Blistering anarchist black metal unit, Iskra, has teamed up with Southern Lord for the CD release of their latest LP, Ruins. Approaching the most fearsome of all genres from a foundation in filthy metallic crust, Iskra has skillfully created an old school orthodox epic that their extensive back catalog has always been working towards, and in Ruins is executed in sublime, scathing style.

The Canadian collective, almost two decades into their journey as Iskra, stands out as staunch advocates of anarchism, and reject all forms of oppressive mainstream ideologies such as communism, fascism and democracy. To underline this, they coined their unification of extreme punk anger and black metal sonics "anarchist metal," separating themselves from other acts deemed as "extreme" or "radical" but lacking conviction or real menace. It is certainly evident in their vitriolic offensives that they mean business, but most impressive is the sharp, refined songcraft that makes Ruins a compelling black metal record regardless of your political (dis)orientation. The constantly shifting tremolo riffs and blasting drums are some of the most devastating and aggressive you will hear, and fans of Absu and early Immortal will find plenty to enjoy - Iskra exerts overwhelming levels of energy and brutality in Ruins, outpacing and outwitting the vast majority.

Iskra have toured across scores of countries with countless acts operating in various subsects of underground punk and metal, and have built up a fearsome international reputation, demonstrated by their heavy patch presence on the battle jackets of the true. A wealth of DIY and independent label releases trails behind them, with numerous albums, splits and demos all available to download for free from their website in accordance with their principles.

Southern Lord will issue Iskra's Ruins on digipak CD including a twenty-page booklet with lyrics and liner notes on July 1st.

Ruins tracklisting:

“Lawless”
“Ruins”
“Predator Drone MQ-1”
“Traume”
“Nihil”
“Illegal”
“Aegis Of The Victor”
“Der Einzige”
“Lebensraum”
“Battle Of One Hundred Slain”
“Masqueraders Of Fraud”
“Thieves Of Life”
“Privileged Morality”

Iskra also proudly announces the Anarchy Attack... Canadian Destruction (Storming The Atlantic) Summer Tour of Canada, their first major tour of Canada since 2004. This tour will mark the band's first coast to coast tour of the country and includes five days in the maritime provinces. The tour also features appearances at the legendary Spider Fest (formerly Spider Acres) in Meyersburg, Ontario and Evil Fest in Sainte-Angele-de-Merici, Quebec. The band's full live itinerary will be announced in the days ahead.

Mondoscuro will be the title of the new EP featuring Cadaveria and Necrodeath, currently in the studio together to complete the mix of what promises to be the most diabolically unusual release of 2016.

The title refers to the cinematographic genre “mondo film" of explicit documentaries, born in the 60s and depicting sensational, bloody and shocking scenes. Mondoscuro also clearly recalls Mondocane project, the legendary collaboration of Necrodeath and Schizo from which the album Mondocane: Project One was born in 1989.

Mondoscuro will not be a normal split, but a joint partnership that will see the two bands interacting strongly, through a tracklisting that alternates new songs to covers and that will include many identity exchanges. The EP will be released in a few months via Black Tears Of Death. Stay tuned for more details/

 

Formed in early-2015 by members of Endstille and Dysangelium, Germany's Kommando have scheduled June 13th as the official release date for their self-released record, Distroyer/Iron Goat Triumph.

Mixing elements of d-beat and crust punk with the harsh sound of black and death metal, Kommando’s mission is to bring violence back to today's music and to bend the borders of the aforementioned genres in a way nobody did before, while calling it machinegun punk.

Tracklisting:

“Machinegvn Pvnk”
“Vntitled”
“IndoctriNation”
“Old And In The Way”
“Crvsh Them To Death”
“Iron Goat Triumph”
“Bitching Hour”
“Kommandojugend”
“Alle Gegen Alle”

The official MEGADETH webstore is now selling "Mustaine For President" t-shirts along with "Making Metal Great Again" hats.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was asked by Vanyaland if he thinks someone like controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump actually has a chance at becoming president. He responded: "Of course — anybody does." He added: "I'm not going to go on record and say that I support anybody, because I don't, but first off, I think it's sad that whatever choice you make that you're gonna be ostracized and perhaps even worse. But even if I did pick somebody, it shouldn't matter; it should matter what a person decides. They should have their own truth."

He continued: "I think personally, make all politicians work for free, and then you'll really see who loves America. Because these dudes get paid for the rest of their lives, who's not gonna say whatever the hell they have to say to get a job there? And the sad thing is there's these beautiful young minds that are out there doing caucusing and rallying for these guys, and they don't understand the whole delegate thing yet. I remember when I was young and dumb and I thought that it was really, really gonna be down to the popular vote. Then somebody explained to me about the delegates and it was, like, 'What are you talking about?'"

Mustaine made headlines in early 2012 when he voiced his support for ultraconservative Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He explained at the time that the Pennsylvania politician looked "like he could be a really cool president… kind of like a JFK kind of guy." That same year, he drew ire on social media when he suggested onstage at a concert in Singapore that President Obama was behind the mass shootings in Aurora and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Mustaine later blamed media outlets for taking his statements out of context, explaining that never said he officially "endorsed" Santorum. As for the Singapore concert, he claimed to have been repeating the theories of Larry Pratt, a pro-gun activist who runs the organization Gun Owners Of America.

Also in 2012, Mustaine revealed his "birther" opinions on a talk show, saying he doubted President Obama was born in the United States. He told radio host Alex Jones: "With all of the proof about his birth certificate being fake… And you see the signs in Kenya that say 'the birthplace of Barack Obama.' Hello?! C'mon, guys. How stupid are we right now?"

Mustaine has consistently denied that he is a Republican, telling Artisan News in a 2012 interview: "I'm an independent, not a Republican — I've never been a Republican. I've always said that. I don't belong to any party — I'm non-partisan. And for me, the sad thing is, instead of voting for the best man, I have to vote for the lesser of two evils."

Former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza's death was caused by cardiovascular disease, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said.

Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during the third song of OHM:'s set on May 21 at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital. He was 51 years old.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of natural causes. The cause of Menza's death was listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Menza had reportedly dabbled with drugs in the earlier part of his career but had been completely sober for eight years.

One person who was present at The Baked Potato Saturday night told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "It appeared to be a seizure but [Nick] stopped breathing. Two patrons took over and began CPR until EMS arrived. EMS worked on him for 25-plus minutes, including adrenaline shots, three shocks and non-stop compressions."

Menza joined MEGADETH for the 1989 recording "Rust In Peace" and for the next nine years became associated with the band's "classic" and most profitable era.

In addition to Menza, OHM: featured another ex-MEGADETH member, guitarist Chris Poland.

Menza hooked up with OHM: last year after the passing of the band's previous drummer, David Eagle, who suffered a heart attack and had open-heart surgery in May 2015.

Last week, it was announced that Nick would unveil an art collection crafted from the new medium of "rhythm-on-canvas" on June 16. That unveiling has now been postponed to an as-yet-undetermined date.

Menza had been working with art team and publisher SceneFour on the collection titled "Rhythm Hits The Wall".

DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci recently took part in The Rock Reel's "Stronger Than All" challenge. He was asked to hold a five-kilogram solid steel hammer with his arm stretched out to the fullest and hold it as long as he could. You can now watch the results below.

Petrucci has in the past compared weight lifting to playing guitar. He has said: "When it comes to the discipline of practicing, there isn't a better parallel to the guitar than working out with weights. In both cases, you have to embark on a systemic, consistent practice regimen over a fairly long period of time in order to see any progress. There's a lot of mindless, repetitive work that initially doesn't seem to lead to anywhere. But then, when you least expect it (or are ready to throw in the towel), you make a breakthrough and reach the next plateau; only to have to start the painful process all over again. The bottom line is, you have to be mentally tough and really see yourself achieving your objectives to go through all the physical discomfort and mental tedium."

DREAM THEATER's latest concept album, "The Astonishing", was released on January 29 via Roadrunner. The CD was recorded at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York, with John Petrucci producing, studio luminary Richard Chycki (AEROSMITH, RUSH) engineering/mixing and legendary arranger, composer and conductor David Campbell orchestrating.

Legendary heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne returned to his native Birmingham, England earlier today (Thursday, May 26) to launch a new tram named after him.

The BLACK SABBATH frontman was on hand for the official ceremony at the new tram stop on Corporation Street in Birmingham, where he was born and raised.

He told the crowd: "It's great to be here. Thank you very much.

"We never thought when we started in 1968 that we'd be here. It's been an incredible journey."

Asked how he felt to return to his home city, he said: "Once a Brummie, always a Brummie."

Trams returned to Birmingham last December after a 60-year absence.

The tram-naming ceremony was organized by Centro, the delivery arm of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (ITA).

Ozzy and BLACK SABBATH, which formed in Birmingham, resume their farewell tour on June 1 in Budapest, Hungary.

AC/DC guitarist Angus Young says that no decisions have been made yet regarding the band's future after the completion of its current tour featuring Axl Rose on vocals.

The legendary Australian rock band postponed the last ten dates of its recent North American tour after doctors told singer Brian Johnson he faced "total hearing loss." AC/DC has since announced that it will use the GUNS N' ROSES frontman as a "guest vocalist" for all remaining shows this year, with Johnson apparently not returning to the band at all.

Speaking to Germany's NDR.de earlier this week, Angus stated about Axl's performance with AC/DC thus far: "He's doing very well, and it's very good that… I mean, under the situation that we had, it was very good that he volunteered and said, 'Hey, if I can help, let me try.' So he's been very good. And he had to learn a lot of songs very quickly, and he's done a great job."

Rose made his live debut with AC/DC on May 7 in Lisbon, Portugal, and by all accounts delivered a triumphant vocal performance as fill-in for Johnson even if he was still confined to a chair onstage due to the broken foot he suffered during a GUNS show last month.

AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams told NDR.de: "[Axl has] done a fabulous job. And he's almost out of his chair now. He's mobile, and he's enjoying himself. It's been really good."

Added Angus: "His leg's repairing, so each show we've been doing he's been getting up and moving around a lot more. So it adds more to the show."

Asked about AC/DC's future plans beyond the current European tour and the upcoming North American dates, Angus said: "We were committed to finishing this tour, so that's been our main goal, and Axl helping us. I know he's very excited; he keeps saying, can he do more? But we don't really know at the end how we will [go from here]. But we wanna get this tour, which we were committed to doing, we wanna finish it."

During an interview with BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt, Rose stated about his plans with AC/DC after the European shows: "There's makeup dates in the States, and if I don't get throw out before then, I'm looking forward to doing [them]. I think after that, it's about what they wanna do. I'm in if they want me in, and we'll sort it out, but right now that's getting ahead of ourselves with everything else that's on the table."

According to a Billboard.com source, Rose initially met with AC/DC members in Miami and Atlanta back in March. It was then that the decision was made to have Rose join AC/DC on tour. There was also talk of having other singers alternate with Rose, including ex-SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach and Nic Cester of the Australian band JET.

Swedish occult rockers GHOST have completed work on a new EP for a fall release via Loma Vista. The effort, which consists primarily of covers, was helmed by English producer Tom Dalgety, who has previously worked with ROYAL BLOOD and KILLING JOKE, among others.

Asked why GHOST chose to release another EP instead of returning to the studio to begin work on a full-length follow-up to last year's "Meliora", A Nameless Ghould told the KATT Rock 100.5 podcast "No Brown M&Ms" (hear audio below): "Because when we do a new record, we need a new Papa [Editor's note: In a parody of the Catholic Church's tradition of papal succession, GHOST singer Papa Emeritus is purportedly replaced by a new Papa for each GHOST album.] and then we're gonna change eras. We needed more time to… Because this era, especially visually, I think that… I'm not gonna throw stones at the show that we're doing right now, but this was definitely a baby format of what I had in mind. On an ideal night, at a big theater, it looks okay; I mean, it's cool [and] it maximizes the thing that we're doing. But I felt that we really need another chance to show what we can do if we have a bigger production on this cycle."

He continued: "Obviously, we're still a band [that is] growing… Fortunately, sometimes it's a growing pain of not… As far as we know, we haven't really peaked yet, and this tour is bigger than the previous tour in many ways, and the tour that we're gonna do in the fall that we haven't announced, so we can't say it yet, but it's gonna be even bigger — bigger venues, more dates and all over the place. So it's useful when you're growing during an album cycle to sort of put in an extra gear into it, with a new EP and sort of revamp the whole thing, still being thematically the same thing."

Regarding why GHOST wanted to record another EP of covers after releasing "If You Have Ghost" in 2013, the Nameless Ghoul said: "It's just a good way to… It's a little bit recreational in a way. It's also a good way for us to incorporate elements… I think it was, in a way, more important when we did 'If You Have Ghost', because at that point we just had almost two albums done, and we wanted more different types of seasoning to be put into our dish in order to make it interesting. It's also now… It sort of serves a little bit like… Yeah, if you hear the EP, don't think that, 'Oh, the next album is gonna sound exactly like this,' but that is a good way for us to sneak in elements that are, like, you might hear a synth sound like this on the next record, but not as evident. So where 'If You Have Ghosts' [the Roky Erickson cover which was included on 'If You have Ghost'] was definitely a new dimension of pop-rock that we hadn't really done before. I mean, it's sort of closer to R.E.M. than it is BLACK SABBATH. We're not doing the same thing this time, but we're doing something else in order to get people to feel comfortable with [the direction of the next album]."

In addition to the Roky Erickson cover "If You Have Ghosts", "If You Have Ghost" featured versions of songs that were originally recorded by ABBA, ARMY OF LOVERS and DEPECHE MODE.

GHOST won the Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" during the pre-telecast ceremony at the 58th annual Grammy Awards. GHOST was nominated for the song "Cirice" from "Meliora".

"Cirice" recently reached the Top 10 at rock radio, the first song from the band to get significant airplay in the U.S.

Sensory Records has locked the summer release date for Machina Viva, the vast fifth studio album from leading Swedish progressive metal outfit, Wolverine. The band has released a video for the track “Our Last Goodbye“, which can be seen below.

Recorded and produced by Wolverine in various locations throughout Sweden during the fall and winter months of late 2015 and early 2016, Machina Viva was mixed at Spacelab Studio in Germany by Christian "Moschus" Moos (Everon, Haken, Delain, Cloverseeds), and mastered by Grammy Award winning audio engineer Bob Katz.

A natural progression from the band's previous album, Communication Lost, released in 2011 via Candlelight Records, Machina Viva invites the listener into the harmonious yet portentous and sullen musical dimensions of Wolverine with perhaps their most dynamic album to date. From the fourteen-minute epic and powerful "The Bedlam Overture" and the dark electronic landscapes of "Machina," to the naked and organic nature of "Pile Of Ash" and "Sheds," Machina Viva is the next step in Wolverine's explorations in the progressive field. The layout features microbiological photos by Arturo Agostino and cover art by drummer Marcus Losbjer. Additionally, the CD edition will bear an additional bonus cello version of "Pile Of Ash”.

Wolverine's first title for the Sensory Records division of US progressive powerhouse Laser's Edge, Machina Viva will see worldwide release on July 8th. Additional video and audio samples of the album will be issued over the weeks ahead.

Tracklisting:

“The Bedlam Overture”
“Machina”
“Pile Of Ash” (ES335 version)
“Our Last Goodbye”
“Pledge”
“When The Night Comes”
“Nemesis”
“Sheds”
“Pile Of Ash” (cello version) *

* bonus track

“Our Last Goodbye” video:

"Machina" video:

Trailer:

(Photo - Mattias Wigforss)

Decapitated have released an official live video for “Blood Mantra”, the title track of their latest album. The footage was shot during the band’s March UK tour with Sylosis. Watch below:

Decapitated played an exclusive session for Last.fm when they were in the UK recently, and you can watch “The Blasphemous Psalm To The Dummy God Creation” from that session below”

In support of their recent European tour with Heart Of A Coward, Decapitated released an official video for their track “Veins”. The unique animated video was created by Polish based animator / concept artist Łukasz Rusinek and depicts an apocalyptic universe featuring droids and feuding superpowers. Watch the video below.

Łukasz commented on the video: "Animation is an area extremely time-consuming and the fact that I work alone only adds to the sad fact that, especially during complex productions such as the video for the song 'Veins' by Decapitated, my little ones await their father to come back home in the evenings in vain and my newlywed wife withers at the window longing to see me. Despite these minor inconveniences, I do not complain because I love to combine sound with vision.  On most occasions I prepare scripts myself.  And so it was this time. I came up with a short story with the apocalypse in the background, set in a slightly imaginary universe in which droids fight on battlefields instead of humans, intelligence cells of feuding superpowers plot their rise to power, and the relics of the Cold War keep waiting for someone to finally press that 'damn button'. Enjoy."

Relapse Records announce the signing of legendary hard rock/doom metal band, The Obsessed. Formed in 1976 by Scott "Wino" Weinrich (Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, Shrinebuilder, Probot), the band recently reformed and are on the road now. The band will enter the studio this summer to record the follow-up to 1994's seminal classic, The Church Within.

Scott "Wino" Weinrich commented on the signing and reformation of the band: "The time is now for rebirth of The Obsessed. Fueled with the anger, wisdom and energy of all things past, this monumental achievement is the culmination of many years of dogged determination and the belief in the music. This music that we and many others find healing and inspirational. At last it sees the light, uncompromising and laden with passion and intensity that we'll immortalize on our new album. We're happy to officially announce our signing with Relapse Records. They also believe in the music and are very understanding of our integrity, vision and aspirations. On tour right now in the USA, we are celebrating this experience with glorious sound. Join us on this golden road. Thanks to all who believe!"

A demo version of the song "Be The Night" from the forthcoming album, tentatively titled Sacred, can be heard below:

Additionally, a live version of the song can be seen from the D.C. legends' hometown tour kick-off at The Black Cat on Friday the 13th:

The Obsessed are currently on tour in the US with Karma to Burn and Sierra. A complete listing of dates is available below:

May
26 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
28 - Denver, CO - 3 Kings
30 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
31 - Portland, OR - Dante's

June
2 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
3 - Los Angeles, CA - Complex
4 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
5 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
7 - Austin, TX - Dirty Dog
8 - Ft. Worth, TX - Tomcats West
9 - Houston, TX - Walter's
10 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
11 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn

The Obsessed is:

Scott "Wino” Weinrich - Guitar & Vocals
Dave Sherman - Bass & Vocals
Brian Costantino - Drums & Vocals

Bloody Hammers have released a video for “The Reaper Comes”, a track from the new album, Lovely Sort Of Death, which will be released on August 5th via Napalm Records.

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

Lovely Sort Of Death tracklisting:

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

Fomats:

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

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

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

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

The official lyric video for "Generation Idiot", a brand new song from NONPOINT, can be seen below (courtesy of WJJO.com). The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "The Poison Red", due later in the year via Spinefarm Records. The CD was recorded at Uptown Recording Studio in Chicago with producer Rob Ruccia.

"The Poison Red" is the first NONPOINT album to feature lead guitarist BC Kochmit, whom frontman Elias Soriano has described as "Eddie Van Halen's illegitimate child."

Soriano said the song was inspired by Internet culture, which breeds digital "zombies."

"Over the past five years, I began to notice people, myself included, getting lost in a few of the simple things — life, art, passions," he explained. "Everything became a reality TV blog with pictures and comments, likes and dislikes, online bullies and online tough guys. And no one is talking anymore. Everything is texts, e-mails, replies and denies. They're all anchors. They all suck the life out of life. It creates zombies with unhinged appetites. It's a real zombie apocalypse and, motherfucker, I'm grabbing a machete and a shotgun."

"The Poison Red" track listing:

01. Generation Idiot02. Foaming At the Mouth03. Bottled Up Killer Bees04. Rabbit Hole05. Chasing White Rabbits06. Standing In the Flesh07. Divided.. Conquer Them08. Radio Chorus09. Spanish Radio Hour10. El Diablo11. No Running Allowed12. Promises13. Be Enough14. My Last Dying Breath

Soriano added about their new disc: "This record tells a lot of stories: going from guts to glory; chasing impossible dreams down the rabbit hole; harsh and honest words with consequences attached; uncovered rules for the weak, made by the wicked and heartless; recalling fight or flight moments with a deep breath. And it all starts with a warning to all the world's generations past, present and future to look up, look forward and live their lives loose from social media shackles, online bullying, the devaluation of art and music, and to not be absorbed by the dramatic, megalomaniacal side of politics. Life is right outside of your phone and newsfeed. Go live it and play this record while you do. It'll all start to make sense."

From their 2000 debut, "Statement", through 2014’s "The Return", NONPOINT have stayed the course, continuously crafting smart rock anthems with the kind of hooks that take up residence in your brain for days. The band is a staple performer at all the core U.S. festivals, such as Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion, and Rocklahoma, and has enjoyed several Top 20 rock radio singles. NONPOINT's 2014 single, "Breaking Skin", was the most played track of the year on SiriusXM’s Octane channel.

LINKIN PARK has uploaded short video from the Los Angeles studio where the band is working on its seventh album. Check out the clip below.

LINKIN PARK vocalist Mike Shinoda recently sent out a new update on the progress of the band's new record. He wrote: "We just started narrowing down to some of our favorite songs, and we’re starting to put our first 'final' vocals on them. As I listen through them, I feel like these songs are really personal and revealing. We have really poured our hearts into the words and melodies, and it’s starting to show as we approach recording the 'keeper' vocals."

Shinoda added that the band has "a lot of material to choose from," with all six members deciding on which songs will make the final track list.

He continued: "We clearly have an album in there. We’re looking forward to getting the vocals right, and starting to put sounds on them. Keyboards/samples and drums are high on the list…but first, we’re going to get some of these vocals nailed down."

Singer Chester Bennington told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he always feels confident that LINKIN PARK's fans will enjoy the band's latest offering. "You can't help but wonder," he said. "That always has to be a factor, I guess. But we stand by our philosophy that if we write good songs and we write good lyrics, then people are gonna want to listen to those songs. You know, I think that's the key to being in a successful band, is those two things, and as long as we continue doing that, then our fans will always stand by us."

The new disc will follow up 2014's "The Hunting Party", which featured the No. 1singles "Guilty All The Same" and "Until It's Gone".

LINKIN PARK has been mostly out of the public eye since an early 2015 tour in support of "The Hunting Party" was scrapped when singer Chester Bennington injured his foot. Bennington also ended his two-year run as STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman in late 2015 so he could refocus on LINKIN PARK.

The official video for "Starlight", a brand new song from GONE IS GONE, the new project featuring MASTODON's Troy Sanders, AT THE DRIVE-IN's Tony Hajjar, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's Troy Van Leeuwen and guitarist-keyboardist Mike Zarin, can be seen below. The track is featured on GONE IS GONE's self-titled debut record that will be released on July 8 via their imprint label Black Dune Records in partnership with Rise Records/BMG. Digital pre-orders are available now at iTunes and will include instant downloads of "Violescent" and "Starlight" and physical pre-orders of the limited edition vinyl EP are available now at GoneIsGone.merchnow.com. Says Sanders about "Starlight": "Facing adversity with magnitudes of willpower. Amassing strength to erase fear and fulfill all void with purpose. A story of survival mode. This one hits close to the heart." "Starlight" premiered Tuesday at Beats 1 Radio and is the second single from the band’s forthcoming debut EP. The video for the track was filmed in May 2016 at Pollution in Los Angeles and was directed by Raul Gonzo (†††, PVRIS). The band has also announced their first tour dates, which include shows in Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. in July. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time at www.GoneIsGoneOfficial.com. GONE IS GONE tour dates:

July 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram BallroomJuly 11 - New York, NY - Bowery BallroomJuly 12 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll HotelJuly 13 - Brooklyn, NY - St. Vitus

What was once thought a distant idea is now reality. It began when members Tony Hajjar and Mike Zarin were writing music for film trailers and they realized they had created a sound that needed a life outside of that medium. It needed a band. Fast forward through some phone calls and drinks: Troy Van Leeuwen was in. The trio met and wrote an EP within the first several sessions, but were still in need of the right vocalist. Upon first listen, Troy Sanders understood the vision and flew to Los Angeles to write and record vocals on the spot.

In the interview with RollingStone.com, Tony Hajjar said: "GONE IS GONE is a project that can live even when we are working with our other entities as well. The goal is to be able to compose remotely, if needed, on film, trailers, or on anything else that comes up... It feels good to know that all this music will see the light of day soon."

Added Sanders: "The vibe from Day One was, and has been, very therapeutic and refreshing for me. The chemistry was immediate."

GONE IS GONE made its live debut on April 27 at the Dragonfly in Los Angeles.

For more information, visit www.GoneIsGoneOfficial.com.

Photo credit: Lindsey Byrnes

Scheduled for release via Inside Out on July 1st, Fates Warning’s new album, Theories Of Flight, is the long-awaited follow-up to 2013's Darkness In A Different Light. The band have launched an album sampler video, containing excerpts from all songs on the album. Check it out below.

Vocalist Ray Alder checked in to comment about Theories Of Flight": "We began writing the music for "Theories" while we were still touring for "Darkness"... I believe that the anticipation to write another record was due to the fact that we were once again touring and playing new material after nine years of playing the same songs. It was exciting to be on stage again and we looked forward to getting back in the studio. I also believe that our fans were happy to finally having something new to listen to..

“I/we are very happy with the way that "Theories" turned out. Jim and I collaborated practically every day on the new album for over a year until we actually went into the studio.. There were many different versions of the songs until they were finally complete, and I believe it shows in the final product. I think that Jim did an excellent job producing the new album. The material is, I believe heavier than what people are used to from us, as well as my vocal style. We wanted something different than "Darkness" but something that still carried a lot of melody."

Jim Matheos comments about the title and the artwork for the album: "The working title for the album was The Ghosts Of Home and the song with that name was first called ‘Home Again’. When I started searching for artwork I came across the piece that's now the cover and it was called ‘Theories Of Flight’. In fact, the title you see on the cover is part of the original art, not something we added. There's a loose theme running through a lot of the lyrics, and this developed organically and separately, where Ray and I are often writing about various uprooting, escapes....flights. So I was immediately drawn to that phrase as being a better description of what some of the songs are about."

Theories Of Flight will be available in the standard version and a two disc, Mediabook edition, which will include a trio of unreleased originals, as well as three additional, never heard, cover tunes. A double-LP version will also be available. The bonus disc is entirely acoustic.

The tracklisting is as follows:

CD 1
“From The Rooftops” (6:52)
“Seven Stars” (5:33)
“SOS” (4:34)
“The Light And Shade Of Things” (10:14)
“White Flag” (5:20)
“Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen” (5:13)
“The Ghosts Of Home” (10:31)
“Theories of Flight” (4:00)

CD 2 – Acoustic Bonus Disc:
“Firefly” (3:15)
“Seven Stars” (4:25)
“Another Perfect Day” (3:25)
“Pray Your Gods” (3:45) - Toad The Wet Sprocket cover
“Adela” (2:25) Joaquin Rodrigo cover
“Rain” (4:03) Uriah Heep cover

Album sampler:

Guitarist Mike Abdow will be touring with Fates Warning for their upcoming live dates. Frank Aresti, who performs a couple of solos on the band’s upcoming new album, will not be able to tour with Fates Waring “for the foreseeable future”.

Says guitarist and main composer Jim Matheos: “To clarify Frank's status with the band, he contributed a couple killer solos on the new record (Mike Abdow did one as well), but due to his current work commitments he will not be able to tour with the band for the foreseeable future. He remains part of the extended FW family and the door is always open for him to return anytime his schedule permits. We hope to have an album sampler up later this week and the first full song shortly after that. As always, thanks for your support."

Frank Aresti states: “I absolutely love Theories Of Flight, and I'm proud to be a part of it. I'll continue to do as much as I can, as often as I can, with the band. Meantime, they're in good hands with Mike Abdow, a great guitarist and a great guy. I wish them the best of luck, and look forward to sitting in on a song (or two).”

Swedish old-school death metallers Centinex will release their new album, Doomsday Rituals, on July 8th via Agonia Records. A new lyric video for the track “Sentenced To Suffer” is streaming below.

Centinex originated in 1990 as a riff-oriented part of the classic Swedish death metal movement and disbanded in 2005 after releasing eighth full-length albums. In 2014 they surprisingly resurfaced with a refreshed line-up of Martin Schulman (Demonical) on bass, Sverker Widgren (Demonical, Diabolical) on guitars, Alexander Högbom (October Tide, Spasmodic) on vocals and Kennet Englund (Interment, Centinex 1999-2003) on drums. Year 2014 also saw the release of their come-back record, Redeeming Filth.

The band doesn’t want the fans to be kept waiting another near-decade for a new album. Titled Doomsday Rituals, the record is a natural follow-up to Redeeming Filth.

Martin Schulman (bass) commented: "Heavy riffing, deep brutal vocals, everything from slow via mid-tempo to faster stuff, a perfect mix of the early 90's Florida and Stockholm sound.”

Doomsday Rituals was recorded at Wing Studios with Sverker Widgren (Centinex, Demonical, Diabolical) behind the knobs. The cover artwork was made by Bahrull Marta of Abomination Imagery.

Tracklisting:

“Flesh Passion”
“From Intact To Broken”
“Dismemberment Supreme”
“Generation Of Flies”
“The Shameful Few”
“Doomsday”
“Exist To Feed”
“Death Decay Murder”
“Sentenced To Suffer”
“Faceless”

“Sentenced To Suffer” lyric video:

“Exist To Feed”:

Available formats:

- Digipack CD
- Regular Black LP
- Orange LP (limited to 150 copies)
- White, Grey and Black T-shirts
- Regular "Doomsday Rituals" Black T-shirt
- Digital

Pre-orders at the following links: Digital, Physical.

Centinex live dates:

May
27 - Baltimore, OR - Maryland Deathfest

July
2 - Barcelona, Spain - Move Your Fucking Brain Extreme Fest
9 - Scharnstein (Bäckerberg), Austria - Sick Midsummer Fest

August
18 - Barth, Germany - Barther Metal Open Air

October
29 - Turku, Finland - Turun Kuolema II Festival (headlining with Angelcorpse)

"Monster", the new video from UNLOCKING THE TRUTH — the heavy metal band from Flatbush, Brooklyn made up of three African-American boys, guitarist/vocalist Malcolm Brickhouse, bassist Alec Atkins and drummer Jarad Dawkins — can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's forthcoming debut full-length album, "Chaos", which will be released on June 17 via premier independent music distributor Tunecore. The set was produced by Johnny K (MEGADETH, POP EVIL, DISTURBED) and captures the young band's explosive live energy, resulting in a tight, powerfully heavy yet melodic full-length offering.

Of "Chaos", Brickhouse commented: "We can't wait for everyone to hear our album. We've worked very hard to give the fans something they'll love and never forget. We hope they are able to relate to the songs the way that we do and have the time of their lives listening to them. We know that this album will blow you guys away." As previously reported, UNLOCKING THE TRUTH will be the subject of the forthcoming documentary, "Breaking A Monster". An exclusive feature-film account of the band's experience with the major record industry, it will be released this summer. SeeThink Films, the collaborative behind the release effort, has launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of an even wider theatrical presence.

"Chaos" track listing: 01. Chaos02. Monster03. A Tide04. Help Me05. Other Side06. Numbing07. Made Of Stone08. Ravens09. Escape10. FAYWB11. Take Control

UNLOCKING THE TRUTH last year spoke to The Daily Beast about their decision to sever ties with Sony, less than a year after signing with the major label.

"It was pretty difficult at times with [our] meetings [with Sony] — especially with this one particular lady at the label, who had a meeting with us once where she was just talking at us for six hours," Alec said. "We were pretty young at the time so we were pretty restless and wanted to get up and do something else, but she just had us in this meeting for six hours."

As part of its guaranteed two-album deal with Sony, UNLOCKING THE TRUTH was reportedly due to receive $60,000 to record the first disc and possibly as much as $325,000 for the second CD. Sony reportedly had an option to release a total of five albums from UNLOCKING THE TRUTH that could have pushed the label's financial investment to around $1.8 million ($325,000 for the second album, $400,000 for the third, $450,000 for the fourth and $550,000 for the fifth). It should be noted, however, that the band was only supposed to see the real money after an initial $60,000 advance if their debut album sold more than 250,000 copies, a prospect that seemed highly unlikely in an age of diminishing record sales.

Luke Meyer, the director of "Breaking A Monster", told The Daily Beast: "The $1.8 million is what happens if you add up all their advances for five records, and it increases in amount with each successive album.

"That's what everyone says about the music industry — it's got all this glitter on it, but it's always less flashy than it looks."

The members of UNLOCKING THE TRUTH famously got permission from a New York judge in July 2014 to sign the Sony deal. The musicians needed the judge's approval because they were minors.

UNLOCKING THE TRUTH has already played the Coachella festival and has supported GUNS N' ROSES. In addition, the band has appeared in a national ad campaign for Verizon Wireless.

UNLOCKING THE TRUTH credits bands such as METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, DISTURBED, CHELSEA GRIN, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and ESCAPE THE FATE as its influences.

Photo credit: Clay Patrick McBride

A video for “When The Wild Wind Blows” from Nylon Maiden’s upcoming double CD, Preserved In Time, can be seen below. Nylon Maiden is headed up by Dutch classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen - known for his acoustic renditions of some of metal’s greatest songs and arrangements of Iron Maiden tracks.

Nylon Maiden’s Preserved In Time is due for release in June. Thomas has gained almost 10 million views on YouTube with his arrangements of Iron Maiden songs for classical guitar, making this his most anticipated album to date.

Preserved In Time promises to be Zwijsen’s ultimate Iron Maiden tribute album. It makes the classical guitar world a bit more metal by adding 16 Iron Maiden songs (and two Bruce Dickinson songs) to its repertoire.

Zwijsen’s long-time collaborator Blaze Bayley is one of the returning guest musicians on this album, performing two tracks from his Iron Maiden days, as well as a unique version of “Blood Brothers” off the Brave New World album! This is the first time Blaze performs an Iron Maiden song from the post-Blaze era. It gives Iron Maiden fans an idea of what it would have sounded like if Blaze had stayed with the band.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
“If Eternity Should Fail”
“Stranger In A Strange Land”
“Judgement Of Heaven” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Ghost Of The Navigator”
“Powerslave” (Thomas & band)
“Burning Ambition”
“Tears Of The Dragon” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“Blood Brothers” (with Blaze Bayley)
“When The Wild Wind Blows” (Thomas & band)

Disc 2
“Afraid To Shoot Strangers”
“Como Estais Amigos” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Wrathchild”
“Tears Of A Clown”
“Jerusalem” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“For The Greater Good Of God”
“Reach Out”
“Fear Of The Dark”
“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” (Thomas & band)

Zwijsen comments: “In our attempt to choose the best track listing for the most fulfilling, surprising and complete Iron Maiden tribute album, we simply couldn't fit all the songs on a single CD, so we decided to make it a double CD this time. Many of the songs were requests from people on YouTube. If this were to be the setlist at an Iron Maiden concert, I’d be very happy!”

People who pre-order the album get some cool extras:

- Their names printed in the booklet of the album, preserved in time!
- The album signed by Thomas
- A free specially designed stainless steel Nylon Maiden dog tag.

“Powerslave” video

"Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" preview video:

“If Eternity Should Fail”:

"Afraid To Shoot Strangers”:

“Tears Of The Dragon”:

“Ghost Of The Navigator”:

“Powerslave” bass solo preview:

WHITFORD/ST. HOLMES, featuring the dynamic duo of AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford and TED NUGENT vocalist/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, is back together and ready to release their new studio album and hit the road with WHITESNAKE — all beginning on June 3.

Joining the two on the road will be bassist Chopper Anderson and keyboardist Buck Johnson, who both played on the "Reunion" album. Filling in on drums for all dates will be Brent Fitz (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS) replacing Troy Luccketta, who will be touring with TESLA at the same time.

"We are very excited to have Brent join us on this run," says Whitford. "Troy is so good, he is just not an easy guy to replace!" "We really needed a guy with the right feel," adds St. Holmes, "Brent brings that with him along with the power that kicks these songs out like they were meant to be. We can’t wait to get out there with him."

Asked how he feels about his new gig, Brent was quick to answer. "I was already excited for the new WHITFORD/ST. HOLMES 'Reunion' record. So, it goes without saying how thrilled I was to get a call from Derek and Brad asking me to step in on drums for the upcoming tour. Playing brand new music with these two legends, and in such a great new band, couldn't be more exciting! I consider them both architects of my own musical makeup, so, of course, I'm looking forward to playing a few of their own classics as well!"

WHITFORD/ST. HOLMES's tour with WHITESNAKE launches on June 3 in Dallas and continues on through Texas, Indianapolis, Ohio, Detroit, Boston and more with headlining dates peppered in between. This leg of the tour will conclude on July 2 with a headline show. The band will also play with LYNYRD SKYNYRD on July 31 at Festival Park in Elgin, Illinois.

It was 1981 when Whitford, who had left AEROSMITH, first teamed up with St. Holmes to release their self-titled debut. Tracks like "Sharpshooter" and "Whisky Woman" carried on the stadium rock and roll style that made them famous. The album received critical acclaim and they did a successful round of tour dates before returning to their respective bands and shelving the duo. Until now!

Recently, the two friends found themselves living in the same town on the outskirts of Nashville. While working on some catch up time, they decided to revamp their collaboration. After writing a number of songs, the duo recruited Anderson, Johnson and Luccketta to record the album. Produced by Whitford and St. Holmes, the album was recorded at The Castle Studios in Franklin, Tennessee.

Whitford and St. Holmes, who have collectively been part of tens of millions of record sales as part of AEROSMITH and TED NUGENT, know the true purpose of their art. "It's hard to believe we first jammed over thirty years ago," states Whitford. St. Holmes adds: "We are excited for this record to get out there, we want to share it with our friends, all those hardcore rock 'n' roll fans… Like our fans and good whiskey, we all seem to get better with age."

GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan's new documentary, "It's So Easy And Other Lies: Live At The Moore", will begin a limited theatrical run in U.S. theaters starting May 26, according to The Pulse Of Radio. XLrator Media will present the film in 50 cities ahead of its arrival in Los Angeles on June 3. The film focuses on McKagan as he tells his life story in a live performance at Seattle's famed Moore Theatre in 2013.

Featuring exclusive archival footage, this authorized documentary chronicles Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee McKagan's meteoric rise to fame and fortune, his near-fatal struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and his remarkable life transformation. The film features interviews with many of the people who took this wild ride, including a constellation of rock stars that rose to fame alongside him, and the people who inspired him to overcome his addictions. In a voice that is as honest as it is indelibly his own, Duff takes audiences on a harrowing journey through the dark heart of rock 'n' roll and out the other side.

"It's So Easy And Other Lies: Live At The Moore" was directed and produced by Christopher Duddy, produced by Daniel Zirilli and Steven G. Kaplan, and executive produced by Vision Films' Lise Romanoff, Gato Scatena, Jordan Rosner, Hans Stangl, Birgit Stein and Kati Thomson. Evan Saxon did the theatrical booking.

Fans can go to ItsSoEasyMovie.com for theater information and to purchase tickets.

The Seattle appearance was part of a promotional tour by McKagan in support of his 2012 memoir of the same name, which debuted on the New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list at No. 17.

McKagan's first book and his second, "How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions)", chronicled not just McKagan's life but the wisdom and experience he gained from his time with GUNS to getting sober after a life of hard living to raising a family with his supermodel wife.

McKagan told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago what the best part of sobriety was. "Waking up every day. Waking up and being able to have a cup of coffee and be aware of what's going on around me and being comfortable in my own skin, and being curious about what's gonna happen that day," he said. "Simply, just waking up is the best thing."

The documentary's release comes three weeks before the partially reunited GUNS N' ROSES will begin a summer stadium tour of North America at Ford Field in Detroit on June 23.

Here is the complete list of theatrical screenings:

American rock band, Bon Jovi, have completed work on their upcoming 14th studio album, expected this fall. The band posted the photo above via social media with the simple tag, “The album is done!”

The new album, tentatively titled This House Is Not For Sale, will be released via the band’s label, Island Def Jam Music Group. Details on the upcoming release are expected to be revealed soon. Stay tuned.

The new album marks the first Bon Jovi album with no input from guitarist Richie Sambora, who left the band in 2013. The band’s previous release, Burning Bridges, included mostly older songs, including a co-write from Sambora.

Pictured above, left to right - Hugh McDonald, David Bryan, Tico Torres, John Shanks producer, Jon Bon Jovi, Phil X.

(Photo - David Bergman)

According to The Pulse Of Radio, FOO FIGHTERS guitarist Chris Shiflett appeared on KROQ in Los Angeles on Monday morning (May 23), where he discussed the band's current hiatus. Shiflett said the band is enjoying the time off, explaining, "It's pretty great, man. We were working really hard for a long time. We were on the road for at least a year or so for the last [album], but then we were also traveling when we made the record, so that kind of felt like we were on the road, so it felt like a year and a half or so. Then before that there were shows we did for Dave's [Grohl, FOO FIGHTERS mainman] movie, then the album before that, so it seemed like it was just a long stretch of back-to-back stuff."

Shiflett added: "This is, like, nothing on the calendar; you're just kicking it for the summer. It's very strange, and super unusual for us; we don't tend to do that." The guitarist also said he felt "weird" for the first couple of months, revealing that it's often around January that he hears from Grohl about making the next record. Shiflett said: "Dave usually sends out an e-mail or a text or something: 'Hey, I've got some songs. Let's go.' But usually we don't have this amount of time off."

FOO FIGHTERS bassist Nate Mendel told The Pulse Of Radio a while back how the band's songwriting process works. "It's really been pretty consistent over the years," he said. "Dave writes the songs, and about half the time he'll do a demo on his own, and the other half of the time he'll come in and just play it on guitar. Then [he] shows it to the band and then we sit around and play it and figure out, you know, what kind of song is it gonna be. Is it a country song? Metal song? You know, what the dynamic is, arrangement, tempo, that kind of stuff. We help him finish it out."

Shiflett insisted that the band "shall return," but admitted, "I just don’t know when, but it will happen."

FOO FIGHTERS finished an intense, nearly three-year period of activity at the end of 2015, which included the release and promotion of the Grohl-directed "Sound City" documentary, the filming and recording of the "Sonic Highways" HBO series and album, and the year-long world tour in support of the latter — with Grohl nursing a broken leg for the second half of 2015.

The FOO FIGHTERS cut the fall European leg of the tour short after last November's terrorist attacks in France, but managed to issue an EP of five new songs, titled "Saint Cecilia", that was dedicated to the victims of the Paris attacks. Grohl revealed at the time that the FOO FIGHTERS would go on hiatus.

Alice Cooper says that AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry asked Johnny Depp for guitar lessons after hearing the actor play in movie.

Cooper, Perry and Depp are members of the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES supergroup, dedicated to the memory of Cooper's late drinking buddies Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon and John Lennon.

Cooper tells EonMusic: "Johnny is one of these guys that just loves that era, and he's a killer guitar player.

'There's a movie called 'Chocolat' and he plays this gypsy guitar player. He does all this Django Reinhardt stuff — and it's really him. It's not somebody playing for him. Joe Perry heard that, and he called up and said, 'Can I get guitar lessons from you?' So that's how good Johnny is."

The HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES released their self-titled debut album last year and will hit the road in Europe and North America this summer. The U.S. tour runs through July 25 in Paso Robles, California.

Rounding out the lineup are Matt Sorum from GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER on drums, Robert DeLeo from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS on bass, Tommy Henriksen from Cooper's band on guitar, and Bruce Witkin on piano, percussion and guitar.

After the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES tour, Cooper has U.S. dates with his band in August and October.