Former PRONG and MINISTRY drummer Aaron Rossi has died after suffering "a sudden, severe heart attack." He was reportedly only 44 years old.

Although Rossi passed away on January 27, his death wasn't announced until today (Thursday, March 6) via a post on his Facebook page.

The full message reads: "It is with overwhelming sadness to share that on January 27, 2025, Aaron John Rossi passed away from a sudden, severe heart attack.

"Aaron was a force with his own gravitational pull. His powerful energy instantly captured you. If you saw him on stage, you were blown away by his immense power, speed and agility – and if you were lucky enough to know him in person, you were equally taken by his kindness, humor and humility.

"Aaron leaving us so soon is beyond devastating, but we know that he would not want to be remembered that way. He made us laugh and told us stories like it was his job. We sincerely hope you will share some of your own stories of Aaron in the comments.

"There will be a Celebration of Life in the future and details will be shared as soon as possible.

"Aaron's talent on the drums and his ear for music was incomparable – and his sound will live on forever. He will always be The Shredder, The Beast, The Big Dog.

"Rock In Peace, Aaron! We love and miss you!!!"

PRONG frontman Tommy Victor commented: "I've known about Aaron Rossi's passing for a few weeks now. It was requested that I not post anything until I was given the ok, but now since the tragic news is out, I need to finally come out and say how terrible I think this is. He was part of my inner sanctum of serious musical brothers. A great funny guy and a great drummer and dad. You are loved and you will be missed. Rest In Peace fine sir."

MINISTRY leader Al Jourgensen said: "Great drummer, Great human being, He will be missed. Keep pounding that snare in the great beyond".

For over a decade, Rossi had drummed around the world with a number of heavy acts, including John 5, ANKLA and STRIFE. In 2007, while playing and recording with PRONG, he caught the attention of Jourgensen, who invited him to become the touring drummer for the legendary industrial metal group MINISTRY.

Regarding how he joined MINISTRY, Aaron told Roland.com more than a decade ago: "I played in the band PRONG, and PRONG was signed to 13th Planet Records, which [was] run and owned by [Al and his then-wife Angie] Jourgensen. They came to one of my shows in Albuquerque and saw me play, then came in the recording studio and saw me play. I was working my job, and I got a phone call from Angie Jourgensen, telling me to put in my two-weeks notice, [which is] probably the coolest thing that's ever happened. The next phone call that was cool was when they told me [the band] was nominated for a Grammy Award. Within a year or two years, I went from touring in a van, slumming it, to touring in a bus and staying in five-star hotels and chillin' at the Grammys."

It is with overwhelming sadness to share that on January 27, 2025, Aaron John Rossi passed away from a sudden, severe...

Posted by Aaron Rossi on Thursday, March 6, 2025

NEUROSIS singer and guitarist Steve Von Till has announced his latest solo album, "Alone In A World Of Wounds", arriving May 16 via Neurot Recordings.

Ploughing a different furrow, "Alone In A World Of Wounds" is a collection of sweeping gothic-tinged Americana, tripped out drones, beautiful world weary vocal melodies and slowly unfurling cello arrangements. Initially inspired by the harmonic resonance of piano and synths and his long standing love of ambient music, "Alone In A World Of Wounds" follows 2021's "No Wilderness Deep Enough" in reflective ambience. Opening up his voice in ways he has never done before, the album's genesis came via intuitive improvisations.

"The complex overtones of upright piano and synthesisers really inspired me to sing out more, to seek out the implied harmonies, and to find unique approaches within the limitations of my voice." says Von Till.

On "Watch Them Fade", Von Till's voice complex melodies with a rich, deep timbre. The lead single is available today alongside a stunning video by Bobby Cochran.

Aside from music, Von Till is a poet (he published his first collection — "Harvestman" — in 2021) and has a deep bank of poetry and wider writing that he draws on, frequently reflecting on our place within the universe while leaning into themes of loss and longing. Likewise, it is our place in nature and — crucially — our current disconnect from it that prove key to the sonic tapestry woven on "Alone In A World Of Wounds". The album title itself was inspired by a quote from forester and environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold from his 1949 book "A Sand County Almanac", which called for a reimagining of the relationship between people and the natural world ("one of the penalties of an ecological educations is that one lives alone in a world of wounds"),while — outside of music — Von Till remains equally committed to education (he has been an elementary school teacher for 24 years and also serves on the board of directors for the Firekeeper Alliance non-profit which is committed to reducing suicides among the youth of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana).

While "Alone In A World Of Wounds" may be far removed from the caustic aggression of NEUROSIS, make no mistake — the life-giving energy of punk rock and DIY ethic continue to provide deep inspiration and grounding to him. The search for deeper connection, living with the sorrow of our separation from the natural world, and relying on gut level instinct to get closer to the primal creative state are all key to Von Till's process.

"It is the transcendent nature of music, the cathartic healing process where I can leave everything behind and become one with sound," he says. "When you allow yourself to go beyond the ordinary you might be fortunate enough to find a moment where you are creating in alignment with the flow of the river of the universe."

Recorded mostly at his barn studio at home in Idaho and mixed at Circular Ruin in Brooklyn, New York with storied producer Randall Dunn (JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON, SUNN O))), EARTH, JIM JARMUSCH),"Alone In A World Of Wounds" also boasts cover artwork from Spokane, Washington-based alternative process photographer Brian Deemy — who works with colloidal wet plate "tintype" aesthetics, which complement Von Till's uniquely ancient yet grounded aesthetic, and one that perfectly matches his desire to reimagine the connection between the human and the more than human world.

