SOIL's tour bus was involved in a road accident last night following the band's concert in Des Moines, Iowa. SOIL singer Ryan McCombs writes on Instagram: "At 4:33 a.m., the last thing you want to hear in your bunk is a combination of the driver yelling, 'HOLD ON!!', the sound of the bus flying off of the highway and The Jake (tour manager) screaming like a 12-year-old girl at a Justin Beiber concert.

"I find it interesting that as everyone sits around the stranded bus talking about what was going through their heads, all I can remember is gripping my pillow like it was going to save me from whatever was about to occur and thinking, '....huh....'"

He adds: "No serious injuries.. Just a bus full of arseholes that for the most part are happy to be alive and now just making fun of each other for their responses. We really are a bunch of fu*kwads..."

McCombs suffered a stroke in November following the completion of SOIL's European tour with (HED)P.E. and AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE.

SOIL's sixth studio album, "Whole", was released on August 20, 2013 via Pavement Entertainment.

"Whole" is the first SOIL album with McCombs since 2004's "Re.De.Fine" (after which he joined DROWNING POOL). It sees SOIL returning to its classic sound that fans have come to admire, with a pres release calling it the CD "that could have come directly after the 'Scars' album in 2001."

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett (a.k.a. Kirk Von Hammett) joined Swedish progressive metallers MESHUGGAH on stage this past Sunday, April 12 at RockBar Theater in San Jose, California during the second installment of his annual horror-themed Fear FestEvil, a music and memorabilia event.

Fan-filmed video footage of Hammett playing a guitar solo in the MESHUGGAH song "Bleed" can be seen below.

The second Fear FestEvil took place Saturday and Sunday, April 11-12, with appearances by Slash, SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 and performances by MESHUGGAH, AGNOSTIC FRONT, HIGH ON FIRE and more.

In a 2002 interview, Hammett said about MESHUGGAH: "You know, I think MESHUGGAH is brilliant. A lot of that extreme stuff doesn't make much sense to me, but when I heard MESHUGGAH, and everybody was talking about them at Ozzfest, I just sort of... I just respect it a lot. That type of stuff, it's not something that I listen to on a daily basis, but it's interesting to me. And there's not a lot of metal stuff that is that interesting. But like MESHUGGAH, that's really fucking interesting. You sit there and say, how does he actually play that on drums? And then you start getting into like, well, does he actually play that on drums? [Laughs] But it sits in a very different place compared to anything else I've heard."

Video footage of legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner's (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) April 11 performance at the Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan, Italy can be seen below.

Joe Lynn Turner recently claimed that his long-awaited reunion with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore will finally take place this year — even though previous attempts to bring the two back together were unsuccessful.

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

Speaking after his solo show in London, the singer told Classic Rock magazine: "[Ritchie is] itching to do some rocking, and we're going to get together in the fall.

"Ritchie is really, really ready to rock. He still has the chops, too."

He continued: "I'm not sure if it's going to be a RAINBOW reunion, or a bunch of remakes — which I detest, because you can't improve on perfection. But that's what's happening."

According to Turner, previous attempts to put RAINBOW back together fell apart because Blackmore wanted to focus on his band BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, which is fronted by the guitarist's wife, Candice Night.

"We had multi-million dollar deals set up with Live Nation," Joe recalled. "A 60-day tour to start with, HD 3D movie, everything — and then he had to finish [a BLACKMORE'S NIGHT] album."

After Blackmore's final departure from DEEP PURPLE in 1993, he resurrected RAINBOW before focusing exclusively on BLACKMORE'S NIGHT.

A remix of the new FAITH NO MORE song "Superhero", crafted by EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN's Alexander Hacke, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

"Superhero" was made available on seven-inch vinyl on March 17, followed by a digital release on March 31.

Asked why FAITH NO MORE decided to make its first new album since 1997, the upcoming "Sol Invictus", despite being adamant for years that it would never happen, keyboardist Roddy Bottum told Music Feeds: "We, kind of, as a band, did a lot of shows together a couple of years ago, and it was a little bit of a coming together as friends and collaborators, and we liked being together again. And it seemed like new material was the next logical step after a bunch of reunion shows that we did. We wanted to continue doing what we do."

Added drummer Mike Bordin: "There was no intention of doing an album when we started the [reunion] shows. As Roddy said, we just tried to get together and play and, honestly, see how it felt — see how it felt to be ourselves."

Continued Roddy: "Yeah, there was a conscientious decision at one point, I remember, amongst us, backstage, kind of deciding that we really didn't wanna do any more shows just playing the old material. So we felt like the place to go was… I mean, to make ourselves feel good, we needed to make a record and make some new songs, and that's what we did. And it wasn't material that we had sitting around from before. It was all stuff that was inspired by the moment."

Bottum also spoke about the musical direction of "Sol Invictus", which was described by the Music Feeds interviewer as having "more space" than some of FAITH NO MORE's previous efforts.

"It's kind of like a sense of maturity, in a way," Roddy said. "It sounds a little bit corny, but I think as people mature into their craft, it seems like oftentimes the most effect is achieved by stripping things down rather than throwing things on, and we had such a career of throwing things into the mix. We did that really well, but I feel a lot of it was just this crazy inundation of lots and lots and lots and lots and lots. And it feels like now, stripping things down… Like, I personally love to hear a solo instrument — like, put a piano and the voice togethera and nothing else. And that's a sign of maturity, to me, in a weird, corny way, but I like it an awful lot."

FAITH NO MORE reunited for touring purposes in 2009, 12 years after the release of its final studio set until now, "Album Of The Year".

The band announced last year that it was recording new material, with "Sol Invictus" set for release on May 19.

FAITH NO MORE has also confirmed its first North American shows since 2010 with a spring outing kicking off April 15 in Vancouver.

