In keeping with the countdown to the release of the remastered, twenty-fifth anniversary edition of their monolithic Chaosphere full-length, today, Swedish metal titans Meshuggah unleash "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled."


Pulverizing both musically and thematically, the cynical track explores the topic of depravity and embracing one’s own flawed nature. It also examines the many universal evils found within society, showcasing the darker aspects of the human condition.


Stream or download Meshuggah’s updated version of "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled" here. Listen below:







Originally released on November 9, 1998, the band’s third full-length studio album shows the band toning down some of the thrashier sounds of previous releases in favor of the more technical, polyrhythmic, groove-oriented sound they would go to explore on subsequent albums.


To commemorate the album's quarter-century anniversary, Atomic Fire will unleash a sonically updated version of the album on November 10. The re-release of this masterpiece comes in hi-def audio remastered by Thomas Eberger and Sofia von Hage at Stockholm Mastering on all streaming platforms, as well as a jewel case CD edition (incl. 8-page booklet), and stunning new vinyl colors (most are limited worldwide to under 1500 of each color, 180 grams, 2cLP in 5 mm Sleeve incl. 2-page insert), to complete every collector’s dream.





Pre-order here. Listen to the remastered version of "Sane" and "Neurotica" below.








Meshuggah will return to US and Canadian stages for a nineteen date tour this fall with support provided by special guests In Flames and Whitechapel. Produced by Live Nation, the journey begins on November 21 in San Diego, California and runs through December 16 in Laval, Quebec. The tour marks the first time in five years Meshuggah has played on Canadian soil. The final show will also include the addition of Voivod. Tickets are on sale now.





Dates:


November
21 - Soma - San Diego, CA
22 - Hard Rock Live Sacramento - Wheatland, CA
24 - Paramount Theatre - Seattle, WA
25 - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre - Vancouver, BC
27 - Midway Music Hall - Edmonton, AB
28 - Grey Eagle Event Centre - Calgary, AB
30 - Burton Cummings Theatre - Winnipeg, MB


December
1 - The Fillmore Minneapolis presented by Affinity Plus - Minneapolis, MN
2 - The Sylvee - Madison, WI
3 - GLC Live at 20 Monroe - Grand Rapids, MI
5 - The Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana - Gary, IN
6 - The Andrew J Brady Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
8 - The Paramount - Huntington, NY
9 - MGM Music Hall at Fenway - Boston, MA
10 - The Wellmont Theater - Montclair, NJ
12 - Toyota Oakdale Theater - Wallingford, CT
14 - Wind Creek Event Center - Bethlehem, PA
15 - History - Toronto, ON
16 - Place Bell - Laval, QC - w/ Voivod

DarWin has been busy in the studio recording not just one but two major albums since 2021. The first big drop, “Inside This Zoo,” is now here.


DarWin’s debut album, Origin Of Specie,” grabbed attention with its mix of virtuoso guitars and symphonic rock. Follow-up, DarWin 2: A Frozen War, was hailed as “An entertaining Progressive Rock masterpiece!” by Classic Rock.


Now DarWin returns with a first single, “Inside This Zoo”, releasing November 3. The first full album, tentatively named DarWin 4, is now targeted for release in early 2024.







“Inside This Zoo” is another powerhouse melodic epic from co-producers DarWin and the legendary Simon Phillips, with co-writer and vocalist Matt Bissonette.


Mumbai-born bass sensation Mohini Dey has joined Team DarWin and brings her iconic low-end wizardry to the groove on the two albums. Greg Howe takes his trademark shredding to the next level, sporting his new Lyra guitar with a soaring new tone that promises to melt faces globally. Dream Theater’s Derek Sherinian also returns with the group on keys and adds his signature symphonic edge.


As with previous DarWin releases, Simon Phillips drives the production, leveraging all the wisdom of the history of rock music in the process.
 
The accompanying video drops on YouTube and shows the band having an awesome time playing together. The friendship and joy of the music is clearly shining through.
 
“‘Inside This Zoo’ is an ideal first release from these upcoming two albums. It’s remarkably fresh but rock fans will know where to bang their heads. The song sounds best when played loud - really loud. There’s a lot happening musically in the song for our diehard prog fans. Lyrically, ‘Inside This Zoo’ just about sums things up these days perfectly! We love our fans, all our fellow humans on Earth, and we hope this song gets everyone excited for all of the upcoming releases now being prepared! Let’s do this together! - DarWin


“Inside This Zoo” releases on platforms everywhere on November 3. Pre-save here.

Tribucha, one of the East Coast's leading kombucha brands, is teaming up with Grammy Award-winning rock sensation GRETA VAN FLEET to launch a special edition of its Controlled Burn kombucha. A vibrant union of art and health, the co-branded kombucha hit the shelves at select Publix locations on Halloween, followed by Harris Teeter in the coming weeks.

"This exciting partnership with GRETA VAN FLEET combines the revitalizing legacy of an ancient drink with the electrifying energy of modern rock," said Adrian Larrea, chief visionary officer and co-founder of Tribucha. "This isn't just about fusing flavors with music — it's a consciously crafted experience designed to fuel your mind, body and spirit."

The collaboration was born out of the band's love of Controlled Burn kombucha and Tribucha's brand ethos centered on 100% natural living. The GRETA VAN FLEET edition of Controlled Burn, a tasty blend of cayenne, turmeric and ginger, offers herbal nuances and celebrated anti-inflammatory properties.

"We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Tribucha kombucha as we take over their Controlled Burn formula for a healthy, organic, flavor-forward beverage that our fans of all ages can enjoy," said GRETA VAN FLEET. "There is a uniqueness to Tribucha kombucha. It isn't just a drink; it's an experience — an ode to the artist's soul within all of us."

