In a new interview with Japan's Trooper Entertainment, vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway and bassist Shane Embury of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH spoke about the band's uncompromising musical approach. Shane said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We sort of kind of pride ourselves on the fact that we are what we are. It's simplistic, but the sound that comes out from that simplistic force — I don't know if that's the word to use — is enough for us. I mean, it's what NAPALM DEATH is about, really, musically, I guess, and sonically. It's what we do."

Added Barney: "Yeah, NAPALM has a — it definitely has a lot of characteristics in the music, but the rawness and the simplicity, the bedrock of it, that's what it is. It doesn't require sort of a polishing 'cause it's got to have the raw edges, it's gotta have the noise, the sort of chaotic feel. That's NAPALM DEATH. It has to be that way."

This past October, Embury told Mammoth Metal TV that NAPALM DEATH will "probably" begin work on its next studio album in 2024. Asked about a possible timeline for the recording sessions for the follow-up to 2020's "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", Shane said: "The last record, we started it musically in two stages, and then Barney took quite a few days to record his vocals, 'cause we were touring. This one, I think we do a tour in February, maybe. That might be happening. And after that, I think Barn wants to take some time off, which will give me the time to sort of put… I've got lots of ideas; [I just need] to piece it together. And hopefully go into the studio and just kind of experiment."

In February 2022, NAPALM DEATH released a new mini-album, "Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes", via Century Media Records.

"Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" is a partner recording to "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", concluding matters through vital, tumultuous grindcore and shockwave ambience.

The eight-song "Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes" comes with a total playing time of 29 minutes and is available as a limited CD digipak, vinyl as well as in the digital album format.

"Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism" came out in September 2020 via Century Media Records. The band's 16th studio LP was recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.

Embury released his autobiography, "Life?… And Napalm Death", in October via Rocket 88, an imprint of the established British book production company Essential Works.

Largely misunderstood and widely mocked in their early days, NAPALM DEATH nonetheless became the benchmark for uncompromising extremity, as well as a political force for good. Dismissed by many as a ridiculous noise, NAPALM DEATH became the credible face of extreme art rock, beloved of John Peel, NME cover stars and indie music darlings. Embury's debut studio release with the band, 1988's "From Enslavement To Obliteration", remains a seminal work of raging sonic violence coupled with ultra-credible punk critiques of corrupt politics, capitalist opportunism and societal collapse. The record remains as revered today as it ever was.
 

During an appearance on the 18th episode of "The Metallica Report", FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist and founder Zoltan Bathory explained that, despite misconceptions behind the band's accelerated rise to success, he and his bandmates come from extremely humble beginnings and a militant devotion to hard work. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's always been a massive misconception when it comes to the press, when it comes to the audience, because this band grew really quickly. We connected to the fans and our growth was exponential. And everybody thought that there must be some [people from the music] industry going, coming in here with suitcases of cash and they made us. And that's exactly the opposite of the truth. The first record was literally created in my bedroom. The whole record — every single guitar, bass — everything was recorded in a bedroom. I mean, it was a little desk and a computer and just minimal amount of equipment, and we did everything there. And then on the end, we went to a better studio to catch the drums and then the vocals, and then went back to the home and finished it there. So it's a homemade record. That record is almost platinum now. So you can do it — everybody can do it; the technology allows you to. And we signed to an independent label where we were the only band on the label. And it never really changed. We never had a major label deal. The band never had tour support. So basically what we did, we designed our own merch. Like, I designed most of the merch and we had our own merch guy on the road. And we were just selling our merch and the merch would support the band. And so all the way, like right now, I mean, obviously we are here. And it's been always like that. It was always an independent band."

As previously reported, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will embark on a full European tour of headline dates as well as festival appearances next summer. The tour also coincides with the European portion of METALLICA's "M72" tour on which FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH continues to tour stadiums around the world as special guest.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH celebrated the 10th anniversary of "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Volume 1 & Volume 2" by releasing a limited-edition vinyl 6LP box set, as well as a digital version of the box set, on December 1, 2023.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's latest album, 2022's "AfterLife", was once again recorded at the Hideout Recording Studio, the Las Vegas, Nevada facility owned and operated by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has worked on all of FIVE FINGER's albums beginning with the band's sophomore release, 2009's "War Is The Answer".

"AfterLife" is FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first album with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook in 2020. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out in the fall of 2020.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played its first show as the support act for METALLICA on the "M72" tour on August 6 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was originally supposed to support METALLICA on several European shows this past spring but ended up canceling the dates in order to allow singer Ivan Moody to fully recover from a hernia surgery.

Photo credit: Hristo Shindov

MANOWAR's exclusive U.S. concert, which will take place on November 30, 2024 at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, is officially sold out. It will mark the band's first live appearance in MANOWAR's home country in a decade.

Earlier today (Friday, December 29),MANOWAR shared the following message via social media: "Our show in Brooklyn, NY on November 30, 2024, is SOLD OUT‼️

"Thanks to all Manowarriors who have made a statement of their passion and loyalty!