Parlophone Records (BMG/INgrooves Music Group for the USA) has announced the release of nineteen IRON MAIDEN catalog albums which have been Mastered For iTunes, encoded from 24-bit / 96 khz high resolution masters and now remastered with iTunes in mind, delivering the music to listeners exactly the way the artist and recording engineer intended. These are brand new re-masters from their original analog sources, exclusively produced for iTunes. All 15 studio albums, two best-of compilations and two live albums were personally selected by MAIDEN's founder member Steve Harris for this superior mastering technique:

* "Iron Maiden"* "Killers"* "The Number Of The Beast"* "Piece Of Mind"* "Powerslave"* "Somewhere In Time"* "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son"* "No Prayer For The Dying"* "Fear Of The Dark"* "The X Factor"* "Virtual XI"* "Brave New World"* "Dance Of Death"* "A Matter Of Life And Death"* "The Final Frontier"* "Somewhere Back In Time"* "From Fear To Eternity" (2CD)* "Live After Death" (2CD)* "Rock In Rio" ( 2CD) Steve comments: "The Mastering For iTunes procedure allows the listener to experience the music as close as possible to the way the artist intended it to be heard. So, of course, I was very keen for the MAIDEN albums to be mastered in this way. The records have been available digitally before, when this medium first became a platform for music distribution, but that was mastered with CDs in mind. The iTunes process involves a different approach and it's great to finally deliver the music to our fans in as close to a pure and accurate sound as we could possibly achieve. For example, as most people know, I was never really happy with the sound on the first MAIDEN album, but listening to it now, the guitars are louder, the drums more substantial and the overall tone is so very much improved, in my opinion. Tony Newton and Ade Emsley, who worked closely with me on the project, did a terrific job recapturing everything from the original masters, and together we've re- mastered them all digitally and I'm really happy with the results." Tony Newton adds: "The process started with locating all of the original album mix tapes (or whichever format they were mixed to). Then the choice of analogue to digital convertor was chosen for the most accurate capture to make it as close as possible to the sound of the mix as it was intended by the band.

"When a lot of these tapes were last captured it was in the 1980s, early days of digital and only 44.1khz/16bit files were possible. On top of this, the new A/D convertors are far superior now, and, of course, it is possible to produce files of far higher resolution. The result of this is that the songs now sound more defined with added depth and warmth.

"I was very excited to be asked to be part of this project. I honestly feel that there is a massive improvement in the quality of these classic albums.” Fans can download the Mastered For iTunes versions of the albums now from iTunes and learn more about Mastered For iTunes at this location.

The official lyric video for the song "Suffer In Silence" from COAL CHAMBER, the reformed '90s alt-metal band fronted by current DEVILDRIVER singer Dez Fafara, can be seen below. The track features guest vocals by MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen. Fafara stated about "Suffer In Silence" and working with Al Jourgensen: "Al has been a close friend for many years, he's a legend, and literally was the only guy I asked to be a guest on [the new COAL CHAMBER] record. He came over to the house, we had BBQ, a hell of a lot of wine, then I had the pleasure of watching him in my home studio do what he does!"

He added: "I fucking love this song, so jam it loud!"

COAL CHAMBER's comeback album, "Rivals, will be released on May 19 North America via Napalm. The band's first CD in over thirteen years was recorded in part at Audiohammer studio in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, CANNIBAL CORPSE).

Speaking about how the COAL CHAMBER reunion came about, drummer Mike Cox told Horns Up Rocks!: "It was just a lot of time and communication over the years to get us back together, 'cause we never used to communicate back in the day like we do now. So all the time had to pass. We could have forced the comeback throughout the years many times, just to get back into it. So we just took a lot of time and patience and became friends and it all just kind of snowballed after that into the writing. And we wrote frantically towards the end, and it just happened every day. It worked out perfectly."

Added Fafara: "A lot of people don't know that we actually were talking in 2009, and [Mike and guitarist Miguel 'Meegs' Rascón] were throwing tracks back and forth to me about us doing something. So it just took years of us talking, working stuff out, hashing out tunes and hashing out relationships. And now the bond is stronger than ever, friendship-wise and musically. We've been incredibly tight on stage, and as friends, we've got everything worked out. We know who each other is, and nobody pushes buttons, and it's a good thing."

He continued: "I mean, it's been a wonderful thing. We never used to text back and forth and just laugh our asses off. And now, that's what we do. I find myself, when we're off tour, we're all texting and just, literally, it's 'LOL.' There's nothing to say than 'OMG.' So it's really cool. It's a great vibe. And that's what music has to be anyway."

Dez was also full of praise for "Rivals. He said: "When I first started getting the demos, I was so fucking impressed that I didn't wanna start writing until I got the whole bulk of the material. And they all came to the table individually. And you can hear the sonic differences between each one of them. You know it's Mike on drums by his cadence and by what he does; you know it's Nadja [Peulen, bass] by her playing and by her skill and her sound; and you definitely know it's Meegs, because there's just nobody that works soundscapes like that with a guitar, other than probably [Tom] Morello from RAGE [AGAINST THE MACHINE]. I mean, really. So I would put him with that kind of a caliber of a guy."

Fan-filmed video footage of Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend performing two songs — "Bastard (Not One Of My Better Days / The Girl From Blue City)" and "The Death Of Music" — from his 1997 album "Ocean Machine: Biomech" live in their entirety for the first time Saturday night, April 11 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom can be seen below.

Devin will play a landmark show at London's legendary Royal Albert Hall tonight Monday, April 13 by performing a live version of his entire "Z2" album. He said: "Basically what we did with 'The Retinal Circus' a few years back will be taken to the next level with 'Z2' live."

Townsend was honored in the "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" category at this year's Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards), which was held on March 15 at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

"Z2" is a double album where the first CD is a DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT album called "Sky Blue", and the second disc is a ZILTOID album called "Dark Matters".

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke to Billboard.com about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's the long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic".

"We have a lot of good songs," Hammett said. "The songs are ever-changing at this point. Nothing is etched in stone. We still have a lot of material have to sift through, still. We have well over a dozen songs and we still have well over two or three hundred riffs, too, so it's hard to say at what point we actually are in in the project. I don't think we hit the middle point yet. I would say we're at the 25 percent point, maybe 30 percent point. It's hard to say, but I mean we are working on it and there are songs and we're making plans to write more songs and record."

He continued: "Whenever we go into the studio, it becomes such a huge sort of thing in our lives that it does take on monstrous proportions. It takes up a lot of space in our lives. Yes, you can look at it as something monstrous, for sure — and we've made movies about it, so there you go, man."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently told RollingStone.com that the band has written close to 20 new songs for its long-awaited tenth studio album, and will get closer to entering the studio in the near future. Ulrich said, "We've got lots of songs, and we're honing them and tweaking them. It's pretty close." He continued, "In our world, there's been a distinct difference between the creative phase and the recording phase. With this project, we're trying to bridge the two a little more organically and not have there be such a great divide between the processes. We want to see if we can bring some of the creative curiosity, the impulsive stuff that happens when you're first playing a song into the studio."