"We hope with each can opened, we all can celebrate health and uniqueness. Make a toast to the tales yet unwritten, and drink to this place we were born to and have been given the absolute limitless freedom to create upon!" added the band.

Tribucha's raw, premium-brewed kombuchas are brewed with 100% organic ingredients and zero additives, syrups and concentrates. Dense in pure, naturally occurring probiotics, kombucha is a full-flavored blend of organic herbs, botanicals, and fruits that is not only refreshing, but beneficial to digestive health.

Tribucha's promotion with GRETA VAN FLEET will run for more than 12 months with new packaging designs being introduced along the way.

To learn more, visit tribucha.com and follow Tribucha on Instagram and Facebook.

Formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2012, GRETA VAN FLEET consists of three brothers — vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka and bassist/keyboardist Sam Kiszka — as well as drummer Danny Wagner. Together the Grammy Award-winning band has performed across multiple continents, sold over 3.5 million records worldwide and performed on late night television shows such as "Saturday Night Live", "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"GRETA VAN FLEET is coming off the July 21 release of its third studio album, "Starcatcher", which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The band just finished the U.S. stretch of its "Starcatcher" world tour and will be traveling overseas for the European portion in November. The band will be back stateside in 2024 with tour stops planned for the Southeast during the spring.

Founded to be a force for better, Tribucha is a vehicle for delivering liquid goodness to the world. Tribucha sincerely believes cleaner, healthier ingredients brewed with care and mindful awareness are infused with refreshing positive energy. Inspired by the meticulous brewing processes of the best craft beers, Tribucha's small batch brewed beverages deliver the perfect balance of flavor and function. Each and every can of Tribucha kombucha and SuperB Functional Soda is consciously crafted with 100% organic ingredients. No additives. No artificial anything. Ever.

Photo credit: Neil Krug

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tribucha Kombucha Inc. (@tribucha)

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, FOZZY singer Chris Jericho spoke about the band's plans for the coming months. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Our latest single] 'Spotlight' just came out a few weeks ago, and we're on tour right now. And, obviously, radio is so important, as you know. So [we're] just kind of focusing on this right now, I think the idea for us over the next few years is to just release one song at a time rather than waiting two years and putting out a full record."

He continued: "The 'Boombox' record, which we started in 2019, because of the lockdown, the pandemic, it took three years to basically get it released. We were calling it 'Chinese Fozzocracy'; it took such a long time. And the thing that I realized about it is that we had 12 great songs on it, but out of those 12 great songs, three of them went to radio, were all Top 10, three more of them we played live and did great, and then the other six songs just kind of disappeared. You don't play them live or release them to the radio. They kind of go to the FOZZY dead-song graveyard. I didn't want to waste those songs — 'Army Of One' and 'Omen' and 'The Worst Is Yet To Come'. Those are all great tunes. So what we wanted to do, starting with 'Spotlight', is release a song at a time and give each song its due, send each song to radio, play each song live. And then you can really see what kind of legs it has and if it can be another classic for us like 'Judas' or 'I Still Burn', in that vibe. So I think that's kind of what's gonna happen for us in the future, is starting to really concentrate on a song-by-song basis."

Jericho went on to say that he, as an old-school music fan, personally still appreciates the full-length album concept. "Well, I like it because that's how I grew up, but once again, you've gotta stay ahead of the curve," he explained. "And the way that people consume music nowadays, especially younger people, it's all playlists and it's on shuffle and it's YouTube videos and that sort of a thing. So I think, as much as I hate to say it, because I still love the concept of a full album and the whole ebb and flow of putting together the track listing and all that sort of thing, I just think it's almost becoming a little bit archaic. So I think, once again, as we've always done, we stay ahead of the curve rather than kind of stay ensconced in what was working before.

"Are we ever not gonna do another record? I'm not saying that; I'm just saying for right now, I like the song-by-song development," Chris clarified. "And plus, it's all about content nowadays. We hear, 'Content, content, content.' I'd rather have a new song released every three or four months rather than every one or two years. Like I said, I think it's just the way of the world right now. We're gonna work and go about things that way and see how that changes or doesn't change the success of the songs that we've had.

"We've had seven consecutive Top 40 singles right now, and then 'Spotlight' will probably hit number 10, which would be our six consecutive Top 10 single. So we wanna continue this roll that we're on as far as just being, I guess, a radio band at this point in time."

"Spotlight" was released last month via Madison Records/The Orchard. The song's accompanying video was filmed by Exceleration Media and Firefly Drone Shows and features hundreds of live drones that light up the night sky to co-star in this first ever drone show music video.

To fully capture the magnitude of the night flying drones for the video, FOZZY's creative team brought the concept to Firefly Drone Shows, who are recognized as the innovation leader in the drone light show industry.

"Spotlight" was helmed by FOZZY's longtime producer Johnny Andrews (THREE DAYS GRACE, ALL THAT REMAINS, HALESTORM) and sonically refined by mixer Jacob Hanson (VOLBEAT, AMARANTHE, ARCH ENEMY).

"Boombox" came out in May 2022 and featured the song "I Still Burn", which recently eclipsed two and a half million views on YouTube. It also included the Top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane".

This past spring, FOZZY spent time on the road with UGLY KID JOE as part of the latter band's first tour of the United States in 27 years.

In January 2022, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Rich Ward (guitar).

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

FOZZY is Jericho, Ward, Brooks, Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).

Brace yourselves, for the unrelenting onslaught of Foetal Juice, is back and more gruesome than ever with their ninth album, Grotesque. This death metal powerhouse, known for devastating riffs and lyrical content that draws inspiration from the darkest corners of humanity, their songs are a visceral commentary on the idiocy and cruelty of mankind, targeting those who deserve a sonic reckoning. “Ghoul Amongst The Mouldering Dead” is the latest single, exclusively premiered by BraveWords, and the one they enjoy playing the most. 


