MEGADETH's official Facebook page has been updated with a photo of what is unmistakably LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler wearing a MEGADETH shirt accompanied by the hashtag #‎Megadeth15‬, indirectly confirming rumors — as exclusively reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET on March 14 — that Adler is laying down drums for MEGADETH's new album.

Adler's involvement with MEGADETH will apparently be limited to studio work only, and he is not be expected to join the band on the road to promote the effort, which is currently being recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and Adler were photographed last week having a discussion at what appeared to be a fast-food restaurant or a coffee shop in Tennessee.

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

MEGADETH has yet to officially announce replacements for drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick, who quit the group last year.

The band was still finalizing the recording lineup for its new album earlier in the month, with Mustaine tweeting on March 10 that he was "excited to be auditioning one of my final picks for my new guitarist today."



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#Megadeth15

Posted by Megadeth on Saturday, March 28, 2015



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#Megadeth15

Posted by Megadeth on Friday, March 27, 2015



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#Megadeth15

Posted by Megadeth on Thursday, March 26, 2015

Currently on the road in Europe supporting their new album Decadent, U.D.O. - featuring former Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider - performed at Batschkapp in Frankfurt, Germany on March 10th. High quality fan-filmed video from the night can be viewed below:

After the split with former U.D.O. drummer Francesco Jovino and numerous auditions with possible new band members, the decision has been made – the new drummer and band member of U.D.O. will be Sven Dirkschneider!

"His drumming has simply convinced us most“, the band says. "His style of playing drums is fresh and really grooves heavily. It simply is exactly what we need for U.D.O. We also know that Sven fits perfectly into the band family. He has been working as a drum tec for us for more than four years and we know from several world tours that everyone likes him and gets along with him perfectly."

Sven Dirkschneider is 21 years old and is now the youngest member of U.D.O.. From the beginning Sven was in touch with his father's job and ran around backstage at his shows. His father's world, consisting of tour busses, lots of event techniques and travelling has been normal to him since he can think. And he felt at a very early stage that this could be his world as well. After his high school diploma he started studying media design and event techniques.

Now Sven is a permanent member of U.D.O. His debut show for U.D.O. will be on March 6th in Wuerzburg/Germany.

"It is a very special feeling to be a part of my father’s band“, he says. "I somehow have always been around with the band since I can remember. But I have never dreamed of being a real band member one day.“

U.D.O.'s new studio album, Decadent, was released on January 23rd in Europe via AFM Records. It entered the German Media Control album charts at #16. That’s the highest chart entry for U.D.O. ever! The album also charted in Finland at #35 and in Sweden at #66. Decadent is now available in North America.

Confirmed tour dates (with opening act Sister Sin) are as listed:

March
27 - Hellraiser - Leipzig, Germany   
28 - Airport - Obertraubling, Germany   
30 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland    

April      
1 - De Kreun - Kortrijk, Belgium
2 - 02 Academy - Sheffield, United Kingdom  
3 - Queens Hall - Nuneaton, United Kingdom    
4 - O2 Academy - London, United Kingdom  
5 - Le Forum - Vaureal, France  
9 - Sala Caracol - Madrid, Spain    
10 - Polideportivo - Valladolid, Spain    
11 - Sala Totem - Pamplona, Spain    
12 - Sala Salamandra - Barcelona, Spain    
16 - Sala Rock City - Valencia, Spain    
17 - CC Delicias - Zaragoza, Spain   
19 - Conrad Sohm - Dornbirn, Austria    
23 - Klubben - Stockholm, Sweden  
24 - Liljan - Borlänge, Sweden  
25 - Trädgårn - Goteborg, Sweden 
26 - KB - Malmö, Sweden  
30 - Vulkan Arena - Oslo, Norway    

May      
1 - Karmoygeddon Festival - Haugesund, Norway
2 - Byscenen - Trondheim, Norway    
7 - Nosturi - Helsinki, Finland    
8 - Leipeatehdas - Vaasa, Finland   
9 - Finlandia Klubi - Lahti, Finland   
30 - Beast Of Rock - Brunflo, Sweden    

Previously only available on DVD, Metal Blade has teamed up with Pentagram to release When The Screams Come on April 17th for the first time ever on vinyl. The album features the amazing live show captured during Maryland Deathfest 2010, plus five additional exclusive bonus tracks recorded in 2014.

When The Screams Come will be released on gatefold double vinyl in three versions (180g black - clear/blue splatter - red). A free poster comes with all three versions.

 

 

Tracklisting:

Side A:
“Day Of Reckoning”
“Forever My Queen”
“Ask No More”
“Run My Course”
“You're Lost, I'm Free”
“Review Your Choices”

Side B:
“Petrified”
“Relentless”
“All Your Sins”

Side C:
“20 Buck Spin”
“Sign Of The Wolf”
“When The Screams Come”

Side D (bonus tracks recorded October 31st, 2014 at the Heavy Halloween Show at Arts Riot, Burlington, VT):
“Death Row”
“Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood” (cover)
“Vampyre Love”
“Nothing Left”
“Relentless Reprise”

 

 

Peaceville Records recently announced the re-signing of Pentagram for its forthcoming studio album, set to be released summer 2015. The highly influential American heavy metal/doom act, fronted by the mysterious Bobby Liebling, formed in the early 1970s, though its debut album - now known as Relentless - didn't see a release until 1985. Through four decades of adversity and triumph, Pentagram has become a legendary international act and has firmly stamped its name in the heavy metal history books.

Pentagram recently completed pre-production with Swedish producer, Mattias Nilsson, at studios in Baltimore, Md., D.C. and Va., with additional vocal and guitar production in Knoxville, Tenn. with Travis Wyrick. Wyrick is a Grammy Award-winning producer who produced the band's previous album, Last Rites.

The band comments on the signing: "Pentagram is happy to return to the label that helped relaunch interest in our debut album and introduce us to a new metal audience in the 1990s. Peaceville Records has been an ally to us throughout the past 20 years. We are happy to have them by our side once again as we record our fourth album under their banner. Never properly recorded songs written by Bobby in the 70s will be heard on the album as fresh as they were when they were written over 40 years ago. Brand new numbers by the core of Griffin, Turley and Liebling that were written this fall will appear along the old songs, and will produce an album that encompasses the true spirit of Pentagram. Doom is often mistaken as exclusively slow music. If you listen to our classic 'doom' album Relentless, many of those doomed classics are quite fast. One of the magics of doom metal is to have a faster song seem much slower because of the sheer heaviness of the number. That's what we are going for. The band will sound like they are as much from the street as they are from the Sabbath, because, well, we are."

It has also been announced that Sean Saley has decided to step down from the drum throne. "Minnesota" Pete Campbell will step in to complete recording and touring duties throughout 2015. Campbell is best known for his drumming with Victor Griffin's In-Graved, Place Of Skulls and stoners Sixty Watt Shaman.  

Preceding the still-to-be-titled opus is an extensive DVD release, All Your Sins, due out March 31st in North America. This first-ever official Pentagram video collection recovers, repairs and resurrects the earliest known footage of this doomed metal pioneer and more. Featuring two DVDs packed with priceless archive footage, as well as recent shows, All Your Sins - Video Vault unearths the rumoured lost visual evidence pent up in the Ram Family vault for decades. This definitive collection contains over seven hours of footage from nine venues and numerous historical shows, including a charged performance at the legendary CBGB's club in 1985 - a mass of classic renditions from the band's catalogue finally gathered together for a live journey spanning over 30 years.