Ulrich added that the band doesn't want to record in a way that feels "labored over and overthought."

Even though Ulrich warned that "life continues with family and personal events," he added that the band is "certainly down there [writing] pretty much every day."

METALLICA spent a lot of time outside the studio in 2014, with activities that included a string of European all-request shows last summer, appearing as guests of honor at a film festival, and playing a week-long residency on "The Late Show With Craig Ferguson".

Caleb Smith of "The Sick Room" podcast in New Zealand recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX and MOTOR SISTER guitarist Scott Ian. You can now listen to the chat below.

Speaking about the progress of the recording sessions for ANTHRAX's follow-up to 2011's "Worship Music", Scott said: "'Worship Music' was a great record, and I think we have an even better record coming. We're literally in the middle of recording it. Joey [Belladonna, vocals] was out here [at a Los Angeles-area studio] singing all week, and we're working on lead guitar right now. So we'll just keep recording until it's done… I don't know… another month or two, on and off. 'Cause we're going out on tour here in the States and Canada. In about three weeks we leave… So we'll be gone for five or six weeks on that. And then we'll finish recording after that."

Asked if "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", ANTHRAX's contribution to the the second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape", for HBO's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series "Game Of Thrones", is a good indicator of what fans can expect from the band's forthcoming CD, Scott said: "That's just the tip of the iceberg. Obviously, we felt strong enough about it to put it out there as the first thing anyone was gonna hear new from us. But, yeah, it barely scratches the surface."

ANTHRAX will hit the road later this month. First up, a six-week-plus North American trek that will include 24 dates with VOLBEAT, as well as appearances at five major outdoor festivals — Northern Invasion (outside of Minneapolis), Rock On The Range (Columbus, Ohio), Rocklahoma (Pryor, Oklahoma), and the San Antonio and Kansas City Rockfests. Dates start in Denver, Colorado on April 24.

On this first leg, ANTHRAX will play a "fan favorites" set, comprised of band classics such as "Anti-Social", "Madhouse", "Caught In A Mosh", "I Am The Law" and "Indians". The set will also feature "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", which was made available on March 17 and is already getting airplay on hard rock radio. ANTHRAX's Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian are massive fans of the show, so having been asked to write a song for the "Mixtape" was an enormous thrill. You can hear "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)" (and the entire mixtape) for free on SoundCloud and iTunes.

Tentatively due later this year, ANTHRAX's new album will follow the band's Grammy-nominated, critically acclaimed "Worship Music" that featured the return of "classic era"-vocalist Joey Belladonna, was named one of the best metal albums for 2011 by countless media outlets, and provided the band with the rock'n'roll comeback story of the year. The new album is also the recording debut for guitarist and newest band member Jon Donais.

After strutting onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry during Eric Paslay's performance last week and teasing his upcoming country album, Steven Tyler has made it official. Rolling Stone Country confirms that the Aerosmith frontman has signed a deal with Dot Records, the label that Scott Borchetta and his Big Machine Group revived last year, to release his debut solo album.

While no specific release date or title has been announced, the album, set for release later this year, will feature songs that Tyler has already been writing and recording in Nashville over the past few months. So far he's collaborated with writers like Paslay, Hillary Lindsey, Cary Barlowe and the Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston.

"There was an immediate connection with Scott and Big Machine, and Nashville seems like the perfect segue for a solo project... and Dot Records is the right fit. My earliest influences put me somewhere between the Everly Brothers and the Carter Family, and this project is all about me paying homage to my country roots," Tyler says. "I've been working with some fucking epic Nashville songwriters, getting my feet wet with the style and groove."

Further details can be found at this location.

Catch Aerosmith on tour at the following shows:

June
24 - Ford Center - Evansville, IN
27 - Choctaw Casino Event Center - Durant, OK
30 - State Farm Arena - Hidalgo, TX

July
3 - Outdoor Arena at Harveys - Lake Tahoe, NV
7 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA
10 - Salinas Sports Complex - Salinas, CA
13 - Prospera Place - Kelowna, BC
16 - Save on Foods Memorial Centre - Victoria, BC
19 - Shell Place at MacDonald Park - Fort McMurray, AB
22 - Cheyenne Frontier Days - Cheyenne, WY
25 - North Dakota State Fair - Minot, ND
28 - Amphitheater Northwest - Ridgefield, WA

August
1 - MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
4 - Van Andel Arena - Grand Rapids, MI
7 - Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium - Canton, OH

 

According to TMZ, Marilyn Manson wants police to arrest the man who assaulted him and the shock-rocker's makeup artist inside a Denny's restaurant in Alberta, Canada the night of April 4, shortly after Manson performed a show at the Shaw Conference Center.

Manson's manager told the site the singer was sucker punched in the face after he agreed to pose with two females who asked for a photo.

Eyewitness Johnny Scott told the Calgary Sun the assault was unprovoked.

"Manson never got a chance to sit down," he said.

"He was being friendly with everyone, anyone who wanted a picture, he would give them a picture, anyone who wanted an autograph he would give them an autograph.

"They were just talking and the guy just punched him right in the face without any provocation.

"He just took the shot and ran off right away, then I remember seeing him in the parking lot ducking behind cars, he looked terrified."

According to Scott, Manson's nose was bleeding after the incident.

"It was a good shot, but I don’t think it broke his nose," Scott said.

"I ended up hanging out with Marilyn Manson for a little while afterward... He was pissed off because he was being nice."

Marilyn Manson is currently on the spring leg of his "Hell Not Hallelujah" tour in support of his latest album, "The Pale Emperor".

The trek next stops in Winnipeg on Thursday (April 9) and will conclude May 13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Manson will hit the road once again in July for a string of co-headlining shows with the SMASHING PUMPKINS.

On April 19th, 2013, Les Discrets gave a celebrated concert at renowned Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. In company with the Alcest musicians Winterhalter (drums), Neige (bass) and Zero (guitar, background vocals), mastermind Fursy Teyssier (vocals, guitar) showcased the best tunes from the first two Les Discrets albums in energetic live versions in front of an enthusiastic audience.
In retrospect, this performance carries great weight for the history of Les Discrets: as Teyssier won't be operating within the rock/metal context anymore in the future, this concert was most likely the last with emphasis on the songs of "Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées" and "Ariettes Oubliées" as well as their familiar arrangements. Also, the band's top-class line-up, consisting of the most influential musicians of the French post-black metal scene, was to be witnessed together on one stage probably for the last time at this event. Therefore, "Live At Roadburn" is much more than the first live album of Les Discrets. It's the culmination of the band's first creative phase.

Release date: 05.06.2015
North-American release date (not shop, just distribution): 09.06.2015

Available editions:
- CD Digipak
- Gatefold LP (180g vinyl, black) incl. printed inner sleeve, poster and PVC protection sleeve (500 copies available)
- CD box set incl. CD Digipak and photo cards, one signed by Fursy Teyssier - exclusively available at the Prophecy online shop (250 copies available)

Tracklist:
1. Linceul d'hiver
2. L'Échappée
3. Les Feuilles de l'olivier
4. Au Creux de l'hiver
5. Le Mouvement perpétuel
6. La Nuit muette
7. Chanson d'automne
8. Song for Mountains

There are also bundles available with your favoured format and a Les Discrets shirt for only five Euro more:
Bundles

Vocalist Andy Biersack of Los Angeles theatrical rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES has responded to KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons' recent comment that "rock is dead."

Simmons told Esquire magazine in September 2014 — in an interview conducted by his son Nick — that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

Simmons went on to elaborate that as a result of file-sharing and other issues, record label support for rock music was not available like it was when KISS was coming up, concluding, "It's finally dead. Rock is finally dead."

Asked to weigh in on Gene's comments, Andy told Kaaos TV (see video below): "I think that statement was a little misconstrued. I think what he was trying to say, and what probably wouldn't have gotten the big headline, is that the reality is that rock and roll, in the mainstream, it's in a difficult place right now. People don't buy music, and they certainly don't buy rock bands' music in the way that they used to. And so, for our genre, it's kind of… We're limping along when it comes to public appeal."

He continued: "It's really up to the kids who listen to rock music to get out there, come to the live shows and buy the records when they can and really support the genre. Otherwise, it will get taken away from us, because the hip-hop fans and the pop fans, they buy the records and they go to the shows in big numbers. So I think it's a little bit of both. But I believe that rock and roll is alive and well. I just think that people need to show their support and let the genre keep thriving."

Asked if he thinks any of the newer hard rock artists have a shot at becoming arena-sized acts once the current crop of dinosaur bands are no longer around, Andy said: "The current touring community is... really, the large arenas and stadiums and shed shows are all predicated on the idea of older artists. In five or ten years, when those artists cannot tour anymore, we're gonna see a huge shift in concers and concert attendance."

He continued: "As much as I'd love to think that THE ROLLING STONES can go on forever, or AEROSMITH or whoever else, physically, they will not be able to, eventually. And when that is done, it's gonna be very interesting to see, because the younger bands don't really have the opportunity to move into those venues."

Biersack added: "A band like AVENGED SEVENFOLD I've praised quite a bit publicly, because it's a band that has moved into that arena-size thing for a hard rock band. Obviously, there's bands like FALL OUT BOY and many others who are huge in scale and play those arena shows. But if you look at, like, a hard rock bands with guitar solos and pyro… SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD… There's really only a few."

The self-titled fourth studio from BLACK VEIL BRIDES sold around 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones", opened with around 42,000 units back in January 2013 to land at No. 7.

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

Iza Rodrigues of Menina Headbanger has produced a documentary about NEVERMORE/SANCTUARY singer Warrel Dane's recent Brazilian tour. The report on the "Dead Heart In A Dead World" 15th-anniversary Brazilian trek was recorded in São Paulo and São José dos Campos and can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the difficulty of performing some of SANCTUARY's early material live:

Warrel: "Sometimes 'Battle Angels' from the first SANCTUARY record, sometimes…. I love that song, but sometimes I know if I'm having a bad day, and maybe I won't sing it good enough for the people. So sometimes I hate singing that song when I know my voice feels bad. And then, every time I sing it bad, there's a YouTube video, right up there, or it gets on Blabbermouth — right away. Right away. Never the good ones, never the good performances — it's always the bad ones. People have to realize that singers are human beings. It's a flesh instrument. Sometimes you have bad nights. Sometimes you have perfect nights. The perfect nights never make it onto any kind of social media form ever."

On the recent departure of SANCTUARY guitarist Brad Hull:

Warrel: "The Brad Hull thing… I've known him for many, many, many, many years, and it's kind of a personal thing that I probably should not discuss in public. He's still my friend — I still will always be his friend — but there were just some things that happened that it's probably better not to discuss. [New SANCTUARY guitarist] Nick [Cordle, ex-ARCH ENEMY] was recommended by Zeuss [a.k.a. Chris Harris], the producer that did [the latest SANCTUARY album] 'The Year The Sun Died'. Because we were, like… At the last minute, after Brad said, 'I can't do the tour,' we had already bought his plane ticket and we lost a lot of money on that. And we freaked out; we didn't know what to do. Because we couldn't cancel the tour… SANCTUARY just did a tour in Europe with OVERKILL, and we couldn't cancel it, so we had to find someone very quickly when we found out that Brad couldn't do the tour. I still love that guy so much; I just wanna make that clear. And so, Zeuss found Nick for us. And it is… I'm guessing maybe one of your next questions is, 'Isn't it ironic, because of Jeff Loomis [former NEVERMORE guitarist] being in ARCH ENEMY now, and Nick being [in SANCTUARY]…?' It is kind of strange, but… Hey, Nick is a great guy — a great guy and a really, really good guitar player. I have no idea why he's not in ARCH ENEMY anymore, and I don't care. All I know, with my experience with him, he was great on tour, and he's a really good live performer and a nice guy. And, yeah, I'm pretty happy that we found him. I mean, Zeuss called up and said, 'Hey, I found the guy for you.'"

