Historical Italian psycho-thrash metal band, Schizo, have released a teaser video for their new album, Rotten Spiral, set to be released on March 25th via Punishment 18 Records.

The band recorded at New Sound Studio under the attentive guide of Tommy Vetterli (Coroner), who will also guest on the album. Artwork by Daniele Cascone.

Tracklisting:

“Leaders Of Deception”
“Skeptic Flesh”
“Neurotic Propaganda”
“Rotten Spiral” (feat. Tommy Vetterli)
“Deathwire”
“Freikorps”
“Hysterical God”
“Final Warning”

Teaser:

“Rotten Spiral” lyric video:

The Rotten Spiral release party will take place at Circolo Colony in Brescia, Italy on April 23rd. Many surprises are planned for the night.



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Lionheart, the 2004 album by the legendary stalwarts of the original NWOBHM, Saxon, will be presented on a truly stunning picture disc for the first time for Record Store Day 2016. The record will be imited to 1,500 copies worldwide. Check out an unboxing video below.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Witchfinder General”
“Man And Machine”
“The Return”
“Lionheart”
“Beyond The Grave”
“Justice”

Side B
“To Live By The Sword”
“Jack Tars”
“English Man O’War”
“Searching For Atlantis”
“Flying On The Edge”

Record Store Day takes places on Saturday, April 16, 2016 and this special release will only be available at participating independent record stores. To find your local store visit RecordStoreDay.com.



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Brisbane, Australia’s Caligula's Horse have released a new music video, for the track “Turntail”, featured on the band’s third record, Bloom, released through InsideOutMusic last October.

Filmed at GC Studios on the Gold Coast, Caligula's Horse further collaborated with one of Australia's most promising video clip filmmakers in Adrian Goleby, who also worked on the band's videos for “A Gift To Afterthought” and “Firelight”. The aim was to create a video that was uplifting, but also one that conveyed a strong political message.
 
In “Turntail”, a dancer is brightly coloured but trapped in darkness by an external force, and her own fear. She grasps her restraints, fighting against them, and learns to control and harness that fear. The colour gradually returns to her as she stands against the outside force, free and powerful.
 
“Turntail” has a message of rebellion, of fighting for freedom, of standing your ground against an oppressor. In Australia, we are engaging in an act of utter cowardice by our treatment of refugees. This is a song of courage, and the most courageous act in a time like this is compassion.
 
Caligula's Horse frontman, Jim Grey says of the video: ““Turntail” is exactly what Caligula's Horse is about - It's powerful, energetic, melodic and forthright - this is a song about taking a stand, about fighting for freedom in whatever way you can. Considering the atrocious political climate in Australia and worldwide, I don't think we could be releasing this single at a more appropriate time."

Watch the new video below.

Bloom tracklisting:
 
“Bloom”
“Marigold”
“Firelight”
“Dragonfly”
“Rust”
“Turntail”
“Daughter Of The Mountain”
“Undergrowth”

“Turntail” video:

“Firelight” video:

Trailer:

 
Bloom follows 2011's debut Moments From Ephemeral City, and 2013's dark narrative concept album The Tide, The Thief & River's End.

"Bloom is very special to all of us - it's an album full of colour and life, vibrancy and energy, but one that breathes in and out with a natural ebb and flow," says lead vocalist Jim Grey. "It's exactly what we hoped to achieve with Caligula's Horse. To us, this album has a life of its own."

The band posted a special video message, telling you a little bit about the album and introducing the band:



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"Kumari Kandam", a brand new song from French modern metallers ETHS, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. The track is taken from the band's forthcoming album, "Ankaa", which will be released on April 22 via Season Of Mist.

ETHS guitarist Staif Bihl comments: "I am glad to introduce a third new track from our forthcoming album.

"The lyrics of 'Kumari Kandam' were written by me with the help of my friend Faustine Berardo (LA NÉBULEUSE D’HIMA), who is also singing some parts of this song together with Sarah Layssac of ARKAN.

"Kumari Kandam is a legendary continent that is said to be lying at the bottom of the sea south of the Indian subcontinent. The lyrics deal with human civilizations, and how they vanished due to force of nature or just of their own doing — as a warning for future generations. Of course, this story also applies to our own civilization, which seems to be working as hard as possible speed up its own downfall."

"Ankaa" track listing:

01. Nefas02. Nihil Sine Causa03. Amaterasu04. Seditio05. Nixi Dii06. Vae Victis07. HAR108. Sekhet Aaru09. Kumari Kandam10. Alnitak11. Alnilam12. Mintaka

The album can be pre-ordered at this location.

"Ankaa" manages to keep the essence of ETHS, guided by mastermind and guitarist Staif Bihl, who also produced the album. Yet with new frontwoman Rachel Aspe and other changes in the lineup, there are new elements in the sound of the French act. The new album sounds more diverse and generally a touch darker. Electronic patterns find as easily a fitting place as a beautiful Arabic chant by guest vocalist Sarah Layssac (ARKAN). For this recording, SOILWORK drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren stepped in and delivered a massive yet intricate pounding.

ETHS in 2014 released an EP, "Ex Umbra In Solem", with its new vocalist, Rachel Aspe. The EP's title track was a new song recorded, produced and mixed by ETHS guitarist Staif Bihl. It was backed by three classic ETHS tracks, recorded live on October 24, 2013 at the Divan du Monde in Paris, mixed by Nikhertz at Studio Phantom. Last but not least, the EP included three songs from the "III" album, re-recorded with Rachel's vocals.

ETHS in 2012 recruited Virginie Goncalves (KELLS) and Nelly Wood-Hasselhoff to handle lead vocals at the group's shows following the departure of Candice Clot.

Aspe made headlines in France in November 2012 when she performed the SYBREED song "Emma-0" on an episode of "La France À Un Incroyable Talent", the French reality television series which is part of the global British "Got Talent" franchise. Her death metal vocal styling stunned the judges and crowd before going viral and being seen by millions of people.

"It has always been my goal to be part of a band," Aspe told Rock Overdose. "One of the reasons I went to this TV show was to find one. [The show] was [taped] three months before I met ETHS, and [it originally aired shortly] after Candice left the band. So things came very fast for me. I had a job and it was hard to work on my vocals so quickly. I didn’t expect this success for the video; many bands contacted me, I did some [guest appearances] since that. People are continuing to share and comment on it."

Clot played her final show as a member of ETHS on October 13, 2012 at L'Arcade in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, France.

ETHS is:

Staif Bihl: guitarRachel Aspe: vocalsDamien Rivoal: bassR.U.L.: drums (live)Dirk Verbeuren: drums (album)

Photo credit: Nicolas Delpierre

Earlier this month, Vorterix radio conducted an interview with bassist Steve Harris of British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN prior to the band's concerts in Argentina. A few excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET from audio kindly provided to this site by Catalina Bonadeo of Vorterix).

On how he feels when he looks back on IRON MAIDEN's career:

Steve: "I tend not to look too much back; I tend to look forward. So, I suppose, I know, I've had probably most of my life, and there's less going forwards than there is going back, but I prefer to look in the future. But, yeah, I mean, yeah, we've had a fantastic career, so if it ended tomorrow, it's been amazing, and I can live with that. But, obviously, we'd like to carry on longer, so hopefully we can carry on a bit more."

On whether he still has any goals he wants to achieve with IRON MAIDEN:

Steve: "Yeah, I think we still wanna make at least one more album, and we still wanna do some more touring. We're enjoying ourselves at the moment. We're just really happy to be here [after] what happened with Bruce [Dickinson, IRON MAIDEN singer] and everything, so it's just a privilege to play and just to be here. 'Cause a year ago, we didn't even know if we were gonna be able to tour anymore. So it's just a pleasure to be on stage."

On whether Bruce Dickinson's cancer battle made him think about a possible end to IRON MAIDEN:

Steve: "Yeah, I mean, I think at this stage of our career, I really don't think we would have looked to another singer, that's for sure. We didn't even consider it. I mean, there's no point. We can't really replace Bruce anyway, so we wouldn't try at this stage in our career, I don't think so. But, thank God, we didn't need to, and he's fine. The main thing is that he's okay, and he is okay. But the second thing is, obviously, now we can tour and we can make albums, and I'm sure he's gonna be fine in the future. So, you know, he seems really well, and he's singing well, so… Thank God that we are still together."

On whether he has ever imagined his life without IRON MAIDEN:

Steve: "Well, you know, you have to… I think you have to kind of get your head used to the fact that some day it's gonna happen. I mean, it took me a long while to realize that I wasn't gonna play football on a regular basis anymore. I still play once in a while, but that took me a long while to adjust. And I think, obviously, with the band, it's gonna be even worse, so I'm not looking forward to that. But, you know, you just have and try and focus and do other things, so you have your mind on something else."