"Wishing all our Brothers and Sisters around the world a fantastic 2024, filled with health, happiness, and true metal".

Less than two weeks ago, MANOWAR bassist/leader Joey DeMaio said in a video message that the band's upcoming concert in New York will coincide with the 40th anniversary of MANOWAR's "Sign Of The Hammer". "It's gonna be the only show in America, unfortunately, because our recording and touring schedule won't allow for more, but it will be the full show," he said. "I know there's been questions about that. This is going to be our full team of 40 people with the kind of show that we've been doing in Europe for many, many years. It's gonna be big, loud, proud, massive, a huge event. So I would encourage everybody that wants to see MANOWAR in America, please come. There's gonna be people flying in from China, Japan, all across the world. So I know there's gonna be a lot of people who don't mind traveling for a few hours across America. Looking forward to seeing everybody there and get ready to get your head blown off. Believe me, we're gonna take the roof off that joint. That's a promise. See you there."

MANOWAR's last U.S. shows are believed to have taken place in February 2014 when the band celebrated the 25th anniversary of its "Kings Of Metal" album on the "Kings Of Metal MMXIV" tour.

Back in September 2014, MANOWAR canceled its previously announced U.S. tour dates which were scheduled to take place in November of that year. At the time, the band claimed it was scrapping the shows "due to scheduling conflicts" as well as to concentrate on work on a new studio album.

The 69-year-old DeMaio and 71-year-old singer Eric Adams are the sole remaining original members of MANOWAR, which formed in 1980 in upstate New York.

Two months ago, MANOWAR announced "The Blood Of Our Enemies" 2025 tour of Europe. The trek will be the band's first in support of MANOWAR's next studio album, which will arrive in early 2025.

This past February, MANOWAR released a new song called "Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" dedicated to the band's loyal German fans.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell", which translates into "Loud And Hard Strong And Fast", is an anthemic mid-tempo hymn in the vein of MANOWAR's classic "Warriors Of The World United" that invites fans to sing along and raise their hands in celebration of their favorite genre and band.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" was first released digitally on February 10 on all major platforms and was made available during MANOWAR's German tour.

More than a year ago, MANOWAR announced that it had recruited Michael Angelo Batio, a veteran both in the studio and on stage, to play guitar for the band on its 2023 "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal" tour. The news came in the wake of guitarist Evandro "EV" Martel's announcement that he was taking a break from touring for a while for "personal reasons".

Although MANOWAR has released a couple of EPs in recent years — including "The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)", which came out in June — the group hasn't issued a full-length effort since 2012's "The Lord Of Steel".

MANOWAR's two "secret" warm-up shows in June 2022 at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany marked the band's debut live appearances with new drummer Dave Chedrick, who has previously played with RAVEN and KILL RITUAL, among others.

Chedrick joined MANOWAR as the replacement for Anders Johannson who announced that same month that he would be unable to join MANOWAR on the band's "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour '22/'23" due to "family commitments."

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Guitarist Rowan Robertson (DIO) and singer Doogie White (RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, MICHAEL SCHENKER) recently teamed up for a European tour during which they performed classic RAINBOW and DIO songs. The trek, which saw them backed by Francesco Caporaletti on bass and Alessio Palizzi on drums, kicked off on November 29 in Vilnius, Lithuania and concluded on December 14 in Verviers, Belgium.

Fan-filmed video of Robertson and White's December 7 concert at Kino Regis in Bochnia, Poland can be seen below.

Featured songs:

04:30 Intro
06:10 Kill The King (by RAINBOW)
10:35 Too Late For Tears (by RAINBOW)
17:35 The Last In Line (by DIO)
24:10 Man On The Silver Mountain (by RAINBOW)
29:00 Lock Up The Wolves (by DIO)
37:40 Black Masquarade (by RAINBOW)
44:50 Ariel (by RAINBOW)
52:05 Holy Diver (by DIO)
57:31 Don't Talk To Strangers (by DIO)
1:04:09 Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (by RAINBOW)
1:09:00 Heaven And Hell (by BLACK SABBATH)
1:16:53 We Rock (by DIO)
1:23:45 Rainbow In The Dark (by DIO)
1:31:20 Temple Of The King (by RAINBOW)

Five years ago, Rowan said that he "would love" to release songs that were written during the sessions for "Lock Up The Wolves" that didn't make the final record.

Robertson, who was 17 years old when he joined Ronnie James Dio, was asked by The Metal Voice if he would be interested in making the unreleased recordings available to the legendary singer's fans.

"There's two songs which were just done on a boombox in rehearsal," he said. "And I just really would like to get permission from management, 'cause I don't wanna get in trouble. I'd love them to be out there, but I think after Ronnie's gone, he's not here to say, 'Don't play anyone that.' You know what I mean?"

In a 2015 interview, Robertson said that he played the two songs in question — which were apparently titled "Hell Wouldn't Take Her" and "The River Between Us" — for Ronnie's widow and manager Wendy Dio and that she thought the quality wasn't "good enough" to release them.