 

 

Disc 1:

Death Row Live at the Silver Fox - 1983
CBGBs - 1985
The Seagull Inn - 1985
The Hung Jury Pub - 1987
930 Club - 1993

Disc 2:

The Paragon - 1993
The End - 2010
John Dee, Oslo - 2012
The DNA Lounge - 2014

Trailer:

 

FEARED, the Swedish death-metal foursome led by THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund, will release its fifth album, "Synder" ("sins" in Swedish), on May 25. The effort, which once again features the stunning artwork by Sylvain Lucchina of Razorimages, will be made available on digipack CD and as a digital download. The official video for the first single from "Synder", a track called "My Grief, My Sorrow", was directed by Englund and can be seen below. Said Englund about the clip: "'My Grief, My Sorrow' is about a person with mental problems who takes his life, only to wake up and relive the same day over and over. The endless circle drives him more into madness and the story never ends. Or it could be a tale about an honest man who has a special fondness of knives and old televisions."

"Synder" track listing:

01. Synder02. Your Demise03. Of Iron And Ashes04. Caligula05. My Grief, My Sorrow06. Dygder07. By Silent Screaming08. Wolf At The End Of The World09. My Own Redemption10. Dying Day11. War Feeding War12. The Narcissist13. Godless Devotion

The surviving members of TWISTED SISTER will reveal their future plans next week — less than fourteen days since the passing of the band's drummer, Anthony Jude "A.J." Pero.

The band posted a new message to its Facebook page along with the above photo of singer Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda and bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza.

"After two very emotional days with the amazing Pero family and close friends to honor of our brother, A.J. Pero, we met to plan our future," the group wrote. "Those plans will be made official next week.

"The band and the Pero family thank our fans from around the world for their love and support during this very tough time."

Pero died on March 20 at the age of 55. He was on tour with the band ADRENALINE MOB at the time. After members of that group failed to rouse him on their tour bus, he was taken to a Poughkeepsie, New York hospital and pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack.

A couple of days after Pero's death, Snider told a TMZ cameraman that TWISTED SISTER would "probably" would keep playing, "for [A.J.'s] family, because his family will benefit from us playing, financially."

French sounded less certain about the band's future when he told radio host Eddie Trunk on March 23 that "it may be time" for TWISTED SISTER to call its quits in 2016 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of French, Snider and Ojeda first playing together. He said: "We need to look at this and say to ourselves, as a live, breathing entity, on which our reputation totally rests on — being a great live act — how do we honor that history? And how do we honor A.J.? And how do we honor the fans' loyalty? And I think you know me and Dee and the band enough to know that we are totally realistic and genuine when it comes to our relationship with our fans."

Pero joined TWISTED SISTER in 1982, leaving the band in 1986 but returning in 1997. He remained a member of the group, which has toured on and off over the past 15 years, to this day. He played drums on six of the group's seven studio albums, except for 1987's "Love Is For Suckers".

TWISTED SISTER rose to prominence from the New York club scene in the early 1980s. Their biggest album, 1984's "Stay Hungry", contained the hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock".

In addition to touring with TWISTED SISTER and ADRENALINE MOB, Pero also recently played with former and current members of IRON MAIDEN and DISTURBED in a band called THE FOUNDRY. He also hosted drum clinics and seminars.

According to The Star Online, British extreme metallers CARCASS have upset some of their Malaysian fans by posting picture of the Malaysian flag upside down after the band failed to get visas for a show in the country.

"Sorry Malaysia, no show for you guys in May," the band wrote on its Facebook page. "Seems like your government officials still haven't updated their calendars to the 21st century — we've had our visas declined on the basis of our 'lyrical content.' Laughable and embarrassing.

"Give us a call when you get yourselves a sensible secular state. PS if you're reading this you're too late, we already 'corrupted' your youth and played Kuching last year!"

An inverted flag is usually used in distress situations or sometimes as a form of protest.

CARCASS's Facebook post was unsurprisingly met with a strong reaction from the band's fans in Malaysia, with one fan writing: "That was uncalled for. So disappointed with your status."

Another fan said other extreme metal bands — including LAMB OF GOD and KREATOR — were not allowed to play in Malaysia in the past, but they were not disrespectful.

"It's not right to post a picture of a flag upside down. It is disrespectful," the fan said.

A third fan added: "Your tone is nothing but disrespectful in general...I doubt this is the way to express your anger towards the situation."

Back in September 2013, The Department Of Islamic Development Of Malaysia (Jakim) raised objection to a planned LAMB OF GOD concert in the country, claiming that the band's music was a mix of metal songs with the reading of verses from the Quran. Jakim's director-general, Datuk Othman Mustapha, said the objection was in accordance with the decision of the Fatwa (Edicts) Committee that the practices and acts of black metal groups were misguided and contrary to the true teachings of Islam. Othman hoped that the authorities would not approve the performance by taking into consideration the sensitivities of Muslims and to ensure that it did not open up crises related to faith and morality.

SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya spoke to Revolver magazine about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's eleventh studio album, due later in the year.

"We're in kind of the beginning stages of the finishing stages, if that makes any sense," he said. "We're doing the mixing and mastering now, but we still need to sit down and figure out the album title, the album cover, the song titles, and the song list. We've recorded 13 songs for it; we'll probably put ten on there, but who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky and we'll put all 13 on there!"

The follow-up to 2009's "World Painted Blood" was recorded over a four-month period at Hollywood, California's Henson Studios with producer Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN and KORN, among others. The CD will be released on Nuclear Blast through the band's own label imprint, closing out a 28-year relationship with Rick Rubin and American Recordings. It will also be SLAYER's first album without the group's co-founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

"The whole process of this album started three years ago, when Jeff was still a part of it," said Araya. "There is one track on there that we recorded with him, that he did play on, which was completely done except we hadn't finalized the vocals for it. So we were fortunate to have something that he had participated in."

According to Araya, it's been "just odd and strange" making the new album without Hanneman "because he's never gonna be there again, you know?" he said. "Even when we were doing stuff without him while he was still alive, that felt strange. Yeah, I missed him during the process. But the way things turned out, I think he was definitely a part of it, even if he wasn't there physically."

Joining Araya and guitarist Kerry King during the sessions for SLAYER's new album are returning drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced Dave Lombardo last year, and guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS), who has been filling in for Jeff Hanneman on tour for the past four years.

Asked if he has found himself tempted to write the kind of songs that Jeff might have contributed to an album, Kerry told Metal Hammer magazine in an early 2014 interview: "I think that would be shooting myself in the foot. I can't pretend to be Jeff. We both learned from each other in 30 years of writing together. As far as going out of my way to write something that Jeff might've done? I won't do that. If it happens to end up sounding that way, good for me!"

At the time of the Metal Hammer interview to it was still undecided as to whether any of Hanneman's previously unused ideas would make it to the next SLAYER album. "There was a song we finished on the last record, but I know for a fact [Jeff] wanted to rewrite the lyrics on, so that one got to deconstruct and make better," Kerry said.

"I've said, and I'll continue to say, that if we use any of Jeff's songs, I don't want it to come out just because Jeff wrote it. I want it to come out because it's awesome," he added. "We've just got to put out something that I think Jeff would be proud of."

Regarding what fans can expect from the new SLAYER material, King said: "I've got a surprising amount of heavy stuff for me. I do tend to lean on the fast side, but I have some exceptionally heavy tunes, Like, 'Wow, man, where did that come from?' I expect my stuff to be angry and fast, but it's all over the map. I'm stoked. We'll have enough so we can pick great stuff whether we use any of Jeff's material or not. It should add up to as good a record as we can hope for with one of our original songwriters being gone."

The weather gods smiled on Axel Rudi Pell on that memorable magic evening of July 11th, 2014: there had been a severe weather alert, but in the end the floodgates of heaven opened only during the last song of his regular set, the Rainbow classic “Long Live Rock'n'Roll“. “That was Ronnie James Dio crying from above,” promoter Horst E. Franz speculated while bidding his farewells to the almost 15,000 drenched- but-happy fans at the festival site.

Three hours before the sun went down, creating a beautiful atmosphere at the Bang Your Head festival in Balingen/Germany, where Axel Rudi Pell celebrated his 25th anniversary as a solo artist with a once-in-a-life-time performance. The CDs and DVDs document a show that is unlikely to ever be seen again in this constellation - a special present the protagonist had worked hard for. It took almost a year to set everything up: “The actual organization started in the summer of 2014 when the promoter and I went public with the idea of this event,” Axel tells with obvious relief.