On whether it's easier to compose a song that is, let's say, twelve or fourteen minutes long, than a song that has a running time of only five minutes:

Steve: "Well, these days I seem to be having problems writing anything [of] five minutes [in length] — I don't know — so the answer to that at the moment is that it's easier to write long ones, I suppose… I don't know… I don't really time 'em. I mean, I'd like to write more songs, and write more songs on my own too. And I've still got loads of ideas — too many ideas, probably — but I think that's a nice problem to have. I'd rather have that problem than run out of ideas."

On how he picks which other members of IRON MAIDEN to write songs with, when he is not composing alone:

Steve: "It depends. I think sometimes it just depends on who's available and who's ready to do stuff. I think usually Adrian [Smith, guitar] is usually ready first with some stuff, and so I tend to go to him first. Obviously, with Janick [Gers, guitar], and then just take it from there, really. And Davey [Murray, guitar] will come in with something towards the end sometimes — or not, as the case may be — and then I'll work with him. But I enjoy working with all of 'em. It means that I go in a different direction with stuff, because it's not something that I would necessarily come up with myself in the first place. And that's the way it's been going the last three or four albums — certainly since Adrian's come back — just because there's been lots of ideas. But that doesn't mean I haven't got my ideas of my own — I've got loads of ideas of my own. I'm not frustrated about that, because I think it's important that the band goes in different directions, and so I think what has been done has been the right thing to do. That's what I felt was the gut instinct was the right thing to do. If I thought the material of theirs wasn't strong enough, then I'd tell 'em. But it is what it is, and I think it's been good [getting] different directions happening. So, I don't know… We'll see what happens in the future, and if everyone carries on writing. The good thing is, if they dry up, I've got loads of ideas, so it's not gonna be a problem."

On whether he composes all the songs on the bass:

Steve: "On the bass, yeah. I mean, there's only been a couple of songs over the years I wrote on an acoustic guitar, really. I mean, the first one, really, was 'Strange World'. I wrote 'Prodigal Son' off the second album on an acoustic guitar — some of it, anyway — so it's pretty unusual for me to write on an acoustic. Usually I write on a bass. Sometimes I write on an acoustic bass, but always the bass, yeah — well, these days, anyway."

On what the benefit is of writing songs on a bass as opposed to a guitar:

Steve: "I think I just have a different style, and when I write on a bass, it's different to what someone would write with a guitar. So… It's hard to say, really. I mean, I don't know… I think it makes it different, but… That's what I like to think."

On being considered an influence on so many heavy metal bands around the world:

Steve: "I take it as a compliment. I think it's a fantastic compliment. We've been around for so long that we've got many people who have said that they're influenced by the band, and that's nice. But I just hope that they're influenced by many bands and not just one, because I was influenced by many, many different bands. And I think you can kind of learn bits from all of them. If you're just influenced by one band, then maybe you'll end up sounding like that band. So I think it's important to take information from everywhere."

On what the key is to keeping the band together seventeen years after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined IRON MAIDEN:

Steve: "I think everybody's grown up. I think everyone's matured and we don't argue about stupid things anymore. Not that we used to argue that much anyway — we didn't really argue that much — but I think when you're younger, sometimes trivial things, you know, they just get to you. And I think, as you get older, you get more experience and [become] hopefully a bit wiser, and you don't really make a big deal out of silly things."

Ritchie Blackmore is being sued by the Frontiers record label over what the Italian company claims is the legendary DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist's "failure to comply with his promotional obligations" related to the release of "All Our Yesterdays", the tenth studio album from BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, the renaissance-inspired rock band formed by Blackmore and his wife Candice Night.

According to the complaint, which was filed on March 16 in a Manhattan federal court, Frontiers and Blackmore entered into a license agreement in May 2015 granting Frontiers "the right to manufacture, distribute (either physically or digitally), sell, sublicense and market" "All Our Yesterdays" for a term of three years, starting from the first release date of the album anywhere in the world.

In return for the grant of rights, Blackmore received a $220,000 advance and "guarantee[d] full support to the promotion surrounding the release of the album."

The promotion clause provided that Blackmore was to use "[his] reasonable best efforts to help and support all the activities and promotions (including but not limited to interviews as settled by the [Frontiers] and its representatives)" to aid the label in its promotion, marketing and distribution of the album.

Despite his obligations under the agreement, and despite the receipt of the advance, Blackmore "has failed and continues to fail to carry out his obligations, and particularly to comply with the terms of the promotion clause," Frontiers claims.

His "failures to comply with his promotional obligations pursuant to the agreement have severely impaired the promotion of the album with a resulting diminution ofsales and revenues," the complaint reads.

Frontiers writes in the lawsuit: "In July 2015, while [BLACKMORE'S NIGHT] was in France in connection with a show scheduled for Paris, Frontiers employed local publicists to arrange media exposure and publicity. Those local publicists thereafter arranged for fourteen face-to-face interviews for the band, with several magazines and websites.

"Despite his obligations under the agreement, [Blackmore] resisted making the band or its members available for the face-to-face interviews, seeking instead to have them conducted by email. [Blackmore] did so despite the fact that the band’s management had previously requested that face to face interviews be arranged in conjunction with the band's Paris appearance.

"Frontiers made it clear to [Blackmore] that it wanted the band to participate in face-to-face interviews, and that the band had to make itself available for such promotions.

"Despite [Blackmore's] obligations, the band participated in only four of the fourteen proposed interviews, thereby severely impacting Frontiers' promotional efforts. Similarly, while the band was in Germany as part of the 2015 tour, [Blackmore] refused to appear for six television appearances and refused to cooperate in the release of between 25 and 30 'yellow press' and tabloid media stories. [Blackmore] also refused to appear for two interviews set with Bild magazine during his time in Germany. [Blackmore] did so despite Frontiers having stressed to [the guitarist] the importance of the Bild magazine interviews, with Frontiers reminding [Blackmore] that Bild magazine was Germany's leading national publication. While an article eventually appeared in Bild magazine based on an interview conducted in the United States, significant promotional opportunities were missed as a result of [Blackmore's] failure to cooperate while in Germany.

"In addition to the failures [described] above, throughout the 2015 tour, and onreturning from the 2015 tour, [Blackmore] refused to make the band available for promotional opportunities in multiple countries, including in the United States, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Each of these four countries had been designated 'main territories' for promotion pursuant to the promotional clause of the agreement.

"After returning from the 2015 tour, [Blackmore] refused an interview that had been arranged with Young Guitar magazine. Young Guitar is an influential rock magazine in Japan and the interview that was refused was a significant promotional opportunity.

"No permissible excuse was provided by [Blackmore] for the band's failure to participate in the arranged promotional opportunities in Japan.

"During the 2015 tour, and after returning from the tour, [Blackmore] refused numerous promotional opportunities in the United Kingdom. [Blackmore] refused interviews and features with Mojo and Uncut, the two leading British music magazines. [Blackmore] also refused interviews with Guitarist and Total Guitar, two other national magazines, and with both The Chronicle and Northern Echo newspapers. [Blackmore] similarly refused interviews that Frontiers had arranged with the following websites: Metalexpressradio.com, Musicradar website, RealXS Radio, Penwith Radio Cornwall, EKR.net radio and Future Radio, among others.

"During the 2015 tour, and after returning from the tour, [Blackmore] refused to participate in a major promotional opportunity that Frontiers had arranged in Sweden. Significantly, [Blackmore] refused to participate in an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, an influential rock magazine that had offered to write a substantial article on the band and the album.

"After returning from the tour, [Blackmore] refused to participate in a significant promotional opportunity in Italy, where Frontiers is based. Specifically, [Blackmore] and the band refused to appear on a 'prime time' evening show, 'Gazebo', which aired on RAI TV, the principal national Italian television network.

"In addition to his failings in the overseas market, [Blackmore] failed to use his 'reasonable best efforts' to support Frontiers' efforts to promote the album in the United States.

"Beginning as early as August 2015, when the band returned to the United States,[Blackmore] repeatedly failed to comply with Frontiers' request that [the guitarist] coordinate with Frontiers' digital marketing campaign, including Frontiers' requests that postings be made on [Blackmore's] and the band's social media sites, and certain promotional graphics and materials be used on those social media sites.

"On several occasions, [Blackmore] and his management failed to post promotional messages entirely, and on others, [the guitarist] posted incorrect or untimely information about the album release date.

"[Blackmore] failed on several occasions to include information and links to purchase the album from Frontiers on the band’s social media sites. [Blackmore's] failure to include payment information prevented customers from purchasing the album digitally, and thus directly affected the sales of the album by Frontiers.

"[Blackmore] also failed to respond to numerous requests from Frontiers and its local promotional partners regarding marketing of the album at medieval fairs being held in the United States.

"Medieval fairs are popular venues for the band's fans, and thus promotion of the album at such fairs was a major promotional opportunity to increase public awareness of the album.