Rowan was also asked by The Metal Voice for his opinion on the "Dio Returns: The World Tour", which featured a hologram of Ronnie James Dio backed by some of his DIO bandmates.

"I think it's great," the guitarist said. "I think it keeps his memory alive, and I don't see any problem with it at all. I think it's great."

In the late 1980s, Robertson heard that Ronnie James Dio was looking for a new guitarist. He sent a tape to the record company Phonogram. After six months of waiting, he got a reply that stated that at that moment they were not interested in him. At the encouragement of his friend and fellow guitarist Sean Manning (HURRICANE),the tenacious Robertson then contacted the DIO fan club who then asked him to send his demo tape to them.

Robertson got a great response from DIO after receiving the demo through the fan-club channels. In late January or early February 1989, Robertson was flown to Los Angeles for an audition with DIO. He was auditioned twice. Immediately after the second audition, he was invited to join the band. The press release for the addition of Robertson to DIO was sent out on July 18, 1989 and the press was invited to meet the newest DIO guitarist on July 20, 1989 at Oliver's Pub in New York City.

The first DIO album Robertson started working on with DIO was "Lock Up The Wolves". These sessions included Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice and Jens Johansson. The band had already begun writing and recording when Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice were suddenly excused from the band. They were replaced with Teddy Cook and former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright.

"Lock up the Wolves" was released in 1990, and the band embarked on a tour in support of the album.

Robertson stayed with DIO until Ronnie James Dio rejoined BLACK SABBATH in 1991.

In an April 2023 interview with Vintage Rock Pod, Doogie spoke about his time working with legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. He said: "Well, I always got on well with him. It's not my name on the board. It's not me selling the tickets. It's him selling the tickets. I was in a very lucky position. He could have chosen any singer in the world to come and join him. But he chose me. And I'll be eternally grateful for that because it gave me a springboard to do [other things] — not so much with [Michael] Schenker but with Yngwie [Malmsteen] and ALCATRAZZ and things. It gave me a worldwide audience, and I've had a lot of work come from that worldwide audience and because of my collaboration with Ritchie — and, to some extent, Yngwie as well. And so I'll always be grateful to him for that."

Doogie went on to say that he "never really had any run-ins" with Ritchie. "We used to go to Blockbusters together when there was no football on," he said, referencing the throwback movie rental chain Blockbuster. "I used to go down to his house when we weren't doing anything. Go round to his house and we'd sit and watch 'The Princess Bride' or, you know, 'The Appointment' — I mean, just rubbish movies, the two of us walking round going, 'What's this one?' at Blockbusters. But we got on really well. And then one day, he just went [snaps fingers] and it was gone. And it was gone as quick as that.

"We played football the day before the last show in Esbjerg in Denmark," he continued. "We played the show. Nothing was wrong. And then within an hour of us coming off stage, it was all sort of [shaky]... And I went home and just phoned him up and just handed in my resignation. I said, 'Unless I hear from you in 24 hours, I'm not doing it, I'm not doing this anymore.' And that was it. And I've never spoken to him since. But he's always treated me fairly."

According to Doogie, he did have one brief correspondence with Ritchie after his exit from RAINBOW. "I did contact him because I was owed some... We had a publishing agreement for the songs that I'd written, and I provided his management with the evidence that I was due funds, and they wouldn't pay," he explained. "So I just wrote to him directly and said, 'Look, man.' And he went, 'Okay, there you go.' The check was in the post. So I've always had a great respect for him for that reason."

White said that he is grateful to Blackmore for giving him a break and making it possible for him to have a career in music.

"He's very good at bringing new people in and taking people — not necessarily off the streets, but out of clothing shops, or out of being a coach builder or whatever," White said. "And then he sets you free to do [whatever]. He sucks you in, bleeds you dry and then sets you free, and you can go off and if you can find your wings, you can fly. Some do, some don't. And that's one of his great gifts to the world of rock and roll, is the amount of people who he has given careers to that you would maybe never have had of. And we've all got to be very grateful for that. I mean, David Coverdale could still be selling suits in Redcar. You know, Ronnie Dio could still be trying to get ELF to do something. You know, Graham Bonnet could still be crooning away in Australia. I could still be sleeping on somebody's floor in London. But he gave us all this opportunity to go out there and make something of ourselves. And if you grasped it, you grasped it, and if you didn't, you didn't."

White first came to prominence when he was asked to audition for RAINBOW, subsequently joining the band in 1994 and releasing the album "Stranger In Us All". Since then, he has worked with CORNERSTONE (a band he put together with former ROYAL HUNT member Steen Mogesen),YNGWIE MALMESTEEN'S RISING FORCE, TANK, and, more recently, MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST and ALCATRAZZ. His vocal range is rich and distinctive, and he is certainly one of the great rock vocalists of his generation.

Rowan Robertson (DIO) & Doogie White (Rainbow) - Evening with Dio & Rainbow - Bochnia Rocks

Posted by Bochnia Rocks on Thursday, November 30, 2023

November & December in tour with DOOGIE WHITE (Rainbow) and ROWAN ROBERTSON (Ronnie James Dio)
On Bass Francesco...