 

 

He's still happy about how things have turned out. With a little help from his friends at his booking agency, the Bochum guitarist set up an extraordinary lineup. “It was mostly all about personal contacts”, because after more than 30 years in the business Axel Rudi Pell is not only well-known, but also well-respected in the worldwide rock community, so the affix “& Friends“ is not one of those usual exaggerations. Almost all of his favoured candidates agreed on this one July date.

As Axel is an early bird, the whole organization was fairly easy. Of course there were rehearsals, but only one day before the show. Over fifty minutes worth of footage from those remarkable sessions are featured on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of this package. During those sessions Axel realized that something unique was happening. “Everybody involved had a blast and was right on track,” he remembers. Unfortunately, Doogie White had a prior engagement with Michael Schenker on that rehearsal day, but was replaced with ARP frontman Johnny Gioeli.

And except for Charlie Huhn, who had already agreed to play a gig in the USA with his current band Foghat, Axel's former singers turned out in full force: Rob Rock (1991) and Jeff Scott Soto (1991-1997) together with long-time ARP drummer Joerg Michael (until 1998) took the stage by storm after a historical four-song Steeler reunion at the beginning of the show. Axel's current lineup put on a best-of show with a blisteringly atmospheric version of the Neil Young classic “Hey Hey My My“ and a few epic ARP classics like “Mystica“, “The Masquerade Ball“, “Casbah“ and “Into The Storm“. You could feel those goose bumps spring up, and the climax was still to come: after a furioso battle between drum gods Vinny Appice and Bobby Rondinelli, a long list of rock legends took the Balingen stage: stepping in for Joe Lynn Turner, who was tied up with business affairs, Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins performed a superb version of Deep Purple's “Black Night“, including audience sing along.

Then John Lawton, the former voice of Uriah Heep, demonstrated why he still deserves a lot of “Sympathy“ (Uriah Heep), and he was still looking for some “Tush“ (ZZ Top). When ex-Rainbow keyboard player Tony Carey joined in for an emotional “Mistreated“, the now available Doogie White and Johnny Gioeli set the roof on fire. Graham Bonnet, another Rainbow veteran from the glorious Down To Earth era, remembered the good old times with “Since You Been Gone“ and, of course, the aforementioned “Long Live Rock'n'Roll“. At the end of those three hours plus all guests (and friends!) gathered on stage for the grand finale “Smoke On The Water“.

Watch a new teaser featuring “Since You Been Gone“ below:

A legendary evening drew to a spectacular close. Are you happy, Axel? “Of course! I could have played at least for another hour.” Did anything go wrong? “Nothing, but there was no way we could have prevented those long change-overs in between.” But at least the weather gods smiled…

To get an idea what really happened that night, listen to "Black Night" live featuring Ronnie Atkins below.

Tracklisting:

“Call Her Princess” - Steeler
“Night After Night” - Steeler
“Rockin' The City” - Steeler
“Undercover Animal” - Steeler
“Nasty Reputation” - Rob Rock, Joerg Michael
“Warrior” - Jeff Scott Soto, Joerg Michael
“Fool Fool” - Jeff Scott Soto, Joerg Michael

Axel Rudi Pell Band:

“Burning Chains”
“Strong As A Rock”
“Long Way To Go”
“Hey Hey My My”
“Mystica”
“Into The Storm”
“Too Late” / “Eternal Prisoner” / “Too Late”
“The Masquerade Ball” / “Casbah”
“Rock The Nation”

Drum Battle - Vinnie Appice, Bobby Rondinelli
“Black Night” - Ronnie Atkins
“Sympathy” - John Lawton
“Tush” - John Lawton
“Mistreated” - Doogie White, Tony Carey, Johnny Gioeli
“Since You Been Gone” - Graham Bonnet, Michael Voss, Doogie White
“Long Live Rock'N'Roll” – Doogie White, Graham Bonnet, Tony Carey
“Smoke On The Water” – All Guests

Digipak 3 CD, Digipak 3 DVD (NTSC, code free), Blu-ray and download - out in Scandinavia on April 22nd, in Germany on April 24th, in Europe on April 27th and in North America on April 28th through SPV/Steamhammer.

 

French heavy metallers, Dygitals, will release their new album, Dynamite, on May 21st in Europe and May 5th in North America via Mausoleum Records. The cover artwork, tracklisting and a short video sample can be found below.

 

 

The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Didier Chesneau at MII Recording Studio, based in Forainvillier Dreux in France. Dynamite marks the return of the band to its glorious form.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Dynamite”
“30 Years Of Rock”
“No Speed Limit”
“Sin City”
“Everybody Knows”
“Will You Help Me”
“No Way Out”
“We Wanna Live Free”
“Don’t Want To Let You Down”
“End Of The Story”

Trailer:

Dygitals are:

Herve Traisnel – Lead Vocal
David Dugaro – Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
Jean-Marc Lavayssière – Rythm Guitar & Backing Vocals
Jack Gayffier – Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals
Alain Clouet – Drums & Backing Vocals

Guitar Player Magazine has posted an exclusive full performance of guitar legend Steve Vai's "Building The Church" from the upcoming 2DVD release, Stillness In Motion: Vai Live In L.A. Check it out below:

The double album and DVD, which will be released April 7 through Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings, were recorded October 12, 2012, at L.A.’s Club Nokia. It was the 49th show from Vai’s Story of Light World Tour.

“To say this tour was a powerful life experience would be like saying the sun is hot,” Vai writes in the Stillness in Motion liner notes. The power and  heat show in this new video, which you can check out below.

The 2DVD configuration of Stillness in Motion includes a bonus disc featuring “The Space Between the Notes (Tour Mischief),” a video diary featuring more than three and a half hours of footage filmed onstage, offstage and behind-the-scenes during the Story of Light World world tour.

Vai recently checked in with the following update:

"Today I received the first pressing of Stillness In Motion that’s coming out on April 7. Steve Vai is one wildly happy guy!

The bonus footage is called The Space Between The Notes and is over 3 and a half hours. It’s sort of tour diary that has some footage from every city we visited.

I’m very excited for you to enjoy this. The viewer gets to be with us in our trek around this amazing blue globe, and you can get a good snippet of what life on the road, or at least our road, is about. It was a monumental task that took 5-6 months of 10-15 hour days to edit together, but when I finished it and watched it I felt as though it was perhaps the best work I have done to date.

Enjoy!"

An iTunes pre-order in now up and running at this location. A snippet of the track "Velorum" is available on the page.

Vai's first release under the new Sony/Legacy agreement will be Stillness In Motion - Vai Live in L.A., a spectacular performance recorded October 12th, 2012 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Available in 2CD and 2DVD configurations, Stillness In Motion revisits the 49th concert from Vai's monumental Story of Light World Tour.

Running from 2012 through 2014, The Story of Light World Tour totaled out at 253 engagements (including shows, master classes and concerts with various orchestras) in 52 countries.In addition to the full Club Nokia performance, the 2DVD configuration of Stillness In Motion includes a bonus disc premiering The Space Between the Notes (Tour Mischief), a revelatory video diary comprised of more than three and a half hours of footage, lensed around the world on-stage, off-stage and behind-the-scenes during Vai's epic Story Of Light World Tour.

"To say that this tour was a powerful life experience would be like saying the sun is hot," writes Steve Vai in his personal liner notes penned for Stillness In Motion.

Following Stillness In Motion, Sony/Legacy will release an album of new Steve Vai material, marking a significant next chapter in the musician's growing canon.

The new multi-album deal marks an SME homecoming for Vai, who set the gold and platinum standard for rock instrumental music across a series of albums released through Relativity and Epic Records from 1990's game-changing Passion and Warfare (his 2nd album and 1st major label release) through 2007's orchestral Sound Theories, Vol. I & II.