They comment on the musical direction and lyrical content of the track:


“Our guitarist has worked on the running riffs quite a lot to make them sound complex enough without turning it too melodic. For the middle section, we wanted to make it really heavy for the headbangers at shows. Something for everyone in the crowd to enjoy, even the miserable cunt at the back with their arms crossed. Lyrically this is a lot more serious than the others. It’s about the soldiers in the First World War who were stuck in no man's land having to eat the flesh of the dead to survive.”







According to the band, this is the song that represents them the best on this album. It draws in sections from all of their influences from old death metal, grind, black metal to gore-laden groove and ferocious stabs.


Foetal Juice has grown to become a death metal juggernaut known for its unrelenting brutality and uncompromising sound. With a career spanning multiple albums and splits, they've carved a niche for themselves in the extreme metal scene. Grotesque promises to be their most savage and unrelenting work to date, a relentless onslaught of sound that will leave listeners in awe. It is recommended for fans of Napalm Death, Terrorizer, and Cannibal Corpse.


Grotesque is due out on November 17th, 2023 via Gore House Productions and is available for album pre-order (Cassette / CD / Digital) and pre-save at this location. 





Tracklisting:


"Human Beach Master" 
"Mountain Of Gore" 
"Legion Of The Grotesque" 
"Ghoul Amongst The Mouldering Dead" 
"Two Bongs Don’t Make A Right" 
"Cunt Of The Litter" 
"Cemetery Leachate" 
"The Walking Groin" 
"Torn Apart" 
"F. K. E. O."
"Gruesome"


"Legion Of The Grotesque":





"Two Bongs Don't Make A Right":





(Photo credit: Karen Carley)

Torn Between Two Worlds vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva (ex-Cradle Of Filth) has checked in with the following update:


"So, I found the original version of 'Daddy's Not Coming Home', a song I wrote when I was very young. I left home when I was 9 years old and I found my self in a place I didn't want to be, but I know that if I wasn't in that place, I never would have become 'Sarah Jezebel Deva'. 


'Daddy's Not Coming Home' is the first song I ever wrote and the ONLY song I wrote alone with a melody in my head. I have already told the story, but I sung the lyrics to my dear friend Suvi (Therion, Mortiis) when I got her involved with singing on The Smell Of Rain. After we did that album for Mortiis, I recorded 'Daddy...' for the first time ever in her home studio. I lost the song for many years, then found it and Martin Powell (Cradle Of Filth, My Dying Bride ) re-orchestrated the song for me to release on my first solo album (which, as you know, is 50% absolutely dreadful). I know it touched a lot of people. 




I then lost the original again. I wrote the lyrics and melody in my bedroom when I was around 12 years old. Parts of it are about my mum and dad, but other parts are purely made up. I am proud of the song and will be forever, but I want to share the original with you. I am extremely grateful to those who helped me with this and finally, I made a little bit of money to buy some coffee and that 15 slot toaster I had had my eye on for years."


"Daddy's Not Coming Home" is available via BandCamp here.





Scars And Guitars recently shared a massive four hour interview with former Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist, Sarah Jezebel Deva, currently fronting Torn Between Two Worlds. Check it out below.


Scars And Guitars: "Many of you have eagerly awaited an episode featuring the illustrious Sarah Jezebel Deva, easily the most requested guest for the show by a considerable margin, owing to her pivotal role in Cradle of Filth.


The journey with Sarah has been intricate and enduring. At times, it appeared as though she might have moved on, akin to Gian (John), Les, and Robin. Yet, her responses to my messages kept the flame of hope alive that one day, she would unveil insights into her tenure with Cradle and Therion. However, today's conversation delves even deeper.


These discussions serve as a platform for Cradle members to unveil long-held truths concealed for decades. The 'Chronicles Of Filth' has evolved into the premier platform for former members to peel away the layers of stories and narratives, reaching the core of matters or, at the very least, setting the record straight and dispelling falsehoods. 


This conversation delivers everything you've been yearning for. This is Sarah, as you've never heard her before. She delves into her time with Cradle of Filth, candidly sharing her feelings and thoughts on numerous episodes from her noteworthy tenure with the group.


Sarah's musical journey extends beyond her prominent role with Cradle of Filth. In her odyssey, she boldly explored uncharted territory with Torn Between Two Worlds, weaving intricate melodies and evocative lyrics that transcend genre boundaries, leading listeners on a profound emotional voyage. With Chris Rehn, she co-founded Angtoria, a symphonic metal sensation seamlessly blending haunting symphonic, gothic, and classical elements. Their debut album, God Has A Plan for Us All, etched indelible marks with Sarah's commanding vocals and darkly enchanting lyrics."








In June 2022, Torn Between Two Worlds, featuring Sarah Jezebel Deva and Chris Rehn, released a new EP, entitled As If We Never Existed. It is now available via Bandcamp here.





The tracklist is as follows:


"The Beauty Of Deception"
"Transparent"
"The Woman That Never Was"
"All Eyes On Me"
"Hello"


"The Woman That Never Was"





"Transparent"





"The Beauty Of Deception"





"All Eyes On Me"





"Hello"

Northern Irish rock outfit, Therapy? reveal their mind-melting AI generated video for "Woe", which is taken from their new album Hard Cold Fire, out now on Marshall Records. 


As a growing fan favourite, "Woe: is a bleak towering mass of prog-tinged riflery adorned with arguably, some of the band's most anthemic melodies to date.


“After over three decades as a band and numerous promo videos it’s intriguing to find our gnarly vessels represented in AI,” jests vocalist and guitarist Andy Cairns. “The song itself is looking at finding a way out of misery and looking ahead. Focusing on things you can change and using bad experiences as a springboard to make the right moves.”