Posted by Alessio Palizzi on Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Today, Lord Of The Lost reveal their covers album, Weapons Of Mass Seduction, wrapping up the band’s most successful year so far. Among other highlights, 2023 has seen Lord Of The Lost hitting #1 on the official German album charts, representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest finals, many sold-out shows, providing tour support to legendary Iron Maiden (once again), and now the release of their first full covers album - exactly one year after the release of #1 album Blood & Glitter.


Lord Of The Lost does not show any signs of slowing down in 2024 - on top of their fast-selling “15 Years of Lord Of The Lost” tour that is approaching in spring as well as two dates in the US, the outfit has already been confirmed for several big festival performances. Listen to “Turbo Lover” below, make sure to get your copy of Weapons Of Mass Seduction, and grab your tickets for the upcoming live shows in the new year.


Lord Of The Lost state: "During the production of our last album, Blood & Glitter, while recording our Roxette cover 'The Look' in Finland, it had already become clear that we had opened Pandora's box. The energy and fun of covering the songs of beloved and respected colleagues and idols was something we were determined to continue. So even before the release of Blood & Glitter we started working on this 'covers album' project, which for us is the perfect dessert to Blood & Glitter, before we embark on the adventure of reinventing ourselves again for a new studio album."







While Weapons Of Mass Seduction is entirely composed of covers, Weapons Of Mass Seduction confirms Lord Of The Lost’s creative ability to make even unexpected songs their own, and further confirms their status. The covers album comes in various different formats – some of them containing a second CD with 11 covers that are already released or have been played live. The deluxe boxset includes a third CD with 10 acoustic tracks, exclusively available in this format.





Weapons Of Mass Seduction is available in the following formats:             


- 3 CD Boxset, incl 2 CD 6 pages Digisleeve (Ltd Deluxe Edition) and CD 3 incl 10 acoustic songs, exclusively available in the Deluxe Box + pink Sweatband with black logo, sharped patch and sticker - Napalm Records Mailorder and Lord Shop exclusive – strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide
- 2 LP Recycled Color Vinyl - Die Hard Edition incl Slipmat, record butler and 12 inch booklet – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive – strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide
- 2 LP Recycled Color Vinyl incl 12 inch booklet - Lord Shop exclusive – strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide
- 2LP Gatefold Recycled Black Vinyl
- 2 CD 6 pages Digisleeve (Ltd Deluxe Edition), 12p booklet
- 1 CD 6 pages Digisleeve, 12p booklet
- Cassette (Pink w/ Black print) - Napalm Records Mailorder and Lord Shop exclusive – strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide
- Digital Album


Order here.





Weapons Of Mass Seduction tracklisting:


CD1
"Shock To The System" (Billy Idol Cover)
"Unstoppable" (Sia Cover)
"Smalltown Boy" (Bronski Beat Cover)
"Turbo Lover" (Judas Priest Cover)
"Hymn" (Ultravox Cover)
"Give In To Me" (Michael Jackson Cover)
"River" (Bishop Briggs Cover)
"Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane Cover)
"(I Just) Died In Your Arms" (feat. Anica Russo) (Cutting Crew Cover)
"High" (Zella Day Cover)
"House On A Hill" (The Pretty Reckless Cover)


CD2
"The Look" (feat. Blümchen) (Roxette Cover)
"Ordinary Town" (Celebrate The Nun Cover)
"Cha Cha Cha" (Käärijä Cover)
"Judas" (Lady Gaga Cover)
"Children Of The Damned" (Iron Maiden Cover)
"Wig In A Box" (Hedwig and the Angry Inch Cover)
"Bad Romance" (Lady Gaga Cover)
"The Most Radical Thing To Do" (The Ark Cover)
"This Is The Life" (Amy MacDonald Cover)
"It's A Sin" (Pet Shop Boys Cover)
"Ordinary World" (Duran Duran Cover)


CD3 - Ltd Deluxe Edition only
"Starman" (David Bowie Cover)
"Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" (Neil Diamond Cover)
"The Days Of Pearly Spencer" (David McWilliams Cover)
"Hey You" (Pink Floyd Cover)
"I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" (The Electric Prunes Cover)
"Where Do You Go To My Lovely" (Peter Sarstedt Cover)
"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)" (The Byrds Cover)
"In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" (Zager & Evans Cover)
"All I Have To Do Is Dream" (The Everly Brothers Cover)
"Perfect Day" (Lou Reed Cover)


"Shock To The System" video:





"The Look"





Lord Of The Lost are:


Chris Harms – Vocals, Guitar
Pi Stoffers – Guitar
Class Grenayde – Bass
Gared Dirge – Piano, Synths, Percussion, Guitar
Niklas Kahl – Drums


(Photo - Jan Season)

Ted Nugent has shared the video below, featuring his early band, The Amboy Dukes, performing "Migration" on PBS in 1970.


Says Nugent: "Why I was born!!! Pay close attention to the astonishing virtuosity of Andy Solomon on keyboards. Dave Palmer drums, the amazing Greg Arama on bass guitar and the unbelievable manipulation of that jazz guitar by your Byrdland daddy!


