UK rockers Ten will release their 12th studio album, Isla De Muerta, on May 20th through Rocktopia Records. The album cover was illustrated by Gaetano Di Falco. They have now released a 16 minute video featuring song samples from the album. The European edition Isla De Muerta includes the bonus track “We Can Be As One”.

Check out a new lyric video for the track “Tell Me What To Do” below.

Named after the mythical Island Of The Dead from Pirate legend and as the title would suggest, this time around the album has a very piratical, seafaring feel. In true classic Ten style, the album opens with the atmospheric “Buccaneers” instrumental and segues straight into the cinematic “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. Any fans of Ten and their expanding catalogue will not be disappointed.

Tracklisting:

“Buccaneers” (Instrumental)
“Dead Men Tell No Tales”
“Tell Me What To Do”
“Acquiesce”
“This Love”
“The Dragon And Saint George”
“Intensify”
“Karnak” (Instrumental)
“The Valley Of The Kings”
“Revolution”
“Angel Of Darkness”
“The Last Pretender”
“We Can Be As One” (European Bonus)

“Tell Me What To Do” lyric video:

Isla De Muerta will be the second outing for this current lineup and sees the boys build upon the foundation stones laid by their Albion release.

Ten are:

Gary Hughes - Vocals
Dann Rosingana - Guitars
Steve Grocott - Guitars
John Halliwell - Guitars
Steve Mckenna - Bass
Darrel Treece-Birch - Keyboards
Max Yates - Drums

In their 25 years as a musical duo, Gunnar & Matthew Nelson, collectively known simply as Nelson, have grown from pop music idols to seasoned songwriters and performers. Now, as the brothers celebrate a quarter century at the forefront of the international music scene, they return with Peace Out, their most ambitious studio album to date. Check out the first video from the album for the tune "Rockstar" below:

Released in Europe yesterday (May 15th) and North America on May 19th, Peace Out marks a return to the well crafted melodic rock songs that put the band at the top of the Billboard charts in the 1990s. From the anthemic “Invincible” to the rollicking soon-to-be classic “Back In The Day”, Peace Out is quintessential Nelson from start to finish.

“We set a pretty high standard with our previous release with Lightning Strikes Twice. That record received by far the most critical acclaim of any Nelson record to date... Peace Out was expected to be even better, the so the goal was to push ourselves to the very limit- past what we believed we could do,” says Gunnar Nelson. “We wanted to write and record the most exciting, authentic, uplifting, and rockin’ Nelson record ever made! The mission: to make a classic.”

The brothers have always had their work cut out for themselves, being the third generation in one of America’s most celebrated entertainment families, who came into US households every week from 1952 through 1966 on the ABC sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. Their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, was a celebrated big band leader, whose orchestra featured their grandmother, Harriet; and their late father, Ricky, was one of rock ’n’ roll’s earliest superstars, a member of The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and generally credited with creating the country-rock format.
 
When the Nelson twins burst onto the music scene with the Billboard #1 hit “(I Can’t Live Without Your) Love & Affection,” in 1990, they set a Guinness World Record by being the only family to have three generations of #1 hits on the charts! Nelson went on to release a half dozen rock albums selling nearly 7 million records, beginning with the multi-platinum After The Rain.

Peace Out marks their fourth release on Frontiers since 2010. Look for Nelson to embark on a world tour upon the album’s release. “We're putting the live show together as we speak... And it will incorporate the very best live songs from our career... Focusing heavily on the Peace Out album,” tells Gunnar.

Peace Out tracklisting:

“Hello Everybody”
“Back In The Day”
“Invincible”
“Let It Ride”
“I Wanna Stay Home”
“On The Bright Side”
“Rockstar”
“Autograph”
“What’s Not To Love?”
“You And Me”
“Bad For You”
“Leave The Light On For Me”

“Rockstar”:

“Autograph”:

Preview:

Professionally filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT's May 15 performance at the Rock On The Range festival, which is being at MAPFRE Stadium (formerly Crew Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio, can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Sarcastrophe 02. The Heretic Anthem 03. Psychosocial 04. The Devil In I 05. AOV 06. Wait And Bleed 07. Vermilion 08. Killpop 09. Before I Forget 10. Duality 11. Eyeless 12. Spit It Out 13. Custer 14. 742617000027 15. (sic) 16. Surfacing

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root told the Des Moines Register in a new interview that he's ready for the band to make its sixth studio album and has already written music for it. Root explained, "We haven’t been able to do two albums back to back since our first one and Iowa. We're at a point in our career where the band is on top of its game. If we take two years or however long away, who knows if we could come back? Someone might decide they want to direct or write or other bands' projects might take priority. I plan for the best and expect the worst. I started writing again today. Hopefully the songs will be on a new SLIPKNOT record. If not, I'll find something else to do with them." It was six years between 2008's "All Hope Is Gone" and last year's ".5: The Gray Chapter", during which the band dealt with the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the dismissal of drummer Joey Jordison in 2013.

SLIPKNOT's "Summer's Last Stand" tour kicks off on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, wrapping up six weeks later on September 5 in Dallas. Joining SLIPKNOT on the road trip will be LAMB OF GOD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. The summer jaunt follows a brief spring run that SLIPKNOT launched on April 25 at the Fort Rock festival in Fort Myers, Florida, ending on May 16 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Video footage of the Brazilian army orchestra performing the song "Smoking Snakes" from the Swedish metal band SABATON can be seen below.

SABATON wrote "Smoking Snakes" as a tribute to the three Brazilian soldiers who fought an entire platoon of German soldiers to their deaths in the mountains of Italy in 1944.

In an interview with the Brazilian Army's official blog, SABATON bassist Pär Sundström explained that the idea for "Smoking Snakes" came when he was doing some research for the band's latest album, "Heroes". "I tried searching for the word 'Helden', which means heroes in German," he said. "I then came across the story of the Drei Brasilianischen Helden (Three Brazilian Heroes) and, from that point on, we deepened our research and decided to write the track."