"On multiple occasions, [Blackmore] refused to participate in arranged promotional activities based on [his] position that he would only participate jointly in interviews with Night if they were 'major' interviews. [Blackmore] also imposed other conditions on his participation in promotional efforts, including such demands as requiring that his interview be a 'cover'story, and that any story or interview be given prominence in the publication or broadcast.

"Throughout 2015 and 2016, [Blackmore's] refusals to participate in Frontiers' numerous promotional efforts on his behalf harmed the sales of the album. In the absence of a viable promotional campaign, many potential customers were unaware of the new album, and album sales suffered.

"Compared to past albums released by Blackmore, 'All Our Yesterdays' failed to hit critical sales markers in the first months after its release, despite [Frontiers'] sustained efforts to publicize the release. Both digital and traditional formats of the album were available for purchase, but both categories suffered due to the lack of publicity occasioned by Blackmore's failure to use his 'reasonable best efforts' to promote the album in each international territory.

"On December 18, 2015, Frontiers sent a letter [Blackmore] detailing a number of his failures to promote the album and notifying him that he was in breach of the agreement. The December letter requested a response from [Blackmore] within 20 days. [Blackmore] failed to respond, in writing or otherwise, to the December letter."

Frontiers is seeking a minimum of $150,000 in damages.

According to the New York Post, a lawyer for Blackmore denied the allegations, calling them "ludicrous."

Comedian Jim Breuer is continuing to change his tune regarding comments he made on his podcast about AC/DC singer Brian Johnson telling him he felt "kicked to the curb" when the band announced it will reschedule shows without him. AC/DC recently postponed the last ten shows on its latest North American trek after it was reported that Johnson's doctors advised him to come off the road or face "total hearing loss."

On the latest installment of his "The Metal In Me" podcast, Breuer attempted to further explain his comments and revealed his embarrassment over revealing details of his private conversations with the singer.

Asked whether he thought the members of AC/DC were angry at him, Breuer said: "No. I think a little bit of… invasion of privacy. I apologized… I talked in a conversation, not realizing it would be that crazy. It was a very intimate, private conversation that I kinda put out there."

The comedian went on to admit that he felt "like an asshole" for what he said and made it clear that the "kicked to the curb" quote had come from him and not Johnson. "[It was] not fabricated, but, you know … I also left out a lot, you know," he said. "Like Brian going on about how great [AC/DC guitarist] Angus [Young] is, and he's the messiah and all this jazz. I just didn't know it would be that crazy. I didn't even read anything. I was too mortified that I kinda invaded their privacy, and… I felt really bad. I still feel really bad. I feel awful. I should have called and said, 'Hey, man, I was talking on a podcast and I kinda mentioned some things.'"

Breuer added: "I was talking as a friend and a fan. I was, like, 'What the hell, man?' I just felt terrible. But it's not my right to do that, you know what I mean? It's not my right to go out and say, 'Hey, heres what happened, and here's the official word, and here's what's going on.'"

In his original comments, Breuer said he saw Johnson in Sarasota, Florida on March 11, where the singer told him that his doctor had confirmed some hearing loss during the first, mostly outdoor, leg of AC/DC's world tour. Breuer said at the time that Johnson told him: "The doctor said, 'Now you're gonna go out and do indoor shows? I do not put my name on this. You're a grown man. You make a decision, but I would not mess around with this at all.'"

Johnson then went to Angus Young and AC/DC management to explain the situation, according to Breuer, who said: "Brian said that he called and let AC/DC and Young know, 'Hey, this is what the doctor said, but let's try to figure this out. I don't think it's as bad as he said it is.' Literally the next day in the press, it was 'Brian Johnson, tour canceled, he's losing his hearing.'"

Breuer continued: "Johnson said he just called and gave that information. He didn't say he wanted to quit. He didn't say he was done. He called with that information, and two days later, he read in the papers and heard on Twitter and everywhere else, 'Brian Johnson going deaf canceling tour.' A day later, and it was, 'Oh, we're gonna have guest singers.'"

Shockingly, Breuer added that Johnson suspected that he has already been replaced in AC/DC. Breuer said: "He feels like he heard from someone that they already hired somebody, it just hasn't been announced yet."

Breuer said that Johnson still felt like a "hired gun" after 36 years, and that Angus Young as the band's youngest member wants to keep going for another decade and at least one more album and tour.

Johnson has been the band's singer since 1980, when he replaced the late Bon Scott. He made his recording debut with the group on the classic "Back In Black".

AC/DC has been on the road since last year in support of its 16th studio album, "Rock Or Bust". The band has said it will make up the postponed dates, possibly with a "guest vocalist."

Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) was interviewed on a recent edition of the SiriusXM show "Dirty Sexy Funny" with host Jenny McCarthy. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked if he has spoken to Ozzy about possibly playing together again, Zakk said: "Well, my relationship with [Ozzy]… He's the godfather of [my] oldest son, so I mean… And Sharon [Ozzy's wife and manager], I love her like a mother. So, our relationship is bigger than the music. If they called me up and asked me to come over, bring some eggs and milk over to the house and clean the dog run 'cause they had company coming over, I'd do it. But if Ozz ever wants to do anything, we'd do it. But Gus [G.], who plays guitar with him now in the solo band, I'm buddies with Gus, and Gus is a phenomenal, shredding, awesome guitar player and awesome dude. But, nah, I mean, Gus is the guitar player now, but if Ozz ever asked me… Like I said, if Gus's wide was pregnant and they were having kids and he was, like, 'Gus is gonna be down for three months, 'cause he wants to be home. Can you come out on the road?' I'd do it. That's the way we roll."

In a 2010 interview with Metal Insider, current Ozzy guitarist Gus G. said that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Ozzy one day felt like playing with Zakk again. He said: "For me, when I was growing up, Zakk was there. The first time I ever saw on TV, Zakk Wylde was on guitar. From my generation, Zakk Wylde was the man. As a fan above all, I know these guys, they're like family more than just a team. So I definitely wouldn't be surprised if one day he would jam again with Ozzy. I know these guys love each other."

He continued: "Don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, but as a fan, trying to look from the outside, I mean I grew up watching Ozzy and Zakk together and that's all I'm saying. I also know that Zakk's been in and out of the band as well a couple of times. But with all that said, I'm very happy and feel very honored that I have this position right now and am there doing it."

Since leaving Ozzy's band in 2009, Zakk has played a number of shows — including a 2012 European festival run — with his former employer as a guest guitarist.

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

Glenn Danzig's NSFW (not safe for work) video for his cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "N.I.B." can be seen below. (***Warning: The clip contains partial female nudity.***) The track is taken from Glenn's covers record, "Skeletons", which came out last November in North America via Nuclear Blast Entertainment/Evilive Music.

A labor of love that dates back to 1979, "Skeletons" sees Danzig pulling back the curtain behind his influences with a collection of ten covers spanning artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, ZZ TOP, and AEROSMITH to BLACK SABBATH, THE TROGGS, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, and more. Recording intermittently between 2012 and 2015 in Los Angeles, he reveals the bone structure for his own style.

"These are my skeletons," he affirms. "You may or may not know that I dig these songs. You could say that some of this music is the actual basis and skeleton of what I listened to growing up — ultimately informing the kind of music I like. It's the foundation. If you took Elvis and SABBATH out of my life, I probably wouldn't be the Glenn Danzig you know! I'm glad both sides are represented on this record."

Among the tracks, he takes Presley's "Let Yourself Go" from the film "Speedway" and transforms it with a swinging distorted stomp and bluesy vocal crescendo. "I thought it was a song I could do something really cool with," he says. "It's also something that I didn't think anyone would necessarily expect. When you tell them you're going to do an Elvis cover, they expect something they know. Not a lot of people know this one. It's actually on the ''68 Comeback Special', and it's worth going back to."

He also "Danzig-ized" SABBATH's "N.I.B.", beginning with just guitar, vocals, and half-beat drums bolstered by ominous church bells. Meanwhile, AEROSMITH's "Lord Of The Thighs" grows exponentially heavier in his hands with a swell of pinch harmonics and robust riffing.

"People might be surprised I like that second AEROSMITH record, 'Get Your Wings'. There are tracks on there, especially 'Lord Of Your Thighs', that stand out to me. However, if you hear theirs and then you hear ours, ours is much heavier," he grins.

A rousing cover of THE LITTER's "Action Woman" opens a window into his pre-punk and garage roots, while Danzig brings a blast of intensity to ZZ TOP's "Rough Boy", turning it into a metallic freight train. "I always thought it was such a great song," he continues. "I wanted to make it more linear and run all the way through."

THE TROGGS' "A Girl Like You" becomes a punkified juggernaut in his hands with its fuzzed-out guitars, pounding drums and the trademark Danzig sing-a-long choruses.

He captures the rebellious spirit of the sixties outlaw biker films with a punked-out take on "Devil's Angels" from the "Devil's Angels" soundtrack complete with his old school MISFITS Dallas Arbiter Jumbo-Fuzz Pedal. Then, Danzig adds a countrified spark to "Satan" from "Satan's Sadists", which, he assures, "You might be surprised, but I didn't change any of the lyrics. I didn't have to!"

Danzig's interpretation of "Crying In The Rain" from THE EVERLY BROTHERS instantly captivates. Accompanied only by piano, guitar, and tympani, he accomplishes the mission of making it more "ethereal, sparse, dark, and haunting."

Ultimately, "Skeletons" sparks the next phase for Danzig. Helping catalyze his next full-length offering, it's yet another revolution. "I hope people dig it," he leaves off. "I also hope it gives everybody a little bit of insight into the music I listen to and maybe an insight into how I did the songs. If you enjoy it, that's great."

"Skeletons" track listing:

01. Devil's Angels (DAVIE ALLAN & THE ARROWS cover)02. Satan (theme from "Satan's Sadists")03. Let Yourself Go (ELVIS PRESLEY cover)04. N.I.B. (BLACK SABBATH cover)05. Lord Of The Thighs (AEROSMITH cover)06. Action Woman (THE LITTER cover)07. Rough Boy (ZZ TOP cover)08. With A Girl Like You (THE TROGGS cover)09. Find Somebody (THE RASCALS cover)10. Crying In The Rain (THE EVERLY BROTHERS cover)

The "Skeletons" cover artwork, featuring Glenn and model Kayden Kross in "Skullface," can be seen below.

According to Glenn, the full skull makeup which he wore for the first time since his MISFITS days nearly 40 years ago for the "Skeletons" photo shoot was inspired by legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie.

"One of my favorite covers records is David Bowie's 'Pinups' and I wanted to do a take on that and the record is called 'Skeletons' so I decided I'd do the skull face," he told OC Weekly.

Photo credit: Paul Brown

Heavy Metal Bands Info recently conducted an interview with FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Heavy Metal Bands Info: You are about to tour the U.S. again in April with your "Demanufacture" twentieth-anniversary show.

Dino: "We will be playing 'Demanufacture' in its entirety. We did it in Europe and we did it in Australia a couple of years ago and now it's going to be America's turn. We wanna commemorate and celebrate a really good album — actually, one of our greatest albums. It's the album that really took us to the next level. A lot of people discovered us on that record. It's definitely one of the fans' favorites. It came up on twenty years last year and now we can't wait to do it live. We love it. Australia is the first country that 'Demanufacture' went gold in. It was the first country. Then, of course, it was England and other countries to follow and so on and so on."

Heavy Metal Bands Info: You have always been quite innovative. [FEAR FACTORY's latest album] "Genexus" is no exemption. Where do you get your inspiration from these days?

Dino: "I think it's something that's in us. I think something you love to do is gonna show. For us, we still love going on the road, we still love going to other countries, we still love playing music, and it shows. When we were making that record, we thought, 'How do we stay relevant?' The band is together for twenty-five years now. How do we stay relevant? How do we create something that is still pushing the boundaries forward? For us, the inspiration came from some of our past music. We looked into what makes FEAR FACTORY what it is. Let's go back and try to re-live — in our memories — what it was like to create the first album and 'Demanufacture'. What was it like creating these great albums? Mentally, we got into a mindset of turning all those great experiences into something new. Basically, we didn't want to change our sound but concentrate on writing good songs. We took our time in the writing process and in the studio to let the songs marinate. We listened to the songs over and over again. Then we found out the good parts and the bad parts. This is how you create well-crafted songs. Then it turns out to be an amazing record. That's what we did. Some people said that it reminds them of 'Demanufacture'. I kinda have to agree with all of that. There are elements of our past but I think the main thing that's in there is the energy of the past. To create such an album, you have to have the passion. That's what we have. We still have that passion. We still have that drive to do FEAR FACTORY and tour the world."

Read the entire interview at Heavy Metal Bands Info.

A list of all upcoming FEAR FACTORY tour dates can be found at FearFactory.com

Lizzy Borden has spent over three decades creating some of the most theatrical metal in existence, releasing classics such as "Love You To Pieces" (1985) and "Master Of Disguise" (1989), while obliterating audiences worldwide with a stage show that rivals that of Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper. For his efforts, he has become nothing short of a metal icon. Now, to take the next step in furthering his career, Lizzy Borden has signed a worldwide solo artist deal with Metal Blade Records — the label that helped to launch him to commercial success over 30 years ago. Ready to once again captivate both veteran and adolescent metal fans alike, Lizzy Borden plans to release a new album in 2016 and tour the world in support of it, with a reinvigorated band backing him up.

Lizzy Borden comments: "I am extremely happy to re-sign with the same label we started with all those years ago . I'm excited to be working with Brian Slagel and all the Metal Blade family again. It's been my home for all six of our (full-length) studio albums — with the new record being the seventh, and the start of a new series of albums to come.

"My focus for the last several years has been performing live and exposing my brand of American metal to countries all over the world. Now I feel is the right time to step back and push the re-start button. Time to get back to the art of creating new music.

"Touring around the world and having new fans discover Lizzy Borden for the first time has been rejuvenating, and so a new album seems like the perfect way to bridge the past with the future.

"I will take this part of my journey and these next series of albums as a solo artist, as I have for some of the past Lizzy Borden records and tours.

"I look forward to working with many different established musicians and friends, as well as some undiscovered talent like we have been lucky enough to unearth in the past.

"To all of our fans that have followed Lizzy Borden from the beginning and all the new younger fans who have just discovered us, I hope you will come along with me for this next chapter. I am inspired, excited and ready to begin again."

Lizzy Borden has spent the past few years working on material for the follow-up to 2007's "Appointment With Death" album.

Eric Blair of "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" recently conducted an interview with legendary hard rock vocalist Graham Bonnet (RAINBOW, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, ALCATRAZZ, IMPELLITTERI). You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the state of the music business:

Graham: "I think it's gone down the shitter, basically. The music business right now is nonexistent. If you don't go out and play, nobody knows you exist. Nobody buys CDs anymore; everybody's downloading and listening to music through little tiny… those little earphones that don't really give you the true vibe. The music business… If I was in it now, I would get out; I really would. 'Cause it's non-productive. Everything is Auto-Tuned and plastic and disco. I don't really like what's going on right now; there's nothing new. The new rock bands that are around now, there's nothing I've heard that makes me kind of go, 'Wow, that's different or good.' It's all rehashed, sort of LED ZEPPELIN copy bands. It's…. I don't know… just not very inspiring. That's why I'm looking forward to actually doing something new with [GRAHAM BONNET BAND]."

On what advice he would give to his younger self:

Graham: "Don't do it! [Laughs] Get a real job. Yeah, look after… [I would tell myself to] look after the business side more than I did. Because I'm not Mr. Businessman at all. From the word 'go,' when I was 19 years old, back in the '60s, when we first started to record, my cousin and I, everything was taken care of — our tax, our housing, our blah blah blah… everything! I never signed a check ever, or anything, so I was totally shielded from the real world. And to this day, I'm still a baby when it comes to the biz, 'cause I don't know what to do. You know, taxes… What do you mean? What do I do? What form? I don't know what they are. I know people that are my age that are the same. And they don't drive. I don't drive. Ritchie [Blackmore, RAINBOW leader] didn't drive until, probably, twelve years ago. He didn't drive either, because there's always someone to take you wherever you're doing. I was spoiled, like all the other brats back then; I was one of them. So the business side is something that, I think, kids now actually do look at; they're more business savvy than I was."

In 1979, Bonnet auditioned for the frontman position in RAINBOW. With his James Dean image, the choice of Bonnet to replace Ronnie James Dio was subject to some questions. However, once the band heard Bonnet sing, they knew they had their man. With Bonnet at the mic, they recorded the "Down To Earth" LP, which became one of RAINBOW's most successful releases.

Graham moved on from RAINBOW in the early '80s to work on his solo career. He also played with MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, recorded several albums with ALCATRAZZ and had a short stint with IMPELLITTERI.

Judas Priest guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner recently spoke with Guitar World about their new live release, Battle Cry. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: When you went into to do the Wacken show, were you planning to do a DVD or did the footage dictate that it should be released?

Faulkner: "We were aware it was being filmed. We weren’t aware of how it was going to turn out, obviously. Wacken films the headliners, if not most of the bands. When the footage became available and we saw it, we thought it was a no-brainer. We saw the production, the crowd, the energy and we thought it would be a great thing to put out. We thought it was a great performance to give to Tom Allen and mix properly and put out to the fans around the world."

Q: Does it make it more interesting to you as a player to play some of the new material?

Tipton: "It is and particularly this time with 'Halls of Valhalla', 'Dragonaut', 'March of the Damned' and sometimes four or five songs off of the new album. It’s a lot, really. The kids want to hear their old favorites and they may not be that familiar with the new stuff at that point in time. Everyone asks us if we get fed up playing 'Another Thing Coming', 'Hell Bent for Leather' or 'Living After Midnight' and the fact is that the kids want to hear them. As soon as you strike them up in front of an audience it is like the first time you ever played it. It’s so enjoyable and the audience is singing along. Our concerts are a union with Judas Priest and the audience. When we play numbers that fans can sing along with the atmosphere is so electrifying that you never get fed up with these songs."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

On March 25th, Judas Priest will release Battle Cry. Recorded live on August 1st, 2015 at Germany's Wacken Festival in front of an audience of 85,000 people, Battle Cry is available on a 15-track CD, with the entire show on Blu-Ray and DVD (running over 94 minutes), as well as digital audio and video formats. The DVD and Blu-Ray also contains three bonus tracks shot in Poland on December 10th, 2015 at The Ergo Arena in Gdansk.

Check out “Halls Of Valhalla” from the upcoming release, streaming below:

"The Priest is back! Bringing you molten metal mayhem captured live, we're coming at you in full force on Battle Cry. This is Priest burning up and delivering the goods for all our metalheads around the world like never before - so hold tight and turn it up as we roar you through a night of screaming heavy-metal magic keeping the faith alive!"

Battle Cry CD sequence:

“(Intro) Battle Cry”
“Dragonaut”
“Metal Gods”
“Devil’s Child”
“Victim Of Changes”
“Halls Of Valhalla”
“Redeemer Of Souls”
“Beyond The Realms Of Death”
“Jawbreaker”
“Breaking The Law”
“Hell Bent For Leather”
“The Hellion”
“Electric Eye”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”
“Painkiller”

Battle Cry DVD / Blu-Ray sequence:

“(Intro) Battle Cry”
“Dragonaut”
“Metal Gods”
“Devil’s Child”
“Victim Of Changes”
“Halls Of Valhalla”
“Redeemer Of Souls”
“Beyond The Realms Of Death”
“Jawbreaker”
“Breaking The Law”
“Hell Bent For Leather”
“The Hellion”
“Electric Eye”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”
“Painkiller”
“Living After Midnight”

Bonus tracks:

“Screaming For Vengeance”
“The Rage”
“Desert Plains”

"The Hellion" / "Electric Eye“:

"Breaking The Law”:

“Metal Gods“:



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"Send Me Home", a brand new song from ASKING ALEXANDRIA, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "The Black", which will be released on March 25 via Sumerian Records.

Life is all about how quickly you get back up. In January 2015, everything changed for ASKING ALEXANDRIA. The chart- topping, gold-selling U.K. hard rock outfit parted ways with singer and founding member Danny Worsnop. On the outside, the future might've seemed uncertain — even grim — to some, but Ben Bruce (lead guitar, vocals), James Cassells (drums), Cameron Liddell (rhythm guitar) and Sam Bettley (bass) dusted themselves off, lifted their chins, and got right back up. "We hadn't reached our destination yet, and Danny had," admits Bruce. "I think it was necessary. When it happened, I was devastated. I lost my best friend. We even started referring to this part of our career as 'the black period.' It was the darkest time, but we weren't going to give up. If he hadn't left, I don't think we would've been as inspired as we were. I also don’t think ASKING ALEXANDRIA would still be around. Instead, we're more excited than ever about this band." In order to properly do that, the band actually turned to a fan. Ukrainian singer Denis Shaforostov gained notoriety posting ASKING ALEXANDRIA covers on YouTube and consequentially inked a deal with Sumerian in his band DOWN AND DIRTY. Bruce shot him an e-mail one night. The next day, a new ASKING ALEXANDRIA song had vocals and a new era in the band's history took form.

"The Black" track listing:

01. Let It Sleep02. The Black03. I Won't Give In04. Sometimes It Ends05. The Lost Souls06. Just A Slave To Rock N Roll07. Send Me Home08. We'll Be Okay09. Here I Am10. Gone11. Undivided12. Circled By The Wolves

A Tribute To Peter Criss And KISS - Faith And Will Vol. 1 will be released on April 4th in both digital downloads and physical CD formats. Also a limited edition deluxe package containing a bonus autographed 8x10 from all the musicians on the CD, a pair of commemorative “Catman” drumsticks and more. This 16 song disc release is packed with some greatest hits, B-side favourites and deep KISS Kuts for the most die hard fan.

Jéan "Boomer" Grenier (Bottoms Up, Scarab, and formally of The Hounds Of Hallelvander with Joe Hasselvander of Raven) and Vinny Nault (Close Range) decided to record some KISS songs but for a purpose. They both have dealt, and are still dealing with the devastating and horrible disease of cancer in their families as well as everyone that participated in this project. They wanted to do something that could help make a difference no matter how big or small. The effort is what counts...right? They decided that since the music of KISS has helped them though their own lives and made an impact, maybe they could help others with these classic songs that their rock heroes created. As the recording process continued the light bulb goes off. Two of the most influential drummers in KISS have both dealt with cancer. Unfortunately Eric Carr lost his battle but Peter Criss has since won. They decided to make the first CD with all classic renditions of classic KISS songs and as tribute to a legend who fights for a cure and continues to draw awareness to this disease.

Peter Criss has been extremely instrumental in their, and all the musicians on this CD's music careers. More importantly and inspiration to never give up and always fight. Wether it be for a small life accomplishment, a dream, or cure of a disease to continue life.. Peter has expressed all of this openly and publicly through his voice and his music. They all wish Peter and all those who battle against this dreaded disease continued success in their fight. To all of those (KISS fans or not) that have been affected by someone that continues the battle against cancer or for those that have passed.... This CD is for you!

Please consider helping with the cause to raise money for cancer research and hopefully a cure. 100% of the proceeds of this CD will be donated to a worthy cancer foundation in the name of The KISS Army or to individuals directly!! All the artists on this effort thank you for your support and hope you enjoy what is on the CD, and the versions of their favourite songs. Hopefully some of them will be your favourites as well.

Again, 100% of the sales of this CD will go to help cancer victims and their families in their battle against this horrible disease everyone knows to well. We all know or have been directly affected by a cancer story, a friend or family member who are fighting or that have been taken from us. We believe in strength in numbers, and that can help make this CD and project a success to help the cause. Please join us and spread the word to KISS fans and music fans everywhere. We all know KISS fans are the greatest and loyal fans in the world. Please help us to help others.

Tracklisting:

“Strange Ways”
“Take Me”
“Deuce”
“Love Her All I Can”
“Larger Than Life”
“Getaway”
“I Want You”
“Plaster Caster”
“All American Man”
“100,000 Years”
“Detroit Rock City”
“Watching You”
“Love Gun”
“Hard Luck Woman”
“Almost Human”
“Black Diamond”

“Strange Ways”:

Check out this interview with Jéan "Boomer" Grenier, talking about the project from the 2016 NAMM Show:

For more info on this CD and ordering info, head here.



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Gathering Of Kings can best be described as a Swedish AOR/melodic rock phenomena-type-project. The yet as-yet-untitled debut album will be produced, mixed and mastered by Thomas ”Plec” Johansson (Watain, Onslaught, Scar Symmetry, Solution. 45, The Night Flight Orchestra). The project has now confirmed Masterplan vocalist Rick Altzi and Spiritual Beggars frontman Apollo Papathanasio as part of the line-up.

Rick Altzi is best known as the singer in bands like Masterplan and At Vance. He became a singer 2007, did his first album as a singer on the At Vance album VII. Since then he has recorded albums with Herman Frank, Thunderstone, Epysode, Magnus Karlsson's Freefall among others and is currently writing and recording his second album with Masterplan, whom he joined 2012. Rick has just finished touring South America and Europe with Masterplan, and is now looking forward to put his hand on some songs from Gathering Of Kings.

Apollo Papathanasio is most known as the vocalist in bands like Spiritual Beggars and Firewind. Apollo started as a Singer with his first rock band Faith Taboo. They released the album Psychopath 1996. Since then he has been a member in bands like Majestic, TIme Requiem, Firewind, Evil Masquerade and has been the lead singer of Spiritual Beggars since 2009. He is a singer/songwriter and has been working in many projects around the world. Apollo is very honored and excited to join the kings.

Gathering Of Kings have now confirmed the following artists:

* Björn Strid – vocals (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra)
* Tobias Jansson – vocals (Saffire, Evil Masquerade)
* Rick Altzi – vocals (Masterplan, At Vance, Herman Frank)
* Apollo Papathanasio – vocals (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind, Evil Masquerade)
* Stefan Helleblad – guitars (Within Temptation, Jono)
* Chris Laney – guitars (Randy Piper’s Animal, Shotgun)
* Victor Olsson – guitars (Saffire)
* Nalle Påhlsson – bass (Therion, Treat, Last Autumn’s Dream)
* Robban Bäck – drums (Mustasch, Eclipse, Sabaton, W.E.T)
* Jonas Källsbäck – drums (The Night Flight Orchestra, Mean Streak)

More members will be announced soon. Check out the official Gathering Of Kings Facebook page here.