Can you believe the adventurous, mystical talent of those 4 young men uniting for such dynamic musical sonic adventure! Watch it over again when you can, and watch those guys play! Phenom!!!

In a new interview with Paul Brannigan for Classic Rock, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Dead Daisies) looks back upon a lifetime of fabulous, and sometimes terrifying, rock 'n' roll adventures. An excerpt from the feature follows...


Dressed in black, and sporting tinted sunglasses, a pashmina scarf and two fistfuls of chunky rings, we join Hughes today in an upscale boutique hotel in Cambridge. The Voice Of Rock, arguably the greatest British rock singer of his generation, is in fine fettle today as he reflects upon five remarkable decades in the music business, a journey which has included stints in Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Black Country Communion and some wild adventures with drug dealers, gangsters, movie stars and beauty queens en route. Hughes freely admits that he has “lived the lives of 10 men” and “done everything that you can imagine, good and bad, wonderful and silly.”


“I’m so fortunate not to have died,” he confesses. “I’ve overdosed, been pistol-whipped, shot at, stabbed, run over in a car… and I’m still here to tell the tale. Where shall we start?”




Classic Rock: Who was the first musical artist to capture your imagination?


Glenn Hughes: "The Beatles. I remember coming home from school and saw them on a TV show with Muriel Young in 1963 and that was it for me. I asked my mum, who’d named me after Glenn Miller, Is there any chance I could get one of those instruments?, meaning a guitar. I’d originally wanted to be a footballer, but I wasn’t good enough, but I found that I was adequate on the guitar, so I stuck with that. When I left school I was set to get a real job in September, but in August I got offered the chance to be in a professional rock’n’roll group [Finders Keepers] so I accepted that offer. I was the youngest guy in the band by ten years."


Classic Rock: Your first step into the big time came alongside Mel Galley and Dave Holland in Trapeze. In America, at least, you were a proper rock star before you’d turned 20.


Hughes: "Yeah, Trapeze did really well in America. We toured there initially with The Moody Blues, before we’d even made an album, and played unknown songs for 45 minutes every night to their audience and the reaction was incredible. I was 17 then. By the time I accepted the offer to join Deep Purple in 1973, Trapeze were doing 10,000 tickets a night in America as a headline act."


Read the full feature at Classic Rock.

Vanguard, with origins in 2015 in Brno, Czech Republic, play modern melodic/technical death metal with many genre overlaps and influences. The band has three releases to their credit, namely the debut EP "I" from 2015, the full-length "II" from 2019, and their latest release III: Pyrrhic Sequence released in the end of 2023.


Along with the albums, the band has released a total of five music videos including the latest video for the song, "Exomorphic Cascade", from the latest album. Watch the clip below.







The band has dozens of club and festival performances in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, including concerts in Poland and Germany. In 2022, the band appeared at the biggest metal festival in the Czech Republic, Masters of Rock, and in 2023 at the popular Czech death metal festival gathering Czech Death Fest. During their career, the band has had the opportunity to support names like Vader, Catalepsy and Czech legend Root in their home town of Brno.


Vanguard's music will be appreciated by fans of traditional death metal such as Death, fans of more modern styles such as The Black Dahlia Murder, fans of the fusion of black and death metal, and fans of a more technical take on the whole thing.

DOWN, featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, has apparently commented the songwriting process for a new release. The long-running heavy metal supergroup hasn't issued anything since the arrival of the "Down IV – Part Two" EP in May 2014.

Earlier today (Thursday, December 28),Windstein shared a photo of him and Keenan in DOWN's rehearsal studio in Louisiana, and he included the following message: "So...we kinda wrote 2 DOWN songs today!!!"

This past October, Windstein spoke to Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio about the possibility of him and his DOWN bandmates writing and recording new music in the not-too-distant future. Windstein, who also plays guitar and sings in CROWBAR, said: "I talked to Phil a pretty good bit… Phil's attitude is kind of just like, 'Look, fellas, I'm doing what I'm doing [with PANTERA]. I love it. We're killing it.' And boy, are they. We [CROWBAR] had the pleasure of playing with PANTERA in Poland in early June. It was unbelievable. I mean, I laughed, I cried. My emotion was something else, because I was very tight with [late PANTERA guitarist] Dimebag. It's real — what they're doing is real. But what Phil said, 'Hey, man, in the big picture of things, dude, I really don't have a band. I'm doing a PANTERA reunion thing.' And of course they're gonna do it as long as they can. I mean, I don't blame them. Who would? You do what you've gotta do. And they're killing it and doing it heartfelt for the right reasons, and I love it. But like he said, 'Look, you are the guys.' And I talked to Pepper about two or three days ago. I think he's got a few shows in early November with C.O.C. and he's off for a while. CROWBAR's next gig is in Ireland in late February, so we're off for a good bit. And when you have five guys — well, Phil, of course, will be kind of out of the picture for now but me, Pepper, Jimmy and Pat — in a room together, when you've got all these guys writing riffs off of each other… And that's the way I like to write — I like to write spontaneously off the cuff. I don't like to [go], 'Okay, this is my new song. Boom. Here y'all go,' or whatever. I like to write off the cuff, on the spot. I feel what the other guys are giving me vibe-wise and whatnot. And that, to me, is a winning formula. It really is."