On the musical similarities between SANCTUARY and NEVERMORE:

Warrel: "People associate my voice with NEVERMORE. I think the music sounds absolutely nothing like NEVERMORE. The vocals, probably yes. And I think that's what it is. But the music is completely different than NEVERMORE. It's a lot more simple, it's a lot more song driven, it's not so progressive and all that stuff that made NEVERMORE what NEVERMORE is [and] was. So I completely understand the comparison, and I'm okay with that, but there's other people that kind of got a little annoyed when everyone started saying it sounded like NEVERMORE. It doesn't bother me."

On whether NEVERMORE is completely done:

Warrel: "No, NEVERMORE is not dead. I have secret plans. I have secret plans. I had all the lyrics written for a new NEVERMORE record right after… When Jeff and Van [Williams, drums] both decided to leave the band… The band didn't break up. They left the band. I had all the lyrics written for the next [album] — all of them. [It was] kind of a conceptual thing and continuing with the tradition of all the NEVERMORE lyrics that were evolving and turning into a perpetual story. And there's a possibility that, yeah, there will be another [album]. There's support there from the record company, probably. There's support from other people involved in the business that would mean maybe it would be a good idea to do another one. So don't be surprised if there is a new NEVERMORE record within the next two years. But I don't know who will be in the band. All I can say is that I will be, Jim Sheppard [bass] will definitely be… I would love for Jeff Loomis to do it, but he's in ARCH ENEMY now, so I don't know if that's possible. Because we're not enemies. We don't talk much, but we're definitely not enemies. We didn't part on bad terms, so… We'll see."

Interview:




Performance footage:

It was with heavy hearts that Twisted Sister said goodbye to their drummer A.J. Pero, who passed away on March 20th.

Twisted Sister members Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Eddie Ojeda (guitar), and Mark “The Animal” Mendoza (bass)  have announced that world renowned drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob, Winery Dogs) is the replacement for their brother A.J. Pero for all shows this year.

Portnoy has issued the following statement regarding his participation on the tour:

"As a teenager growing up on Long Island in the late '70s/early '80s, Twister Sister were local legends to me (this was years before the rest of the world discovered them via MTV). Along with KISS and The Ramones, they are the quintessential New York band...true Empire State Rock & Roll Royalty! Almost 40 years and 10,000 gigs later, they are still one of the greatest live bands on earth and Dee Snider one of the greatest frontmen in the history of rock.

When their fallen brother AJ Pero tragically passed away last month, I didn't hesitate a single moment when asked if I could help out with the remaining shows on their calendar. Not only because I love the band and will always be an S.M.F. at heart, but most importantly because AJ was my friend and I want to honor his memory and the band's legacy.

It's a strange twist of fate as AJ had stepped in and helped my old band (Adrenaline Mob) when I left, so I'm glad that I can now return the favor and help out his band in their time of need!

It is my absolute honor to help out my fellow Long Island Rock & Roll Saviors, Twisted Fucking Sister!"

To honour Pero’s memory, two shows will take place on the east coast and west coast. The first, on May 30th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will be filmed for broadcast, DVD, and CD. The second, for the A.J. Pero family, is scheduled on Saturday, June 13th at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ.

Additionally, fulfilling all concert obligations that have been made for the remainder of 2015 (in several different countries), Twisted Sister want their fans to know all festival dates that they have been advertised as playing will happen.

Finally, Twisted Sister has made it official that 2016 will formally close the touring chapter of their illustrious and legendary career. The Forty And Fuck It farewell shows celebrates the band’s 40th anniversary with the core line-up of Snider, French, Ojeda and Mendoza.

Stay tuned for updates.

May 
30 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel

June 
13 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
19 - Halden, Norway - Tons Of Rock Festival 
20 - Horsens, Denmark - State Prison Motorcycle Festival
27 - Piestany, Slovakia - TopFest
28 - Kavarna, Bulgaria - Kavarna Rock Festival

July 
24 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Fest

As they gear up for their Blind Rage Tour 2015 Part II, legendary German metallers Accept have announced the addition of former Grave Digger/Rebellion guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing longtime members Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann respectively.

Says the band: “Blind Rage Tour 2015 Part II is on the move again, returning to South America with Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Judas Priest, Motörhead and many other greats! Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and more are already in their intense battle plan for 2015!

The past, present and future for Accept was and still is beyond the band’s imagination, but not beyond their reach! We all know, they could not have come so far without their fans and the endless gifted people who are working so hard for Accept! Thank you to all of them from all of us with the promise, that we will come back - better and stronger and even more devoted than the last time!”

Accept are supporting album number three from singer Mark Tornillo, 2014’s Blind Rage.

Even though SLAYER has only just completed work on its eleventh studio album, the band has already set aside several tracks for the follow-up CD, which is not expected for the next several years.

During an appearance on this week's edition of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show", SLAYER guitarist Kerry King revealed (see video below): "What people don't know [is that] beyond [the new SLAYER album], there's six more [songs] towards the next one that are already recorded. So we did a lot."

SLAYER's forthcoming album will feature one song which was written by the band's late guitar Jeff Hanneman and originally laid down during the sessions for 2009's "World Painted Blood".

"When Jeff got injured, I started making up boatloads of stuff, because I didn't know, if Jeff contributed at all, how much he was gonna contribute," Kerry said. "So I just took it upon myself to say, 'Hey, man, if I get too much stuff, good for me.' It turns out Jeff didn't contribute anymore."

He continued: "[Jeff's song] on this record is 'Piano Wire', from the ['World Painted Blood'] recording session. We had [Paul] Bostaph play drums to the existing track. Tom [Araya] re-sang it. So that's Jeff's contribution to this record. And then on the follow-up — assuming there is as a follow-up — we have another one that we don't have lyrics for yet."

Asked about the initial reports which erroneously suggested that Jeff's playing was actually going to be included on the next SLAYER album, Kerry said: "It's his writing [and] I think the assumption was, [since] it's Jeff's song, [and] we recorded it for the 'World Painted Blood' tracks, [people] assumed Jeff played on it, but as everybody knows, I've done Jeff's rhythm tracks [on SLAYER albums] since the '90s. And he has no lead on it, so it's only me."

Regarding how it felt to record a SLAYER album for the first time without Hanneman involved in the process, King said: "The weirdest thing for me was just the lack of [his] presence. Because if I played all the stuff, which I had been doing, that part was the same, but having the guy that I wrote all the records with all those years not be there, that was really weird. And then it was just me and Tom, pretty much."

Kerry also spoke about the contributions to the songwriting sessions by current SLAYER touring members Gary Holt (guitar, also of EXODUS) and Paul Bostaph (drums). He said: "Paul, you know, I would show him the songs I'd bring in. A lot of times I'd just turn him loose, 'cause he's got good ideas. Then Holt, we had Holt play on seven, eight songs, guitar-lead wise. I figured… Personally, I thought that's how the fans would accept Gary being on any part of a SLAYER record to start with. So I wanted to start there."

King was full of praise for Holt, who began filling in for Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS.

"The scenario, as lousy as it is, is the best scenario it could have been, I think," Kerry said. "[Gary has] been playing with us almost five years now. And everybody knows Holt, because EXODUS has been around as long as we have. I've known him thirty years. I can't think of a better replacement that's ever happened, except maybe Brian Johnson and AC/DC."

According to King, Hanneman was a fan of Holt's playing and approved of having Gary filling in for him on tour when he first got sick. "Absolutely," Kerry said. "We were friends from Day One. I remember destroying hotel rooms with EXODUS when we were, like, twenty. Our history goes way, way back, and Holt, to me, is probably the best player in the genre that didn't get the respect he deserved. So I'm glad to have been able to help that get to more people."

King also touched upon SLAYER's latest split with drummer Dave Lombardo and return of Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band.

"It is funny… We were flying to Australia [in February 2013] when Dave [put out] his big 'press release' [announcing that he was not going to be doing the tour with us], so to speak," Kerry said. "And I land in Australia and my phone's just blowing up with texts. I'm, like, 'What happened?' 'Cause I've been here fourteen hours, and I have no idea. And the first [message] was from Paul Bostaph, saying, 'Hey, man, if you need anything, I'm ready to go.'"

He continued: "People have mentioned to me, and I didn't know, that Paul has his little group of SLAYER fans that are just Bostaph fans [that] actually like him better than Dave. I never knew that."

Multi-camera video footage of ADRENALINE MOB performing a cover version of the the CHARLIE DANIELS BAND classic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" on April 9 at Cardinal Bands & Billiards in Wilmington, North Carolina can be seen below.

ADRENALINE MOB and TWISTED SISTER drummer, A.J. Pero, died on March 20 of a suspected heart attack.

Playing drums for ADRENALINE MOB at all currently scheduled shows is ex-BREAKING BENJAMIN sticksman Chad Szeliga.

ADRENALINE MOB is the band featuring Russell Allen (vocals; also of SYMPHONY X) and Mike Orlando (guitar).

The band's latest album, "Dearly Departed", was released in February through Century Media.

In a departure from "Covertà", "Dearly Departed" features, in addition to four cover tunes, a previously unreleased track from the sessions for ADRENALINE MOB's second album, 2014's "Men Of Honor", three acoustic renditions of songs from both 2012's debut, "Omertà", and "Men Of Honor", and an edited version of the "Men Of Honor" track "Dearly Departed".

ADRENALINE MOB last August tapped Erik Leonhardt (TANTRIC) as its new bass player following the departure of John Moyer (DISTURBED).

Moyer, who had been a member of DISTURBED since 2004, joined ADRENALINE MOB in February 2012 and appeared on the band's "Covertà" EP (2013) and "Men Of Honor" album (2014).

"Men Of Honor" sold around 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 99 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's full-length debut, 2012's "Omertá", opened with around 6,600 units to enter the chart at No. 70.

"Men Of Honor" was released on February 18, 2014 in North America and February 24, 2014 internationally via Century Media Records.

Drummer Mike Portnoy (FLYING COLORS, THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) quit ADRENALINE MOB in June 2013 due to "scheduling conflicts."

MEGADETH has entered Lattitude Studio South in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee to begin recording its fifteenth album for a tentative late 2015 release.

A Portuguese-language video message from MEGADETH's new Brazilian lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro can be seen below.

Says Kiko: "Hey, everyone! I'm here in Nashville, Tennesee, at this beautiful place getting ready to record the fifteenth MEGADETH album and I made this video to thank all of you for the messages and support in this new journey, specially my bandmates from ANGRA, who were the first to give me their blessing.

"As a musician, one of my main goals was to take the identity of Brazilian music to the world, so I'm very happy to be part of MEGADETH now and share this achievement with you all."

MEGADETH announced on April 2 that Loureiro had joined the Dave Mustaine-led group as the replacement for Chris Broderick. Mustaine said in a statement: "I first met Kiko around eight years ago for a cover shoot for Burrn! magazine. I had no idea who he was, other than the fact he was tremendously talented and that the staff from Burrn! held him in high regard. Since then, I've come to see what a guitar virtuoso he is, and I'm deeply encouraged by his depth and talent."

He continued: "Very few MEGADETH alumni have had the same feel and ability as Kiko."

In addition to Mustaine, Loureiro and bassist David Ellefson, the recording lineup for MEGADETH's forthcoming album includes LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler.

Australia's incendiary extreme musical export THY ART IS MURDER will release its third studio album, "Holy War", on June 30 via Nuclear Blast. Produced and mixed by Will Putney (SUICIDE SILENCE, EXHUMED, THE ACACIA STRAIN), the CD will be made available in various formats: digital; limited digipak + bonus track; assorted color vinyl; exclusive mail-order picture disc.

"Holy War" track listing:

01. Absolute Genocide02. Light Bearer03. Holy War04. Coffin Dragger05. Fur And Claw06. Deliver Us To Evil07. Emptiness08. Violent Reckoning09. Child Of Sorrow10. Naked And Cold11. Vengeance (bonus track; initial CD pressings and vinyl only) THY ART IS MURDER guitarist Andrew Marsh shares the following about the origins of the new album and its title: "Late last year, we entered the studio in secret to create our follow up to 'Hate', free of expectation and public pressure. What we came out with was a reaction to things going on around the world that crawl under our skin, that make us feel sick to be alive. Musically, it is darker, faster and more technical than anything we've done in the past and it hits hard lyrically. We wrote about concerns of ours, real issues, hardships that people are facing around the world today. Of course, it wouldn't be a THY ART record if a lot of those affairs weren't rooted in religion somehow, and what better way to sum up the state of all things than by entitling our album 'Holy War'. This is our war on racism, homophobia, child abuse, animal cruelty and all evil born of religious immunity, indoctrination, and ignorance. It is ultimately a push for secularism and humanism. Without it, we will be left in the hands of mad men." Rising from the unhallowed wastes of Western Sydney, THY ART IS MURDER successfully cleaved a trail of blood and mayhem since their inception in 2006. With the acclaimed "Infinite Death" EP (2008) and their debut album, "The Adversary" (2010) firmly establishing their name in the global metal music scene, the band has traversed highways and autobahns all around the world, playing 342 tour dates alone in support of their Nuclear Blast Entertainment debut, "Hate" (2012), which landed at No. 35 on the Top 40 ARIA chart — the highest chart debut of any Australian extreme metal band. Known for their tireless work ethic, THY ART IS MURDER performed at Summer Slaughter 2014 aand 2013, headlined their own "Hate Across America" tour in 2013, and supported EMMURE and BORN OF OSIRIS in 2014, playing throughout the U.S. more times in a two-year period than any other Australian band in any genre of music. THY ART IS MURDER will tour through Europe with EMMURE this May; a return trek to the U.S. will be announced soon. Band photo by Thomas Savage

A new teaser for "Haven", the forthcoming album from American/German/Swedish symphonic metallers KAMELOT, can be seen below. The CD will be made available on May 5 in North America and May 8 in the rest of the world (excluding Asia) via Napalm Records as part of an exclusive licensing deal through the band's Kamelot Music LLC.

"Haven" track listing:

01. Fallen Star02. Insomnia03. Citizen Zero04. Veil Of Elysium05. Under Grey Skies06. My Therapy07. Ecclesia08. End Of Innocence09. Beautiful Apocalypse10. Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)11. Here's To The Fall12. Revolution13. Haven

Exclusive bonus CD track listing (available only with the limited mediabook and deluxe earbook):

01. End Of Innocence (Piano Version)02. Veil Of Elysium (Acoustic Version)03. Fallen Star (Orchestral Version)04. Here's To The Fall (Orchestral Version)05. My Therapy (Orchestral Version)06. Fallen Star (Instrumental)07. Insomnia (Instrumental)08. Citizen Zero (Instrumental)09. Veil Of Elysium (Instrumental)10. Under Grey Skies (Instrumental)11. My Therapy (Instrumental)12. End Of Innocence (Instrumental)13. Beautiful Apocalypse (Instrumental)14. Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) (Instrumental)15. Revolution (Instrumental) Speaking to RAMzine at this year's Hammerfest, which took place last month at Hafan Y Mor Holiday Park, Pwllheli , Gwynedd, North Wales, KAMELOT singer Tommy Karevik stated about "Haven": "I think it's even more diverse than the previous album [2012's 'Silverthorn']; it is, actually, more diverse. We went a little bit for that — to have this wide spectrum of different feels; not only bombastic stuff, but also melancholic, dark, slower stuff, even faster stuff, more aggressive stuff. So it's a really good… It's like a plethora of everything, which is really cool. We've got some really cool responses from the album so far."

Asked whether "Haven" has a lyrical theme, Tommy responded: "At first, we didn't go for some kind of theme; it just happened, in a way, when we started writing and started looking at what we had, gathering the lyrics together and everything. Everything just fell into one basket, so to speak. Actually, it's about… It's not a theme like 'Silverthorn' was; it's a more loosely based theme, but it's about this topic… the world. We're a little bit reflecting on what we are doing in this world right now. Everyone's looking down at their phones and doing social media instead of talking to each other, and everyone's hunting for this perfect life, this perfection. And everything you post is about how good, perfect you are… everything. You don't get reality, actually. You get a fake picture of reality, which doesn't… People just feel bad and get stressed over it and stuff like that. So that's one thing of it; the overall stress of today. But that also translated into a little bit of a futuristic feel, you know. So I'm pretty happy with everything so far, and I just hope that people are gonna love it as much as we do."

KAMELOT recently spent time in Belgrade, Serbia with director Ivan Colic (MOONSPELL, SOILWORK, HAMMERFALL, TYPE O NEGATIVE, SYMPHONY X) filming a video for an as-yet-undisclosed song from "Haven".

Produced by Sascha Paeth and mastered by Jacob Hansen, "Haven" is a massive album that is sure to please critics and fans alike. Guest musicians on the CD include Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Troy Donockley (NIGHTWISH) and Charlotte Wessels (DELAIN). The breathtaking cover and artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann and additional art/layout was done by Gustavo Sazes.

Following the release of "Haven", KAMELOT will embark on a massive world tour, starting with North America in April/May, followed by European shows in the summer and with the "Haven" European tour in September/October.

AC/DC kicked off their Rock Or Bust 2015 tour last night (April 10th), headlining the 2015 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The fest marked the appearance of the band's new line-up featuring mainstays guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and guitarist Stevie Young and former drummer Chris Slade. AC/DC performed three songs from the new album and filled the set with deep classics like the rarely-heard “Have A Drink On Me”
and “Sin City”.

AC/DC’s Coachella setlist:

“Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be”
“Shot Down In Flames”
“Back In Black”
“Rock Or Bust”
“Shoot To Thrill”
“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
“Thunderstuck”
“Play Ball”
“The Jack”
“Hells Bells”
“Baptism of Fire”
“You Shook Me All Night Long”
“Have A Drink On Me”
“Sin City”
“T.N.T.”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Train”
“Whole Lotta Rosie”
“Let There Be Rock”

Encore:
“Highway To Hell”
“For Those About To Rock”

Fan-filmed video:

AC/DC’s North American run kick off on August 22nd in Foxborough, MA at Gillette Stadium and run through September 28th in Los Angeles, CA at Dodger Stadium. Tickets available via Ticketmaster. Previously announced European dates on the Rock or Bust World Tour begin May 5th in Holland and run through late July. AC/DC announced this past week dates in their homeland of Australia in November.

AC/DC last toured the world from 2008-2010 with the Black Ice World Tour, which had the band playing to over 5 million fans in 108 cities in over 28 countries. The Black Ice World Tour earned AC/DC a Pollstar Award for Major Tour of the Year in 2010.

 

 

ACT OF DEFIANCE, the new band featuring former MEGADETH members Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar), alongside ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner, and SHADOWS FALL's Matt Bachand (bass), will begin mixing its debut album on Monday, April 13 with world-renowned producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL). A tentative summer release via Metal Blade Records is expected.