"I often wonder where the psychological break was that caused the fatal delusion that we have dominion over the natural world, how it is reduced to existing solely for our benefit," Von Till says. "Whenever that disconnect was — I believe it to be the root of most of our problems as a society, in relationships, and even within ourselves and our own minds. It always comes back to the fact that we must have a conscious shift back to understanding that we're all part of a living animate earth: and that we need to think of the rivers and the mountains and the weather as part of us and us as part of the world. We are wild things but we've forgotten. Without this shift in consciousness we're screwed. That's the overarching theme. And when I look back on my life it's becoming more explicit and more clear that this is always what I've been singing about."

Steve Von Till is set to perform at Roadburn 2025 (Tilburg) next month and at Prepare The Ground (Toronto) and Fire In The Mountains (Blackfeet Nation) festivals this summer.

"Alone In A World Of Wounds" track listing:

01. The Corpse Road
02. Watch Them Fade
03. Horizons Undone
04. Distance
05. Calling Down The Darkness
06. The Dawning Of The Day (Insomnia)
07. Old Bent Pine
08. River Of No Return

Steve Von Till live dates:

Apr 17-20 - Roadburn Festival - Tilburg, NL
May 30 - Jun 1 - Prepare The Ground Festival - Toronto, CAN
Jul 25-27 - Fire In The Mountains Festival - Blackfeet Nation, MT

Photo by Bobby Cochran

In a new interview with Rock Feed, NICKELBACK bassist Mike Kroeger was asked what is next for him and his bandmates, more than two years after the release of the Canadian rockers' tenth studio album, "Get Rollin'". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Although it looks like [we are] a poster child for DIY and we know what we're doing all the time, we don't know what we're doing all the time. And right now we are not sure exactly what is next. We're talking about getting in the studio and recording, but we're trying to come with some kind of a different idea than just write an album, record an album, go on the road, repeat cycle. We're trying to come with something a little bit different. And being that we've got 10 albums out there, we're kind of just pumping the brakes a little bit. There's no hurry. We're gonna do it when it feels right and not before. And the same thing goes to when we release things. We made a rule a long time ago that we have a choice to release an album on time or an album when it's ready, and we've always chosen to release the album when it's ready. Rushing something half-hearted or half-baked is, is not gonna happen with this group."

NICKELBACK's first album in five years, "Get Rollin'", was released in November 2022 via BMG and debuted at No. 2 across the Current Rock, Alternative, Hard Music and Digital Album charts. The record also landed on the ARIA album chart at No. 3 and in the Top 10 in the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia and Austria. Additionally, "Get Rollin'" debuted at No. 1 in Switzerland, a career first for the band.

NICKELBACK released a new live album, "Live From Nashville", on November 15, 2024 via BMG. The LP was recorded at the band's August 2023 show at Nashville, Tennessee's s Bridgestone Arena as part of NICKELBACK's "Get Rollin'" tour and features special guest appearances from Ernest ("Flower Shops"),Josh Ross and Brantley Gilbert (for a cover of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road"),Chris Daughtry ("Savin' Me"),Bailey Zimmerman ("Rockstar") and Hardy ("Sold Out").

"Hate To Love: Nickelback", a feature-length documentary film about one of Canada's most iconic and globally celebrated rock bands, premiered in September 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film tells the authentic story of the band from their humble beginnings in Hanna Alberta to their explosive global success in 2001 and the highs and lows that followed. Directed by Leigh Brooks and produced by Ben Jones, the film celebrates the loyalty of NICKELBACK fans and delves into the years of online vitriol while exposing the personal impact it had on each of the band members. The film also unveils the rock group's decision to return after a five-year break with a new record and a hugely successful sold-out tour, finding themselves riding a sudden wave of online love that has introduced their music to an army of new fans and audiences worldwide.

2023 Canadian Music Hall Of Fame recipients, and diamond-certified selling group NICKELBACK were named the "most successful rock band of the decade" by Billboard in 2009. Globally celebrated for their career defining and award-winning hits "How You Remind Me", "Photograph", "Far Away", "Rockstar" and more, the four-piece comprised of Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair is one of the most commercially viable and important acts of the past two decades. Their success includes worldwide sales of more than 50 million units, solidifying their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time and the second best-selling foreign act in the U.S., in the 2000s decade, behind only THE BEATLES. Their inescapable and irresistible smash "How You Remind Me" was named Billboard's "Top Rock Song Of The Decade" and was the No. 1 most played song on U.S. radio (any format) in the 2000s according to Nielsen Soundscan, with over 1.2 million spins.

Amongst all of these accolades, they've also been named Billboard's "Top Rock Group Of The Decade" and received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award, twelve JUNO Awards, seven MuchMusic Video Awards, and have been inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame (2007) and the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2023). With more than 23 chart-topping singles and fans spanning the globe, NICKELBACK boasts more than twelve consecutive sold-out world tours, playing to well over 10 million diehard and adoring fans.

Grammy-winning, multiplatinum heavy metal band MEGADETH has announced an agreement for founder and frontman Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint with the Frontiers Label Group's new imprint BLKIIBLK. In this new arrangement, BKLIIBLK — which is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of heavy music — will exclusively release the iconic band’s forthcoming album globally.

"When I first met Tom Lipsky and Bob Chiappardi back in the day, I had no idea we would be working together again so many years in the future," Dave Mustaine says. "I look forward to working with Serafino and the team in Italy and I can't wait for the fans to hear the songs from our new record."

This new and exciting collaboration with one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands in heavy metal history marks a significant moment for both the label and metal fans worldwide. BLKIIBLK aims to bring a fresh perspective by focusing on innovative and boundary-pushing artists. With a mission to support and elevate the genre, the imprint strives to showcase talent that is both pioneering and influential.

"As the owner of Frontiers, I am honored to be working with MEGADETH, a band that has shaped the sound of metal for decades. This collaboration reflects our dedication to bringing the best in rock and metal to our audience," says Serafino Perugino, president and CEO of Frontiers Label Group.

"Myself, Justis Mustaine and Steve Ross at CTK Enterprises are extremely excited for the partnership with Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft Records and BLKIIBLK," says Danny Nozell, CEO, CTK. "Looking forward to getting this new album out to the world and combining teams with Serafino and Tom for the global attack."

Tom Lipsky, head of A&R of North America for Frontiers Label Group, commented: "When BLKIIBLK Records was formed, the very first artist we agreed was ideal to define the creative mission of the label was MEGADETH. Now, it is a reality. The band is crushing it in the studio. Danny Nozell, Justis Mustaine, Steve Ross and the team at CTK are developing an incredible global plan, and our team is thrilled, primed and ready to shake up the world of hard rock and metal!"

MEGADETH is once again working with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two albums, 2022's "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Last September, MEGADETH guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who joined the band a year and a half ago as the replacement for Kiko Loureiro, was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the progress of the songwriting sessions for MEGADETH's next LP. He said: "Yeah, actually, already a while back Dave started talking about making the next album and kind of starting to do pre-production. And as soon as he mentioned that, and kind of before that already, once it was clear that I'm gonna be staying with the band, then I kind of started putting my ideas down and just recording any riff ideas that I feel like could be something that could be used in MEGADETH. And by now I have a bunch of riffs and ideas that I've gathered. And then Dave told me that he likes to work the way that everybody does their riffs and then at some point we're gonna get together and then review things and see which riffs are gonna work together and then work out the parts between the riffs to kind of connect things and then that way come up with the skeletons for the songs. And I'm really looking forward to doing that and hearing how he feels about my ideas as well. But what I've done so far is whenever I have a moment to sit down, I usually just record a little video of myself playing a riff idea and then when we have a day off at the hotel, then I would record that properly and then just like have this folder of riffs that we can look into at some point. So, [I'm] really looking forward to that. And Dave has been really supportive and sounds like he wants to have all the guys' input on the next album, which is really exciting."

In August 2024, Mustaine was asked by Chuck Armstrong of "Loudwire Nights" how the dynamic within MEGADETH has changed since Mäntysaari's addition to the band. Mustaine responded: "Well, we are a band again. It doesn't feel like me and some side players or some session guys. Not that it felt like that with any of the previous lineups, but that was one of the fears that I had. I feel like Kiko did us a really huge courtesy by helping us find Teemu because with Kiko needing to step down… I thought I was gonna finish my career out with Kiko, and when things came up with him, he couldn't tour anymore because he needed to be home for his kids. So I see he's touring again, which I'm happy that he's still playing. But he had to go home. And when he did, he introduced us to Teemu. And it was an even closer connection between me and Teemu than Kiko and I had. We'll [Kiko and I] always be friends, but this new relationship I have is — it harkens me back to the days when we had Marty Friedman in the band and the four of us actually felt like a band."

Mäntysaari stepped in September 2023 for Loureiro, who announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the 37-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

Earlier in August, Mustaine was asked by Kyle Meredith what Mäntysaari has brought to MEGADETH that wasn't there before. Mustaine responded: "God, he's such an amazing talent. And as far as being a human is concerned, he's a really humble guy. He's fun to be around because he's kind of — there's this 'greenness' to him, if that's a word, greenness. He makes it really fun because he's gone from being in a band that was pretty well known to being in MEGADETH. And so everything's very new for him at this level. And for us, we get to kind of enjoy ourselves, because we sometimes forget where we're at and then you see other people that, 'Wow, the bread is round and so is the meat,' that kind of shit. And it just makes him really happy, and it just reminds you of how good you have it."

Regarding how much a lineup change like that actually alters the musical DNA of the band, Dave said: "Well, it depends on who the new player is. If they're willing to learn the parts, then the songs either, they stay where they are or they get better. And a lot of times when you have a new player, like when Teemu came in, he played everything identical to the original players. So, he's been one of the best guitar players to step in and play somebody else's stuff. I don't know what his stuff's going to sound like yet, which I'm looking forward to finding out."

Last June, Mustaine told Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece that he thinks Teemu will contribute to the songwriting process on MEGADETH's next studio album. "I think he's gonna be a great addition to MEGADETH," Dave said. "He already has. We're playing more songs now than we were playing before. And that has nothing negative to say about any of the previous lineups. It just says that he knew more about the band and understands the metal backbone of so many of these songs more than some of the other people would understand it."

He continued: "When you're a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who, say for example, knows progressive rock like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Chris Broderick does, or somebody who knows bossa nova, which Kiko does, or somebody that plays jazzy, like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Glen Drover would play, maybe Al Pitrelli. These guys all have their strengths."

Mustaine added: "I've often thought, although I've never said it, I do believe that when somebody gets singled out by me, that's pretty much it for them. They've been indoctrinated into the world of great guitar players, and from that moment on, their life will change."

In early October 2023, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."

In September 2023, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like Marty. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."

Photo credit: Ryan Chang

After laying low for the past year, veteran British metallers TANK are now back in action and ready to go into battle once again with the release of a five-song digital EP, "Live In Texas", and promo video for the single "Shellshock", which is taken from the EP.

"Live In Texas" was recorded at the Hell's Heroes festival in Houston, Texas on March 15, 2024 and features five classic TANK anthems:

01. Walking Barefoot Over Glass
02. Echoes Of A Distant Battle
03. Shellshock
04. He Fell In Love With A Stormtrooper
05. This Means War

TANK will be back on the road this year with summer festival dates confirmed and a European tour being planned for October/November 2025.

Confirmed dates, with more being added:

June 05 - The Cart & Horses - London
June 07 - Heavy Sound Festival - Belgium
July 10 - Metal Magic Festival - Denmark
October 4 - British Steel Festival - France -
October 11 - Thessaloniki - Greece

A brand new TANK studio album is scheduled for release in late autumn and there will be selected back catalog reissues available in the coming months.

TANK's touring and recording line up now consists of 40-year TANK veterans Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans, DIAMOND HEAD drummer Karl Wilcox, Swedish vocalist Marcus "Mean Machine" Von Boisman and new recruit Gav Kerrigan, former bass player with GODSIZED.

Tucker states: "The road is calling us again and we can't wait to get back out there and do what we do best. We have an awesome line up that can certainly deliver the goods."

Evans adds: "Taking some time out has helped us to re-evaluate what we want to achieve and we will come back stronger than ever. We haven't lost our edge or determination."

In May 2023, original TANK frontman Algy Ward died at the age of 63. He reportedly passed away at a hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom after suffering from serious health issues for quite some time.

In a new interview with Planet Rock, GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge addressed the band's announcement last fall that GHOST's 2025 world tour would be "a phone-free experience", with guests maintaining possession of their phones at all times, secured in Yondr pouches. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I really wanna underline that the ban has nothing to do with, let's say, copyright control. It's not that we wanna sit on all the material and we don't want anybody to monetize [GHOST videos]; it has nothing to do with that."

Referencing the fact that GHOST's feature film debut "Rite Here Rite Now" was filmed over two nights in September 2023 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Tobias continued: "The 'Rite Here Rite Now', the film, the essence of messaging in that film was exactly that, but also I, but us collectively, working, making that film… We filmed two shows in L.A. in front of audiences where they had to put their phones into pockets. You don't give it away. You have your phone; you don't have to worry about that. If you need to call, you can go out. If you need to take a photo, you can take a photo of yourself out in the lobby; that's fine. But what ended up happening was that we had such an engaged crowd that seemed joyous in a way that… I had to go back years and in time since I last saw a fully engaged crowd where everybody's actually watching [the show]. They don't have to watch me, but they're watching the band."

The 44-year-old Forge added: "I don't wanna turn this into an ageist thing where I'm gonna tell 14-year-olds everything was better back then. But I swear that the experience of shows and the making of memories, the making of magic, was much more powerful. Some of the best shows I've ever been to, I have maybe not even seen a picture from that because they all live here [in my head]. They live in my core. That's the memory I have of that. And that is an experience I wish for… Obviously, the part of our crowd that are older and more aware, maybe this becomes a little bit nostalgic then. But I really believe that the younger portion of our crowd will, as they did in L.A., come out saying, like, 'That was not only a great concert; that was also an overwhelming experience.' Because I do believe that you will feel that."

Through the use of technology like Yondr, fans are able to place their phones in a pouch that unlocks only after they leave the no-cell-phone zone. The pouch can also be unlocked at specific cell phone stations inside the venue.

Phone-free concerts are touted as a way to cut down on illegal filming and non-stop selfies that can take away from the performance.

Yondr founder Graham Dugoni said his company's pouches were created for "phone-free spaces" where "creativity and productivity could flourish in the absence of technology."

Phones, Apple watches and other communication devices are placed in the pouch and sealed using a magnetized lock, which can be opened with an unlocking base.

Musicians like Jack White, Alicia Keys, and comedians Dave Chappelle and Jerrod Carmichael have used Yondr pouches at their shows to encourage people to live in the moment.

A number of other musicians have come out in recent years to say that mobile technology is ruining the concert experience, including SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor. He told "Loudwire Nights" that "it's fine" if people want to take pictures of his bands' shows, but not so much if they are videotaping entire performances. "It's one thing to film it, it's another thing to just be staring at your screen while you're filming it," he said. "It's right there. Are you so terrified of real life that you can't do anything unless it's on that little four-by-four screen? Ugggh. It's very weird."

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach in 2015 urged fans to keep their cell phones at the bottom of their pockets and just watch his performances. "Be in the moment," he said. "You're distracted and it's distracting to the performer as well. Like, put your fuckin' cell phone away, dammit! You're never even going to watch that footage."

The overuse of cellphones to capture grainy, blurry photos and videos at concerts has for years vexed and enraged artists like Bach, who lamented the fact that every one of his performances could be recorded and shared on YouTube almost immediately.

"If I go to a wedding and sing a song, it's on Blabbermouth the next day and everybody analyzes it," said Bach. "It's a really backwards way to watch a band. It's a drag sometimes when I go up there and the first thing I see is everybody getting their phones out and holding them toward my face. It makes you feel intimidated."