Asked by Penfold if he is saying that there could possibly be some new DOWN music coming out in 2024, Kirk replied: "I hope. To be honest, we talked about doing like a cover-song EP. But we threw around like a hundred songs and we can't pick and choose any of them. So, to me, it's easier to just go, 'Hey, guys, let's get in the fucking room and just write some shit.' Come out with six songs and do an EP. So I hope that that's what happens.

"To be honest, I don't know," he continued. "And this is not from Phil or [PANTERA bassist] Rex [Brown] or anything. They can do [the PANTERA thing] forever. Like as far as festivals in South America, Europe and whatnot, they can — they can always go do a weekend or two in the summer here and there between Zakk [Wylde, PANTERA guitarist] and Charlie's [Benante, drums] [schedules]… whatever they're up to with [their respective] bands. So I hope that they do. I hope they do it forever.

"When we got DOWN together in 1991, that was the first demo tape," Windstein added. "We wrote 'Bury Me In Smoke', 'Temptation's Wings' and 'Losing All' in a day. We recorded it. Phil sang. We mixed it off on a four-track or some shit, and that was it. Phil flew back to Texas and Pepper flew back to North Carolina with C.O.C. So when we got together, we always joked, but it's no longer a joke that this is the kind of band we can grow old with. It doesn't matter what we look like. We can be fat. We can be bald. We're not attracting 18-year-old girls. If they wanna be a fan of the music, great. If you're a [Taylor Swift] fan, hey, more power to you. It's all good. Whatever. But that was not our intention. And it's kind of ironic or whatever that it's kind of come full circle where we see ourselves going, 'Hey, guys, we're closing in on mid-50s to 60s. This is a band that we can actually do and kill it and then retire with it maybe.' So that's what I personally believe is going to happen, and I hope that in the near future, that's what happens and we're able to do more DOWN in, say, '24, '25, whatever. But there's no time limit on anything. I mean, Phil's doing what he's doing and God bless him for that. And I'm so proud of him. I really am."

DOWN made a handful of rare live appearances in the spring and summer of 2022. The band launched a three-date U.S. run of shows in May 2022 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. After playing in Atlanta and Dallas immediately after Rockville, DOWN took a three-week break before regrouping for three European festival appearances in June. An appearance at last year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival followed in September 2022 in Alton, Virginia.

In August 2021, DOWN took part in a very special in-person live and virtual experience. "NOLA Town Throwdown" was held at the Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana and featured fans attending the show in person as well as watching it in real time from the comfort of their living room.

In August 2020, DOWN celebrated the 25th anniversary of "NOLA" with a special livestreamed event. Dubbed "The Quarter Century Throwdown", the high-production, multi-camera event took place using cutting-edge streaming technology to create a one-of-a-kind virtual concert experience.

A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER),and HONKY.

Windstein announced his return to DOWN in 2019, with the band confirming a number of festival appearances for 2020 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "NOLA", all of which were later canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which swept the globe.

Prior to the August 2020 livestream, DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas.

"Down IV – Part Two" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2014 to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous EP, "Down IV Part I – The Purple EP", opened with around 12,000 units in September 2012 to land at No. 35.

"Down IV – Part Two" was recorded at Nodferatu's Lair — Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson. It was released via Down Records/ADA Music.

So...we kinda wrote 2 Down songs today!!!

Posted by Kirk Windstein on Thursday, December 28, 2023

Holland-based melodeath/thrashers, Insurrection, have released a lyric video for "The End Of Honesty", featured on their brand new 4-track Exiled To Earth EP, out now. Watch the clip below:





With Exiled To Earth, Insurrection present their most melodic and mature release so far. Following up Catatonic’(EP, 2015) and Circles Of Despair (full-length, 2019), Exiled To Earth contains meticulously written and thought out melodeath/thrash songs: equally aggressive, upbeat and melodic, but with an added touch of prog and atmosphere this time.




The new EP is available as a limited digipack CD and as digital release on Tunnelgeur Records exclusively now.





Tracklisting:


"Hopeless World Below"
"The End Of Honesty"
"In Terram Extorres"
"Crimson Skies"


"Crimson Skies" video:

Sacramento-based metalcore act, TITVN, will release their first full-length 10 track album, The Human Experience, on January 12.


Says the band: "This album has been in the works for 2 1/2 years. Since day 1 of TITVN we went into this with the intent of releasing the best material we can grow with and combine all of it into a full length we could be proud of. We are pleased to announce that The Human Experience is here. We want to say thank you to so many people who have been a part of creating this album with us.


Thank you to Cody Fuentes of Rapture Recordings for starting us off with our first couple of singles and to Nick Miller of A Skylit Drive for helping finish the record with the last few songs. We couldn't have done it without them. They truly brought the best out in us and pushed us even when we didn't have another take in us, they knew we did.




We are so excited and happy to start the year off with such a huge milestone achievement that will pave the rest of 2024 for us. Thank you again for all the love, support and guidance through out this journey."


Pre-save the album here.





Tracklisting:


"The Human Experience"
"Transcending"
"The Alpha One"
"Blood Bender"
"Unholy Beast (The Revenant)"
"You Only See The Glass Half Full On A Wednesday"
"Carnival Decay"
"Violence" (feat. Hazkin)
"Beneath The Surface"
"Legion"


"The Alpha One" video:





"Unholy Beast (The Revenant)" video:





"Legion" video:





Lineup:


Vocals - Ryan Brown
Guitar - Hector Garcia
Drums - Hugo Pulido                                                                                   
Guitar - David Taylor                                                                                      
Bass - Michael Croce


(Photo - @6graphs)

Serbian heavy / speed / thrash band Jenner have launched a music video for the song "Never Say Die", as a third advance single from their second album, Prove Them Wrong, which will be released on January 24, 2024 through Fighter Records on CD, Vinyl, Cassette, and Digital formats.





Prove Them Wrong artwork and tracklisting:







"No Time For Prayer"
"Prove Them Wrong"
"Born For Something More"
"Down In The Pit"
"Not Even You"
"Eye For an Eye"
"I Saw It All Clear"
"Never Say Die"
"Laws Of The Weak"


"No Time For Prayer":





"Prove Them Wrong":





For further details, visit Jenner on Facebook.


 

Van Halen singer, David Lee Roth, is back with a new video, in which he performs a little dance routine to the INXS hit, "New Sensation". Watch below:





Backbeat Books will issue the new title, DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed The World, by Darren Paltrowitz, on January 1. However, Van Halen Store has permission from the publisher to start shipping the book NOW, so if you place your order now, you could have your hands on it a bit early. It's currently in stock and shipping at Van Halen Store.







Description: What do you do after leaving one of the world’s biggest bands? If you’re David Lee Roth, you write a memoir, become a radio host, sell a screenplay to a major studio, get certified as an EMT, play Vegas, and put out bluegrass versions of your biggest hits. And then you rejoin Van Halen for a reunion tour.


Encompassing the highs and lows of a truly unusual career, DLR Book is an intimate look at the force of nature that is David Lee Roth, from his start with Van Halen to his highly publicized departure from the band and his triumphant return. Drawing on nearly one hundred exclusive interviews, author Darren Paltrowitz delves into Diamond Dave’s many extracurricular activities, including his unclassifiable video series “The Roth Show,” the rise and fall of his syndicated radio program, and his line of tattoo skincare products. Also included are conversations with some of Roth’s most popular collaborators (among them Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Travis Tritt, and Korn’s Ray Luzier) and contributions from figures influenced by Roth, including Jason Aldean, Billy Corgan, Butch Vig, and legendary sumo wrestler Konishiki.


Filled with exclusive photographs from Lit bassist Kevin Baldes and an introduction by WWE superstar Diamond Dallas Page, DLR Book is a front-row seat to one of the wildest and most unpredictable artists of all time.


For more info and to pre-order from Backbeat Books, head here.

“We are chilled to the bone in the Cannibal camp for presenting to our caffeinated fans the 4th ultra brutal label of our Beheading and Brewing cold brew! Keep freezing your brain!” - Cannibal Corpse


Cannibal Corpse has gone extremely brutal & beyond with their new can release. Did you ever think you’d see this in the Starbucks era? Is death metal taking over the coffee world by force? Will this one get censored & banned in some countries?


"When we initially launched the cold can line with Cannibal Corpse, we all really just wanted a convenient experience for events and retail venues like the Spooky Empire horror con, or legendary local record store Park Ave CDs, and recently the Vegas oddities shop Cemetery Pulp. Both metal and horror fans were so receptive and stoked on the quality and can art, we knew we had to follow it up. So what’s next? Fans already collect beer cans and bottles, so we decided to do the same for coffee, hence we’re already up to the #4 release. How long can we keep it going? As long as we can consistently keep topping the last and the fans are still asking for them, we’ll keep it going. Is it going to get extremely brutal?… FCK YEAH!!!" - Michael Tonsetic, Concepts Cafe




Cannibal Corpse Can Release #4 (Gift Box):


(1) Limited Edition 'Cranial Extraction' Nitro Snapchill Can
(1) 12oz 'Beheading & Brewing' Bag
(1) Cannibal Zombie Sticker


Starts shipping January 2. Order here.


The guys have dragged coffee even more into the depths of morbid extremes with this 4th instalment in the series, a very limited Cannibal Corpse cold brew (500 singles). With copious amounts of blood & mass cranial extractions, 'Cranial Extraction' just might get banned in some places!





Cannibal Corpse land at #9 on our BravePicks 2023 list with their Chaos Horrific album. View the up-to-date list here.