Tracklistings:

2CD Edition

Disc 1
“Intro/Racing The World”
“Velorum”
Band Intros
“Building The Church”
“Tender Surrender”
“Gravity Storm”
“Weeping China Doll”
“John The Revelator”
“The Moon And I”
“The Animal”
“Whispering A Prayer”

Disc 2
“The Audience Is Listening”
“Rescue Me Or Bury Me”
“Sisters”
“Treasure Island”
“Salamanders In The Sun”
“Pusa Road”
“Frank”
“The Ultra Zone” (CD Version)
“Build Me A Song L.A.”
“For The Love Of God”
“Taurus Bulba”

2DVD Edition

Disc 1
“Intro/Racing The World”
“Velorum”
Band Intros
“Building The Church”
“Tender Surrender”
“Gravity Storm”
“The Trillium’s Launch”
“Weeping China Doll”
“John The Revelator”
“The Moon And I”
“The Animal”
“Whispering a Prayer”
“The Audience Is Listening”
“Where Are We”
“Rescue Me Or Bury Me”
“Sisters”
“Treasure Island”
“Beastly Rap”
“Salamanders In The Sun”
“Pusa Road”
“Earthquake Sky”, Drum Solo
“I’m Tired”
“The Ultra Zone”
“Frank”

Disc 2
“Build Me A Song L.A.”
“For the Love Of God”
“Taurus Bulba”

Story of Light Tour: The Space Between the Notes (Tour Mischief)
Leg 1 (Rehearsals/USA)
Leg 2 (Europe/Eastern Europe)
Leg 3 (Vegas/Netherlands/Russia/Ukraine/Europe)
Leg 4 (Australia/NZ/Indonesia/China/S. Korea/Japan/Taiwan/Thailand)
Leg 5 (Europe...again)
Leg 6 (USA...again)
Leg 7 (Mexico/South America/China)
Leg 8 (Vegas/Singapore/Malaysia/Israel/Europe/Russia/Ukraine)
Leg 9 (USA/St. Barths/Japan/France/Poland)

Fan-filmed video footage of STEEL PANTHER's March 26 performance in Wiesbaden, Germany can be seen below.

STEEL PANTHER's current setlist includes the Los Angeles-based band's musical response to Kanye West following the rapper's unexpected appearance onstage this year's Grammy Awards. The track, in which STEEL PANTHER accuses West of sounding like everything from "hamster turds" to "a donkey fart," also references KISS frontman Paul Stanley's comment about West, saying that "Beck should kick you in the nuts with steel-toed boots." The one-minute tune concludes with STEEL PANTHER's "Michael Starr singing: "You're friggin' hypocritical. I hope you get the cancer on your Johnson and your testicles."

West came up onstage during Grammy Awards when Beck's "Morning Phase" was announced as the surprise winner of "Album Of The Year." Although many at first assumed West was jokingly re-enacting his storming of the stage when Taylor Swift won a few years back, the hip-hop star later blasted the Grammys in a rant in which he suggested that Beck should have given his award to Beyonce.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Beck told Us Weekly, "I was just so excited he was coming up. He deserves to be on stage as much as anybody. How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right?" As for beating out Beyonce for the award, Beck added, "I thought she was going to win. Come on, she's Beyonce!"

Beck was nominated for "Album Of The Year" twice before, in 1997 for "Odelay" and 2001 for "Midnite Vultures", and lost both times.

West said after the ceremony, "I just know that the Grammys, if they want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. We ain't gonna play with them no more… and Beck needs to respect artistry and he should've given his award to Beyonce."

West didn't back down, saying on February 9, "Beck knows Beyonce should have won… I love Beck. But he ain't have album of the year."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, GARBAGE singer Shirley Manson weighed in on the issue with an open letter to Kanye on Monday, in which she wrote, "It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry. You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like Beck."

Manson continued, "You make yourself look small and petty and spoilt. In attempting to reduce the importance of one great talent over another, you make a mockery of all musicians and music from every genre, including your own. Grow up and stop throwing your toys around."

In a recent interview with the Broward Palm Beach New Times, guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH revealed that he was working on a solo project which he described as "very stripped down and simple. The most primitive, acoustic-based stuff. That's what I'm really into."

He added: "I'm always creating. I always do stuff on the side, and some of it's not suitable for BEHEMOTH, and I've got some other projects that will eventually see the light of day. Or not. Nothing is for certain! [laughs]"

Nergal has now posted two short video clips of what appears to be the studio sessions for his forthcoming acoustic project. Check them out below.

Nergal also confirmed that there are no immediate plans for BEHEMOTH to return to the studio to record the follow-up to 2014's "The Satanist".

"Like anything, I think the future is good with thrills and... options," he said. "I'm not really counting on my future further than the touring cycle goes these days. That's really it. We're going to surprise people with some amazing projects in the coming months, but there's no new record in sight, to be honest. I don't know even when or where we'll start working on it — it's in the last position on my list of priorities."

"The Satanist" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's ninth full-length studio CD, 2009's "Evangelion", opened with around 8,500 units to land at No. 56.

The definitive BEHEMOTH biography, "Behemoth: Devil's Conquistadors" by Lukasz Dunaj, was released in February via Metal Blade. The 490-page, hardcover tome includes quotes and anecdotes from current and former members that provide context and details in addition to the author's narrative, plus interviews with Tomas Krajewski, Rob Darken, Graal, Havok, and more. The artistically presented pages are splattered with old photos of the band, flyers, lyric sheets, etc.

Frontiers Music Srl will release the brand new IMPELLITTERI studio album, titled "Venom", on April 17 in Europe and April 21 in North America.

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

"Venom" is described in a press release as "a record filled with addictive and memorable riffs, guitar solos that feature Chris Impellitteri's blistering shredding technique coupled with strong melody and taste. Rob Rock's vocals are mesmerizing, melodic, and will make the listener sing along with each song long after the record is over. Lastly, the band boggles the mind with brutal drumming (featuring John Dette, formerly of TESTAMENT, SLAYER, etc.) filled with speed and groove and beastly bass playing (curtesy of James Pulli) that supports IMPELLITTERI's sonic madness! The result is a record that excites and musically satisfy every Metal and Rock fan, and every musician around the world. To add to their quest, IMPELLITTERI also wanted to create music that would take the listener on a musical journey thru different time periods of metal and rock."

Chris Impellitteri is heralded as one of the world's greatest guitar shredders. He has won "Best Rock Guitarist" awards in several magazines during the years for his guitar soloing. He is the first guitarist to be called the fastest guitarist in the world by the international media. Impellitteri was recently officially voted second fastest guitarist in the world by Guitar One magazine; and Guitar World magazine listed Impellitteri within its top 50 fastest guitarists of all time!

Chris Impellitteri formed IMPELLITTERI in 1987, along with vocalist Rob Rock. That year, they released an EP called the "Black Album" which was well-received, and IMPELLITTERI went on to release the full-length album "Stand In Line" in 1988. To date, IMPELLITTERI has released a total of nine acclaimed studio albums and "Venom" follows after 2009's "Wicked Maiden".

Frontiers will release the album with two superb new exclusive bonus tracks.

"Venom" track listing:

01. Venom02. Empire Of Lies03. We Own The Night04. Nightmare05. Face The Enemy06. Dominoe Theory07. Jehova08. Rise09. Time Machine10. Holding On11. Rock Through The Night (bonus track)12. Reach For the Sky (bonus track)

Check out the trailer below.

Recording lineup:

Chris Impellitteri - Lead GuitarRob Rock - Lead VocalsJames Pulli - BassJon Dette - Drums

SEVENDUST has finished recording its tenth studio album for a tentative July release. The CD was once again recorded at Architekt Music studios in Butler, New Jersey.

In a recent interview with Loudwire, SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly stated about the band's new material: "It's funny, you come out of acoustic world and immediately you're, like, 'All right, let's get metal again. Let's get heavy.'"

He continued: "There's a lot of heavy on this one, but there's also a lot of melody. There's a lot of spillover from where our headspace was at on an acoustic perspective, which is great.

"I love being as heavy as we can be but Lajon [Witherspoon], he's a melodic singer, and I think he's going to be excited about a lot of stuff. As heavy as we're trying to be, there's still a ton of melody on it.

"I know Clint [Lowery, guitar] is busy writing a ton of demos and everyone is trying to get back into that headspace."

Connolly added: "We've had such a good time during the last two records, collaborating together as a five-piece which is something we haven't done since the first album. All we had was a rehearsal room, each other, paying the rent and a few shows. Someone would come up with a riff or a demo and bring it in and we'd really hammer it out as a band. We had so much fun on 'Black Out the Sun' and 'Time Travelers & Bonfires', really, just being in each other's face instead of wondering is this going to work or is that going to work?

"Having five cooks in the kitchen at all times, most times, with most bands can be counterproductive, but for us, it just works so much better for us; we're so much more efficient. We're much happier without the guesswork. You play a riff, then Vinny [Hornsby, bass] starts playing, then Clint comes in, and questions get answered, and then you move on to the next thing.

"It's the stuff that we create together that's usually the stuff that gets us the most excited."

SEVENDUST's latest acoustic album, "Time Travelers & Bonfires", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available on April 15, 2014 via 7Bros. Records, in conjunction with ADA Label Services.




10th studio record done! On my way home! Ready to squeeze my babies and smack my woman's bootay!!!

— Morgan Rose (@morgan7d) March 27, 2015

Hard rock legends AC/DC were honored in the "Rock/Alternative International" category at this year's Echo music awards, Germany's equivalent of the Grammy awards, which was held last night (Thursday, March 26) in Berlin. Video footage of their acceptance speech can be seen at this location. Also nominated in the "Rock/Alternative International" category were FOO FIGHTERS, LINKIN PARK, NICKELBACK and SLIPKNOT.

AC/DC released its new album, "Rock Or Bust", in December 2014; opened the Grammy Awards telecast in February 2015; and will kick off its world tour headlining at Coachella on April 10. The "Rock Or Bust" tour continues in Europe, May 5 through July 25, and opens in North America on August 22.

"Rock Or Bust" is AC/DC's first album without guitarist Malcolm Young, who is suffering from dementia. He has been replaced by nephew Stevie Young.

As previously reported, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd will now stand trial beginning on April 21 in New Zealand's Tauranga District Court, according to the AFP. Rudd was originally scheduled to go to trial on February 10 but the date was moved after his lawyer unexpectedly quit the case by what was said to be mutual agreement.

Rudd will face a "judge-alone" trial, meaning that he will go before just a single judge with no jury present.

Rudd was arrested last November at his home in Tauranga on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

A "not guilty" plea to the charges was entered by his lawyer in December. Rudd faces several years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Although Rudd played on "Rock Or Bust", he did not appear in photos or videos for the disc.

One-time AC/DC drummer Chris Slade officially joined the band's lineup for its performance on the February 8 Grammy Awards telecast. Slade will also be behind the kit for the group's upcoming world tour.

New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL have inked a new worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Records. Previously signed to the label for Europe only, OVERKILL's first worldwide release on Nuclear Blast will be a special box set comprised of the band's entire back catalog, due out this fall.

"OVERKILL is now a part of the Nuclear Blast family for the entire world," states OVERKILL manager John Finberg. "I have worked with the U.S. office on various projects as of late, and they have a true understanding of what to do and how to do it. This upcoming box set is the start of the next chapter in the band’s career."

Adds Nuclear Blast label manager Gerardo Martinez: "Nuclear Blast is proud to announce a worldwide deal with OVERKILL. We’ve worked with them outside North America for the past few years, but it was time to extend the deal and have them join the North American family as well. Nuclear Blast America welcomes the legends!"

OVERKILL and SYMPHONY X will join forces for a North American tour in September/October. The 24-date co-headlining trek launches at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts on September 18, hits four Canadian cities, then wraps up with a very special night at Terminal 5 in New York City on October 17 — the first time in the bands’ combined histories that they'll play a show together in their own backyard.

Advanced tickets for the confirmed tour dates below are on sale exclusively at EnterTheVault.com until April 15, when they go on sale everywhere. VIP packages include a meet-and-greet session with both bands and an exclusive poster.

OVERKILL's new album, "White Devil Armory", sold around 8,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 31 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on July 22, 2014 in North America via eOne Music and on July 18, 2014 in Europe through Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was tracked at Gear Recording and was mixed by Greg Reely, who also worked on 2012's "The Electric Age".

The limited-edition box-set version of "White Devil Armory" included a digipack CD, a leather belt and buckle plus a certificate of authenticity.

OVERKILL filmed videos for the songs "Bitter Pill" and "Armorist" with veteran director Kevin J. Custer (HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, SUFFOCATION). Custer previously worked with OVERKILL on the "Electric Rattlesnake" and "Bring Me The Night" clips.

Speaking about what OVERKILL was trying to accomplish with "White Devil Armory", singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth told Artisan News: "My personal motivation, and I can probably speak for my partner D.D. [Verni, bass], is that you don't want repetition. Obviously, we are what we are — a thrash metal band — [and] we fall into, let's say, a subgenre of this metal community, but the idea is that you wanna stay interested with it, you want to try, to some degree, to reinvent yourself. And I think the thing I'm most proud of when it comes to a record like Number 17, being 'White Devil Armory', is that that's the push for it. No repetition. Let's get in there and let's define that line between repetition and what style is. I write all these notes in my office where I have my little studio — 'Don't repeat yourself,' 'Don't use this,' 'Don't use that' — and that becomes kind of the flavor of the writing: Stay relevant, great execution, modern presentation. Make Number 17 relevant in 2014."

Another 15-second video clip of an as-yet-unidentified drummer — believed to be Chris Adler (LAMB OF GOD) — laying down tracks for MEGADETH's new album can be seen below.

A photo that was taken on March 19 of MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and Adler having a discussion at what appeared to be a fast-food restaurant or a coffee shop was posted on Twitter by former MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE drummer Bob Bryar.

As BLABBERMOUTH.NET exclusively reported on March 14, MEGADETH is rumored to have hired Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro (ANGRA) to play on the band's new CD.

If true, Adler's involvement with MEGADETH would apparently be limited to studio work only, and he would not be expected to join the band on the road to promote the effort, which is currently being recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.

MEGADETH was still finalizing the recording lineup for its new album earlier in the month, with Mustaine tweeting on March 10 that he was "excited to be auditioning one of my final picks for my new guitarist today."

The band has yet to officially announce replacements for drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick, who quit the group last year.

Speculation has been rife over the last three months as to whether fans could expect a reunion of MEGADETH's classic late 1980s and early 1990s lineup featuring Nick Menza on drums and Marty Friedman on guitar.

Both Menza and Friedman indicated in recent interviews and online postings that they weren't opposed to rejoining MEGADETH, with Menza saying: "I'm open to whatever could possibly happen. That's up to Dave [Mustaine." Friedman, who was also part of the band's "Rust In Peace" lineup, said in January that he "would not be against considering" a possible return to the band as the replacement for Broderick, but cautioned that fans shouldn't "get [their] hopes up either."



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#Megadeth15

Posted by Megadeth on Friday, March 27, 2015



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#Megadeth15

Posted by Megadeth on Thursday, March 26, 2015

Veteran Arizona metallers FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have entered the studio to begin recording their new album — the band's first to feature new drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, ANTHRAX).

Video footage of the drum-tracking sessions can be seen below (courtesy of Sick Drummer Magazine).

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM has announced the first wave of confirmed club and festival dates for their upcoming 2015 European tour that is scheduled to start in May and run through August. The trek will mark the band's return to Europe, coming off the heels of 2012's "Ugly Noise" album and last year's re-recording of the band's classic 1988 "No Place For Disgrace" LP.

Initially set to start in April, the tour was pushed out a month to May in order to allow FLOTSAM AND JETSAM time to continue writing material for the band's new CD.

FLOTSAM's current linup includes Steve Conley on guitar and Michael Spencer (who previously contributed to the writing of the band's classic 1988 release, "No Place For Disgrace") on bass.

Spencer recently stated about the new FLOTSAM AND JETSAM material: "There's a great, old-school thrash vibe going on with the direction of the songs and what originally influenced the band, mixed with a little of what we like about today's sound, in metal."

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM returned to Metal Blade Records for the release of "Ugly Noise".

Bassist Greg Chaisson has announced his departure from RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee. Greg says: "I'm afraid to say real life just jumped right up and got in the way of my good time. I can no longer take any more time away from my regular job. I want to thank everyone in the RED DRAGON CARTEL organization, and most of all, my best friend Jake E. Lee. And a very special thanks to all of you who have treated me so great! They will continue on without me and it will be fantastic as always."

Chaisson's replacement in RED DRAGON CARTEL is Anthony Esposito, who has previously played with Ace Frehley.

Chaisson and Jake E. Lee were half of the short-lived BADLANDS, which also featured current KISS drummer Eric Singer and the late singer Ray Gillen (who also had a brief stint in BLACK SABBATH). After the first BADLANDS album, Singer was replaced by Jeff Martin. The group lasted from 1988 to 1993 and released two albums, "Badlands" (1989) and "Voodoo Highway" (1991) before Gillen left and was replaced by John West. Ray's death in 1993 effectively ended any hopes of a BADLANDS reunion. The album "Dusk", consisting of BADLANDS demo recordings from 1992-1993, was released in 1998.

RED DRAGON CARTEL last week announced the departure of singer Darren James Smith. He has since been replaced by Michael Beck.

Michael Beck is the owner, engineer, and producer at SoundVision Recording Studio in Mesa, Arizona. He has worked with such acts as SOILWORK, MARILYN MANSON, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and DAATH.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's self-titled debut album sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 69 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on January 28, 2014 via Frontiers Records, the CD was recorded at Las Vegas' The Hideout Recording Studio — owned and operated by Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, IN THIS MOMENT) — and was produced by R. Bernard Mann (a.k.a. Ronnie Mancuso) and Jake E. Lee, and executive-produced, mixed and mastered by Churko.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's setlist includes new material like the singles "Feeder" and "Deceived", as well as major hits from Jake E. Lee's glorious past: "Bark At The Moon", "The Ultimate Sin" and "Rock 'N' Roll Rebel" (all originally recorded by OZZY OSBOURNE), as well as "Shine On" and "High Wire" (BADLANDS).

Video footage of RED DRAGON CARTEL performing in Dayton, Ohio:

On March 7, AndrewHaug.com, Australia's first-ever dedicated 24/7 rock and metal online radio station launched by Andrew Haug, the former host of Triple J Australia's "The Racket" radio show (originally "Full Metal Racket"; 2001-2011), conducted an interview with drummer Pedro "Pete" Sandoval (MORBID ANGEL, TERRORIZER) at the Hammersonic festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A few excerpts from the chat follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his health five years after undergoing back surgery:

"Things are much better for me now. I feel much better than 20 years ago. Even my playing is much stronger. Fast as usual. And a lot of positive, a lot more positive stuff with. A lot better, like I said. My back, it's… I've never felt as good as I feel now."

On newer extreme metal drummers:

"I couldn't really tell you much about… But nowadays there's so many bands, so many drummers out there… It's not the same as when I started, I guess, when I started doing MORBID ANGEL. All this technology has changed. And regardless, there's a lot of great drummers out there, young drummers, that are taking this genre of music to the next level, I believe. What can I say? Good luck. Be positive. Just do it. Just believe in yourself. For me, I believe in myself, but I believe in God first, because without God, I wouldn't be where I am right now."

On whether his split with MORBID ANGEL had anything to do with his religious beliefs:

"The reason for the separation of MORBID ANGEL and I was not really a religious matter. But it was my problem that I had with my back. I had to have a surgery back in 2009. And I was not a religious person back then. It was all a back problem. I had to get my back fixed, and they were gonna wait for me, actually, for me to recover. But then it took more than what we expected it was gonna take. So the bottom line is MORBID ANGEL could not wait for me, because I could not do it for years. So they had to find a new drummer. And that's the reason why I don't play in MORBID ANGEL anymore. Four years it took… I didn't even think I was gonna come back and play drums again, because I was really bad. I was, like, four years of recovering. And while MORBID ANGEL had already done a new record with a new guy, I recall. And so, in 2012, right after I recorded [TERRORIZER's] 'Hordes Of Zombies' record, during that year, somehow that's when I found God. That's when I found God and that's when my life started to change."

On whether there was a particular moment when he embraced God:

"Well, my mother and my sister, they have been Christians for the past twenty years, so they always told me and encouraged me to seek God. They talked to me about God all the time. And so, in 2012, I kind of… I started reading some of The Bible that my mom would recommend some scriptures. So I read some of it, but still I didn't feel like I needed God. Something just happened, I guess. I would say God came into my heart because the scripture says that you've gotta seek God with all your heart and mind and humble yourself to God, and then God will come to you. And I believe that while I was trying to understand some of the scriptures, the word of God, I believe that God came into my heart and he opened my eyes. The light just went on and I realized that I was actually living in this world of darkness, and this life of darkness. And that was the turning point for me. God came into my heart and he opened my eyes, and I realized that there is actually a God. Because you have to experience God in order to know that there is God. You have to experience him in your life, in your heart, and then you will know that there is actually a God. And since then, my faith has just dramatically increased concerning the things of God. And the more I knew God, the more I wanted to know about God. I fell in love with God. It's like your first love. That's what actually happened. I love God now, and nothing from this world can separate me."

On how he feels when he looks back on his legacy with MORBID ANGEL:

"I feel great. I'm proud of everything I did with MORBID and TERRORIZER. I don't think I would wanna change any of that. I feel great. Like I'm saying, I feel great. I think all of that was like a road that led me into where I am now. I had to go through all that, because even though I was successful, I was a great drummer, or I am a good drummer, and I did all that great work, people don't really know your personal life. They think that, 'Wow! It's a great album, it's a great drummer. Great album, great band. He must have everything. He must be the happiest man on the earth.' But the reality is that slowly these successes on earth will end sooner or later, so while we're doing all this, we're slowly destroying our lives. Because I used to drink a lot, I used to smoke a lot. That's one of the things that were really taking me into a road of perdition, destruction. And that's what I mean by living in a world of darkness. A lot of people are doing it right now, people in bands. Even though they are successful at what they do, but yet they're destroying their lives by the way their lifestyles. Their partying lifestyles, the drinking, the smoking, the eating habits, all that, it's a contributor to the process of destroying your life slowly. Slowly destroying your life. And we see it around us. There's a lot of great musicians that die — alcohol, drug overdose. And people in the world, they say, 'We feel bad about that,' or 'Oh, well…' Nobody thinks deep about these incidents, and how this world, this life, is actually a destroyer. It's a killing, destroying style of living, and this is the world of darkness that we live in, because we're doing it, we're enjoying the day-by-day, the moment, the success of the moment, but at the end, there is a way which seems right, but at the end of it, it's just the end of destruction, the end of death. I mean, I saw it with my longtime friend and brother, [late NAPALM DEATH guitarist] Jesse Pintado. C'mon! Poor guy. What a legacy he left; he just left us. But yet nobody could do anything about it while his life was being destroyed by alcohol. Years and years and years, he was destroying slowly, slowly, slowly destroying his life until his end. Why there was his parents, friends… friends, they have to come and tell you what you're doing wrong and what that's gonna lead you to. It's gonna lead you to an early death. And that is the world of darkness which I am referring to. We live in this world and we think that it's never gonna happen to us. Oh, man. That's the way of the world. I believe the God of this world, he wants to take as many, as many with him — Satan — and the way he's doing it… We can see it. We can see it happen. We go to a concert and you see hundreds and hundreds of kids destroying their lives, smoking and drinking and drinking and drinking, and a lot of deaths are happening every day because of that. We just think it's normal. No, people. It's not normal."

