In a message to fans, Scott Weiland announced that Australian-born guitarist Nick Maybury will be joining the former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer's new band THE WILDABOUTS when they hit the road this week to play a host of solo and festival dates. THE WILDABOUTS guitarist Jeremy Brown passed away unexpectedly last month; a day before SCOTT WEILAND & THE WILDABOUTS' debut album, "Blaster", was released on March 31.

"Jeremy had big shoes and no one can fill them," said Weiland. "Along with Tommy Black (rhythm guitar player in the band), he was my best friend and my collaborator. But we have to soldier on. Nick is an incredible player and is a great fit for THE WILDABOUTS."

Nick Maybury came to Los Angeles as a member of the Australian band MINK. His first L.A. gig was with Perry Farrell, and he's gone on to play on stage and in the studio with a wide variety of artists, including Debbie Harry, Michelle Branch, THE MADDEN BROTHERS, THE SAYERS CLUB, Alice Cooper, THE VERONICAS and Dave Navarro.

After Brown's passing, THE WILDABOUTS postponed a U.K. tour until September, but Weiland, and his band will pick up their U.S. tour as planned, playing "Blaster" and tracks from Weiland's repertoire.

Weiland met Brown in 2008 during the recording of his second solo album, "'Happy' In Galoshes", and they have worked together ever since.

The singer told The Pulse Of Radio that his relationship with Brown and the other members of THE WILDABOUTS led to the making of "Blaster". "I'd been playing on and off with these guys for about nine years as part of my backing band when I put out ''Happy' In Galoshes', and we got together for a writing session and it was just the four of us, and so I decided that I wanted to make a band album again," he said.

New Damage Records has announced the signing of Canadian melodic-hardcore band, Counterparts, and plans to release their fourth studio album in Canada later this year. The band joins the company’s family of bands that includes Silverstein, Cancer Bats, The Flatliners, Architects and more. Additionally, Counterparts has also signed with Pure Noise Records, who will be releasing their forthcoming record in the US.
 
“Its hard for me to contain my excitement with this signing,” comments New Damage Records label manager Rich Fernandes. “Counterparts is one of the best melodic hardcore bands to come out of Southern Ontario in a long time. This band is the love child of Taken and Misery Signals.”

On Signing with New Damage Records, Counterparts vocalist Brendan Murphy had this to say, "It's been a long time coming, but we're happy to be back on a Canadian label. New Damage is the best Canadian label in the game right now, and it's taken years, but we're finally a part of the family. Even though we're rarely in the country, Canada is extremely important to us. Thanks to everyone for sticking by us over the past few years."

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Counterparts formed in 2007 and currently features Murphy on vocals, Jesse Doreen and Adrian Lee on guitars, Kelly Bilan on drums and Brian Kaczmarczyk on bass. To date, the band has released three studio albums and an EP, including their 2013 breakout album The Difference Between Hell and Home, which debuted at #49 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Upcoming North American Dates with Defeater include:

April
23 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
24 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
25 - Lansing, MI - The Loft
26 - Toledo, OH - Frankies
27 – Erie, PA  - Basement Transmissions Theatre
28 - Buffalo, NY - Studio @ The Waiting Room

(Photo - Joshua Halling)

Metal Shock Finland's Blackdiamond caught up with vocalist Andi Deris of German power metal legends Halloween to discuss the band’s upcoming album, My God-Given Right.

Discussing the band’s 30th anniversary, Andi states: “Time flies you could say, 30 years is unbelievable! On the other hand, we’re still here and have a third generation of fans in the audience, which is great. But at the same time it gives us lots of responsibility when it comes to new albums, to try and combine all the guys. You can’t be everyone’s darling, that’s quite clear. Nevertheless, we tried for the 30th anniversary – we tried to do an album that leads you through three decades of Helloween metal and I think we succeeded."

Listen to the audio interview at this location.

Helloween are poised to release their 14th studio album, My God-Given Right, on May 29th in Europe, June 1st in the UK, and June 2nd in North America, via Nuclear Blast.

On April 17th, Halloween released the first single from My God-Given Right, for the speed metal hymn “Battle’s Won”. Besides the digital download, there is a limited edition 2-track vinyl single, also featuring the album track “Lost In America”. The 7” will be released on April 24th. Pre-order at this location.