Speaking on the track’s initial inception, Andy reveals; “The riff was written by Neil on a keyboard and then interpreted on a guitar with a POG Pedal for its unique sound. The middle eight is classic Therapy? melancholic euphoria while the chorus seeks anthemic joy from struggle.”





As Therapy?’s fourth decade finally gets underway in earnest, their 16th album Hard Cold Fire, written and pre-produced during an unprecedented time for music, is hefty, compact, and accessible, a distillation of everything that has made them what they are - hewn from County Antrim basalt, still possessed of their stoicism, but casting a renewed focus on catharsis and healing.


Working once more with renowned producer Chris Sheldon (Feeder, Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters), a consistent good-luck charm for Therapy? dating back to 1994’s breakout album Troublegum, the band decamped to the newly opened Marshall Studios in Milton Keynes toward the end of 2021, working furiously to put the album down in its final form.





Hard Cold Fire tracklisting:


"They Shoot The Terrible Master"
"Woe"
"Joy"
"Bewildered Herd"
"Two Wounded Animals"
"To Disappear"
"Mongrel"
"Poundland Of Hope And Glory"
"Ugly"
"Days Kollaps"








Be sure to catch the band’s explosive live show at one of the following dates:


November
3 - Galway, Ireland – Róisín Dubh
4 - Limerick, Ireland – Dolans Warehouse 
5 - Cork, Ireland – Cyprus Avenue 


December
1 - Portsmouth, UK – Wedgewood Rooms
2 - Sheffield, UK – O2 Academy 2
3 - Northampton, UK – Roadmender
7 - Bristol, UK – The Fleece
8 - Manchester, UK – Academy 2
9 - Sunderland, UK – Pop Recs
10 - Glasgow, UK – King Tut’s
14 - London, UK – Electric Ballroom
15 - Bradford, UK – Nightrain
16 - Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute2
17 - Cardiff, UK – Globe


(Photo credit: Tom Hoad)


 

Los Angeles’ Anubis have been building quite a reputation for the past five years. The outfit has been doing it the traditional way by playing shows all over Southern California, self-releasing a consistent handful of EPs & singles and promoting themselves organically not only online but actually getting out there and meeting people. Now armed with a powerful new album Anubis have teamed up with M-Theory Audio to take things to the next level.


“M-Theory is not only home to bands that I’ve been listening to and influenced by my entire life like Into Eternity, Hecate Enthroned, etc., but to some of the greatest up-and-coming bands pushing the genre forward, like Silver Talon, Vintersea, Toxic Ruin, Hazzerd, and too many others to name. It’s a total honor to join this roster,” states singer Devin Reiche.


Devin Reiche may be a familiar name to fans of thrash and underground metal as he’s also the bassist in Bay Area thrashers Hatchet, but Devin actually lives in L.A. and power metal has always been his first love and calling. Working diligently Devin has developed his vocal abilities and become quite the commanding frontman.




Joining Devin in Anubis are guitarists Eleazar Llerenas (Delusional Fate) and Justin Escamilla (Tower Guard), bassist Will Buckley and drummer Robin Salazar, all musicians who’ve been cutting their teeth in the L.A. music scene. Anubis has opened for bands like Raven, Rhapsody of Fire, Warbringer, Heathen, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, Allegaeon, Hammerfall, Metal Church, Exmortus, Hatriot, and placing at the Wacken Metal Battle US final.


Today the band release the first single, "Devour", alongside a lyric video from Scott Rudd (Hammerfall, Opeth) which enhances the song and can be seen below.





“’Devour’ is one of our earliest songs. It’s been around since Anubis was essentially a solo project, and has seen many different versions of the band come and go,” explains Devin. “This recording not only showcases the skills of the current lineup, but it’s also evolved to reflect our songwriting ethos of making songs shorter, punchier, faster, and heavier. Special shout out to David Ainsworth (Our Dying World) for killing it on the growls.”


Oddly, “Devour” is the only older song from the new album recording but it’s such a catchy and impactful track that showcases the group’s growth and development from their humble origins and brings new and old fans together until next year’s album filled with grade-A turn of the century European power metal influence with a solid and current American filter.

Legendary US progressive rockers, Spock’s Beard, recently announced a special 20th anniversary edition of their Feel Euphoria album, arriving on vinyl for the very first time November 24. Pre-order here.


Nick D’Virgilio unboxes the album in this new video:







Dave Meros: “This is the first in a series of re-releases of the ‘Nick era’ Spock's Beard albums.  I hadn't listened to this album many years, and it was cool to hear how hard we rocked some of those songs, how unique it was compared to the typical prog rock album of the time, and how different it was from both what we had done in the past and what we were to do in the future.”


Feel Euphoria, originally released in 2003, was a landmark album for the band, being their first without Neal Morse, and with Nick D’Virgilio as lead vocalist. It also demonstrated a more band approach to the song-writing.


This brand new gatefold 180g 2LP edition has been newly remastered especially for vinyl by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony, and includes the two bonus tracks from the original release as well as liner notes from each band member reflecting on the album.





Tracklisting:


LP1:


Side A
"Onomatopoeia"
"The Bottom Line"
"Feel Euphoria"


Side B
"Shining Star"
"East Of Eden, West Of Memphis"
"Ghosts Of Autumn"


LP2:


Side C
"A Guy Named Sid: Intro"
"Same Old Story"
"You Don't Know"
"Judge"
"Sid's Boys Choir"
"Change"


Side D
"Carry On"
"Moth Of Many Flames" (Bonus track)
"From The Messenger" (Bonus track)


This reissue marks the first in a series of vinyl releases from this period of the bands existence. Look at for more in the future.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have shared a professionally filmed video for their song "Stranger In A Strange Land", shot on the 2023 leg of "The Future Past Tour". The clip, which features audio from MAIDEN's August 2023 appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany can be seen below.

As previously reported, IRON MAIDEN will return to the United States and Canada with "The Future Past Tour" next year. Tickets can be purchased now at IronMaiden.com.

"The Future Past Tour", which includes songs from both IRON MAIDEN's most recent studio album "Senjutsu" as well as 1986's seminal album "Somewhere In Time", alongside other fan favorites, played to over 750,000 fans at more than 30 sold-out shows across Europe in the summer of 2023. The band also performed in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver alongside their highly praised appearance at California's Power Trip festival this October which had Consequence stating: "IRON MAIDEN set the bar high at Power Trip" and The Desert Sun saying "IRON MAIDEN didn't disappoint and delivered a hard-hitting performance to open the festival on a high note." Featuring one of the most spectacular stage productions of the band's career, it has received rave reviews in every city and country that IRON MAIDEN visited.

For tickets

Asked in a radio interview a number of years ago why IRON MAIDEN had never played "Alexander The Great" live, singer Bruce Dickinson answered, "Because Adrian [Smith, guitar] can't remember the guitar solo." While Dickinson may have been joking, he did go on to say that, when the song was originally written, they put the solo through a load of then-very-advanced music computer wizardry, and it just couldn't figure out the time signature.

"Senjutsu" came out in September 2021. It marked MAIDEN's second consecutive double album behind 2015's "The Book Of Souls" which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.

IRON MAIDEN's first album in six years, "Senjutsu" was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.

For "Senjutsu" — loosely translated as "tactics and strategy" — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.

"Senjutsu" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band's early classics like "Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast". Nearly 90 percent of the LP's 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", which both peaked at No. 4.

"Senjutsu" was MAIDEN's 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.

In a new interview with John Beaudin of RockHistoryMusic.com, TRIUMPH frontman Rik Emmett confirmed that he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.  "I don't mind if it's on the record," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I have to take medications and stuff. I've just had another biopsy done. I'm gonna find out in a couple of weeks whether or not it's gonna have to come out or stay. Men my age, everybody should be getting checked regularly. You've gotta try and stay ahead of it. And I am ahead of it. But my dad had it for, like 20 years at the end of his life. I'm hoping I've just got that slow-growing kind of…

"There's a statistic — I think it's like 80 percent of men's bodies when they're old, when they do autopsies, they have some form of prostate cancer," the 70-year-old Emmett, who is promoting his just-released memoir, "Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph", explained. "It's just if you live long enough, you're probably gonna get it. So it doesn't freak me out. It would freak me out if somebody sat me down and said, 'Yeah, it's moved. We're finding it in other places now.' 'Cause I've been there with my brothers and my mom. And you go 'Well, that's not good. How much time have I got?'"

Although prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer found in men and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, it can also be one of the most treatable forms of cancer.

If elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) is identified early, there are treatment options that have been shown to extend survival. It is important for men to be informed about different treatment options and their side effect profile so that they can have educated treatment conversations with their doctor.

On average, approximately one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

Both JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE bassist Tim Commerford have spoken out publicly about their prostate cancer battles.

Emmett, who quit TRIUMPH — acrimoniously, in 1988 — over music and business disputes, went on to pursue a solo career, while TRIUMPH carried on with future BON JOVI guitarist Phil X for one more album, 1992's "Edge Of Excess", before calling it a day the following year.

Emmett was estranged, both personally and professionally, from the two other members of the legendary Canadian classic rock power trio for 18 years before they repaired their relationship.

"Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph" came out on October 10 via ECW Press.

Gil Moore (drums),Mike Levine (bass) and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Levine and Moore played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.

Back in 2016, Moore and Levine reunited with Rik as special guests on the "RES 9" album from Emmett's band RESOLUTION9.

ATREYU has released the official music video for "Forevermore". The song is taken from the final installment of the band's three-part EP series, "A Torch In The Dark", which is being made available today (Friday, November 3),leading into "The Beautiful Dark Of Life" album, out on December 8 via Spinefarm.

"Forevermore" is the EP's love song. The lyrics feature five bandmembers channeling their individual emotions, coalescing into one unified voice.

"I hear very specific lyrics now and can remember exactly who or what I was thinking of when that came out," explains bassist Marc "Porter" McKnight, while frontman frontman Brandon Saller labels the track "the most vulnerable, tender moment this band has ever had."

"A Torch In The Dark" EP continues the journey set by "The Hope Of A Spark" EP and "The Moment You Find Your Flame" EP, leading into "The Beautiful Dark Of Life", which is a culmination of all three representing pieces of a puzzle, collectively amounting to something far greater.

This EP is about self-discovery, finding your purpose and confidence, and your future again. A victory through the shadows and conquering the darkness — for now.

"Many people remember these moments and experiences that shaped who they are in very formative years," Saller says. "But for me, that period of my life is one big void. There are things about me as a person and things I do to this day that I don't like, but I don't understand why."

"We draw strength from each other and give each other the space and support to be the best, most creative person we can be," guitarist Dan Jacobs explains. "And together, right now, that makes us the best band we've ever been."

"Everything that we have put out to this point has built up to this moment," concludes Jacobs. "Something special is happening with ATREYU right now. We can feel the creativity and collaboration when the five of us get in the studio. We can feel the confidence we all give each other when we stand on stage together. And we can see it in the audience when they're losing their minds. They're having as good a time as we are ourselves."

"A Torch In the Dark" track listing:

01. (i)
02. Death Or Glory
03. Evermore
04. Come Down

In an interview with Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz conducted at this past September's Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, Saller spoke about ATREYU's decision to shift their focus away from releasing albums to putting out a series of EPs.Saller said: "The whole project as a whole kind of tells sort of the same story in repeat. And we just wanted a way to kind of just be able to shine a light on the songs a little bit more individually. I feel like a lot of times you put out albums these days and you get three or four songs that get any sort of attention. The rest of them just go by the wayside, which sucks when you're creating art and putting everything you have into art."

He continued: "Each EP goes through the cycles of life, the seasons of life, if you will, to tell one big story at the end. So it's kind of a way that we can get a little bit more in depth with a kind of a story and also a way that we can have our audience really be able to focus on smaller portions of songs at a time."

Asked if he and his bandmates are seeing that sort of engagement and fans following the story, Brandon said: "Absolutely. I feel like, you just see it, just when [you look at] the [streaming] numbers, you see each song kind of getting a little bit more of a limelight and having a little bit more of kind of a day in the sun. So that feels nice for us."

Saller previously talked about ATREYU's decision to release a series of EPs this past July in an interview with the "Brutally Delicious" podcast. At the time, he said: "I care less and less about the traditional kind of methods of things and more about, how do we actually get people to have the opportunity to digest all of the art? … You put out an album, put out 12 songs on an album and four of 'em get a light shined on them and are in the tens of millions of streams and have all this attention and then the other eight are in the hundreds of thousands, if that — maybe they hit a million. They're in the dark and you spent all this time on these songs.

"We're not a band that has historically put out records with a bunch of filler; it's hard to get songs past us," he explained. "So, for us, it's, like, 'Oh, well, man, it just didn't have opportunity to get shown.'

"I'm all about alternative methods of release," Saller added. "I think that physical release really only lies in vinyl and cool, like, collectors' kind of stuff these days. I don't care about CDs. I couldn't play a CD if I wanted to. I don't have a CD [player] in my car. I don't have a CD player in my computer. But as far as just releasing things, I just wanna release things that make it more accessible and easy to actually consume and digest them. And I think that that potentially is in singles and EPs. I don't know everything or anything. So we'll see how it goes."

ATREYU and MEMPHIS MAY FIRE recently joined forces for the "We Want Your Misery" tour, with CATCH YOUR BREATH and ANOTHER DAY DAWNS as support. ATREYU also joined GODSMACK for select dates before embarking on a run of Canadian shows with IRON MAIDEN, starting on September 28.

Photo credit: Micala Austin

Bad Wolves - John Boecklin (drums), Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz (lead vocals), Doc Coyle (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Kyle Konkiel (bass, backing vocals) - have released their fourth full-length album, Die About It, via Better Noise Music.


The band has also shared a lyric video for their anthemic new single, “Savior,” a track written about someone being there for you in your time of need.







Nodding to inspirations as diverse as The 1975 and Meshuggah, Bad Wolves challenged themselves to experiment and redefine their sound on Die About It with trusted collaborator Josh Gilbert (As I Lay Dying) who co-produced the album alongside Boecklin and DL. With a story that emphasizes the sarcastic statement pointed towards those defending their own beliefs into absurdity, wrong or right, Bad Wolves believe if you're gonna cry about it, then you might as well Die About It.


Order the album here.





Die About It tracklisting:


Intro
"Bad Friend"
"Die About It"
"Savior"
"Hungry For Life"
"Legends Never Die"
"NDA"
"Move On"
"Masquerade"
"Say It Again"
"It’s You (2 Months)"
"Turn It Down"
"Set You On Fire"


"Die About It" video:





"Legends Never Die" video:





"Bad Friend" video:





(Photo - Wombat)

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their fourth album, "Icon", British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST recently re-recorded the LP for a special new release. There will also be "an extra special vinyl" version of the album, both of which will be made available on December 1.

"Icon 30" track listing:

01. Embers Fire
02. Remembrance
03. Forging Sympathy
04. Joys Of The Emptiness
05. Dying Freedom
06. Widow
07. Colossal Rains
08. Weeping Words
09. Poison
10. True Belief
11. Shallow Seasons
12. Christendom
13. Deus Misereatur

The re-recorded version of "Embers Fire", taken from "Icon 30", can be streamed below.

PARADISE LOST frontman Nick Holmes comments: "Thanks to everybody that has pre-ordered 'Icon 30' so far. We are now pleased to share with you this new version of 'Widow' from the album.

"Looking back 30 years ago we seemed to perpetually be making music videos around the time we originally recorded 'Icon', one of the most memorable was the 'Widow' video. As health and safety didn't seem to exist, and while it was definitely no fun for him, just watching Aaron [Aedy, guitar] hanging by his feet, suspended by rope whilst blasted with a high powered water canon was highly amusing at the time, and it's funnier to think the prospect of making such a video nowadays would more than likely result in at least one of us ending up in A&E ['Accident and Emergency' department, the U.K.'s equivalent of an American emergency room]."

"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 guitarist Greg 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.

Holmes previously stated about PARADISE LOST's decision to re-record "Icon": "Our specific record deal around the time we signed for the 'Icon' album meant we would never actually own the rights to our music or artwork, so going forward, to reissue the album ourselves for the 30th anniversary, it was necessary to re-record and completely re-do the album cover. Re-recording 'Icon' has not only enabled us to release it as a series of collectors editions on vinyl, but it was also great to revisit some songs from a lifetime ago. Nothing can replace those original recordings or ever will, they are a nostalgic part of all our lives but it has been a lot of fun revisiting those early [Music For Nations] days once again, and I hope the end result displays that!"

"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.

This past March, 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."

PARADISE LOST's latest album, "Obsidian", was released in May 2020 via Nuclear Blast.

PARADISE LOST will embark on the "Icon" 30th-anniversary tour of Europe in December.

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.

Photo credit: Anne C. Swallow for Nuclear Blast Records

The new THUNDERMOTHER lineup has released its first single, "I Left My License In The Future". Helmed again by Danish producer Søren Andersen (PRETTY MAIDS, D-A-D, Glenn Hughes, Mike Tramp),the track sees founding THUNDERMOTHER guitarist Filippa Nässil joined by singer Linnéa Vikström (THERION, AT THE MOVIES),bassist Majsan Lindberg and drummer Joan Massing (HONEY CREEK).

THUNDERMOTHER says about "I Left My License In The Future": "With this first single from the new lineup, we would like to give the fans a hard hitting no-brainer track aimed at the one in the passenger seat without a driver's license. An anthem for those of us who never gets to be the designated driver and a love letter to the ones in the driver's seat. Cheers and let's party!"

The new THUNDERMOTHER lineup made its live debut on April 20 by playing a "secret" show at Pub Anchor in Stockholm, Sweden. The latest THUNDERMOTHER incarnation played its first "official" concert on April 22 at Ski & Rock in Sälen, Sweden. They then kicked off a series of European shows as the support act for the SCORPIONS.

This past February, it was announced that singer Guernica Mancini, drummer Emlee Johansson and bassist Mona Lindgren were exiting THUNDERMOTHER and were forming a new band together. At the same time, Nässilrevealed that she would continue with a new THUNDERMOTHER lineup.

In a recent interview with Bloodstream TV, Filippa opened up about the latest THUNDERMOTHER lineup changes, saying: "Well, we were together seven years — and that is Guernica, the singer, and Emlee, the drummer. And it [was] amazing; we did so much together. But in the end, we couldn't communicate. 'Cause you travel and you live together all the time. Not even when you say 'hi' to each other. I cannot live a rock and roll lifestyle like this. So I tried to solve it for a long time — like, 'This doesn't work. We have to communicate and be respectful,' and whatever. And it didn't work out. One person didn't come to the meeting, so we had to move forward. Because this is a business as well, and a rock and roll band, and it's supposed to be fun and good and loving also, because we need to support each other. And when that's not the case… Well, I fired [Guernica] — that's the first time I'm saying that now, actually — because she didn't come to the meetings I set up to mediate. We need to talk and be able to work together. Because it's more and more business, and then you can't work and then you can't do your shows. Because it's e-mails and everything — it's a lot of stuff."

Nässil continued: "So friendship — okay, I can buy that; you don't have to be friends. But I think it's much better now anyway. And I'm very happy with… 'Cause I took the old singer… Not the old singer, but a singer that I really loved and admired for a long time called Linnéa Vikström. I actually asked her for the job in THUNDERMOTHER seven years ago, but she wasn't available. She had too much to do, 'cause she sang with THERION, a big metal band, around the world. And [she has] a lot of experience, but we're also good friends. So it's been hard for her to sort of take over something, but it's been fantastic. And everyone says it's really good."

In recent months, Mancini, who joined THUNDERMOTHER in 2017, gave several interviews in which she described her time with the group as "six tough years" and "a very bumpy ride". She also said that Filippa decided to fire her from the band without consulting the other members of THUNDERMOTHER, a move which they perceived as "very disrespectful towards them, being that they believed that we were a democracy and that we had a say in these things," according to Guernica.

In March, Mancini, Johansson and Lindgren announced that their new band would be called THE GEMS. They have since signed a worldwide deal with Napalm Records and have issued two singles, "Like A Phoenix" and "Send Me To The Wolves".

THE GEMS made their live debut on March 22 at Pustervik in Gothenburg, Sweden as the support act for THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA.

THE GEMS' live performances include material from THUNDERMOTHER's last two albums, 2020's "Heat Wave" and 2022's "Black And Gold", both of which featured songwriting contributions from Guernica and Emlee.

THUNDERMOTHER will kick off a Central European tour with LANSDOWNE on November 24 at Munich, Germany's Backstage club. A Swedish tour will follow in early 2024.

Photo credit: Mats Vassfjord

SPIRITBOX has released a new EP, "The Fear Of Fear", via Rise Records/Pale Chord. In celebration of the EP's arrival, the band has initiated a three-part video premiere event, featuring the official music videos for the three brand new tracks on the effort. The event begins now with the release of the music video for "Ultraviolet". Later today (Friday, November 3),the band will premiere the music video for "Angel Eyes" and on Saturday, November 4 at 12 p.m. PT, the official music video for "Too Close / Too Late" will make its online debut.

"The Fear Of Fear" builds on the momentum from SPIRITBOX's massively successful 2021 debut album "Eternal Blue", which topped charts and dominated critics' year-end lists. The six-track EP features previously released singles "The Void", "Jaded" and "Cellar Door".

"The Fear Of Fear" track listing:

01. Cellar Door
02. Jaded
03. Too Close / Too Late
04. Angel Eyes
05. The Void
06. Ultraviolet

SPIRITBOX has been touring extensively this year, having played in Europe and North America, including the band's first-ever U.S. headline tour which completely sold out.

SPIRITBOX recently completed a U.K. headline run followed by multiple major summer festival shows, and recently wrapped up an extensive run across the U.S. with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH.

SPIRITBOX followed the release of "Eternal Blue" with the three-song "Rotoscope" EP, in 2022. The title track came accompanied by an official music video shot by Max Moore, which has run up over 3.6 million YouTube views. The EP has clocked up 28.5 million streams.

To date, SPIRITBOX have accumulated over 436 million career streams across platforms and 76.4 million YouTube views. They were also nominated for two Juno Awards last year for "Breakthrough Group Of The Year" and "Metal/Hard Music Album of The Year".

In a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine, SPIRITBOX singer Courtney LaPlante stated about her band's constant musical experimentation: "I feel like our sub-genre of metal is so obsessed with the idea that any song you hear from a band is a mission statement, as in, 'This is now what this band sounds like.' Maybe it's like this in every genre and I just don't see it as much, but when Doja Cat puts a song out, and she's singing, [the fans] don't go, 'She's never going to rap again!' We always have to tell people that when you hear a song, that doesn't mean it was created in a linear vacuum, where a band made a song and then they put out only that song. You might hear a song that was written two years after the next song you hear. You don't know when they came into existence.

"The messaging is always funny there, and I feel like bands never message that right either," she continued. "Every time they put out boring music, they're like, 'Oh, we've matured.' I'm like, 'No, I'm not mature or grown up, I just wrote a song that's more radio friendly. I also wrote an ass-beater song — you just haven't heard it yet!'"

Courtney also left the door open for SPIRITBOX to make any number of moves in the future.

"I don't feel like we've been around long enough to disappoint anyone," she said. "We are just getting started, and we're still figuring out what we are, and I don't even know if I want to find out. I don't care about genre, I just know we like making heavy music with low-tuned guitars. But I'm like, 'Take me or leave me, this is what we sound like.' I feel like a lot of bands are having fun with that too."

SPIRITBOX founding member and guitarist Mike Stringer told WOUB about the band's decision to go back to an older sound a little bit on "The Fear Of Fear": "Well, me and Courtney, I remember specifically last winter, we were discussing it, and we love all the other stuff we've put out, but we just have very fond memories of starting everything, when we could just be very loose with the creativity and just being able to make whatever we enjoy, and be able to put it down and not really have to think too much about it. I think naturally our style goes to that darker melodic style. So it was almost like we had a discussion where we were, like, 'Well, what if we approach things like that in 2023? What would that sound like and what would that look like and what would the concept be?' So when we first started, we threw a bunch of actual EVP [electronic voice phenomena] sounds on the EP and made a really, in my opinion, a very dark, kind of bleak sounding record. And we hadn't done that for a while."

GUNS N' ROSES performed the song "The General" live for the first time Thursday night (November 2) at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The track was introduced by singer Axl Rose as a song they hadn't played before and that "it could be very interesting."

"The General" was the B-side of GUNS N' ROSES' recently released limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single titled "Perhaps", out now via Geffen Records.

Like "Perhaps", "The General" was written during the sessions for GUNS N' ROSES' "Chinese Democracy" album. It was previously talked about by ex-GN'R drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who reportedly who wrote some of the song's music and gave it its title, and former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach.

In a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone, Sebastian said that Axl told him that "The General", which was described as "a slow, grinding track," is the sequel to "Use Your Illusion II"'s "Estranged", that goes to the parable that Del James wrote of the trilogy. (James penned the short story that inspired the "November Rain" video).

Bach told Metal Edge magazine back in 2007: "One of my favorite songs is this song called 'The General', which is so... it's by far the heaviest metal tune I think I've ever heard Axl do, this slow, grinding riff with these high, piercing vocals, screaming vocals."

Like GUNS N' ROSES' 2021 singles "Hard Skool" and "Absurd", "Perhaps" was originally written and recorded during the sessions for "Chinese Democracy", and a rough demo version of the song had previously been leaked and uploaded to YouTube.

GUNS N' ROSES released a four-song EP, "Hard Skool", in February 2022. The effort, which was exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released in 2021 — the title track and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

In September 2021, the guitarist and his bandmates dropped "Hard Skool", which came more than a month after their performance and subsequent official release of "Absurd", a reworking of GUNS N' ROSES previously unreleased "Silkworms".

According to Slash, several other older GUNS N' ROSES tracks have also been reworked during the pandemic. "There's a handful of those songs that we actually fixed up and did when we were in lockdown," he explained to "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "So those have yet to be released. So those are gonna come out. They're really good, too. So I'm excited for those. We're just gonna put out like one or two songs, and another one or two songs. And I think that's gonna be pretty much all of 'em. I'm not sure exactly how many we did in total."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that "Hard Skool" in particular was a strong cut, Slash said: "These other ones, they don't have the same kind of amount of history, 'cause I know 'Hard Skool' seriously has… [it] goes way back. But there's a couple of epic ones coming out, so I'm excited about that."

If and when it happens, the new GUNS N' ROSES studio album will be the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Slash, Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Slash previously spoke about "Hard Skool", one of the first two songs he recorded with GUNS N' ROSES in more than 25 years, this past February in an interview with Rolling Stone. At the time he said: "'Hard Skool', in essence, was a completed song when I was first introduced to it. And Duff and I went in and redid the bass and the guitars. It's a simple song, so it didn't take a hell of a lot of thought and analysis. I think it was a lot of fun just because it was part and parcel of a bunch of stuff that we were working on that was all sort of new — at least to Duff and I — so we had a good time."

In October 2021, Slash told Audacy Check In host Remy Maxwell that GUNS N' ROSES had yet to begin writing new material after releasing the two reworked songs from the "Chinese Democracy"-era sessions.

"As far as new GUNS is concerned, we haven't even gotten to that point of really in earnest sitting down and writing," Slash said. "We've been doing a lot of material that's been sort of sitting around for a while. So that will be a whole focused endeavor unto itself."

As for how "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" came about, Slash said: "They both have a lot of history. What happened was Axl has all these songs that he recorded at some point along the way. And so Duff and I went in and re-did them, basically… Like, I wrote my own kind of parts to what else is going on, and [we] just sort of took the drums and re-did everything else."

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

On "Hard Skool", Axl sings: "But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away/Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay/ If that were true, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"Absurd" came out on August 6, 2021, three days after GUNS N' ROSES performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

Photo courtesy of The Oriel Company