The smoking snake is the mascot of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to fight the Nazi army in Europe during World War II in response of German U-Boast attacking Brazilian shipping in the Atlantic.

The expression "when the snake smokes" would be equivalent to "when pigs fly" in the USA. At the time, many believed that was that it was more likely that one would see a snake smoking a pipe than a bunch of blacks and Indians from the Brazilian army being able to defeat Nazi soldiers in combat. So the Brazilian army adopted the smoking snake as its mascot and that is how the Expeditionary Force become known: as the "smoking snakes."

After the Brazilian army's successful return from Europe, the meaning of the expression was reversed. Instead of meaning that something unlikely to happen, the expression "the snake will smoke" was used to refer to something that had a high probability of becoming a reality.

On May 12, HALESTORM played an acoustic set for WAAF listeners in Boston, Massachusetts. A clip of the "Apocalyptic" performance can be seen below.

"Apocalyptic" is taken from HALESTORM's third album, "Into The Wild Life", which was released on April 14. Singer Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio that making the record was a satisfying experience for her and the band. "It was a lot of fun," she said. "It was such a freeing process 'cause it really didn't feel like we were — 'we're recording an album now, guys!' It just — we were in this big, overhauled church, you know, so it didn't feel like we were in a studio and there was just every instrument everywhere. There was a piano and everything was all set up so it's like, whatever you wanted to do, you could just do." "Into The Wild Life" follows up HALESTORM's Grammy-winning 2012 sophomore effort, "The Strange Case Of…"

HALESTORM recently released a music video for "Amen". The album's first single, "Apocalyptic", became the group's third straight chart-topper at rock radio.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was joined by his 16-year-old daughter Cali on stage last night (Friday, May 15) at the second annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure concert at The Masonic in San Francisco, California to perform an acoustic version of the Adele song "Crazy For You". Also appearing on the bill were Sammy Hagar (VAN HALEN, CHICKENFOOT, MONTROSE), ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith and Linda Perry, the former leader of 4 NON BLONDES. Each artist performed an acoustic set at the event, proceeds from which will be donated to fund children's brain tumor research at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, one of the nation's leading children's medical facilities.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. Photos are available at the Getty Images web site.

Acoustic-4-A-Cure was created by Bay Area rock legends Hagar and Hetfield, whose vision was to raise needed funds and awareness for the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF by bringing together some of their legendary friends and throwing a must-see concert for fans.

Regarding the decision to book mostly Northern California acts, Hagar told the Marin Independent Journal: "The reason I am doing it is because we want to keep expenses down. You can't fly people in from other towns and put them up in big suites. Half of the people on this show live pretty high, and you can't lowball them."

Hagar also acted as emcee at the event, telling the Marin Independent Journal: "I am a closet emcee-comedian. I feel it is my calling that, later on in my life, I could do the Grammy Awards and be the host of this and the host of that. I feel that I could pull that gig off — and I'm kind of interested in it, believe it or not."

According to the Los Angeles Times, POISON singer Bret Michaels has listed his house in a gated Calabasas community for $3.649 million.

Built in 2006, the Mediterranean-inspired, 6,797-square-foot, two-story, property includes five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, guitars, a grand piano and religious iconography, as well as vaulted ceilings, formal living and dining rooms, a media room, an office and a family room. The master suite contains a sitting area, dual walk-in closets, a balcony, dual bathrooms and a gym.

Check out pictures of the house at Los Angeles Times.

Bret has just released rock-and-country-crossover single, "Girls On Bars". The song was co-written with Michaels's good friend and fellow Pennsylvanian Luke Laird, who is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter of hits like LITTLE BIG TOWN's "Pontoon", Eric Church's "Talladega" and Luke Bryan's "I See You"."

"Girls On Bars" is the first single from Bret's upcoming album, "True Grit", featuring 21 new and classic Michaels hits, including POISON classics "Nothin' But A Good Time", "Something To Believe In" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Released on May 5, the CD features guest appearances by Jimmy Buffett, LYNYRD SKYNYRD's Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke, Rascal Flatts and Loretta Lynn.

Professionally filmed video footage of MARILYN MANSON's May 15 performance at the Rock On The Range festival, which is being at MAPFRE Stadium (formerly Crew Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio, can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Deep Six02. No Reflection03. mOBSCENE04. The Dope Show05. Rock Is Dead06. Sweet Dreams07. Personal Jesus08. The Beautiful People09. Irresponsible Hate Anthem

MARILYN MANSON is:

Marilyn Manson - VocalsPaul Wiley - GuitarTwiggy Ramirez - BassGil Sharone - Drums

Manson's new album, "The Pale Emperor", was released on January 20 via the shock-rocker's own label — Hell, etc. — in a joint venture with Cooking Vinyl and Loma Vista Recordings.

Manson collaborated on the new album, his first in over two years, with noted film composer/producer Tyler Bates ("Guardians Of The Galaxy", "300", "The Watchmen"). Bates also joined Manson as a member of his band on the recent "The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour", alongside longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez, Gil Sharone on drums and Paul Wiley on guitar.

"'The Pale Emperor' came from a book that I was given in 2000 by [actor Johnny] Depp," Manson recently told Full Metal Jackie.

"We have each other's back as in we have the same tattoo on our back. It covers our entire back. It was about Heliogabalus, which may be a little esoteric for our listeners. He was the emperor of Rome before Caligula. He was the first one to deny God, and that's a big deal."

He continued: "For whatever reason, I had just opened up all the boxes of my past life.

"I moved into a new house while I made this record.

"Normally, I'd title the album before the album was made, but this time I titled it after it was made.

"I unearthed all of these books and I found this book Johnny gave me in Y2K when I went to stay with him in South of France, because we thought the world was going to come to an end. Instead, we set off firecrackers and bought all the absinthe there was in different countries. I read it and it was referring to this emperor who they referred to the pale emperor and I identified with it suddenly."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Manson revealed that many of the songs on "The Pale Emperor" were recorded in a single take. "It's dirty," he said, "like the dirt under my nails, like someone who has dug a grave."

Manson will team up with SMASHING PUMPKINS for "The End Times" co-headlining tour. They will hit the road together starting July 7 in Concord, California, and ending on August 8 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fan-filmed video footage of DIO DISCIPLES' May 1 performance at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below.

DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager, Wendy, currently consists of the following musicians:

* Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH)- Vocals * Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) - Vocals * Craig Goldy (DIO) - Guitar * Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Bass * Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) - Keyboards * Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC, UFO) - Drums

Goldy in 2013 stated about DIO DISCIPLES: "After Ronnie's passing and a lengthy mourning period, Wendy Dio and the band that was left behind have decided it was time to honor and keep the memory and legacy of Ronnie James Dio alive in the most respectful way possible!"

He continued: "There is something special that happens when a group of people gather together with the same heart, mind and spirit as one another... and that is what happens every night we (the DIO DISCIPLES) perform! I never know when... but I know that it will happen because it always does... some time during the concert, the audience and the band connect and become as one! And with the large speaker system, lights and special performances... you don't want to rely on all the crappy little cell phone recordings that look and sound like shit posted on YouTube!

"I've never lied about anything to any DIO fan and I'm not about to start now! Every time we perform there's always several very special moments that just can't be defined into words! You just have to trust me and come experience it for yourselves! And I hope you do!"

MEAN MAN, the new band fronted by former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes, celebrated the release of Chris's new album, "Shitting Bricks", with a special show on May 2 at at Le Ferrailleur in Nantes, France.

Video footage of MEAN MAN performing the "Shitting Bricks" title track at the Nantes concert can be seen below.

MEAN MAN is:

Chris Holmes: Lead Guitar, VocalsThomas Cesario: GuitarPascal Bei: BassGabriel Candela: Drums

In a recent interview with Noisey, Holmes was asked he was surprised by the attention he got with the video for his song "Let It Roar". "No," he responded. "I think it's just because people are talking trash about me. You know, once it gets on Blabbermouth, they start talking about how crappy it is. They're always gonna compare everything I do to W.A.S.P., no matter what. So they start bad-mouthing it. That's probably why it's gotten so viral. But you know, [the video] is just what I do in [my new hometown of] Cannes [France]. It’s a beautiful city. You see me fishing and stuff. I think one part of the video shows a wave hit the rocks and almost knock me off. [Laughs] It's a neat town. You can't do the same things in L.A."

Holmes also talked about his decision to move to France last year. He said: "My wife is from France. But since I left W.A.S.P. I dangled around in L.A., trying to find musicians to play with, but it just didn't work out. The change of culture in the last ten years… My kind of music isn't played that much — not like it was in the '80s."

He continued: "About two years ago, I pulled into a 7-11, and this kid got out of his car. He wasn't listening to rock. When I was his age, that's all I listened to. That made me realize the kind of music I do here anymore… [He was listening to] hip-hop. And I just don't play that kind of music."

Holmes added: "I was talking to one of my friend's kids — he's in high school — and I asked him, 'Why don't you listen to rock, like DEEP PURPLE or something?' And he said, 'Man, that's pussy music.' This is a white kid. So I thought, if people don't listen to this kind of music anymore, why should I even be here? I'm in my 50s, but I want to still keep on going, kind of. So I talked to my wife and we decided to move. They listen to rock more over here. There's lots more concerts and stuff."

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.

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

"Iron" Mike Savoia of Savoia Photography Live has uploaded video footage of SEPULTURA's May 14 concert at Studio Seven in Seattle, Washington. Check it out below.

SEPULTURA is currently headlining a North American tour with support from German thrashers DESTRUCTION and American melodic tech-deathsters ARSIS. The mayhem kicked off in Phoenix, Arizona on May 10 and will end on June 14 in Grand Junction, Colorado.

SEPULTURA was joined by legendary guitarist Steve Vai on stage during the band's May 9 performance at the Rock In Rio USA festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

SEPULTURA recently recorded a new song called "DarkSide" for the Brazilian publisher DarkSide Books. The track was "inspired by the darker side of literature."

This is not the first time a member of SEPULTURA has collaborated with DarkSide Books. Back in 2013, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser wrote the foreword to the BLACK SABBATH biography "Destruição Desencadeada".

As previously reported, SEPULTURA will celebrate its 30th anniversary by releasing a special tribute to their fans. The band has asked fans to contribute to the artwork for a new track, and the result is "Sepultura Under My Skin", which will be released on June 5 on colored vinyl. The artwork for this release was created using pictures of tattoos of SEPULTURA fans all over the world.

SEPULTURA's latest album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Pink Floyd’s classic, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, covered by Steve Lukather along with Vinnie Colaiuta and Marco Mendoza, is streaming below. The track is featured on The Everlasting Songs: An All Star Tribute To Pink Floyd, out now.

Tracklisting:

“Hey You” - Tommy Shaw (Styx) & Steve Lukather (Toto)
“Speak To Me/Breathe” - Adrian Belew (King Crimson) & Alan White (Yes)
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” - Steve Lukather (Toto)
“Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” - Steve Morse (Deep Purple)
“Time” - Gary Green (Gentle Giant) & Robbie Krieger (The Doors)
“Any Colour You Like” - Robben Ford, Steve Porcaro (Toto) & Aynsley Dunbar (Journey)
“In The Flesh” - Adrian Belew (King Crimson) & Keith Emerson (ELP)
“Money” - Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson),Edgar Winter
“Welcome To The Machine” - Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater)
“Have A Cigar” - Bobby Kimball (Toto)
“The Great Gig In The Sky” - Rick Wakeman (Yes), Steve Howe (Yes)

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond”:

 

To celebrate SAVATAGE upcoming reunion performance at Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany, SAVATAGE and earMUSIC will release the ultimate "Return To Wacken" album on June 19. The effort will contain studio versions of classic songs that the band played live at Wacken as part of their previous two appearances at the world-famous festival: in 1998 and 2002. In addition to SAVATAGE's greatest hits, such as "Hall Of The Mountain King", "Gutter Ballet" and "The Wake Of Magellan", the "Return To Wacken" booklet will offer insight into the band with personal memories by the group's mastermind, Jon Oliva, rare pictures and press quotes.

"Return To Wacken" track listing:

01. Hall Of The Mountain King02. Gutter Ballet03. Believe04. Chance05. Edge Of Thorns06. The Wake Of Magellan07. Dead Winter Dead08. The Hourglass09. Tonight He Grins Again10. Prelude To Madness11. When The Crowds Are Gone

Check out audio samples in the YouTube clip below.

Asked in an interview with Femme Metal Webzine if SAVATAGE has any plans for beyond Wacken for either live shows or new material, Jon Oliva said: "As far as that goes, the whole Wacken thing came up, and I was, like, you know what? If we're going to do anything, we have to do it now. I don't want to do it when I'm 60 years old. I mentioned that to [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA producer/composer] Paul [O'Neill]. He said to me, 'We're going to do the Wacken thing, but let's just wait until the [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA] winter tour is over and then you and me we're going to sit down in January and discuss what we're going to do.'"

He continued: "We've already gotten offers to do it in certain areas of the world, America being one, Greece, South America, places like that. We have to see how we're going to do this. It's something that Paul and I, honestly — and I'm telling you totally honestly — we just brushed over what we thought we might want to do and we said, with all the chaos of getting the winter tour out, we said, let's just wait until after the tour is over and then we'll figure this whole thing out. We know we're going to start with 'Gutter Ballet'; that's all we agreed on. [Laughs]"

Oliva added: "[TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA] is going to come out first for, I think, 40 or 50 minutes doing the big-production numbers, then Paul is going to bring me out and we're going to do the SAVATAGE thing and we're going to start with 'Gutter Ballet' and that's where we ended the conversation and said, we'll pick this up and we'll figure out what we're going to do as far as other shows go and everything like that. As of right now, Wacken is the only place, but I'm sure once everything works out and we see what happens, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of there being a couple more on top of that."

SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon Oliva's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak Stevens, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.

More video footage has been posted online of former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza jamming with the band's bassist, David Ellefson, at Dave Mustaine's house/studio in Southern California in December 2014 as part of what turned out to be a failed attempt at a reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup. The clip, which was filmed and shared by Mustaine's son , can be seen below.

Said Menza: "I was totally ready and excited to get back in MEGADETH. We jammed for the weekend and it was totally cool. We instantly fell right back into our musical groove together. We have great chemistry. It's a magical thing!"

Menza explained to the "The Sick Room" podcast why his return to MEGADETH failed to materialize. He said: "I went out there [to Dave Mustaine's studio] and jammed with [Mustaine and David Ellefson]. We played for, like, a weekend — like, three days — and on the third day, we were working on new songs. And everything was cool. They were telling me, 'You're back in the band. We'll do a press release.' And I'm, like, 'I don't wanna say anything until I have an agreement, a contract in writing of what's gonna happen.' And then they send me this ridiculous proposal stating that, 'You're not gonna paid anything until the touring starts.' So, basically, I was gonna work for nothing, doing the record. Which I was still kind of ready to bend in that direction anyway. But I'm, like, 'You know what?! I'm not gonna break or sell myself short with something that's gonna be huge. They've gotta realize the longevity of it.' And then they were kind of coming back at me the same way. So the whole thing was silly. I didn't even get a chance to negotiate with them about anything. They just put it off and said, 'That's it.' And I couldn't get hold of anybody."

He added: "Believe me, I wish I was doing it, but, hey, it's not meant to be, obviously."

In an interview with RollingStone.com, Mustaine talked in general terms about why the reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup didn't happen, He said: "Contrary to all the scuttlebutt that's going around, I wish [Nick and guitarist Marty Friedman] the best," Mustaine said. "But their recollections of the events that led up to it and happened after are considerably different from my recollection. But here's the thing — a lot of people, they either love or hate me. If I tell anybody what happened, it's not gonna change the way they feel about me. But it'll probably change the way they feel about them. And I don't want to hurt anybody. All I can say I think they're both tremendous musicians and talented guys.

Asked if this year's NAMM show in Anaheim, California marked the first time the four of them — Mustaine, Friedman, Menza and Ellefson — had actually sat down in a room together since the initial dissolution of that lineup some 15 years ago, Mustaine responded: "I think so. After my arm was injured in 2001, if you remember at that time, we had Al Pitrelli playing guitar with us, because Marty had had a nervous breakdown and had left the band. Then my arm got hurt and I said, 'Look, I'm done.' I didn't touch a guitar for 17 months. My arm was so damaged I couldn't even hold a cigarette. But when I decided to come out of retirement, I did reach out to David and Marty and Nick and talked to all of them about doing this again. But it just wasn't meant to happen. I think there was so much bitterness because of the people that were managing us at the time. If you poison the well, you can't expect there to be an area of clean water anywhere. Everyone gets poisoned. Everyone was upset and they looked to me to blame. And I am responsible for a lot of the decisions that we make."

Drover quit MEGADETH last November "to pursue [his] own musical interests."

MEGADETH's next album will be the band's first to feature Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA, and LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler.

Bassist Chris McLernon has left acclaimed 1990s rockers SAIGON KICK, only three days after the group parted ways with drummer Phil Varone.

Says McLernon in a statement: "I'm leaving my post on stage right. It's been a humbling honor to see you all, and I can't ever express sufficient gratitude for your undying dedication and your love for what we've done. Take care of yourselves, travel safe, and maybe I'll see you down the road."

According to SAIGON KICK, there were "no hard feelings or even musical differences" that caused Varone to exit the band. The remaining members of the group blamed the split on "just life moving on" and announced the addition of Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani, Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Peter Frampton) to the group's lineup for their upcoming shows in Boca Raton, Orlando and the Cathouse Live At Irvine Meadows festival in Irvine, California. SAIGON KICK is perhaps best remembered for its second album, 1992's "The Lizard", which spawned the band's biggest hit single, "Love Is On The Way". The track reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its accompanying video was in the top 10 MTV countdown for many weeks. Just before touring for the LP commenced, bassist Tom DeFile was fired and was replaced by ex-COLD SWEAT bassist Chris McLernon. They toured from summer 1992 to spring 1993 and "The Lizard" was eventually certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

In a 2014 interview with Songfacts, SAIGON KICK guitarist Jason Bieler was asked what whether he thinks that a new studio album is going to be released at some point. "We're talking, we're taking our time, we're not doing a lot," he said. "I'm sure at some point we'll get to music, but we're trying to walk the line we didn't walk correctly before. We want to make sure we don't go that road — and I won't name names — but these sad, horrid bands from way before that are playing every pig-in-a-poke barbecue festival for any amount of money and just living in the glory of before. Not that we think we're going to be this new reborn cool thing, but we just want to stay a lot more true to who we are musically and a little bit more protective of what we weren't protective of before, and show the things about us that we didn't really pay attention to. So that's kind of where our head's at, both musically and even performance-wise. That's why we're not doing 300 dates and that's why we're not supporting every band or doing a headline here. Heck, we've done nine or ten shows in coming on two years. So we're just really taking it easy and finding the right opportunities that make sense for us."

German nautical doomsters Ahab have checked in with the following update:

"We're happy to announce that we just finished the final mix of our upcoming album, due to be released late August 2015 via Napalm Records. Role of Die Tonmeisterei will master the CD versions of our new album soon. He already worked for great bands such as Long Distance Calling and Omega Massif.

Olav Iversen of the mighty Sahg sang a cover song with us (available as a 7" vinyl single in a limited box of our new album. Pre-order starts soon.)

Find some pictures of the recording sessions in Rama Tonstudio here.

Find below the pencil scribble of our cover. Master Jerke explained: 

'Here you see the pre-drawing. It was printed on Photo Rag paper – a bit more expensive, yes, but with this I didn't have to transfer the original to the paper. Afterwards I strung the paper on a wooden plate.' 

Beside the drawing you see some inspiration for the lighting. The blue will be the first layer of the acrylic painting."

Ahab have also updated their live schedule, which can be viewed below:

June
3 - Out & Loud - Geiselwind, Germany
19 - Hellfest - Clisson, France

July
4 - Boston Music Rooms - London, UK 
25 - Ragnarock Festival - Wohratal, Germany

October
29 - Elfer - Frankfurt, Germany
31 - Bambi Galore - Hamburg, Germany

November
6 - Club CANN - Stuttgart, Germany
8 - Schwimmbad Club - Heidelberg, Germany

December
12 - Eindhoven Metal Meeting - Eindhoven, Netherlands

More tour dates to be announced soon.

Cult French death metal juggernaut MERCYLESS has unveiled a new song, "Bless Me Father". The track is taken from the "Blast From The Past" split LP, which features MERCYLESS alongside the band's old mates from the French death metal scene CRUSHER, who have just reunited (and will play Hellfest).

"Blast From The Past" will be released via Deadlight Entertainment on vinyl LP, strictly limited to 300 handnumbered units in a handcrafted box by Le 7eme Oeil workshop (BLUT AUS NORD, ARCHGOAT, AMENRA).

MERCYLESS is responsible for releasing one of the most underrated death albums of all time in the shape of 1992's "Abject Offerings".

The band's last CD, "Unholy Black Splendor", came out in May 2013 via Trendkill Recordings. The CD was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö (ASPHYX, OPETH, DISSECTION).

MERCYLESS is:

Max Otero: Guitar, VocalsGautier Merklen: GuitarLaurent Michalak: DrumsMatthieu Merklen: Bass

Fan-filmed video footage of PHILM's May 6 performance at DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California can be seen below.

PHILM features former SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo alongside guitarist/vocalist Gerry Paul Nestler (CIVIL DEFIANCE) and bassist Francisco "Pancho" Eduardo Tomaselli (WAR).

Asked what prompted the decision to forgo the improvisational aspect of the first PHILM album in favor of a more structured, creative approach on the group's follow-up effort, "Fire From The Evening Sun", Dave told Full Metal Jackie: "Well, I heard the reviews and read the reviews and took in consideration what journalists and fans were feeling and saying, and I felt it was time us to make an album like this. We showed them what we could do in the avant grade world and the improvisational style of writing, but that was something for that album. And on this one, we just wanted to make it a little more concise and complete with some solid structures and songs that would appeal more to, let's say, the metal fan base rather than to a more avant garde or jazz style. Which makes total sense, 'cause that's where my fans are, so I need to give them what they want."

Regarding what the most unusual thing is for him about being in a more creative role in PHILM than he was in some of his previous projects, Dave said: "I think it's how fluid the creative process is. We are all in a room together and we press 'record' and we start playing, and whatever it is that happens at that moment is captured. And what we do is listen back to those recordings. They can be, like, 20 minutes to a half-an-hour improvisation session. Then what we do is listen for the… I call them little gems that you cut out of these session. And then we take that music and then we'll structure a complete song around that improvisation. So that's unique and it's unusual for me, because I've worked in the past with musicians that give you a set idea on what they want. And it leaves no room for creativity. It's just from one person; it's not like a fusion or a collective effort."

"Fire From The Evening Sun" was released on September 16, 2014 (one day earlier internationally) via UDR.

Firehouse guitarist Bill Leverty has released a video for his new track, “Strong”, which features Michael Foster on drums, Keith Horne on bass, and Bill Leverty on vocals, guitars and keys. The track was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Bill Leverty. Video produced, directed and edited by Kris Leverty.

 

 

To support Bill Leverty's music, please visit this location.

UK metallers, No Consequence, have released a new video for the track “Speechless”, the first single taken from their new album, Vimana.

For the last several years No Consequence have navigated the progressive tech metal scene, gaining a small but loyal fan base and honing their sound by touring with the likes of TesseracT and Chimp Spanner, as well as multiple appearances at Germany´s Euroblast Festival and UK Tech Metal Fest.

