German thrash crew, Dust Bolt, has just announced that they will be entering the recording studio in two weeks to record their upcoming third album.

The band are excited to start recording their new thrash masterpiece: "We’ve decided to enter the The Engine Studios again, where our last album Awake The Riot was recorded. We as a team are inseparable and working strongly together on a highly creative level. Our upcoming album is going to surprise, that’s for sure and it will be mixed and mastered only analog! We are super stoked and can’t wait to hit the studio soon and finally unleash album #3 to the world!”

The album is scheduled for summer 2016, more news and information on the way. In the meantime watch the official album announcement video:

Dust Bolt recently released a new music video for the track “Agent Thrash”, from their last album Awake The Riot.

Dust Bolt on the music video: “The idea behind the video was to create a funny story based on the figure of Mr. Agent Thrash that captures the spirit of the song and what it's about - having a good time, music and friendship!”

 



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Sarke’s fourth album, featuring the icy and grim screams from Darkthrone’s lead vocalist Nocturno Culto, is truly the grandest and most dynamic album from the band to date. Bogefod presents nine tracks that stretch from lingering atmospheric doom to thrash to black metal and technical metal - all within the realms of suberb quality.

It is a highly conceptual album spinning around the evil walking dead Torolv Bogefod from the norse classic Eyrbyggja saga. After an ugly death Torolv breaks out of his tomb. Dead, yet undead, he terrorizes the villagers and causes deaths and devastations. This viking story is a 1000 years old.

Several retrospective musical elements enhance the underlying story, as the warm sound of a 100-year-old guitar colours the otherwise icy and grim atmosphere of Nocturno Culto’s screams. In addition to this, the ballad in the track “Dawning” in between all the ripping and chilling moments throughout the album enriches the contrast and contributes to telling the story’s true and folky nature.

Sarke is in a sense a band formed by legends of the darker metal genre, with the pre-mentioned Nocturno Culto on vocals, Steinar Gundersen (Satyricon) on guitar, Thomas “Sarke” Bergli (Khold, Tulus) on bass and Anders Hunstad (El Caco) on keyboards. Together they have crafted an extremely immersive album surely to draw the listener into a historical and dark universe in a way no one ever have before.

Tracklisting:

“Taken”
“Blood of Men”
“Barrow of Torolv”
“Alternation”
“The Wicked’s Transient Sleep”
“Burn”
“Dawning”
“Evil Heir”
“Sunken”



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Bury Tomorrow singer, Dani Winter-Bates, talks about the band's new album in the first Earthbound video trailer. Watch below:

Earthbound is released on January 29th on Nuclear Blast. Pre-orders are available via the links below:

Physical (CD/LP)
Digital

At a time when modern metal is so slavishly led by the following of whatever fashion carousel is popular this week, rare are the bands who find success on their own, gimmick-free terms. A decade into their career, Southampton/Portsmouth quintet Bury Tomorrow are, by whatever yardstick you want to measure it, one such band.
 
With an ethos which has never wavered from a threefold focus on unswerving passion, unrelenting hard work and remorselessly driving, slash ’n’ burn riffola, Bury Tomorrow have hauled themselves into a position as one of the UK’s premiere purveyors of mosh by the sheer force of their own will. 2014’s Runes saw a veritable dam-break for the band, a UK rock chart number one and top 40 success in the mainstream, it was a record that enabled them to take their devastating live show to festival main stages across Europe and the UK, before finally culminating in a headline tour which saw the band playing to 1400 braying fans at a sold out London KOKO.  

Now though, with Earthbound, they have stepped things up yet another gear.

“To me, Earthbound feels like the distillation of everything we’ve ever wanted this band to be about,” says frontman Dani Winter-Bates. “Our first three records are kind of part of their own trilogy but this is Bury Tomorrow’s record, we all see this as our chance to show people what we are capable of.”
 
Certainly Earthbound finds BT on more concise form that ever before: ten tracks that get in, batter you across the face, and get out again with precious little time for respite or caught breath. Hardcore mentality for a metalcore generation.
 
“A big thing for us this time around was to get down to the real nitty gritty of what our fans wanted from us and how to give them without wasting a single second,” continues Dani. “With Earthbound we wanted pace, we wanted heaviness, and for me, personally, I wanted to write a record which was the sonic embodiment of a circle pit. I think we’ve done that.”
 
With notable influences ranging from axe-slinging New Wave Of American Heavy Metallers Unearth and Darkest Hour to the apoplectic fury of Terror and Madball, this is one that will get the pit spinning with consummate ease.
 
But while fans of the heavy stuff will find plenty to grasp onto here, it’s the now trademark interplay between Dani and guitarist and vocalist Jason Cameron which sets Earthbound apart. “It’s much more mature in the interplay between me and Jason,” Dani notes. “We’ve been playing together for ten years now and it feels like we have an almost telepathic understanding of one another. We’ve always wanted to be like one vocalist in two parts and I think we’ve achieved that here.”

One listen to the sky-scraping euphoria of “Last Light” or the call-to-arms swagger of the title track will tell you that Dani isn’t lying: monstrous anthems from a band who are coming of age as a truly astonishing force of musical nature. Elsewhere, ‘301’s chastising punch sees Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta lending his iron lungs to proceedings to devastating effect.
 
“More than anything that song is about how our music belongs to our fans first, those first 301 people who run to Youtube who want to check it out and are excited about it. It’s kind of a ‘fuck you’ to all those people who go ‘Bury Tomorrow aren’t proper metal’ or whatever. It’s Jamey fucking Jasta and I know our fans are going to love it.”
 
It’s that focus on their fan base which has made BT not only one of the best, but one of the most well-loved bands working in the UK today, and, in Dani, one of the most charismatic frontmen imaginable.
 
With Earthbound looming on the horizon, Bury Tomorrow’s fortunes look set to go through the roof and all the hard work pay off in spades..
 
“Where we are now is where we’ve always wanted to be,” smiles Dani. “And now we’re in the position to truly deliver on what we’ve promised so far. We aren’t going to let anyone down.”

Tracklisting:

“The Eternal”
“Last Light”
“Earthbound”
“The Burden”
“Cemetery”
“Restless & Cold”
“301”
“Memories”
“For Us”
“Bloodline”

“Memories”:

“Last Light” video:

“Earthbound” video:



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Tera Wray Static, the widow of STATIC-X frontman and founder Wayne Static and former adult film star, was found dead late last night of an apparent suicide, a longtime associate of Wayne has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. She was 33 years old.

According to AVN, Wray, who was born Tera Lents, met Wayne during the Ozzfest tour in 2007 when she was modeling for Hustler lingerie. They were married in January 2008 and she retired from porn in August of that year.

A friend of Tera's named Rik Marin posted the following message in the comments section on BLABBERMOUTH.NET's Facebook page: "I spent all day yesterday with Tara [sic]. We had lunch hung out and talked about life without Wayne she show no indication that she was going to take her life. She did talk about fighting the depression for the past 2 years since Wayne had passed..I was shocked when I got the call at 1 am that she had passed.. Instead of hating we should all be happy that Tara had made Wayne so happy he really loved Tera. And put in a track of EVIL DISCO and remember Wayne and the woman he loved...it's really hard for us friends of Wayne n Tera to read these comments..keep Disco EVIL in remembrance of Wayne. I loved you both an will miss are good times at the Dirthouse.."

Adult entertainment attorney Michael Fattorosi tweeted: "I'm so sad today. My client & friend Tera Wray, former Pornstar and the widow of Wayne Static committed suicide yesterday. We were emailing back & forth on Tuesday. And today I got a call from her roommate letting me know what happened. Tera is once again with the love of her life, Wayne, & will be forever. May they both find peace together for all of eternity. Godspeed Tera" Michael Fattorosi added on Facebook: "She was one of the sweetest girls in the industry. It's sounds cliche but she had a lightness about her. Always happy always smiling..."

In a 2013 interview with Gotham News, Wayne revealed that his wife's presence on the road at least partly contributed to the breakup of STATIC-X's classic lineup. He said: "Well, I wanted Tera on tour with me, so she was always with me. She was with me during interviews too. We love each other. I wanna have her with me at all times. She came on stage and danced for a few songs and… I think Tony [Campos, then-STATIC-X bassist] didn't like that. I think it pissed him off. I think he thought, 'She's not in the band, she shouldn't be here.' But the reality of it was, we'd do interviews and she'd just sit there. He didn't like the fact that she was around all the time. For all I know, maybe he thought he should've hooked up with her and ended up married to her, so maybe he's jealous. I don't know. I don't fucking know. I could give a shit if we did an interview and his girlfriend was sitting next to us. The funny thing is, before we got married and she was a porn star, she rode with us on the bus for a whole year, [and] everyone loved her then. When she was a porn star, everything was awesome. Then we got married, and everything changed. I don't know why."

Last July, Tera paid tribute to her late husband with a sleeve tattoo that she showed off on Facebook.

Wayne Static died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old Static, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

The report, which was released in March 2015, stated, "[Static's] wife stated that just prior to going to bed, he crushed one-half of a 30 mg oxycodone pill and consumed it. The oxycodone had been prescribed to his wife. He also drank an unknown amount of alcohol. His wife awoke at around 1530 hours. She found the decedent dead in the bed and called 911 at 1547 hours. Paramedics arrived and confirmed death at 1600 hours, noting rigor mortis and lividity."

The report added that Tera Wray told them that Static "took oxycodone, Xanax (alprazolam) and alcohol to relieve panic attacks."

She claimed that he took Xanax on a daily basis at the prescribed dosage, according to the report, and would "occasionally have his own prescription for oxycodone, but he would usually take hers."

Wray also told the coroner that she and Static "had a history of cocaine and ecstasy abuse, but they stopped using illicit drugs in 2009."

Static's mother also told the coroner that her son was a "self-admitted alcoholic" for whom drinking had been a problem for two years. Both his mother and Wray said that Static was "not suicidal."

Statements from both Wray and a publicist back in November 2014 dismissed rumors that his passing was the result of a drug overdose.

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 has been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

Swedish metallers, Violent Divine, have released a new lyric video for the track “Desolation Boulevard”, featured on their new album, Hyperactivity Disorder. The new clip is streaming below.

Hyperactivity Disorder tracklisting:
                                                         
“For I Am Sin”
“Incubus”
“Restart My Heart”
“Beautiful Disaster”
“Temple Of Love”
“Fail”
“Worms Beneath”
“Drown”
“Heartbroken”
“Desolation Boulevard”
“Rain”
“Walking On Thin Ice”
“Bloodshared”

“Desolation Boulevard” lyric video:

 
“For I Am Sin” video:

 



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Metallica cover band Sandman didn't expect to have a FedEx package waiting for them over the weekend when they arrived at FitzRay's, a London, Ontario club where the band was scheduled to play Saturday night. Inside, the Canadian group found an official, 41-page cease and desist letter from Metallica's lawyer for using "official, stylized logos … to identify or promote live musical performances through Facebook and YouTube." The cover band, formed in 1994, had been using their logo, an approximation of Metallica's redesigned logo introduced for 2003's St. Anger, for more than a decade. Yet this was the first time they had even heard from the band, much less received any sort of legal documents.

SIDEBAR
45 Most Anticipated Albums of 2016 illustration 45 Most Anticipated Albums of 2016 »
"The band have been using this logo for years with no problems at all," guitarist Joe Di Taranto tells Rolling Stone. "I only joined the band last summer and feel a little guilty that perhaps my (albeit humble) success with my main/original band WARMACHINE have brought a little extra attention to the band, leading to this little fiasco."

Now, Metallica has clarified the situation in a statement to Rolling Stone, denying any involvement in the letter and blaming an "overzealous attorney" for the misunderstanding.

"We hear that a Canadian Metallica tribute band is a little upset with us and with a little digging, figured out why," the band tells Rolling Stone. "It turns out that a certain letter was delivered to the band Sandman that neither we nor our management were aware of until it surfaced online. Lucky for us, the band was kind enough to post it for us to see, and it turns out that we have a very overzealous attorney who sent this letter without our knowledge."

The group pointed to Garage Inc., their 1998 covers album, as proof of their support of groups covering other artists' work. "We have a long history of not only enjoying tribute bands, but we started as one," the group says. "Heck, we even recorded a two-disc album of covers! We will always remember those days and continue to enjoy tribute bands, even inviting them to support us on various tours over the years."

Di Taranto says that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich called him on Wednesday to apologize and quash the situation. "He gave me and the band his full blessing to continue on as we were," says the musician. "They want us to continue paying tribute to Metallica with their full blessing and approval. We will continue to fly the Metallica flag, loud and proud!!" The band says they will continue using their logo with impunity.

As for the original cease and desist order, Metallica has rescinded the letter. "Sandman should file the letter in the trash," the band says. "Keep doing what you’re doing ... we totally support you! And in the meantime, our attorney can be found at SFO catching a flight to go permanently ice fishing in Alaska."

According to Billboard.com, the reunited GUNS N' ROSES — featuring singer Axl Rose alongside guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan — will be one of the first acts to play the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, set to open April 6. The band is also negotiating with promoters to play as many as 25 stadiums in North America this summer. For the tour, GN'R is said to be asking as much as $3 million per show, with tickets topping out in the $250 to $275 range.

Meanwhile, The Pulse Of Radio reports that the instrumental members of GUNS N' ROSES — including Slash, McKagan and more recent drummer Frank Ferrer — are rehearsing for the upcoming reunion shows without Rose. The frontman has yet to join the group in the rehearsal studio and it's not clear at the moment which other members are also present, if any.

Slash told The Pulse Of Radio a while back how his relationship with Axl disintegrated during the final years of the classic GUNS lineup. "His sort of m.o., as far as the band was concerned, over time got so exaggerated in the rock star sense or whatever and he became such a dictator and this and that and the other, that it was impossible for me to work with him, because I'm not the kind of person that takes orders, you know," he said.

Ahead of April's headlining slot at the Coachella Music And Arts Festival, GUNS N' ROSES is rumored to be planning a secret show in the Los Angeles area next month as a warm-up.

Although neither Slash nor Duff McKagan played on the 2008 GUNS album "Chinese Democracy", songs from that set are reportedly being rehearsed and will be performed.

“When it comes to music, Slash is a serious cat. He’s not going to fuck around. He’s not going to phone in the Guns N’ Roses gig; he’s going to be the best he can be. That’s the reality of it,” says Slash’s bassist Todd Kerns (The Age Of Electric, Static In Stereo) speaking exclusively to BraveWords scribe Aaron Small.

“Duff McKagan and Slash are the only two I can speak for personally,” continues Todd. “They are at the top of their game musically, at the top of their game health-wise. Mentally, those guys are 110%. They’re going to go out there and kill this. The rest is on everybody else; they’re going to have to keep up with those guys. Duff is a constant inspiration and it’s been nothing but an honour to stand in his shoes on several songs a night that I play. He knows what a fan I am. A lot of people are trying to put a spin on it (the GN’R reunion) like, ‘Isn’t it fucking bullshit? Isn’t it lame?’ I’m excited! I’m excited for my friends to be doing something like this; that for them is probably one of the most important moments in their life. I don’t know what it means in the big picture. I don’t know what it means in a year from now, or six months from now? But in the meantime, it’s a hell of a moment. ”

Prior to the announcement that a semi-reunited Guns N’ Roses - featuring Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan - would headline the Coachella Festival in California in April, work had begun on the third studio album from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators. In his latest blog titled, The Worst Kept Secret In Rock N Roll, Todd wrote about the new music slated for SMKC III commenting, ‘The new material is insane.’

Elaborating upon that statement, Kerns says, “The last one, World On Fire, as you know was 17 songs. The previous album, Apocalyptic Love, we ended up doing ‘Carolina’ and ‘Crazy Life’ as two extras. There was a version released without and a version released with; I don’t think anybody bothered with the one without. Slash is very maverick that way. The way it’s usually done is you have extra songs available for this and that. I like the idea that he goes, ‘Fuck it. I can’t feel any less excited about song 15 than I do about song 7. So guess what, we’re releasing the whole fucking thing.’ That made for a very sweeping and epic album, all the way from ‘World On Fire’ to ‘The Unholy’; it’s a hell of a ride. He was absolutely correct in that. This time he’s sort of said, ‘Maybe we should do more of a succinct rock ‘n roll record, like most of us grew up on.’ Like Van Halen II, or all those KISS records; they’re really short. But it’s pretty early days to talk about what’s actually going to be on it.”  

The new album from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators likely won’t be released until 2017. “I don’t think so,” agrees Todd. “There’s an Alter Bridge record to contend with there too.” For those unaware, Myles Kennedy is also the vocalist for Alter Bridge. “When the Alter Bridge conversation happened, we knew immediately… we’ll pick away at SMKC III – or whatever the hell it’s going to be called. When it’s ready, the time is right, and everything lines up; then we’ll put it out. The crazy thing about Slash, he goes ‘Here’s the riff,’ and every time it’s like an exercise, but it’s a classic, history of rock moment happening in front of me. You can’t help but go, ‘damn dude, that thing is going to be huge!’ But this one has a lot more… it’s really hard to say actually cause it’s classic riff after classic riff. Myles even said to me the other day that he felt he had so much more completed and ready on this than he even did last time. But the fact that we’ve got a scheduling situation that puts it in a different stage is the only thing slowing us down. Otherwise, it’s very ready to go.”  

“But you know how much shit is going to come up between now and then. Slash will come up with ten other epic riffs. We’re talking that it would be nice to have a ten song album; it’ll probably end up being 20, who knows? ” It sounds like the album will definitely come out at some point though. A lot of fans were worried, given the Guns N’ Roses reunion and the next Alter Bridge album, that this third Slash album with Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators would disappear and never see the light of day. “I haven’t been to the future yet, so I can’t really say if whatever turn of events occurs, but I still believe that… we played the New Year’s Eve show (in Vegas) and it was kind of interesting. I wouldn’t say it was bitter-sweet because there was nothing sad about the end of a – I’m one of those people that, we’re not really saying goodbye, nothing really changes. It’s like the end of Return Of The Jedi… The Force Awakens is coming. It’s going to happen. I don’t believe for a second that this won’t happen in one fashion or another.  Sure there’s an Alter Bridge record, and Alter Bridge has an amazing career for themselves; man, those guys do great work. Then this thing with Guns N’ Roses is fucking bigger than all of us, I really feel that way. It’s like Led Zeppelin or something.”   

Todd’s final comment on the forthcoming SMKC III album, “I don’t really know. There’s tentative schedules in place, and the thing about tentative schedules is, they’re tentative. At any minute they can change, but I know Slash pretty well, and I know that he does not do well with down time. That’s why one day I joined his band, and six years later, here we are. What in the hell happened? Slash is Slash, and there’s really no seatbelt in that vehicle; there’s not even a roll bar. We just get in that thing and hammer.”

 

 



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

According to TMZ, NICKELBACK is suing Lloyd's Of London, claiming the insurance company is trying to get out of paying millions of dollars for the cancelation of the group's tour due to singer Chad Kroeger's medical condition.

Lloyd's sued Kroeger in December for allegedly failing to disclose that he had a pre-existing throat condition that forced the band to cancel most of its 2015 tour dates, including a North American trek.

NICKELBACK canceled more than 60 concerts and filed a $13 million claim with Lloyd's after Kroeger underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his vocal cords. But Lloyd's sued to cancel the singer's insurance, alleging that Kroeger already had the throat condition and failed to disclose it before taking out the policy.

Now NICKELBACK has fired back, with their lawyer, Howard Weitzman, telling TMZ it's absurd to say the condition was pre-existing, because Chad performed nearly 40 shows before the cyst issue surfaced.

The band initially dropped off the road in June 2015 so Kroeger could have the surgery, with the singer saying in a statement, "I am relying on my doctor and his team to help get my voice back in good form as quickly as possible."

But in August, the band called off all remaining dates on the tour in order for Kroeger to complete his recovery. The group has not given any indication since then if and when they will return to the road.

The quartet's latest album, "No Fixed Address", sold around 80,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart in November 2014.

Kroeger and his wife of two years, wife, pop singer Avril Lavigne, announced their separation in September 2015.

Omer Cordell, the mastermind behind Canadian metal project Trailight featuring vocalist Dave Padden (ex-Annihilator) and drummer Ryan van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), has checked in with the following update:

"Here's a snapshot of a work in progress of the cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds track 'The Weeping Song'. Dave came over to track his vocal parts and as usual, he did an incredible job! I just sent the tracks to Burton C Bell for him to record his parts but for now, here's a short sample of the track thus far..."

Trailight recently released an official video for the song "Open Doors" from the debut, The Primitive Mountain:

Cordell recently spoke with BraveWords scribe Carl Begai about Trailight. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

“When I was first starting to think about doing this project, considering the vibe and riffs I was coming up with – ‘A Thousand Years’ was the first song I wrote – I knew who I wanted to play drums on it. Ryan has known me as a photographer for years, so when I called him up it was like ‘This may come as a surprise, but I’m making music now…’ (laughs). I asked if he’d be interested in playing on it and he wanted to hear the demos, but he had a bunch of touring to finish with Devin and then record the DVP double album. After that he had time to do my stuff.”

“Ryan came back from Devin’s album recording, learned my songs in about a week or 10 days, we had one day of pre-production where I had a chance to hear what he would be doing in the studio. Three days later we were in the studio and 10 hours later he was done recording. When we were finished I knew why I’d gotten Ryan to do it. He not only fits stylistically, he was also such an immense help with the whole process. I was basically flying blind. I’d been to the studios lots of times back when Strapping was around to take photos, but I’d never actually recorded in one before, so Ryan was helpful in guiding me.”

Cordell also took on outside help to produce The Primitive Mountain, a long and drawn out process that slowly deteriorated as the songs were being mixed. He eventually opted to take on the task of mixing and mastering himself; a daunting task on one hand, but the only option left if the album was going to live up to his expectations. Rather than a play-by-play of events, Cordell channels Metallica to sum up the situation.

“As far as the mix of the album, the first batch of songs that I sent you sound like St. Anger, and the final mixes sound like the Black album.”

Go to this location for the complete story.

The complete tracklist for The Primitive Mountain is as follows:

"Open Doors"
"Sentient Beings Pt. 1 - The Dim Future Of Our Distant Past"
"Sentient Beings Pt. 2 - All That We Are" 
"We Are The Ocean"
"Frail Human Form"
"The Primitive Mountain"
"Passer By"
"A Thousand Years"
"Navarino"
"Beyond The Rubicon"

Cordell released a 30 minute behind-the-scenes look at the production earlier this year, which can be viewed below. For information on Trailight go to this location.



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Pentagram has posted the following sad news on their official Facebook page:

"We're saddened to learn of the passing of Stuart Rose, drummer for Pentagram in the mid ‘80s. Stuart came on board in the midst of the name change from Death Row to Pentagram in 1984. His one full-length release with the band was the 1987 album Day of Reckoning, which would eventually become monumental in regards to the history and evolution of doom metal. Stuart was really happy to have both audio and visual of his playing finally surface properly on the Pentagram DVD collection, All Your Sins, in 2015. Among the cherished footage is his '84 performance with the band at the historic CBGBs in NYC. Stuart was a talented drummer, a clever and funny guy, and he will be missed. We offer our utmost condolences and prayers to his family during this time. Godspeed."

From Wikipedia regarding Day Of Reckoning and Rose's contributions:

Day of Reckoning is the second album by Pentagram. It was released in 1987 by Napalm Records. It was re-released by Peaceville Records in 1993, and in 1996 as part of a two-disc split CD with Relentless, and then again in 2005 as a digipak CD. Joe Hasselvander originally played drums on only one track, "Burning Savior," with Stuart Rose recording the drums on all the rest. Hasselvander re-recorded drums on all tracks (except "Burning Savior") for the 1993 Peaceville reissue.The original mixes with Rose on drums only appear on the Napalm Records LP version and an original cassette edition made in Canada, and have never appeared on CD.



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Wormholedeath Records has announced the signing of the Portuguese epic metallers Dark Oath.

Here's the statement from the band:

"As you may know, for the past few years we've been working on our first full-length record, it took us a while to get things done, but we finally managed to do it. In light of this it's time to announce some of the biggest news we've had so far in our journey as a band: we signed a worldwide deal with WormHoleDeath Records! We're happy to be part of the family! Check out the label's roster, great bands in there."

Dark Oath will release their full-length debut When Fire Engulfs The Earth later this year. An album preview is streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“Land Of Ours”
“The Tree Of Life”
“Battle Sons”
“Watchman Of Gods”
“Thousands Beasts”
“Death Of Northern Sons”
“Wrath Unleashed”
“Vengeful Gods”
“When Fire Engulfs The Earth”
“Brother’s Fall”

Album preview:



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

Despotz recording artists Grimner have premiered the video for "Eldhjarta", the first single from their upcoming full length effort, Frost Mot Eld, which is out on March 26.

Directed by Magnus Ewald, the video was shot on a mountain in Uvberget, just to the west of Stockholm, "on an ice cold day, which gave us the epic feeling we were going for," says the band.  

 
The track, "Eldhjarta" tells the story of the Viking warriors preparing for battle in the Halls of Valhalla vowing not to fall to their chosen enemies.

Tracklisting:

“Res Er Mina Söner”
“Eldhjarta”
“Nordmännens Raseri”
“Enhärjarkväde”
“Midgård Brinner”
“Vargarnas Tid”
“Mörkrets Hem”
“Etter Och Flammor”
“Muspelheims Härskare”
“Frost Mot Eld”

“Eldhjarta” video:



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

After recently releasing two singles on Religious Genocide Records, Ohio ambient technical deathcore outfit, Ascent Of Apophis, recently announced their signing with North Carolina based Imminence Records. The band is currently in the writing stage for their forthcoming Apotheosis EP that is currently set for a spring release. BraveWords is hosting the premier of a vocal playthrough video of the track “The Antikythera Mechanism”.

The band comments, “This play through was created to bring you guys a high quality demo and behind the scenes look into the songs by Ascent Of Apophis. We will have more treats for everyone in the coming months!"

Ascent Of Apophis is a four piece ambient technical deathcore outfit in the vein of Aversions Crown, Born Of Osiris, and Veil Of Maya. The band started back in 2012 as a solo project for Caelan Stokkermans with the band name as a description of the Egyptian god of chaos which resides in the underworld. If he ever arises and swallows the sun, the whole world will be plunged into darkness and chaos.

The project quickly transformed from a solo project to an online band that released two singles on Religious Genocide Records. These two singles quickly caught the attention of Imminence Records. The band’s Apotheosis EP is currently set to be released on Imminence Records during the spring of 2016.

 



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Chicago-based trio CHEVELLE is in the process of beginning work on a new album. Frontman Pete Loeffler revealed via Twitter that the band is now in pre-production for the outing, writing, "Killer things happening in Pre production for new record today!! Voice/brain fried but ecstatic!!" The new disc will follow the group's seventh studio album, "La Gargola", which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart in April 2014.

It's not clear at the moment how the band will be releasing the new album. "La Gargola" was the last on its original contract with Sony Music, and Pete Loeffler told The Pulse Of Radio at the time he was not sure how the band would proceed after that. "You know, in a perfect world, we'd like to just do it all on our own," he said. "I think that's what every band probably, after five or six records, probably wants to do. I mean, you want more control — I mean, I do. Hey, I'd love to put out my own music. If that can be possible, we would probably do it."

CHEVELLE has sold more than four million copies of its seven studio albums in the U.S. and scored 13 Top 10 hits at rock radio, including the chart-toppers "Send The Pain Below", "Vitamin R", "Face To The Floor" and "Take Out The Gunman".

The band is slated to play two Florida radio festivals this spring, in Orlando on April 23 and Tampa on April 29.

Detroit, Michigan's WALLS OF JERICHO will release its new album, "No One Can Save You From Yourself", on March 25 via Napalm Records.

Comments WALLS OF JERICHO frontwoman Candace Kucsulain: "Sometimes in life we lose ourselves, and for me it's always been music that's brought me back to who I am and what I love. It's never to late to rediscover yourself. This experience was a reminder to 'find what you love and let it kill you!'" The band adds: "This record was a long time coming, and it seemed it would never come to light, but it did, so be ready!"

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

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

WALLS OF JERICHO released a demo version of the song "Relentless" in 2014. WALLS OF JERICHO's last album, "The American Dream", (Trustkill Records), sold around 2,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The effort debuted at No. 11 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"The American Dream" was recorded at Spider Studios in Cleveland, Ohio with Ben Schigel and Tony Gammalo.

WALLS OF JERICHO and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) collaborated on an EP entitled "Redemption". The CD, which was produced by Taylor, featured primarily melodic vocals and acoustic instruments.

Seemingly overnight, stylized bands playing strains of melodic hardcore have sailed up the pop charts. But for WALLS OF JERICHO things have played out a bit differently. During the scene's ascension, the band's members have all but shunned the idea of a genre tag or an "image" and have instead focused their energies on making music that will survive strictly on its musical merits.

Most bands in the world can be lumped into one category or another, they are shuffled, redefined, and in that way they begin to lose the qualities that could make them important or meaningful. The greatest bands, the most influential or memorable, are the ones who don't try to fill the role set for them, who don't pursue anything other than the desire to make music, and the need to express that art to an audience. From the start this has been the mindset of WALLS OF JERICHO.

WALLS OF JERICHO is:

Candace Kucsulain - VocalsMike Hasty - GuitarAaron Ruby - BassChris Rawson - GuitarDustin Schoenhofer - Drums

ETERNITY'S END is a neoclassical power/progressive metal band founded by guitarist Christian Muenzner (ALKALOID, ex-OBSCURA, ex-NECROPHAGIST) in 2014. Muenzner comments: "After finalizing my second instrumental solo album, 'Beyond The Wall Of Sleep', in spring 2014, I finally wanted to realize a dream I've had for many years, which was to create a band that would allow me to return to the style of music that was my first love, that is neoclassical power metal with a progressive twist and a powerful, classic metal vocalist. Between fall 2013 and winter 2014/2015, I wrote 10 songs for the debut album, 'The Fire Within', which we recorded between December 2014 and May 2015. The album was, like my last solo album, mixed, mastered and co-produced by Per Nilsson of SCAR SYMMETRY."

He continues: "I am very honored to announce that Ian Parry (ex-ELEGY, CONSORTIUM PROJECT) is the vocalist of the band. I've been a fan of his singing since the amazing albums he did with ELEGY in the '90s and early 2000s. His wide vocal range, sheer power and soulful delivery fits perfect with the songs I have come up with. "The lineup is basically the same as on my last solo album, with the addition of Ian Parry. I understand people might be a little surprised that there's yet another project in which I'm working with Hannes and Linus, but the simple truth is that they are just the best rhythm section I know, they play together extremely well and exactly know what fits best to my songs, so it was just the most logic solution to work with them again in the context of this new band. The same goes for keyboard wizard Jimmy Pitts, with whom I traded countless of solos on my last solo album. If you like what we did there, you will love this new album, as the guitar/keyboard interplay basically continues right where we stopped last time."

Muenzner adds: "The music on 'The Fire Within' is a blend of '90s European power metal, '80s neoclassical guitar-and-keyboard wizardry, powerful classic metal vocals, thrashy riffing, progressive elements and a combination of Dio-esque dark, fantasy inspired lyrics and philosophic themes. Speed, aggression, virtuoso musicianship, epic melodies and memorable songwriting with catchy hooks are the cornerstones of the band's sound." ETERNITY'S END has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to recoup the production costs for the debut. The campaign runs until February 23. The band also released a first Soundcloud teaser of six minutes including snippets from various songs of the album.

"The Fire Within" will be released in March.

A new special limited-edition BLACK SABBATH CD, "The End", will be sold exclusively at shows on the legendary band's massive worldwide final tour, which kicks off next week.

Featuring original artwork by Shepard Fairey of the Obey Giant street art campaign, the CD is comprised of eight previously unreleased tracks: four songs are outtakes from BLACK SABBATH's worldwide No. 1, Grammy Award-winning album "13" and four live songs from the band's critically acclaimed "13" world tour.

The CD features Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass), along with Brad Wilk (drums) on tracks 1-4, Tommy Clufetos (drums) on tracks 5-8, and Adam Wakeman (keyboards) on tracks 5-8. Tracks 1-4 were recorded at Shangri La Studios in Malibu, California and produced by Rick Rubin, mixed by Andrew Scheps at Punkerpad West and recorded by Greg Fidelman. Tracks 5-8 were recorded and engineered by Greg Price and mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Studios Mastering.

"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)

Beyond the collaboration with Shepard Fairey, BLACK SABBATH will celebrate artists each night of the tour by commissioning exclusive posters for each market on "The End" tour.

BLACK SABBATH yesterday uploaded a short video clip of the band rehearsing in which it is revealed that Tommy Clufetos is sitting behind the drums. Clufetos, who played drums on SABBATH's 2013 reunion tour, is apparently back on board for its upcoming "The End" farewell run, which begins on January 20 in Omaha, Nebraska.

The full rehearsal clip will be released on Friday, January 15.

Clufetos did not play on the 2013 SABBATH reunion album, "13", a role that was filled by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk.

Osbourne told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that Clufetos was gong to play on the record until producer Rick Rubin stepped in. "Tommy was offered the gig until Rick Rubin came along," he said. "Rick Rubin didn't want Tommy, and nobody told… It was a bit of a communication breakdown. Tommy was on the side waiting, and it just didn't work out, you know. It works out in the end."

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

Ward has continually said that he would not join the reunion without a "signable contract," while the band has suggested that he wasn't physically capable of either recording or doing a full tour. Ward has insisted that he was capable of playing a full concert with the group.

Clufetos, who also hits the skins for Ozzy's solo act, has played in the past for ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER and others.

MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee paid tribute to the band's iconic frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister by performing a couple of MOTÖRHEAD songs with an all-star lineup of musicians during last night's (Wednesday, January 13) "Ultimate Jam Night" at Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood, California. Joining Dee on stage were Carla Harvey (BUTCHER BABIES), Ira Black (LIZZY BORDEN, DEATH DIVISION), Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR), Jason Christopher (PRONG, COREY TAYLOR) and Todd Youth (DANZIG).

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve (December 24), learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, at his home in Los Angeles.

To the surprise of no one, MOTÖRHEAD will not continue without Lemmy. Dee confirmed the decision in a late December interview with the Swedish paper Expressen, saying, "MOTÖRHEAD is over, of course. Lemmy was MOTÖRHEAD. But the band will live on in the memories of many."

Dee, who'd been in the band since 1992, said that the band's last tour was very difficult for Lemmy. Dee said, "He was terribly gaunt. He spent all his energy on stage and afterwards he was very, very tired. It's incredible that he could even play, that he could finish the Europe tour. It was only 20 days ago. Unbelievable."

With their raw, uncompromising sound, MOTÖRHEAD never became a major commercial success, but Lemmy and his cohorts remained a popular live attraction for the next several decades while winning a Grammy in 2005 and recording a total of 22 studio albums. The most edition of the band, featuring guitarist Phil Campbell and Dee, spent 22 years together, releasing its now-final album, "Bad Magic", last year.

REDEMPTION, the U.S. progressive metal band featuring in its ranks guitarist/songwriter Nick Van Dyk and FATES WARNING vocalist Ray Alder, will release its sixth full-length, "The Art Of Loss", on February 26 via Metal Blade Records. The album is available for pre-order now in various formats at metalblade.com/redemption, where fans can also watch the lyric video for the first single, "Damaged", featuring guest guitarist Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH).

Containing over 70 minutes of their unique blend of passion, melody, aggression and complexity, "The Art Of Loss" was produced once again by Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN, PAGAN'S MIND, PRETTY MAIDS), who previously worked with REDEMPTION on 2009's "Snowfall On Judgment Day". The cover artwork was created by longtime REDEMPTION collaborator Travis Smith (OPETH, AMORPHIS).

Musically, "The Art Of Loss" follows its predecessor (2011's "This Mortal Coil"), but their newest work finds composition, musicianship and production taken up another notch, with an array of songs ranging from hard-hitting melodic metal to the 23-minute epic "At Day's End" — plus, special guest appearances from Chris Broderick (MEGADETH), John Bush (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX), Marty Friedman, Simone Mularoni and Chris Poland (MEGADETH).

"The Art Of Loss" track listing:

01. The Art of Loss (feat. Simone Mularoni and Chris Poland) 02. Slouching Towards Bethlehem (feat. Simone Mularoni and Chris Poland) 03. Damaged (feat. Marty Friedman) 04. Hope Dies Last (feat. Chris Poland) 05. That Golden Light06. Thirty Silver (feat. Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, and Chris Broderick) 07. The Center Of The Fire (feat. Chris Poland) 08. Love Reign O'er Me (THE WHO cover; feat. John Bush and Chris Poland) 09. At Day's End (feat. Chris Poland and Simone Mularoni)

REDEMPTION's current lineup is rounded out by bassist Sean Andrews, drummer Chris Quirarte and guitarist Bernie Versailles, who is presently on an indefinite medical leave of absence from the band.

REDEMPTION's fifth studio album, "This Mortal Coil", sold around 1,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 32 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Family and friends observed a memorial service for the iconic rock legend and MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister on Saturday, January 9 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood.

Rock n' rollers turned out in droves for his memorial with Dave Grohl, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash and METALLICA members Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo taking the mic to share their experiences with Lemmy. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, WWE wrestler Triple H, TWISTED SISTER's Dee Snider and KISS's Gene Simmons were among the many attendees.

The memorial service was broadcast live on YouTube and was watched by more than 280,000 MOTÖRHEAD fans around the world.

According to StarTribune.com, Kilmister's family enlisted Pete Saari of the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company Foreverence to hand-deliver a custom-made urn to hold the rock legend's ashes. Customized with 3-D printing technology, the urn was made of all-black ceramic-like material shaped like Lemmy's trademark black cavalry hat, with his "Ace Of Spades" tattoo underneath and the lyrics, "Born to lose / Lived to win."

"As a music fan, it's an honor to do this for any musician like this, but especially musicians as distinctive and iconic as Lemmy," Saari told StarTribune.com.

The urn will be on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn.

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve, was told two days later that he had an aggressive form of cancer. Two days after that, he passed away at his home in L.A.

MOTÖRHEAD (and Lemmy) were legends in the eyes of metal and punk fans and performers, and he was especially beloved for his take-no-prisoners rock n' roll lifestyle.

MOTÖRHEAD's most recognizable song, 1980's "Ace Of Spades", recently landed on multiple Billboard charts for the first time. The song entered the Hot Rock Songs chart at No. 12, with most of its chart points from streams. The track also debuted on the Rock Streaming Songs chart at No. 24 after accruing 1.8 million U.S. streams in the week ending December 31, up 1,096% from 149,000, according to Nielsen Music. "Ace Of Spades" also came in at No. 8 on the Hard Rock Digital Songs chart, with 8,000 downloads, a 2,151% increase.

Guitarist Marco "Maus" Biazzi has decided to leave Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL.

Says the band in a statement: "We are, of course, sad to lose such a longtime member of our family. However, Maus needs to follow what is in his heart, and we wish him all the best with whatever the future may bring. And we know that whatever it is that Maus will do in the future, it will be filled with heavy riffs, and a lot of good times."

Adds Maus: "It's never easy to say goodbye to someone, especially after more than 17 wonderful years lived together. Sharing everything about life, on the road, on and off the stage. Growing up as a band and as a musician which played pretty much everywhere on this planet. Seeing positive results and feedbacks coming finally after so hard work together.

"I will never forget all these emotions and I will always keep them with me.

"I felt I couldn't add more in this project any longer so I decided to leave my second family, LACUNA COIL, to take a different path for a new challenge in my life.

"I'm now looking for another musical project to start and to get back on the road as soon as possible to kick ass again around the globe because this is what I want and what I love the most.

"First, I wanna thank LACUNA COIL for all these years together... I will be always grateful to this band. It's because of this adventure together, collecting this huge amount of experiences, that I became the professional musician which I am right now.

"Thanks also to our fantastic crew around the world for an amazing and professional job in every kinds of conditions, our management, and our label Century Media. Thanks also to all my endorsements which are always supporting this italian guy from the neighbour no matter how and, in the end, A BIG THANKS to you all, friends and fans all over the world, who supported me since the beginning with your infinite dedication and love.

"This is not a real goodbye from me; it is just a change.

"See you guys at NAMM this year with my new signature guitar from Schecter 'Maus M-7'… I'm sure we are going to share more notes and beer very soon."

LACUNA COIL recently entered BRX Studio in Milan to record its new album, "Delirium", for a tentative May release via Century Media. The CD is being produced by LACUNA COIL bassist and main songwriter Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, with engineering by Marco Barusso and additional assistance from Dario Valentini.

"Delirium" is LACUNA COIL's first album to featuring American drummer Ryan Blake Folden, who has been touring with the band since 2012.

LACUNA COIL in February 2014 parted ways with guitarist Cris "Pizza" Migliore and drummer Cristiano "Criz" Mozzati.

"That's When You Came In", the new video from Los Angeles glam-metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER, can be seen below. The track is taken from "Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage", the band's first full-length film featuring a live ten-song acoustic concert interspersed with comedic vignettes showcasing the band's unmatched shenanigans and debauchery. The album and film will be released on CD and CD/DVD by STEEL PANTHER's label Open E Records via Kobalt Label Services, on February 26 but pre-orders are available now at store.steelpantherrocks.com.

For the uninitiated, STEEL PANTHER was formed in 2000 and is Michael Starr (lead singer), Satchel (guitarist), Lexxi Foxx (bass) and Stix Zadinia (drums). "Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage" was taped in Los Angeles last October in front of a live audience of scantily clad woman (and one old creepy fat guy who somehow got a ticket) inside the uncharacteristically large and professionally lit garage of Ms. Foxx (Bobbie Brown), who coincidentally also happens to be the mother of Lexxi Foxx. The musical portions of the film feature the band performing acoustic versions of their most popular songs such as "Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World" and "Community Property" as well as one new song titled, "Then You Came In". Several female violin players who are "very easy on the eyes," says Stix, are featured and lay through the various hits with the band. Between songs, the film follows the mischievousness of STEEL PANTHER as they figure out who they can and cannot sleep with; and as they navigate the world as the biggest glam rock band that never was from 1985, in 2016. "It was so much fun playing our songs on these new wooden guitars in my mom's garage!" said Lexxi Fox. "Satchel says that he might be my new dad, but I'm not really sure what that means!" he added. STEEL PANTHER recently wrapped its "Well Hungover" North American headlining tour and started a new residency at the famed Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on January 7 and House of Blues Las Vegas. Last year, the band sold out headlining tours in the U.K. and South America.

"Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage" track listing:

01. Show Intro/Say Yeah!02. Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World03. Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) 04. If You Really, Really Love Me 05. Gloryhole 06. Bukkake Tears 07. The Burden Of Being Wonderful 08. Weenie Ride 09. That's When You Came In10. Michael Don't Know11. Community Property 12. Grindy And Sexy 13. Death To All But Metal

STEEL PANTHER's third album, "All You Can Eat", sold around 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 24 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 1, 2014 via Open E/KLS.

The official lyric video for the song "Titans" from SOULFLY can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's tenth studio album, "Archangel", which was released on August 14, 2015 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The CD was produced and mixed by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, BEHEMOTH, CHILDREN OF BODOM), and features stunning cover artwork by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, ICED EARTH, SODOM).

SOULFLY tapped Mike Leon (HAVOK) to play bass on the band's recent North American headlining tour. Leon said: "I've been a fan of Max and his music since I was a little kid, and to be playing with him and the guys now is truly unbelievable!"

Handling bass duties for SOULFLY during some of the band's shows last year was Max Cavalera's son Igor, who also sings for the Phoenix, Arizona band LODY KONG.

Former STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos left SOULFLY in May 2015 and is now touring with FEAR FACTORY.

SOULFLY will embark on a European headlining tour in early 2016 in support of "Archangel".

Late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister has been immortalized in the form of a character in Grand Theft Auto V. You can now play the game as Lemmy himself and can do things that Lemmy enjoyed, including smoking, drinking, and playing guitar. There is even the option to spawn prostitutes who follow Lemmy around, if you're into that sort of thing.

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve (December 24), learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died on December 28 in Los Angeles.

MOTÖRHEAD was revered by both metal and punk fans, and Lemmy was considered an icon for his musical talent and his embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle.

Lemmy had been dealing with serious health issues for the past two years, including getting a pacemaker in 2013 and suffering from a hematoma in 2014. But despite 40 years of hard living and drinking, he continued to tour and record at a feverish pace.

The band was forced to cancel or postpone a number of shows last year due to Lemmy's poor health, which also forced him to cut back on his drinking and give up smoking.

Guitar icon Zakk Wylde will release "Book Of Shadows II" on April 8 via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music). Zakk's first solo release in 20 years is the highly anticipated follow-up to 1996's "Book Of Shadows", a classic album Wylde released between his work with Ozzy Osbourne that has since become a fan favorite. "Book Of Shadows II" was recently named as one of the "Most Anticipated Metal Releases of 2016" via RollingStone.com.

Wylde has been feverishly working on new material since he wrapped up BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Unblackened" spring tour last year. All songs on "Book Of Shadows II" were recorded and produced at Wylde's home studio, The Black Vatican, where several of Wylde's recent releases were made. The new effort will be followed by a wave of tour dates, to be announced soon.

Speaking to the Phoenix New Times, Zakk said: "For the 'Book Of Shadows II' record, we ended up having about 40 basic tracks we put down. It's an immersive-type style for BLACK LABEL. You know, acoustic, piano, but electric guitar in there as well."

Released in 1996, and reissued by Spitfire in 1999 with the bonus disc containing "Evil Ways" (the Japanese bonus track from the album's original release), "The Color Green" and "Peddlers of Death" (an acoustic version of a track that appeared on BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Sonic Brew"), "Book Of Shadows" showed a different side of Zakk's songwriting output, with Wikipedia describing it as "an introspective and mostly acoustic [effort] recalling many of the lighter moments from his previous project, PRIDE & GLORY, as well as classic folk rock artists such as Neil Young."

In an interview with Rough Edge, Zakk stated about the creation of the original "Book Of Shadows" album: "The thing is that I had all these tunes from [OZZY OSBOURNE's] 'Ozmosis' record, you know. Aside from writing all the fuckin' heavy shit because at the time we were doing 'My Jekyll Doesn't Hide' and the 'Perry Mason' stuff. And then 'Thunder Underground', just like fuckin' pure riff fuckin' music. So, aside from doing that, I always had acoustic around because it's just great for your chops. You know, you sit down and jam on an acoustic when you pick up an fuckin' electric guitar it's like fuckin' lightning."

He continued: "So I'd be jammin' on an acoustic all the time and I'd have all these ... I'd just be dickin' around writing songs all the time. So whether I'm writing riffs all the time or I'm writing regular flat-out songs, I just had all these tunes and I was like, man, it's like fuckin' beer-drinking music at the end of the night, you know? I had all these tunes lying around and that's when Geffen… they asked me to do another album. I tried to get out of it, because I owed them, like, three records when I signed with them, so we did the PRIDE & GLORY thing and then [A&R guru John] Kalodner left and went to Sony and it was just like fuckin'… I didn't know what the fuck was going on. Let's put it this way: They wanted me there about as much the Pope wanted to have lunch with fuckin' Anton LaVey, man. Which was basically not gonna ever fuckin' happen. The whole thing was, like, 'We gotta get outta here, man.' So we did the 'Book Of Shadows' thing."

Zakk added: "I tried to get off the label but it was more cost effective for them to have me go in an do another fuckin' record, so we ended up doing the record and after that, Ozzy called and said, 'Dude, you wanna do this 'Ozmosis' record?' so I was jammin' with... Actually, I got it backwards here. Fuckin' 'Book Of Shadows' was after the 'Ozmosis' record. In between jammin', we'd go back to trackin' the stuff and I'd go back to this bar that was right next to the hotel and I'd be in there until, like, six in the morning drinking with everybody. They'd be, like, 'Dude, go get your fiddle and play us a fuckin' tune.' So I'd be jammin' for 'em — I'd be playing all this new shit for 'em. You know, that's pretty much how that record came about."

Zakk Wylde is no stranger to showing the lighter, introspective side of his music, having previously released two BLACK LABEL SOCIETY albums of stripped down material. "The Song Remains Not The Same" came out in 2011 and included acoustic versions of songs originally released on "Order Of The Black" and 2013's "Unblackened", a live acoustic album that was recorded live at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.

Zakk will also be in full participation in this year's NAMM convention taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California January 21-24. Zakk's newly minted line of guitars known as Wylde Audio will be on full display in Room 210-D and he will be signing from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, January 22.

ZAKK SABBATH, a BLACK SABBATH tribute band featuring Wylde, bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE) and drummer Joey Castillo (DANZIG, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) will play at The Grove of Anaheim on Saturday, January 23.

Vancouver, BC-based heavy metal / stoner rock band, Black Wizard, will release their new album, New Waste, on January 29th via Listenable Records. The band is streaming the new track, "Harsh Time", below. Elaborates drummer Eugene Parkomenko of the track, "This is one of our favorites. It's a wicked tune that captures the vibe of the whole record. So make sure to crank up the volume and get a drink going, 'cause it's a ripper!"

Black Wizard formed in 2009 between four high school friends. Founding members Adam Grant and Eugene Parkomenko, still in the original lineup, were both working a shitty construction job at the time, cranking the likes of Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Witch, Electric Wizard as loud as possible to get through the day on site.

Black Wizard is now releasing their brand new record, New Waste, and will be touring the US and Europe again in the next six months.

Tracklisting:

“Revival”
“Harsh Time”
“Laughing and Lost”
“Vivian Girls”
“Eliminator”
“Unnecessary Evil”
“Waiting For”
“The Priest”
“Final Ripper”

"Harsh Time":

(Photo - Milton Stille)



window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});