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Frontiers Music Srl will release "Ghost Of Graceland", the new album from Swedish hard rockers TREAT, on April 15.

The official video for the "Ghost Of Graceland" title track can be seen below. Building on the success of their last album, 2010's "Coup De Grace", hailed by both fans and critics as a masterpiece, TREAT has put together an album packed with reflective, soul-searching songs dressed in devilishly seductive yet hard-hitting melodic rock. "This is where we are today, as a band, as musicians, songwriters and individuals. It's a statement: this is us in 2016," says TREAT's main songwriter and guitarist Anders Wikström. "Ghost Of Graceland" was produced by longtime TREAT fan and respected writer/producer Peter Mansson and co-produced by Anders Wikström, showcases a band with a thirty-plus-year career, that are hungrier and more energetic than ever! To achieve the organic, pure, bold, (somewhat) cocky, contemporary sound with melodies and choruses to die for that they were going for, the band took a step back. Wikström explains: "It's a musical as well as a personal soul searching. We traced us back to our roots, the music and the heroes that got us dreaming back in the '70s: KISS, VAN HALEN, SWEET, DEEP PURPLE and UFO. An era where music and musicianship really mattered and rock 'n' roll was a matter of life or death." TREAT got in the time machine and retrieved all that restless energy. But "Ghost Of Graceland", with all its delicious, action-packed and hook-laden melodic rock that could soundtrack a party, also sees a band that reflects on their personal lives. Robert Ernlund (vocals), Anders Wikström (guitars and backing vocals), Patrick Appelgren (keyboards, guitar and backing vocals), Jamie Borger (drums) and new bass player Pontus Egberg (KING DIAMOND, LION'S SHARE) are a powerhouse. Pontus replaces the band's songwriting partner Fredrik Thomander, who has also been performing live with the band since 2013.

"When we started working on this album and in need of a permanent replacement on bass, Pontus was the only guy we had in mind," Wikström says. "He's a good friend of ours and a fantastic musician and live performer. He and Jamie just blow the roof off together on this new album!" "We're doing what we love. We're proudly flying the flag for hard and melodic rock. Honestly, this is a very, very good TREAT album," adds Wikström.

Experience TREAT live at Frontiers Rock Festival in Trezzo Sull'Adda (Milano) on April 23. "Ghost Of Graceland" track listing: 01. Ghost Of Graceland02. I Don't Miss The Misery03. Better The Devil You Know04. Do Your Own Stunts05. Endangered06. Inferno07. Alien Earthlings08. Nonstop Madness09. Too Late To Die Young10. House On Fire11. Together Alone12. Everything To Everyone

TREAT is:

* Robert Ernlund - lead vocals* Anders Wikström - lead guitars and background vocals (lead vocals on "Together Alone")* Patrick Appelgren - keyboards, guitars and background vocals* Pontus Egberg - bass guitar* Jamie Borger - drums

In 2013, CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer released his debut solo album, "The Way Life Goes", to rave reviews and immediately kicked off a non-stop touring schedule. Flash forward to 2016.

Now, as a "thank you" to his fans who have supported him and the long-awaited solo project for the past few years by attending one packed show after another, Keifer and his bandmates (Tony Higbee on guitars and vocals, Billy Mercer on bass and vocals, Paul Simmons on drums and vocals, Paul Taylor on keyboards and vocals, Savannah Keifer on vocals, percussion and piano, and Kendra Chantelle on vocals and percussion) will enter a Nashville studio later this month to record with four-time Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer Vance Powell (ELLE KING, CHRIS STAPLETON, JACK WHITE). The new tracks will be featured as bonus material on an expanded, deluxe edition of "The Way Life Goes", set for release later this year. The package will also include the original album that's currently being remastered by Richard Dodd (KINGS OF LEON, JASON ALDEAN, LADY ANTEBELLUM), a bonus DVD with video extras, a documentary about the creation of the bonus tracks, and exclusive interviews with the band filmed during the new recording sessions.

The as-yet-untitled deluxe set will be wrapped in an all new expanded art package designed by artist David Calcano (creator of the Fantoons comic strip series) with one-of-a-kind unique illustrations depicting each song. Keifer credits a framed collage designed by Calcano of images depicting life, members of his band and songs from "The Way Life Goes" that was given to him by his tour manager, Gene Aldridge, as the inspiration to release the deluxe edition. "That one gift," said Keifer, "instantly made us think about all the incredible people, adventures and inspiration that had come into our lives over the last few years. The new deluxe edition is our way of celebrating the way life's gone since the initial release. It's been an amazing journey!"

The new package's bonus track song titles, release date and some other very special surprises will be announced in the coming weeks.

"The Way Life Goes" sold 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 78 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on in April 2013 via Merovee Records (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group). The collection of 14 new songs ranged from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraced the blues, rock and country roots that have always been present in Tom's unique sound that has generated the sale of over 15 million records worldwide for CINDERELLA. Rolling Stone praised Keifer as "a gritty, bluesy (rocker) with enough genuine swagger to draw comparisons to Mick Jagger."

"This record was a labor of love," Keifer told TriCities.com. "When I started this record, CINDERELLA was in the middle of a lawsuit with Sony Records. This record is not in any way to be taken as me stepping away from CINDERELLA."

"I took a lot of time making this record," he continued. "I made it over 10 years. I wanted to make something I loved. My wife, Savannah, co-wrote a lot of the songs with me. It was a blessing to me.

"Each song has something to do with life. It's just life, love, love lost, being crazy, going crazy, being lost. The record, there's no change, really, in style. It has the peaks and valleys.

"I've always approached music, played music that I like. I've never chased trends through CINDERELLA and with this album. It reflects what's in me."

Finnish cinematic metal band Dark Sarah is working on a new album called The Puzzle. It will continue Dark Sarah's story forward from the point where the debut album, Behind The Black Veil, left it. The band has launched a crowdfunding page to support the completion of the album.

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 video trailer for the new album:

 

 



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"On A Sea Of Blood", a brand new song from Swedish metal kings AMON AMARTH, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's tenth studio album, "Jomsviking", which will be released on March 25 via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally.

"Jomsviking" — the first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career — tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes' trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and also features special guest session drummer Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings.

AMON AMARTH frontman Johan Hegg explains: "The Jomsvikings were a shadowy and legendary sect of Viking mercenaries, as shrouded in myth now as they were when they fought across Europe and the Middle East. Ruthless and deadly warriors who fought for the highest bidder, their code was simple: Show no fear. Never retreat. Defend your brothers, and when called upon, avenge their deaths."

He continues: "I felt we were finally ready to use their story as the jumping off point for an AMON AMARTH album. The Jomsvikings and their world is the background for the story of a young man that is in love with a girl but unfortunately she's being married off. He accidentally kills a man when this happens and he has to flee — but he swears to have revenge and win her back. He can't let go of the past. He feels that he's been wronged and his life has been destroyed. The way the story evolves is not a happy story."

By far AMON AMARTH's most ambitious project to date, "Jomsviking" is available for pre-order in various formats now at AmonAmarth.com, where fans can also view the video for the album's first single, "First Kill". Produced by Grupa 13 and directed by Darek Szermanowicz (BEHEMOTH), "First Kill" was filmed in Gohrweide (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland) and features a cinematic depiction of the violent, brutal lyrics, along with powerful live footage of the band performing with their full dragon head and pyro stage set.

"Jomsviking" track listing:

01. First Kill02. Wanderer03. On A Sea Of Blood04. One Against All05. Raise Your Horns06. The Way Of Vikings07. At Dawn's First Light08. One Thousand Burning Arrows09. Vengeance Is My Name (bonus track - for digibook, digital, LP, and viking ship editions)10. A Dream That Cannot Be (feat. Doro Pesch)11. Back On Northern Shores

Adds Hegg: "'Deceiver Of The Gods' was very successful for us and we had a good run with that and did some really great tours. Even before we changed drummers for this record we had the idea to make a concept album. It was something we'd never done before and it gave us a challenge. I started writing the story, went into it wholeheartedly and once you start going down that path there's really no turning back."

Following "Jomsviking"'s release, AMON AMARTH will tour North America with fellow Swedes ENTOMBED A.D. and young USA metal upstarts EXMORTUS.

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES are working on material for the follow-up to 2014's "Siren Charms" album for a tentative late 2016 release.

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

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

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

IN FLAMES has not yet named a replacement for Svensson.

A snippet of the new song "No Bitter End" from former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen is available in the YouTube clip below. The track is taken from Tarja's forthcoming heavy rock album, "The Shadow Self", which will be released on August 5 via earMUSIC.

Says Tarja: "I am happy to share a snippet of my new song 'No Bitter End'. This is not even the first single from 'The Shadow Self', but consider it as a small offering before a big surprise I've prepared for you all."

"The Shadow Self" is now available for pre-order in various formats, including standard CD and special edition CD+DVD. Tarja will perform songs from her upcoming album for the first time on festival dates this summer.

In a recent interview with Romania's "Transilvania Culturala", Tarja said: "For me, it was a huge challenge — still it is a huge challenge to sing rock, because I never thought of becoming one of the most followed female singers in rock genre; I never, never, never thought about that. But I took the challenge, because I love the music, and it's all about that. For me, there are no borders in music in general. When I'm doing something, I do it with my heart. And so if I feel good about something, I'm going for it; one hundred percent I'm on it. And so that's been my passion in that sense, in music — to feel free. But the transition took time. It took years to really feel comfortable with the voice during the rock performances and running on the stage. I wanted to do my best. I really worked very hard, but I had no teacher to teach me to sing rock. I kept on taking lyrical singing lessons, and that's what really made me stronger also in rock singing."

Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important."

Dutch singer Floor Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH in October 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.

Turunen followed her most recent rock album, "Colours In The Dark", with the exclusive tour CD "Left In The Dark", which was previously only available bundled with a ticket for the "Colours In The Road Tour 2014". "Left In The Dark" was released in July 2014 via earMUSIC.

"Colours In The Dark" charted in 12 countries, with four Top 10 entries, and was praised by the media and, more importantly, by the fans.

Faster Pussycat's version of The Eagles Of Death Metal's "I Love You All The Time" has dropped as part three of the Play It Forward campaign. All proceeds go to benefit the families of those affected by the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. It's available now on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and via PlayItForwardEODM.com.

Catch Faster Pussycat live at the following shows:

April
9 - Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV
10 - Rockbar Inc. - Scotsdale, AZ
12 - The Rock Box - San Antonio, TX
13 - The Rail Club - Dallas, TX 
14- Houston Fountains Concert Series - Houston, TX
15 - Oklahoma City Limits - Oklahoma City, OK
16 - The Hideaway - Jackson, MS
17 - 120 Music Hall - Atlanta, GA
18 - Basement East - Nashville, TN
20 - The Orchards - Chambersburg, PA
21 - Sports Page - Lebanon, PA
22 - Palace Theater - Stafford, CT
23 - Revolution - Amityville, NY
24 - Dingbatz - Clifton NJ
26 - 1150 OAK - Cranston, RI
27 - Blackthorne 51 - Queens, NY
28 - Bullshooters - Philadelphia, PA
29 - Tally Ho Theater - Leeseburg, VA
30 - M3 Festival - Columbia, MD (day)
30 - Hard Rock Live - Pittsburgh, PA (night)

May
1 - The Firehouse - Richmond, IN
4 - O'shecky's - Columbus, OH
5 - SouthPort Music Hall - Indianapolis, IN
6 - Tailgaters - Bolingbrook, IL 
7 - Phat Headz - Green Bay, WI 
8 - Luciana's Rural Oaks - Ottawa, IL
9 - The Scene - Kansas City, MO 
11 - Mesa Theater - Grand Junction, CO 
12- Buffalo Rose, Denver CO
13 - tba - Albuquerque, NM
14 - Tucson, AZ - AVA Amphitheater

The band's current lineup is:

Taime Downe
Danny Nordahl 
Xristian Simon 
Chad Stewart 
Ace Von Johnson

Photo by Jenny Brezinski

 

 

 



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"Penalty By Perception", the new album from veteran Danish thrashers ARTILLERY, can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. The CD will be released on March 25 worldwide via Metal Blade Records.

Written over the course of the last two years, ARTILLERY's seventh full-length effort draws from their classic albums like "Fear Of Tomorrow" (1985) and "By Inheritance" (1990), as well as "When Death Comes" (2009) and "Legions" (2013). Having recorded at Medley Studios and bringing Søren Andersen on board as the producer, ARTILLERY achieved the sound that they were aiming for. "We worked really hard together to get this amazing sound," says guitarist Michael Stützer. "I feel the band have come up with some great songs. The best musical performance in the history of ARTILLERY. Can't wait to hear the fans' reactions!"

A familiar, yet modern thrash attack, "Penalty By Perception" delivers the band's signature riffing, with powerful drumming and melodic singing — and promises to be a new fan favorite in the Danish quintet's storied career.

"Penalty By Perception" track listing:

01. In Defiance Of Conformity02. Live By The Scythe03. Penalty By Perception04. Mercy Of Ignorance05. Rites Of War06. Sin Of Innocence 07. When The Magic Is Gone08. Cosmic Brain09. Deity Machine10. Path Of The Atheist11. Welcome To The Mind Factory12. Liberty Of Defeat (bonus track)

The official video for the song "Live By The Scythe" can be seen below. The band comments: "It was great fun to record the video for 'Live By The Scythe' on Fyn in Denmark. The filming was done in an old castle — Hindsgavl castle — in the forest, and in a school near Hesselager.The story behind the video is about death, fate, the meaning and acceptance of life and death. The video was done by M&M Production who also did the video for 'Legions'."

Regarding what qualities they were looking for in a singer following the departure of Søren Adamsen, Michael told StageReport.ro: "You will never hear ARTILLERY with a growler or a pop singer, but sung vocals with melody and rawness at the same time. Actually, we headhunted Michael from a cover band who played MERCYFUL FATE / KING DIAMOND covers, so we knew he could sing the old ARTILLERY songs very good."

ARTILLERY lineup:

Michael Bastholm Dahl - vocalsMichael Stützer - guitarMorten Stützer - guitarPeter Thorslund - bassJosua Madsen - drums

"Tango Umbrella", the fourth album from the Minneapolis, Minnesota hard rock/industrial metal outfit AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE, can be streamed in its entirety using the widget below. The CD will be released on March 25 via Napalm Records. The cover artwork was created by Sam Shearon. Comments AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE's Chad Hanks: "'Tango Umbrella', sonically, feels like a combination of 'The War Of Art' and 'The Feeding'. It's a logical progression for us, as we continue experimenting with different feels, sounds, vocal styles, etc. It's heavy in every way possible, and I really think our fans are going to love it. We made the record we wanted to hear, and I feel like we definitely achieved that."

AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE's sound remains firmly rooted in catchy alternative metal, the NWOAHM, with industrial influences and groovy heaviness. "Tango Umbrella" track listing:

01. Let All The World Believe02. Drowning Under Everything03. Perfectionist04. Sacred05. I Will Have My Day06. A King Among Men07. Suffer Elegantly08. Antidote09. Prolific Catastrophe10. Down And Depraved

AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE released the "Shoot" EP in July 2013. The disc was recorded by Don Debiase at Studio D Productions in Cleveland, Ohio and was mixed by Dave Fortman at Balance Productions in New Orleans, Louisiana.

AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE split in August 2009 and reformed two years later.

German hard rock legends SCORPIONS were forced to cut short their concert in Hamburg last night (Monday, March 21) because of a "viral infection" affecting the voice of the band's lead singer, Klaus Meine. The band reportedly performed for about thirty minutes before calling off the rest of the gig. It is not presently clear if Meine will be well enough to take part in SCORPIONS' next performance, which is scheduled for Wednesday (March 23) in Leipzig.

Fan-filmed video footage of the first two songs of SCORPIONS' Hamburg set can be seen below.

Asked in a 2010 interview how he maintains his voice after all these years, Klaus said: "I try to treat my voice with a little more respect and try to keep it in a good balance. After so many years, I am a lucky person and that I survived my lost voice during 'Blackout' in 1982… I did not play six shows [a week] anymore after that and just took care of myself."

He continued: "There is a bad word in rock and roll called discipline, you have to be on the safe side to make it through a tour. When everybody throws a party, the poor singer has to take care of his voice. Now I do all of the parties I missed back then; it is my turn!"

Klaus said that the period around the recording sessions for "Blackout" was "a very difficult time." He explained: "It was [SCORPIONS guitarist] Rudolf [Schenker who] was a very strong support to take me through this thing. [He said] 'You do everything for your voice, and we'll wait for you. We don't want another singer, but you have to work hard on yourself to make it happen.' It took me six or seven months, and then my voice was back."

SCORPIONS last year completed the 2015 U.S. leg of their 50th-anniversary tour, which also is in support of their latest studio album, "Return To Forever".

Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH have tapped Jocke Wallgren (OCTOBER TIDE, VALKYRJA) to play drums for them on their upcoming tours.

Wallgren will make his live debut with AMON AMARTH tonight (Tuesday, March 22) at the Underworld in London, England.

AMON AMARTH guitarist Olavi Mikkonen recently told Brazil's Wikimetal podcast about the March 2015 departure of drummer Fredrik Andersson and AMON AMARTH's decision to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP), during the recording sessions for the band's new album, "Jomsviking": "I don't really wanna go into details regarding Fredrik, but, basically, we just separated. It's kind of like a marriage that doesn't work, and you get divorced. And that's kind of what happened to our band. Right after that, we started to work [on] the new album, and we didn't wanna work with anybody we did not know, so that's why we took in Tobias. And Tobias is an old friend to the band; we've known him for many, many years. He was with us through the whole working process towards when the recording was finished. And, obviously, he cannot do the upcoming dates, so we have another guy that we are preparing for the upcoming touring. But, you know, it's so in early stages that I don't wanna say who he is at this point. But, you know, we're gonna take it quite easy. I mean, we've been together for so many years, and it's really difficult to find this new guy to come in and [be part of the band]. But, you know, whoever it's gonna be, it's gonna be good. So I have no worries."

"Jomsviking" will be released on March 25 via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally. The first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes' trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings.

Following "Jomsviking"'s release, AMON AMARTH will tour North America with fellow Swedes ENTOMBED A.D. and young USA metal upstarts EXMORTUS.

In a brand new interview with Ireland's Overdrive, EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza was asked if he thinks METALLICA is "feeling the pressure" to make a new album that is on par with the high quality of the recent releases by some of the other acts from the 1980s thrash metal scene. He responded: "I would have to say, honestly, we played two shows with METALLICA last year in Germany at the Rock Am Ring and Rockavaria [festivals] and I had two really great conversations, one with Kirk [Hammett] and the other with James [Hetfield]. Kirk is such a solid guy and we get along great. I mean, he has played on the last EXODUS album and we played at his Fear FestEvil event.

"If you really want to look at METALLICA's progression as a band, look back to the stuff they released in the '90s with 'Load' (1996) and 'St. Anger' (2003) and then they brought out 'Death Magnetic' (2008), so I would say that they are getting more back into form of that classic METALLICA thrash sound. Also, they are big fans of their own genre, and I have a feeling that they are going to release an album that is more in the vein of that classic thrash sound that we have all be doing lately.

"Just listen to the new MEGADETH album, 'Dystopia', and tell me that the opening track, 'The Threat Is Real', doesn't take the fucking skin right off your face? What a way to open the record, dude! It's just straight in there, and I think we did that with 'Black 13' (opening track on EXODUS's latest album, 'Blood In Blood Out'); it just kicks you in the face!

"I really believe that METALLICA are aware of what’s going on in their backyard, you know? I think there was a time when people were, like, 'Eww, METALLICA. They have lost it,' and I know people that think like that and have lost respect for them along the way. But they have gone through an evolution as a band. If they were to write 'Ride The Lightning' thirteen times, we would all get bored.

"It was a great transition from 'Master Of Puppets' into '...And Justice For All' into the 'Black Album,' and I think that's where bands would like to say they lost interest, but how can that be true, because they are the biggest fucking band in the world right now. That's the argument right there, and, you know, I wish them all the best.

"As I mentioned, we played a couple of shows with them in Germany and I remember walking down the hallway and James is walking towards me and we hadn't seen each other in fucking years. We just had a really good conversation and a few laughs about the old days. I used to frequently go to their house in San Pablo, or as we referred to it, the 'Metallihouse,' back in '83-'84, for parties and hangouts, and, actually, Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer] and our old guitar player Rick [Hunolt] used to housesit for the guys when they would be touring! So, we were just shootin' the shit about the old days, and he just looks at me and said, 'Let's go out and watch KREATOR!'

"It was great to have a catchup with those guys, and I really think they are going to surprise a lot of people with the new album. They know where they come from; they know where it's at. You can't deny their success; it's unparalleled! If you were to ask them if they thought it was unparalleled, I'm sure one of them will tell you, 'Are you kidding me? I never thought any of this would happen in a million fucking years!'"

Hammett was a member of EXODUS' original lineup before replacing Dave Mustaine in METALLICA in 1983. In fact, Hammett was not only the person who came up with the EXODUS name, but also the first from the band to meet original EXODUS singer Paul Baloff and brought him into the group.

Following the major accident in Chile on the morning of Saturday, March 12, British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have announced that a fully repaired Ed Force One will take off tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, March 22) from Santiago, Chile airport to rejoin the tour at Brasília Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek international airport. Following the show at Nilsen Nelson Arena, the plane will be loaded up once again on Wednesday with over 20 tons of equipment and the band's tour personnel to fly to Fortaleza for the concert on Thursday and on from there to Sao Paulo then New York and onwards round the world on "The Book Of Souls" world tour which visits 36 countries in the five-month period.

The accident required the replacing of both of the Boeing 747's port side jet engines, a tough proposition at the best of times but not made any easier by the fact of the distances involved in getting such huge components, parts, tools and technical crew to Chile as quickly as possible to get Ed Force One back in the air. The engines alone weigh 5000kg each, and cost around four million dollars each.

Ed Force One is leased from Air Atlanta who went into immediate action following the incident, with technical assistance from Boeing. An emergency meeting on the Sunday was called to create a comprehensive detailed plan for this complex operation — locating suitable engines, thrust reversers, cowlings and parts, working out necessary tooling and technical team, logistics of ground and freight transport and tech team travel and a myriad of other detail. All from scratch. The next couple of days were spent putting these plans meticulously into place

The result was that on last Thursday, March 17, a Cargolux chartered 747 freighter left Luxembourg carrying two huge replacement jet engines, trucked there from Hannover, Germany. The charter stopped over at Stansted Airport, Essex, U.K. to collect two more consignments. Cowlings and thrust reversers were trucked there in huge boxes from Kemble, U.K., along with tooling and consumables flown in specially from Jeddah to Heathrow and hauled to Stansted. The chartered 747 then completed the 12,000km (7410 miles) flight to Santiago , arriving at 9 a.m. Friday morning. The technicians were flown there from Iceland and from Air Atlanta's base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, six in total, to join with Ed Force One's own two onboard techs, Bjorn Bjarnason and Sigurbjarni (Barney) Thormundsson, and Jeremy Smith of Rock It Cargo Ltd., who is on tour with the band supervising the freight and customs aspects.

The engines were cleared by Chilean customs Friday lunchtime and they were transferred to the LAN Chile maintenance area of the airport arriving just before 2 p.m. Working in shifts 24 hours a day, the techs were then able to start removing engine number one and then on Saturday engine number two. Using hoists and cranes, the damaged engines had to be detached then lowered into a cradle in order to swap with the new replacement engines. The replacement engines were then lifted up and into a place. Once the support pylons had been inspected and x-rayed and damage assessed, both of which passed with flying colours, then the new engines were attached with, as one of the techs said, a "million" wires. Both were finally in place and attached by Sunday lunchtime and then the thrust reversers fitted overnight, almost as complex an operation as fitting the actual engines due to being right under the wing. Final piece of the jigsaw was for the Eddie decals to be fitted and then both engines tested by running to full power.

Comments Bruce Dickinson, MAIDEN vocalist and pilot of Ed Force One: "The speed and thoroughness of this incredibly complex operation was stunning, and we are so very pleased to get our plane back!

"We would like to thank Air Atlanta and their terrific rescue team for a fantastic effort in achieving this in the time they did, and to Boeing, LAN Chile. ACS and Rock It Cargo for all their invaluable support.

"We are sorry, though, for our fans in Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio and Belo Horizonte who missed out seeing the plane, but we hope they enjoyed the concerts as much as we did.

"We should also thank our killer crew, who found themselves at lunchtime on the Saturday of the accident with over 20 tons of equipment at the airport in Santiago and over 60 people all to get to Cordoba for early the next day to set up the huge show we are carrying. The distance is 'only' 1000km, but with a small matter of the Andes in between! They did it, by the skin of the teeth, and all went very well for the show in Cordoba and the other cities Ed Force One just missed.

"It's quite a feat of logistics to find and put into action at such short notice all the transport, replacement air charters, schedule flights etcetera to enable us to play those next four shows on time without Ed Force One, our transport for everything.

"Great effort, team, many thanks from all of us. And to our promoter MOVE and ACS for all their assistance and time with this too."

IRON MAIDEN and Robinsons Brewery have announced Trooper Red 'N' Black — a new limited-edition beer from their award-winning Trooper range — which will be available to fans worldwide from September 2016.

Trooper Red 'N' Black porter is the third beer in the Trooper range following on from the stunning success of Trooper and last year's limited-edition Trooper 666.

The beer, designed once again by IRON MAIDEN vocalist and ale aficionado Bruce Dickinson along with Robinsons' head brewer Martyn Weeks, takes its inspiration from a very early Robinsons recipe which was first brewed in the 1850s, a time when porter style beer was becoming increasingly popular in Britain.

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

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

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

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

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

Information on pre-orders for fans will be announced on Iron Maiden Beer's and Robinsons Brewery's social media accounts.