Never wanting to repeat themselves, No Consequence have stepped up their songwriting game by putting together one of the most interesting albums of the year, where technical precision meet huge riffs and grooves, topped off with frontman Kaan Tasan's melodic vocal hooks and social/political lyrics.

Vimana will be released worldwide through Basick Records on June 8th, and was produced by guitarist Dan Reid and Mastered by Will Putney (Northlane, Body Count, After The Burial).

“Speechless” video:

Swedish blues rock trio, Kamchatka, will release its sixth studio album, Long Road Made Of Gold, on May 22nd via Despotz Records. Check out a new guitar playthrough video for the track "Get Your Game On" below:

Long Road Made Of Gold was recorded in Kamchatka's own studio and rehearsal room, the "Kamchatka shelter”, and mixed and mastered by Russ Russell (Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir).

 

 

"Even though our music is rooted in '60s and '70s music, it's important for us to have a contemporary sounding album," explained drummer Tobias Strandvik. "We don't want to repeat ourselves either, and having Russ Russell mixing and mastering certainly gives it the punch and power we wanted. Russ is mostly known for extreme metal like Napalm Death etc., but embraced this project with open arms and the sonic outcome is definitely our strongest to date."

Album artwork comes courtesy of Hippograffix, creator of all the Kamchatka graphics since day one.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Take Me Back Home”
“Get Your Game On”
“Made of Gold”
“Human Dynamo”
“Rain”
“Who’s To Blame”
“Mirror”
“Slowly Drifting Away”
“Long Road”
“To You”
“No One That Can Tell”
“Devil Dance”

“To You”:

 
“Get Your Game On”:

Kamchatka is:

Per Wiberg - bass/vocals
Tobias Strandvik - drums
Thomas "Juneor" Andersson - guitar/vocals

Belgium based progressive power metal band, Max Pie, will release their third album, Odd Memories, on June 19th via Mausoleum Records. Max Pie are powerful, melodramatic with heroic choruses, soaring vocals, and mind-blowing instrumentation.

Max Pie will appeal to fans of Dream Theater, Rhapsody, Kamelot, Symphony X and Circus Maximus. Odd Memories, the most inventive and ambitious one yet featuring special guest Julien Spreutels (Epysode, Ethernity) on keyboards.

Tracklisting:

“Odd Memories Opening”
“Age of Slavery”
“Odd Future”
“Promised Land”
“Love Hurts”
“Don’t Call My Name”
“Hold On”
“Unchain Me”
“Cyber Junkie”
“The Fountain Of Youth”

Max Pie are:

Tony Carlino – Vocals
Damien Di Fresco – Guitars & Keyboard
Sylvain Godenne – Drums
Lucas Boudina – Bass Guitar

 

Australian progressive metal outfit Northlane have just announced that they have signed to New Damage Records for Canada and will release their highly anticipated third studio album through the label this summer. Further details about the forthcoming record will be announced in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the music video for the band’s latest single “Rot” below:

You can also check out Episode 1 of Northlane’s Studio Documentary below:

Northlane has also announced a North American headlining tour for August. The month-long tour, which features stops in twelve Canadian cities, kicks off in Vancouver, BC on August 5th and will wrap up on August 28th in London, ON. Joining Northlane on tour this summer is Like Moths To Flames, In Hearts Wake and Oceans Ate Alaska. Tickets for the tour will go on sale on Tuesday, May 19th at 10 AM Local Time. All confirmed tour dates can be found on Facebook.
 
Northlane guitarist Josh Smith had this to say about signing to New Damage Records and their first headlining tour in Canada, “Richard Fernandes is one of our best friends, and was an instrumental part in getting us on our first ever overseas tour, when we supported Stray from the Path in Canada. He was one of the first people overseas to back us, and we are eternally grateful for everything he's done for us, so we couldn't be more excited to be working with him again on his new label.”
 
“Canada is like our second home, even though it's literally the other side of the world to "down under". Canadians always make us feel welcome, and we always look forward to touring up north. Now we can finally give our long time Canadian supporters the full Northlane headline experience. It's been a long time coming and it's only fitting that they'll be some of the first in the world to experience songs off the new record live. Tim Hortons better be well stocked with honey crullers. Can't wait!"
 
Formed in 2009 and based in Sydney, Australia, Northlane is comprised of guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, bassist Alex Milovic, drummer Nic Pettersen and new vocalist Marcus Bridge. Combining a ferocious live show, an unwavering message and a passion-before-fashion approach to their aesthetic, Northlane has everything that makes heavy music powerful - the raw energy of hardcore, the technical proficiency of metal and the attention to detail in their songwriting. One of the hardest working bands in Australia, in support of their 2013 ARIA-nominated sophomore release Singularity, the band toured the world twice over the course of 18 months before returning home for a victorious sold-out tour. 

UK prog-metal band, TesseracT, are set to release their first live audio/video concert. Titled Odyssey/Scala, the CD/DVD and LP/DVD package welcomes back One vocalist, Daniel Tompkins. Odyssey, the audio portion, was recorded live during various stops in the autumn of 2014 throughout Europe and Russia on the Altered State World Tour. Scala, the video portion, was filmed live on November 6th, 2014 at Scala, London, UK. A full stream of the show can be found below.

TesseracT officially burst on the scene in 2011 with their debut album, One. Touring with the likes of Devin Townsend, Protest The Hero and Between The Buried and Me helped make them one of the most successful break through acts in the progressive metal genre. 2013's Altered State, featured vocalist Ashe O'Hara and was nominated for the Progressive Music Award's Album of the Year. They toured the US with Cloudkicker and Intronaut, playing to sold out venues across the country. Altered State went on to outsell One and appeared on many Year End "Best Of" lists.

Odyssey/Scala, available in CD/DVD, LP/DVD and in digital formats on May 18th in Europe and May 19th in North America on Century Media Records.

