BULLETBOYS are back and ready to tear the house down with first album of original material since 2009, "Elefanté", due on June 9 via Cleopatra/Deadline. According to a press release, "this long-awaited CD shows that the BULLETBOYS are unstoppable with their grinding hard rock. Singer Marq Torien's vocals hit every note with the power that is his trademark.

"Can't wait for our fans to hear this album," says Marq. "I put my heart and soul into this music. This album has sick peaks and valleys... it is NOT a linear album. A straight-out labor of love that I've dedicated to my amazing father, all of our families and our unfaltering BULLETBOYS fans and friends." BULLETBOYS' current lineup consists of founding member Marq Torien (vocals/lead guitar), Nick Rozz (guitar), Chad MacDonald (bass) and Shawn Duncan (drums).

"Elefanté" was produced by Matt Thorne (TRAPT, DISTURBED) and Torien, and was engineered by Ryan Greene (ALICE COOPER, LITA FORD, CHEAP TRICK, USHER). It was mastered by Anthony Focx (MILEY CYRUS, AEROSMITH, SANTANA, BUCKCHERRY).

"Working with the BULLETBOYS was an amazing experience," says Greene.

"Most singers from back in the '80's were pretty good, but I will tell you, Marq knocked it out of the park on this record. His power and passion was second to none and he can sing in tune! No Auto-Tune needed; he's the real freakin' deal.

"If you think for a second this is going to be some rehashed '80s record, you are completely wrong!" "Elefanté" track listing: 01. Rollover02. Tsunami03. Symphony04. The Villain05. Kin Folk06. Saving You From Me07. As Dumb As08. Superhuman Girl09. Drop Your Weapon10. Bitch Is Back11. Elefanté BULLETBOYS will embark on a three-month headlining tour this summer.

"Feel like I'm gonna jump out my skin," says Marq. "Can't wait to take this on the road with the fellas!! All year!!! Hell yeah!!! Let's do this!"

BULLETBOYS was one of the prominent bands in the flourishing Hollywood metal scene during the late 1980s, with numerous smash hits such as "Smooth Up In Ya", "For The Love Of Money" and "Hang On St. Christopher" off the group's platinum-selling classic self-titled debut and follow-up, "Freakshow", dominating both MTV and radio airwaves.

Christian hard rockers P.O.D. (PAYABLE ON DEATH) have set an August 21 release date for their new album, "The Awakening". The CD's first single will arrive later this month.

"We're excited about the new record," P.O.D. singer Sonny Sandoval told MikeJamesRockShow.com this past Saturday (May 10) in Plymouth, United Kingdom (see video below). "It's a conceptual record, so it's something different for us. It has a storyline to it. I mean, the songs… we love 'em. We had a chance to play a few new ones live."

"The Awakening" was recorded at a Los Angeles-area studio with P.O.D.'s longtime producer Howard Benson.

In a recent interview with Loudwire, Sandoval stated about the material for P.O.D.'s forthcoming album: "I'm digging it. We have a little something different. I can't really say now, but we're trying a different approach."

He continued: "I think what we've done, it's such a collection of songs that not everybody gets. Some bands sound like one song the whole album through. We've been all over the place, because we are punk, hardcore, rock 'n' roll, metal, reggae, and I think sometimes it might be too much diversity and kids are lost. It's too big of a buffet for them to go for and they want three chords sometimes. We're never going to do that."

Sandoval added: "We're putting something together that tells a story. Maybe it's just for us, maybe it's not for your average listener, but it's something we're having a lot of fun doing. We're excited."

P.O.D.'s last release was "SoCal Sessions", a collection of acoustic versions of some of the band's most popular songs. The CD came out last November.

A digital re-release of a special deluxe edition of P.O.D.'s latest studio album, "Murdered Love", was made available in October 2013. Highlights included two previously unreleased studio tracks, "Burn It Down" and "Find A Way" (recorded with Benson) and an acoustic version of the band's Top 5 hit "Beautiful". Additional tracks include an acoustic version of "West Coast Rock Steady", an alternate version of "On Fire" and "Lost In Forever (Scream)", plus various music videos and behind-the-scenes footage from the "Murdered Love" album cycle.

KISS takes center stage in the latest Scooby-Doo full-length animated film, Scooby-Doo And KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery, set for release by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 21st, 2015. The artwork for the Blu-Ray/DVD release can be viewed below:

KISS members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer voice their own characters in the movie, which centers on a Halloween concert at the group's amusement park KISS World. Scooby, Shaggy and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang drop by to hear some tunes but wind up partnering with the musicians to take on the Crimson Witch, a spooky lady with a nefarious plan to summon the evil and powerful Destroyer from the alternate dimension of KISSteria.

The cartoon mystery features six classic KISS numbers plus a new song by the band just for the film, which features guest voice stars Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Darius Rucker, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Jennifer Carpenter and Pauley Perrette.

This isn't the first time KISS and Scooby have shared screen time: The band also appeared on a 2003 Halloween episode of What's New, Scooby-Doo?

 

Towards the end of the 20th Century, heavy metal in The US seemed to be in a decline. Still there were countless bands across the country producing quality work. However due to the changing landscape by mainly the internet revolution; many of the bands of the 1990s would be lost despite all of their best DIY efforts. There was a new frontier being discovered and many did what they could to survive into the next millennium, but sadly they would disappear from what “underground” scene there was at the time. Now in recent years the metal community around the world is starting to look into this seemingly lost period in US metal history.

Little is known about this mysterious band that in the mid-'90s emerged on to the scene under the name Holy Moses and issued two self-released albums Latitude Zero ('95) and Rock N Roll Forever ('96) before changing their name to Killer Khan. They would go on to release the third album, Kill Devil Hills, in 1999 and re-release Rock N Roll Forever in 2001 under the new moniker.