"I believe that all these results are the consequences of our lifestyles, of course. And what I wish, as far as what I would have done… I wish I would have known God back then when Jesse was slowly killing himself, because I would have come and approached him and told him about what God has done for me, the change he has done for me."

On whether he would have stayed in MORBID ANGEL after he "fell in love with God":

"No, those two paths do not connect, because MORBID ANGEL… There is only two paths — the one with God, and the other one without God. And MORBID ANGEL is definitely a Satanic band. I would never wanna be back or playing in a Satanic band now that I found Jesus Christ, my savior and my redeemer, and the one that helps me every day. I wanna encourage… I wanna tell people that God can really change our lives and he can show us his path of life in abundance, his way of victory. Because I am on the path of victory right now. I feel like the way I 'm playing now, the way my body feels, God has helped me immensely, that I feel like I'm in my 20s and 30s, as far as physically, playing what I'm playing, the way I play. I wanna tell people that God can make us be our best at what we wanna do. Definitely. God is positive. God is power. Power. And God is life in abundance. And God can show us how to live the way he has intended us to live."

On whether he misses playing with MORBID ANGEL:

"No, I don't. I don't miss it. I don't miss any of that."

Torche have released a Phil Mucci directed, animated video for “Annihilation Affair” from their album, Restarter. “Phil Mucci's creation and destruction is so beautiful. Everything we hoped for and more,” said Torche singer and guitar player Steven Brooks.

Torche is in the final week of a North American tour and will head overseas on May 2nd for a month of European dates before returning to the U.S. for a co-headline run with Melt-Banana. Find the band's complete live itinerary at this location.

 

 

The winds of spring bring the stench of Sulphur, as German death metal tyrants, Sulphur Aeon, prepare for the devastating unfurling of their leviathan sophomore LP, Gateway To The Antisphere, through a cooperative release between Imperium Productions and Ván Records. The new track, “Titans”, can be heard below:

Sulphur Aeon's critically acclaimed demo tape, Sulphur Psalms, was released in August 2010, followed by the Deep Deep Down They Sleep 7", released in May of 2012. The band's debut album, Swallowed By The Ocean's Tide, was released in December 2012 through Imperium Productions. The album received worldwide praise by fans and the media alike as being one of the very few innovative and pioneering death metal albums of recent years with its deathly mélange of ferocious riffs, ultra-precise drums and sepulchral incantatory chants, combined with a high level of musical competence and songwriting to the most haunting and wicked death metal.

Now it's time for the ancient ones to rise once more from the restless diluvial depths of timeless death, as Sulphur Aeon delivers the rapture of their second album, Gateway To The Antisphere. The album was produced by Simon Werner who was already responsible for the sound of the previous recordings of the band, and the result is a catastrophic and instantly memorable work of extreme metal art. Fifty-two minutes of debilitating yet enthralling, black-tinged, Lovecraftian death suck the listener in like an inescapable vortex, as visually depicted in the mind-blowing cover artwork (with the emphasis on "art") was created by Ola Larsson.

Gateway To The Antisphere, will be released in cooperation between Imperium Productions and Ván Records on CD and as digital download on April 3rd, and vinyl in late April, the album a must-have piece for followers of Ulcerate, Morbus Chron, Abyssal, Vanhelgd and the like.

Tracklisting:

“…To Drown This World”
“Devotion To The Cosmic Chaos”
“Titans”
“Calls From Below”
“Abysshex”
“Diluvial Ascension - Gateway To The Antisphere”
“He Is The Gate”
“Seventy Steps”
“Onwards... Towards Kadath”
“Into The Courts Of Azathoth”
“Conclusion”

Artwork video/"Diluvial Ascension - Gateway To The Antisphere":

Sulphur Aeon lineup:

T - guitars, bass
D - drums
M - vocals

 

Salt Lake City, Utah-based heavy/power metal warriors, Sonic Prophecy, are streaming two new tracks, “Temple Of The Sun” and “Legendary”, from their new full-length album, Apocalyptic Promenade, out now via Maple Metal Records.

Apocalyptic Promenade was produced by Matt Hepworth and Sonic Prophecy members Shane Provstgaard and Darrin Goodman, at Studio Nu, and mastered at Mastermind Productions by Trevor Sadler (Rush, Nine Inch Nails, Triumph). The cover art was designed by the renowned artist Aldo Requena ‘Valgorth’ of Hammerblaze Studios, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 

 

Apocalyptic Promenade tracklisting:

"Oracle Of The Damned/The Fist Of God"
"Eventide"
"Hells Most Beautiful Angel"
"Temple Of The Sun"
"Dark Is The Dawn"
"Born Of Steel And Fire"
"The Warriors Heart"
"Legendary"
"Fire Messiah"
"Apocalyptic Promenade"
"Call Of Battle" (acoustic version) (bonus track)

"Temple Of The Sun”:

"Legendary”:

“The Warrior's Heart” lyric video:

Sonic Prophecy is:

Shane Provstgaard - Vocals
Darrin Goodman- Lead Guitar
Sebastian Martin- Guitar
Ray Opheikens- Bass
Steve Bishop - Keyboards
Jeff Dreher - Drums

Following the release of their 2014 double album Contradiction, modern black metallists Schammasch will release a remastered version of their debut opus, Sic Lvceat Lvx, in North America on May 19th (May 18 in UK/Europe, May 22 in Germany). The album - which will be available on vinyl for the first time ever - will feature glorious new artwork by Metastazis (Behemoth, Watain, Alcest) as seen below.

 

 

Originally released as a limited-edition CD in 2010, the album - the title of which is Latin for "let the light shine" - consists of seven hypnotic and cinematic blackened offerings. You can listen to a stream of the remastered "Black But Shining" below:

Pre-order packages featuring an exclusive t-shirt design can be found at this location.

Vocalist C.S.R. commented, "Six years have passed since me and B.A. (drums) met in our old rehearsal room to discuss a new project. After the first few rehearsals in summer 2009, Schammasch was born. Yet without any kind of clear vision or line, but a strong will, we started to work on two songs which would later bear the titles 'Chaos Reigns' and the metaphoric 'He Whose Face Is Made of Entrails’. Later that year, M.A. (guitars) joined us as a session member. It took us one year of chaotic, fevered work to finish the seven tracks for Sic Lvceat Lvx, which were first released in October 2010.

"Now, five years later, many things have changed and I somehow didn't ever expect to talk about a reissue someday. So what else can I say, than just that it's making me proud to announce the reissue of Sic Lvceat Lvx, in a brand new outfit and finally available on vinyl, through a label that actually does stuff on a professional level. Hopefully this album gets its deserved attention at last in 2015. No high-polished production and no technical perfectionism can be found here, but rather simple-hearted rawness, experimental songwriting and charming honesty."

Based in Basel, Switzerland, Schammasch - whose own name references Šamaš, the sun god from Akkadian / Babylonian mythology - combines black metal roots with a razor-sharp hybrid of dark atmospherics, doom and Hermetic mysticism. Their Prosthetic debut Contradiction, an ambitious, genre-defying double album recorded and produced by Tripkyton guitarist V. Santura, proved to be a truly commanding work of significant importance, both to modern extreme music and to the rich heritage of forward-thinking Swiss metal in general. The group recently toured Europe alongside Dark Fortress and Secrets Of The Moon and recently started working on a new album; more details will be unveiled in the coming months.

Hailing from Trenton, New Jersey, Beyond Dishonor have spent the last few years making a worthy name for themselves – not just locally, but nationally. Fans will be able to own a copy of the band’s Generations EP on April 14TH. Generations is available for pre-order now via the band’s Big Cartel page in several package options, including additional posters, t-shirts, snapback hats, and more.

