Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT), Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), John Tempesta (WHITE ZOMBIE, THE CULT) and Mikkey Dee (MOTÖRHEAD) joined METAL ALLEGIANCE, the all-star metal band consisting of a rotating cast of musicians, including members of MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, on stage last night (Saturday, January 9) at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of California Rock News).

METAL ALLEGIANCE's self-titled debut album was released on September 18, 2015 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Brought together by METAL ALLEGIANCE principal partner Mark Menghi, the project's original material came together from the creative minds of David Ellefson, Mike Portnoy, and Alex Skolnick, alongside Menghi. The four writers then reached out through their metal rolodexes to a diverse lineup of performers, each adding their own personal musical stamp to the collection of nine original songs.

In a recent interview with I Probably Hate Your Band, Menghi stated about the songwriting process for "Metal Allegiance": "We wrote the majority of the lyrics for the record. In particular, Dave Ellefson and I co-wrote a lot of the lyrics to the record. We based it off our personal experiences in life, some of the fucking crap we went through. For example, with 'Can’t Kill The Devil', he had two lines for that song: 'Can't kill the Devil, the Devil never dies.' And when he said that to me, I was, like, 'Just stop right there,' and an hour later, I came back with all the lyrics for the song. And I basically told a tale, I told a story about the Devil. We all have a Devil in our life. I told a story about my Devil and combined it with his."

The standard edition CD of "Metal Allegiance" features nine original songs. A digipak edition was made available that features an all-star tribute to Ronnie James Dio with a cover of his classic song "We Rock" as well as a 45-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the album. A double vinyl version was also made available that features all 10 songs as well.

Dutch bashers The Gathering have checked in with the following update:

"The release date of our new live album TG25: Live at Doornroosje is getting nearer: January 29th, 2016. The CD version will be available at record and other online shops, and of course it will be available digitally at our Bandcamp page. However, you can order this CD and various packages (also vinyl) right now at our webshop. Please note vinyl and vinyl packages will ship in March 2016. CD and CD packages will ship immediately.

There will be no DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS release, simply because we didn't record this show due to the fact we wanted to have an intimate show with not too many people on stage or around. YouTube is full of fanmade movies from these two gigs. Add the live recordings together with these movies and you have your own DVD..."

Go to The Gathering's webshop here.

Travel - Live at Doornroosje by The Gathering

TG25: Live At Doornroosje is a double album and comes in a digifile with a full colour 52 pages booklet. Recorded live at Doornroosje, Nijmegen, the Netherlands on November 9th, 2014 celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Gathering. The band played two sets during that day. This recording is a mix of those two concerts. Almost all past and present band members were present this special day and helping each other on various songs.

The tracklist is as follows:

CD 1
"Saturnine"               
"Strange Machines"
"Meltdown"
"Nighttime Birds" 
"The Mirror Waters"
"King For A Day"
"Even The Spirits Are Afraid"
"Broken Glass"
"Heroes For Ghosts"

CD 2
"Afterwords"
"Amity"
"On Most Surfaces (Inuit)" 
"Paper Waves"
"Leaves"
"In Motion I"
"Travel"
"Waking Hour"
"I Can See Four Miles"

TG25 line-up: 
Anneke van Giersbergen
Silje Wergeland
René Rutten
Hans Rutten
Frank Boeijen
Hugo Prinsen Geerligs
Marjolein Kooijman
Jelmer Wiersma
Bart Smits
Marike Groot
Noël Hofman

 

 



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British melodic rock icons MAGNUM will release their new album, "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies", on February 26 via Steamhammer/SPV as a digipak version (including a DVD), 2LP colored version, CD and as a digital download.

A teaser for "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies", featuring the song "Don`t Grow Up", is available below.

For a musician like Tony Clarkin who composes constantly, viewing and selecting the material he has written is always one of the most significant moments during the creation process of a new MAGNUM album. On the one hand, it's a luxury to have the opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff and to be in a position to use only the strongest numbers. On the other hand, it's also a difficult process, because after all the creator of those songs has grown fond of every single one of them. "I usually start composing for our next album immediately after the release of the previous one," Clarkin explains. "When 'Escape From The Shadow Garden' arrived at the stores in March 2014, my thoughts had already turned to our next recording." Clarkin wrote 25 new songs during the subsequent months, the most promising 13 of which were selected for "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies". Ten of those tracks made it onto the new album, the other three onto the included bonus CD. "It would have been too much of a shame to disregard them," Clarkin reckons, "particularly since our fans want to know after every release what happened to the rest of the material. This time they're getting it in addition to the album tracks." The ten numbers on the regular album present MAGNUM from their most rocking side again. The epicentre of this soundquake features, along with frontman Bob Catley's charismatic voice, Clarkin's awesome riff and lead guitar which provides the all-important substructure to the songs. Courtesy of his driving style, "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies" counts without a doubt among the group's most dynamic releases. Clarkin: "I've always been into rock numbers. But it isn't necessarily that easy to write really good rock material. It's much more simple to compose a ballad. But that dynamic pace suits MAGNUM perfectly." Clarkin is referring mainly to the title track and opener of the new album. "I feel that Bob delivered it really well," Clarkin praises his vocalist Bob Catley. "As far as I am concerned, 'Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies' is definitely likely to join the ranks of great MAGNUM classics." So it comes as no surprise that "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies" with its significant message became the album title. Of course, there are more highlights on this thoroughly powerful recording. Clarkin was inspired to write the anthemnic "Gypsy Queen" at a concert in St. Petersburg, a city which deeply impressed him with its unique atmosphere. By no means less memorable is "Your Dreams Won't Die", which is based on a piano chord sequence and could lead you to believe that MAGNUM have put to music their own band philosophy. "To me, the title and lyrics have an almost religious depth," says Clarkin. "There's a saying that somebody is not forgotten if their name is remembered." A successful rock group like MAGNUM should be entitled to eternal renown, shouldn't it? Says Clarkin: "You want my honest opinion? I don't think that far ahead, but of course it's a nice notion that this band may always be remembered because so many people love our music." And last but not least: "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies" closes with a song which surprised even Clarkin. "I liked the general sound of 'Don't Cry Baby' from the start," he remarks. "Although I initially didn't have a lyric, the melody kept going through my head, as well as the chorus with acoustic and e-guitars plus piano. We even kept the drums from the demo version because our drummer Harry James liked them so much. He said: 'I love it the way it is. We shouldn't change a thing about it.'" "Sacred Blood 'Divine' Lies" once again features a fantastic cover by Rodney Matthews.

Track listing

Digipak version CD+DVD 01. Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (6:41)02. Crazy Old Mothers (5:48)03. Gypsy Queen (4:29)04. Princess In Rags (The Cult) (5:27)05. Your Dreams Won't Die (5:25)06. Afraid Of The Night (4:32)07. A Forgotten Conversation (4:56)08. Quiet Rhapsody (5:40)09. Twelve Men Wise And Just (6:18)10. Don't Cry Baby (5:05)

DVD

Bonus Videos

01. Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (6:41)02. Crazy Old Mothers (5:48)

Bonus Audio Tracks

01. Phantom Of Paradise Circus (5:54)02. Don't Grow Up (4:47)03. No God Or Saviour (5:53) Jewel Case Version 01. Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (6:41)02. Crazy Old Mothers (5:48)03. Gypsy Queen (4:29)04. Princess In Rags (The Cult) (5:27)05. Your Dreams Won't Die (5:25)06. Afraid Of The Night (4:32)07. A Forgotten Conversation (4:56)08. Quiet Rhapsody (5:40)09. Twelve Men Wise And Just (6:18)10. Don't Cry Baby (5:05) 2LP Version LP1

Side A

01. Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (6:41)02. Crazy Old Mothers (5:48)

Side B

01. Gypsy Queen (4:29)02. Princess In Rags (The Cult) (5:27)03. Your Dreams Won't Die (5:25)

LP2

Side A

01. Afraid Of The Night (4:32)02. A Forgotten Conversation (4:56)03. Quiet Rhapsody (5:38)

Side B

01. Twelve Men Wise And Just (6:18)02. Don't Cry Baby (5:05)

Former Motörhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke commented on his absence from Lemmy's funeral this past Saturday, January 9th via a post on his Facebook page. It reads as follows:

"I have been a bit quiet lately. I was unable to get a visa to go to Lemmy's funeral. I have past sins, which means it takes longer for me to get a visa and with being Christmas, there wasn't enough time...

I watched it online last night. I thought everyone did very well. 

Todd did an amazing job as compere. I thought his son Paul spoke magnificently and Mikkey Dee followed up well. It all reminded me of what a great man Lemmy was and how much he lived for his music and Motörhead and the fans. It was great to see the picture of the old band with Phil in the middle. They were great days and I miss them both.

I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. It was very sad but the message got across about the great man. 

Rest In Peace, my old friend."

On January 9th, the world came together to celebrate the life of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

With almost almost 300,000 watching on YouTube and millions more thinking about a man that changed the face of heavy metal. And what a face … an image. An icon. Kinda like James Dean … but for us metalheads, much more of presence in life. Manager Todd Singerman led the ceremony: “Man, I hate using these words in past tense!”

He proceeded to pass the mic to Lemmy’s son Paul: “He had a feeling something was wrong in August. We will know the pain he was in … all of his years he was a stage warrior. Having moved mount everest, the show would go on. He wasn’t just a musician and songwriter … he was a figurehead. He set the bar. It was about keeping it real. Performing was everything to him. He was Lemmy all the time. He wasn’t a poseur. He paid his his dues. Motörhead’s last album was a struggle … it never revealed his frailed health. Born to lose, live to win. He wasn’t religious, but he was profoundly spiritual. He never tolerated anybody talking over music … especially his! Music wasn’t a background to him. Nobody on this earth posed his brand of of humour. He was 100% real. I won the lottery when I got Lemmy. You were perfect. You are on the road to the great great gig in the sky.”

The elite of heavy metal praised the man, the legend, the icon.

Guns N' Roses Slash: “Lemmy was somebody that I feel blessed to be friends with. He was such a a fucking great example of what my peers wanted to be. More integrity than anybody. 100 loyal. All these fine attributes. When I got sober he was so disappointed when I didn’t greet him with a flask of Jack Daniels!”

Judas Priest's Rob Halford: “Over the years we’ve had some amazing times. We always looked forward to seeing the lads! When I was in the the presence of lord Lemmy. I was overwhelmed! As we know, the music lives forever!”

Anthrax' Scott Ian : “Elvis you taught us how to dress, how to look. It was Carl Perkins and Little Richard how to sound. And it was The Beatles who taught us we could to write our own songs. And Lemmy it was you who taught us that we could be fucking real.”

Metallica's Lars Ulrich: “I lived and breathed every note they sang! Lemmy was so hospitable and the ultimate party host. I’ve always cited Motorhead and Lemmy as in the inspiration and the primary reason Metallica exists musically and attitude wise. So thank you Lemmy for shaping who I am today.

Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl: “There is not enough time to tell you what Lemmy meant to me. He’s my person … he’s the one that bridged my love of ACDC and Sabbath and Zeppelin … and my love with GBH, the Ramones and Black Flag.

Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28th at the age of 70 following a brief battle with an aggressive cancer.

Check out the BraveWords tribute to Lemmy here.



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According to the International Business Times, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson will launch a new limited-edition beer at the end of this year. The as-yet-unnamed beer will be "somewhere between a stout and a porter" and will be devised by Dickinson in a joint venture partnership between the band and Robinsons, a privately owned Cheshire brewery.

"This isn't a cash grab. This isn't about making millions of pounds from beer. This is about making a quality product that corroborates the band's position as a great British export and a very proud British institution," Dave Shack, managing director of Phantom Music Management, which takes care of IRON MAIDEN, said.

Launched in May 2013, MAIDEN's original Trooper has proved to be a global success story. The premium British beer is now being exported to 42 countries and has already been awarded a gold medal by the British Bottler's Institute. Trooper has proved unusually resilient overseas for a new beer, maintaining its stunning initial export success with repeated high volume orders across some of the world's leading importers.

IRON MAIDEN's latest album, "The Book Of Souls", was released on September 4, 2015 through BMG in the U.S.A. (Parlophone Records in the rest of world).

IRON MAIDEN announced in May 2015 that touring plans to support the album wouldn't happen until 2016 to allow Dickinson time to fully recuperate after his successful cancer treatment.

Witch County jailed lunatics Devilment are nearing completion of the follow-up to 2014's The Great And Secret Show with their as-yet untitled second album.

Tracks include: "Shine On Sophie Moone", "Life (Is What You Keep From The Reaper)", "Hitchcock Blonde", "JudasStein", "Hell At My Back" and "Plot Spoiler: There Will Be Monsters".

The band (four of their kind pictured above at rehearsal) enter the studio within the month to begin tracking the pots and pans.

Earlier this year, guitarist Colin Parks commented, "Right time to finish writing this album, everyone has worked hard on this and it shows. Head down and time for some serious graft. Can not wait to get this album to you guys, it's gonna be a belter. The chains are off on this outing, if you liked the first album... You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Devilment, fronted by Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth, released their debut album, The Great And Secret Show, in 2014 via Nuclear Blast. It spawned videos for "Even Your Blood Group Rejects Me", and "Sanity Hits A (Perfect) Zero"; both of which can be enjoyed below.

 

 



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MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently spoke to Loudwire about the songwriting process for the band's new album, "Dystopia". You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow.