Back in 2012, Bruce Dickinson chastised a fan for texting during an IRON MAIDEN concert, calling him a "wanker."

When Axl Rose reunited with his former GUNS N' ROSES bandmates Duff McKagan and Slash for the first time in 23 years at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in April 2016, the concert was phone-free.

"God, it was wonderful," McKagan told The New York Times. "It was the old-school feeling, where people were dancing and getting down. It was really cool."

GHOST will release its new album, "Skeletá", on April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings.

The European leg of GHOST's 2025 world tour will kick off on April 15 in Manchester, United Kingdom and conclude on May 24 in Oslo, Norway. The North American leg of GHOST's 2025 tour will launch on July 9 in Baltimore, Maryland and wrap up on August 16 in Houston, Texas.

The physical home video of "Rite Here Rite Now" was made available on December 6, 2024.

Danish rock and rollers VOLBEAT — Michael Poulsen (vocals, guitar),Jon Larsen (drums) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass) — have announced their ninth album, "God Of Angels Trust", due on June 6 via longtime label Vertigo/Universal.

The LP will coincide with plenty of touring on the band's "Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide".

Today the band shares the first taste of new music via the video for the first single "By A Monster's Hand". The song is a mid-paced riff-fest with no concessions to standard meter, juxtaposing pummeling rhythms with point-counterpoint hooks.

The video, which splices footage of VOLBEAT in their most natural state of performing, all the while following an ominously unsettling and familiar face, can be seen below.

The video was produced by Ghost Atomic and directed by Adam Rothlein, the same team that lensed videos for prior VOLBEAT hits "Shotgun Blues", "Die To Live" and "Leviathan".

With "God Of Angels Trust", the Danish band — which has scored ten #1 songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock airplay chart, the most ever for a band based outside North America — has thrown caution to the wind, ignored comfort zones, and paid little heed to traditional songwriting in the search for something more immediate and surprising. The end result will thrill VOLBEAT's dedicated legion of fans.

"In the past, I've taken a long time to write and obsessed over so many elements of the songs before finishing them," says Poulsen. "This time, I wanted to make a VOLBEAT record without thinking too much about it. Instead of following any kind of structure I said, 'Okay, there are no rules. I can do anything I want. I can start with a chorus or do songs that are just a bunch of verses stacked on top of each other. Anything goes.' That was freeing for me and made it exciting to write this album."

Poulsen's excitement to thwart convention is palpable throughout "God Of Angels Trust", a punchy, crunchy album that's undeniably VOLBEAT, yet marches to a fresh new metallic and melodic energy.

Poulsen started working on songs for the follow-up to 2021's "Servant Of The Mind" in the summer of 2024. VOLBEAT was taking a year-long break from touring to give Michael a chance to recover from throat surgery and to tour with his death metal band ASINHELL. Driven equally by his excitement to record a new VOLBEAT album and by his determination not to follow convention, Poulsen worked on songs for a mere three weeks with bandmates drummer Jon Larsen and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. Amazingly, they worked on a new song at every rehearsal. Three weeks into the process, VOLBEAT had arranged half of "God Of Angels Trust". That's when Poulsen decided that having no rules meant he could follow his muse wherever it took him, and he veered off on a different path. He and the band still wrote and rehearsed two songs a week, but they started composing more familiar rock songs that drew from traditional elements.

The band entered the studio with their longtime producer Jacob Hansen in the fall of 2024. As with the songwriting, Poulsen wanted to work quickly and rely on instinct, so they just plugged in and started to play. To keep the music sounding urgent and immediate, VOLBEAT recorded live in the studio, playing as few takes as possible before moving from one song to the next.

When it came time to add lead guitar, there was no question that VOLBEAT would tap Flemming C. Lund, who currently tours with the band and worked with Michael in ASINHELL. A mere 13 days after they started working with Hansen, VOLBEAT were finished.

As impressive as it is that VOLBEAT wrote and recorded an entire album in about five weeks, what's more incredible is that "God Of Angels Trust" sounds as fleshed out, eclectic, and fulfilling as albums that have taken 10 times longer (or more) to create. In the end, creating such a strong album so quickly was a tremendous challenge that demanded Zen-like calm, a joy for exploration, maximal creativity, and razor-sharp concentration to pull off.

"In some ways, it feels like we've come full circle," Poulsen explains. "If you start drawing a circle over an extended period of time, eventually you've going to get back where you started, and that's how I feel now. I've dealt with medical operations, lineup changes, and all these things, and now it feels like a rebirth. It doesn't feel like we're doing our ninth studio album, it feels like we're on our first album again and there's something really refreshing about that."

VOLBEAT will return to the road on the "Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide" beginning in June and running throughout 2025. The tour begins in June with a co-headline Canadian run with THREE DAYS GRACE and special guests WAGE WAR, which will be followed by headline treks in the U.S. with special guests HALESTORM and THE GHOST INSIDE, and Europe with special guests BUSH and GEL. All dates are below.

Fans who pre-order the album from volbeat.dk or select Universal Music Group webstores through 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, March 9 will receive a code to access tickets before anyone else starting Monday, March 10 at 10 a.m. local time. Regular on-sales begin Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m. local time.

"God Of Angels Trust" track listing:

01. Devils Are Awake
02. By A Monster's Hand
03. Acid Rain
04. Demonic Depression
05. In The Barn Of The Goat Giving Birth To Satan's Spawn In A Dying World Of Doom
06. Time Will Heal
07. Better Be Fueled Than Tamed
08. At The End Of The Sirens
09. Lonely Fields
10. Enlighten The Disorder (By A Monster's Hand Part 2)

"Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide" tour dates:

2025 co-headline with THREE DAYS GRACE and WAGE WAR:

June 7 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
June 9 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
June 10 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
June 12 - Saskatoon, SK - SaskTel Centre
June 13 - Winnipeg, MB - Canada Life Centre
June 16 - Laval, QC - Place Bell
June 17 - Quebec City, QC - Videotron Centre
June 19 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
June 21 - London, ON - Canada Life Place
June 22 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre

2025 U.S. headline tour with special guests HALESTORM and THE GHOST INSIDE:

July 17 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
July 19 – Salt Lake City, UT - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 21 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
July 22 - Ridgefield, WA - Cascades Amphitheater
July 24 - Wheatland, CA - Toyota Amphitheatre
July 25 - Inglewood, CA - Kia Forum
July 26 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
July 28 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
July 29 - Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall
July 31 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
August 2 - Franklin, TN - FirstBank Amphitheater
August 3 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
August 4 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 6 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
August 7 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
August 9 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
August 10 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
August 12 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheater
August 13 - Gilford, NH - BankNH Pavilion
August 14 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
August 16 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center
August 17 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
August 19 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
August 21 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
August 22 - Tinley Park, IL - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre

2025 European headline tour with special guests BUSH and GEL:

September 18 - Herning, DK - Jyske Bank Boxen
September 19 - Copenhagen, DK - Royal Arena
September 23 - Amsterdam, NL - Ziggo Dome
September 24 - Antwerp, BE - Sportpaleis
September 26 - Stuttgart, DE - Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
September 27 - Cologne, DE - LANXESS Arena
September 28 - Oberhausen, DE - Rudolf Weber-ARENA
September 30 - Vienna, AT - Wiener Stadthalle
October 3 - Prague, CZ - O2 universum
October 4 - Berlin, DE - Uber Arena
October 6 - Munich, DE - Olympiahalle
October 8 - Frankfurt, DE - Festhalle
October 10 - Leipzig, DE - QUARTERBACK Immobilien Arena
October 11 - Hamburg, DE - Barclays Arena
October 13 - Warsaw, PL - COS Torwar
October 15 - Tampere, FI - Nokia Arena
October 17 - Stockholm, SE - 3Arena
October 18 - Oslo, NO - Unity Arena
October 19 - Gothenburg, SE - Scandinavium
October 21 - Hannover, DE - ZAG Arena
October 22 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotterdam Ahoy
October 23 - Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU - Rockhal
October 25 - Zurich, CH - Hallenstadion
October 28 - Bilbao, ES - CUBEC - Bilbao Exhibition Centre
October 30 - Barcelona, ES - Sant Jordi Club
October 31 - Madrid, ES - Palacio Vistalegre
November 2 - Paris, FR - Zénith Paris - La Villette
November 5 - Nottingham, UK - Motorpoint Arena
November 6 - Cardiff, UK - Utilita Arena
November 8 - Manchester, UK - AO Arena
November 10 - Glasgow, UK - OVO Hydro
November 12 - Birmingham, UK - Utilita Arena
November 13 - London, UK - OVO Arena Wembley

In a new interview with Chile's PowerOfMetal.cl, guitarist Greg Mackintosh of British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST was asked if he and his bandmates are working on the follow-up to their latest album, "Obsidian", which was released in May 2020 via Nuclear Blast. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. It's already halfway recorded. Next week I go to Sweden to finish off recording vocals, and then we mix it and master it and then we give it to the label. And I think it's coming out, like, September time. So, yeah, it's almost finished. It's been the longest time we've ever had between albums. But that's kind of because of the pandemic as well… So shit happens. And, yeah, hopefully it'll come out September, October time this year."

As previously reported, PARADISE LOST will embark on "The Devil Embraced" North American tour in May 2025. The trek will kick off on May 16 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest and conclude on May 24 at Maryland Deathfest.

In a November 2023 interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, PARADISE LOST singer Nick Holmes spoke about how the band's songwriting process has evolved over the decades, Nick said: "The writing process is 100 percent different to how we used to write when we were younger. I mean, it's completely different now. We never meet up. We don't discuss things necessarily. Everything's through file sharing, e-mail and we don't write that way. It's equally as productive, I think, but it's just — maybe you're kind of more fussy. You can listen to things more than maybe you would do in the old days. Like I said, again, it goes back to the spontaneity thing. There isn't an element of that as much now, I don't think, but then you get there in the end anyway. There's a lot of ping-ponging ideas backwards and forwards, and you have more time to dwell on things and think, 'Well, is this right? Is this wrong?' Blah, blah. Whereas years and years ago, you think, 'Well, it's kind of shit, but we'll see. It might be all right.' There's benefits of both ways of writing, I think. Like I said, you can have too long and you can have too short. And some songs come together in no time. And then other songs can take months. We're just not the kind of band who can just kind of throw out a song and it's just brilliant. Well, people say they do that. I don't necessarily believe that's true, but I guess you can pretend that you're spontaneous and you just can throw out a genius song in about 10 minutes. I don't think that really happens with many people. But yeah, like I said, the songwriting, how we do it, has changed dramatically to where it was when we started."

When Botas noted that the different songwriting approach is something that was developed through experience, Holmes said: "When you start writing something, and if you spend a lot of time on it, you can spend a full day thinking, 'This is fantastic,' and then you can wake up in the morning and you think it's rubbish. You can get too locked into something. And then sometimes you have to take a step backwards, which is always really important, having a step backwards and maybe let someone else have a listen. I mean, we always get there, and when it comes together, it's great. That's the nice part. That's the rewarding part, I guess. It's like any kind of art. Once you've gone to the top of the hill and you're coming down, that's a nice feeling. It's not always easy getting there, but it's always fun when you go there."

Asked if he can still trust his instincts when writing music, Holmes said: "Yeah, absolutely. Gut reaction's pretty much… I mean, you could hear something that's not necessarily you think, 'Oh, hang on, this is strange.' And then you've gotta listen to it and then get into the… I don't instantly dismiss something — I would never do that — but I've gotta give it a few [listens]. And if I still feel the same way after a few listens, then I would trust my instinct on it, yeah. But I don't instantly dismiss things 'cause I don't think that's really a positive thing to do. But, yeah, definitely, you've gotta go with a gut reaction."

Asked if he can write a whole set of lyrics without music or if he needs the music to get some like melodies in his head, Nick said: "I prefer the music as a springboard to write lyrics to. And I always like how lyrics, how words sound on certain parts of songs. And that's always something I've admired about certain bands over the years. I'm not particularly interested in hearing stories in songs, although sometimes it's nice to hear that, but it's more about how, particularly metal, for me, it's more about how the songs sound at a certain time, how the lyrics sound at a certain time and the words. I mean, I can write without music, but I prefer to have something to kind of bounce off, really."

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their fourth album, "Icon", PARADISE LOST re-recorded the LP for a special new release. There was also "an extra special vinyl" version of the album, both of which were made available in December 2023.

"Icon 30" is a totally re-recorded version of "Icon", and PARADISE LOST once again worked with longtime collaborator and producer Jaime Gomez Arellano.

PARADISE LOST recorded the vocals and drums for "Icon 30" at Jaime's new studio Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. The rest of the album was completed at Mackintosh's Black Planet Studios. "Icon 30" also features brand new artwork created by Scott Robinson and new liner notes from Kerrang!'s Nick Ruskell.

"Icon" marked a departure from the death-doom sound of PARADISE LOST's early work and was the last album to feature Matthew Archer on drums.

In February 2018, "Icon" was inducted into the Decibel "Hall Of Fame", with the magazine naming it influential to the development of the gothic metal subgenre.

In March 2023, PARADISE LOST welcomed Guido Zima Montanarini as their official new drummer.

In September 2022, Finnish drummer Waltteri Väyrynen left PARADISE LOST to join OPETH. At the time, he issued a statement saying that his decision involved "absolutely no bad blood or drama whatsoever."

Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, PARADISE LOST were unlikely candidates for metal glory when they slithered from the shadows and infiltrated the U.K. underground. But not content with spawning an entire subgenre with early death/doom masterpiece "Gothic" nor with conquering the metal mainstream with the balls-out power of 1995's "Draconian Times", they have subsequently traversed multiple genre boundaries with skill and grace, evolving through the pitch-black alt-rock mastery of 1990s classics "One Second" and "Host" to the muscular but ornate grandeur of 2009's "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us" and "Tragic Idol" (2012),with the nonchalant finesse of grand masters. The band's "The Plague Within" (2015) and "Medusa" (2017) albums saw a much-celebrated return to brutal, old-school thinking, via two crushing monoliths to slow-motion death and spiritual defeat.

They made blasphemy sound fresh on their debut, but for their follow-up, Cryptopsy claimed the crown as the most vile band in all of death metal.

None So Vile established death metal as a truly vulgar art form. With each slurp from his chalice, Lord Worm smears the line between what’s sacred and profane until it’s dead and dripping. Lead guitarist Jon Levasseur shouldered more of the songwriting duties while seamlessly shredding between gut-slitting chugs, blistering technical riffage and orgiastic solos, though Cryptopsy still followed the textbook drumming of Flo Mounier. Trampled underfoot by a relentless piling-on of blast beats and oddly-timed bursts of double bass, “Graves of the Fathers” quickly cemented itself as a sacred rite amongst circle pits.

“In writing None So Vile, the idea was to create something heavier, faster and more technical than Blasphemy Made Flesh”, Flo says. “We were growing as musicians and so was our love for extreme music! At no point in time had we ever thought it would turn out to be one of the essential albums in death metal history. We are very happy that our fans did!”

Season of Mist is reissuing None So Vile on May 9.

Available formats:

– CD Jewel Case
– 12″ Black Vinyl in Deluxe Jacket
– 12″ Colored Vinyl (White with Gold Splatters)
– 12″ Colored Vinyl (Transparent Yellow and Blue-and-Black Marbled)
– 12″ Colored Vinyl (Crystal Clear with Blue and Black Splatters)

None So Vile tracklisting:

“Crown Of Horns”
“Slit Your Guts”
“Graves Of The Fathers”
“Dead And Dripping”
“Benedictine Convulsions”
“Phobophile”
“Lichmistress”
“Orgiastic Disembowelment”

In a new interview with Terry Palamara of Loud And Proud Italy, Dani Filth, the frontman and the sole remaining founding member of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH, was asked how he feels about some fans' perception that he runs his band as a Dani Filth solo project and whether he would actually ever consider releasing a solo album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm too busy to release a blooming solo record. And, yeah, if it was just me, it'd be called Dani Filth, and it's not — it's called CRADLE OF FILTH.

"I think everything needs change," he continued, referencing CRADLE OF FILTH's past lineup changes. "We've never — well, that's not true. We sacked three people over the span of our career. And it was all a long time ago, like 20 years ago at least.

"People leave the band because it's just a lot of commitment, a lot of hard work, a lot of traveling, a lot of mental disrepair. As in the case of our previous guitarist, people leave to start families and find that the lifestyle is a bit too hectic … or they just think they can do it better or just drift apart.

"It's very important to be a family when you join our band, and as a musician joining [CRADLE] — well, any band, I guess, nowadays, you have to wear many hats," Dani explained. "So it's not just being a pretty face. In CRADLE OF FILTH, you have to write, contribute toward the album. That happened on [the upcoming CRADLE OF FILTH] record ['The Screaming Of The Valkyries']; everybody contributed to its creation. And then you've gotta do other things. You've gotta speak to people, meet-and-greets, videos. There's a lot of different things you have to actually get rather good at, or at least deal with."

CRADLE OF FILTH's 14th studio album, "The Screaming Of The Valkyries" will arrive on March 21, 2025 via Napalm Records. Joining Dani on the LP are drummer Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek "Ashok" Smerda and Donny Burbage and keyboardist/vocalist Zoe Federoff.

"The Screaming Of The Valkyries" was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, England.

In a recent interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Dani stated about "The Screaming Of The Valkyries": "It's got elements of everything we've done, really. It has a few head nods to works like 'Midian' and 'Dusk[... And Her Embrace]', especially in the atmosphere and the subject matter. It's also got a very brilliant production, courtesy of Scott Atkins."

Asked if there is any overarching theme to it, Dani said: "No, I wouldn't say so. They're tricky things, concept records. You have to have tunnel vision and you can't veer from that path. So this is just an album. It's not an album with filly bits attached, like intros and outros. No guest appearances. Just nine songs. It's still quite a lengthy running time, obviously. We can't write a short song to save our fucking lives."

In 2023, CRADLE OF FILTH released its first live album in over 20 years, "Trouble And Their Double Lives", via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded between 2014 and 2019 at different performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond during the band's "Cryptoriana" world tour and dates following.

CRADLE OF FILTH will co-headline the 2025 edition of the North American "Chaos & Carnage" tour, featuring fellow co-headliners DYING FETUS, as well as FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, NE OBLIVISCARIS, UNDEATH, VOMIT FORTH and CORPSE PILE.

Dani Filth press photo courtesy of Napalm Records

Koldbrann’s latest album, Ingen Skånsel, has been nominated for the prestigious Spellemannprisen award, aka the Norwegian Grammy, in the “Hard Rock And Metal” category.

Says Koldbrann: “We are thrilled to announce that Ingen Skånsel is nominated for the prestigious Spellemannprisen, aka the Norwegian Grammy Award!”

Legendary Norwegian black metal band Trelldom, featuring iconic vocalist Gaahl, are also nominated in the category, for their latest album …By the Shadows…

Koldbrann and Trelldom are competing against Sibiir (nominated for their Undergang album), and Whoredom Rife (nominated for their Den Vrede Makt release).

The awards show will be held at Clarion Hotel the Hub in Oslo on Thursday, April, 24th of April. For a complete list of categories/nominees and more info about Spellemann, head here.

Swedish multi-instrumentalist, Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Dream Evil, Mercyful Fate, etc.) has announced that he has joined the ABBA tribute band, ABBA Vision.

Snowy issued the following update: “Good Morning! Up early learning the liveset for this ABBA tribute band that I (lo & behold) have accepted the offer to play drums with live. It’s hardly no secret that I’m a fan and it’s really wonderful to play these classic gems and to groove the fuck out of them on drums. Note to self: Just need to remind myself NOT to overdo/play it out of sheer & pure enthusiasm and passion. Name? ABBA Vision, and 1st show on 22/3 at Konserthuset (Stora Salen) in Gothenburg, then Karlstad, Helsingborg etc etc. This is gonna be so nice and new to me. Live is good – if you choose to make it good.” ❤️🖤❤️

After more than two decades of dominating the Swedish power metal scene, Bloodbound is taking things to the next level by signing a worldwide contract with Napalm Records. With this powerful collaboration, the band is ready to expand their legendary sound and bring their epic metal anthems to even greater heights.

Formed in the summer of 2004, Bloodbound has consistently impressed with their signature blend of melodic and heavy power metal, earning their place among the genre’s finest. With ten studio albums under their belt, the band has captured the hearts of metalheads worldwide, and each explosive release reflects their dedication to epic fantasy realms while crafting unforgettable tunes and staying true to their roots.

With their signing to Napalm Records, Bloodbound is already hard at work on fresh material, promising even more of the electrifying, high-octane power metal that has defined their career. Stay tuned for more updates as Bloodbound continues to rise to new heights, taking the metal world by storm.

Bloodbound state about signing with Napalm Records: “We are absolutely thrilled that Bloodbound has officially signed with the mighty Napalm Records! This partnership marks a massive step forward for us, and we truly believe that Napalm has the power, passion, and reach to take Bloodbound to new heights! We can’t wait to embark on this epic journey together and unleash what’s coming next! Stay tuned—this is just the beginning!”

Senior A&R Sebastian Münch says about Bloodbound: “Bloodbound have been the epitome of super exciting and creative power metal for over 20 years. The energy of the Swedes is simply impressive! We are very happy that Napalm can support Bloodbound in reaching the next level!”