(Artwork - Vince Locke)

Dee Snider recently appeared on "Side Jams with Bryan Reesman" to talk about his journey into charitable work, which causes and organizations he works with, and how he wants to encourage people to do more. The TWISTED SISTER frontman also recalled how difficult it was initially to raise money and awareness for the Station Family Fund. It all started through a personal friend.

"Mick Foley, the wrestler — Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, and all those characters — he and I became very good friends," Snider told "Side Jams". "We lived near each other on Long Island, and we met and connected. Mick does insane amount of charity, and without making a big deal about it. Amazing. Put it this way — the man's married and he's got three or four kids. Mick would just in his spare time, go and knock on doors and show up at kids houses that he knew had were dying of cancer and were fans of his, and hang out and watch TV with them. And he called me one day and says, 'Listen, I'm visiting a kid in the hospital. He's got leukemia, he's a big fan of yours. Would you come with me?' So I went to the hospital and met this kid and saw what the kid got out of it, out of just that moment. When Mick drove me home, I said, 'Mick, you made me a better man today.' I'm getting a little choked up because I was so shaken. I said [to myself], 'Look at what Mick does, and look at what you don't do.' At the point, it was in the early 2000s, where I said, 'I need to do more. I need to give back. I need to say yes.' And not just send a guitar. By the way, all celebrities get these invitations, these opportunities to do more, and most of us just blow it off or send them an autographed picture or something. Thank you, Mick Foley, for waking me up and showing me that we can help. And there's something more that we need to do."

Snider spoke about various causes and organizations that he has been involved with over the years — the March Of Dimes, Bikers For Babies, helping homeless veterans, the Gibson Girl Foundation, the Station Family Fund, and more.

Recalling the Station fire in Rhode Island in 2003 that killed 100 people and injured 230, and subsequent fundraising efforts to help victims and families of victims, Snider recalled: "That was just so under-supported and so under-appreciated [or] respected. As I have said many times, if it had been U2 in an arena, that fire, the Pope would have showed up. It would have been an international outcry. But the fact that it was an '80s hair band in a little podunk bar in a small town on a Thursday night, just some blue-collar Janes and Joes, nobody gave a shit. And that was tragic. Fortunately, with the help of some friends, we were able to do something significant eventually and help those people out. But not after years and years of being ignored and suffering — it was just awful what happened to those people up there. No money came at all to help these people."

Snider continued: "I was trying to get something going after five years and just got such pushback and unwillingness of the biggest bands. But eventually — and credit to Troy Luccketta, the former drummer of TESLA, and TESLA, they were doing little things, raising little bits of money. But you were dealing with insane medical bills — thousands of dollars a day in the burn wards. It was crazy. Sixty kids were orphaned at that event. So eventually, thanks to Troy giving me the push, we took another shot at it. We gathered a ragtag bunch of country musicians — John Rich from BIG AND RICH, Gretchen Wilson and Dierks Bentley — and Tom Schultz, Carmine Appice, TWISTED SISTER and TESLA." (Also: WINGER, Eric Martin from MR. BIG, and Aaron Lewis from STAIND.) "VH1 got on board, and we got together at the arena in Rhode Island [in 2008] and put on a broadcast show. We raised some money — half a million dollars — but it was like $75,000 a day for the burn unit. We couldn't do anything [huge], but the event reawakened the awareness. And the lawyers and the insurance companies and the judges, all who were deadlocked about paying out, broke their freeze and paid out over $75 million to the fun. When I say people were made whole, of course they weren't made whole, but at least they got the insurance money, and they were no longer living on couches, having lost their homes because they couldn't work.

"And that's what I always tell people," said Snider. "Charity work isn't just about what you do on the day of the event — how many people show up, how much money you raise that day — it's about the awareness you raise for the cause while promoting it. Those people who hear about it because you were talking about it — maybe not now, but maybe the next time they'll write a check, or they'll throw some money in the bucket or whatever. These events are not just about raising money, it's raising awareness that the need is out there."

During the "Side Jams" interview, Snider also praised the motorcycle community whom he has frequently worked with.

"[They're] an incredibly generous group of people," said Snider. "The range goes from plumbers to teachers to lawyers to doctors. When we're all on our Harley Davidsons wearing a leather jacket and a pair of jeans and a helmet, it's hard to tell who's who until you start talking to them. But I discovered that this community will turn out one weekend for my thing for Children's Cancer and March of Dimes. And the next is breast cancer. And the week after that it's a food drive, and they go weekend after weekend and they're constantly giving. I don't know what it is about that community that has this awareness that there's a need, but I knew very well that they weren't just showing up for my event because 'Dee is calling us'. It was Dee this weekend, but it was another group, American Cancer Society, the next week, or Breast Cancer Awareness the weekend after that. These weren't mostly young people, they were mostly people hitting their 30s and 40s and older where they just seemed to have this understanding that it was our job to help."

In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled "Forty And Fuck It", in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band's "core lineup" of Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda and bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, along with Mike Portnoy, who has played drums for TWISTED SISTER since the passing of former member A.J. Pero. The band's last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after Pero's death.

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.