On whether the lyrics for "Dystopia" came first, followed by the music, or the other way around:

Mustaine: "I usually write in different ways. When you look at songwriters, sometimes they'll have somebody that does the music and they'll have a collaborator that does the lyrics, like Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Elton John [comes up with] the music and Bernie [writes] the lyrics. And more often than not, the lyrics will be the last thing that happens. There's only been a couple of times where I've written the lyrics and the music at the same time. That happened on 'In My Darkest Hour' and it happened on 'Use The Man'. And unless my memory fails me, those are the only two that I remember doing [that way]. This record, I had ten songs written before I went into the studio with [drummer] Chris Adler. David Ellefson [bass] had come out to California — he still lives in Arizona — and he'd come out a couple of times to lay down some tracks while we were working, while we tried to do that 'Rust In Peace' reunion thing. He had laid down some tracks. And what we did at that point, those songs didn't even end up the same way; they're totally different. So there's no set formula."

On whether there were specific world events or incidents that influenced the lyrical themes covered on "Dystopia":

Mustaine: "I think you could dissect that question. Things going on in the world influence my lyrics, but it's not just right now, what's contemporary. It's something that has laid itself out and is the way of the world, and has been for a very long time. I like to watch the news. I love world history, especially American history. I like reading autobiographies of world leaders, great warriors and things like that. When you look at a lot of the lyrics on this record, it's not really that much different than any of the other records; it's just the climate. I've always written about politics, war, drugs, relationships, a little bit of the occult. I think dabbling in the occult, since I did get into that, it's a little bit more, like… I don't really wanna go there. As bittersweet as this is, heavy metal music is really popular and successful when the world is under a lot of stress. And society, when it starts to eat itself, I think a lot of people turn to more aggressive music. And I found that people, when they listen to music, they kind of gravitate more towards real lyrics instead of fantasy stuff. 'Cause I've always loved stuff like Ronnie James Dio's lyrics and so on and so forth. But with all of the mythology and the medieval stuff, to me, I can't really write from that position very much, so I tend to write more about current events."

Due on January 22, 2016, the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider" was recorded last year in Nashville, Tennessee and was produced by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. The CD was mixed by Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with LAMB OF GOD, ALL THAT REMAINS and GOJIRA.

German metallers MOB RULES will release their eighth album, "Tales From Beyond", on March 18 via Steamhammer/SPV as a digipak (including one bonus track and poster), double colored vinyl LP and as a digital download. In addition, there will be an iTunes version including an additional exclusive bonus track called "Ghost Town".

According to a press release, "Tales From Beyond" "impresses with a deeply melodic mix of progressive and power metal. When it comes to their lyrics, MOB RULES continue to go their own unmistakable path, influenced by historic events and inspired by literature. Their powerful songs and haunting chorus parts have earned MOB RULES an excellent reputation over the past two decades both in their native country and abroad. Their anniversary boxed set 'Timekeeper', which arrived at the stores in October 2014, has been incontestable proof of the complexity and uniqueness of their material. 'Tales From Beyond' sees an evolvement of the band’s earthy and multi-faceted sound while the Celtic/British influences of their music have been honed even more finely. The current album is marked by a 'new directness' which not only goes down well with MOB RULES's own fans but will also win the group many a new metal fan. This applies all the more as MOB RULES entrusted the production of 'Tales From Beyond' again to the tried and tested hands of sound engineer Markus Teske (VANDEN PLAS, FIREWIND)." "Tales From Beyond" track listing:

01. Dykemaster's Tale02. Somerled03. Signs04. On The Edge05. My Kingdom Come06. The Healer07. Dust Of Vengeance08. A Tale From Beyond (Part 1: Through The Eye Of The Storm)09. A Tale From Beyond (Part 2: A Mirror Inside)10. A Tale From Beyond (Part 3: Science Save Me!)11. Outer Space (digipak bonus track)

April 2016 will see MOB RULES join Axel Rudi Pell as special guests on his extensive tour, presenting the songs from "Tales From Beyond" live for the first time.

Chris Holmes says that Lemmy once told him he would never play in a band with the former W.A.S.P. guitarist because Holmes would "overshadow him" on stage. Speaking to Johan Jakobsson of the Swedish newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning, Holmes recalled a conversation he had with the MOTÖRHEAD mainman in the 1990s. He said: "[Guitarists] Würzel [Michael Burston] and Phil [Campbell] were in MOTÖRHEAD then, so I went, 'Throw Würzel or Phil out and let me be in your band!' [Lemmy] looks at me and says, 'Chris, are you serious? I wouldn't play with you for a second.' I got so mad and said, 'I'm easy on the road.' Lemmy looks at me again and says, 'It's not about what you're like on the road. It's about what you're doing on stage.' Then I got even madder, and he goes, 'Let's say, for instance, that I was in the middle of a verse. You would probably be standing right in front of me.' I thought about it, and he was absolutely right. Especially if he told me not to do that, I'd have to do it just to piss him off. What he meant was, of course, that he didn't want me overshadowing him. It didn't bum me out, though. Everybody's different, and their personality really comes out on stage. The people in the real bands are like that."

Holmes, who was close friends with Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor in the years prior to the former MOTÖRHEAD drummer's death, went on to claim that Lemmy and Taylor's relationship took a turn for the worse when the MOTÖRHEAD frontman refused to entertain an offer for a tour featuring the band's original lineup. Chris said: "Lemmy was cool. But Phil and Lemmy, the last years, they weren't really close. If they were, Phil would have been in the [acclaimed documentary] 'Lemmy'. But if you noticed, he wasn't. I know why. The reason why Phil was bitter was because a few years ago, somebody had offered 'Fast' Eddie [Clarke, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist during 1976-1982), Lemmy and Phil to do a tour for about six months, and Lemmy wouldn't do it. That's why Phil didn't do the movie, and I know that for a fact."

He continued: "It's sad. Lemmy died of cancer, right? When I was at Phil's funeral, Lemmy wasn't there. 'Fast' Eddie was there. He and I and some other people carried Phil's coffin. Someone at the funeral had seen MOTÖRHEAD live a week earlier, and Lemmy did not look good. If he didn't know he had cancer by then, something was wrong. I don't think he would have been able to carry the coffin. They say he didn't know he had cancer. How do you get that sick and don't know?"

Holmes added: "Too bad [Lemmy] didn't die on stage. That's probably where he would have wanted to die. Like [late PANTERA guitarist] Dimebag."

Holmes in 2013 released a solo album called "Nothing To Lose". Chris composed, performed, and produced the music and vocals, and teamed up with Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor to perform on and engineer the effort.

Holmes's latest effort, "Shitting Bricks", was released last year via M & O Music.

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Holmes has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

Today (Saturday, January 9th), the world came together to celebrate the life of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

With almost almost 300,000 watching on YouTube and millions more thinking about a man that changed the face of heavy metal. And what a face … an image. An icon. Kinda like James Dean … but for us metalheads, much more of presence in life. Manager Todd Singerman led the ceremony: “Man, I hate using these words in past tense!”

He proceeded to pass the mic to Lemmy’s son Paul: “He had a feeling something was wrong in August. We will know the pain he was in … all of his years he was a stage warrior. Having moved mount everest, the show would go on. He wasn’t just a musician and songwriter … he was a figurehead. He set the bar. It was about keeping it real. Performing was everything to him. He was Lemmy all the time. He wasn’t a poseur. He paid his his dues. Motörhead’s last album was a struggle … it never revealed his frailed health. Born to lose, live to win. He wasn’t religious, but he was profoundly spiritual. He never tolerated anybody talking over music … especially his! Music wasn’t a background to him. Nobody on this earth posed his brand of of humour. He was 100% real. I won the lottery when I got Lemmy. You were perfect. You are on the road to the great great gig in the sky.”

The elite of heavy metal praised the man, the legend, the icon.

Guns N' Roses Slash: “Lemmy was somebody that I feel blessed to be friends with. He was such a a fucking great example of what my peers wanted to be. More integrity than anybody. 100 loyal. All these fine attributes. When I got sober he was so disappointed when I didn’t greet him with a flask of Jack Daniels!”

Judas Priest's Rob Halford: “Over the years we’ve had some amazing times. We always looked forward to seeing the lads! When I was in the the presence of lord Lemmy. I was overwhelmed! As we know, the music lives forever!”

Anthrax' Scott Ian : “Elvis you taught us how to dress, how to look. It was Carl Perkins and Little Richard how to sound. And it was The Beatles who taught us we could to write our own songs. And Lemmy it was you who taught us that we could be fucking real.”

Metallica's Lars Ulrich: “I lived and breathed every note they sang! Lemmy was so hospitable and the ultimate party host. I’ve always cited Motorhead and Lemmy as in the inspiration and the primary reason Metallica exists musically and attitude wise. So thank you Lemmy for shaping who I am today.

Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl: “There is not enough time to tell you what Lemmy meant to me. He’s my person … he’s the one that bridged my love of ACDC and Sabbath and Zeppelin … and my love with GBH, the Ramones and Black Flag.

Lemmy Kilmister died on December 28th at the age of 70 following a brief battle with an aggressive cancer.

Check out the BraveWords tribute to Lemmy here.



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Exes For Eyes / former Endast vocalist Big James Arsenian has checked in with the following update:

"Here's the second Cheeto Dust video, 'Power Of Poutine', featuring Angela Solo on vocals (and in the video). Big thanks to Whats Hal Building In There, Jordan Perry, Alex Cogdell, Angela Boismenu for being in the video and helping me record this ridiculous song. Special thanks to Adam Reider for directing the fuck out of this video. Cheeto Dust is my excuse to act a fool in public (like I needed an excuse) and I appreciate the support!"

For those that question Arsenian's metal roots after experiencing the work of art above:

Arsenian recently posted the following message in the wake of the horrifying terrorist attacks in Paris last November:

"Being a touring musician is an interesting thing. You sacrifice a lot to keep doing this and you put yourself in unique and interesting positions. Maybe you find yourself in the middle of a terrorist attack in a foreign country like my older brother did today. Maybe you find yourself stuck in traffic far away from your family while your older brother is stuck in the middle of a terrorist attack like I did today. Thankfully, he is ok. Thankfully I have an incredible network of friends across the globe (friends I wouldn't have if I wasn't a musician) who straight up went out of their way to offer assistance to my brother who was in harm's way.

Fuck terrorism. Fuck anyone who would see us live in fear. We keep doing this, you keep supporting and the world will continue to be a good place."



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Mexican Ape-Lord - featuring Meliah Rage founding guitarist Anthony Nichols and The Bags’ vocalist/bassist Jon Hardy – have released a lyric video for “Rat King”, taken from their 2014 debut album, The Late Heavy Bombardment. 

Mexican Ape-Lord is working on a new album, slated for a summer release. An update from the band from November 22, 2015 reads:

“We had a great session this past Thursday at Band-A-Song Studios in Gloucester, MA with engineer Warren Babson. At this point all the music has been written and arranged while front man Jon Hardy continues to make progress on the lyrics. All of Steve's (Fry) drum tracks have been completed while Dan Dykes heads back to his Florida home to work on leads. The record is going to be mixed by the masterful Peter Rutcho and a late 2016 summer release is projected.



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German epic melodic metal band Human Fortress delivers another strong album, titled Thieves Of The Night, on March 18. Two years after the group had returned to the style of their successful first releases from the early 2000’s with Raided Land – and also introduced new vocalist Gus Monsanto (ex-Timo Tolkki’s Revolution Renaissance, ex-Adagio) - Human Fortress continue right where they left off. 

Songs such as the catchy title track, power metal hymns (“Rise Or Fall”, “Vicious Circle”) or the slightly modern - but not less epic- “Thrice Blessed” will amaze every fan of the Hannover-based band. But Thieves Of The Night additionally could appeal very well to worshippers of Virgin Steele’s ‘80s/’90s classic releases, Kamelot and Avantasia.

Tracklisting:

“Amberstow”
“Last Prayer To The Lord”
“Rise Or Fall”
“Thieves Of The Night”
“Thrice Blessed”
“Hellrider”
“Just A Graze”
“Vicious Circle”
“Smite On The Anvil”
“Dungeons Of Doom”
“Gift Of Prophecy”
“Alone”



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Finnish melodic power metal masters Thunderstone, who were rejoined by original vocalist Pasi Rantanen in 2013, have signed a worldwide deal (excluding Finland and Japan) with AFM Records.

The band's upcoming new album Apocalypse Again will be released on April 1. Apocalypse Again will be Thunderstone’s first album in 7 years. Their last release was Dirt Metal, released in 2009 via Sony Music. 



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Infamous extreme metal unit, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, have shared "Deathbed," the second track from the band's forthcoming new EP Arc.

Simply titled Arc, the over 25 minute long sludge-fueled feast finds Agoraphobic Nosebleed sounding heavier, doomier and more destructive than ever before. Believe it. Each EP in the series will represent the musical influences and tastes of each member. Details on the others will be revealed at a later date. Arc will be officially unveiled on January 22nd. 

Arc tracklisting:

“Not A Daughter”
“Deathbed”
“Gnaw”

"Deathbed":

“Not A Daughter”:

Trailer:

In related news and in conjunction with the release of Arc, both Agoraphobic Nosebleed's Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope and Altered States Of America full-lengths will be available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade.
 
Sample the trailer below:

An overwhelming, concentrated outpouring of perceptual stimuli, Agoraphobic Nosebleed's second full-length, the 2002-issued Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope, referenced the glory days of early '00s grindcore while disregarding the genre's current ideals, becoming one of the most talked-about grindcore records in recent history. The album and band were featured in numerous high-profile media outlets. Perhaps Frozen Corpse's best description came from vocalist J. Randall who surmised, "Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope is like ripping through back catalog Earache blastbeat shit armed with a submachine gun at 400 rounds per minute."
 
While the fires left burning in Frozen Corpse's wake were still smoldering, Agoraphobic set to work on a concept so bizarre, no one would believe it. With a focused mindset, and a plethora of mind-confounding ideas, the band wrote and recorded Altered States Of America, a 100-track three-CD set. Initially released on April Fools Day, 2003, Altered States Of America delivered the most ambitious Agoraphobic Nosebleed yet: completely inhuman music with a consummate disregard for its listener. Round after round, clip after clip, Agoraphobic Nosebleed unloaded an arsenal of stupefying guitar work, experimental noise and drum machine-gun blast beats while swarming vocalists hatefully taunted the listener into the crossfire. Initially released as a 10", Altered States Of America will receive the 12" treatment for the first time ever.
 
Arc, along with the vinyl editions of Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope and Altered States Of America, will be available on January 22nd. Physical preorders are available now here. Desirers of the digitals, head here.

(Photo by: Josh Sisk)

 



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Canadian grindcore legends Fuck The Facts have released the video for “Everywhere Yet Nowhere” in support of their latest album Desire Will Rot released August 2015 via their indie label Noise Salvation. The video was created by David Hall of Uneasy Sleeper and Handshake Inc. whom is also known for films such as Maryland Deathfest: The Movie (parts 1, 2 and 3), Today Is The Day, Axis of Eden: The Film, Disgorge Mexico: The Movie (Fuck The Facts), There's Bound to Be: Phil Anselmo and The Illegals, Live at The Opera House, When the Screams Come: Pentagram Live at Maryland Deathfest and Decibel's 100th Issue Show: The Movie.

Desire Will Rot was recorded and mixed by FTF guitarist Topon Das at his Apartment 2 studio in Ottawa, ON and features eleven aggressive tracks of the band's metal mastery to follow their recent split EP with Fistfuck along with 2014's Abandoned and 2013's Amer EPs plus it being their first full length since 2011's Die Miserable.

Upcoming show dates:

January
15 – Toronto, ON – Coalition
16 – Peterborough, ON – The Spill

February
5 – North Bay, ON – The Fraser Tavern
6 – Rouyn Noranda, QC – La Scène Évolu-Son

(Photo by: Dave Levitt)



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Myrath return with a new album of their special brand of Oriental metal. After many shows in many countries and over 4 long years since their last album, they're back with a new collection of great tracks simply titled Legacy being released on Nightmare / Sony/ RED to North America on February 12.

Myrath is a Franco-Tunisian metal band, yet in just a few years they’ve become a very enjoyed and respected band by the international prog-power community. Their new album Legacy promises to rocket the band higher yet, with both European and North American tour plans and their most exciting album to date.

Tracklisting:

“Jasmin”
“Believer”
“Get Your Freedom Back”
“Nobody’s Lives”
“The Needle”
“Through Your Eyes”
“The Unburnt”
“I Want To Die”
“Duat”
“Endure The Silence”
“Storm Of Lies”
“Other Side” (North American bonus track)



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BraveWords has teamed with Kelowna, BC’s leading death metal architects Gomorrah for the full album stream of The Haruspex, due out January 15 via Test Your Metal Records to follow-up their 2013 debut Perception, available for preorder here.

"Jeff Bryan and I recorded the album at my home here in the Okanagan Valley, and we did the absolute majority of the writing in the pre-production and production stages. So much of the material had existed from several years ago, but was completely overhauled and reworked several times to end up in these tracks. We weren't afraid to try things out and work over several revisions, or to take our hands off of a few of the songs that we felt very comfortable with after only the first revision. Jeff wrote the lyrics for the tracks in less than two months, and a lot of them were written and finalized in the vocal tracking stage, in front of the microphone. We weren't afraid to enable our music with production techniques. Many reviews have figured that we used samples or synthesizers in the songs, however the reality is that all of these droning noises, stutters, and otherwise 'industrial' sounds are actually either electric guitar or bass guitar, and abusing these instruments in front of their amplifiers with only two guitar effect pedals. The rest of these noises you hear are the interaction with the instrument and their environment.

“We then delivered all of the tracks to Stuart McKillop of Rain City Recorders for mixing, and he blew us away. It didn't take him long at all to catch onto what we were going for, and his consistency from one track to the next brought the tracks to the highest musical apex they could reach. Brad Boatright of Audiosiege handled the mastering, and he made certain that the product was of the outstanding final production quality for us. Brad has really yielded an outstanding quality for so many other abrasive sub-genres of metal and hardcore and he delivered that exact pinnacle of quality for us on this record as well." - Bowen Matheson

The Haruspex tracklisting:

“Imperial”
“Nine Kings Of Sulphur”
“Carcosa”
“Dismantling The Throne”
“Sitra Achra”
“Crowns Of Flesh”
“Cerulean”
“Venom And Rapture”
“Architects”
“The Mark Of Veritas”

 

 

 

 



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Mortiis has released a new video for “The Shining Lamp Of God”. "The Shining Lamp Of God" continues the story that "Doppelganger", released late last year, started. "We made two videos, although they were shot as one," Mortiis said. ""The Shining Lamp of God' is another chapter - same place, same hellhole, just escalated, I suppose. It never really ends…"

Directed by Robyn Van Swank and Nick Plotquin, “The Shining Lamp Of God” is equally rife with graphic images, bringing to life the internal struggles and demons that the song’s lyrics tackle. Whereas “Doppleganger” was conflicted and self-loathing, “The Shining Lamp Of God” metaphorically uses religious symbolism to convey an inner anger toward others’ selfishness so deep that one fails to see their own ego centrist behaviors.
 
Chilling images of physical torture perfectly encapsulate the mental anguish of Mortiis’ music – an incredible fete based on the depth of mental and emotional agony of the lyrics on Mortiis’ album, The Great Deceiver.
 
The disturbing clip leaves lasting impression – which was Mortiis’ goal after years of feeling controlled and confined by the restrictions of a record label. “The old label is history, the shackles are off, and I decided to just sell my record collection in order to finance some videos that we, and nobody else, actually have any control over,” he said. “We pretty much used to be hogtied down in terms of what we were allowed to do and not to do in our videos. I always thought that was ridiculous, like we were some sort of pop band. Ever since that time, I swore I would one day control how my music was used, and if I wanted to show someone getting injected with sewer water, I would.”
 
The new Mortiis album The Great Deceiver will be out March 4 worldwide.

“Doppelganger” video:



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Swedish classic/doom rock masters, Witchcraft, will release their new album, Nucleus, on January 15th release worldwide via Nuclear Blast. The album will be available as CD, lavish digipak (also as a t-shirt bundle), vinyl (black, clear, splatter, gold) and digital download. The band is streaming audio snippets of every album track, which can be checked out below.

Nucleus:

“Malstroem”
“Theory Of Consequence”
“The Outcast”
“Nucleus”
“An Exorcism Of Doubts”
“The Obsessed”
“To Transcend Bitterness”
“Helpless”
“Breakdown”

Limited digipak CD & 2LP vinyl bonus track:
“Chasing Rainbows”

Audio snippets:

"Theory Of Consequence":

“The Outcast”:

Nucleus, the successor of 2012's Legend, is said to be mixing the rawer side of Witchcraft’s early roots with a slightly more melancholic modern sound.

With an all new lineup (Rage Widerberg on drums and Tobias Anger on bass) the band sounds more hungry and powerful than ever before. In combination with the thrilling, yet very down-to-earth production by Pelander himself, Philip Gabriel Saxin and Anton Sundell it just throws you in dreamy sonic landscapes that will mesmerize and haunt you alike.



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A new year, and a new tour for UK death metallers Aghast! But not only that, the London outfit have also announced the release of a new EP and follow up to last year’s debut album All The Rage.

Drummer Nick Plews comments, "It’s been a little over a year since we released All The Rage and we wanted to follow it up with something that shows what we’re about now. Feeding straight off the energy we got putting that release out, we have written some new songs that show a turning point in our sound. The Something Else; Something Rotten EP is a definite step up in terms of song writing and we can’t wait to share it with everyone. People can get their first chance to hear live on the 'Something Rotten Tour' this February, so be prepared!"

Details about the Something Else; Something Rotten EP, including a release date are as of yet to be announced.

UK tour dates:

February
13 – Southampton, UK – Firehouse
14 – Bristol, UK – Gryphon
17 – Birmingham, UK – Scruffy Murphys
18 – Swansea, UK – Lemon Factory
19 – Kettering, UK – Prince Of Wales
20 – Luton, UK – Castle Tavern
21 – Camden, UK – Black Heart 



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