BraveWords scribe Martin Popoff referred to Killer Khan as having, "a weird sound, a great sound, something like old Savatage crossed with Cathedral with a bunch of weirdo indie moves. It’s so cool that metal freaks like this exist and just crank the stuff."

After eight years of seeking out the band and the man known as Killer Khan (aka Killian Khan) Heaven And Hell Records have located him tucked away deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina. There he has been for more than a decade, quietly waiting for the right time to resurface onto the underground scene.

In June of this year a re-issue of the Killer Khan’s debut Kill Devil Hills is scheduled for release. The re-issue will include new artwork, bonus tracks, and will be re-mastered by Jamie King at The Basement Studios. This CD release will be limited to 500 copies. Check out the artwork and tracklisting:

"Computer Icon"
"Dr. Strangelove"
"Kill Devil Hills"
"Wicked Chimes Of The Southern Bells"
"Supersonic Masquerade"
"Evilution"
"The Alamo"
"Metal Death Star"
"Mt. Olympus"

Bonus Tracks
"Abomination"
"Aceman (Part II)"

Kill Devil Hills (re-issue) PRE-ORDER SPECIAL by KILLER KHAN

 

Reunited acclaimed 1990s rock band SAIGON KICK has parted ways with drummer Phil Varone.

Says Varone in a statement: "I have officially left SAIGON KICK effective immediately. I would like to thank all the fans for coming out to the shows over the last couple of years, it was fun to play for you. I wish nothing but the best to SAIGON KICK."

Adds the band: "We are bummed to announce that Phil has left SAIGON KICK. [There are] no hard feelings or even musical differences, just life moving on. That being said, we are thrilled to announce that the legendary Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani, Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Peter Frampton and more) will be joining us for the shows in Boca, Orlando and the Cathouse Live festival in L.A.

"We wish Phil nothing but success moving forward. Hope you guys understand and more importantly join us for whatever may be next!"

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, 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."

Metal Sickness conducted an interview with drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad of Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON on April 5 at Le Métaphone in Oignies, France. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether SATYRICON has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2013's "Satyricon":

"SATYRICON has made a lot of new material now. We have been jamming in our rehearsal place a lot for many months. We don't have any fully finished songs, but we have gotten pretty far with several compositions, and all of them have basically started as jams, or been jams around one or two particular themes that have been made on the guitar beforehand. And we present some of these themes on the shows, so I think it's quite obvious that SATYRICON are now focused on future projects, and that's gonna be a studio album and it's also gonna be a cover album. One will possibly be recorded late this year and the other early next year. And there will be, quite likely, two [SATYRICON] releases in 2016."

On SATYRICON debuting new material on the band's recent European headling tour:

"We are doing these small bits and pieces that we perform on the shows on this tour, showcasing material that will probably end up on the next album. Sometimes we jam parts of songs that we have been working on in the rehearsal place lately. We might even just impulsively jam something on stage whenever we feel like it; we have a spot reseved for that. And it could be that material that we improvise on stage at one of the shows might end up on the album. Who knows?! And that in itself shows a pretty different way of doing things. It's a pretty fresh idea to us, and I guess it's quite unconventional for a black metal band to do it, but this is really part of what SATYRICON is now about."

On SATYRICON's constantly evolving musical direction:

"I think that this is basically about feelings and atmospheres; it's about vibes and it's about an attitude. And the SATYRICON spark, that is always there, no matter whether we play material from [1994's] 'Dark Medieval Times' or [1996's] 'Nemesis Divina', or the last album, or even something totally new that still isn't recorded; we always carry the spirit. Some people will be very locked to styles and standards and convention, and they feel that, you know, if it has a hard rock vibe to it, like some of the new material has, or if it doesn't sound like this album or that album, they don't like it, and they have to be allowed to think that way. But we don't operate that way, and we have noticed that many people follow us on our creative and quite unconventional path, and I think that we need bands like SATYRICON that don't stick to formulas and continuously give the audience what you think the audience wants all the time. You have to challenge your listeners a little. Like the great bands of earlier times did that, we ourselves liked that way of working, and we want to operate that way. And we also feel that the good albums that are done are done. You can always listen to them again; we don't need to make second versions of them, because they will still be the versions. We ourselves need to be into what we do. We like to go forward, we like to seek new territory and to continuously improve and learn and make the band grow. And sometimes people follow that evolution. Some people will dislike it, and that's something you just have to deal with. We see, though, that most people actually seem to appreciate that creative spirit that we show, also as a live band. And that's something that makes us want to continue with what we do."

"The Woody Show", which airs on the Los Angeles radio station ALT 98.7 KYSR, conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich at the Rock In Rio USA festival on May 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about a possible release date for METALLICA's next studio album, Ulrich said: "Compared to the age of the earth and the age of man populating this wonderful planet, it is very close by. I wouldn't hold my breath or skip going to the bathroom, but it's coming."

It's been nearly seven years since METALLICA last released an album, and while the band is now writing material for its next studio effort, guitarist Kirk Hammett admitted to something that may have slowed down the process a bit. Hammett said on "The Jasta Show" podcast, "I put riffs on my iPhone, but something very unfortunate happened to me about six months ago. I lost my iPhone [containing] 250 musical ideas. And I was crushed. It didn't get backed up. And when it happened, I was bummed out for about two or three days."

Hammett added, "I lost [the phone]. I just plain lost it. I can't find it. I'm still looking for it to this day. I just set it somewhere and... It still might turn up. I'm hoping it will. To try to remember those riffs? I can only remember, like, eight of 'em. So I just chalked it down to maybe it just wasn't meant to be and I'll just move forward with it."

Asked what the new songs sound like, Hammett replied, "Let's just say that the stuff that's coming up is super riffy, super heavy… It's a lot similar to [2008's] 'Death Magnetic' but different in certain parts."

Hammett added, "There's a couple of songs that remind me of something on [1988's] '…And Justice For All', but the album doesn't sound like '…And Justice For All'."

METALLICA has not revealed when it plans to begin recording the new album.

METAL ALLEGIANCE — the all-star metal band consisting of a rotating cast of musicians, including members of MEGADETH, TESTAMENT — which debuted on MOTÖRHEAD's Motörboat cruise last year, and performed at this year's NAMM show and on the ShipRocked cruise, has signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The group's debut album will be released this fall.

Brought together by METAL ALLEGIANCE principal partner Mark Menghi, the project's original material came together from the creative minds of David Ellefson of MEGADETH, Mike Portnoy of THE WINERY DOGS, and Alex Skolnick from TESTAMENT, 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.

Nuclear Blast Entertainment president Monte Conner offered up his label as the home for METAL ALLEGIANCE after several meetings. Upon hearing the demos and seeing the list of performers, he felt it was something he wanted to be a part of.

"I am incredibly fortunate to be able to work with legendary musicians and personal heroes like David Ellefson, Alex Skolnick and Mike Portnoy, as well as METAL ALLEGIANCE founder Mark Menghi," he said. "These guys wrote an amazing and diverse record that is 100 percent pure metal, and lined up some killer guest vocalists and lead guitarists to bring it home in an epic, shredding fashion — just the leads on this record alone will blow people away!" he said. "Perhaps the coolest part of all is that unlike similar projects in the past that existed as studio-only creations, METAL ALLEGIANCE were a touring entity first and have now organically evolved into a studio band that makes albums. I am very grateful to these guys for choosing me and the Nuclear Blast team as the vehicle to bring their music to the metal masses."

Stemming from an initial idea in 2011, METAL ALLEGIANCE was born as a way to unite a collection of hard rock and heavy metal's most notable musicians in a setting born under one ideal, a love of music and performing. In 2015, that ideal still holds true and has become the foundation for everything METAL ALLEGIANCE; furthered with the release of the upcoming debut album. While the lineup may change, the passion, the energy and the emotion all remain the same. METAL ALLEGIANCE is more than just a record or a concert, it’s an experience and a lifestyle.

Previous participants in METAL ALLEGIANCE live events have included Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown (PANTERA); Joey Belladonna, Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian (ANTHRAX); Gary Holt, Kerry King and Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT); Troy Sanders (MASTODON); and Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA). These unforgettable events have also spawned surprise appearances by the likes of Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH), Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee (MOTÖHEAD), Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan (THE WINERY DOGS).

Portnoy recently told Loudwire about METAL ALLEGIANCE: "There's this misconception that it's my metal project, which it's not. This is something that I am working in equal collaboration with [Ellefson] and [Skolnick]. It's our project."

He added: "It's a great, great metal album that the three of us have written and recorded together, and we're gonna have lots of various other friends and special guests joining us on it. And more info to come, but, for me, it's a great, great metal outlet, because… Since I left DREAM THEATER, I've had prog bands and classic rock bands and alternative things, but I haven't had a true, true thrash metal-oriented outlet — other than the METAL ALLEGIANCE shows that I've done, but that's live. So, yeah, it's exciting for me."

Portnoy previously told MikePortnoyWarriors.com about METAL ALLEGIANCE: "For me, I'm getting to do the full-blown, double-bass shredding drumming that I've only been able to hint at with DREAM THEATER or with AVENGED or with ADRENALINE MOB. So now it's a full-blown album. And the whole album is not thrash. I mean, this album is really kind of the history of metal; there's moments that are early metal, like very [BLACK] SABBATH-esque, and then there's moments that are full-on mid-'80s thrash — EXODUS, SLAYER, early METALLICA, 'Kill 'Em All' METALLICA — so there's a good chunk that's very, very much like that. And then there's moments that get more into '90s type of ALICE IN CHAINS sort of stuff. So it's almost a good history-of-metal sort of album. But I definitely have gotten my metal chops in. It's been fun. It's been really, really cool. I can't wait for people to hear this album."

Regarding how he fits alongside other METAL ALLEGIANCE members, Portnoy said: "To me, METAL ALLEGIANCE is… it's the ultimate hang. And, for me, it's awesome, because I'm really the only guy on the roster that's not normally in a thrash or metal band; I come from a kind of different world. So, on the outside, it may look weird that I do this, but I've always been the biggest metal fan through and through. I grew up listening to the same stuff as all these guys — we all grew up listening to [BLACK] SABBATH and [JUDAS] PRIEST and [IRON] MAIDEN and KISS and AC/DC and MOTÖRHEAD — so I have the same musical background as these guys. And once all the guys in METAL ALLEGIANCE were coming up — in MEGADETH and SLAYER and PANTERA and ANTHRAX — I was coming up around the same time as well, just in a different genre. But these guys were always my friends; I was always hanging out with the ANTHRAX guys and the PANTERA guys… whatever. I felt a close kinship to all the guys in this thrash world, and they became my friends. So, with METAL ALLEGIANCE, for me, it's a natural thing to be involved with these guys. All these guys are great guys, great friends. We love jamming together, and the whole METAL ALLEGIANCE thing is just… You know, we're fans. When we're up on stage playing this stuff, we're as much fans as the people on the other side, in the audience. We're on the side of the stage headbanging and cheering everybody on and having a good time. So that's what it's about: it's just metal by metal guys who are still metal fans."

ASKING ALEXANDRIA has announced its first shows with the band's new singer, set to take place at the end of the month. The British act will play at Manchester Academy 3 on May 31 and at London Underworld on June 1. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday via Live Nation.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA is also scheduled to make a number of festival appearances this summer, including Rock For The People in the Czech Republic on June 4 and the Vans Warped Tour in North America beginning on June 23.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA has yet to announce a replacement for singer Danny Worsnop, who left the band earlier in the year to focus on his other group, WE ARE HARLOT.