A lyric video for “Battle’s Won” can be seen below:

My God-Given Right was recorded between October 2014 and February 2015 at the bands very own MiSueno Studio in Tenerife, with long term producer Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, Hammerfall) handling production and recording duties. The enchanting artwork was once again created by graphic guru Martin Häusler (Bon Jovi, Queen, Gotthard) and will also be available as a 3D Lenticular print.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Heroes”
“Battle’s Won”
“My God-Given Right”
“Stay Crazy”
“Lost In America”
“Russian Roulé”
“The Swing Of A Fallen World”
“Like Everybody Else”
“Creatures In Heaven”
“If God Loves Rock ‘n’ Roll”
“Living On The Edge”
“Claws”
“You, Still Of War”

The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonus tracks:

“I Wish I Were There”
“Wicked Game”

The digital version contains three bonus tracks:

“I Wish I Were There”
“Wicked Game”
“Free World”

The limited Earbook will feature a bonus-CD with four bonus tracks:

“I Wish I Were There”
“Wicked Game”
“Nightmare”
“More Than A Lifetime”

Pre-order here.

 

 

Halloween have announced a full summer tour schedule for Europe running through June to August. Check it out below:

June
3 - Cultuurpodium Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Netherlands     
4 - Out & Loud Festival 2015 - Geiselwind, Germany          
6 - South Park Festival - Tampere, Finland    
12 - Sala Totem    - Pamplona, Spain
13 - Coliseum - A Coruña, Spain
20 - Alpen Flair    - Castelrotto, Italy
29 - Kalemegdan Park - Belgrade, Serbia
30 - Arena Armeec - Sofia, Bulgaria

July
1 - Romexpo - Bucharest, Romania
17 - Rockmaraton 2015 - Dunaujvaros, Hungary    
24 - Rock Fest Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain    
25 - Benatska! - Liberec, Czech Republic     
26 - Auditorio M. Rios - Madrid, Spain

August
7 - Getaway Rock Festival - Gavle, Sweden    
8 - RockFels - St. Goarshausen, Germany     
29 - Moscow Metal Meeting - Moscow, Russia

 

Florida’s Silenmara have released a lyric video for their track, “Celestial Being”, featured on their new album, Methods, coming out on May 20th.
 

 

Methods tracklisting:

“Exogenisis”
“The Fall”
“Of Man”
“By Methods” (featuring Bjorn “Speed” Strid)
“Of Machines”
“Nevermore”
“Carbon Dated”
“Celestial Being”

“Celestial Being” lyric video:

 
“By Methods” video featuring Bjorn "Speed" Strid:

“Carbon Dated” playthrough video and track stream:

Silenmara is:

Reggie Miller - Vocals
Jason Gato - Guitar/Vocals
Adrian Perez - Drums
Boris Gomez - Bass
Paul Casas - Guitar/Vocals

They are the Midland musicians starring in the only charts that really count - the top musical millionaires.

Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne figure prominently in the main chart where ££££notes are more significant than musical ones. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are reckoned to be worth a cool £130 million. They are listed at #17 in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List of the Top 40 music millionaires in the UK and Ireland.

And West Bromwich born, former Led Zepplin star Plant is at #23, jointly with Jimmy Page, with both men said to have £100 million fortunes.

 

 

Find out who else makes the list at this location.

 

LINDEMANN, the new project featuring vocalist Till Lindemann of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN and Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN), will release its debut album, "Skills In Pills", in May.

The cover artwork for the CD has just been posted on the LINDEMANN Facebook page and can be seen below.

Speaking to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Tägtgren stated about how his collaboration with Lindemann came about: "It started around 1999 or 2000, after we got to know each other. Till was helping me put vocals on one of my albums, but it never happened because we were so busy all the time. But we kept in contact, and two summers ago, RAMMSTEIN were in Sweden and Till invited me over; we talked a bit before he went on stage, and he said that RAMMSTEIN were going to have a break for two years and we should do something."

He continued: "I was starting to think of doing another PAIN album, but as soon as Till came in, that's when I really started to work. I figured I'd just keep on writing. I started triggering his ideas and he started triggering mine. All of a sudden there was no PAIN album!"

Regarding the musical direction of LINDEMANN, Till told Metal Hammer: "It's a baby between RAMMSTEIN and PAIN — at least, it's a mix of RAMMSTEIN vocals and PAIN music.

"Peter's a real metalhead and I'm into this gothic thing.

"I know a lot of hardcore RAMMSTEIN fans may not like it, because they'll miss the German language and harsh sounds, but this is a side project and I bring a lot of personality into my half. There's a lot of different colors to this record."

Till added that there are plans for LINDEMANN to play some live shows and record a follow-up album, explaining that making the debut CD "was too much fun to just keep as a singular project."

"Skills In Pills" track listing:

01. Skills In Pills02. Ladyboy03. Fat04. Fish On05. Children Of The Sun06. Home Sweet Home07. Cowboy08. Golden Shower09. Yukon10. Praise Abort11. That's My Heart

Fresh off their latest album The Darkest Road, A Breach Of Silence have premiered their uplifting new music video for the band’s latest single “Vultures”. The video tells the story of a homeless man who returns a lost wallet to a young, well-dressed businessman – and saves his life in the process. The song is taken from The Darkest Road which was released on October 7th, and debuted at #1 on the iTunes Metal Chart (Australia), and at #20 on Australia’s Purely Independent Chart.

“Vultures is a song about the struggles in life, and fighting through them”, states lead vocalist Rhys Flannery. “Whenever you feel like you are alone, regardless of how great the pressure, there’s always someone out there that’s willing to help. As hard as it may be, you’ve just got to search for them… there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”  

Guitarist Mat Cosgrove continues, “We talked about one of us having a real bad day, and someone worse off had helped us out of this situation and it really put things into perspective… So we came up with the story line of a homeless person who could easily take the wallet out of necessity to survive, instead goes out of his way to find the owner, and then saves his life.”
 
The band enlisted Col Cadell to direct, who had also done their previous music video for the title track, The Darkest Road. “Something I wanted to do with Vultures, was take the band in a much darker direction artistically, using color palette’s that evoke a cold intimacy while still painting a realistic world. Our shoot location was Fortitude Valley located in Brisbane, Australia. We used low shot angles, with the sky as a background to evoke a feeling of openness, and used high angle shots at the end when the homeless man rescues the businessman” states Col.

The cover art for The Darkest Road album was designed by Gabriel Serbanescu, who also designed art for the band’s 2013 debut album, Dead Or Alive.

The Darkest Road tracklisting:

"T.P.N.E"
"The Darkest Road"
"Vultures"
"Silhouette"
"Hang ‘em High"
"In Reality We Trust"
"Lost At Sea"
"This Is The End"
"Immortal"
"Hannibal"
"A Place I Know"
"Dead And Destroyed"
"Krazy B!tch"
"Time Still Remains"

“The Darkest Road” video:
 

 

Michigan metallers, Upon Wings, recently released their Afterlife EP. The band’s new music video for "You Are My Weapon”, the latest single off the set, can be seen below.

The Afterlife EP features guest vocals and production by Brett Hestla (Dark New Day), guitars and production by Kevin Jardine and drums by Peter Tzaferis. Kid Rock recording engineer and Grammy-nominated mixing engineer Glenn Brown mastered the EP, while Corey Lowery of Eye Empire mixed "You Are My Weapon”.

Recording sessions for the EP took place at Johnny K's Groovemaster Studios in Chicago, Jardine's Uplift Productions in Canada and beyond.

 

Mediterranean extreme / gothic metal act, Ecnephias, have released a new lyric video, for the track "Nyctophilia”, featured on the band’s self-titled fifth album, out now via My Kingdom Music.

With Ecnephias the Lucanian band come back with a milestone of dark metal, rich of influences going from dark rock to extreme and melodic metal of bands such as Paradise Lost, Moonspell, Rotting Christ, and Type O Negative.

 

 

Tracklisting:

"Here Begins The Chaos" (intro)
"The Firewalker (Chapter I: A Dark Dream In Childhood)"
"A Field Of Flowers"
"Born To Kill And Suffer (Chapter II: Underground Life)"
"Chimera"
"The Criminal (Chapter III: Black Magic On The Sea Of Cefalu - A Meeting With A. Crowley)"
"Tonight"
"Lord Of The Stars"
"Wind Of Doom (Chapter IV: The Southern Pagan Rites)"
"Nyctophilia"
"Nia Nia Nia"
"Vipra Negra"
"Satiriasi" (outro)

"The Firewalker" lyric video:

"Vipra Negra" video:

Trailer:

 

Royal Thunder released their new full-length, Crooked Doors, on April 7th via Relapse Records. The band’s new video, for the album track “Time Machine”, was directed by J.P. Bradburn, who also worked with the band on their video for “Blue”. Watch the new clip below:

Orion Landau, who also designed the artwork for Red Fang’s Whales and Leeches and Yob’s Clearing The Path To Ascend, created the new album’s evocative artwork.

 

 

Crooked Doors tracklisting

"Time Machine"
"Forget You"
"Wake Up"
"Floor"
"The Line"
"Forgive Me, Karma"
"Glow"
"Ear On The Fool
"One Day"
"The Bear I"
"The Bear II"

Track-by-track video:

“Glow”:

“Forget You”:

Trailer:

Making of Crooked Doors:

 

Punishment 18 Records is preparing to reissue Borknagar’s classic album, The Olden Domain. Originally released in 1997 by Century Media Records, their second full-length album marks the beginning of Borknagar's transition to a new extreme metal vision, following an evolution of a more progressive approach to Viking-themed metal artistic movement.

The reissue will be available on April 27th. A promo video teaser can be found below.

 

 

Tracklisting:

"The Eye Of Oden"
"The Winterway"
"Om Hundrede Aar Er Alting Glemt (In A Hundred Years Everything Is Forgotten")
"A Tale Of Pagan Tongue"
"To Mount And Rove"
"Grimland Domain"
"Ascension Of Our Fathers"
"The Dawn Of The End"

 

Video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre playing drums for STRYPER on April 20 during the Monsters Of Rock cruise can be seen below (courtesy of Hot Metal).

La Torre, who has played drums since the age of 13, was asked in a 2013 interview if fans could ever expect to see a little change-up where he is back behind the kit and QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield upfront singing. He responded: "That could be. Scott and I talk about doing something and they've never done that before. They've never been able to do that before. So, I think visually it would be something great for me. It would be awesome, because I love drumming, and miss drumming, in a live situation. And I know the material. So, we've talked about, maybe doing a really cool dual drumming thing. So it wouldn't be impossible to see me out there on a drum set sometime."

QUEENSRŸCHE recently entered Uberbeatz Studio in Washington with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, SOULFLY, SHADOWS FALL) to begin recording new album, due later in the year via Century Media.

STRYPER entered SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts in February to begin recording its new album, "Fallen", for a late 2015 release via Frontiers. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Let There Be Light", 'Big Screen Lies", the title track and a cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "After Forever".

"Fallen" will include a song that was co-written by SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach fell on stage during the opening song of his April 19 performance at Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the incident can be seen below.

Tweeting the next day, Bach seemed to blame the bassist of his solo band, Kevin Chown, for causing the singer to slip and fall. He wrote: "Omg @Madonna ain't got nothin' on me haha #ShitHappens #BodyCheck by @kevinchown"

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY.

In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, most recently featured a lineup consisting of original bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and Solinger.

SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone on April 6, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement.

The Order Of Apollyon have released a lyric video (see below) for “Our Flowers Are The Sword And The Dagger”, a track from the band’s new album, The Sword And The Dagger (Listenable Records).

Formed in 2008 by BST and Daniel Wilding (now in Carcass), then respectively guitarist and drummer for Aborted, The Order Of Apollyon's aim since the start has been to incarnate the Word and the Wrath of God. Their debut album - The Flesh, released by Listenable in 2010 - was based on the dichotomy opposing the material world, the world of the Flesh, and the world beyond matter, bathed in His light and His glory.
 
After a radical lineup change, and the induction of new blood coming from the depths of France's underground black metal scene, The Order Of Apollyon started playing more shows, including France’s Hellfest, and prepared their second opus, The Sword And The Dagger, with a more radical approach to both their music and lyrics, and including a wider range of influences, from raw orthodox black metal and death metal to martial industrial music.
 
The Order Of Apollyon's The Sword and the Dagger carries a lot of vibrancy and killer musicianship. It is a monstrous-sounding genuine death metal album that will please both fans of true black metal and evil death metal.

 

 

The Sword And The Dagger tracklisting:

“Own The Youth”
“Hatred Over Will”
“Our Flowers Are The Sword And The Dagger”
“Al ‘ankabout”
“Hold Not Thy Peace, O God Of My Praise”
“Chants Of Purification”
“The Curse Is Poured Upon Them”
“By Your Command We Return To Dust”
“Eight Pillars”
“The Hand That Became Weak”
“Omnis Honor Et Gloria”

“Our Flowers Are The Sword And The Dagger” lyric video:

To/Die/For has recently finished the recordings of the band’s upcoming album Cult at SoundSpiral Audio in Kouvola, Finland.

They revealed that studio owner Juho Räihä will also mix and master the album. Raziel Kainen, a.k.a. Dark-Prince Graphix, is going to create the cover artwork.
 
Vocalist Jape and the band shared updates from the studio on the band's Facebook page, and its been learned that the final song on the album's called "End Of Tears". Another song's called "Let It Bleed". Rumor has it, that Cult will also contain a cover song.

Cult is set to be releaed on June 26 via Massacre Records.

Video “Screaming Birds”:

(Photo by: Joel Hiljanen)

Native Construct released their debut album Quiet World on April 17 on Metal Blade Records. The band has premiered their new single “Come Hell Or High Water”:

 

 

"This one's a quirky, twisted little tune. We got a bit weird with it; it was a lot of fun to make. We used some interesting studio techniques, experimented with eccentric character voices, and even got our vocalist Rob to dust off the old cello. 'Hope you have as much fun with it as we did," says guitarist/composer Myles Yang.

Native Construct is the product of collaboration between several students that began in 2011 at the storied Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Guitarist and composer Myles Yang's passion for innovation, coupled with his extensive academic study of arranging and compositional techniques, makes Native Construct a truly distinctive up-and-coming metal act. Yang, along with bassist Max Harchik, and vocalist Robert Edens completed work on their debut album Quiet World in between 2011 and 2013. By 2014, the band's music caught the ear of Brian Slagel at Metal Blade Records, and led to a recording contract and a worldwide release of the band's debut album. The album is up for order at MetalBlade.com.

Quiet World was largely self-produced and written between 2011 and 2013 in between the individual band members' studies at the Berklee College of Music. What began as jam sessions simply for fun eventually turned into a full-fledged musical endeavor. All tracking and programming was done at the band's home studios in Boston, MA, with the exception of vocals, which were recorded with Jamie King at The Basement Studios in Winston-Salem, NC. The album was mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House Studio in Los Angeles, CA, and mastered by Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, The Contortionist).

“Mute”:

(Photo by: Sam Harchik)

The Arcane Order have entered Jacob Hansen's studio to record their upcoming album Cult Of None.

 The band already released a few song titles that will be featured on the album: "Reviver", "Void Maker", "Sun Grave", "Hesperian", "Exo Reign", "Ahab", "Faith Eater" and "Waves Of Trance".
 
Cult Of None will feature 55-60 minutes of epic extreme metal. The album is set to be released in late August via Massacre Records.

 

Hard rockers Buckcherry have uploaded live footage from their concert in Minnesota performing the track “I Don’t Give A Fuck”.

“I Don’t Give A Fuck” is taken from the Fuck EP, released August 19, 2014 on F-Bomb Records.

Catch Buckcherry on tour:

April
22 – The Varsity Theatre – Baton Rouge, LA
24 – The Country Club – Augusta, GA
25 – WJRR’s Earthday Birthday – Orlando, FL
26 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
28 – The Warehouse – Clarksville, TN
30 – Madison Theatre – Covington, KY

May
1 – Q and Z Expo Center – Ringle, WI
2 – The Shack Event Center – Fond Du Lac, WI
5 – Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
6 – The Royal – Salt Lake City, UT
16 – Swamp Fox Biker Bash 2015 – Marion, SC
29 – Peoria Civic Center – Peoria, IL
30 – Xfinity Live! – Philadelphia, PA
31 – Claddagh Music Hall – Lawrence, MA

June
2 – Goodfellas – Pottsville, PA
3 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN
5 – The Watseka Theatre – Watseka, IL
6 – Ohio Bike Week- Free GA Show – Sandusky, OH
7 – Tally Ho – Leesburg, VA
9 – Dixie Roadhouse – Cape Coral, FL
10 – Mavericks – Jacksonville, FL
13 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH
14 – 103.9 The Bear’s Big Growl 4 – South Bend, IN
26 – Stars and Stripes Festival – Sterling Heights, MI

July
18 – Texas Showdown Festival – El Paso, TX
25 – Halfway Jam – Royalton, MN

 

Portuguese epic metal gods, Ironsword, will release their new album, None But The Brave, on May 19th via Shadow Kingdom Records. Seven years in the making, the record sees the burly, brutal trio up the ante on its go-for-the-throat, "all metal all the time" approach, delivering iron-age, head-pounding metal that will kick your ass across the room. Check out the album track, “Army Of Darkness”, streaming below.
 
Formed in 1995 as a one-man project of guitarist / vocalist Joao “Tann” Fonesca, Ironsword celebrates 20 years of delivering colossal, fantasy-fueled heavy metal with the release of None But The Brave. The band's fourth full-length release is huge and heavy as a war hammer. Gloriously metallic songs, rife with fist-pumping refrains abound, as Ironsword mashes pulverizing power and triumphant choruses to create its finest effort to date. Killers such as "Forging The Sword", "Kings Of The Night", "Vengeance Will Be Mine" and "Eye For An Eye" are not mere songs, but rather, towering anthems to the everlasting pantheon of heavy metal music.

None But The Brave is a token of worship at the altar of old metal, an emblem of this not so distant past which will be held high by those practitioners and followers, both new and old, marking this record as one of the major epic metal events of 2015. Long live the underground!

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Forging The Sword”
“Kings Of The Night”
“Calm Before The Storm”
“None But The Brave”
“Ring Of Fire”
“Betrayer”
“The Usurper”
“Army Of Darkness”
“Vengeance Will Be Mine”
“Cursed And Damned”
“Eye For An Eye”
“The Shadow Kingdom”

“Army Of Darkness”:

Canadian blackened heavy metal act Sig:Ar:Tyr has announced that they will be releasing their new album Northen this fall.

While Sig:Ar:Tyr has in the past been known as atmospheric blackened folk, Northen shifts into more traditional metal territory, while maintaining the dark sounds of earlier material.

The band's mastermind (and sole permanent member) Daemonskald had the following to say about the album:

"The album deals with the end of the Viking age, and the adventures of the Norse in our own country, Canada. Unlike the permanent settlements in Greenland, their stay here was short-lived, and we are still discovering the extent of their travels, the artifacts from their small settlements, and unfolding the tales of their interaction with the native cultures here at the time. Northen is a tale of tribute to this small group of adventurers, who with a dynamic, and individualistic spirit, were still willing to throw stability and comfort aside to explore mysterious new places like Helluland, Markland, and Vinland, and try to be their own master in a changing world."

Northern tracklisting:

“Helluland”
“Crownless”
“Runarmal”
“Markland (The Hammer Fades)”
“Skraeling”
“Krossanes”
“Vinland”
“Northen”
“When The Last Ship Sails”

British/American heavy metal trio RAVEN will release its new album, "ExtermiNation", in Scandinavia on April 22, in Germany on April 24, in the rest of Europe on April 27 and in North America on April 28 via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort will be made available as a digipak version (including one bonus track), 2LP gatefold green vinyl version and as a digital download.

The official video for the "ExtermiNation" song "Battle March/Tanks Treads (The Blood Runs Red)" can be seen below.

RAVEN recently raised more than $27,000 in a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign to finance the recording of its next studio album. The band recorded a full-length covers CD titled "Party Killers" that was given away as an exclusive Kickstarter reward for backers. The group also offered exclusive t-shirts, patches, and a seven-inch vinyl single via the campaign, which ran through November 28.

"It seemed more obvious the longer we went into this that it was gonna cost more than the budget we have," RAVEN vocalist and bassist John Gallagher told Metal-Rules.com.

"We have a good relationship with our record company, SPV, but this is gonna cost about twice as much as the last one due to the extra rehearsals.

"We took a lot of time writing the record and condensing and looking into it, 'Does this part suck?' 'Could we do a better part?' 'Is this something obvious that we've done a million times before? Get rid of it. Come up with something different.' And [we've come up with] very strong melodies as well. So you've got very heavy songs with great melodies, which is king of all things."

"ExtermiNation" track listing:

01. Destroy All Monsters02. Tomorrow03. It's Not What You Got04. Fight05. Battle March/Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)06. Feeding The Monster07. Fire Burns Within08. Scream09. One More Day10. Thunder Down Under11. No Surrender12. Golden Dawn13. Silver Bullet14. River Of No Return15. Malice In Geordieland (bonus track)

2LP track listing: LP 1 Side 1

01. Destroy All Monsters02. Tomorrow03. It's Not What You Got04. Fight

Side 2

01. Battle March/Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)02. Feeding The Monster03. Fire Burns Within04. Scream

LP 2 Side 1

01. One More Day02. Thunder Down Under03. No Surrender04. Golden Dawn

Side 2

01. Silver Bullet02. River Of No Return03. Malice In Geordieland (bonus track)

"Party Killers", which is is available on CD and 12-inch vinyl, includes the following tracks:

* "Too Bad Too Sad" (NAZARETH)* "Bad Reputation" (THIN LIZZY)* "Cockroach" (SWEET)* "Fireball" (DEEP PURPLE)* "Hang On To Yourself" (DAVID BOWIE)* "He's A Whore" (CHEAP TRICK)* "In For The Kill" (BUDGIE)* "Is There A Better Way" (STATUS QUO)* "Ogre Battle" (QUEEN)* "Queen Of My Dreams" (EDGAR WINTER)* "Tak Me Bak 'Ome" (SLADE)

RAVEN released the "Rock Until You Drop - A Long Days Journey" two-disc DVD as a digipak in North America on July 2, 2013 via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort contains four hours and 30 minutes of concert footage from around the world, in the studio, backstage, interviews with the band, the fans, musicians and producer. It tells the story of over three decades of trailblaizing metal mayhem!

RAVEN's last album, "Walk Through Fire", was released in the U.S. on March 30, 2010 (one day earlier in Europe through SPV/Steamhammer) via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Assembly Line Studios with engineer/mixer Kevin 131 (PROJECT: FAILING FLESH, DECEASED, DYSRYTHMIA, GARDEN OF SHADOWS).

Following the premature demise of THE OATH, Johanna Sadonis wasted no time in creating a new beast to go beyond previous limitations. That beast is LUCIFER and the band's debut album, titled "Lucifer I", will be released on June 16 via Rise Above Records.

Having released its debut single, "Anubis" earlier in 2015, LUCIFER has generated a significant buzz and the anticipation for "Lucifer I" is high. With the addition of Garry Jennings (ex-CATHEDRAL, DEATH PENALTY) as co-songwriter and studio guitarist, LUCIFER has moved forward into a realm of rock music which is very rare and very special in this time. Genuine, classic, heavy, studied and passionate are just a few words that instantly spring to mind upon first listen. LUCIFER's instinctive take on the very soul of early heavy metal is the electrified essence of rock'n'roll at its nascent purest. This is magic rock — heartfelt and holistic. Eschewing the now well-worn clichés of the "occult-rock explosion" in favour of a truthful and tempestuous re-imagining of classic '70s proto-metal and turbocharged blues, the eight songs on this band's debut album crackle and fizz with burgeoning energy and the compelling conviction of music made for all the right reasons. Although still firmly rooted in the fertile soil first cultivated by BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN and BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, LUCIFER exist in a proudly liberated and limitless sonic realm, where the heaviest blues rock is a mere starting point for the band's skyward creative trajectory. "Lucifer I" track listing:

01. Abracadbra02. Purple Pyramid03. Izrael04. Sabbath05. White Mountain06. Morning Star07. Total Eclipse08. A Grave For Each One of Us

Scott Weiland has responded to FILTER frontman Richard Patrick's assertion that STONE TEMPLE PILOTS fans are Weiland's "biggest enabler."

