"Pressure", a brand new song from EMPEROR frontman Ihsahn (real name: Vegard Sverre Tveitan), can be streamed below. The track is taken from Ihsahn's sixth solo album, "Arktis", which will be released on April 8. The effort will be available in standard CD, deluxe CD (featuring additional exclusive content), and vinyl formats via Candlelight Records. The album's first single, "Mass Darkness", is available via iTunes and Amazon. It is available for streaming now via Spotify. The Michael Dickinson-created (ORANGE GOBLIN, GALLOWS) lyric video for the song available can be seen below. "Arktis" was recorded at Ihsahn's studio in Notodden, Norway and was mixed in Sweden by Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA). The album features ten songs and is the longest and most spirited of Ihsahn's solo recordings. It features guest appearances from Einar Solberg (LEPROUS), Matt Heafy (TRIVIUM), Jorgen Munkeby (SHINING), Tobias Ornes Andersen (SHINING, ex-LEPROUS), and renowned Norwegian author Hans Herbjornsrud. Graphic elements for "Arktis" once again have been provided by award-winning Spanish designer Ritxi Ostariz. Few artists in modern heavy music have created such an extraordinary and unique body of work as Ihsahn. Having refined and redefined black metal with the now-legendary EMPEROR, Ihsahn is Norway's foremost musical extremist. He has spent the last decade establishing himself as a fearless and wildly idiosyncratic solo artist and even by his own remarkable standards, "Arktis" is a bold and mind-blowing step into the unknown. Ihsahn comments, "My focus for this album was to write within more traditional song structures and still give each song a strong individual identity, be that through a re-occurring melody, a chorus, sound design or the good, old guitar riff. I also wanted to explore this on the production side, blending organic rock sounds with more modern expressions." The stark visuals utilized in the video for "Mass Darkness" are inspired by late 1800s Norwegian explorer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen. It depicts his famed three-year expedition to the North Pole first by ship and then by foot over land. Ihsahn notes: "The whole atmosphere of facing the cold, immense unknown fits rather good with the general lyrical concept of the entire album. It paints a sense of doubt, hopelessness and frustration yet celebrates curiosity, free will and the choice to avoid conformity. It is, at best, an observance of one's insignificance in relation to time, nature and space yet each individual's ability to make things matter even if only to themselves." For the 40-year old musician, the global accolades have yet to impact his creativity with each and every album pushing boundaries and preconceived sounds typically assigned to heavy music. With "Arktis", he continues his blending of extreme metal and progressive rock that will easily sustain his already massive fanbase while opening even more doors for the humble multi-instrumentalist. Ihsahn says: "With the contributions from several of my talented friends and the incredible mixing skills of Jens Bogren, I feel the end result is just as varied yet cohesive as I hoped for. Actually, I can't recall having had such a great time making an album before and hopefully that comes across too." "Arktis" track listing:

01. Disassembled02. Mass Darkness03. My Heart Is Of The North04. South Winds05. In The Vaul06. Until I Too Dissolve07. Pressure08. Frail09. Crooked Red Line10. Celestial Violence

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS dedicated their song "A Lesson In Violence" to iconic MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister during their March 16 concert at Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Said EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza prior to playing the song: "We lost somebody really close to us just recently, didn't we, guys? Get your fucking horns in the air for Lemmy. There would be no us, there would be no you, there wouldn't be any heavy music if it wasn't for fucking Lemmy, if it wasn't for fucking Ian Kilmister and MOTÖRHEAD. Put 'em in the air!"

He continued: "We were very fortunate over our career to get to play with MOTÖRHEAD many fucking times, and I tell you what, and I mean fortunate. It was a fucking gem every time. That man, he never sacrificed a fucking thing, he did it his fucking way, and if you didn't like it, it was, 'Fuck you! We're MOTÖRHEAD.' Right?

"We've dedicated this whole set, actually, through this whole European jaunt that we had to Lemmy, and we're gonna dedicate this song to him as well, and this one's also for you fuckers here in Gothenburg."

EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt is unable to take part in the band's current European trek due to his commitments with SLAYER. Filling in for him once again is HEATHEN guitarist Kragen Lum.

EXODUS's latest album, "Blood In Blood Out", sold around 8,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released in North America on October 14, 2014 via Nuclear Blast, the CD art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood".

"Blood In Blood Out" is EXODUS' first album since the departure of the band's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

EXODUS last fall completed a tour of North America as the support act for KING DIAMOND.

JUDAS PRIEST's tour in support of their 17th studio album overall, "Redeemer Of Souls", was one of the most extensive of the group's entire career — consisting of 130 shows in 33 countries, and offering a setlist that touched upon selections from nearly all of their classic albums. And now, fans can relive the live PRIEST experience once more, with the release of the new CD/DVD/Blu-ray, "Battle Cry", on March 25 via Epic Records.

Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in front of an audience of 85,000, "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 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.

What makes the show's track listing so appealing is it balances new classics ("Dragonaut", "Halls of Valhalla", "Redeemer Of Souls") along with headbanging classics ("Metal Gods", "Electric Eye", "You've Got Another Thing Coming"), as well as key album tracks from yesteryear ("Devil's Child", "Beyond The Realms Of Death", "Jawbreaker").

"Battle Cry" CD track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry02. Dragonaut03. Metal Gods04. Devil's Child05. Victim Of Changes06. Halls Of Valhalla07. Redeemer Of Souls08. Beyond The Realms Of Death09. Jawbreaker10. Breaking The Law11. Hell Bent For Leather12. The Hellion13. Electric Eye14. You've Got Another Thing Coming15. Painkiller

"Battle Cry" DVD/Blu-ray track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry02. Dragonaut03. Metal Gods04. Devil's Child05. Victim Of Changes06. Halls Of Valhalla07. Turbo Lover08. Redeemer Of Souls09. Beyond The Realms of Death10. Jawbreaker11. Breaking The Law12. Hell Bent For Leather13. The Hellion14. Electric Eye15. You've Got Another Thing Coming16. Painkiller17. Living After Midnight Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Wacken Open Air festival, Germany. Bonus tracks:

18. Screaming For Vengeance19. The Rage20. Desert Plains Recorded live on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.

A performance clip of " Halls Of Valhalla", shot at last year's Wacken Open Air festival, can be seen below.