In a recent post on ACT OF DEFIANCE's Facebook page, Drover stated about his new band: "People often ask me: what does the new music sound like? I loathe putting music in a nice tiny 'heavy metal sub-genre' box, so I won't. Like I have said from the get-go, this music is 100 percent pure heavy metal made purely for musical purposes. We are creating music that we totally love, with hopes that others will dig it as well, which, at the end of the day, is all you really can try to do, in my opinion. Elements of thrash, progressive, traditional, dynamic — it's all there and then some.

"We have been working with Travis Smith (OPETH, NEVERMORE, OVERKILL, SANCTUARY) for our artwork, to which he has really come up with some twisted, bizarre, awesome concepts (right up my alley), which has also been very exciting."

During an interview with SiriusXM's Jose Mangin on the December 17, 2014 edition of Liquid Metal's "666-LIVE" call-in show, Broderick stated about how his new group came together: "Through talking with Shawn Drover, we've talked about how we had all this material that was never gonna get released, all these killer, heavy riffs that we had written and stuff, and so we just decided, 'Hey, why don't we put the stuff out? Why don't we form a band and get out these killer riffs, just to see what people think?' So we formed a band, we're working with a killer singer — he's awesome — and we've got record labels that have made some good offers on the table, and we're really excited about where that's gonna go."

Regarding whether the musical ideas that are being used in the new band are things that were originally presented to MEGADETH and were turned down or if they are brand new compositions, Chris said: "Some of them were presented, but then some of them also… I'd be, like, 'Oh, this isn't appropriate for MEGADETH, their sound.' I have a tendency to write very complex stuff, and so I've gotta watch it when I write and submit for MEGADETH under that kind of… I wanna make sure it's not too complex and too crazy and all over the place. So those are the things that I would have held back."

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman teamed up with Argentine tango-jazz act ESCALANDRUM to pay tribute to Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player and arranger Ástor Piazzolla on Thursday, April 9 at the Usina del Arte’s Sala Sinfónica in Buenos Aires. The concert featured such songs as "Tangueria", "Vayamos Al Diablo", "Oblivion", "Adiós Nonino", "Libertango" and Friedman's own "Undertow".

Video footage of the entire performance can be seen below.

Friedman says that he discovered Piazzolla's music through his wife, Japanese cellist Hiyori Okuda.

"It's all very coincidental because just when I started listening to his music, I got a call from my friend Rodrigo (from the Mexican guitar-duo RODRIGO Y GABRIELA) and he said, 'Dude, let's do a Piazzolla song together,' and I was, like, 'You're kidding! I just heard about him and he is so fantastic!'" Friedman told the Buenos Aires Herald. "Shortly after, I was invited to play with ESCALANDRUM during my stay in Buenos Aires and that just blew me away."

He continued: "I'm still new to Piazzolla's music because I don't really favor older music, I'm very much into the current Japanese pop music scene."

As for the appeal of Piazzolla's works, Friedman says: "I believe Piazzolla's music has shameless pop melodies in it, something I can really relate to.

"If you think about it, the main theme on 'Adiós Nonino' could be turned into a Britney Spears hit song. Yet, at the same time, the song features chaotic textures and complex arrangements that make the pop stuff sound so much more beautiful. I feel very close to him in that sense."

He added: "People usually wonder angrily why am I so into pop music, but if they could take the time to listen to my work with J-pop bands, they would see there's a method to all the madness. Not that I'm even close to putting myself on the same league as Piazzolla, but I truly feel a relation."

A preview of SUN & SAIL CLUB's new album, "The Great White Dope", is available below. The CD will be released on May 12.

SUN & SAIL CLUB is the band featuring Bob Balch (FU MANCHU) on guitar, Scott Reeder (FU MANCHU, SMILE) on drums and Scott Thomas Reeder (KYUSS, FIREBALL MINISTRY, THE OBSESSED) on bass, and vocalist and punk legend Tony Adolescent (THE ADOLESCENTS).

Asked how Tony became part of the equation, Balch said: "On the last record, 'Mannequin', I recorded all the vocals using my guitar and a vocoder. I'm a big fan on KRAFTWERK and BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW and that album reflects that 100%. On this record, I wanted to hear a singer. My first idea was Tony from THE ADOLESCENTS. I grew up listening to them. FU MANCHU covered their song 'Things Start Moving' and he came up and sang it with us in Orange County. I watched that footage and was way into his voice with our sound. Not to mention his lyrics too! He rules."

He continued: "I had a few riffs floating around, [but] nowhere near a full record. I contacted Tony and he agreed to sing on the record. He hadn't even heard one note! Once I read that response, I was super pumped and wrote almost the entire record in three hours with his vocals in mind. The end result is a record that is super inspired and aggressive with songs that get right to the point."

Regarding the recording process for SUN & SAIL CLUB's new CD, Balch reveals: "I always wanted to make a record that was punk influenced with big drums and fuzzy guitars. Like, what if the BAD BRAINS had to play a set on FU MANCHU's gear?

"I sent the tunes to Reeder [drummer] and then drove up to Orange County to demo them. We jammed once and then we were in the studio the following week to track drums and rhythm guitars. We went with our buddy Andrew Giacumakis' studio. He plays in a band named MOAB and we love the tones he gets. He recorded drums and bass on the last FU MANCHU record, 'Gigantoid', as well. From there, I went to 'The Racket Room' to get some vocals with Tony Adolescent and Jim Monroe at the board. Jim recorded guitars on the last FU MANCHU record and recorded THE ADOLESCENTS a bunch of times, so that decision made perfect sense. Then I headed out to the desert to record leads and bass at Scott Reeder's 'Sanctuary.' It was always my intention and always will be my intention to record there. Not only because Reeder gets the best guitar, bass and drum tones ever, but also that way he can watch me fumble through the tracks on bass then annihilate my tracks by recording some of his own."

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Krokodil Dental Plan02. Dresden Fireball Freakout Flight03. Baba Yaga Bastard Patrol04. Migraine With A Chainsaw Reduction05. Level Up & Shut It Down06. Fever Blister & The Great White Dope07. Full Tilt Panic08. Alien Rant Factory09. Inside Traitor Outside View10. Cypherpunk Roulette