Speaking with MusicFrenzy.net, Patrick defended STP's decision to fire Weiland in 2013 and replace him with LINKIN PARK's Chester Bennington.

Patrick, who once played in the short-lived act ARMY OF ANYONE with STP's Dean and Robert DeLeo, explained, "The amount of shit that [the fans] give the band for trying to have a normal life… [The fans are] just sticking up for Scott, and they have no idea of [what is going on] behind the scenes." He added, "They're pushing him into his death, because they're making him believe that, 'Whatever I did is acceptable. And I can be as high as I want. And I can do as much drugs as I want.'"

Patrick continued: "[Some STP fans say], 'He's a badass rock and roll star. You can't have STP without Scott Weiland.' Okay, well, you're gonna get what you want — he'll be a rock-star legend that died in a hotel room with a needle sticking out of his arm, and it will not be a cool thing, and it will be sad, and his kids will be traumatized."

Patrick also said, "It's sad that three guys have to sit around and wait for someone to show up to a rehearsal. And they've been there for two weeks working, and the singer hasn't even shown up. And you get onstage and the guy doesn't even know how to sing his own songs. And it's pathetic. And it's sad for everybody."

In response to Patrick's comments, Weiland has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"Hey, Richard — thanks for your thoughts and opinions on my life. Just so you know, and others do as well, I haven't had a needle in my arm in thirteen years.

"Overcoming my addiction to heroin was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I'm damn proud of the fact that the time in my life when drugs were stronger than my commitment to my health is so far behind me, and always will be.

"By the way, man, I recall when I DID do drugs, and you were one of the guys getting high with me. It's behind you, please note and respect that it's behind me too.

"As for my issues with my former band — just remember the old adage that there are two sides to every story.

"I haven't been late for a show in a very long time. I have worked hard to be present and on time for my fans.

"I'm not perfect — no one is — but I have worked my ass off to repair the reputation I created by being thoughtless years ago.

"Why you felt the need to attack me is unclear but I am happy to set the record straight.

"Best regards to you."

Patrick has reportedly been sober since September 2002.

Dean DeLeo told The Pulse Of Radio that the rest of STP did not take firing Weiland lightly. "This definitely wasn't a decision that was made over six months or even a year or six or 10 years," he said. "It's been something that's been going on for a long, long, long time and, you know, it wasn't really so much about the band, it was more of a quality of life I think we just needed for ourselves, you know. I couldn't do it any more. Look, if I'm gonna carry on inappropriately, there's gonna be a thousand guys in line for my job."

STP began working with Bennington in May 2013 after firing Weiland three months earlier, saying that his erratic behavior and pursuit of a solo career had been detrimental to the band.

Weiland recently released an album called "Blaster" with his touring band THE WILDABOUTS.

DISTURBED is rumored to be recording its first album since 2010's "Asylum".

Although there has been no official confirmation on the matter, there are rumblings that the band is working with producer Kevin Churko, who has helmed the latest efforts from a number of popular hard rock and heavy metal acts, including FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, IN THIS MOMENT, PAPA ROACH and HELLYEAH.

If the rumor mill is correct, at least some of the recording sessions are taking place at Churko's The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas.

The members of DISTURBED have offered no updates about possible recording or touring activity since the band went on hiatus in late 2011.

DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan recently posted pictures on his Facebook page of a family vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

For his part, DISTURBED singer David Draiman revealed a few months ago that he was co-writing and producing some "baby bands" — though he didn't divulge more details because of a non-disclosure agreement.

Back in January, Draiman gave fans a "non-update" on the status of DISTURBED via his Twitter account, writing: "OKAY… 1. Disturbed WILL REUNITE…SOMEDAY. 2. I HAVE NO IDEA WHEN 3. NO CLUE ON Device EITHER – OOH WA AH AH AH."

His tweet echoed comments made to The Pulse Of Radio back in 2013 about DISTURBED's eventual return. "DISTURBED will reunite when the time comes," he said at the time. "When we feel it's right, when [Draiman's side project] DEVICE has run its course, when everybody's in the right head space and we're feeling re-inspired and we're ready to go back at it and the itch is itching hard enough, it'll happen."

After DISTURBED went on hiatus in late 2011, Draiman teamed with former FILTER guitarist Geno Lenardo to create DEVICE.

Draiman has also been spending time with his wife, model/wrestler Lena Yada, and their son, Samuel, who was born in September 2013.

According to the the Los Angeles Times, NINE INCH NAILS mainman Trent Reznor has put his home in Beverly Crest, a neighborhood in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California, on the market. The musician is asking $4.495 million for the house, which he purchased in 2007 for $4,187,500.

Reznor's Midcentury Modern-style house was built in 1966 and includes a sound-proofed media studio, retracting French doors that open the kitchen to a dining patio area, a balcony with a fireplace, an illuminated stone wall, an infinity edge pool, a lawn and an outdoor fireplace. The five-bedroom, four-bathroom two-story estate covers more than a half acre.

Reznor and longtime collaborator Atticus Ross last year landed their third straight Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Score" for their work on "Gone Girl", the thriller starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Reznor and Ross have won the Golden Globe twice for "Best Score", for 2010's "The Social Network" and 2011's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Both those films, like "Gone Girl", were directed by David Fincher. Reznor and Ross also won the Oscar for "Best Original Score" for "The Social Network".

Trent and his wife, singer Mariqueen Maandig, welcomed their first son, Lazarus Echo, on October 10, 2010. Their second son, Balthazar, was born 14 months later.

In a brand new interview with About.com, former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland was asked if he was surprised that the band ART OF ANARCHY, a project he only did vocals for, put out a press release saying it was a new supergroup that he was a member of.

"No. Actually I wish I could say I was surprised, but I wasn't surprised," he responded. "It was a scam from the beginning."

He continued: "I had them send me the files and I worked in my studio with my engineer and I wrote the lyrics and the melodies and I sent them back. I didn't even know what their names were… I had no idea who they were."

Weiland added: "I was paid to do it. But they were an unsigned band and they're still an unsigned band. Hey. They're gonna put it out on the Internet, and as fate will have it, they don't even have a lead singer. I'm not worried about it taking away any thunder from [my solo band] THE WILDABOUTS."

In addition to Weiland, the recording lineup for ART OF ANARCHY's first album included GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer. The rest of the lineup is filled out by Jon Votta on guitar and Vince Votta on drums. The group's debut disc will arrive on June 2 via Century Media imprint Another Century.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Thal wrote that "ART OF ANARCHY is not competition or a threat or interference to what any of us are doing — it's a complement, an addition, one I'm proud of creatively."

He continued: "[There is] no need to minimize or undermine or devalue a project we all worked on together over the course of two years.

"The five of us made an album together. Scott is currently the singer of the band. It's in writing; no confusion. But yes, Scott's solo album and tour are his priority and we're all on the same page about getting another vocalist if ART OF ANARCHY hits the road. But we don't need to cross that bridge just yet. Taking everything as it comes, one step at a time, letting it evolve organically. Where it goes from here (and with who!) is yet to be seen."

ART OF ANARCHY is the brainchild of Thal and the Votta brothers, who have been friends for 18 years dating back to their days on the New York music scene.

Thal also serves as producer and engineer on the album.

Weiland is no stranger to supergroups, having formed VELVET REVOLVER with several former members of GUNS N' ROSES more than a decade ago.

He was dismissed from that band in 2008, rejoining STP until they also fired him in early 2013. He and THE WILDABOUTS will put out a new album in March.

Thal has been with GUNS N' ROSES since 2006, playing on the 2008 album "Chinese Democracy". He has also released a number of solo CDs.

Moyer has been DISTURBED's bassist since 2004. The band has been on an extended hiatus since late 2011.

In the latest of a long line of formidable signings this year, LA-based record label Ripple Music announces the addition of Texan band Switchblade Jesus to their roster, and the official re-release of their 2014 self-titled debut on May 12th.

Formed in 2010 in the land of oil and tar, the Corpus Christi outfit consisting of Peter Quarnstrom (vocals), Eric Calvert (lead guitar/vocals), Billy Guerra (guitar), Jason Beers (bass) and Jon Elizondo (drums) may be hard drinking operators of heavy rock and roll, but they are also well versed in the ways of the desert.

Switchblade Jesus, the band’s devastating right hook of a debut was originally released on Kozmik Artifactz and instantly found listeners hearing notable nods to Kyuss, Orange Goblin and Clutch deep amid from the record’s weighty grooves and vintage stoner vibes. A crushing, loose and alcohol-fuelled fistfight between heavy fuzz and wild peyote hallucinations, tracks like “Bastard Son” and “Renegade Riders” showcase the band’s raw and unruly power... and then some.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Into Nothing”
“Bastard Son”
“The Wolves”
“Sick Mouth”
“Equinox”
“Renegade Riders”
“Copperhead”
“Oblivion”

“Oblivion” video: