Montreal progressive death/black metal act Hands Of Despair has released a music video for the track “Veil”, off their upcoming album Bereft. The album is set for release on February 9 through Deathbound Records. Preorder are available on Bandcamp.

Tracklisting:

“Reborn”
“Bereft”
“Sleeper”
“Veil”
“Remnants”
“Étoc”
“Veil”

“Veil” video:



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Montreal progressive black ‘n' rollers Frostbite are set to release their debut full-length album, entitled Etching Obscurity, on February 5th, 2016 via Tmina Records. BraveWords is honored to introduce to the world the epically bleak and beautiful track “Malleus” from said album.

Active since 2012, Montreal's Frostbite are a collective of diverse musicians who've coalesced their respective and wholly unique influences in an epic and honest pursuit at harnessing the sound of the harsh, frigid, bleak Canadian winter. 
 
Following the recording of their 2013 Through The Grave EP, the band traversed many treacherous passes and darkened chasms - obstacles that spelled the end for several weary travelers. Carrying on, the lone remaining member - founder and multi-instrumentalist, Max Allard - recruited several experienced expeditioners along the way. Together, they stood side-by-side, staring up at the daunting peak of creative progression.
 
With experience and fortitude as their guide, 2016 sees this band of five at their creative apex - ready to stake the banner of progressive black ‘n’ roll atop its magnificent summit.

Tracklisting:

"Ascending The Void"
"Sigil Seal"
"The Pest"
"Malleus"
"Through The Grave"
"Delayed Perception"
"Etching Obscurity"
"Shining"
"Soul Devourer"
"Forgotten Path"
"Erased From Existence"

Pre-orders of the digital version of "Etching Obscurity" are now available on the band's official Bandcamp page. Those who pre-order the digital version of the album can also get the physical version by attending the band's CD release party on February 5th at Petit Campus in Montreal.

Lineup:

Krystal Koffin - vocals
Max Allard - guitars
Tony Collin - guitars
Stef Deschênes - bass
Alexief Delbes - drums



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Australian hard rockers, Massive, will release their new album, Destination Somewhere, on April 22nd via Earache. A new album teaser, as well as the video for the track “One For The Road”, are streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“One For The Road”
“Blood Money Blues”
“Sinking Ship”
“The Fall”
“Made Of Stone”
“Destination Somewhere”
“Up In Smoke”
“Circus”
“The Way It's Always Been”
“Beaten Dog”

“One For The Road” video:

Teaser:



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Brooklyn’s Magrudergrind has teamed up with Relapse Records for the release of their new album, II, on February 12th. Again the album was recorded with engineer Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary, Nails). The track “Regressive Agenda” is streaming below:

II is a savage manifesto of scathing political and personal revolution and unquestionably Magrudergrind's most crushing and accomplished material to date. II is can be pre-ordered in digital formats here and physical formats here.

Tracklisting:

“Imperium In Imperio”
“Divine Dictation”
“The Opportunist”
“Relentless Hatred”
“Sacrificial Hire”
“War For Resources”
“Black Banner”
“Hara-Kiri”
“Stale Affairs”
“Regressive Agenda”
“Incarceration State”
“Unit 731”
“Icaro”
“Husayni / Handschar”
“Pharmacide”

“Sacrificial Hire” video:

 
Magrudergrind will head out on a European tour with Primitive Man beginning February 26th in Tillburg, NL and running through March 27th in Antwerpen, BE. A complete list of dates can be found below. North American dates will be announced soon.

February
26 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Netherlands Deathfest
27 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Gasweck
28 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romanadie
29 - Nevers, France - Cafe Charbon

March
1 - Toulouse, France - Pavillion Sauvages
2 - Barcelona, Spain - Rocksound
3 - Madrid, Spain - Baracudas
4 - Donsoti, Spain - Mogamos
5 - Montpellier, France - Secret Place
6 - Milano, Italy - Lo Fi
7 - Bologna, Italy - Freakout Club
8 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Gromka
12 - Budapest, Hungary - Durer Kert
14 - Munchen, Germany - Feierwerk
15 - Wurzburg, Germany - Cairo
17 - Aalborg, Denmark - 1000 Fryd
18 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Truckstop Alaska
19 - Stockholm, Sweden - Bergsunds Strand 43
20 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang
22 - Leipzig, Germany - Westwerk
23 - Prague, Czech Republic - Modra Vopice
24 - Berlin, Germany - Casiopeia
25 - Utrecht, Netherlands - DB's
26 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
27 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Het Bos



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British hard rock band, The Treatment, are set to release their studio album, Generation Me, worldwide on March 18th. The band’s third album will be the first to feature new lead singer Mitchel Emms and new guitarist Tao Grey. The video for “Let It Begin” can be seen below:

Formed in Cambridge in 2008, early reports of the Treatment’s Generation Me album points to a triumphant return-to-form, celebrating a raft of spectacular big sounding rock songs bursting with hi-octane rock energy.

Tracklisting:

“Let It Begin
“The Devil
“Tell Us The Truth
“Generation Me
“Backseat Heartbeat
“Cry Tough
“We Are Beautiful
“I Know She Knows
“Bloodsucker
“Better Think Again
“Light The Sun

Produced by Laurie Mansworth, mixed by Tony Newton and mastered by Ade Emsley, Generation Me is the follow up to 2014’s Running With The Dogs album. It’s a hands-down, mind-blowing rock extravaganza that will leave rock fans wanting more than what they bargained for.

Ever since The Treatment first arrived in 2011 with their debut album, This Might Hurt, they’ve played numerous festivals including Sonisphere, Download and most recently, Steelhouse, and toured extensively with Alice Cooper, Steel Panther, KISS, Motley Crue, Slash, and W.A.S.P.

A 14-date nationwide UK Tour will launch on Wednesday, April 27th, when the band kick things off at Norwich Waterfront, with their final UK show at London’s O2 Academy Islington on Friday, May 13th. Tickets for all 14 shows go on sale at 10 AM on Monday, January 25th. Special guest on all UK concerts is The Amorettes.

Lineup:

Mitchel Emms (vocals)
Tagore Grey (guitar)
Tao Grey (guitar)
Dhani Mansworth (drums)
Rick 'Swoggle' Newman (bass)

 



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Seven years have passed since the birth of Vredehammer, and this is celebrated by the release of their second full-length album, Violator, definitely their heaviest and most powerful release yet. The new track, ”Cyclone”, is streaming below.

With their debut album Vinteroffer, Vredehammer instantly made themselves known as a force to be reckoned with in the Norwegian metal scene. One album in and the band was already nominated for “Metal Album Of The Year” through the Norwegian Grammys. They also toured Europe as direct support for the mighty Satyricon, as well as together with Keep Of Kalessin and Vreid.

The references may not be obvious in Vredehammer’s latest release but there is certainly an underlying vibe.

Per Valla specifies: ”With Violator I wanted to take a step back and focus on the feeling I used to get from listening to bands like Metallica, Pantera and Megadeth. This resulted in an album that isn't really focused on speed and aggression, but rather groove and power. It will be interesting to see how such an album will be received these days, when a lot of the focus seems to be on speed for many of the extreme metal bands out there today.”

Tracklisting:

“Light The Fucking Sky”
“Spawn Tyrant”
“Violator”
“Deadfall”
“Ursus”
“Cyclone”
“Blodhevn”

“Cyclone”:

 
”Vinteroffer was a good release, but our new album Violator takes our music to a whole new level when it comes to writing really powerful and well-composed songs. I feel confident that this album will be one to remember.” - Per Valla

 



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Metal Shock Finland's Alison Booth recently had a chat with Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet about the forthcoming album, Ghostlights. Some excerpts are available below, the full audio interview can be found here.

Talking about the guests on the album, Tobi discussed some of his choices and the process he went through:

“When I write a song like the title track for the new album, I know Michael Kiske (Unisonic, ex-Helloween) would be the singer for that song. I have it in the back of my mind, then I’d do it right from the start. But sometimes you have a song, for example ‘The Haunting’ with Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) – the music had been written and I was standing in my basement (which is the music part of the house) and I was in there listening to the material and then I tried to imagine who could be the proper singer for that song. ‘The Haunting’ was in need of a vocalist who would be both theatrical actor, but at the same time dramatic vocalist and the song was very, very eerie. And I imagined somebody who should sound like a crossing between something very flamboyant and the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (laughs).

And of course I was going through my record collection and thought ‘Dee Snider’s got to be in it!’ It was not obvious I would ask Dee Snider for such a track, because it’s not exactly ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ or ‘I Wanna Rock’, but if you listen to the final result, it sounds like no one else could have done that and in the end it fits. It’s not a choice that comes across as reasonable  before you finally do it, but after you’ve done it, it sounds like nothing else could have been better and that’s something I’m really proud of.”

Regarding the forthcoming Ghostlights World Tour: “I don’t believe we’re gonna do another tour within the next three, four, five years, there are so many people involved with individual schedules. So it should not be taken for granted that everybody is available, and why we want to seize the chance that we are all available for this tour. We’ll play for three hours minimum, I think it’s gonna be a little longer and we’re gonna do 24 or 25 tracks. It’s gonna be a journey through the history of Avantasia and it’s going to be very visual, we’re going to bring the whole stage production, it’s gonna be an amazing scene and something quite unique. I can highly recommend it to anyone that’s into Avantasia, it’s gonna be the last time in a very long time that you will have a chance to do so.”

 

Avantasia's seventh album, Ghostlights, will be released worldwide on January 29th via Nuclear Blast. Check out the new lyric video for the album’s title track:

The opus features guest appearances of Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Geoff Tate (Queensryche, Operation: Mindcrime), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), Michael Kiske (Unisonic, Helloween), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Bob Catley (Magnum), Jorn Lande, Bruce Kulick (KISS), Robert Mason (Warrant), Herbie Langhans, Oliver Hartmann and Sascha Paeth.

The record contains twelve songs and was produced by Tobias and Sascha Paeth in Gatestudio Wolfsburg, Germany. Paeth is responsible for engineering and mixing Ghostlights, too. Mastering was done by Michael Rodenberg.

The instrumentalists on Ghostlights are the following:

Sascha Paeth - rhythm guitars, lead guitars, bass, additional keys
Michael Rodenberg - orchestration, keys
Tobias Sammet - additional keys and bass
Bruce Kulick - lead guitars
Oliver Hartmann - lead guitars
Felix Bohnke – drums

Tracklistings:

CD
“Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose”
“Let The Storm Descend Upon You”
“The Haunting”
“Seduction Of Decay”
“Ghostlights”
“Draconian Love”
“Master Of The Pendulum”
“Isle Of Evermore”
“Babylon Vampyres”
“Lucifer”
“Unchain The Light”
“A Restless Heart And Obsidian Skies”

2CD Digibook:
“Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose”
“Let The Storm Descend Upon You”
“The Haunting”
“Seduction Of Decay”
“Ghostlights”
“Draconian Love”
“Master Of The Pendulum”
“Isle Of Evermore”
“Babylon Vampyres”
“Lucifer”
“Unchain The Light”
“A Restless Heart And Obsidian Skies”
“Wake Up To The Moon” (bonus track)

CD2 (Avantasia live)
“Spectres”
“Invoke The Machine”
“The Story Ain’t Over”
“Prelude”
“Reach Out For The Light”
“Avantasia”
“What’s Left Of Me”
“Dying For An Angel”
“Twisted Mind”
“The Watchmaker’s Dream”
“Another Angel Down”

3CD Deluxe Edition Book (includes 68 page photo book plus karaoke version of CD1 with bonus track):

“Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose”
“Let The Storm Descend Upon You”
“The Haunting”
“Seduction Of Decay”
“Ghostlights”
“Draconian Love”
“Master Of The Pendulum”
“Isle Of Evermore”
“Babylon Vampyres”
“Lucifer”
“Unchain The Light”
“A Restless Heart And Obsidian Skies”

"Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose":

Teaser:

Avantasia recently announced two live North American dates – one in Toronto and one in New York. A third date has been scheduled for Anaheim, CA at the House Of Blues (Disneyland) on April 11th.

Mastermind Tobias Sammett talks about the Anaheim date: “Great news I had this morning, Avantasia have been confirmed for New York and Toronto. Now another North American date is set: Anaheim, California. I think we recorded our LIVE IN LOS ANGELES album with Edguy there. Found a nice picture from back then, our 3rd US tour. Anyway, even though it's gonna be a rather short visit of just three shows - I can't wait to bring AVANTASIA to the US and Canada. 3hrs of Epic Rock and Bombastic Metal - live at Disneyland - isn't that a great fit? Will keep you posted regarding ticket sale…

“My American fellow weirdos: Which songs do You wanna hear? I can't wait to come over and ROCK AMERICA AGAIN! Cheers, T”

Avantasia will be performing for the first time in New York City and Toronto this April, as part of the Ghostlights World Tour.

Tobias Sammet and his ensemble of world-renowned musicians will be bringing a 3-hour long show to Queen Elizabeth Theater in Toronto, ON on April 13th, and to the Playstation Theater in New York City, NY on April 15th. Tickets for both shows are on sale: (Toronto, New York).

The lineup for these show will be comprised of:

Tobias Sammet - Vocals
Michael Kiske - Vocals
Eric Martin - Vocals
Ronnie Atkins - Vocals
Jorn Lande - Vocals
Amanda Somerville - Backing vocal/vocals
Herbie Langhans - Backing vocal/vocals
Sascha Paeth - Guitars
Oliver Hartmann - Guitars
Miro Rodenberg - Keyboards
Andre Neigenfind - Bass
Felix Bohnke - Drums

Avantasia has promised to take the fans to a magical world all its own, with a setlist that embraces its entire history, from The Metal Opera to Ghostlights and everything in between.

Says Tobias Sammet: “Great news - my North American friends: WE'RE COMING BACK! You know, the few memories I have of our last Avantasia show in Canada are a bit blurry. Back then I went from hospital right to the stage as I had some real mean flu. I was so high on whatever medication the doctor gave me to make the show, all I remember are the green little creatures in my dressing room that were calling me names but always disappeared under the sofa whenever I tried to catch them to confront them with their silly behaviour… Now, looking at the video I sounded quite a bit awful, ha! But I've been told I was funny and a very happy person that night.

“AND I AM HAPPY TO SAY WE'LL BE BACK - IN GREAT SHAPE: Toronto and New York confirmed, West Coast show in the works. Unfortunately Bob won't be able to join us for the dates outside Europe as he will be off on a Magnum tour, but we'll bring Michi Kiske, Jorn Lande, Eric Martin, Ronnie Atkins, Amanda Somerville, Herbie Langhans, Sascha Paeth, Olli Hartmann and ME of course… And Miro. And Andre on bass… And as if that wasn't enough on drums there will be no other than... THE DRUMMER!!! Can't wait to hit the stage!”



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QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton has paid tribute to David Bowie, who died on January 10, two days after his 69th birthday. He told Journal Star: "Oh, man, [Bowie] was a huge, huge influence on me. I had a wide palate of music that I grew up listening to, and he was part of my sonic landscape. And to tell you the truth, [the news of his death] still hasn't hit me yet and I don't know when it's going to hit me. His music got me through torment and problems in youth and days gone by. It's such a sad loss. A guy that most everyone lived up to. He was the man."

According to reports from insiders in the David Bowie camp, the British singer, songwriter, actor and fashion icon died from liver cancer, after suffering from a handful heart attacks in recent years.

Bowie died following a private 18-month battle against the disease. Stage director Ivo van Hove, who had been working with Bowie on his musical "Lazurus" revealed to The Independent that he knew Bowie was ill for "about a year."

Bowie biographer Wendy Leigh went on to tell the BBC that musician's recent health woes were actually quite extensive. "He didn't just battle cancer," she said. "He had six heart attacks in recent years. I got this from somebody very close to him."

QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Condition Hüman", debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8.

The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

"Condition Hüman" was released on October 2, 2015 via Century Media.

METALLICA's Kirk Hammett has paid tribute to David Bowie, who died on January 10, two days after his 69th birthday. During an appearance on a recent edition of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page), the guitarist said: "[Bowie's] influence on me was huge. 'Changesonebowie' was one of the… part of a handful of albums that I bought when I was a young kid. I had decided to make a point of going out to the record store and buying albums from artists that I heard on the radio. It was Elton John, it was David Bowie, it was KISS, it was THIN LIZZY and it was LED ZEPPELIN. And that was my first batch of albums that I bought. And the Bowie album was 'Changesonebowie', and I bought it because I loved the song 'Fame' and I loved the song 'Golden Years'. And they were just so completely different from anything else that was playing on the radio back then. And I really got into it."

He continued: "David Bowie has been a pretty huge influence on me and on other people in [METALLICA] as well. I know that… [Late METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton and I, we used to listen to the 'Ziggy Stardust' album a lot on the 'Ride The Lightning' tour. The title [of the METALLICA song] 'Leper Messiah' is actually in the song 'Ziggy Stardust'. And if you wanna dig any further into how much of an influence he was, all you have to do is listen to the [Bowie] song 'Andy Warhol', and you'll know what I'm talking about. That song was a heavy influence on Cliff Burton and that album, 'Hunky Dory', was a big influence on Cliff Burton as well. If you listen to 'Andy Warhol', you'll hear something in that song that totally… You'll hear something in that song that will make you say, 'Ah! Okay. Bowie's music was an influence on METALLICA.' I'm not gonna say where or what or how or whatever; I'm just gonna leave it up to you [to figure it out]."

According to reports from insiders in the David Bowie camp, the British singer, songwriter, actor and fashion icon died from liver cancer, after suffering from a handful heart attacks in recent years.

Bowie died following a private 18-month battle against the disease. Stage director Ivo van Hove, who had been working with Bowie on his musical "Lazurus" revealed to The Independent that he knew Bowie was ill for "about a year."

Bowie biographer Wendy Leigh went on to tell the BBC that musician's recent health woes were actually quite extensive. "He didn't just battle cancer," she said. "He had six heart attacks in recent years. I got this from somebody very close to him."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Nick Maybury, guitarist in the late Scott Weiland's band THE WILDABOUTS, has opened up in a new interview about the night last month that Weiland died on the band's tour bus at the age of 48. Maybury himself only joined the band earlier in 2015 after guitarist Jeremy Brown passed away on the eve of the release of their latest and now final album, "Blaster".

Maybury told Guitar Player that on the night of Weiland's death, the singer stayed on the tour bus while the band members and crew went to Minnesota's Mall of America. Maybury took a cab back and saw police cars surrounding the bus as he arrived. He explained that after learning Weiland had died, "I was just blank. Numbness, shock, trauma, tears, emotions, the whole thing. Having to talk to the cops, being in an emotional state, was just rough."

Weiland died of a deadly mix of drugs and alcohol, but Maybury said, "I never saw Scott do any drugs. It's obvious now, we all know that he was. He obviously wasn't doing it in front of everyone… I'd see him drinking a lot, we all knew he was drinking, and on the prescription stuff too. We knew that was a terrible mix to start with already."

Maybury, who is sober, said he had a tough time fitting into the group at first. He explained, "It was rough for them having to adjust to a new guy, the new dynamic, and missing the co-writer who wrote the stuff, their buddy, and I wasn’t drinking, or doing anything like that."

At one point, Maybury shared his concerns for Weiland with the singer, saying: "I was that concerned about him, and we were on that level… He would listen. He might not say anything, but I knew he would take things [and listen]. He was the kind of guy, he would want you to feel better, he wanted you to feel comfortable. He made me feel like I was his family in the end."

The guitarist concluded: "He just wasn't well, man. He should have been recovering and getting healthy."

DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell has released the following statement:

"It's with the heaviest of hearts that I must confirm the news of the passing of our dear friend and LAST IN LINE bandmate Jimmy Bain. It was Jimmy who gave me my first big break in the music industry and for that I am forever indebted.

"Jimmy's struggles with his demons were well documented through the years, but over the last 18 months, he had finally won that battle and he was bright and lucid and motivated throughout the writing and recording of the new record. He leaves behind him a rich legacy of work from RAINBOW, through WILD HORSES, DIO, and finally, LAST IN LINE.

"Jimmy was immensely proud of our new album and his input to it was immeasurable. He was a very kind and gentle and generous soul and our lives were greatly enriched for having known him. We will continue to celebrate his life through his music.

"On behalf of Vinny and Andrew, our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this most difficult of times.

"Rest in peace, dear friend."

Back in 2012, Bain made headlines when he was arrested in Burbank, California on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

Since 2013, Bain has been a member of LAST IN LINE, also featuring his Campbell and fellow ex-DIO bandmate Vinny Appice, along with singer Andrew Freeman.

LAST IN LINE performed in Miami, Florida on January 20 and is currently taking part in DEF LEPPARD's inaugural "Hysteria On The High Seas" cruise.

The surviving members of LAST IN LINE paid tribute to their fallen bandmate during the cruise. Check out photos below.

Born in Scotland on December 19, 1947, Bain joined RAINBOW in time to appear on the band's second album, 1976's "Rising". He was fired a year later and went on to guest with THIN LIZZY and work in THIN LIZZY frontman Phil Lynott's solo band, before forming WILD HORSES with ex-THIN LIZZY guitarist Brian Robertson. He appeared on Gary Moore's 1983 album "Dirty Fingers" before joining DIO and playing on seven DIO albums with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, from 1983 debut "Holy Diver" to 2002's "Killing The Dragon".

Former STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos says that he never got a chance to repair his friendship with Wayne Static before the STATIC-X frontman's death, explaining that Wayne "was just stuck in his world, and nobody could reach him."

Static died in November 2014 after mixing a cocktail of Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol.

Asked if he ever had an opportunity to sit down with Wayne and work out their differences during the five years between STATIC-X's original split and Static's death, Campos told the "Talk Toomey" podcast (hear audio below): "No, unfortunately, that never happened. Had [Wayne] gotten clean, or at least said, 'Hey, man, I need help getting clean,' or something, I would have definitely been there for that. But he was just stuck in his world, and nobody could reach him."

Campos also talked about the difficulties of touring with someone like Static who was allegedly abusing drugs even during the period while Tony was still in STATIC-X. He said: "Towards the end of the band, in '09, his habits weren't as bad as he [eventually] got. So I don't know how bad it was being on tour with him after 2009, 'cause I wasn't there, but I can only imagine."

Tony told Horns Up Rocks! last year that he wasn't friends with Static the last five years of Wayne's life because the STATIC-X frontman "went down a path that none of the other guys in the band wanted to go down. You can't help somebody that doesn't wanna be helped. And he didn't wanna hear it from anybody, least of all me. When somebody doesn't want the help, there's nothing you can do; you've just gotta let them do what they're gonna do. Unfortunately, the path he went on ended up costing him his life."

The 48-year-old Static, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with the band's 1999 debut, "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".

The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

"Talk Toomey" podcast (audio):

Former MORBID ANGEL vocalist and bassist David Vincent joined Danny B. Harvey (HEADCAT, THE 69 CATS) on stage this past Friday, January 22 at the NAMMJAM 2016 at the City National Grove Of Anaheim in Anaheim, California to perform a cover version of "Big River" by Johnny Cash. You can now watch video footage of his appearance below.

Vincent previously teamed up with Harvey on January 9 at the White Horse Saloon in Austin, Texas to sing a country song David wrote, "Buyer Beware".

Vincent issued a statement last June confirming that he was no longer working with MORBID ANGEL guitarist Trey Azagthoth. He said: "Trey and I have accomplished amazing things together over the past 30 years and I wish him the best with his future projects. Out of respect for the legacy of these accomplishments, I encourage MORBID ANGEL fans to not take sides, because I am not." He added: "I look forward to sharing my new endeavors with all of you in the near future. Until then, stay Morbid!"

Azagthoth announced on June 15, 2015 that MORBID ANGEL had reunited with Steve Tucker and that they were working on material for the band's next record. Later that same day, Vincent, who rejoined MORBID ANGEL in 2004 after first parting ways with the band in 1996, issued a statement of his own claiming that he had not left the group and had not been asked to do so. Also on June 15, drummer Tim Yeung confirmed his exit from MORBID ANGEL, explaining in a statement: "There have been some lineup changes with MORBID ANGEL. Unfortunately, due to financial differences, I will not be continuing with [the band]… I wish Trey and MORBID ANGEL all the best. As for myself, I'm always up for the next opportunity life throws my way."

On June 18, 2015, Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren) announced that he had officially left MORBID ANGEL "due to issues of them wanting to work with someone more local." He added that this was "actually pretty good news to me, since I personally decided to leave MORBID ANGEL after the last tour we did in Europe in November/December 2014. It is definitely time for me to move on with the Norwegian extreme act MYRKSKOG. This is where I truly belong and exciting things are happening!"

MORBID ANGEL's controversial 2011 album, "Illud Divinum Insanus", which incorporated industrial and electronic elements into the band's traditional death metal sound, marked the group's first CD to feature Vincent since 1995's "Domination".

Fan-filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT performing the song "Skeptic" live on January 23 at Siemens Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania can be seen below.

"Skeptic" is taken from SLIPKNOT's latest, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which sold 132,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart. SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor told Kerrang! magazine about the song: "This is definitely about [late SLIPKNOT bassist] Paul [Gray], absolutely. And it's a song about the kind of person that Paul was, just his love for not only music in general, but for this band, and just how amazing a personality he was. And the name 'Skeptic' refers to the fact that when everything was down and out, when everyone would be in the dumps and negative, or just feeling like nothing could get done, he would be the guy who was completely sceptical of all the odds against us. He'd just be like, 'Screw that! We're gonna do this, and we're gonna do it amazingly.' He was the beating heart of it, and this song is a celebration of who he was."

SLIPKNOT has selected "Goodbye" as the next single from ".5: The Gray Chapter".

SLIPKNOT is nominated in both "Best Rock Album" (".5: The Gray Chapter") and "Best Metal Performance" ("Custer") categories at the 58th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on February 15 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Fan-filmed video footage of MANOWAR's January 23 performance at Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, Germany can be seen below.

MANOWAR's "Gods And Kings" world tour celebrates "Kings Of Metal MMXIV", which many fans haven't had a chance to experience live yet, as well as the upcoming anniversary of "Gods Of War", which was unleashed on the world in 2007. The setlist is packed with fan favorites from both albums, plus many other classics and special surprises.

In a recent interview, MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio stated about the "Gods And Kings" world tour: "We've added tons of new equipment and power amps, for even more power than ever before. Most of our equipment is custom-made, so it is a really intense and time-consuming process getting everything done in time, and meeting our specifications. Those who saw our 2015 tour know that we worked with videos on our gigantic LED screens. We have flown in our video designer from Europe to work with us on new video elements that will be played during the songs and, of course, the LED screens will be bigger and of higher quality than ever — over 150 m² and 6k resolution to be precise. Nothing but the latest and best technology for our fans will do!"

Speaking about the tour concept, Joey DeMaio said: "The previous tour celebrated 'Kings Of Metal MMXIV'. It was a terrific experience for fans, band and crew. The production was big and featured elements that we had not done before. It was more of a multi-media experience, with videos linking the songs and their conception, telling the story of our fans and our lives, capturing the energy on stage and off… When we started planning the new tour, we soon agreed that we wanted to keep the best of this previous tour, but of course add on to it, make it different and even bigger. And, believe it or not, the 10-year anniversary of 'Gods Of War' is upon us: The album was released in 2007 but we started working on it in 2006. But more importantly the question was: Who should join our Kings in battle? The answer was: the Gods Of War! So this is how the 'Gods And Kings' concept was conceived. Naturally, the 'Gods And Kings World Tour 2016' [is] more massive than the 'Kings Of Metal MMXIV Word Tour'! The 2015 tour was big. But nothing compared to what you'll experience on the 2016 tour!"

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper joined BEASTO BLANCO, the band led by the bassist in Cooper's solo group, Chuck Garric, on stage this past Friday, January 22 at the NAMMJAM 2016 at the City National Grove Of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Produced and presented by Delve Texas, the seventh annual NAMMJAM 2016 again had a charitable element with proceeds benefiting the House Of Blues Music Forward Foundation. A "live," silent auction was held during the evening and will feature an array of items such as music memorabilia, VIP experiences, unique collectibles, autographed guitars, music instruments, original art pieces and much more, all donated by music industry notables. Your support of NAMMJAM 2016 and the silent auction contributed much-needed funds to continue and expand the works of House Of Blues Music Forward Foundation, a charitable foundation.

Asked how BEASTO BLANCO came to be, Garric told Legendary Rock Interviews in 2013: "I've always been a songwriter and I’ve always sang and have wanted to do my own project for a long time now. I came across Tommy Henriksen, who worked with us on Alice's 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' record and we started talking about doing some new material. As soon as he and I started talking about it was about the time it started taking on a life for me. I got really excited about the concept of getting into the studio and making these songs come to life. We really didn't know what the identity of the band would be like going into it or what to expect, but we had a blast and it just turned out absolutely killer. The Alice fans, the hard rock fans, everyone is really digging it and excited to hear more."

Regarding the origins of the BEASTO BLANCO band name, Chuck said: "I wanted to channel something or become something when I'm up there, and BEASTO BLANCO, the name, came from my dog. She's just this huge white monster, so we call her Beasto Blanco. It just kind of came about one day sitting in a room thinking about how we've gotta come up with a name, and I look over at my dog who's chasing another dog and comes back and she's all excited to see me and I just love her excitement and her wild energy. The name was sort of born after her, but also out of the fact that I needed to give the band some sort of identity and have it be something that just stuck in your mind."

LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton has uploaded a new solo song titled "SnowBound". The track, which features a guest appearance by Jean-Paul Gaster of CLUTCH, can be streamed below.

Morton stated about the offering: "Here is sample of some of the new music I've been working on. It's definitely a little different than what you're used to hearing me do with LAMB. There are some great players involved in this project (including J.P. from CLUTCH on the drums!). I'm having a blast working on this stuff, and that's what this is all about for me… FUN! I hope you enjoy it!"

Morton previously collaborated with DEVILDRIVER vocalist Dez Fafara on a project called BORN OF THE STORM. The project released four tracks — "Secrets", "The New Rain Blues", "Nowhere Fast" and "Dust" — which featured Kevin Talley (SIX FEET UNDER, DAATH, MISERY INDEX, CHIMAIRA) on the drums.

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", which was released in July 2015 via Epic in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Entertainment in all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

LAMB OF GOD's U.S. tour with ANTHRAX will come to a close in Los Angeles, California on February 12.

SOTO, the band led by vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, has completed work on its second studio album, "Divak", due on April 1 via earMUSIC.

"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 will make its live debut in February 2016 with a string of East Coast U.S. dates, leading into the annual Monsters Of Rock cruise (East), alongside Steve Vai, EXTREME, QUEENSRŸCHE and countless headliners. 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

Frontiers Music Srl has welcomed DAN REED NETWORK to its roster of artists. The band recently reunited for a string of shows in Europe and will release its brand new album, "Fight Another Day", in early summer. Formed originally in Portland, Oregon, DAN REED NETWORK began packing out local clubs from late 1984 through 1986 with their infectious mixture of hard rock, funk and soul. After releasing their EP "Breathless" and having a top ten single on local radio, "Steal Me", DAN REED NETWORK signed to Polygram/Mercury. In the winter of 1987, the group released their self-titled debut album which was produced by Bruce Fairbairn (BON JOVI, AEROSMITH) and engineered/mixed by Mike Fraser in Vancouver, Canada. The first single, "Ritual", peaked at No. 38 on the U.S. Billboard chart and became a staple of what became known as the "funk rock" genre. The debut album received a wealth of positive reviews, not the least of which was a four-star write-up from the notoriously hard-to-please Rolling Stone magazine. DAN REED NETWORK went over to Europe to support the album and had legendary performances at the Marquee Club in London and the The Melody Club in Stockholm, which are still talked about to this day. While attending the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in January 1989 in New York, Dan Reed met up with producer Nile Rodgers (DURAN DURAN, MADONNA, DAVID BOWIE) which led to the creation of the second album, "Slam". Produced by Rodgers, it better represented the DAN REED NETWORK's live sound and accelerated the band's growing status in Europe. DAN REED NETWORK opened the European leg of BON JOVI's "New Jersey" tour in 1989 and THE ROLLING STONES' European "Urban Jungle" tour in 1990. DAN REED NETWORK's third album, "The Heat", produced by Bruce Fairbairn in 1991, was their biggest success in the U.K., mostly due to the single "Lover", which was accompanied by a live video from Wembley Stadium filmed when they opened for the STONES. Despite some success and disillusioned with the record business and all its trappings, DAN REED NETWORK eventually disbanded, much to the dismay of their supporters around the globe. Fast forward to the 21st century and DAN REED NETWORK played their 25th anniversary reunion show on New Years Eve 2012 in their home town of Portland, Oregon, with all the original band members: Dan Reed, Dan Pred, Brion James, Melvin Brannon II and Blake Sakamoto. The members found it was incredibly fun being back together and consequently DAN REED NETWORK decided it was a good time to bring the band and the music back to Europe and performed three sold-out shows in Stockholm at Debaser, outside of London at the Enchanted festival and at the Diamond Rock Club in Northern Ireland in 2013. DAN REED NETWORK was then invited to play at England's Download festival 2014 and then toured the U.K. again and Sweden in late 2015. The new album will be released right before the summer concert season which will see DAN REED NETWORK appear, among others, at the prestigious Sweden Rock Festival in early June 2016. Dan Reed says: "It's been 25 years since our last studio album, 'The Heat', was released, and, to be honest, I never envisioned making another DAN REED NETWORK album, despite countless people throughout the world encouraging us to do so. But with a mixture of fate and a collective of trusted friends and supporters in the business coming to the table, I am excited to say we are poised to release a brand new record, titled 'Fight Another Day', in 2016 on Frontiers, home of many artists that we in fact admired back when we were first hitting the scene and before. Finally the stars aligned perfectly to have it all come together and make this album, and to have Derek Shulman, who originally signed DAN REED NETWORK to Polygram in 1987, once again being in our lives as our co-manager and A&R man, brings us full circle.

"As for the sound and approach of the album, the band and I thought it would be a great experiment and interesting challenge to revisit what endeared the band to so many back in the day and deliver a rock record with funk and soul elements, strong melodies, but this time around incorporate even edgier lyrics while not losing sight that this release needed to be uplifting, infectious, and most of all, powerful when performed live.

"The title 'Fight Another Day' represents the fact that after 25 years we were able to gravitate back to the passion we discovered playing together all those years ago, and battle once more!" Frontiers president Serafino Perugino states: "DAN REED NETWORK have been one of the 'unsung heroes' of their age. Some of their records, particularly 'Slam', include some of the finest melodic rock ever. I salute and welcome them to the label and I am genuinely excited to release their new music to the world." DAN REED NETWORK is:

* Dan Reed - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitars, Piano, Synth Programming, Moog Bass* Brion James - Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Synth Guitars, Synth Programming, Drum Programming* Dan Pred - Drums, Percussion, Videographer* Melvin Brannon II - Vocals, Bass, Acoustic Bass, Electric Contra Bass, Synth Bass* Rob Daiker - Vocals, Keyboards, Synth Programming, Drum Programming

According to a number of industry sources, including ex-DIO drummer Simon Wright, former RAINBOW and DIO bassist Jimmy Bain has passed away at the age of 68. More information about his death will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

Back in 2012, Bain made headlines when he was arrested in Burbank, California on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

Since 2013, Bain has been a member of LAST IN LINE, also featuring his fellow ex-DIO bandmates Vivian Campbell and Vinny Appice along with singer Andrew Freeman.

LAST IN LINE performed in Miami, Florida on January 20 and is currently taking part in DEF LEPPARD's inaugural "Hysteria On The High Seas" cruise.

In an interview, Bain stated about his time with DIO: "Towards the end of DIO, it got to be too much though, with the stage show and the spiders and the guitar that shot lasers. When we first started on 'Holy Diver', playing with half a drum kit and all, we just knew it was magic. I wrote a lot on the first two albums but it just got harder and harder to come up with stuff. We all thought 'Last In Line' was a bit smooth, although I liked everything about it, the cover, everything. By the time 'Sacred Heart' happened, I looked at that monster on the cover and thought, he's laughing at me now!"

He continued: "Touring was always a blast. I was famous for being lit up and still being able to play. I even fell over a few times. It was like it was part of the show. Ronnie and I got pissed together a few times but I always got carried away and had to be carried to the limo and stuff. But as long as I played live and was creative and wrote songs, it didn't matter. Toward the end, Ronnie was having fights with Viv, and you get to a point where you just think you've got it, and you think you can bring in keyboards and play with the arrangements. I always thought we had such a unique sound, we could just be DIO. We didn't have to try write like anybody else."

BLACK SABBATH is selling a new limited-edition CD titled "The End" at the shows on its current farewell tour, which kicked off on January 20 in Omaha, Nebraska. The disc feature 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.

SABBATH recorded a total of 16 songs for "13", putting eight on the album and issuing four more on various deluxe editions. Bassist Geezer Butler told The Pulse Of Radio: "We went into the studio with, I think, 13 songs, which is why the album is called '13', but then when we were in the studio we wrote another three songs, which brought it up to 16 songs, and then we left it up to [producer] Rick Rubin to pick which songs would go on the album. And then we had the four left over and that's what we decided to do as a gig-only CD."

The four studio cuts — "Season Of The Dead", "Cry All Night", "Take Me Home" and "Isolated Man" — have surfaced on YouTube and can be streamed below. 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.

"The End" track listing: 01. Season Of The Dead02. Cry All Night03. Take Me Home04. Isolated Man05. God Is Dead? (Live Sydney, Australia 4/27/13)06. Under The Sun (Live Auckland, New Zealand 4/20/13)07. End Of The Beginning (Live Hamilton, ON Canada 4/11/14)08. Age Of Reason (Live Hamilton, ON Canada 4/11/14)

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 all-new full-length SABBATH album in 35 years to feature original members Butler, Tony Iommi and Ozzy 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 upcoming trek would be its last.

Members of METALLICA, FOO FIGHTERS, PANTERA, SLAYER and STONE SOUR are among the musicians who took part in the Monster Energy Ride For Dime Dimebash 2016, a benefit honoring late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, which was held last night (Friday, January 22) at Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood, California.

Fan-filmed video footage of the following performances is available below:

"Ace Of Spades" (MOTÖRHEAD cover)

* Philip Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN, SUPERJOINT) - Vocals* Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA) - Guitar* Robert Trujillo (METALLICA) - Bass* Dave Lombardo (SLAYER) - Drums

"Walk" (PANTERA cover)

* Philip Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN. SUPERJOINT) - Vocals* Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN, KILL DEVIL HILL) - Bass* Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA) - Guitar* Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER) - Guitar* Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) – Guitar* Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD) - Guitar* Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR) - Drums

"Wish You Were Here" (PINK FLOYD cover)

* Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) - Vocals, Guitar* Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA) - Guitar* Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR) - Drums

Prior to performing "Wish You Were Here", Flynn told the audience: "Jerry Cantrell [ALICE IN CHAINS] and I have been rehearsing this song all week. Jerry Cantrell was supposed to be with us. He went to the emergency room, unfortunately, tonight, [so he] couldn't be here. This song's gonna go out to him. Dave Grohl was nice enough to fill in for him."

Proceeds from the event were slated to benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund is an organization that funds cancer research, cancer screenings and various cancer programs while supporting families that have loved ones suffering from the disease.

"I think the thing that embodies this event and entity is unity; bringing everyone together to celebrate the music played and loved by Darrell and to benefit the foundation of a very beloved man, Mr. Ronnie James Dio," said Rita Haney, longtime girlfriend of Abbott and the person who knew him best. "Dimebag Darrell was notorious for giving us all so much, in some way, even to this day. So to be able to give back in his name is such an honor. With all of this amazing talent in one place, it makes for a damn good celebration! C'mon out and getcha pull!"

You can now donate any amount that you can afford to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund by going to www.ronniejamesdio.com. Your generous donations will go to cancer research, cancer screenings and various cancer programs. Your donations will also help families that have loved ones suffering from this horrible disease that took Ronnie from us too soon.

Dimebag and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, formed PANTERA in the mid-eighties in Texas. The band recorded four independent albums before their 1990 major label debut, "Cowboys From Hell", introduced a heavier sound and made them a favorite with metal fans. 1994's "Far Beyond Driven" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 without benefit of a commercial hit single.

The group splintered in 2002 following the departure of volatile lead singer Philip Anselmo. Dime and Vinnie, as they were known to their fans, regrouped with DAMAGEPLAN, releasing the band's debut album, "New Found Power", in February of 2004.

Dimebag was shot to death along with three others during a DAMAGEPLAN performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio in December 2004.

Dimebag was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in May 2007 in a ceremony attended by Vinnie Paul, their father Jerry Abbott and Dimebag's longtime girlfriend, Rita Haney, along with members of ALICE IN CHAINS, ANTHRAX, KISS, SLAYER and Ozzy Osbourne's band.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of TOOL's January 9 concert at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California can be seen below.

TOOL guitarist Adam Jones told The Pulse Of Radio a while back how visuals have always played a major role in the band's music. "I've just always thought in vision, I mean, just, like, putting on headphones when I was a kid and trying to dream stuff while I was listening to music," he said. "I guess I still do that today when I play. But it's a lot more emotional than visual and I know that sounds pretentious, but it really is, what the four of us do. The visuals just kind of, like, bring themselves in it."

TOOL hasn't performed more than 20 shows in a single year since 2007.

Jones recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2006's "10,000 Days" album. He said: "I'll tell you, it's wonderful. Things are really flowing and going really well, and I'm just blown away at the stuff that's coming together. I'm excited and can't wait for it to be done. It's something I've been missing for a long time [laughs], that beautiful collaboration that we have because we're all so different and have different tastes. But again, when you are all meeting in the middle and that thing you do that meets in the middle is just beautiful, it's very rewarding. So yes, I'm very happy."

He continued: "We probably have 20 potential song ideas now. Of course, 20 won't be on the record. We're just jamming. But I'll tell you, there's nothing better than having too many good songs then not enough. It's great. You pick your faves."

HELLYEAH has posted a short studio teaser for its forthcoming fifth album along with the hashtag #HUMAN, which is likely the title the CD's first single. Check it out below.

The group's new CD was recorded atThe Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko, who previously worked with HELLYEAH on 2014's "Blood For Blood" album.

HELLYEAH guitarist, Tom Maxwell recently stated about the band's upcoming effort: "It's all coming along great. There's a lot of new stuff coming out that we've never tried before, and a lot of heavy shit."

He continued: "It's gonna be moody, it's gonna be dark, it's gonna be crushing, it's gonna be heartbreaking, it's gonna be everything. So it's gonna be a proper take-off from our last record, but with a lot of new surprises, I think. And just kind of moving forward with the path that we've taken with 'Blood For Blood'. So it's coming along great… It's gonna be a really, really savage album, and I'm really excited. I can't wait for you all to hear it."

"Blood For Blood", was the band's first release since parting ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kahaha in 2013.

The new members of HELLYEAH are bassist Kyle Sanders and guitarist Christian Brady.

"Blood For Blood" sold around 17,000 copies in its first week of release to land at No. 18 on the Billboard chart.

The existence of the sublimely secretive desert opus conceived by Iggy Pop and Joshua Homme was confirmed yesterday to an unsuspecting studio and home audience of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert".

And now the world at large can know: March 18 will see the release of "Post Pop Depression" (Rekords Rekords / Loma Vista / Caroline), the seventeenth Iggy Pop album, and a worthy addition to the 22-album legacy spawned with the immortal trilogy of "The Stooges", "Fun House" and "Raw Power", spanning massively influential solo outings including 1977's opening one-two combo of "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life", and 1990's gold-certified "Brick By Brick".

The first Iggy Pop album co-created with producer/guitarist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/bandleader Homme, "Post Pop Depression" began with a succinctly worded text from Iggy to Joshua, and was realized in seclusion with Homme's enlisted aid of his QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE bandmate and DEAD WEATHER-man Dean Fertita and ARCTIC MONKEYS drummer Matt Helders. Both became instantly integral in creating and shaping the Detroit meets Palm Desert by way of old Berlin vibe of "Post Pop Depression": Interweaving with and augmenting even more superhuman than expected Iggy vocal performances and Homme's tapestry of guitar, bass, piano and backing vox, Fertita's talent for wringing the most out of only the most essential notes worked in seamless tandem with Helders' pushing himself and his new bandmates to unforeseeable heights and depths.

The result would be a timeless work, one that sounds as if it's always been there, has existed before any of the musicians were even born-yet imbued with the ramshackle energy of a garage band that threw itself together yesterday.

"Post Pop Depression" is now available for pre-order via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and the Iggy Pop webstore, with all pre-orders immediately receiving "Gardenia", debuted by Iggy, Joshua and crew on the "Late Show". "Gardenia" is also available on all streaming platforms.

"I wanted to be free," recalls Iggy of the earliest germ of the partnership with Homme that culminated in "Post Pop Depression". "To be free, I needed to forget. To forget, I needed music. Josh had that in him, so I set out to provoke an encounter — first with a carefully worded text, followed by a deluge of writings all about me. No composer wants to write about nothing. He got revved up and we had a great big rumble in the desert USA."

"This was to go where neither of us had gone before," adds Homme. "That was the agreement. And to go all the way."

"Post Pop Depression" is equal parts a dream come true for co-creator Homme as it is a record that defiantly takes its place in Iggy's storied discography alongside the twin towers of "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life" — two records and the mythic Berlin era of their creation canonized as much lyrically ("German Days") as sonically ("Sunday") on this new record. The album will be supported by a tour realizing Homme's ambition to assemble a live outfit worthy of both bringing the new album and doing justice to the gems and wreckage of the Ig's sprawling solo catalogue: The core band that recorded the album will be expanded by QOTSA's Troy Van Leeuwen and journeyman guitarist Matt Sweeney.

"Post Pop Depression" is a singular work that stands proudly alongside the best works of either of its principles, from THE STOOGES to QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, bearing its creators' undeniable sonic DNA while sounding like nothing they've done before. It's a record that wouldn't exist without either Pop or Homme — and one that probably shouldn't in theory if you really think about it-but it does, and we and rock 'n' roll are all the better for it.

"Post Pop Depression" track listing:

01. Break Into Your Heart02. Gardenia03. American Valhalla04. In The Lobby05. Sunday06. Vulture07. German Days08. Chocolate Drops09. Paraguay

"Cycle Of Revenge", the new lyric video from Finnish death metal veterans CONVULSE, can be seen below. The song is the title track of the band's forthcoming album, due on March 18 via Svart Records.

As one of the oldest Finnish death metal bands, CONVULSE has a somewhat interesting history, to say the least. Beginning as a full-on death metal band in 1990, the debut demo, "Resuscitation Of Evilness", as well as the 1991 debut album, "World Without God", were more or less successful attempts from CONVULSE to flex their death metal muscles for the whole world. In 1993, CONVULSE returned to the limelight again, offering two new songs on the "Lost Equilibrium" CD single — and, at the same time, giving a taste of what was to be expected on their second album, 1994's "Reflections". CONVULSE had started incorporating some rock 'n' roll elements into their murky and uncompromising death metal sound, much like some of their Finnish extreme metal comrades (XYSMA and DISGRACE primarily come to mind). The band's "death 'n' roll" sound on their sophomore album divided the CONVULSE fanbase, with some embracing the new direction while facing rejection from others. It's both difficult and pointless to speculate at this point whether the drastic musical change led to CONVULSE's downfall, but perhaps it was one of the reasons behind the split up in 1994. Only the original band members can say for sure... Fast forward nearly two decades, and new life had been breathed into the old CONVULSE corpse. Who would have expected to see CONVULSE making new music in 2012?! A year later, in early November 2013, CONVULSE's third album, "Evil Prevails", was unleashed by Svart Records onto the death metal world. The album introduced eight songs of dark, wicked and "true" death metal — the "true" CONVULSE style. Churning out dogmatically heavy, untamed, and aggressive death metal, seeing the band return to its true roots was exactly what death metal maniacs needed. "Cycle Of Revenge" has been in the works for many months already, and during those months, the CONVULSE trio composed eight new songs. The album is shaping up to receive nearly the same musical treatment as what previously happened between the band's first two albums back in the early '90s. However, on "Cycle Of Revenge", CONVULSE really haven't gone back to their "death 'n' roll" mode, but have still made a radical musical shift. Try to imagine combining some of PINK FLOYD's psychedelic, airy moments with Finnish prog-rock masters KINGSTON WALL's beautiful, ear-tickling melodies. Throw in the genuine angst and despair-ridden melancholia of SENTENCED's "Amok" album, and even add some grooviness àla SEPULTURA's later era or SOULFLY, then spice it all up with Rami Jämsä's trademark-ish throaty and belly-trembling death grunts. You may now have some sort of an idea what can be expected from "Cycle Of Revenge". "Cycle Of Revenge" track listing:

01. Cycle Of Revenge02. God Is You03. Pangaea04. Fractured Pieces05. Nature Of Humankind06. Ever Flowing Stream07. War08. Into The Void

DEFTONES will issue its long-awaited follow-up to 2012's "Koi No Yokan" on April 8.

The band's guitarist Stephen Carpenter revealed the release date during an interview with ESP Guitars at this year's NAMM show, which is being held this weekend in Anaheim, California.

Carpenter said (see video below): "[We're] sitting around waiting for the release of our new record. It comes out April 8th. We have some dates in Texas in March, in May-June we're off to Europe for some festivals out there. We'll play for all the people who are interested and want to hear it."

During a November 2015 interiew with BBC Radio 1's "Rock Show", DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno stated about "vibe" of the the band's next CD: "I can't really compare it to our last couple of records. I mean, those two records were done in a very similar manner where we locked ourselves in a room for a short period of time and wrote and recorded it. And therefore, I feel like we sort of really captured this moment in time, and the records sort of sound cohesive because of that. This record was done sort of over a year, spread out over these little, tiny writing sections. So it sounds a bit more fragmented, but in a good way. I mean, I feel like you put on one song and it's completely different from the song after it, or previous to it. So it's not like we had this one main idea and we went in and we sort of went with that vibe. I mean, the vibe's sort of all over the place. So, like any DEFTONES record, I mean, it's got dynamics and there's loud aggressiveness and there's mellowness to it, but it's all sort of got an ebb and flow to it. I don't know… It'd be hard for me to just put it in words exactly what it sounds like. It's definitely a DEFTONES record. The way I look at it is it's a gradual step from where we last were."

According to Moreno, sixteen songs were written for DEFTONES' new CD, which was once again produced by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, CHILDREN OF BODOM, MONSTER MAGNET, WINDS OF PLAGUE). The effort will feature a guest appearance by Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS).

Brazil-based animator Val Andrade, who made a splash several years ago with his unique cartoons based on Iron Maiden's catalogue of songs, has returned with a new clip for the band's classic, "Powerslave", taken from the album of the same name. Check it out below, and make sure you watch to the very end...

Roadhouse Interactive, 50cc Games and Metal legends Iron Maiden have announced that Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Beast, an action-packed, free-to-play RPG steeped in Iron Maiden mythology, will launch worldwide this summer on iOS and Android platforms.

Following a series of hit action sports titles for Red Bull Media House, Warhammer 40,000: Carnage, a Games Workshop ARPG, and Food Battle: The Game for YouTube sensations SMOSH, Roadhouse Interactive's development and publishing divisions have been working hand in hand with Iron Maiden and their Phantom Music Management team, who have granted unparalleled access to the vaults in order to create a truly authentic Iron Maiden game.

Developed in close collaboration with Iron Maiden's management, players take on the role of the band's iconic mascot, Eddie, in his many forms - each with unique abilities. Players explore new worlds, travel through time, and battle a cast of dramatic and engaging characters drawn from the expansive catalogue of Maiden's albums and art. Gameplay is enhanced with a soundtrack using songs spanning the band's entire career, including previously unheard live recordings of Iron Maiden classics adapted for the game by engineer Tony Newton under the close scrutiny of bassist and founding member Steve Harris.

"We always thought Maiden's music and imagery with Eddie could be perfect for gaming and it's something we have been looking at doing again since Ed Hunter in 1999. Now in 2016 it can all be done on a smartphone which makes it even more accessible for all our fans and also all the gamers out there," comments Harris.

Iron Maiden's latest album, The Book of Souls, was released in September 2015 to popular and critical acclaim, hitting the #1 spot in over 40 countries and reinforcing their position as one of the most relevant and influential bands in music today. This year they will embark on the The Book of Souls World tour and with fan excitement at fever pitch it's the perfect time to expand Iron Maiden's legend into gaming.

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast will be available later this year on iOS and Android platforms. See Ironmaidenlegacy.com for ongoing releases about the game.

In addition, Iron Maiden will make a highly anticipated first ever visit to China in April on The Book Of Souls World Tour, playing at Beijing LeSports Center on April 24th and Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena on April 26th. Tickets go on sale from 2pm on January 19th through ticketing hotline 400-610-3721, and online via Damai.cn.

Iron Maiden's The Book Of Souls World Tour 2016 dates can be found here.



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