An ASKING ALEXANDRIA spokesman tells TeamRock: "There is no plan to announce the new singer until the week of the shows."

Worsnop announced his departure from ASKING ALEXANDRIA on January 22, explaining in a statement: "Over the last eight years together, we've done some amazing things and created something truly special. I now, same as then, want what's best for the band and at this point in time, that isn't me. ASKING ALEXANDRIA will continue to tour throughout the year and will be working on a new album." Worsnop added, "I will always support and love ASKING ALEXANDRIA and cannot wait to see what the future holds for them."

ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce wrote at the band's Facebook page, "ASKING ALEXANDRIA will not be slowing down. We are going to tour harder than ever and we are going to write the greatest record of our career… This isn't the end, this is the start of a whole new chapter. This is where we come together and make history."

Worsnop admitted last year to Kerrang! magazine that his involvement with WE ARE HARLOT had caused some friction with the members of ASKING ALEXANDRIA, saying, "Back when it started, there were maybe concerns and stress and bitterness from the guys. But over time they've realized that it's not detrimental to ASKING in any way."

Kristyn Clark of Pop Culture Madness conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson at the fifth annual Monster Energy Carolina Rebellion, which took place May 2-3 at Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway just outside Charlotte, North Carolina. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about how the advent of the Internet has affected artists' ability to make a living from playing music, Wilton said: "I think for many bands, [the biggest change has] been people just downloading songs [illegally]. Publishing is suffering, so all the writers that write the music aren't really getting their deserved pay. And also on the Internet, they have these radio streaming sites that… You pay a very cheap subscription, right?! And what people don't realize is that the bands don't get paid… I mean, the pay is so small, you can't even buy a Starbucks coffee. But on the flipside, it's easier to advertise, it's easier to reach your fans around the world, it's easier to… I don't know… just grab a fragmented part of the industry and you can make it something viable, I think. But it's just more work."

Wilton also commented on the increased importance of touring for rock bands like QUEENSRŸCHE compared to how it was when the group first started out.

"Yeah, it's definitely happening," he said. "I mean, there's so many bands out in the summertime. And what that means is that the consumer only has so much money to spend on entertainment. So it's how you advertise and market your music to get them to come out and see you. Because, really, I mean, that's how bands are making money these days is touring. They're not making enough with the sale of CDs…"

Added Jackson: "You're seeing bands… Just what Michael was just saying that… The means of income nowadays for bands is touring. And you've noticed bands as far back from the '50s and '60s, '70s and '80s, they're all touring now to… That is what it takes to make a living now. Like Michael said, with all the free downloading, it affects bands' songwriters' publishing. But, yeah, I think that's the big difference."

Wilton also talked about QUEENSRŸCHE's upcoming studio album, which was recently recorded in part at Uberbeatz Studio in Washington with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, SOULFLY, SHADOWS FALL). He said: "In between the touring, we manage to put out recordings, and we have a new [album] that is almost finished. And we are going to, after today, go back and finish up all the overdubs and get it mixed, mastered and sent off to Century Media Records, our label."

Regarding the musical direction of the new QUEENSRŸCHE CD, Wilton said: "QUEENSRŸCHE's always been about evolving the music. We never wanna do the same thing. But what QUEENSRŸCHE does now is we respect our roots, you know, where we came from. So a lot of the music on the new album kind of… it has the flavor of, like, maybe the first six albums. And there's a lot of it. We've recorded well over an hour's worth of music, and we're talking with the record label and seeing what they wanna do. So we're really excited about this new recording, and I think QUEENSRŸCHE fans are just gonna eat it up."

On the topic of how the recording process has changed over the years, Jackson said: "Absolutely. Back in the day, you were recording on two-inch tape, reel-to-reels, cassettes. Now, with the advent of computers a few years back, it allows you to record onto a laptop or any computer, and that's been definitely an evolution. But it's the standard nowadays — anybody can record anywhere, whether in your car, to your garage… you know what I mean?! In the back of the bus… In fact, that's how we recorded this new album — on a laptop. All you need is the right recording equipment, and a lot of bands are doing this."

Ex-STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman Scott Weiland has once again spoken about his bizarre delivery of "Vasoline" at a show in Texas last month. He alluded to faulty equipment again, saying his ear monitors weren't working, and denying drugs as the cause.

In an interview with 3DotMag.com conducted at this year's edition of the Carolina Rebellion festival, Weiland slammed people who criticize him without having many of the facts, he said (see video below): "Just like that show the other night where I didn't have any in-ears, so I couldn't hear myself, and people were saying I was back on drugs, which is absolutely not the case. It's been thirteen years."

Discussing the coverage he's received in the media recently, Weiland told WXNR 99.5: "Unfortunately, that's the way it is with… you know, the media these days. They like to talk stuff without really knowing what's going on. You know, I've been off drugs for thirteen years and to hear people make references to that is very disheartening."

Weiland was harshly criticized following several performances on his current tour, with one review calling his performance "sluggish" and another stating flat-out that the vocalist "appears to have crashed and burned. Badly."

The fan-filmed April 28 video of "Vasoline" went viral, showing Weiland launching into a painfully out of tune and apathetic vocal performance that was called "unacceptable" and "heartbreaking" by fans on YouTube.

A rep for Weiland issued a statement explaining that Weiland was tired and had had a couple of drinks before the show, in addition to his earpiece audio issues.

Weiland and THE WILDABOUTS are on the road promoting his new album, "Blaster", which came out on March 31.

Cruz Del Sur Music released the debut album, Kingdom Of The Hammer King, from new epic power metal sensation Hammer King, on May 5th in North America. A full album stream can now be found below.