 

 

Drawing inspiration from pop culture, primarily in the form of movies, television and gaming, is one of countless ways Beyond Dishonor has cultivated their devoted fanbase. Their 2011 full-length, Travesty, is a well-received concept album drawing from band favorites Se7en, Ghostbusters and Full Metal Jacket. In similar fashion, Generations features pop culture references evident in song titles like “ED209 vs. The Staircase” (RoboCop) and “What Clayton Bigsby Doesn’t Know” (Chappelle’s Show).

Generations boasts production credits from producer Andreas Magnusson, known for his work with The Black Dahlia Murder, August Burns Red, and others. Beyond Dishonor combines eclectic styles and ranging influences to create music that is heavy and aggressive enough for the most hardcore of fans, yet rhythmic and groovy enough to be accessible to those on the fringe.

In support of the upcoming release of Generations, Beyond Dishonor will set out on a 14-city US east coast tour. Catch the band performing their energetic set at a venue near you – just one of the many reasons why they have been selected to support nationally-recognized artists such as Whitechapel, The Acacia Strain, Within the Ruins, Veil Of Maya, August Burns Red, Born Of Osiris, Unearth, and numerous others.

 

 

Beyond Dishonor is:

Reese Dunlap – vocals
Wesley Ingraham – guitars
Mark Salmon – guitars
Bryan San Martin – bass
Mike Lock – drums
Vinny Keohane – drums (touring)

 

Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfiesta event, which was scheduled to take place from May 27 to May 31 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico, has been canceled.

Organizers Cool Breeze Concerts have released the following statement regarding the cancelation:

"Like you, we were very excited about the event. However, Ozzy is having surgery, scheduled for May, following his South American tour. He requires at least four weeks of recovery time. We are very disappointed that we need to cancel.

"We will be offering refunds which will be processed in the next 4-6 weeks.

"If you decide that you would still enjoy an all-inclusive vacation at the Hard Rock, Riviera Maya, Mexico please send us an email, and we can make the arrangements.

"We apologize for any inconvenience and hope that you understand the circumstances surrounding the cancellation."

In addition to a headlining performance from Ozzy, the five-day festival was supposed to include a dinner party hosted by Sharon Osbourne, an opening night party featuring a special acoustic set by Zakk Wylde, a question-and-answer session with Ozzy and his band, a BLACK LABEL SOCIETY full concert, a Comedy Club Night with stand-up sets from Jim Norton and Jim Florentine, a charity golf tournament benefiting the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program and more.

Ozzfiesta seemed to be a continuation of the occasional Ozzfest events that the Osbournes have staged since Ozzfest itself ended as a summer tour in 2007.

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that being rejected by another festival inspired him and Sharon to launch Ozzfest in 1996. "She tried to get me on Lollapalooza, and they turned around to Sharon and said, 'You know what, we don't think there's a spot for Ozzy in this music anymore,'" he said. "So she came home, pissed off, and she said, 'We'll do our own damn show.' So she booked me a few shows, it sold out overnight, and everything after that Sharon did on her own, you know."

Ozzy's solo career retrospective, "Memoirs Of A Madman", was released on October 7, 2014.

Sworn Enemy have released their "No Mercy" music video prior to kicking off their North American tour. The tour starts on March 27th in Amityville, New York and works it's way though the United States and Mexico wrapping up on May 2nd in Brookyln, New York.

 

 

Check out Sworn Enemy's "No Mercy" music video below:

Vocalist Sal Lococo stats: “Greetings and felicitations children of technology. I'm happy to let you all know that our new video for "No Mercy" will be airing on YouTube and whatever other format you can view it on. Along with that great news we will be hitting the road this Friday with the legendary Biohazard, dates are as follows: March 27th - April 5th. Once we finish up at the South East Beast festival we will be headlining the No Mercy, No Surrender Tour with Wretched, Dark Sermon, and Hammer Fight. Dates are as follows: April 7th - May 2nd, and we plan on making a pit stop in Mexico for 6 shows so North America prepare for decimation as we grant you all no mercy, no surrender.”

 

 

Swedish melodic metal band, Harmony, will release a new EP entitled Remembrance on May 22nd in Europe and on May 26th in North America through Ulterium Records.

The 6-track EP includes four re-recorded songs from the Harmony debut album, Dreaming Awake, as well as two new songs. Remembrance features the legendary vocalist Daniel Heiman (ex-Lost Horizon) on vocals on all tracks. The EP was mixed at Studio Fredman (At The Gates, In Flames, Hammerfall) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

 

 

Remembrance EP tracklisting:

“Eternity”
“Dreaming Awake”
“Without You”
“She”
“In His Heart”
“Feed My Hunger”

Teaser:

Remembrance can be pre-ordered at the Ulterium Records Store, here.

 

Norwegian progressive metallers LEPROUS will release their new studio album, "The Congregation", on May 25 in Europe and June 2 in North America via InsideOut Music. The drums, guitars and bass for the follow-up to 2013's "Coal" were recorded at Sweden's Fascination Street and Ghostward Studios with David Castillo (KATATONIA, OPETH) and the vocals with Heidi Solberg Tveitan and Vegard Tveitan at Mnemosyne Studios in Norway. Just like the preceding albums, "Bilateral" and "Coal", "The Congregation" was mixed by Jens Bogren (OPETH, SYMPHONY X, KREATOR) at Fascination Street. The CD's cover artwork, which was created by artist Nihil, can be seen below.

The track listing for the 65-minute effort is as follows: 01. The Price02. Third Law03. Rewind04. The Flood05. Triumphant06. Within My Fence07. Red08. Slave09. Moon10. Down11. Lower LEPROUS comments on the cover artwork as follows: "The artwork represents the album's dark theme very well by showing deformation and disturbance." "The Congregation" will be available as standard jewelcase CD, digital download as well as limited import mediabook CD and 2LP editions. Physical versions feature bonus track "Pixel". LEPROUS is currently busy working on the new album's first video with Twitchy Films, who also worked on the band's previous clips.

LEPROUS is:

Einar Solberg - Lead Vocal, KeysTor Oddmund Suhrke - GuitarØystein Landsverk - GuitarBaard Kolstad - Drums

LEPROUS vocalist and keyboard player Einar Solberg commented: "This has without doubt been the most challenging album to write so far, if you count the amount of hours, blood, sweat and tears behind it. Which makes me extra proud to just have delivered the master of what I consider to be the most daring, technical, fresh and mature album we've ever done.

"The music of 'The Congregation' is mostly written by me on my computer, so that this time around I could use my ears instead of my knowledge as the main writing tool. If you use your knowledge and your usual methods to write every album, you will eventually find yourself stuck in a quagmire of old habits. Lyrically, 'The Congregation' covers the dangers and consequences of blindly following the flow, thus the album title will speak for itself."

On March 18th, Battle Beast performed at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland. During the show they were joined on stage by former vocalist Nitte Valo - who was replaced in 2012 by current singer Noora Louhimo - for "Victory", "Show Me How To Die" and "Enter The Metal World". Fan-filmed video is available below:

After the band's European tour and before their recent shows in Finland, Battle Beast underwent a crew change. Due to insurmountable disagreements, one the founding members and author of all the songs, lead guitarist Anton Kabanen was forced to leave the band. A substitute guitarist has been engaged for the upcoming shows. Anton Kabanen is going to continue making music and working on new projects. Battle Beast is already preparing new material for the upcoming fourth album.

Battle Beast's latest album, Unholy Savior, recently cracked the #1 position in their native Finland.

Commented Anton Kabanen: “After the extremely painful birth of Unholy Savior, to be rewarded with the first place on the official charts in our home country feels unbelievable, since at some point I wasn’t even sure will this album ever see the light of day. A thousand thanks to our fans and everybody who believed in Battle Beast!”

Unholy Savior tracklisting:

"Lionheart"
"Unholy Savior"
"I Want The World….And Everything In It"
"Madness"
"Sea Of Dreams"
"Speed And Danger"
"Touch In The Night"
"The Black Swordsman"
"Hero’s Quest"
"Far Far Away"
"Angel Cry"

Album samples:

"Madness" video:

"Touch In The Night" lyric video: