floor Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden. The album was mixed by Roberto Laghi (Oral Majority Records, Gothenburg) and mastered by Svante Forsbäck (Chartmakers, Helsinki).

"Sword Songs" track listing:

01. Freja's Choice02. Varangian03. Forged In Iron - Crowned In Steel04. Born For Battle (Black Dog Of Brocéliande)05. Master Of The Land06. Last One To Fall07. Frost And Fire08. Hugr09. Everyday There's A Battle To Fight

Bonus Tracks (digipak only)

10. In For The Kill11. Stormbringer (DEEP PURPLE cover)

German speed/power metallers Iron Savior are gearing up for the May 20th release of their new album, Titancraft. The band have released a music video for the album track “Way Of The Blade”, which can be seen 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)

"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.

Frontiers Music Srl will release JORN's new album, "Heavy Rock Radio", on June 3.

One of the greatest rock singers of our time, Jorn Lande returns with a unique album of covers of classics from artists and bands that have meant something special to him, and helped forge this talented man's own unique style.

The official video for Jorn's version of "I Know There's Something Going On", which was originally recorded by former ABBA member Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, can be seen below.

Through Jorn's extensive career, which includes more than 40 albums of mostly original songs, he has also recorded great versions of several rock classics such as THIN LIZZY's "Are You Ready", UFO's "On And On", DEEP PURPLE's "Perfect Strangers", and many more. Jorn also recorded a successful Ronnie James Dio tribute album, released in 2010. Every song JORN covers is treated with the utmost respect and "Jorn-ized" accordingly. A good example is his heavy sounding version of "I Walk Alone", first released by Tarja Turunen (ex-NIGHTWISH).

"Heavy Rock Radio" is not an ordinary album of cover songs; it is truly a songbook of hits. Featured — among others — are great versions of the EAGLES' "Hotel California" and Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", which gets the Jorn style treatment to become very powerful and epic, without losing its commercial touch. More great classics included are John Farnham's "You're The Voice", QUEEN's "Killer Queen", and two absolute melodic rock evergreen gems in JOURNEY's "Don't Stop Believin'" and FOREIGNER's "Rev On The Red Line".

The original concept of the album was to create a sort of jukebox of radio hits, but to avoid leaning too much on the pop side of rock, JORN decided to blend the track listing with a few more up tempo rock tracks as well, such as "The Final Frontier" by IRON MAIDEN ("probably the closest you get to anything commercial with IRON MAIDEN," says Jorn), "Live To Win" by Paul Stanley (a song which was also featured on the popular television series "South Park"), and a few hard rock classics show up as well from DEEP PURPLE ("Stormbringer"), DIO ("Rainbow In The Dark") and BLACK SABBATH ("Die Young") to complete the mix.

Jorn says: "The most important thing was to treat these songs with respect towards the original versions. My goal was always to think that the original artist would be honored and find my version relevant. At the same time, my intention was never to try to compete with the original song and artist, but make it a strong alternative version to enjoy. At the same time, it is a well-deserved homage to these artists and bands who influenced me strongly, and I have wanted to record these songs for quite some time but was always too busy writing and recording my own songs to make it happen. Originally, I had a list of 40-50 songs I wanted to do, but I had to strip it down to about 15 songs before deciding on the final tracklist. This means that there are some unfinished business musically, and I will most likely record more of these songs in the future."

Since releasing the critically acclaimed Dracula "Swing Of Death" album last year, Jorn has also been working on an album of brand new songs, which will be the follow-up to the 2013 JORN album "Traveller", to be released in early 2017.

Jorn's catalogue is getting too long to include in brief press statements, and his innovative and creative skills have led to him selling millions of albums worldwide and being a frequent entry on sales charts around the world, including Billboard. Worth a mention is his years with MASTERPLAN, with whom he recorded three albums. Claimed to be the biggest selling Norwegian musical export, since the pop band A-HA, Jorn continues his rock crusade, and there are no signs of him slowing down yet.

The title "Heavy Rock Radio" came quite naturally, as the sound of this album feels like if it's tailor made for any rock radio station, and while Jorn's voice can be enjoyed on more than 40 albums in different rock and metal styles, this record is a special treat which will tide over all the fans waiting for the new original album which is being worked on at the moment.

"Heavy Rock Radio" track listing includes:

01. I Know There's Something Going On02. Running Up That Hill03. Rev On The Red Line04. You're The Voice05. Live To Win06. Don't Stop Believin'07. Killer Queen08. Hotel California09. Rainbow In The Dark10. The Final Frontier11. Stormbringer12. Die Young

Recording lineup:

Jorn Lande: VocalsTrond Holter: GuitarFrancesco Iovino: DrumsThomas Bekkevold: BassAlessandro Del Vecchio: Keyboards

Except as follows:

"Rainbow in the Dark"

Jimmy Iversen and Tore Moren - guitarNic Angileri - bassWilly Bendiksen - drums

"Stormbringer"

Jorn Viggo Lofstad - guitarSid Ringsby - bassWilly Bendiksen - drums

Swedish vintage style hard rock pioneers Spiritual Beggars have just wrapped up a European tour in support of their recently released 9th studio album, Sunrise To Sundown, and are now debuting a video clip for the song "Hard Road".

Filmed & edited by Dirk Behlau and produced by Beastwood Films, the clip consists of footage gathered on the band's latest European tour and highlights the band's vivid on stage character.

Guitarist and main songwriter Michael Amott comments: "We just completed a three week tour through Europe and it was a very cool experience. Lots of love from our supporters out there and so awesome to see the new songs off our Sunrise To Sundown album go down so well! We had videographer Dirk Behlau come out to a couple shows in Germany to hang out, drink beer with us and capture some of the on and off stage action on camera - the result is a new clip for the song "Hard Road"... Enjoy!"

Next up, Spiritual Beggars are performing at Desertfest in Berlin, Germany this weekend and have also announced a rare hometown show in Halmstad, Sweden. They will also play this year's Stoned From The Underground festival.

Here is an overview of the band's upcoming shows:

April
28 - Berlin, Germany - Desertfest

July
7 - Ballenstedt, Germany - Rock Harz Open Air
8 - Oulu, Finland - Jalometalli Metal Music Festival
15 - Erfurt, Germany - Stoned From The Underground Festival
22 - Halmstad, Sweden - Kajskjulet

On May 30th, Spiritual Beggars are back with a new 7" vinyl featuring two classic cover versions, previously only available on the Ltd. Mediabook Sunrise To Sundown.

Limited up to 450 copies: 80 on brown / 150 on green and 220 on black vinyl.

Tracklist:
Side A: “Thumbsucker” (Mountain cover)
Side B: “Stoned Woman” (Ten Years After cover)

Thumbsucker/Stoned Woman (H42-032) by Spiritual Beggars

Hamilton, New Zealand-based rock/metal act, Devilskin, will release their new single “Never See The Light” on June 10th following their first ever UK tour.

“Never See The Light” is a rollercoaster of a tune, the powerful driving bass riff at the beginning is portent to the emotive power the song has. It’s truculent, compelling and gripping. The message and the emotion behind “Never See The Light”  is very dear to Devilskin’s hearts.

Following the empowerment and self-belief of the last single “Start A Revolution”, “Never See The Light” is more an introspective reflection of loss and love.
Jennie wrote the lyrics after their dear friend Shoki Kamishima, who played bass in a band they knew, took his own life. New Zealand immigration service wouldn’t acknowledge his talents as being crucial or viable to his continuing stay in NZ with his band. He got deported and sadly took his own life.

Devilskin wanted the video to have a fun theme and lighthearted moments to honour the sort of person Shoki was. Produced by the band the video was filmed in a local nightclub, with fans invited to be part of the audience, donning crazy and weird masks and costumes to great effect.

Both “Never See The Light” and “Start A Revolution” are taken from the band’s debut album, We Rise. The album debuted at #1 in New Zealand and became the first album since 2010 by a domestic rock band to achieve Platinum status, while the critics have lauded its UK release.

We Rise has now been in the Top 20 NZ Albums chart for 93 weeks while the video for “We Rise”, have amassed over in excess of 1.8 million views on YouTube.

The four piece Devilskin hail from Hamilton, New Zealand and comprise of the mesmerizing Jennie Skulander on vocals, the red bearded ‘evil twins’ Nail and Paul Martin on guitars and Nic Martin on drums. Devilskin have already earned a formidable reputation by earnestly demonstrating commitment to unpretentious musical values: writing songs that have depth and passion, and a relentless touring schedule. In 2015 Devilskin supported Mötley Crüe, Slash and Alice Cooper in New Zealand. Their tactical instrumental attack is balanced by the seductive Jennie Skulander and her incredible voice that sweeps from whisper to roar, rips with power, drips with melody and captivates with sincerity.

Devilskin’s irresistible We Rise is at times visceral, urgent and magniloquent but is also tempered with tenderness, empathy, love and bare souls. “We Rise is a roller coaster of emotions and moods, just like life”, enthuses Paul Martin. “There’s definitely power and there’s definitely passion. The songs are very real, and brutally honest, just like our live show.”

Musically twisted and possessed We Rise combines gorgeous melodies of heavy, bombastic rifts, with streamlined hard rock anthems aimed squarely at the arena circuit, no one else does it better right now.

Devilskin are currently mixing their new album and plan to return to the UK and Europe later this year.

Deadlock frontwoman Sabine Scherer took a break during her maternity leave, and has now decided to leave the band completely to have more time for her family and her two children.

But no need to worry! With Margie Gerlitz Deadlock have found the perfect replacement and now Margie has joined as a permanent singer of the band. Her work as a vocal coach ties in perfectly with the quality and inventiveness of Sabine, without sounding like a simple copy. Deadlock have risen from the ashes, scarred, but with their heads held high, fully fuelled with new strength and their well-known passion.

Songwriter Sebastian Reichl on the lineup change: “I am extremely thankful for everything Sabine did for this band and I am happy that she issued the blessing to Margie. She is a fantastic singer, performer and she fits perfectly with the team. Please welcome the great Margie Gerlitz as the new female singer of Deadlock.

Margie Gerlitz states: “I'm very happy to have the chance to join Deadlock on the female vocals. Sabine and the boys formed a great band over the past years and I'm happy to be a part of it from now on. I'm looking forward to the future!”

Sabine has released a special farewell video for her fans and supporters. Keep your eyes and ears open, as this video includes a first audio sample with Margie as well.

Finnish cinematic metal band Dark Sarah is working on a new album called The Puzzle. A new teaser featuring snippets of the new songs "Island In The Mist", "Little Men", "For The Birds" and "Deep And Deeper" can be found below:

The Puzzle will continue Dark Sarah's story forward from the point where the debut album, Behind The Black Veil, left it. The band recently released an official video for the new song "Little Men" which can be viewed below.

Dark Sarah has launched a crowdfunding page to support the completion of The Puzzle.

The concept of Dark Sarah is built around a story about a young woman called Sarah and her fight against her evil side persona Dark Sarah.  Dark Sarah´s music combines elements of film music, metal music, music theater and opera.

 

 

The Puzzle begins... "The Evil Tree had broken into pieces and Dark Sarah´s soul with it. She did not die, but was left in a loop between two worlds, between life and death. She was sent down to the River of Death to drift along the streams and she ended up on an island in the middle of a mighty ocean. She woke up on the shores of that misty island. It was a magical rocky island, the rocks were black and they sparkled like covered by millions of diamonds in the endless night.  Sharp cliffs and huge statues painted the dark sky, the ocean was wild on its shores.

Dark Sarah felt the air in her lungs -  she was alive after all. She felt the strength coming back to her limbs, she got up and started to explore the island. She found a cave and went in. There she saw a light twinkling in the back of the cave and move towards it slowly. She looked through the small hole and saw something... and was mesmerized."

Check out a previously posted trailer for the new album:

Jon Lawhon, the bassist of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY, recently spoke to Sweden's RockSverige.se about his band's experience of playing with MOTÖRHEAD back in 2009. He said: "We toured with MOTÖRHEAD in Germany in the winter time. It was just cold and wet. Beautiful country, but terrible time of the year to be there. We toured with them through one of the hardest seasons and they were always fantastic to us."

He continued: "We did meet Lemmy and spoke with him and the funniest thing from the whole tour was that all of them would offer us whisky and coke every day. Not [Coca-Cola], but cocaine. We were, like, 'We can get down with the whisky, but with the cocaine, we're all right.' But it was every day that they would offer it to us, and every day we told them, and got the same speech every day: 'Can't believe you're in rock and roll and don't do cocaine.' And we were just, like, 'We just talked about this yesterday.' [Laughs] They just didn't realize they had just said the same thing to us the day before. [Laughs]"

Lawhon added: "Everything you imagined Lemmy to be and MOTÖRHEAD to be, they were. He called you a jackass in a heartbeat. [Laughs] He didn't care and he had no remorse whatsoever. We tried to be as PC as possible, but we eventually got tired of that. [Laughs]

"We've always considered ourselves like the southern rock MOTÖRHEAD, because we won our fans the same way they won theirs. Just be honest, play the live show, don't suck. If you suck, you lose fans, so we work really hard trying to make our live shows as good as possible."

BLACK STONE CHERRY's fifth studio album, "Kentucky", was released on April 1 via Mascot Label Group. The CD was recorded at Barrick Recording in Glasgow, Kentucky. Taking a "back-to-the-roots" approach, the effort was produced in the same way and same place as BLACK STONE CHERRY's eponymous debut album.

Seb Di Gatto of "The Metal Gods Meltdown" recently conducted an interview with TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.

Asked if TWISTED SISTED has ever dabbled in devil worship, as they were accused of doing at the height of the 1980s phenomenon now referred to as the "Satanic Panic," French said: "It's almost comical. We never, ever did anything — not only from a religious standpoint, but from a drug standpoint, alcohol standpoint."

He continued: "You know, we were just a business. TWISTED SISTER was a band built on a business, and all the rest of it is just a bunch of peripheral nonsense. Now, you take all of this and manipulate it because it's good for the image, sure. But does KISS stand for 'Kids In Satan's Service'? Or did JUDAS PRIEST sell their souls to the devil?I mean, c'mon. It's all just a bunch of nonsense. And to the extent where bands can use it for publicity, it's great, but I have never… Not only have I never had a conversation with a single musician — ever — having to do with Satanic rituals vis-à-vis rock and roll, I can tell you that in the five years that TWISTED SISTER was touring around the world with every major band you can imagine, I was only offered drugs one time backstage by a roadie of a band."

The guitarist went on to say: "Now, I'm not gonna tell you that there's not drugs around, but what I'm saying to you is it never came into our view at all ever. Our reputation was that we were straight, [and] no one bothered us. But we were just working guys. And by the way, just about every band that's successful — KISS, [IRON], MAIDEN, PRIEST — these are hard-working guys. Well, they are; they just play rock and roll. They're just hard-working, very talented people whose mission was to become rock stars; they loved the idea. And maybe Lemmy [MOTÖRHEAD], you could say, lived a certain kind of life… emblematic of a certain kind of rock, maybe Lemmy you can throw in there. But other than that, I never saw any of it."

TWISTED SISTER is playing a number of shows this year as part of its final tour, dubbed "Forty and F**k It",.

Most of TWISTED SISTER shows in 2016 are featuring the core lineup of Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Mark Mendoza (bass) and Eddie Ojeda (guitar), along with drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, ex-DREAM THEATER).

TWISTED SISTER's movie, "We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!", was released on February 23 on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, and digital formats, with an included two hours of bonus material and director commentary.

"We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!" is a 134-minute documentary film by Andrew Horn. The film follows the band from their beginnings as a cross-dressing glam band playing four shows a night, six nights a week in New Jersey bowling alleys and Long Island beach bars, to the suburban mega-clubs of the late '70s and early '80s, to their bust-out appearance on the U.K. rock TV show "The Tube".

During a brand new interview with Billboard.com, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach — who has toured with Axl Rose a number of times — was asked if the GUNS N' ROSES frontman's reunion with Slash surprised him. He responded: "Yes. Yes, it did. But I always thought that if you can go through my interviews and bullshit, all of the animosity from Axl towards Slash or anybody else in GUNS N' ROSES, he would hang out and we would drink a lot of booze and talk about bullshit, this and that, but at the end of every single night going into the early morning or late afternoon [laughs], he would always say, 'But Baz, never say never.' He would always end the night with a 'but you never can tell, you know, maybe someday.' One part of me was surprised and the other part was not surprised."

Back in 2011, Bach told the QMI Agency about the GUNS 'N ROSES singer: "Axl is one of a kind. I was too young to ever see THE DOORS but when I see old footage of Jim Morrison on stage, Axl has that kind of danger thing going on when he steps up to the mic. He's pretty fascinating."

He also spoke about his first meeting with Axl Rose back in 1989 when SKID ROW was opening for AEROSMITH at the L.A. Forum. He said: "Axl came down to do the song 'Train Kept A Rollin'' with Steven Tyler and he didn't know the words, and he came to my dressing room and he goes, 'Do you know the words to this?' and I go, 'Yes, I do!' So I sat down there with him. That was a crazy night."

In anticipation of his upcoming book, "18 And Life On Skid Row", Bach will embark on a U.S. spring tour that will incorporate an intimate acoustic set followed by a full electric live show. The tour kicks off on April 27 in Jacksonville, Florida and wraps up in Salt Lake City on June 3. Bach's upcoming memoir "18 And Life On Skid Row" is now set for a June 28 release through Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Conflux (aka The Conflux Collective) has released a teaser/studio video for their upcoming EP, The Inception which is due out on May 3rd. The teaser shows behind the scenes studio footage from the recording session of The Inception and features the song “The Keepers Of Light” with Akurion/ex-Cryptopsy singer Mike DiSalvo providing vocals.

“From the start we wanted to include contributions from other members. Then we got the idea of making it a sort of club where all the members can contribute their original ideas, voices and tone, and individual expression,” commented Tommy Mckinnonon the synergetic nature of the project. “Associations like this in Metal are somewhat rare, but they're even rarer in death metal.”

Chase Fraser adds, "The Conflux collective is definitely an ambitious experiment and we couldn't be happier with the results so far. We're looking forward to sharing what we've been working on and can't wait to record the full length later this year."

The Conflux collective is:
Chase Fraser (Continuum, ex-Animosity, Decrepit Birth)
Tommy Mckinnon (Akurion/Neuraxis)
Mike DiSalvo (Akurion/ex-Cryptopsy)
Derek Engmann (Cattle Decapitation)
Elliot Desgagnes (Beneath The Massacre)
Eran Segal (ex-Aborted)
Matt Mcgachy (Cryptopsy)
Hugo Doyon Karout (Beyond Creation)

Teaser:

"Lucid Hallucinations":

The Inception was mixed and mastered by Chris Bradley (Beneath The Massacre) and Stefano Morabito.

Wisconsin blackened doom metallists' Bereft have announced plans to enter the studio in early May to begin recording material for their debut full-length release, expected out later this fall via Prosthetic Records. 

Consisting of Zach Johnson and Alex Linden on guitars/vocals and bassist Cade Gentry, will make the trek to Backroom Studios in Dover, NJ to begin tracking with producer Kevin Atlassian (Dillinger Escape Plan) on May 17th. The trio have also enlisted drummer Michael Kadnar (Downfall of Gaia, Black Table) to lend a hand in the studio while they continue their search for a full-time drummer. 

Gentry commented, "We're beyond excited to be working with Michael and Kevin and to finally get these songs recorded. This record will be heavier, louder, and bigger and we can't wait for everyone to hear these songs."

Bereft's previous EP, Lost Ages was released by War Crime/Silent Pendulum Recordings. The band has since then been seen across the US playing with acts including Agalloch, Gloom, Downfall Of Gaia, So Hideous and North.

Australia's Sticks For Stones recently conducted an interview with METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On which band was formed first — METALLICA or METAL CHURCH: Kurdt: "[It's] hard to say. METALLICA didn't exist when I was trying to put METAL CHURCH together. And Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] stopped in San Francisco to visit friends, and that's where I met him, I've known Lars longer than he's known James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. So... I don't know. It's hard to say. I mean, we were all on the same page. We were all trying to do the same thing, and we were all kind of going in the same direction. He had to move to L.A to go live with his dad, so we never played together or anything, but that's where we became friends."

On whether METAL CHURCH or METALLICA started using the fast, "thrash"-style riffing first:

Kurdt: "I absolutely think we were just on the same page mentally. I mean, there's a lot of people that were. We were all kind of the same age, so we had the same likes in music that we grew up with — the early '70s rock and all that kind of stuff. And then the punk influence started, so we all kind of… We didn't discuss it. It was just kind of a weird, natural progression for all of us. Nobody did it first or last or second, or we weren't competing with each other. This [was] just kind of the pervasive mentality [at that time]."

On whether METAL CHURCH was influenced by the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) bands of the late '70s and early '80s:

Kurdt: "Oh, absolutely. That totally did [influence us]. That had just about everything to do with it. It's, like, we wanted to do that, and that's just where it all started. It's, like, combining the energy and the attitude of punk, but more musical skill. And [I was, like], 'Oh, boy! I'm into that.' 'Cause I was doing the punk rock thing, and that was a lot of fun, and I still liked that, but it didn't have the musicality that I was aspiring to. So [IRON] MAIDEN comes along, and SAXON comes along, and I'm like, 'Oh, boy! Here we go.'… It was a whole new thing, and we felt like we were part of a whole new movement. And it was really exciting; it was really exciting to be part of that."

METAL CHURCH's new album, "XI", debuted at No. 57 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 11,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31.

"XI", was released on March 25 via Rat Pak Records. Produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof and co-produced by Chris "The Wizard" Collier, the band's eleventh studio release also marks the return of legendary vocalist and frontman Mike Howe.

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

"When in Vancouver, Devin Townsend picked me up and we were able to spend some hours together. This shot was taken at this extraordinary little bird sanctuary he took me to. It's always so good to connect with him. And wait until you hear the work that he did on my new record, Modern Primitive, that comes out this summer. The song is called 'The Lost Chord' and his work on it is truly brilliant. It's way out there and I'm very excited for you to hear it."

In 1993, Vai conscripted then unknown singer Devin Townsend for his Sex & Religion album and subsequent tour. Townsend went on to launch Strapping Young Lad in 1994 and carve out his own legendary career in the years that followed.

Vai recently spoke with Metallus.it about the 25th anniversary of his classic Passion And Warfare album. To commemorate the release, Vai and Sony Records will issue a 25th-anniversary edition of Passion And Warfare that includes an entire bonus album, which Vai calls "the missing link between Flex-Able and Passion and Warfare."

The full statement from Vai courtesy of Metallus.it and picked up by Guitar World:

"What I’m working right now as we speak, is the 25th anniversary release of Passion And Warfare and in this release I’m putting an extra CD with material that’s never been released. But it’s music the I’ve either recorded or written in between Flex-Able and Passion And Warfare because, if you’re familiar with Flex-Able, it’s a very strange record: I’ve recorded it when I was 20 years old; and if you listen to Passion And Warfare it seems a completely different guy. So what happened in between? Where’s the missing link?

This record that I’m calling Modern Primitive will be in this Passion And Warfare release. It’s really amazing, ‘cause I’ve so much material. Seven or eight songs are already tracked and they just need a couple of finishing touches, then I’m gonna have the old band get together that I had back then just to lay down some other tracks we used to perform in that period. So it’s new music and frankly it’s turning out to be one of my favorite records."

The term “supergroup” gets thrown around on a regular basis these days, however, a new tour featuring some of the greatest guitarists of all time is about to truly give the term a whole new meaning. Introducing: Generation Axe, featuring Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, and Tosin Abasi.

On April 27th, Lita Ford, Halestorm and support artist Dorothy Martin played to a sold out Webster Hall in New York City. Fan-filmed video of Lita, Halestorm vocalist Lzzy Hale, and Dorthy performing The Runaways' classic "Cherry Bomb" is available below. In addition, footage of Lita and Lzzy performing "Close My Eyes Forever" on the night can also be viewed.

Lita Ford released her latest album Time Capsule via SPV/Steamhammer on April 15th. Check out the album track “Killing Kind”, streaming below.

The very special and unusual recording turns back the clock to a time when honest, down-to-earth rock music was still handmade and recorded without digital tricks and contraptions. Time Capsule is a "throwback" record that boasts identifiable voices and brilliant players jamming without any planning or pressure. Some of the album`s highlights: Billy Sheehan (bass), Rodger Carter (drums), Dave Navarro (mandolin), Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander (backing vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass). The first single, "Rotten To The Core" is streaming below and features KISS' Gene Simmons on bass, former KISS axeman Bruce Kulick on guitar and Rodger Carter on drums.

Time Capsule contains ten songs plus an intro and will be available as a digipak as well as an LP version and download. It's Ford's gift to fans who love the ´80s, when thrilling vocal performances, raunchy riffs, and loud, growling guitars were as essential as oxygen. Time Capsule is available for pre-order via the Amazon widget below.

Time Capsule tracklisting:

“Intro”
“Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight”
“Killing Kind”
“War Of The Angels”
“Black Leather Heart”
“Rotten to the Core”
“Little Wing”
“On The Fast Track”
“King Of The Wild Wind”
“Mr. Corruption”
“Anything For The Thrill”

“Killing Kind”:

In support of Time Capsule, Lita Ford is on tour with Halestorm providing direct support on their North American tour. Select headline dates and festival appearances have also been added. A complete list of dates can be found below.

April (with Halestorm):
29 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theater
30 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room

May
27 - Madison, WI - BratFest**

June
18 - Springfield, MA - MassMutual Center (w/ Bret Michaels, Ratt, Warrant, Trixter)**

* Headline Show
** Festival Appearance