Los Angeles theatrical rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES will release their first-ever concert DVD, "Alive And Burning", on July 10. The cover artwork for the set was designed by the band's longtime friend and previous album cover illustrator, Richard Villa, and can be seen below.

"Alive And Burning" will feature footage of BLACK VEIL BRIDES' sold-out hometown show in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theater on November 1, 2014. The concert was part of the group's inaugural Halloweekend event as part of "The Black Mass" tour. The DVD was directed by Casey Tebo, known for his work on the acclaimed AEROSMITH documentary "Rock For The Rising Sun". BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest, self-titled album skyrocketed to No. 1 on the iTunes Rock Chart, No. 4 on the iTunes overall album chart, and to Top 10 on iTunes in over 20 countries when it was released. It debuted at No. 10 on The Billboard 200 album chart, giving BLACK VEIL BRIDES their second consecutive Top 10 album.

"Black Veil Brides" was helmed by producer Bob Rock, whose resume includes albums by METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE CULT and many others.

Torino, Italy-based rock/stoner/metal act, The Cyon Project, have released a live video for “Mr. Creosote”, recorded at Boom! 360° Art Fest. The track is featured on the band’s debut album, Tales Of Pain, out now via Pavement Entertainment. The album is distribuited by Sony-RED and PHD.

The cover for Tales Of Pain was designed by the Italian artist Masss Petrone: the cover album shows the representation of each song on the disc. Tales Of Pain was produced, recorded and mixed by the italian producer Salvatore Addeo, at the Aemme Recording Studios.

 

 

Tales Of Pain tracklisting:

"Joe"
"Cheesy Song"
"Mr. Creosote"
"Riot"
"Rulemaker"
"Phantom Limb"
"Isaac Foretold It"
"Average People"
"Rise Your Head"
"Sandglass"
"John Ryder"
"Englewood's Hotel"

"Mr. Creosote" video:

 

Finish rockers, Santa Cruz, have issued the video for the song "My Remedy”, from their second studio album, entitled Santa Cruz, out now via via Spinefarm Records. Check out the new clip below:

Amaranthe will make their triumphant return to North America this spring for a headline tour. Joining Amaranthe on this spring trek will be their labelmates, Santa Cruz.

 

 

Tour dates:

May
13 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
14 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
15 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
16 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero Theatre
17 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
20 - Joliet, IL - Mojoes
23 - Calgary, AB - Republik
24 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room
26 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
27 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
29 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater

June
2 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
3 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia

 

A short teaser for the forthcoming fifth album from Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE can be seen below. Tentatively due this summer, the CD was helmed by producer Colin Richardson (CARCASS, FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD) and producer/engineer Carl Bown.

Speaking about the band's mindset going into the songwriting process for the new CD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "What we really wanted to capture was the feeling of that excitement, that angst and that anger, that you finally get in that moment to let the world know who you are and what you want to say. Then, as the albums go on, and you get a bit older, that goes away. So we're like, 'Let's recapture that angst of that younger, feisty BULLET that we used to be,' and fucking reignite that fire. And we totally have. We've just been writing stuff, and if it's not cool, we've been filtering it out. We've cut, like, 10 songs. That's a lot of effort and time and shit put into those songs, but it didn't feel right, so we put them in the bin."

Asked about the slightly less aggressive musical direction of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, "Temper Temper", compared to some of the group's earlier efforts, Tuck said: "I think, for me, it was just about letting your fucking hair down a bit. It always felt like we were being channelled towards something like radio and massive shows, and stuff like that — which is great, because that's obviously what we want, but it was like a diluted version of what we were. I don't think it's a bad album at all. I just think our fanbase wanted something a bit more feisty. It basically comes down to that. So this time around, we're fucking giving it to them, tenfold."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently parted ways with bassist Jason James. The band said in a statement, "It is with regret that BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has to announce that Jay James is no longer a member of the band. Jay has been a part of this band for well over 12 years and part of our lives forever, and we're gonna miss him as much as we know you guys are too. We wanna wish him all the best and success with whatever he chooses to do next and will always be grateful for his contribution and sacrifices he made for this band." The group will announce a replacement for James "when we feel the time is right," adding, "Until then we're gonna be busy and focused recording our next record and making sure its the best album we've ever made."

Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio what is important to BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE when they're making a new record. "The big thing that we've learned is, like, you're not gonna please everyone all the time," he said. "As long as you do what you want to do and the band is happy and you feel you haven't given away your integrity, you know, I don't really care if people go, 'Oh, it's not metal enough, it's not heavy enough.' It's like, that's not what we are."

The band also wrote online that 2015 is "shaping up to be a massive year for us, with lots of exciting things going on behind the scenes which we'll be announcing as soon as we can."

"Temper Temper" came out in March of 2013. The band issued a brand new song called "Raising Hell" in November of that year, although it's not clear if that track will show up on the new album.

Jimmy Fallon was joined by TENACIOUS D frontman Jack Black on Monday's (May 4) "The Tonight Show" for an impressively accurate shot-for-shot recreation of EXTREME's "More Than Words" music video.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Black donned a wig that matched Gary Cherone's long, wavy locks — done up in a half-ponytail, just like in the original — and unbuttoned white pirate shirt, while Fallon brought Nuno Bettencourt's early-nineties look back to life with his smooth, stick-straight hair and buttoned-up-to-the-collar patterned shirt.

The original black-and-white video for "More Than Words" became an MTV staple and received one of pop's highest honors — being parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In June 1991, it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"We were trying to push ['More Than Words'] to the record company," Bettencourt told RollingStone.com. "We were on tour trying to call them and tell them, 'Listen, whenever we go to sing this song, we get drowned out by the audience. We're not telling you it's something special; they're telling us.' This was pre-'Unplugged'. And they were like, 'Where are we going to put this? Rock stations aren't going to play it, and it's too adult-contemporary. You guys aren't that.' And we just said, 'You've got to do it.' And we pushed and we went to the president of the label, and basically — I think I was in his office one day and I threatened to quit the band if he didn't at least give it a shot as a single. Later we got a call saying, 'All right, we're going in. We'll test it in a market.' They tested it in Denver, I believe. We're like, 'Great, it's never going to happen. They're just doing this to appease us so I don't quit the band.' Because I had a bit of a fit. So then our manager calls and goes, 'What the fuck you doing reaching out to the president of the label? You crazy?' And we got into a fight with him, so they at least did what they said what they were going to do. They tested it. And we're like, 'All right, we're going back to the studio.' It ends up being like No. 8 [on the station's call-in show] the first day. On a rock station, getting phones. So then the next day it's climbing; by the end of the week, it was No. 1 by Saturday. So they call us — the manager calls us — 'Don't get your hopes up. They still want to test it in one more place.' They still wouldn't believe it. So we were excited because I remember we went to MTV and we performed. They wanted us to perform on MTV with an audience, just about 30 or 40 people. And because of 'More Than Words', we said, 'We're a rock band. We don't want to just sit there and play the ballad,' because we asked them, 'Can we play some of the rock stuff acoustically?' Coincidentally. Not to say that we invented 'Unplugged', the show, but something happened format-wise because months later, almost a year later, the show popped up. Ironically enough, we were never asked back to play the actual show. Which was bizarre for us, because we actually had some unplugged stuff, purposely."

Regarding the original video, Cherone said: "We shot the video in the middle of a tour, I think. What we did musically, [directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris] got visually — black and white, no bells and whistles. The other guys were basically just hanging — we shut off the amps. So they got it. That was all them, to their credit. Turn off the noise. And the lighter was cute, and the dog. But I thought the visual did not take away from the music, and I think that's one of the reasons the video does not get old."

L.A. GUNS singer Phil Lewis joined GUNZO — the new band featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (ex-L.A. GUNS) and legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo (ex-QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE) — on stage on April 29 at Counts Vamp'd Rock Bar & Grill in Las Vegas, Nevada to perform the L.A. GUNS song "The Ballad Of Jayne". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

GUNZO's lineup is completed by singer Keith St. John (X-DRIVE, BURNING RAIN, MONTROSE, QUIET RIOT) and drummer Shane Fitzgibbon.

Tracii Guns in 2013 ruled out the possibility of a reunion with Phil Lewis and L.A. GUNS drummer Steve Riley. He said: "My heart's just not into it, man, you know. I was so young when we did that. Your tastes just change. And I played those songs for so many years. I just don't really see it happening. I don't know, really, why I would do it, you know what I mean? It's not like the band is big enough to have, like, a comeback where it would make some crazy financial sense or something like that. But musically, I think I've played those songs enough in my life."

Tracii started L.A. GUNS while still in high school in 1982. The original singer, Michael Jagosz, was replaced by Axl Rose. Signed to PolyGram in '87, the band's self-titled debut, with Phil Lewis replacing Rose, sold over a million copies, as did "Cocked and Loaded" (1989) and "Hollywood Vampires" (1991).

San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL will enter the studio on October 1 to begin recording their new album for an April 2016 release via Nuclear Blast.

Asked by Groovey of Groovey.TV what fans can expect from the follow-up to 2013's "The Dream Calls For Blood", DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar said (see video below): "It's gonna be DEATH ANGEL. In my personal opinion, I don't think we're gonna try to top ['The Dream Calls For Blood']. You can't recreate that moment in time. 'The Dream Calls For Blood' is 'The Dream Calls For Blood'. This next album we're writing… I mean, we've got some songs; [we're] four songs in. No lyrics yet, but… It's always gonna be heavy. The foundation of DEATH ANGEL is still there, but it's kind of hard to describe what direction we're going in until it's recorded, mixed and mastered. 'Cause the way DEATH ANGEL writes, we write a song, but it's always evolving — up until the point of recording. Even when it comes down to the mixing. It's just, like, 'Ah, let's change that up.'"

He continued: "'The Dream Calls For Blood', it's a great record. We're proud of it. And the next album, it's just gonna be DEATH ANGEL in our mindset today. I'm not gonna say, 'It's gonna be this,' and it ends up being a little different. Who knows what this album is gonna sound like? [But] it's gonna be good."

Asked if DEATH ANGEL has been writing any new material on the road, Ted said: "We've written some stuff on the road, and when we get back [home from the current tour], we're gonna write some more. Then we've got Europe in July and August, and we're gonna continue writing in Europe, on downtime and whatnot. 'Cause there's a lot of time on the road; plenty of hours go by, like right now. And then when we get home after Europe, in August, we're gonna spend a couple of weeks off, then all of September is honing in and doing pre-production, writing a little more and just fixing the loose ends."

Aguilar also revealed that DEATH ANGEL's long-awaited "Thrashumentary" DVD has finally been completed and will be made available at the end of the summer. He said: "We're just waiting on a release date from Nuclear Blast. Everything's handed in — the masters and the artwork. We're just waiting on Nuclear Blast to go, 'All right, here's the release date, so we can announce it to the whole world.' And accompanying that DVD is a live audio that was recorded [in] San Francisco. So it's a live audio CD, which sounds really cool. So that's gonna get released. We're shooting around July or August."

According to a press release, "Thrashumentary" is a combination live video and documentary, all wrapped up in one thrashing DVD. The footage was directed by Tommy Jones (SOILWORK, KATAKLYSM) and mixed by Chris Clancy of The Studio. The film gives the viewer an in-depth look into one of the longest-running thrash acts out of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for turning out historic thrash bands such as METALLICA, TESTAMENT and EXODUS.

With the band surviving a span of more than 30 years of activity, and nearly three decades since the release of the classic album "The Ultra-Violence", now was the time to tell the story. Filmed on the "Relentless Retribution" world tour, the film shows the bands energetic live performance, cut with documentary-style interview footage. "Fly-on-the-wall" filming of the band talking about their career and footage of the band on the road, give the viewer a personal connection to what is known as the mighty DEATH ANGEL.

DEATH ANGEL's seventh album, "The Dream Calls For Blood", sold 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 72 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER), and once again features cover art by Brent Elliot White (JOB FOR A COWBOY, CARNIFEX, WHITECHAPEL).

With the release of Reflection just yesterday, Cave Of Swimmers have released a brand new music video for lead single, “The Prince Of The Power Of The Air”. The clip was shot and directed by Orlando based artist Maz Armageddon.

With a sound that seamlessly weaves through multiple genres including heavy metal, 70's hard rock, doom, stoner, sludge, Cave Of Swimmers are a band on the rise and a band to watch. The Miami duo have also caught the attention of a certain ex-member of Metallica, Jason Newsted, who said, "As musicians, COS are top-notch, naturally gifted players... As a band, they could go toe to toe with any of the decent up and coming bands that are currently performing live at popular European festivals. As a collection of sounds and songs in the heavy vein, orchestrated & performed by two people (live or in studio); Cave Of Swimmers are truly unique in their creativity & execution, and... Their name can now be shouted and screamed in the same breath as Royal Blood & Deap Vally!!! Cave Of Swimmers warrant a new sound classification... if there is to be one; PROAGGRESSIVE MUSIC!!!"

Vocalist & Guitarist G.E. Perez commented on the band's influences, "As individuals, it may sound clichéd, but our influences are certainly very eclectic. Toro plays in jazz groups, I play Flamenco guitar... I also have a whole new appreciation for the piano. I love Jaco and Wes too. Having said that, when we come together in a room, what comes out is what we listened to when we were in school, which is rock n’ roll. We also love 80’s and early 90’s merengue. As far as bands; everything... all the usual suspects, from AC/DC to ZZ Top."

Drummer Toro adds, "We obviously listen to a lot of different types of music. The fact we grew up in South America sets us apart in a good way because we were exposed to Latin music. Right about when G and I started playing rock and metal we also played salsa in a school ensemble. We were only 16 and we got to play all over town. As we grew musically we started exploring other instruments and jazz, classical, American folk music... You name it. When we get together in a room our most primal instinct is to play heavy music, however, we can't deny our mixed background of eclectic influences."
Recorded at Weeks Recording Studio in Coral Gables and Crossbridge Studio in Pinecrest, Florida, all the music for Reflection was tracked in a mere four days!

Artwork was completed by Bryan Olson.

 

 

Reflection tracklisting:

“The Prince Of The Power Of The Air”
“The Skull”
“Still Running”
“Reflection” (Instrumental)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has filed a federal lawsuit (PDF file) on behalf of James Evans, the Muhlenberg County man previously arrested and charged with making threats online for posting song lyrics from the heavy metal band EXODUS.

In 2014, Evans posted on his Facebook page lyrics from an EXODUS song ("Class Dismissed [A Hate Primer]") written about the Virginia Tech school shooting. Because of the school-related content, local law enforcement officials launched an investigation. In doing so, law enforcement officials learned the post consisted of song lyrics and that Evans had, in the past, posted lyrics from other songs online. And they questioned Evans, who fully cooperated with their investigation.

Nevertheless, a Muhlenberg County Police officer sought and obtained a warrant for Evans' arrest. But the affidavit submitted for the warrant mentioned nothing about the investigation or the facts that were uncovered. The ACLU represented Evans in the criminal case which was ultimately dismissed, but not before Evans spent several days in custody for simply posting the lyrics online.

In explaining the ACLU's decision to file suit on Evans's behalf, ACLU of Kentucky cooperating attorney Brenda Popplewell stated: "This case is not only about Mr. Evans' right to engage in non-threatening speech online, but also his right to be free from unlawful police tactics in securing his arrest and prosecution for a crime he did not commit." She added, "We look forward to representing Mr. Evans in this case, and we hope that by doing so we will not only vindicate his rights but help ensure that others' rights are protected in the future."

In an interview with Full Metal Jackie, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt stated about Evans's arrest: "It goes to show you that we live in a very paranoid society, and in a lot of ways rightly so, because of so many tragedies — non-stop shootings and such. But my problem with James Evans being arrested primarily lies in the fact that it would've taken, like, 20 minutes of research to realize that this guy was not a threat. He wasn't a depressed 17-year-old posting diatribe after diatribe on Facebook about how bad he hates his school and hates his classmates and then the posted lyrics, and I'd see it. He's a 30-year-old man, and I bet if you searched his Facebook page, you'd find nothing but other metal references and typical Facebook stuff. It does show you that the written word can be frightening to some."

Evans posted the following on Facebook on August 24, 2014: "Student bodies lying dead in the halls, a blood splattered treatise of hate. Class dismissed is my hypothesis, gun fire ends in debate."

According to 14News.com, multiple agencies received calls concerned about the post, resulting in Evans' arrest.

The warrant said Evans was arrested because, "he threatened to kill students and or staff at school."

Evans was placed in the Muhlenberg County Detention Center for eight days before being released on September 3, 2014.

According to Billboard.com, local police officers showed up the day of Evans' original Facebook posting at his house in Central City, where they asked him if he planned on harming anyone. "I assumed the conversation got resolved," said Evans. The next day, the officers returned to his house while Evans was at work, asking his wife what kind of car he drove and if he was in possession of any weapons.

"They informed her that I may or not be charged," he said. "They said they were going to talk to me at work, but they never showed up. I didn't think it was that big of a deal." The following morning, officers showed up at his workplace and issued Evans a warrant for his arrest.

"They never even cuffed me, just put me in the back of the car," he said. "They knew I wasn't dangerous. They were kind of shocked, too, because they thought it had been resolved. They just had to serve it because it was in their jurisdiction."

EXODUS subsequently issued a statement, saying, "EXODUS does not promote or condone terrorists, threats or bullying." Holt continued, "James Evans was simply posting lyrics to a band he likes on Facebook, and he was locked up for it. The song 'Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)' was written as a view through the eyes of a madman and in no way endorses that kind of fucked up behavior.

"It was the Virginia Tech massacre perpetrated by Seung-Hui Cho that was the subject and inspiration to write the song, one in which we put the brakes on playing it live after the Sandy Hook shooting, as we did not want to seem insensitive... When we start to overreact to things like lyrics by any band, including EXODUS, and start arresting people, we are caving in to paranoia and are well on our way to becoming an Orwellian society."

All charges against James Evans were dismissed after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky took his defense, presenting the case as a First Amendment issue.

"The First Amendment exists to protect people from government censorship of unpopular, but otherwise lawful, speech. And there is no greater threat to our ability to exercise that right than to be thrown in jail for doing so," said ACLU's executive director Michael Aldridge in a statement.

Swedish singer Mats Levén (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, CANDLEMASS, TREAT, THERION, KRUX) is collaborating with the Slovakian alternative metal band TRISTANA. The new project, calling itself TRISTANA FEAT. MATS LEVÉN, will make festival appearances this summer.

Levén began his career in 1986 in the bands SWEDISH EROTICA and TREAT. In 1997 came his first worldwide success as Mats teamed up with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, recording the album "Facing The Animal" and doing a promotional tour. In 2002, he joined the doom metal project KRUX and German power metallers AT VANCE. Around the end of 2003, symphonic metal band THERION asked Levén to join them for the recording of their albums "Lemuria" and "Sirius B". In 2007, THERION released "Gothic Kabbalah" and recorded backing vocals for APOCALYPTICA's album "Worlds Collide". Currently, Mats is the lead singer of CANDLEMASS and collaborates with OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. Mats sang most of the songs on Gus's "I Am The Fire" album and has toured with Gus in Europe.

TRISTANA's third album, "Virtual Crime", is described in a press release as a mixture of "modern alternative metal," "atmospheric hard 'n' heavy' passages" and "groovy death metal growls and electronic keyboards. Their debut CD, "Back To The Future", was released in 2003.

Said TRISTANA vocalist Peter Wilsen: "Mats is a great singer. I saw him first time on Malmsteen's live DVD 'Double Live!' from 1998. I was a teenager and I started to sing in the first band. I cant believed how powerful he sang high tones and how easy managed it. His voice is very characteristic and this is very important for good singers."

TRISTANA FEAT. MATS LEVÉN will play songs from "Virtual Crime". Mats will take over clean singing parts and Peter Wilsen will do the growls.

Later this year, TRISTANA will record a new song and music video with Mats.

Guitarist Jim Root, who was dismissed from STONE SOUR in late 2013 after he decided to sit out the group's last tour in order to begin working on the new SLIPKNOT album, told The Des Moines Register that the firing made things awkward for him and singer Corey Taylor, who's also a member of both bands.

"When you're sort of blindsided by something like that, it kind of makes you wonder what the motivations or intentions are, or why it has to be like that, when really all that needs to happen is a SLIPKNOT record, then we could go back to business as usual later," Root said.

"For whatever reason, it happened and it sort of lit a fire under my ass to realize that it doesn't really matter who you are or what your role is in any particular thing that you do. You always have to be on top of your game, because you never know what is going to happen. It definitely made me want to put my nose to the grindstone and hone my skills a little more. When something like that happens, it's like getting dumped."

STONE SOUR recently named guitarist Christian Martucci as the permanent replacement for Root. Martucci was recruited to play on the band's early 2014 tour tour and was confirmed as a permanent member this past March in a Facebook post. Root did not speak kindly of STONE SOUR in interviews after he was fired, saying, "Some of the guys in STONE SOUR, I think they just want to be a radio band and write strictly for radio and try to be more of a poppy rock band. And that's not really what I'm into. There's at least one guy in the band that's only concerned about money. I really have no desire to associate with people like that anymore."

Root played on all five STONE SOUR studio records to date, including 2010's "Audio Secrecy" and the double concept album "House Of Gold & Bones".

SLIPKNOT is on tour now in support of its fifth album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which came out last October.

On April 18, STONE SOUR released "Meanwhile In Burbank…", a five-song "Record Store Day" exclusive EP featuring covers of songs by BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, KISS, ALICE IN CHAINS and JUDAS PRIEST.

Former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has broken his silence over his latest exit from the group, saying he is "very disappointed" over the breakdown of his relationship with his bandmates.

Rudd last month pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening to kill a former employee after his first solo effort, "Head Job", flopped. It was a month later that he called an associate and asked him to "take out" Rudd's personal assistant, who Rudd then called himself and said, "I'm going to come over and kill you."

Rudd offered the associate $200,000, a motorbike and the choice of one of his cars or a house as payment for the hit, which the associate turned down.

After his initial call to his assistant, Rudd made several more but the assistant hung up each time. Prosecutors said that the assistant "was genuinely fearful of his safety."

When police later raided Rudd's waterside home in the New Zealand town of Tauranga, they spoke with him in his lounge. At one point he picked up a container from the coffee table and put it on the floor. Later testing of the container found cannabis crumbs.

When police searched his jeans, they found a similar bag of methamphetamine. There were more drugs in the bedroom and stashed in the hallway cupboard.

"I was pretty stressed at the time," Rudd told Australia's "A Current Affair" (see video report here).

"I got back here and the people who I had working for me for this [album] launch — it was a total fucking disaster. So I was really pissed off."

In an interview with USA Today last fall, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young stated about Rudd: "Phil created his own situation. It's a hard thing to say about the guy. He's a great drummer, and he's done a lot of stuff for us. But he seems to have let himself go. He's not the Phil we've known from the past."

Speaking about his relationship with his bandmates, Rudd told "A Current Affair": "I wrote them a letter, I tried to get in contact with Angus... I've had no contact with anybody.

"I'm very disappointed ... But, you know, that's life."

Drummer Chris Slade rejoined AC/DC in February for its performance at the Grammy Awards and will play on its world tour as a replacement for Rudd.

"I'm sure they're having a great old time," Rudd told "A Current Affair". "I'm sure they're really enjoying playing. I'm sure it really sounds great.

"There'll be another tour and another and I'll be on it," he said. "It'll go until we all die. We'll probably all have to be dead before it stops."

He added: "I've seen the errors of my ways... It's onward and upward from here."

Rudd also pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge. A second charge of threatening to kill was dropped. Rudd could face up to seven years in prison for the threatening to kill charge. He is currently out on bail until his sentencing hearing on June 26.

Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing has has posted the following message in the "blog" section of his Steel Mill web site:

"In 1984, PRIEST 'Defenders Of The Faith' tour sold out Madison Square Garden! Now that was what you call a memorable gig, exuberant fans decided to fill the stage with foam cushions from their seats. It was crazy, but full-on metal. In the end of the night, [the stage] was completely two to three cushions deep, making it impossible for us to walk on as it became like one big trampoline. However, it was great fun. I remember how we laughed so much, it was difficult to continue to play, but, of course, we did!

"The result of this amazingly unusual gig was a ban for life from the venue, but we did not care, as it was truly a night to remember.

"I think that you may all agree that the 'Defenders' stage set was possibly the most metal of all PRIEST sets and also the most synonymous with both PRIEST and with metal!

"It was a tough task to follow the success of 'Screaming For Vengeance', but I think it is testimony to PRIEST that there was no conscious effort to write single-orientated songs for 'Defenders'. In fact, we never did that. If a song became popular for radio, it was just what happened. As the title and song says, 'we are defenders of the (metal) faith' and very proud of it.

"The opening two tracks on this album, for me, are seriously the way to open a metal album; 'Freewheel Burning' and 'Jawbreaker' are a combination that for me is hard to get tired of. It was also great to play most of this album on the tour, which, I guess, also pays tribute to the album, as it is always difficult to present new material live. It is usual to allow a record to be well digested and to see what tracks become favourites before risking putting too many songs in the set list. For example, in 1990, I think we put five songs in the set list from 'Painkiller', but after a week or so on tour, we dropped tree songs. Such was the demand for our established songs. Now I guess PRIEST would be well received if the whole 'Painkiller' album was played. Now there's a thought?

"I must say a big thank you to [producer] Tom Allom and [engineer] Mark Dodson for their part in 'Defenders' as they too are real defenders of the faith."

Downing, who is a founding member of the British heavy metal legends and was part of the group since 1969, announced his retirement from PRIEST in April 2011. He has since been replaced by Richie Faulkner, most recently guitarist in the backing band for Lauren Harris (daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris).

Speaking about his decision to leave PRIEST, Downing told DigitalJournal.com: "I felt that a lot of the spark wasn't there — for whatever reason — anymore on stage. I felt that I had it, but I felt it wasn't what I originally signed up for...

"I always thought that JUDAS PRIEST should have been a high-energy outfit and ultra-sharp, but I wasn't enjoying it as much on stage as I should have been.

"All that travelling and living out of a suitcase and spending so much time in planes, vans, cars and trains, you have to really enjoy the concerts. You have to musically get on a high and that carries you through, but if you're not enjoying it like you should, then it becomes a lot of hard work because you've still got to do the interviews and be pushed and pulled around the place."

Asked if he has ever regretted his decision to leave, Downing said: "I don't regret leaving, because, to me, I thought that it had run its course. I miss what we had, but I don't particularly miss what we had become when I left… You can look at YouTube and see JUDAS PRIEST playing at the US Festival, or at Live Aid, and I miss being at the pinnacle of the band. I miss that energy and youthfulness and just delivering all of that up.

"You become a certain age and I think that I would have been happy if, as I said, I was enjoying the shows. There's disagreements with how things should be done and I thought if I'm outnumbered, then it's time to go...

"But I suppose we did fantastically well. I mean 40 years is great and I commend the guys for going back out. I was just watching a bit of their first concert of the [fall 2014] tour in Rochester, New York, and it was great. Band sounded good and I'm happy that they continue.

"I sent an email saying 'good luck with the new tour, guys' to the management office. I do wish them well and I commend them highly for being out there and carrying on the legacy."

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton recently said that there were no plans for Downing to rejoin the band on the road anytime soon, despite Internet chatter to the contrary. Asked by New York radio personality and VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk if there was any truth to the rumor that Downing was at one point going to contribute to the songwriting process for the band's new album, "Redeemer Of Souls", and possibly play some shows with the group alongside his replacement, Faulkner, Tipton said: "There's no plans for that. Ken didn't get involved in the writing of the album and there are no plans for him to join us on tour."

He continued: "I mean, Ken was quite honest when he left. He made it clear to us that he wanted limited conection with us because he didn't wanna try and get us to talk him into going back into the band. And we honored his request, really."

Added Halford: "That's the way the social media works. People think if they read something on the Internet, it's true. [laughs] 'Well, it's on the Internet. I mean, it's on the Internet.' It's just one of these unfortunate rumors that kind of put things into people's minds."

Downing in 2011 shot down as "inaccurate" reports that he left JUDAS PRIEST because he chose to concentrate on running the 18- and nine-hole golf courses on his property.

Canadian progressive metal band, Auras, have released their new EP, Crestfallen, via Entertainment One Music / Good Fight Music in the US and Distort Inc. / Fontana North in Canada. The track “Boundless” can be heard streaming below.

The new EP is the band's follow-up to Panacea, which was released in 2013 and is available for streaming on their official Bandcamp. A stand-alone single title "Adverse Condition”, released just a few months later, is also available.

Hailing from Cambridge, Ontario, Auras is comprised of four friends bound by groove, and centered by a constant pulse. Specializing in adrenaline-clenching polymetric melodies and breakdowns heavier than your average cement truck.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Thrown”
“Terrene”
“Inordinate”
“Adverse Condition”
“Boundless”

“Boundless”:

Teaser:

View all tour dates here.

 

 

Auras is:

Josh Ligaya - Guitar/Vocals
Aaron Hallman - Guitar
Nathan Bulla - Drums
Eric Almeida - Vocals

Drew Cook, the talented guitarist for Oakland-based Dimesland and Wild Hunt, has tragically passed away in recent days. Drew Cook is remembered by the Bay Area music scene and thrill-seeking metal explorers worldwide for his unstoppably tight, technical, unique guitar skills, and is cherished by his friends and family as a greatly loving person.

Nolan Cook, the other half of the dual-guitar tandem of Dimesland has issued the following on the loss of his brother, bandmate and best friend:

"We are saddened to announce the untimely passing of Oakland musician extraordinaire, Drew Cook, of the bands DIMESLAND and WILD HUNT. Drew was a special guitarist and a wonderful individual who will be deeply missed by the Bay Area music scene and by the many who were fortunate enough to have collaborated with or otherwise known him. We have lost an incredibly kind, funny, and talented human being."

The passing of Drew has placed all of his current acts on hiatus until further notice.

The most recent and easily most volatile example of Cook's assassin-like guitar wizardry can be heard on Dimesland’s scorching debut album, Psychogenic Atrophy, independently released by the band last year. With forty minutes of riveting and forward-thinking metal, elementally comparable to Voivod, Gorguts, Loincloth, Deathspell Omega and Portal, Psychogenic Atrophy was recorded in full analog courtesy of Justin Weis at Trakworx in South San Francisco (Ludicra, Cormorant, Slough Feg).

 

 

Upon its release, the sci-fi/avant thrash album caught the attention of the international media with rave reviews of the album, as the band left fans throughout the West Coast drop-jawed with their energetic live performances.

Psychogenic Atrophy by Dimesland

 

San Francisco Bay Area-based progressive metallers The Element, have announced that the new album, From Sand - Pt II, will be mixed by legendary producer and recording engineer, Jens Bogren (Symphony X, Opeth, Kreator, etc) and mastered by Tony Lindgren (Paradise Lost, Katatonia) at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden.

 

 

The recording sessions are well underway and the mixing/mastering process will start by the end of June. Marco Bicca(LoNero, Sigma Project) and Mitch Stewart (Circle II Circle, Steelheart) have finished drums and bass respectively. Rafael Macedo, vocals/guitars, and Jeremy Villucci, keyboards are in the studio right now. Once again, Rafael Macedo will be in charge of the recordings and the production of it.

Here it is a sneak peek of the drum recording sessions:

From Sand - Pt II is a concept album, and will be the conclusion of The Element’s latest release From Sand - Pt I. The group will be releasing two singles titled “Natural” and “Dusk”, before the full album is out. The full length record is scheduled for release at the end of 2015. Label, artwork and tracklisting to be announced soon.

Although the new work is absolutely connected with the previous album, From Sand - Pt II will be heavier and with larger number of tracks compared with its predecessor. The final product should have something around the ballpark of 12 or 13 tracks.

 

 

Rafael Macedo says: “To say that we are excited about the new album is an understatement! It is great honour to work with Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren. Jens has mixed so many of my favorite records, so it was a no brainer when we were discussing who should mix the new work. His ability to create a unique and huge sound for each different band he works is truly impressive. Musically speaking, it is a very intense album, much heavier than the first one, and I believe some people will be surprised in a good way!”

Jeremy Villucci says: "It's always really cool to work with people you hold deep respect for. You can take a product you're passionate about and trust that it'll be handled in your vision. It makes the whole artistic process more fun and lets you participate as an audience member; waiting to hear the mix of a good producer is like being a kid and waiting up all night for Santa. And with the new material we're going to be working with, I'm positive that Santa will be bringing his 'claws’.”

Mitch Stewart says: "This music is our most intense and brilliantly written stuff to date! Rafa always amazes me with his style of composing and choice of direction and riffs. And when we write together, it is  truly a fun time and a great feeling to hear the end result. I am excited to be sharing this with the world soon!"

Marco Bicca says: "I was very excited with these new songs when we were at the recording process a couple of months ago but now I am also honored to have them being mixed by the great Jens Bogren from Fascination Studios. He has done most of my favorite artists and albums through these years and I cannot wait to see the results. I am sure he will do justice to all songs so , stay tuned when they come out!"

Canada’s Diemonds have announced the release of their new album, Never Wanna Die, available August 14th. The hard rock outfit locked themselves in the studio with Juno award winning producer Eric Ratz (Monster Truck, Billy Talent) to meticulously craft the follow-up to their debut record, The Bad Pack.

"Working with Eric Ratz was a rad experience for us. We've never had the chance to work with a producer and he definitely helped us find the best way to showcase our new songs. We've come a long way since the last record, so we can't wait to get this album out there!" - C.C. Diemond

The band has most recently licensed a deal with Entertainment One (eOne Music Canada) through Underground Operations for Canadian release and is amped to get back to doing what they do best, hitting the road. They will kick off this cycle by premiering numerous tracks at their Canadian Music Week headline show, Midnight Friday, May 8th at The Hideout, 484 Queen W, Toronto ON. Album pre-sale info is coming soon.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Never Wanna Die”
“Hell Is Full”
“Over It”
“Ain’t That Kinda Girl”
“Secret”
“Better Off Dead”
“Forever Untamed”
“Wild At Heart”
“Meet Your Maker”
“Save Your Life”

 

 

Ohio-based hardcore/metal outfit Enabler will be releasing a limited edition 7"/digital single, titled “By Demons Denied”. Available on June 2nd, the single will contain an extended version of "By Demons Denied" that will be appear on their upcoming Century Media debut full-length, Fail To Feel Safe, along with two exclusive b-sides, "The Flame" and "Some Things Are Worth Living For". Artwork for the single was done by Christopher Smith and can be seen below.

 

 

Pre-orders for the single can be found at Enabler’s official merch store, here.

The band is set to hit the road with Meek Is Murder in North America, plus appear at this year's Temples Fest in the United Kingdom. See below for all dates.

May
28 - London, UK - Camden Unicorn (with Leng Tch’e)
29 - Bristol, UK - Motion (Temples Fest)

June (with Meek Is Murder)
1 - Torrington, CT - Snapper Magee's
2 - Providence, RI - Dusk
3 - Allston, MA - O'Briens
4 - Quebec City, QC - La Source Martinière
5 - Montreal, QC - Turbo Haus
6 - Ottawa, ON - 612 Gladstone
7 - Toronto, ON - Coalition
8 - Detroit, MI - The Sanctuary
9 - Madison, WI - Dragonfly Lounge
10 - Chicago, IL - Livewire
11 - Columbus, OH - Spacebar
12 - Richmond, VA - Gallery 5
13 - Rockaway, NJ - Backroom Studios
14 - Brooklyn, NY - The Acheron

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx says that his other band, SIXX: A.M., is its own entity and not an attempt to recycle elements of the CRÜE in order to appeal to an already established fan base.

"I think they're totally separate — I really compartmentalize the two," Sixx tells RiffYou.com. "What's important to me is to never do anything I already did in MÖTLEY CRÜE, because I cherish that music, those times and those band members. So, I never want to try and replicate that."

He continues: "A lot of times, I see people try and do 'the next thing' and it's just kind of the same as the other. [If that were me] I'd think, 'Well, why not just do MÖTLEY CRÜE?' But why would I do another version of MÖTLEY CRÜE? SIXX: A.M. is completely different musically, spiritually, emotionally, visually…and that gives me pride. The people who are coming to see us, are coming to see SIXX: A.M. We don't play MÖTLEY CRÜE music and we never will play MÖTLEY CRÜE music. The day MÖTLEY CRÜE plays its last show, I will never play another MÖTLEY CRÜE song again…even if it's one I wrote.

"To be respectful to MÖTLEY CRÜE is the biggest gift I can give to fans."

Asked if he was ever concerned about whether SIXX: A.M. would be judged differently because of his MÖTLEY CRÜE accomplishments, Sixx tells RiffYou.com: "SIXX: A.M.'s totally different from anything I've ever done. It's almost a spiritual experience with a positive message at the end. For me, I'm going into unchartered territory… which is exciting, because I feel like there are no limitations, no ceiling. We can do anything we set our minds to, musically… and that's exciting."

He continues: "When you're in a band like AC/DC, or VAN HALEN, or MÖTLEY CRÜE, or GUNS N' ROSES, you do something and you have a sound: it's really potent and amazing. But SIXX: A.M. is a different kind of band, because no one is really holding us accountable, so [people] are just allowing us to make pretty obscure and wide strokes… and we're taking advantage of it."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Final Tour" kicked off last year and will end New Year's Eve at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after one more round of North American gigs.

MÖTLEY CRÜE first announced plans for "The Final Tour" by signing a Cessation Of Touring Agreement at a press conference in Los Angeles in January 2014, solidifying the end of their touring career for December 2015. Since the announcement, the band has been touring tirelessly to say goodbye to fans around the world, most recently playing their final shows in Japan.

SIXX: A.M., which also features GUNS N' ROSES guitarist D.J. Ashba and vocalist James Michael, has just completed its first-ever headling tour. The band is also already in the process of writing music for its upcoming fourth full-length album, which is tentatively due in 2016.

To round out its live lineup, SIXX: A.M. added drummer Dustin Steinke of BLEEKER RIDGE into the mix for the tour, as well as backup singers Melissa Harding and Amber VanBuskirk.

"Beneath Broken Earth", the new video from British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Ash Pears of AshTV Music Video.

Comments PARADISE LOST guitarist Greg Mackintosh: "I fucking hate metal band performance videos, so when I got told that we needed to do one, I was obviously annoyed but then came the idea to do a performance video of utter misery. The slowest song we have ever recorded.

"'Beneath Broken Earth' is utter, old-school PARADISE LOST doom/death song and doing a performance video with our miserable, old faces barely moving in a crappy, old basement was too much to resist.

"The director Ash has done a great job of capturing the sombre mood and has managed to make a performance video we can actually be proud of."

"Beneath Broken Earth" is taken from PARADISE LOST's new album, "The Plague Within", which will be released on June 2 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media. The CD was recorded at Orgone Studios (GHOST, ULVER, CATHEDRAL, ANGEL WITCH) in London with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano.

The official lyric video for the PARADISE LOST track "No Hope In Sight", taken from "The Plague Within", can be seen below. The band comments: "'No Hope In Sight' was one of the first tracks we wrote and it reflects a blend of styles. From death metal to gothic to classic rock. It's like all eras of PARADISE LOST wrapped up into one track. We hope you all like it!"

Regarding the musical direction of "The Plague Within", Mackintosh told U.K.'s Total Guitar magazine: "It could be a bit of a Marmite album. Sometimes it's nice to do albums that are expected, in a way, but for a career like ours, it's important to do certain records and songs where you try something else.

"A certain track, like 'Flesh From Bone', is probably the fastest song we've done tempo-wise," he revealed, "while 'Beneath Broken Earth' is quite possibly the slowest.

"We weren't shying away from any period," he continued. "But it also had to be cohesive."

Greg added: "As it came together, the death metal elements became more prevalent, so the album ended up with more of those elements than we'd first anticipated. But it's got a good ebb and flow to it.

"We deliberately went down a different route, where we want it to sound like no one else in metal. Whether we've achieved that, I have no idea until everyone hears it."

The cover for "The Plague Within" was created by Polish artist, illustrator and architect Zbigniew M. Bielak, best known in the musical realm for his record cover illustrations, which, among others, include meticulously handcrafted artworks of WATAIN, GHOST and ENTOMBED A.D. albums.

Rock icons WHITESNAKE are set to return with their 12th studio album this spring. "The Purple Album" will be released in Europe on May 15 and in North America on May 19 via Frontiers Music SRL. "The Purple Album" is a re-imagination of classic songs from David Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark 3 and Mark 4 studio albums. The album is currently available for pre-order in various configurations on Amazon: a standard edition, a deluxe edition featuring two bonus tracks, four music videos and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the recording of the album and in a double LP vinyl format. Plans are also underway for a special limited box set edition with memorabilia and merchandise.

The official video for the song "Soldier Of Fortune" from "The Purple Album" can be seen below.

"Everyone did their homework, and every performance is done respectfully in honor of [DEEP PURPLE's] musicians," Coverdale told Billboard.com. "Though I focused on the twin-guitar attack of WHITESNAKE, we had a guest keyboard player because a huge part of the DEEP PURPLE sound was Jon Lord playing that amazing Hammond organ."

He continued: "There were respectful nods to the original musicians throughout the album, and it has come out delightfully. It's a tribute to Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Ritchie Blackmore, who gave me my break in the first place. I'd never even made a record when I joined DEEP PURPLE, and my first record went double gold, which was early platinum. They didn't even have platinum records back in those days!"

Coverdale added: "When we were working on it, each one of my musicians said these songs sounded as if they were written yesterday, and none of them were born when I first recorded them! It's a testament to the songs that they stand up. We've Whitesnaked them up and given them a fresh coat of paint, but it's still the same House of Purple." From the opening notes of the classic track "Burn" to album closer "Stormbringer", WHITESNAKE are back and better than ever. Songs like "Lady Double Dealer", "Soldier Of Fortune" and "Sail Away" are given a new energy in the very capable hands of the current WHITESNAKE lineup, featuring David Coverdale on vocals, Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra on guitars, Michael Devin on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums.

"The Purple Album" track listing: 01. Burn02. You Fool No One (interpolating Itchy Fingers)03. Love Child 04. Sail Away05. The Gypsy06. Lady Double Dealer07. Mistreated08. Holy Man09. Might Just Take Your Life10. You Keep On Moving11. Soldier Of Fortune12. Lay Down, Stay Down13. Stormbringer Deluxe edition bonus tracks:

14. Lady Luck15. Comin' Home DVD content:

* "Lady Double Dealer" - Music Video* "Sail Away" - Mix Music Video* "Stormbringer" - Music Video* "Soldier Of Fortune" - Music Video* "The Purple Album" Behind The Scenes* "The Purple Album" EPK

Agnostic Front have released the official music video for the song “Never Walk Alone” featuring Freddy Cricien (Madball), Toby Morse (H2O), Lou Koller (Sick Of It All), off the band’s brand new album, The American Dream Died. Watch below:

Roger Miret and Vinnie Stigma are lynchpins of New York Hardcore (NYHC), and their band Agnostic Front played a key role in defining, shaping and establishing the cultural code of conduct for the still-thriving movement. Film and music video director Ian McFarland (Rungs in a Ladder: Jacob Bannon, The Outlaw: Dan Hardy, The Problem Solver: Joe Lauzon, Meshuggah, Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory, Agnostic Front) is crafting an intimate portrait of these two men – two of the most respected individuals in the 35-year history of hardcore punk music – dubbed The Godfathers Of Hardcore.

Miret and Stigma have remained close friends through great adversity that often threatened their very existence. Today, Roger and Vinnie are primed and reaching into 50's and 60's, balancing jobs and families, in addition to an upcoming touring schedule that will take them all over the world. The Godfathers Of Hardcore will serve as an up-close-and-personal look into the lives of these different yet inseparable musical icons, and in the process will illustrate the tenacity, optimism and enthusiasm with which they both approach their band to this day. Since the beginning, Miret and Stigma took on the system with fists clenched, and throughout the decades, they’ve maintained the powerful and youthful (if not as destructive) mindset that started it all.

The Godfathers Of Hardcore is already in the midst of production and features intimate footage captured by McFarland over the past several years, but to do the story the greatest justice possible, director Ian McFarland is reaching out to the band’s diehard fans, offering them a chance to join in supporting the film via a new Kickstarter campaign, here.

 

 

The Kickstarter campaign will be ending on May 17th and features unique incentives such as an ESP Viper-100FM STBLK Guitar with backplate signed by Agnostic Front, custom Vinnie Stigma ringtones, a limited edition Agnostic Front skate deck, a personal Lower East Side tour with Vinnie Stigma, and even a "Kickstarter Executive Producer" credit on the film. The goal is to raise $15,000, and afterwards, some amazing stretch goals will be added (details coming soon).

Over the next three weeks, McFarland will be adding more one-of-a-kind incentives, in addition to giving updates on the project and filming. McFarland adds, “Unlike a large number of Kickstarter projects, our production team has already begun filming the movie and have shot a good amount of footage. We need this Kickstarter to help us with getting our film team over to Europe to travel with Agnostic Front at the end of May.”

Agnostic Front exists on a level all their own – a level of their own creation. Join director Ian McFarland in supporting his creation, his vision, and his story of one of the most influential bands of all time, The Godfathers Of Hardcore, and watch the story live on in film!

 

 

As a part of a potent subculture, Agnostic Front probably will never sit beside Aerosmith and the Beatles in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Nor have they been showered with platinum records or the rock and roll riches reserved for acts that value popularity over integrity. Miret and Stigma are perfectly happy with the niche they’ve carved for themselves, and the effect they’ve had on an entire subgenre that had infiltrated both the counter-culture and impacted the mainstream. A recent article in the New Yorker about hardcore music quoted was named “United Blood,” after Agnostic Front’s first album. The band continues to play major slots on high-profile international festivals and their recently-released album, “The American Dream Died,” has earned the band some of its strongest reviews in years.

Agnostic Front’s past legacy is perhaps even more praiseworthy than their present accomplishments. The movement the band pioneered has had a profound effect on millions of fans and musicians, as well as skateboarders, bikers and other individualists who refuse to accept the status quo. In a landscape of increasing apathy and complacency, the messages Agnostic Front presents are as relevant today as they were in the ‘80s when the band members were impoverished, scrappy and ambitious, often fighting for their very survival as well as the perseverance of their volatile but highly inspirational band.

Back in the ‘80s, Miret and Stigma roamed the dangerous streets of NYC’s Lower East Side, fighting those who got in their way and laying down the gauntlet for the music they believed in and were willing to defend with their lives. At the time, they had no idea that the band that meant the world to them and the culture populated by runaways, street kids, punks, skinheads and other social misfits would also resonate with a generation of other music fans and musicians including Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Pantera’s Phil Anselmo, not to mention Cremaster’s Mathew Barney and electronic guru Moby. Roger Miret, 50 (vocalist), a Cuban-refugee from an abusive home and Vinnie Stigma, 59 (guitarist), a second-generation true-blue New York Italian, found each other on the rough streets of NYC in the early 1980s, becoming fast friends and developing an unbreakable bond. Together, over the next three decades, they became the “Godfathers of New York City Hardcore” - creating a vehicle through which three generations of fans could grow, scream and band together as one in the face of diversity, violence and discrimination. Through the strength and bonds of brotherhood, Roger and Vinnie birthed something larger than themselves – they birthed a revolution.

Along the way, they experienced some of the most harrowing blows a band can endure, including various line-up changes, Roger’s incarceration and the subsequent collapse of the band. After Roger was released in the late 1990’s from New York’s Wallkill Correctional Facility, Roger and Vinnie reunited, picking up right where they left off. Still touring and recording today, Agnostic Front is the very embodiment of hardcore: endurance, perseverance, brotherhood, strength against oppression and the will to keep going, obstacles be damned.

Later this Summer, Dark Star Records recording artist Conquest will be releasing a new Metal Gods Tribute Album called Under The Influence. The complete tracklisting is as follows:

Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
Iron Maiden - "Wrath Child"
Judas Priest - "The Ripper", "Metal Gods"
Mötley Crüe - "Red Hot"
Bon Jovi - "Wanted Dead Or Alive"
Motörhead - "Ace Of Spades"
UFO - "Lights Out"
Anthrax - "Anti-Social"
Black Sabbath - "Children Of The Grave"
Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell"

 

 

 

 

In a brand new interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, SLAYER's Kerry King and Tom Araya were asked if the tragic passing of the band's co-founding guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, in 2013, had any impact on their relationship with original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo.

"Nah," Kerry responded. "That's why I've never spoken about it in the press. All of the horseshit that's been said about me and Tom or whatever... for me not to respond to something, you've got to know that it's pretty asinine."

Added Tom: "I hate to say it, but it wasn't the first time [Dave had] put us in that position. In the end, he waited until we got on a plane to Australia [in February 2013, to play Soundwave], and then he's on the Internet, laying it all out for the world to see, when it was nobody's business but ours. We found out about it 16 hours after the fact. That should give you an idea of the personality involved. If it wasn't deliberate, it certainly came across that way."

Asked if the door is forever closed on SLAYER playing with Lombardo again, Kerry replied: "I would imagine. I've learned a lot ... [Laughs] I learn something new every day, let me tell you. But I never say never, because I thought that door had slammed shut the first time. But is it shut today? Yeah, that lock's on there pretty good."

Lombardo sat out SLAYER's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX). Dave has since been replaced in the band by Paul Bostaph, who was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the group.

Lombardo released a statement in February 2013 revealing that he "discovered 90 percent of SLAYER's tour income was being deducted as expenses, including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10 percent or less to split" amongst the four members of the group. He added: "In my opinion, this is not the way a band's business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my bandmates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary backup documents. I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a longform contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order."

In a November 2013 interview with Minneapolis City Pages, Araya stated about Lombardo: "Dave left the band originally in '91 or '92, After that, we brought in Jon Dette for two years and then we hooked up with Paul, who did four really great albums with us. Then he decided to move on. Our manager hooked us up with Dave again and when we were putting together [2006's] 'Christ Illusion', Dave offered to help out. We wanted to make things fair for him, so we offered him a contract with the band. Most recently, we were offered to tour Australia. When we were rehearsing, he seemed to do a 180 and said some things that kind of upset me and Kerry. Kerry just looked at him and said, 'If you feel that way, then why are we even rehearsing for this tour?' So we wrote him a letter and said, 'Listen, we need to know if you're going to do the shows in Australia. If you're not, we need to do something about that.' We didn't get a reply. We were put in a position where we had to do something, so we got Jon Dette to play with us again. After what happened with the Australia tour, we made the decision to move forward and make him aware that we no longer needed his services. He was really upset about that. He wrote a rant on Facebook. He said some things that he shouldn't have. It really upset us. And it upset me. I was fuming. I couldn't believe that he would throw that out in the court of public opinion. After that, Jeff, me and Kerry all got on the phone and talked about it. And Paul's name came up. It was a sure thing with Paul. He'd been in the band for over 12 years. So we gave him a call to see if he was interested and he was more than happy to. It was a no-brainer. He's an amazing drummer."

LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe says that he is "happy" that the band's drummer, Chris Adler, is getting a chance to fulfill a childhood dream of making an album with MEGADETH.

Adler's involvement with MEGADETH was exclusively reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET as a "rumor" on March 14 and was officially announced more than two weeks later. The collaboration is limited to studio work only, and Adler is not expected to join MEGADETH on the road to promote the band's new CD, which is currently being recorded at Lattitude Studio South in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee.

During an appearance on SiriusXM's Liquid Metal with host Jose Mangin earlier today (Friday, May 1), Blythe was asked how he felt about Chris playing with MEGADETH. He responded: "Chris is a big MEGADETH fan, you know. He's a huge MEGADETH fan. So, you know, [MEGADETH mainman Dave] Mustaine, I guess, needed a drummer. And he asked him. And Chris sent us this very typical Chris e-mail, like, 'Hey, guys, by the way, if Dave needs a drummer, is this gonna bother you? It won't interfere [with any LAMB OF GOD activities].' We're all, like, 'Go be in MEGADETH for a little bit, dude.'"

He continued: "I hope if, like, the BAD BRAINS or the SEX PISTOLS called me [and asked me], 'Hey, do you wanna do something?' [the other guys in LAMB OF GOD] wouldn't be, like, 'No, you can't do that.' No, fuck that!"

Randy went on to say: "It's funny, 'cause fans are, like, hitting me up on Instagram or sending me messages… A friend of mine lives in Tennessee, and he's, like, 'Is Chris with Mustaine at a hockey game right now?' And I'm, like, 'I don't know.' And then he sends me this picture, and apparently him and Mustaine went to a hockey game and they got to, like, ring the horn together or something. And then somebody else put up a picture of him and Mustaine, like, eating tacos together. And it's, like, this whole little journey of Chris."

He added: "I hope he's having a good time with Dave. I just… I want the stories when he comes back; that's all I want. That's all he has to do — is give me some stories.

"I think he's having a good time. I think they're doing… From what I understand, I think he's having a good time. And I'm happy for him."

In a statement, Mustaine called Chris "a tremendous talent" and "an amazing person" who is "going to bring a new level of excitement and energy to MEGADETH that the fans are going to lose their minds over."

Adler was equally excited about playing with MEGADETH, saying: "I'm coming into this on fire. There is an incredible amount of respect, but the goal here is to make the very best thrash album we can — not just throw names in the CD booklet or be a 'yes' man. Together, I believe we can do something very special."

In a 2006 interview with Xplosive Metal, Adler confirmed that MEGADETH was the band that made him want to start drumming to begin with. He said: "Definitely. For me and my brother [LAMB OF GOD guitarist Willie Adler], that's the band that made us wake up to heavy metal and made us become who we are today. And now to be able to sit down and have lunch with Dave Mustaine and tell him that story and have him talk about what he likes about LAMB OF GOD, it's pretty big for me."

In addition to Mustaine, Adler and bassist David Ellefson, the recording lineup for MEGADETH's new album includes Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA.

Drummer Shawn Drover quit MEGADETH on November 25, 2014 "to pursue [his] own musical interests."

Drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad of Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON has confirmed that the band is working on a covers album, to be recorded later in the year. He told Sweden's RockSverige.se: "I can't really say that much about it; we've chosen half of the songs that will be on it, but we're a bit unsure about the rest. We have chosen songs we find exciting."

He continued: "It's not very exciting to record a bunch of VENOM and BATHORY covers, because there are several extreme metal bands that have already done that.

"We have chosen songs that take us places, but it's also songs that have had a meaning to us as people or musicians in one way or another."

Frost added: "We've played DEAD KENNEDYS' 'Holiday In Cambodia' live on [the current SATYRICON European] tour, so it might end up on the album, but we'll see when it happens. It's more exciting that way."

As previously reported, SATYRICON has signed a worldwide deal with Austrian label Napalm Records for release of the band's new DVD, "Live At The Opera".

To coincide with the release of its self-titled, eighth studio album, SATYRICON played a very special, exclusive show on September 8, 2013 at at Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Oslo, Norway, where they were joined by the 55-strong Norwegian National Opera Chorus as part of the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. The performance was professionally filmed and recorded and will be released as the "Live At The Opera" CD/DVD on May 5 in North America.

Groovey of Groovey.TV conducted an interview with Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA, KILLER BE KILLED, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY) on April 29 in Denver, Colorado. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about SOULFLY's forthcoming album, "Archangel", which is tentatively due in August, Max said: "[It's a] really cool record. [It's] very exotic, mystic, really biblical. [It's] very, very heavy again. It's very influenced by the stuff I listen to right now — 1349 and BELPHEGOR, BEHEMOTH… I've been listening to a lot of death metal. Don't ask me why. I don't know why. I just fucking love the extremity of it. So, yeah, it's gonna be a really cool record. It's our tenth record. And I'm very excited for this album. And then I will tour for 'Archangel' probably for the next year and a half, two years, non-stop."

In a recent interview with Metal Wani, Max stated about "Archangel": "It's an interesting record. It's one of those [records] that come out once in a lifetime, an album like that comes out — really crazy sounds and very different dimensions. It's more experimental than the other stuff. It's still heavy as hell, and it's still fast. And Zyon's [Cavalera, Max's son] playing drums on it. He's actually playing really good. He reminds me of a young Dave Lombardo [SLAYER]. The fills that he's doing [are] really amazing; he surprised everybody in the studio. Matt Hyde is producing; he worked with SLAYER before. So it's really cool; a really good team."

Max also talked about the new SOULFLY song "We Sold Our Souls To Metal", which he previously described as a "metal anthem." Asked about the mindset that is required to write a track like that, Max said: "It just happens. You can't explain it. It's one of those things… [When] you play it, it has an instant reaction on the listener."

He continued: "I was very curious about that, so I was playing around with the song, playing it for people, to see what kind of reaction it gets. And almost everybody, the reaction was, like, 'This is so crazy. I can't wait 'till you guys play this live.' It's got this kind of New York hardcore chant that we do in the chorus — like, gang vocals. It's really, really fun, and everybody gets to sing together. That's why I was thinking that it's gonna become an anthem — the chorus, all the fans are gonna sing it together, and it's saying something. 'Cause, 'we sold our souls to metal,' I think every metalhead feels like that — that we did kind of a pact and we sold our souls for this music that we love so much. So it's something that I think [they'll] sing that with some kind of pride. I think it's gonna happen when that song comes out, at least. And then it ends [in a] very PINK FLOYD [-like way], which is really strange; I don't know why we did that. I still don't know if it was the right thing, but it came out like that. Marc [Rizzo] just did some really crazy guitars at the end of it that is just, like… It goes from total metal into crazy PINK FLOYD, but it works. I mean, it's really wild. And we like wild stuff. I always was drawn to weird, weird stuff, and that's definitely weird, in a good way."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SOULFLY material, Max told The Front Row Report: "Some of the stuff is really fast, actually; like the first couple of songs on the album are all fast. And then it eventually slows down and there's some kind of really heavy stuff. But I think it's a really strong album that I'm very proud of, and I think a lot of people are gonna like it."

SOULFY's ninth CD, "Savages", was released on October 1, 2013. The CD was produced by Terry Date, who is known for his work with such acts as PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN, among many others.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, filmmaker Brett Morgen (pictured), director of the new documentary "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck", has revealed that an album collecting previously unheard music from late NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain's personal tapes will be released this summer. Morgen told Bedford + Bowery, "We're going to be putting out an amazing album this summer," adding that the record "will feel like you’re kind of hanging out with Kurt Cobain on a hot summer day in Olympia, Washington as he fiddles about. It's going to really surprise people."

Morgen told The Pulse Of Radio about the material he found while researching Cobain's archives for the film: "I knew that there was gonna be all this art, but what I didn't know was there was gonna be all this audio. I opened up a box and there were 108 tapes with over 200 hours of never-before-heard audio. And this ran the gamut from music — dozens of hours of unreleased music — to sound collage, and then there was this amazing spoken word material that I discovered."

The movie is constructed like a collage of previously unseen home movies, interviews, animation, photographs, music and other artifacts.

Collider called it "a deeply intimate look at Cobain's life that really takes you inside his head, revealing the joy, depression, anger, and immense creativity that populated his psyche."