Hammer King represent the perfect, balanced heavy sound of the German power metal tradition, highlighted by the right dose of epic tones. The music moves around the figure of singer/guitarist/composer Titan Fox (Ross The Boss' singer). The lineup is completed by former Saltatio Mortis drummer Dolph A. Macallan, K.K. Basement on bass and Gino Wilde on guitar.  

Kingdom Of The Hammer King was recorded and produced at the Greywolf Studios by Powerwolf's own Charles Greywolf The cover artwork was created by German Artist Timo Würz who was able to capture with his art the essence and power of the band. The LP version includes a bonus track, "Leather Indians (Of Steel)".

 

 

Tracklisting:

“I) Kingdom Of The Hammer King”
“I Am The King”
“Aderlass; The Blood Of Sacrifice”
“Chancellor Of Glory”
“II) I Am The Hammer King”
“Blood Angels”
“Visions Of A Healed World”
“Figure In The Black”
“We Are The Hammer”
“III) Glory To The Hammer King”

Album stream:

Kingdom Of The Hammer King by HAMMER KING

“Kingdom Of The Hammer King” video:

 

Sweden has been a fertile ground for metal of all varieties for multiple decades, and there appears to be no sign that this will change anytime soon. The variety and quality of bands is staggering, and Metal Blade Records is prepared to help add The Great Discord to the list of one of Sweden's finest new groups. Duende will be available worldwide via Metal Blade Records on June 2nd in North America, June 1st in the UK / Europe, and May 29th in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

 

 

The band's cornerstone is with the enigmatic vocals of Fia Kempe. Her tone and delivery is immensely emotive and is augmented by a band whose sound is impossible to describe. It's technical, heavy, and yet not so much to overwhelm those not anointed in metal. What's important is that The Great Discord offer a truly unique twist on both metal and what is to be expected from a female-fronted band.

The uniqueness The Great Discord encapsulates is put on display in a series of video teasers from Duende. Today the fourth video teaser has been released. Watch all four teasers below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

“L'homme Mauves”:

"Eigengrau”:

The relationship between Kempe and drummer Aksel Holmgren has stood for many years, connecting on a deep personal level when it comes to music, though it was only when they came together to form The Great Discord in 2013 that their collaboration began. Sharing an interest in progressive music, they count the likes of Genesis and King Crimson as well as contemporary acts such as Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan among those who have inspired them.

While music pundits and critics will fall over themselves trying to label the unique and intriguing sounds contained within Duende the band are more interested in presenting their music to the world, with the hope of making a profound musical connection with the likeminded. Having been working toward the completion of the record for nearly two years the band have perhaps only just arrived at the beginning, and the ambitiousness of their music is further reflected in their goals. "We obviously want to take over the world," Kempe smiles. "We really believe in our vision, we really believe in the concept behind everything that we do. We want to entertain people. We want them to come to our shows and experience everything that we have visualized for this band, and we want them to relate to the emotion that we're putting into our songs, to be able to find something in The Great Discord that they cannot find anywhere else."

Pavement Entertainment is set to infect the globe this summer with the release of The Virus from Central New York's Caustic Method.

Caustic Method has spent a decade committed to filling the void in modern metal with raw unapologetic aggression and passion. The band's undying work ethic and bullshit-free brand of American metal has seen them share stages with the likes of Hatebreed, American Head Charge, OTEP and countless others. In late 2014, Caustic Method inked a deal with Pavement Entertainment for the release of The Virus. The infection spreads on June 2nd.

The official music video for the album's title track can be seen below.

Tracklisting:

“Virus”
“Left to Die Alone”
“The Lone Star Tragedy”
“Integrity Fail”
“S.D.V.”
“Six Feet”
“Which Way The River Runs”
“Fool Me Once”
“Bottle Of Scotch”
“Anti Hero”

“The Virus” video:

 
Caustic Method can be personified with one word - persistence. A spoken true, All-American-Metal vibe, with a gritty full meat and potatoes delivery and relentless in every way. A four piece band based out of NYS, They are fronted by vocalist Matt Caustic, Darin Scott on Guitar, Angel Rivera behind the drums, and Eric Maliszewski on bass rounds out this powerhouse quartet. This lineup has proved solid, hard hitting, and in your face heavy.

When the second helping is all you crave, then the true Virus takes over. Hear it, live it, become it, escape it. Lose yourself in everyone and everything. You are now the Caustic Method.

Tampa Bay-Florida-based rock/metal band, Circle II Circle, is proud to present their new drummer, Marcelo Moreira (Almah).

Says the band: “You’ve been waiting for it. We've been teasing you with hints for months. And now we could not be more excited to let you in on the secret. Our new drummer is none other than the Brazilian basher, Marcelo Moreira.”

Marcelo began studying the drums at the age of nine. He has devoted his life to music, developing his metal style with influence from Latin and African rhythms and playing with many bands and solo artists in Brazil and around the world. Marcelo brings his particular brand of percussive Brazilian fire to Circle II Circle in perfect synchronicity with their new, more aggressive metal sound on their upcoming seventh studio release this summer on earMUSIC/Edel Records.

Says Circle II Circle Vocalist Zak Stevens - "Longtime CIIC guitarist Bill Hudson introduced me to Marcelo last summer as we were wrapping up the songwriting for our new studio album. After a quick review of some of his work I was immediately blown away. I asked Marcelo if he would consider joining CIIC and he said he'd been a fan of ours for many years and he would love to come on board. Little did I know that with Marcelo joining us his playing was only a small part of what he brings to the band. He's a great businessman and an accomplished graphic designer just to mention a few of his many talents. He knows the music business top to bottom. To say that we are overwhelmed to have Marcelo in CIIC is a huge understatement."

Marcelo has toured intensively in Brazil with Russell Allen (Symphony X), Mike Terrana, Aquiles Priester (Primal Fear), Kiko Loureiro (Megadeth) and many others. He has performed in more than 250 music/percussion clinics as well as in Japan, South America and Europe.

You will be able to hear Marcelo’s madness on the Circle II Circle 2015/2016 World Tour in Europe, South America and the US, as well as on their upcoming release this summer.

Fusing aggressive hardcore with their self-branded "noisey street metal", Illinois-based quintet Villains has signed with Prosthetic Records. The group's second album, Freudian Slip, is out now digitally, with physical releases to follow in July.  

Self-described as the most heartfelt and definitive Villains release to date, Freudian Slip was originally self-released in November. Since then, the album has maintained a consistent presence on iTunes' Top Metal Albums chart. The group has supported the release by embarking on a coast-to-coast tour with fellow Illinois-based metallists Barrier that included a stop at Texas' annual South By So What?! festival. Previously, the band has been seen alongside such acts as The Browning, This Or The Apocalypse, Kingmaker, Demolisher, Structures, Betrayal, Counterparts, Gift Giver, Dark Sermon and Monuments, just to name a few.

Featuring striking artwork, as seen below, by Orie Mcginness (Enlighten Creative Studio), Freudian Slip is now available via iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Bandcamp. The album will be released worldwide on CD and make its debut on vinyl (standard-weight red and blue color variants) on July 10th. Pre-order packages, which include an exclusive t-shirt design, are available now at this location.

Freudian Slip tracklisting:

“Lost In Translation”
“Ugly”
“Rital(in)”
“Like Father__Like Son”
“Better Off Alone”
“Lonely Bastard”
“Bitterromantic Pt. 1”
“Bitterromantic Pt. 2”
“Grim Game”
“Better Off Dead”
“Freudian Slip”
“Ketamine”
“Alone”

“Ketamine” video:

(Photo - Andy Eclov)

French metallers, Dagoba, will release their new Logan Mader mixed album, Tales Of The Black Dawn, on June 22nd in France. A new lyric video for the album track “The Sunset Curse” can be found below.

 

 

Tales Of The Black Dawn tracklisting:

“Epilogue”
“The Sunset Curse”
“Half Damn Life”
“Eclipsed”
“Born Twice”
“The Loss”
“Sorcery”
“O, Inverted World”
“The Dawn”
“Morning Light”

“The Sunset Curse” lyric video:

Find the band’s live itinerary at this location.

German thrash metal outfit Perzonal War, featuring Matthias Zimmer (vocals), Andreas Ballnus (guitar), Björn Kluth (bass), and Martin Buchwalter (drums), will release their new studio album, The Last Sunset, on June 23rd via Metalville Records in North America. The album will be available in Europe on May 29th.

Self-produced at Gernhart Studio located in Troisdorf, Germany with drummer Martin Buchwalter at the controls [Buchwalter’s credits include working with and recording albums for Destruction, Suidakra, Tankard], The Last Sunset is the most versatile album of the band’s career. Beneath well known Perzonal War hooks and riffs, for which the band have been highly praised by the press, fans can expect the band exploring new sounds as well.

"When compared to previous Perzonal War releases The last Sunset goes a bit back to the roots”, says vocalist Matthias Zimmer. “We set out to create a good balance of heavy riffing and great melodies and took a more straight to the face approach rather than a technical one.”

Albums such as Different But The Same (2002) and Faces (2004) put the group on the map and displayed the big influence that influential band’s like Metallica had on the Perzonal War sound. Perzonal War have found their own ultimate mixture of staying true to their roots but still evolve and walk through life without blinders, and their fresh, modern style befit fans of In Flames, Soilwork, and Mercenary.

The Last Sunset tracklisting:

“Salvation”
“Speed Of Time”
“30 Years”
“Never Look Back”
“Metalizer”
“When Faith Has Gone Forever”
“What Would You Say”
“The Last Sunset”
“Times Of Hate”
“I See Nothing”

“Speed Of Time” lyric video:

(Photo - Nicole Volz)

Turku, Finland-based progressive metal act, Simulacrum, will release their new concept album, Sky Divided, through Inverse Records on August 28th.

An album seeking out the boundaries of the melodic and progressive universe, with new and refreshing ideas to the genre. Huge choruses and heavy riffing, underlined by big-laden atmospheric keys, finally topped with a strong and powerful voice.

The artwork is created by Jan Yrlund, who has worked with artists such as Manowar, Stratovarius and Sirenia, and the cover portrays the post-apocalyptic mood of the album's title track.

The album is a hefty 62-minutes long and the tracklisting is as follows:

“Timelapse”
“Behind The Belt Of Orion”
“Broken”
“Embrace The Animal Within”
“Deep In The Trenches”
“The Abomination”
“Sky Divided”
“Enter Hyperion”
“A New Beginning”

The "Deep In The Trenches" video was directed by Esa Jussila and the main character is played by P3 Boxing Team's professional boxer and six time Finnish champion Eemeli Katajisto.

 

MDD Records will release the upcoming debut album from Fall Of Carthage, the new project featuring well-known members from Suidakra and Perzonal War, entitled Behold. The album was recorded at Gernhart Studio (Destruction, Elvenking) and will be released on May 29th. The artwork is created by Bjorn Goofles/ Killustrations.

 

 

The band have released the official music video for "Dawn Of The Enemy". The video, as well as the previously posted behind the scenes teaser featuring impressions from the shoot on March 21st in Dusseldorf, can be seen below.

 

 

Behold tracklisting:

“Upon The Small Things”
“Degeneration”
“Dawn Of The Enemy”
“Imperfection”
“Home In A Wasteland”
“Menace To Myself”
“Necessitarianism”
“Means To Be Alive”
“Leave Them Behind”
“More Than Nothing”
“Behold”

“Dawn Of The Enemy” video:

Behind-the-scenes:

Album teaser:

 

Lincoln, UK-based metallers, Blood Youth, have launched their new video, for the sophomore single “Failure”.

Vocalist Kaya said of the track’s creation: “This is a very personal song for me because most of the lyrics are taken from notes I had written out on my phone, as a form of catharsis, and we only decided to use them as lyrics at the last minute, when we were in the studio.”

Discussing the meaning of the single, he comments: “Failure is about realising you have hit rock bottom and the need to start over. We all go through crap in our lives, this song is about getting out of it!”

 
The track is taken from forthcoming debut release, Inside My Head, a hard hitting offering of songs that snap and snarl at the heels of their collective anxieties. Recorded at Bandit Studios in Tetbury, UK with Jonny Renshaw (Devil Sold His Soul, The Elijah), the EP will see release June 22nd via Rude Records.
 

Swedish metallers Sabaton have launched their very own radio station in cooperation with Radio Bandit Sweden.

Sabaton states: “Its something we worked on for quite a while, and we feel really proud of it. It is a digital radio station which mainly will play Sabaton songs, but also bands who have played or will play at our festival Sabaton Open Air - Rockstad: Falun can be heard there, which ensures that the mix will be just great.

Here you can hear your favourite Sabaton songs 24/7, and also hear us talk about the songs in a way you never heard before. Both historical and fun facts combined with unknown stories from our tours. We talk Swedish, but you can listen from anywhere in the world.”

Tune in at this location.
 
Known for the boundless energy of their soul-soaring live performances saturated with fist-pumping anthems that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, Sabaton return to the western hemisphere next month as direct support to Finland-based symphonic metal storytellers Nightwish. Openers are Dutch symphonic metallers Delain.

Sabaton have also announced a new and very special kind of festival. So, there is the Sabaton Open Air/Rockstad:Falun festival in the band's hometown Falun, the Sabaton Cruise on the Baltic Sea and now there is also Sabaton Open Air/Noch ein Bier Fest in Germany.

For a long time, Sabaton have had the plans for doing a special and totally unique event in Germany and that will become reality now. In July they will organize Sabaton Open Air/Noch Ein Bier Fest, a headline concert where people will surely get a unique show. For this concert they have chosen the stunning Amphitheatre in Gelsenkirchen (famous from Rock Hard Festival) and as support on this show Sabaton will bring some bands they know that their fans have requested: their old touring colleagues in Powerwolf and Korpiklaani as well as their former bandmates Civil War.

 

 

Bassist Pär Sundström comments: “In 2008 we organized ‘One more beer party’ in Essen in Germany as a release party for Art Of War. Since then the idea has existed of doing something similar. Now, seven years later, all pieces have fallen into position and we are ready. There will be a lot of ‘Noch ein Bier’ that night!”

Find Sabaton's live itinerary at this location.

 

Rock Candy Records will reissue Vicious Rumors’ self-titled 1990 album on May 18.

A description of the album below:

“It’s well known that the San Francisco Bay Area produced many fine bands during the 1960s and ‘70s, but they were almost exclusively in a psychedelic or hippy-trippy folk style. However, by the 1980s the pendulum was swinging towards heavier rock acts, a scene led by the emergence of local thrash and power metal mavericks, including Metallica, Death Angel, Exodus and Testament. It was a surprising turn of events but one that provided a healthy, some might say insatiable, taste amongst a new breed of fans for fast and furious shredding.

“Vicious Rumors were amongst the pioneering acts of the Bay Area scene and, despite their uncompromising style, they also earned a well-deserved reputation as the thinking man's power-metal outfit. Never afraid to infuse their sound with intricate twists and turns, the musicianship indicated that they might have had more in common with progressive metal than pure thrash. Indeed, guitarist Mark McGee had actually been a member of pomp prog gods Starcastle for a brief moment in time. Progressing through two independent albums and gaining a solid following, they eventually signed a major deal with industry heavyweights Atlantic Records and cut this self-titled album in San Francisco. Issued in 1990, it is a record of extreme maturity, harnessing their power-metal onslaught with precision and force. Featuring killer tracks such as 'Don't Wait For Me', Ship Of Fools' and the title track itself, the album still impresses to this day.”

The reissue features fully remastered audio, 12 page full color booklet, new band interview, and enhanced artwork.

Vicious Rumors tracklisting:

“Don’t Wait For Me”
“World Church”
“On The Edge”
“Ship Of Fools”
“Can You Hear It”
“Down To The Temple”
“Hellraiser”
“Electric Twilight”
“Thrill Of The Hunt”
“Axe And Smash”

Bucharest, Romania-based dark metallers, Bloodway, have released a new live video featuring an arrangement made for the song “Walking Past Near the Lighthouse”, extracted from the new disc, Bloodway, which will be released in the fall.

Filming was done at the band’s show on Saturday, May 9th, 2015, at the club Question Mark, in Bucharest. The film by Andrei Ionut George and Miluta Flueras, while installation was conducted by Costin Chioreanu.

The show combined Bloodway, who’s philosophical moments Alan Watts signed with projections made with rearranged sequences from the film, On The Silver Globe, directed by Andrzej Zulawski. The film used to achieve these projections becomes a mirror that reflects defined Bloodway’s music and ideas. The time difference becomes invisible in these two perspectives coming from different worlds, but related to the same basis. Interplanetary movement unfolded in music created by Bloodway not involve any separation or spiritual concession. The music direction is directed to an opposite side of humanity that built phenomena left behind ruins injurious to mind and spirit.

 

Italian heavy metal outfit Nitehawks has inked a deal with Skol Records, the Polish label known from cooperation with acts such as Titan Force, Jag Panzer, Tygers Of Pan Tang and Savage Master. The band was formed earlier this year.

Their debut album titled Vendetta, will be released on September 30 and will be available as CD and limited edition LP.

Nitehawks deal in a style of heavy metal which mixes up energy of so called "New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal" acts, such as Enforcer and Striker, with classic song structures that were immortalized by '80s metal acts such as Accept, Running Wild and Judas Priest.

 

“Into The Wild”:

California heavy rockers HIGH ON FIRE will release their new album, "Luminiferous", on June 16via eOne Music. Recorded at Salem, Massachusetts' GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou, the CD is the follow-up to the group's 2012 release, "De Vermis Mysteriis", an album hailed as "not for the faint of heart " by The New Yorker and "a fantastically constructed bloodbath" by Entertainment Weekly.

The first new music from "Luminiferous", a song called "The Black Plot", can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, HIGH ON FIRE creates molten heavy metal that merges primal fury and aggression, blackened bombast and hall of fame heaviness. The group's seventh studio album, "Luminiferous" is a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume, delivering calculated catharsis as a volcano of revolving riffs and hailstorm of thundering drums combine to beam a blazing spotlight towards the future of modern metal music.

"We're doing our part to expose The Elite and the fingers they have in religion, media, governments and financial world downfall and their relationship to all of our extraterrestrial connections in the race to control this world," comments HIGH ON FIRE vocalist/guitarist Matt Pike. "Wake up, it's happening. All while we stare at a socially engineered lie we think of as normalcy. Unless we wake from the dream, there will come true doom."

"I'm really happy HIGH ON FIRE decided to come back to GodCity to do another album," states producer and CONVERGE guitarist Kurt Ballou. "Having been a fan of theirs since 'The Art Of Self Defense', the opportunity to collaborate with one of my favorite bands has truly been an honor."

"Luminiferous" track listing:

01. The Black Plot02. Carcosa 03. The Sunless Years04. Slave the Hive05. The Falconist06. Dark Side of the Compass07. The Cave08. Luminiferous09. The Lethal Chamber

HIGH ON FIRE will embark on the North American "Luminiferous" tour in late July, with support from PALLBEARER, LUCIFER and VENOMOUS MAXIMUS. Dates can be found on the poster below.

HIGH ON FIRE is Matt Pike (guitar, vocals), Des Kensel (drums) and Jeff Matz (bass).

Legendary guitarist Joe Satriani will release his 15th solo studio album, "Shockwave Supernova", on July 24, making him one of the first to utilize the new "Friday, Global Release Day" for music.

It would be easy to call "Shockwave Supernova" a "masterpiece" or "the last word on guitar" from the world's most commercially successful solo guitar performer. Satch, however, sees it much more personally. He has consistently advanced the artistry of the instrument; an effort he dedicated himself to on September 18, 1970, the day his idol Jimi Hendrix died. Recorded late last year at Skywalker Sound in Lucas Valley, California, "Shockwave Supernova" features the dynamic trio of world-class musicians who had recently been part of Satriani's global tour; renowned keyboardist and guitarist Mike Keneally, a veteran of several Satch outings and recordings; along with drumming whiz Marco Minnemann and bass extraordinaire Bryan Beller. "I couldn't have asked for a better band to help bring these songs to life," says Satriani. The album also sees Satriani once again joining forces co-producer and engineer John Cuniberti. Satch and Cuniberti share production on "Shockwave Supernova", as they have on numerous albums — their shared history dates back to the guitar star's 1986 debut album, "Not Of This Earth" and its follow- up, the platinum-selling, critically acclaimed "Surfing With The Alien". Minnemann and Beller handle the bulk of "Shockwave Supernova"'s rhythmic duties, with the exception of four cuts — the driving "Keep On Movin'", full of wondrous Satch guitar wizardry and Keneally's playful piano; "In My Pocket", a deliciously greasy, souped-up take on Swing; along with "Crazy Joey" (a deliriously effervescent romp); and "Scarborough Stomp" (a relentless upbeat rocker) — find Satriani joined by another powerhouse rhythm section: the esteemed drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (whose work includes the likes of Frank Zappa, Sting, Paul Simon, among others) and JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Chris Chaney (whose resume includes Alanis Morrisette, Celine Dion and Rob Zombie, to name a few). Recently, during the final performance of his two-year "Unstoppable Momentum" tour, Satriani had an epiphany; he found himself, "playing the guitar with my teeth an awful lot. I thought, 'Why are you doing this?' It's as if something else, or somebody else, was driving me to do it." Satriani seized upon this moment of self-realization as the springboard and creative center for his alter ego "Shockwave Supernova", the outlandish and extroverted "performance side" of the normally shy and reserved guitar virtuoso. With this new persona as partner, Satriani launched "Shockwave Supernova". In a creative and engaging alternative venture, Satriani, a lifelong science fiction fan, has reached out to the future, through the medium of animation. Finally recognizing the on-stage symmetry with his alter ego allowed Satriani to also take a risk on this particular style of storytelling. He says, "Guitarist Ned Evett and I have created an animated series called 'Crystal Planet'. The actual Crystal Planet is our very own Earth, set billions of years in the future. The hero of the show uses music generated by a unique electric guitar to travel through time while the show's characters struggle to preserve the future and past of humankind." More information on "Crystal Planet" and how and where fans will view the series will be coming shortly. Fans are now able to pre-order the new album with an exclusive signed poster only at Satriani.com. Joe will be selecting art for the poster from fan submitted art — check Joe's Facebook page for more details. The album is available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes and will also be available to order as 2-LP 120-gram vinyl.

"Shockwave Supernova" track listing: 01. Shockwave Supernova02. Lost In A Memory03. Crazy Joey04. In My Pocket05. On Peregrine Wings06. Cataclysmic07. San Francisco Blue08. Keep On Movin'09. All Of My Life10. A Phase I'm Going Through11. Scarborough Stomp12. Butterfly And Zebra13. If There Is No Heaven14. Stars Race Across The Sky15. Goodbye Supernova

Photo credit: Chapman Baehler