In a statement issued today, Shining founder and frontman Niklas Kvarforth confirmed that the band had reached an agreement with former label, Spinefarm Records, that would see the label re-release three of Shining's recordings, which, according to Kvarforth, "have all been unavailable for a few years due to several ‘inconvenient’ matters".

The frontman went on to say: "Shining's seventh full-length album VII / Född Förlorare and the Lots Of Girls Gonna Get Hurt EP will both appear in CD and limited edition vinyl formats, with the vinyl formats having one additional track each. 

"But the best news of all is that Redefining Darkness will once again be available to those who missed out on its short-lived presence on the record market.  The album will be available in both deluxe digipak and vinyl editions.”

The deluxe digipak edition of Redefining Darkness, and the vinyl editions of all three of the re-releases, have been remastered by Andy La Rocque at the Sonic Train Studios, and are now available to pre-order, along with new merchandise and bundles from ShiningLegions.com.



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The release date of the Destructor album Back In Bondage on limited vinyl is May 27th. The preorder phase will start on May 13th in the Pure Steel webshop.

With the eternal cult band Destructor from Cleveland,Ohio, Pure Steel has signed a real treasure. To aficionados, the 1985 debut Maximum Destruction (Auburn Records) owns an irrefutable, godlike status for already three decades. Unfortunately the career of the aspiring band ended very sudden back in early 1988, when bassist Dave Holocaust was murdered. The band broke up afterwards for 11 years.

Now, for the first time, they officially release the second album Back In Bondage. Fast and energetic US power metal, provided with a decent thrash mark, will satisfy every metal maniac. On this nine great, outstanding tunes, the unique, screaming high pitched voice of band leader Dave Overkill will also thrill every real, dedicated fan. A powerful, spirited old-school production remind back to the collection of hymns from the debut album.

Thanks to the Back In Bondage release, from now on every crazy Auburn lunatic can be reassured; a real masterpiece.

After the CD release in February follows the Back In Bondage album in a limited edition of 300 black copies with insert on double vinyl (12”+7”).

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Fight”
“Final Solution”
“G-Force”
“N.B.K.”

Side B
“Pompeii”
“Powerslave”
“The Shedding Of Blood And Tears”

7” tracklisting:

Side C
“Tornado”

Side D
“Triangle”

Lineup:
Dave Overkill – vocals, guitars
Nick Annihilator – guitars
Tim Hammer – bass
Matt Flammable – drums



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Seer has entered the studio at Rain City Recorders to begin work on our debut full length album Vol III & IV: Cult Of The Void. They’ve put together a studio video with the help of their frequent collaborator and fellow Vancouverite Lucien Cyr — who produced the video for their track “Hive Mind” — to showcase some of the forthcoming material and give some insight into the process.

“Hive Mind” video:

Seer previously released the EPs Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2015 and this year respectively.



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Tragic Hero Records has announced the signing of Florida metal recording artist Pathways. Guitarist Jon Rose expressed the band's excitement about the next steps in their career, "The folks over at Tragic Hero Records have showed us nothing but support so far. It's been a truly pleasant experience in every way possible. We have high hopes for the future." 

Pathways has also premiered their new single,"Miserae", off their upcoming EP Dies Irae. The record has an ongoing concept of the four horseman of the apocalypse with each rider symbolizing conquest, war, famine, and death. Rose explains that "Miserae takes us on the menacing journey of the pale horse, death." 
    
Dies Irae will be released on April 15th and preorders will be available soon.

“Miserae” video:



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Brazilian thrash/crossover band D.I.E. has released their new music video for a track sporting the band’s name and features Jão, guitarist and one of the founders of legendary hardcore act Ratos de Porão.

The music video was directed by Diego Cesario and the masks and effects were created by artist Renato Fernades. 

“D.I.E” is taken from the band’s self-titled EP, released independently in 2012.



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SOTO, the band led by vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, will release its second studio album, "Divak", ue on April 1 via earMUSIC.

The official video for the song "Weight Of The World", taken from "Divak", can be seen below.

"Divak" (pronounced "dee-vock") comes shortly after the band's debut release, "Inside The Vertigo". It's a mere 15 months later, partly due to Jeff Scott Soto's insistence on continuing to create and build a true brand for his new venture.

Once again, the album is produced by Jeff Scott Soto and drummer Edu Cominato. It was mixed by long time JSS engineer/associate John Ellis.

The band features Soto on vocals; Cominato on drums; lead guitarist Jorge Salan; bassist David Z; and keyboardist/guitarist BJ. They are heavily featured on "Divak" with their writing contributions together. The first single, "FreakShow", was co-produced/written by Tony Dickinson, who also co-wrote "The Fall", which was the first single from "Inside The Vertigo". The track is an extension of the SOTO sound created especially for this new band.

SOTO, formed in 2014, are the dream band created when Jeff Scott Soto realized how much he missed the "heavier side" of his career after fronting artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, TALISMAN and JOURNEY, and even his own solo albums. The band hopes to continue its role as a driving force in today's current hard rock and metal scene.

"Divak" track listing: 01. Divak (Intro)02. Weight Of The World03. FreakShow04. Paranoia05. Unblame06. Cyber Masquerade07. In My Darkest Hour08. Forgotten09. SuckerPunch10. Time11. Misfired12. The Fall From Grace13. Awakened Bonus tracks (all digital retailers):

14. Final Say (live)15. The Fall (live)16. Break (live)17. When I'm Older (live)18. Stand Up (live)

Additional bonus tracks (iTunes/Apple Music):

19. My Life20. Cracking The Stone

Legendary RUSH drummer Neil Peart has chronicled the band's "R40 Live" tour in the upcoming book called "Far And Wide: Bring That Horizon To Me!" The 312-page hardcover book will be released by ECW Press on September 13.

Official book description: "Thirty-five concerts. 17,000 motorcycle miles. Three months. One lifetime.

"In May 2015, the veteran Canadian rock trio RUSH embarked on their fortieth anniversary tour, 'R40'. For the band and their fans, 'R40' was a celebration and, perhaps, a farewell. But for Neil Peart, each tour is more than just a string of concerts, it's an opportunity to explore backroads near and far on his BMW motorcycle. So if this was to be the last tour and the last great adventure, he decided it would have to be the best one, onstage and off.

"This third volume in Peart's illustrated travel series shares all-new tales that transport the reader across North America and through memories of fifty years of playing drums. From the scenic grandeur of the American West to a peaceful lake in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains to the mean streets of Midtown Los Angeles, each story is shared in an intimate narrative voice that has won the hearts of many readers.

"Richly illustrated, thoughtful, and ever-engaging, Far and Wide is an elegant scrapbook of people and places, music and laughter, from a fascinating road — and a remarkable life."

Peart last year admitted to being "of two minds" about another lengthy run of concert dates, pointing out that having a young child at home makes it difficult for him to be gone for weeks at a time.

"I've been doing this for 40 years — I know how to compartmentalize, and I can stand missing her, but I can't stand her missing me and it's painful and impossible to understand for her. How can a small child process that? And there's the guilt that comes with that — you feel guilty about it, of course. I'm causing pain."

RUSH released the "R40 Live" concert film on November 20.

RUSH recorded and filmed "R40 Live" over two sold-out shows in the band's hometown of Toronto at the Air Canada Centre on June 17 and June 19, 2015 in the middle of their "R40 Live" 35-date North American tour.

British melodic rockers, Vega, will release their new album, Who We Are, on May 13th. A new lyric video for the track “Every Little Monster” can be found below.

Vega is really one of the few bands who successfully manage to mix in their music the heritage of the great melodic rock bands of the 80’s and 90’s with a very contemporary approach to songwriting and production. Vega is indeed one of the few bands that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and give you that butterflies in your stomach excitement as you listen to the songs on an album for the first time. And with their fourth studio album, Who We Are, Vega manage again to create a magic formula with 11 concise and riveting songs that rock from start to finish and will leave you wanting more.

“We always try to push the envelope with each record that we do and this one is no different. We have put in all of our different musical influences into every song and what has come out of it is undoubtedly Vega but a Vega that is bigger than ever!” says singer Nick Workman.

Brothers Tom and James Martin say: “We're thrilled with how this record came out. We were in a fortunate position where we could fly Harry Hess over from Canada to produce the record. We spent the best part of 3 weeks with Harry at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales perfecting this record. There was laughter, blood, sweat and tears along the way and even a hospital visit, but what a great time we had! And to be recording where the likes of Queen, Led Zeppelin Official, Oasis and Black Sabbath have recorded was incredibly inspiring.”

“The ballad “Nothing Lasts Forever” is a stand out for me,” adds keyboard player James Martin. ”It's a huge piano ballad with Queen and The Beatles influences and Harry really went to town on the production of this song.”

Tom Martin says: "This is probably our most diverse record and that's what we tried for when choosing the songs. Each song has its own identity and we probably have the heaviest and softest songs we have ever recorded and everything in between. That gives you an idea of how strong the material is on this record."

Vega will embark on a tour upon the new album’s release with UK rock veterans Magnum. Who We Are truly sees the band taking their song writing and performance to the next level. Be sure to catch the guys on tour.

Who We Are tracklisting

“Explode”
“We Got It All”
“Every Little Monster”
“Nothing Is Forever”
“White Flag”
“For Our Sins”
“Generation Now”
“Ignite”
“Savin' Grace”
“If Not You”
“Hurts So Bad”

“Every Little Monster” lyric video:

Vega lineup:

Nick Workman - Vocals
Tom Martin - Guitars
Dan Chantrey - Drums
James Martin - Keyboards
Marcus Thurston – Guitars



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Subliminal Fear‘s new album title is Escape From Leviathan. After 2 plus years working in the studio, the third album is finally ready, with ten tracks and they show several innovations about past musical style with a greater attention to melodies and with a modern sound. The early sound has evolved in a “cyber metal” with extreme and melodic vocals, djent guitars, and a huge groove and with electronic and industrial synth. The band’s lineup is now composed by two vocalists, to express better all potential of the new sound, also in live shows.

The new music style of this Italian band mixes death metal, electronic music and catchy melodies, and it’s for lovers of Sybreed, Mnemic and Fear Factory. The third full-length has been produced, mixed and mastered by Giuseppe Dentamaro and Subliminal Fear in Golem Dungeon Studios. All keyboards, samples and programming are been arranged by Botys Beezart (Godyva).

Album’s artwork has been realized by Seth Siro Anton (Moonspell, Paradise Lost, Soilwork, Sybreed, Nile, Septicflesh), based on the lyrics concept: a futuristic and apocalyptic vision of the world and the society, inspired by movies like Terminator, Alien and Matrix.

Furthermore the album will include also the participation of international guests: Guillaume Bideau (Mnemic, One-Way Mirror), Jon Howard (Threat Signal, Arkaea) and Lawrence Mackrory (Darkane).

The album will be released both physically and digitally by a Finnish label Inverse Records on May 13th.

Tracklisting:

“Phantoms Or Drones” (feat. Guillaume Bideau)
“All Meanings They’ve Torn” (feat. Lawrence Mackrory)
“Nexus”
“Escape From Leviathan”
“Evilution” (feat. Jon Howard)
“Living In Another World” (Talk Talk cover)
“Dark Star Renaissance”
“Self-Proclaimed Gods”
“Limitless”
“The Disease Is Human Emotion”



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Melodic black/death metallers Shaded Enmity (Seattle, WA) have signed a deal with Kolony Records for the European distribution of their latest full-length'Forsaken And Forgotten. The album will be made available on the European market on April 22nd.

Forsaken And Forgotten, was firstly self-released by the band in June of 2013. The band also obtained the services of the legendary Warrel Dane (Nevermore, Sanctuary) to record vocals on the single “And Life Was Great...”.

Tracklisting:

“We Are The Forsaken, We Are The Forgotten”
“This Is Federal”
“Sadness In Summer Rain”
“No Puedo Dormir”
“If Heaven’s Gates Are Closed, Will You Wait For Me?”
“And Life Was Great…”
“What Have You Done, Oxycontin?”
“Indica Dreams”
“It Only Hurts In December”
“Prophecies And Pain”
“They Were Only Children (The Touch Of Perversion)”
“Alleviant Sativa”
“And Life Was Great…” (feat. Warrel Dane)



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Hail Of Bullets recently announced that David Ingram (ex-Bolt Thrower, Benediction) will be teaming up with them for their show at Maryland Deathfest 2016, taking place in Baltimore, OR on May 28th.

The band have released a sample of the track ”Swoop Of The Falcon", featuring newly recorded vocals by Ingram. Listen below:

Hail Of Bullets previously announced that they have parted ways with singer Martin Van Drunen (centered below; also Pestilence, Asphyx).

A band statement: “We are sorry to announce that Martin van Drunen is no longer part of Hail Of Bullets. On a personal level it’s no longer possible for us to continue the cooperation with Martin. Unfortunately this means we have to cancel all upcoming shows until further notice. This does not mean the end of Hail Of Bullets. The main reason for starting this band 8 years ago was our mutual love for real Death Metal and to have fun playing our favourite kind of music and we did not want to lose this ‘fun part’. We acknowledge the fact that Martin’s a good singer with a distinctive voice but he’s not the only great singer on this planet. For the record, there's no hate or anger here, but this simply wasn't working out anymore. We wish him all the best in his future career. To be continued…”

The band’s last album was 2013’s III: The Rommel Chronicles.

Hail Of Bullets is:

Paul Baayens – guitar
Stephan Gebédi – guitar
Theo Van Eekelen – bass
Ed Warby – drums



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Pulled from his 2014 recording session, Tony MacAlpine and his band perform "Napoleon's Puppet" from the album Concrete Gardens live at EMGtv. His all-star band includes fellow EMG artist, Nili Brosh. Tony and Nili are both using the EMG 57-7H and EMG 66-7H humbucker pickups for their seven string guitars.

On December 12th, 2015 the Benefit For Tony MacAlpine, who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, took place at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and featured performances from John 5 & The Creatures, Zakk Wylde with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian, Steve Vai and band, Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt and culminating in an all-star jam with house band Portnoy, Sheehan, Sherinian, and featuring special guests.

Check out extensive video from the show below:



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Azermedoth Records, in association with BlackHeavens Music, present Hortus Animae's new maxi-EP, There’s No Sanctuary, featuring more than 40 minutes of unreleased dark music. Leaves’ Eyes singer Liv Kristine is a special guest on the title track.

The release will come in a digipack CD, and will be available in North America in May, and in Europe in June. A teaser video can be found below.

Tracklisting:

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

(Photo - Hortus Animae Facebook)



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Minneapolis progressive metal band, Gracepoint, will release their sophomore album, Echoes, on April 8th. The album track “July 4” is streaming below.

Drawing on a wide array of influences from classic heavy rock and metal, thrash and death metal, and a variety of progressive bands from the '70s through today, Gracepoint has forged a heavy and rhythmically complex sound that remains focused and accessible. While debut album Science Of Discontent had a raw, underground sound, Echoes is the result of a collaboration with legendary producer and engineer Neil Kernon (Queensryche, Nevermore, Cannibal Corpse).

Bass player Sam Van Moer and drummer Lance Reed form a musical foundation rich in both syncopation and groove. Guitarists Lon Kunze and Stefan Radzilowski deal in aggressive and complex riffs while placing a clear emphasis on strong rhythmic and melodic phrasing. Together, the band tempers a myriad of time signature changes with groove, melodic sense, and concise song structures thereby forming the backdrop for the clear and powerful vocals of singer Matt Tennessen who brings another level of emotional depth and color to the music.

Tracklisting:

“Animal”
“Spider”
“Secrets”
“Full Circle”
“Somber”
“Crucible”
“Bittersweet”
“July 4”
“Echoes”
“Moon”

Echoes by Gracepoint

Pre-order the Echoes CD at this location.

(Photo - GracepointMetal.com/)



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Metal Wani editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker of British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On CARCASS guitarist Bill Steer's recent comment that he and drummer Daniel Wilding have begun working on material for the follow-up to 2013's "Surgical Steel" album:

Walker: "I can only say what Bill means by him and Dan have been working, he means they've had two rehearsals. 'Cause there's been no time [to work on new music], you know. We got back from Europe just in December [after] five weeks on the road. Bill was straight out with [his other band] GENTLEMANS PISTOLS, up until Christmas. So there's been no time to regroup. And the SLAYER [tour of North America has] come up now, so it kind of puts that on the backburner. But in all honesty, we wouldn't be in a rush anyway, because Bill's got a new album with GENTLEMANS PISTOLS anyway, that just got released, so he needs to put in his some work with that band to promote that record. And I'm also in another band [BRUJERIA], and I'm still waiting for [the new BRUJERIA] album to come out, so, really, I should be busy with that band now. And Dan's actually playing in a band with Kai Hansen from GAMMA RAY as well, so us three are quite busy. So the CARCASS thing will be done when we're good and ready. And there's no rush, because we've never rushed. And there's still a kind of demand for us to perform on the back of 'Surgical Steel'. I mean, it came out in 2013, but it only seems like yesterday to me.'

On whether he thinks the next CARCASS album could come out in 2016:

Walker: "It would never happen, because even if we started writing tomorrow, we need time to write. We're not gonna just sit in a room and cobble some songs together in two weeks. 'Surgical Steel' took, from concept, rehearsal to recording, well over a year to bring together. I really couldn't give you a timescale. It might be two years. It depends on us finding the time to do it. The SLAYER thing's gonna take us five weeks. And I'd rather be doing that anyway. At the moment, it's far more interesting. And, you know, we need to be inspired as well. We need some time to regroup and just chill out, and just to get some fire up our asses again."

On why he thinks the CARCASS and AT THE GATES comeback albums have been so well received:

Walker: "I think there's two factors at work here. One is nostalgia. And two, there's been a demise in quality of, whatever you wanna call it, death metal or extreme metal, for me personally, since the mid-'90s. So there's been kind of a vacuum created where bands have got bigger than we ever were, or AT THE GATES, but not necessarily better. So people have been tolerating a kind of substandard product. So when, for want of a better word, the masters of the craft come back, people are hungry for it. 'Cause there's been lots of bands that have ripped off CARCASS, but, arguably, have they been better than what we did? I don't know."

On CARCASS's songwriting approach:

Walker: "The technicality or the progressiveness or the multiple notes, we've done that as well; we do throw those kind of parts in. We just don't base our whole career on it. But heavy metal is about the riff. We're children of the late '60s, me and Bill. So, of course, we love classic heavy metal, so that's always gonna be the basis of what we're doing."

CARCASS's tour with SLAYER and TESTAMENT is scheduled to kick off on February 19 in Chicago, Illinois.

CARCASS released a special edition version of its latest album, "Surgical Steel", on CD and digitally on October 30, and on vinyl on November 20 via Nuclear Blast. The "Complete Edition" includes the whole album "Surgical Steel", along with the entire "Surgical Remission / Surplus Steel" EP. All the songs were recorded during the "Surgical Steel" sessions, which were helmed by producer Colin Richardson (NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER, GOREFEST, CANNIBAL CORPSE, SINISTER, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA) and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, TESTAMENT).

"Surgical Steel" sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart.

British guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite, MGT for short, has signed with Hanover record imprint SPV and is scheduled to release his first solo album, "Volumes", at the end of June. The lead single, "Knowing Me Knowing You", a cover version of the ABBA classic featuring guest vocalist Ville Valo of HIM, will be available from April 15, mixed by Tim Palmer and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.

Valo is not the only guest musician on "Volumes", which has turned into a veritable all-star recording. Other appearances include Wayne Hussey of Mark's previous band THE MISSION, Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls of THE WONDER STUFF, Ricky Warwick (BLACK STAR RIDERS, THIN LIZZY), Raymond Watts (PIG, KMFDM), Saffron (REPUBLICA), Julianne Regan (ALL ABOUT EVE), Ashton Nyte (THE AWAKENING), Carlo Van Putten (DEAD GUITARS) and goth legend Andi Sex Gang.

Originally from Birmingham, England, MGT appeared on over 20 albums. He worked with THE MISSION, Peter Murphy (BAUHAUS), Tricky, Gary Numan, Ricky Warwick, Al Jourgensen (MINISTRY), P.J. Harvey, Roger Daltrey (THE WHO), members of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Alanis Morissette, WARRIOR SOUL as well as Tommy Victor and PRONG, to name a few.

On the occasion of his joint concert with Ricky Warwick at London's Kentish Town Forum, Mark Gemini Thwaite, Silke Yli-Sirniö (Tough Enough Promotion) and Gero Herrde (A&R, SPV) met to sign the contracts. They later voiced their evident joy about the recently sealed collaboration.

Mark Gemini Thwaite: "Having been a member of THE MISSION for many years, I have a longstanding relationship with Gero Herrde and SPV, a great independent label who have released several of our albums and live DVDs over the years. Now that I am finally releasing a solo album, I feel at home releasing the record through my friends at SPV!"

Silke Yli-Sirniö, management Tough Enough Promotion: "When Mark first sent me the tracks last autumn, I was immediately enchanted! No doubt that I wanted to be part of this project after being asked so kindly. A big THANK YOU actually goes to Ville Valo of HIM who first brought my attention to MGT. I am happy that at least some people are still making music like this in 2016 — and that people like Gero Herrde of SPV still believe in this kind of music!"

Gero Herrde, A&R at SPV: "Mark and I have known each other for many years; we never really lost sight of each other since our work with THE MISSION. With such a brilliant musician, it was only a question of time before he started working on his own solo album, recruiting the crème de la crème of independent rock vocalists for his project. Now the album is here at last and I'm proud to have the opportunity to release it on SPV!"

Quality fan-filmed video footage of BLACK SABBATH's March 7 concert at Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Black Sabbath02. Fairies Wear Boots03. After Forever04. Into The Void05. Snowblind06. War Pigs07. Behind The Wall Of Sleep08. N.I.B. 09. Hand Of Doom10. Rat Salad (with drum solo)11. Iron Man12. Dirty Women13. Children Of The Grave

Encore:

14. Paranoid

BLACK SABBATH resumed its "The End" tour on February 6 in Tacoma, Washington after canceling three shows because singer Ozzy Osbourne was battling severe sinusitis.

The postponed concerts in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada — originally scheduled for early February — took place in early March.

After completing the first U.S. leg of "The End" tour, SABBATH will now play dates in Australia and New Zealand in April, with European festival shows taking place during the summer.

BLACK SABBATH recently revealed that it is selling a new limited-edition CD titled "The End" at the shows on its farewell tour. The disc features four previously unheard studio tracks left off the band's 2013 reunion album, "13", as well as live versions of four songs from the world tour the band did in support of that disc.

The four studio cuts are "Season Of The Dead", "Cry All Night", "Take Me Home" and "Isolated Man". They feature drums by Brad Wilk.

The live tracks, with drumming from Tommy Clufetos, are "God Is Dead?", "Under The Sun", "End Of The Beginning" and "Age Of Reason". The live cuts were recorded in Sydney, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand and Hamilton, Ontario.

Wilk and Clufetos had to get involved after founding SABBATH drummer Bill Ward withdrew from the reunion after initially agreeing to participate in it.

"13", the first SABBATH full-length studio album in 35 years to feature original members Geezer Butler (bass), Tony Iommi (guitar) and Osbourne, also became SABBATH's first No. 1 album in the U.S. when it was released in June 2013. The band abandoned plans for a follow-up after deciding that the current trek would be its last.

METALLICA will reissue its first two albums, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning", on April 15. Both albums have been remastered for the most advanced sound quality and will be available in three formats — CD, vinyl, and deluxe box set. Both deluxe box sets include original source material from the band's personal collection with many never-before- heard-or-seen recordings, along with a book including rare photos and essays from those who were there.

An audio recording of METALLICA performing the song "Motorbreath" and a cover version of the DIAMOND HEAD classic "Am I Evil?" — recorded on March 15, 1985 at the Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco — can be streamed below. The tracks will be included on the remastered deluxe edition of "Ride The Lightning".

The deluxe numbered box set of "Kill 'Em All" includes four vinyl records, five CDs, one DVD, a deluxe book including rare photos and a patch while the deluxe numbered box set of "Ride The Lightning" includes four vinyl records, six CDs, one DVD, a deluxe book including more of those unseen photos, a mini-book of lyrics handwritten by James Hetfield and a set of three posters. The deluxe box sets are limited-edition collectors' items.

Fans can pre-order both deluxe box sets at the Met Store now and all six new items will, of course, also be available at your local record store on Friday, April 15, just in time for Record Store Day.

Originally issued on July 25, 1983 through the independent label Megaforce Records, "Kill 'Em All" was recorded in two weeks on a miniscule budget in upstate New York. Although only 1,500 copies were initially pressed, the album was reissued by Elektra Records after the band signed to that label in 1984 and has since been certified triple platinum for sales of more than three million copies.

The varied sounds of "Ride The Lightning", which included the first METALLICA ballad in "Fade To Black", drew mixed responses from some fans. The band's drummer, Lars Ulrich, told Rolling Stone magazine: "It did surprise us a little bit, I guess. People started calling us sellouts and all that type of stuff. Some people were a little bit bewildered by the fact that there was a song that had acoustic guitars."

Noting that at least four songs from the album are still part of METALLICA's live set today, Ulrich said that "Ride The Lightning" "holds up very well," adding, "There's kind of a youthful energy that runs through the record."

The official 2016 promotional photo of the new lineup of Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW can be seen on this page. Joining Ritchie in the group are LORDS OF BLACK singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT). Ritchie spoke to Dutch magazine Aardschok about his decision to enlist a new group of musicians to help him perform RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics at three European shows this summer.

Asked why he chose not to hire a "more famous" vocalist, Blackmore said: "The whole idea was to find good musicians. Of course, there were many familiar names around, but this idea didn't appeal to me. Unlike many others, I prefer to discover new musicians who can add a fresh approach to my music. It's great to present new musicians to the public."

He continued: "The singer Ronnie Romero is complete unknown. He's 34 and I'm sure that he'll have a great career in this scene. He is orginally from Chile, but lives in Spain. Bassist Bob Nouveau is from Connecticut, and Jens is a known and respected keyboard player. It's very easy to work with him, because he's so experienced.

"With drummers, I always tend to be very selective. For instance, I do not like to work with showmen. On stage, I need a groove and a lot of these so-called 'famous' drummers often rely more on the show element than on feel. I know many guys who can make their sticks fly and use sixteen bass drums, but who are mediocre when it comes to music. David Keith, however, has a great feel for rhythm."

Blackmore also talked about the renewed interest in classic rock and the media hype surrounding his return to rock. He said: "I never think about how good or bad things are going in a group. I'm just trying to create music of a high-quality standard. My music never really got into the charts. I think the most important thing is to believe in yourself. I think that RAINBOW made some memorable albums, which aren't less appreciated than any DEEP PURPLE album. Both groups were advanced for their time.

"The nostalgia aspect certainly has a role in the upcoming shows. Some people will use this project to check if I can still do it, while others will probably see it as an opportunity to see me on a bigger stage once again."

He added: "I don't want to sound morbid, but I do believe that thoughts like these come with the age that I have. I turned 70 and that has its disadvantages. Having a sore back or stiff fingers on stage is no fun. However, all this comes totally from myself.

"There were moments, a few years ago, when I thought of how much fun it would be to play some of the old songs again. However, the longer I thought about it the less appealing it all became. It was not until I found out about Ronnie that the whole idea came back again and when I started realizing the idea. He has a great voice and his fresh input is what gave me the final push. I am quite demanding when it comes to singers, but with Ronnie is absolutely feels good. This guy has a great future in the scene. He sounds like a perfect fit for this job because he has a voice that reminds of [Ronnie James] Dio but is versatile enough to also handle the [Ian] Gillan songs well."

Regarding the song selection for the upcoming shows, Blackmore said: "The setlist will be RAINBOW songs for about 70 percent, including 'Stargazer', because apparently that's a song everybody wants to hear. About 30 percent will be DEEP PURPLE songs. We will focus on the best-known songs. The Dio era will be a central part of the show, but we will also play songs from the Joe Lynn Turner and Graham Bonnet periods. As far as PURPLE is concerned; we will play the Gillan era but will also play something from the David Coverdale period."

Blackmore also addressed the possibility of further shows being announced if the upcoming dates go well. He said: "I deliberately chose to only give three concerts, to see if I'm still able to do this. Of course, there have been a lot of attractive offers, especially from Sweden and Finland. However, we must remember that I have already planned a German tour for BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in July. As you know, after I suspended the activities of RAINBOW, I became very interested in playing renaissance music. To move back to the electrics from the acoustics won't be easy. I've rarely played rock music in the last years, and before these shows I have to cut my nails short. Because when I play this other music, I need long nails. Five days after the last RAINBOW show, there'll already be the first BLACKMORE'S NIGHT show, so it's unclear if I will have enough time to grow my nails back. If it won't work so fast, I have to rely on false plastic nails. I never had this problem before, but I'm glad that I can [do something to] help me out."

He went on to say: "If we enjoy ourselves and the audience gives us a positive vibe back, then I won't rule out the possibility of continuing. However, the second round of dates will probably take place in 2017. But the crucial factor will be the chemistry between the musicians and the audience reaction. These shows will be recorded on video, so that we can release it later on. But my heart will always belong to renaissance music."

Blackmore will perform RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE material at three shows this year in Europe. The U.K. concert will take place on Saturday, June 25 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. The performance will be Blackmore's first U.K. rock show in over 20 years. The two concerts in Germany will take place at the Monsters Of Rock festival on Friday, June 17 at Freilichtbühne in Loreley and on Saturday, June 18 at Festplatz am Viadukt in Bietigheim-Bissingen.

"The Shadow Side", the debut album from BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack's solo project, ANDY BLACK, will be released on May 6 via Lava/Republic. The CD's first single, "We Don't Have To Dance", will be released digitally on March 18.

"The Shadow Side" was produced by John Feldmann and is expected to include collaborations with FALL OUT BOY's Patrick Stump, Gerard Way, 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER's Ashton Irwin and ALL TIME LOW's Rian Dawson.

"The Shadow Side" track listing:

01. Homecoming King02. We Don't Have To Dance03. Ribcage04. Stay Alive (feat. Matt Skiba)05. Love Was Made To Break06. Beautiful Pain07. Put The Gun Down08. Drown Me Out09. Paint It Black10. Break Your Halo11. Louder Than Your Love12. Broken Pieces13. The Void

Biersack states: "['We Don't Have To Dance'] is hands down one of my favorite tracks from the record and it was fun to write about loathing social events, hatred of small talk and refusal to dance at clubs haha!"

Regarding the making of ANDY BLACK's debut CD, Biersack told U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine: "It's completely different, very unlike my entire career, which has been spent in a collaborative effort with four other individuals. There's also a precedent when it comes to making a BLACK VEIL BRIDES record. At this point now, this is our fifth record that we're making — and that's not to say that we go in with a cookie-cutter approach, but we certainly know stylistically what we like. The odd thing about the solo record was there was no precedent."

Asked what ANDY BLACK sounds like, Biersack said: "I think my intention for this was to go as far in the other direction as possible. Sonically, the goal was to really play with music and a lot of different stuff, to have a lot of odd instrumentation and to have a lot of programmed stuff, keyboards and more classic, almost pop-rock guitar. It's more U2 than MEGADETH. There are no guitar solos on the record. There's a lot of drumming styles; there's some weird sleigh bells. It was about playing with music and seeing what happened. We came up with something in the vein of stuff I love — U2, Adam Ant… It's somewere between Springsteen, new romantic and modern goth-pop music."

Biersack previously described ANDY BLACK as a "fun and artistic way for me to try something that musically I wouldn't want to force into BLACK VEIL BRIDES."

Asked why he couldn't incorporate his songs into BLACK VEIL BRIDES, Biersack replied, "There are so many bands I loved growing up whose singer would have a new idea for a sound and then completely ruin the band by taking a shit on the whole audience. That wasn't my interest."

Biersack continued, "It would be different if the reason I was doing this was that I wanted to get away from BLACK VEIL BRIDES… This is more that I didn't want to cross the two things."

The singer said that when he informed his bandmates about the project, "I made it very clear… it was a passion project on the side, and everybody in the band gets it."

Audio samples of all the songs that are set to appear on "No One Can Save You From Yourself", the new album from Detroit, Michigan's WALLS OF JERICHO, can be seen below. The CD will be released on March 25 via Napalm Records.

WALLS OF JERICHO frontwoman Candace Kucsulain recently told Toxic Online about "No One Can Save You From Yourself": "It's been a long time since we've put out a record, but not that much has changed. We are still pissed, it's still heavy as shit, maybe a bit more than before, and it still rips! We have a unique energy on stage, something we've worked hard on for the past 17 years, and with all the time between records, it helped us realize what was important to us for our live shows. So through that, we focused on a record with our live show in mind and made a record that represents us and the energy we create. Lyrically, a lot of shit has gone down in my life, and this record you can feel the pain, darkness and chaos. It's a soundtrack to all of it."

Regarding the "No One Can Save You From Yourself" album title, Candace said: "We have been doing this for a long time, and you never stop finding a reason to fight. We feel that real change can't happen until you look inside yourself and own up to your part. We are our own worst enemy, and that can apply to life limitlessly. It's about progress not perfect, but once you know the difference, there's nothing left to do but take action."

"No One Can Save You From Yourself" track listing:

01. Intro02. Illusion Of Safety03. No One Can Save You From Yourself04. Forever Militant05. Fight The Good Fight06. Cutbird07. Relentless08. Damage Done09. Reign Supreme10. Wrapped In Violence11. Anthem12. Beyond All Praise13. Probably Will

WALLS OF JERICHO released a demo version of the song "Relentless" in 2014.

Drummer Tom Hane has announced his departure from IN THIS MOMENT. He said in a statement: "I have had an amazing four years with some amazing people and wouldn't trade it for anything. However, I have struggled to be truly happy creatively.

"The reason I started drumming/ writing music was because it made me happy. I didn't want to stay for the wrong reasons.

"This will not be a departure from music for me. I have some great things on the horizon and hope you all join me in my new journey. I'd also like to thank every single person, fan and colleague that made the last four years so special. You all mean the world to me."

Based out of Algonquin, Illinois, Tom joined IN THIS MOMENT in 2012. Barry Kerch of SHINEDOWN said about Tom: "Awesome guy. Awesome drummer. This guy is going to go very far."

IN THIS MOMENT will be the special guest on this summer's ROB ZOMBIE and KORN co-headlining amphitheater tour, dubbed "Return Of The Dreads". The trek will kick off in July and will visit 25 North American cities, including Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, Las Vegas and more.

IN THIS MOMENT's fifth album, "Black Widow", sold 36,000 copies in the U.S. during its first week of release to debut at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart.

IN THIS MOMENT signed with Atlantic Records in 2013 after completing its contract with Century Media Records.

A video recap of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's series of intimate New York City shows leading up to the March 11 release of the band's new album, "Incarnate" can be seen below. Spanning both Manhattan and Brooklyn, these five shows all took place in venues the band had never played before. To make these shows even more special, for each night of their New York City residency, the band debuted a different new song from "Incarnate" in the set. Fans in attendance were the first to hear the song live. The KsE x NYC dates were as follows: March 06 - Gramercy Theatre (Manhattan)March 07 - Bowery Ballroom (Manhattan)March 09 - Saint Vitus (Brooklyn)March 10 - Marlin Room at Webster Hall (Manhattan)March 11 - Rough Trade NYC (Brooklyn)

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a North American headline tour this week. They will be joined by MEMPHIS MAY FIRE and 36 CRAZYFISTS for the trek. The tour runs from March 16 in San Antonio, Texas to April 24 near Charleston, South Carolina.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer Adam Dutkiewicz recently told Revolver magazine that the band's lead singer, Jesse Leach, "hit a wall with ideas" during the songwriting process for "Incarnate" after completing the first three or four songs in the studio. "He couldn't find lyrics he was really stoked on," Adam explained. "But Jesse's a great lyricist and a great songwriter, so I just told him, 'Keep writing, and when you hit on something that inspires you, bring it to me.'"

Leach, for his part, admitted that he struggled for a bit. "It did take me a little longer," he said. "But we're at this stage now with our band where we can't be phoning it in. If you really care about your music and you care about your career and your fans, you've gotta give 'em everything you've got. And so I came to a point where this album literally drove me crazy. My wife can attest to that. There were a good couple of weeks where I wasn't myself. I just got lost in the process, because I wanted this record to be everything it could be. I was losing sleep, not sleeping at all, and waking up in the middle of the night and sitting down and writing pages and pages and pages of words. By the time all was said and done, I probably had 80 pages of lyrics. I just wanted to give it everything I could, vocally and lyrically."

"Winterbane", the new music video from ABBATH, the band led by ex-IMMORTAL frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath), can be seen below. The clip was created by Jon Simvonis and was filmed by Ragnvald Stokken and Francisco Munoz.

"Winterbane" is taken from ABBATH's self-titled debut album, which was released on January 22 via Season Of Mist.

Bass duties for ABBATH are being handled by a man familiar to metal fans across the world — Tom Cato Visnes, more widely known as King Ov Hell and main composer for several GORGOROTH albums as well as his own bands OV HELL, with singer Shagrath from DIMMU BORGIR, and GOD SEED, with exceptional black metal vocalist Gaahl.

King Ov Hell comments on the "Winterbane" clip: "After some months of hard work, we are finally ready to present you the greatest metal video of all time, 'Winterbane'. Next project would be to build a wall between Sweden and Norway, and have the Swedes pay for it. We are making metal great again!"

ABBATH released a seven-inch single, "Count The Dead", on December 11, 2015 via Season Of Mist. The A-side features the title track while the B-side consists of a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Riding On The Wind".

In a recent interview with Australia's TheMusic.com.au, Abbath spoke about the circumstances surrounding his departure from IMMORTAL and his decision to launch a new group. "I feel like I've been fired," he said. "It was never my intention to go solo but I really feel like I've been forced into it. Apparently they [lyricist/guitarist Demonaz and drummer Horgh] are going to continue on [as IMMORTAL] without me and that's fine — but it was very disappointing that no one, not even [IMMORTAL's record label] Nuclear Blast, wanted to hear my side of the story. The other guys wanted to do things solely on their timetable and also claimed that I need to go to rehab, which was just nonsense, because I've always delivered, live and in the studio — always."

He continued: "I just think they ended up being in it for the wrong reasons. They weren't showing any passion for what we were doing.

"Even though my new band is called ABBATH, it finally feels like I'm in a real band — part of a group of musicians who have a great dialogue and share a passion for the music. It didn't feel like that in IMMORTAL for a long time."

"Follow You", the the brand new music video from the Sheffield, England-based band BRING ME THE HORIZON, can be seen below. The song is taken from the group's fifth studio album, "That's The Spirit", which debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 62,000 copies in its first week of release. The chart and sales numbers were career highs for the British act.

"That's The Spirit" marks a surprising change in BRING ME THE HORIZON's sound and singer Oliver Sykes told The Pulse Of Radio how it came about. "Really, we were wrapping up 'Sempiternal', and we just felt like we'd progressed a lot just in that short space of time since releasing 'Sempiternal' and touring it, so, yeah, I guess when we finished the campaign, we just really felt like we had a big opportunity. Like, 'Sempiternal' really got us out to the public a lot more than the previous record and stuff, and it felt like people were waiting to see what we did next and people were really hungry for it, you know what I mean? So we just wanted to take the opportunity and really smash it out of the park, I guess."

"That's The Spirit" not only marks a change in the band's sound but also has a concept behind it.

Sykes explained recently: "It's a celebration of depression. A way of making light of it. That's the spirit — it's quite a depressing phrase when you think about it — the sort of thing you only ever use when you know there's no positive answer to the situation."

BRING ME THE HORIZON last month announced a headline U.S. spring tour. Dates kick off April 30 at Welcome To Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida and continue through May 22 at Columbus, Ohio's Rock On The Range.

SLAYER's new music video for the song "You Against You" can be seen below. The clip was directed by BJ McDonnell, who previously worked with SLAYER on the "Repentless" video. "You Against You" stars Jason Trost ("Hatchet III") as Wyatt, the eyepatched rebel inmate, and tells the story of the circumstances that led to Wyatt's erroneous arrest and imprisonment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Martin Hausler

Frontiers Music Srl will release SUNSTORM's fourth album, titled "Edge Of Tomorrow", on May 13.

A track from the CD, "The Sound Of Goodbye", can be streamed below.

SUNSTORM is Joe Lynn Turner's successful AOR/melodic rock project, something that came about for the first time in 2006 when Frontiers president Serafino Perugino wanted to dig up some unreleased gems that Turner wrote during the late '80s and early '90s.

The very good reviews and acclaim which surrounded the debut self-titled release was the fuel that ignited three more records, until the project was momentarily shelved when Joe started working on the RATED X supergroup with Tony Franklin and Carmine Appice.

After the release of the RATED X album, Joe wanted to go back to the more melodic material of SUNSTORM, but also wanted to retain some of the harder edge which the RATED X album had. So he asked producer and songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio (HARDLINE, EDGE OF FOREVER) to come up with some new songs in that vein. Del Vecchio joined forces with Simone Mularoni, guitar player of Italian prog metallers DGM. Together they developed songs which were exactly what Joe wanted, so it was a natural process to move forward and record another SUNSTORM album. As usual, other songwriters, such as Soren Kronqvist and Daniel Palmqvist completed the array of individuals involved.

Joe Lynn Turner says: "This new SUNSTORM album is the best of the series! We went harder... stronger... and heavier than ever before without losing the integrity of what the project is about... I call it melodic metal! The songs are very well crafted, the messages are profound, the performances amazing.. and the sound is incredible! All involved can be very proud of such a great music. I urge anyone who loves great music to check out 'Edge Of Tomorrow'; you won't be disappointed!"

"Edge Of Tomorrow" track listing:

01. Don't Walk Away From A Goodbye02. Edge Of Tomorrow03. Nothing Left To Say04. Heart Of The Storm05. The Sound Of Goodbye06. The Darkness Of This Dawn07. You Hold Me Down08. Angel Eyes09. Everything You've Got10. Tangled In Blue11. Burning Fire

SUNSTORM is:

Joe Lynn Turner: Lead VocalsAlessandro Del Vecchio: Hammond Organ, Keyboards, Backing Vocals Simone Mularoni: GuitarNik Mazzucconi: Bass Francesco Jovino: Drums