 

 

Odyssey (audio) tracklisting:

“Singularity” (recorded in Moscow, Russia)
“Deception - Concealing Fate Part Two” (recorded in Birmingham, UK)
“The Impossible - Concealing Fate Part Three” (recorded in Nottingham, UK)
“Perfection/Epiphany - Concealing Fate Parts Four/Five” (recorded in Rome, Italy)
“Origin - Concealing Fate Part Six” (recorded in Strasbourg, France)
“Of Matter - Proxy” (recorded in Koln, Germany)
“Of Matter - Retrospect” (recorded in Nijmegen, Netherlands)
“Of Matter - Resist” (recorded in Budapest, Hungary)
“April” (recorded in Paris, France)
“Nocturne” (recorded in Manchester, UK)
“Acceptance - Concealing Fate Part One” (recorded in Moscow, Russia)

Scala (video) tracklisting:

“Singularity”
“Deception - Concealing Fate Part Two”
“The Impossible - Concealing Fate Part Three”
“Perfection/Epiphany - Concealing Fate Parts Four/Five”
“Origin - Concealing Fate Part Six”
“Of Matter - Proxy”
“Of Matter - Retrospect”
“Of Matter - Resist”
“April”
“Nocturne”
“Acceptance - Concealing Fate Part One”

TesseracT have achieved a new standard for outlandish gig locations by playing the first ever set on an igloo, thought to be the world’s biggest. The immense snow structure, spanning the equivalent of 3.5 double decker buses near Yllas village, Finland, was part of the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig series, which puts artists to the test as they perform in unconventional, ice cold conditions.

 

 

The stunning location played host to the hour-long show which included fan favourite track “Nocturne”. The gig was performed to a unique crowd, pulling in reindeer, skiers, and Sami tribesmen from some 20-50 kilometres away.
 
In the words of guitarist James Monteith: “We’re great mates first and foremost, so we’ve shared some amazing moments. But even after playing the main stage at Sonisphere last year, the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig was definitely TessaracT’s most challenging performance to date, and what an amazing experience it was. Something we’ll remember forever!
 
“The final stage build was tougher going than we expected - we were shifting one-tonne blocks of ice to create the steps leading up to the stage. Fortunately, we had a team of locals to help us and the effort was well worth it. It was absolutely freezing, but as soon as we saw the crowd of people adrenalin took over, the hard work was forgotten and we battled through the gig.”

 

London, UK-based symphonic death/doom trio, Spectral Darkwave, have released a new lyric video, for the track “The Occident”, featured on their debut album, Last First Contact, out via Occidental Records.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“A Distant Dawn”
“Retake Mars!”
“The Occident”
“Under Ebon Lash”
“My Hand The Gavel”
“At Midnight... Alchemy”
“Compound Vengeance”
“I Am Shadow”
“Mors Technica”
“To Feast On Milk And Oil”

“The Occident” lyric video:

Album stream:

Last First Contact by Spectral Darkwave

Last First Contact documentary Part 1:

Last First Contact documentary Part 2:

 

On April 27th, London-based riff monsters, Stoneghost, released the relentless and blistering New Age Of Old Ways via the Mascot Label Group. The group’s new single, “Raynardine”, will be released on June 22nd. The track is streaming below.

 

 

New Age Of Old Ways tracklisting:

"Faceless Ghost"
"Devil's Motion"
"All They Need Is The Light"
"Second To Breathe"
"The Sound Remains"
"Raynardine"
"Sleeper"
"Your Trigger, My Finger"
"Third Degree"
"Let Sleeping Beasts Lie"
"Mother Of All Bastards" (demo)

“Raynardine”:

"Faceless Ghost":

 

“Hammer & Tongs”, a track from Last Of Our Kind, the upcoming new album from The Darkness, is now streaming below.
 
Last Of Our Kind is the first album to feature new drummer Emily Dolan Davies. She replaces original drummer Ed Graham who departed in mysterious circumstances. Having been drumming since 1999, Emily has played with everybody from the likes of Bono, Bryan Ferry and Tricky. Now she has shown herself to be equal to the ultimate music challenge.
 
Emily's ability is face-shatteringly evident in “Barbarian” – described by vocalist Justin Hawkins as having “not one but two dramatic monologues, a guitar solo that has been declared 'irresponsible', a riff that weakens lady-knees and a chorus that makes grown men shit directly into their pants." Justin goes on to point out that "The lyrics describe the Viking invasion of East Anglia which culminated in the decapitation of Edmund the Martyr. So yeah, classic Darkness.”
 
Last Of Our Kind is the meaty and impassioned follow-up to 2012’s Hot Cakes, which saw the band reunited having enjoyed a well-publicized and well-deserved hiatus. As distinguished guests of Def Leppard, The Darkness destroyed Download Festival in 2011, then waved goodbye to their loved ones and toured planet Earth for over 18 months. They rounded off 2013 with a celebratory tour marking the 10th Anniversary of their legendary number one debut album. Permission To Land featured the classics “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”, “Love Is Only A Feeling”, “Love On The Rocks With No Ice” and “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing”; it was the fastest selling debut album by a British band in America since that of The Spice Girls.
 
Last Of Our Kind will be released on limited edition colour vinyl, CD and downloadable computer files.

 

 

Last Of Our Kind tracklisting:
 
“Barbarian”
“Open Fire”
“Last Of Our Kind”
“Roaring Waters”
“Wheels Of The Machine”
“Mighty Wings”
“Mudslide”
“Sarah O’Sarah”
“Hammer & Tongs”
“Conquerors”

“Hammer & Tongs”:

“Open Fire” video:

“Barbarian” video:

The Darkness have announced the Blast Of Our Kind UK tour, to commence on November 30th in Norwich and culminate in a triumphant show at London's Roundhouse on December 20th. It is the first, and a golden, opportunity for enthusiasts to see The Darkness on their own stage in support of the new, fourth album Last of Our Kind.
 
Blast Of Our Kind will be The Darkness' first UK tour since 2013. The Darkness will spend the summer months honing their craft with a sold-out launch show at Dingwalls and choice slots at the various festivals listed below.

Summer dates:
 
June
3 - London, England - Dingwalls (album launch)

July
4 - Wicklow, Ireland - Groove Festival
5 - Waterford, Ireland - Daytripper Festival
12 - Chelmsford, England - Brownstock Festival

August
9 - Newquay, England - Boardmasters Festival
30 - Portsmouth, England - Victorious Festival
 
Blast Of Our Kind UK tour:
 
November
30 - Norwich, England - Open

December
1 - Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange
2 - Nottingham, England - Rock City
4 - Newcastle, England - O2 Academy
5 - Glasgow, Scotland - O2 Academy
9 - Leeds, England - O2 Academy
10 - Manchester, England - Academy
11 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy
13 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy
14 - Southampton, England - O2 Guildhall
15 - Bexhill, England - De La Warr Pavillion
17 - Bournemouth, England - O2 Academy
19 - Oxford, England - O2 Academy
20 - London, England - Roundhouse

Ohio-based cult metalheads Axemaster have released a video for the track “Chylde”, lifted from their new album Overture To Madness, released back in March via Pure Steel Records.

 

 

Overture To Madness tracklisting:

"Entering Madness...."
"Sanity's Requiem"
"Forsaken"
"Dream or Nightmare"
"Thirty Pieces of Silver"
"Crimson Haze"
"Peeling Skin"
"Sinister"
"Statute of Liberty"
"Ashes"
"Chyld"
"Dark Souls"
"Epic"

“Chylde” video:

"Sanity's Requiem” video:

Go to the official Axemaster website here for more information.

 

California metallers, Edge Of Paradise, have released a music video (see below) for “In A Dream”, a track from their new album, Immortal Waltz, out on CD and digital on May 22nd via Pure Steel / Pure Rock Records.

 

 

Immortal Waltz tracklisting:

“Perfect Shade Of Black”
“It’s My Showtime”
“Immortal Waltz”
“In A Dream”
“Rise For The Fallen”
“Ghost”
“Break Away”
“Goodbye”
“Children Of The Sea” (Black Sabbath cover)

“In A Dream” video:

Band lineup:

Margarita Monet – vocals
Dave Bates – guitars
John Chominsky – drums
Nick Ericson – bass

 

Grammy-nominated, chart-topping Richmond, Virginia-based metallers LAMB OF GOD will release their highly anticipated seventh full-length album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", this July via Nuclear Blast Entertainment, with whom the band signed a record deal for all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

Today, after weeks of hinting at fans about the imminent release, the band is unleashing a brand new track, "Still Echoes", via LambOfGodVII.com.

"Still Echoes" will be available via all digital retailers and streaming services beginning Monday, May 18. LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe states: "The time has come to give the fans their first taste of the new LAMB OF GOD album.

"This is a very, very dark, yet sonically highly varied, record.

"As it's always good to come out of the gate hard with a fast and aggressive one, we chose this track, 'Still Echoes', to kick it off. Enjoy/destroy."

During a May 2010 LAMB OF GOD show in the Czech Republic, 19-year-old concertgoer Daniel Nosek sustained a head injury that allegedly led to the fan's death. Blythe was charged with manslaughter in the case, but was eventually acquitted.

"People shouldn't expect a prison record," Blythe tells RollingStone.com about "VII Sturm und Drang". "But I write about things that affect me very deeply. And going to prison in a foreign country and being charged with manslaughter will affect you — trust me — very deeply."

He adds that "Still Echoes" "is a history of [Prague's] Pankrác Prison," where he was incarcerated for over a month. The first line of "Still Echos" reads: "A thousand heads cut clean across their necks, right down the hall from me." Blythe says: "There was a guillotine right down the hall from me, from when the Nazis had the prison. From 1943 to 1945 they executed almost 2,000 people by the guillotine, because it was cheaper than shooting and quicker than hanging … They call it the Pankrác 'Saw Room' or the 'Axe Room. I sat there at night, and I’d think about all those dudes that got their heads chopped off— men and women — in that place not too far from me."

Several exclusive "VII: Sturm Und Drang" pre-order bundles are available now at this location.

Markus Staiger, Nuclear Blast owner and founder, enthuses: "What an honor to work with LAMB OF GOD. I've always been a big fan of their music and we now get to work with them on their new crushing album!"

Adds LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler: "Finally joining forces with Nuclear Blast Entertainment outside of North America is something LAMB OF GOD is excited to finally see happen. We first met back in 1997 — almost signed then, but have been flirting ever since! It's now time for a new chapter for us to connecting with our friends and fans overseas, which is long overdue!

"See you all very soon — with a nasty new album!"

During a January 2015 interview with SiriusXM's Jose Mangin on Liquid Metal's "666-LIVE" call-in show, Chris Adler stated about the material for LAMB OF GOD's next CD: "It's great. I guess the thing that I was overwhelmed with was the idea of us taking the year off of 2014 and then have us come together basically around now and start putting things together. But, as usual, everybody is a little antsy and wanting to jam, and it wasn't, like, oh, hey, Willie [Adler, guitar] has an idea and Mark [Morton, guitar] has this kinda cool solo thing he wants to add on top of it. Both of these guys came in with about fifty different song ideas. So what's been great is just going through all these ideas, which are all really good, and being able to say, 'Okay, we have this much material. Let's pick the top 10 or top 15 or 20, and just keep working on that. Then they get upset, because number 42 had their favorite part. So, okay, grab that favorite part from 42 and let's make song 6 way better. So it's been that kind of a process as we go along."

He continued: "I've noticed the guys are really writing the kind of stuff that I find myself kind of… I don't know… I don't wanna say 'singing along,' because there's no vocals on them yet, but the melodies of the ideas really stick with me, which is one of the things that, if I were to ever complain about more of the recent stuff that I've been buying music-wise… It's great while I'm listening to it, I'm impressed, it's over my head, it blows me away, but when I'm done with it, I couldn't tell you how it goes."

Adler added: "Our goal is, you know, that the guys that'll write the songs that stick with you are the guys that are gonna stick around. So I'm really impressed with what these guys have been doing on a songwriting level — stepping it up and writing stuff that kinda sticks with you."

LAMB OF GOD's last album, "Resolution", sold around 52,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart.