In a new interview with Greg Prato of Ultimate Guitar, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine talked about the addition of new touring guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari (WINTERSUN, SMACKBOUND). Teemu is filling in for the band's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, who announced last 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.

Speaking about Kiko's absence from MEGADETH's current tour, Dave said: "I love [Kiko] and I want him to get whatever he's going through worked out. And fortunately, he had mentioned the name of a guy, Teemu Mäntysaari. Teemu came out, and he was prepared.

"I don't know when Kiko is coming back," Mustaine continued. "He won't be back for this run [of tour dates]. He's at home, and he's soldiering on — for lack of a better term — and working through whatever it is he needs to get through. Out of respect for him, I didn't pry and ask what exactly it was — because it's really none of my business unless he tells me. But I think for any of the fans that are going to say, 'How's it going to sound? What's it going to be like?' Don't worry. I've picked good guitar players in the past, and I train them well. Teemu is very capable of playing these songs. In fact, we're adding new songs to the set. That is really exciting, too."

Dave added: "I wish Kiko the very best. I love him, and I hope to get some good news from him soon."

Earlier this month, 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.'

According to Mustaine, MEGADETH has been able to change up its setlist a bit as a result of the guitarist switch. "We've got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we're playing, a bunch of new songs too," he said. "We've been able to add a bunch of songs to the set because Teemu was a metal fan. Kiko did not grow up baptized in metal… Like the show we did a couple of nights ago, we opened with 'Hangar [18]' and then we followed it up with 'Mechanix'. We've never done that before, so it's a pretty heavy beginning. And we've added a second track off of the new album with 'Soldier On!', and we're getting ready to add a third."

He continued: "But [this] tour is going to be ending in a couple days, and the next thing, obviously, is preparing for next year. We have another really good run in the States [coming up]."

Last month, 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 [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman]. 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."

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The 36-year-old 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.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

Shortly after Loureiro's addition to MEGADETH, Mustaine called him "definitely the best guitarist we've ever had." His comments echoed those he made about Broderick during the latter's tenure in the band. Back in 2013, during the making of MEGADETH's "Super Collider" album, Mustaine wrote in a tweet that Chris was "without a doubt the best guitarist I've ever played with."

Mustaine told Revolver magazine that finding Loureiro "was really a mind-blower. It was the first time since Marty Friedman joined the band that I was really intimidated as a player," he said. "He's such an amazing talent, and he's been coming in with all of these fresh ideas." Mustaine added that Kiko was a good fit personality wise. "Chris [Broderick] and I had a good chemistry, but we weren't really as close as I would have wanted us to be," Mustaine explained. "Kiko, I feel like I've known him for years."

In 2009, Mustaine praised Broderick, saying in an online post: "I am going on record and I am saying unequivocally that Chris is THE BEST GUITARIST MEGADETH has ever had. And the real talented musicians in MEGADETH's alumni will agree, he is an absolute monster. I mean, he plays the catalog better than anyone did. Jeff Young never wanted to do Chris Poland's stuff, and so on, and so on, until the last guitarist we had before we disbanded over my arm injury."

Mustaine added: "It's funny, because just when I think [Broderick] can get no more outrageous, or any more thrilling with the guitar solos, he comes up with something really beautiful like Marty Friedman would do (he has Marty pretty well down pat),and then goes into the GIT styles that Jeff Young did, yet, there is still such a freshness to his playing and he is so raw, it's like having a new prize bull. And even though he ain't a such a young bull, he's definitely an old bull like me."

In addition to Mustaine andLoureiro, MEGADETH's current lineup includes former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.

Swedish extreme tech-metal pioneers MESHUGGAH have shared a remastered version of their song "Sane", taken from the upcoming 25th-anniversary reissue of the band's third album, "Chaosphere". Due on November 10 via Atomic Fire, 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 (including an eight-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.

It is impossible to talk about experimental or avant-garde metal without mentioning MESHUGGAH. Since forming in 1987 in Umeå, Sweden, MESHUGGAH has developed into one of the most technically complex and virtuosic groups of players the metal realm has ever encountered, their distinctly unique brand of progressive, groove‐infused extreme metal inadvertently launching an entirely new subgenre. Crowned "one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands," by Rolling Stone, MESHUGGAH has earned the respect and admiration from fans and musicians alike.

2023 now marks the 25th anniversary of one of the band's earliest milestones: "Chaosphere". Originally released on November 9, 1998, MESHUGGAH'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. The record contains the songs "New Millennium Cyanide Christ", "Corridor Of Chameleons" and "Neurotica", some of the band's most streamed tracks, among other highlights.

Wrote Revolver of the ground-breaking offering, "From the concrete-crushing opener 'Concatenation' to the barbed, apocalyptic 'Elastic', which ends with almost twenty-minutes of feedback and noise, MESHUGGAH presents a relentless mechanical barrage of synapse-frying rhythms and trudging, off-kilter riffs." Pitchfork concurred, "Paced more evenly than 'Destroy Erase Improve', the hard-thrashing 'Chaosphere' offers a snapshot of MESHUGGAH at their most fluid, as an unrelenting procession of uptempo riffs swirls in a rhythmic vortex." Added Sputnik Music, "'Chaosphere' stands as the band's most robust statement; a progressive, complex beast that hints at both old and new yet stands out as MESHUGGAH's most primal, raw and perhaps pure representation of their sound. It may seem contradictory to say this but through all of its contradictions, it becomes all things to all the qualities of good music. Highly recommended."

Preorder yours today at this location.

MESHUGGAH will return to U.S. 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.

In a recent interview with Chaoszine, Mikke Dee, who played drums for MOTÖRHEAD for 23 years before joining SCORPIONS in 2016, was asked how long he thinks the legendary German hard rock act can keep going. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The guys are in great shape. As long as everybody's healthy and [they] still love touring and playing, they can go forever.

"People ask this question, how long can you go? We heard it with MOTÖRHEAD all the time," he continued. "I play with fucking old bands. [Laughs] I'm old myself now. And I'll be 60 this year, [on] Halloween [October 31]. But, no, you can't really answer that question. As long as everybody loves it and are healthy, of course, there's no reason to stop, because I personally think we sound better today than ever. And SCORPIONS might have a little bigger swing for a while there in the early [to] mid-'80s — 'Blackout', 'World Wide Live', they had a big upswing and were very, very popular — but on stage we sound great today."

Last month, SCORPIONS founder Rudolf Schenker seemingly dismissed any talk of possible retirement but acknowledged that the band will not be able to continue indefinitely. The 75-year-old guitarist told Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road: "It's not a never-ending road. The road will be finished sooner or later; it's up to you and to our gods. But in 2025, that could be a great time for our 60th anniversary. 2025, it's the time when SCORPIONS is 60 years old. So, then, to celebrate 60 years of SCORPIONS could be a possibility, because I'm in contact with our very old drummer, who was playing on [SCORPIONS' 1972 debut album] 'Lonesome Crow', and the bass player, and use them also on stage to see the different kind of states we went through. Because we are very much connected still in all the different musicians, and that shows again, when we can make it, that music is always there for making friendships."

Back in May 2022, Rudolf's bandmate, SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine, told Jorge Botas of Portugal's "Metal Global" that there was no more talk of retirement within the band, as there was back in 2010 with what was purported to be a final album and a farewell tour that never quite took hold. "No, we scratched that word [retirement] out of our [vocabulary]," the now-75-year-old singer said. "It's not there. We don't think about it and we don't talk about it and we take it as it comes.

"We're just growing older and we do what we do and we hope our fans enjoy it as much as we do," Klaus continued. "But who would have thought we're still around after celebrating 50 years of being recording artists — our first album came out in 1972 and now 'Rock Believer' looks like it hits the big time with the fans and so many positive reviews from all over the world. And after all these years, who would have thought? And it's a wonderful thing.

"But all we know is [that] the road ahead is way shorter than what's behind us," Meine added. "And we never take it for granted — we never take success for granted. We work hard on what we do because we still love it and we still enjoy it. But it's what it is. And I think every artist knows what I'm talking about, because to go out there, play a great show for the fans and not let 'em down, it takes a lot of preparation, takes a lot of work. And being the singer, you try to make sure your pipes are in a good condition.

"It's a lot of things," Meine said. "And we don't know what the future will bring. Take a look at the next corner, and you never know what's going on. But right now, life is good. We have a great new album out there. And we have a lot of fun. We enjoy it."

Meine previously discussed SCORPIONS' aborted retirement in a 2018 interview with SiriusXM. "The thing is we have a much different view now," Klaus said. "And it's a young generation — that's the fuel that keeps us going, and it's really motivating.

"To be honest, every other year, you take a look around the corner: 'Can we do this?' 'Can we still deliver on the same high level, the way we used to do it?'" he admitted. "And that's the only way, and it's only fun if you can go out there and play a great rock show, wherever you do it. Like in the last couple of weeks, we had so much fun. But then you get sick on the road, like I did last year with the severe laryngitis. What can you do? There's not a chance. And then sometimes, of course, you ask yourself, 'How long can we do this?' Especially for singers — and I know I'm not the only one. But it's always, sometimes you ask yourself, 'Klaus, c'mon, how long can you keep up this level?' And then you go out there, everything feels good."

Circling back to SCORPIONS' 2010 "farewell tour" announcement, Klaus told SiriusXM: "Of course, we had our moment of doubt when we said, 'Okay. Maybe we should retire. Maybe this is a good moment.' And then we realized we were wrong, because there's still a lot of sting in the tail, so to speak, and it still feels good. There's such a demand for the SCORPIONS, and we're one of the few bands who play this global stage. If there wasn't this kind of demand, of course, there's no point after so many years, and you'd better go, 'Well, I go home and take it easy.' But there's such a strong demand and that really feels good and challenging — it's a challenge. Of course, you don't do it for the business. It's a good business, yes, but you don't do it for the business and for the money — you do it for the fun, you do it for what's inside of you, what's in your blood, what's in your veins, and that's the rock and roll music. And you wanna go out and play in front of an audience, because that's what it's all about."

SCORPIONS' only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has appeared on all of the band's studio albums, while guitarist Matthias Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016, respectively.

SCORPIONS' latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in February 2022. The album was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

"Portraits Of Lemmy", the eighth book in the new "Portraits" series from Rufus Publications, is a photographic celebration of the iconic, larger-than-life Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, lead singer, bassist and driving force of MOTÖRHEAD.

This brand new, coffee table photobook traces the career of one of rock's most notable figures from the early 1970s until his death in 2015 through a series of classic, rare and previously unseen photographs from some of rock's greatest lensmen, including Ross Halfin, Fin Costello, Chris Walter, Michael Putland, Mick Hutson, PG Brunelli and many others.

Famous for creating MOTÖRHEAD, a band as iconic as himself, Lemmy forged a sound and style unique to heavy metal and hard rock. Longtime music journalist Dave Ling has penned a career spanning essay based on his many encounters with Lemmy, a man who has played, written and recorded with some of rock's greatest names, appeared in film and TV shows, video games, and was the subject of a 2010 rockumentary in which he was lauded by some of the most eminent names in rock.

Lemmy once described his playing style as "I play a lot of notes, but I also play a lot of chords. And I play a lot of open strings. I just don't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not like having a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist."

"Portraits Of Lemmy" is a testament to one of rock's greatest, most compelling figures.

This book is 230mm square, case-bound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt-coated paper. The book comes with a foldout poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 666 numbered copies and sells for £55 plus shipping.

In addition to this, there will be a much larger, ultra-limited leather-and-metal edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand-welded aluminum metal slipcase with a screen-printed logo in a run of just 50 numbered copies. This will sell for £500.

The books will go on pre-sale on Friday, October 6 at 3 p.m. UK time.

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete the aforementioned European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy would get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

This past March, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Phil Campbell was asked in an interview with a href="https://myglobalmind.com/2023/03/17/phil-campbell-of-phil-campbell-and-the-bastard-sons-on-new-release-live-in-the-north-touring-with-my-sons-is-very-different-than-touring-with-motorhead-i-no-longer-drink-so-its-a-big/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Myglobalmind if he and his then-bandmates knew "things were not going well" when they were forced to cancel a number of shows due to Lemmy's declining health in the months leading up to his death. Phil responded: "Yeah, we knew, but Lem wanted to just carry on then. I know the last tour in Germany, I think one or two shows were canceled 'cause I ended up in hospital. And I came back out and we finished the tour. And that was the last tour then; the last show was in Berlin. So the last week of MOTÖRHEAD, actually I was the one in bloody hospital. But we never thought — when we parted at the end of the tour, we never thought that would be the last time we'd see each other. We didn't have a chance to say goodbye, me or Mikkey [Dee, MOTÖRHEAD drummer], or nothing. I couldn't even go over to the funeral, 'cause my doctor advised me not to, 'cause I was pretty ill myself in them days."

Earlier that same month, Dee told Sonic Perspectives that Lemmy didn't have any idea he was dying in the months leading up to his December 2015 passing. "I don't think that he had those — I know he didn't have these thoughts at all," Mikkey said. "But he did struggle with his health, and that was a pain in the ass for Lemmy, because he wanted to live his normal life so much. But he had some good days and bad days. And '15 was a tough year for Lemmy, and for all of us, obviously. But I know for a fact that he had no idea that he would actually pass away — I mean, die — by the end of that year; he had no clue about that."

In a new interview with Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine spoke about the addition of new touring guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari (WINTERSUN, SMACKBOUND). Teemu is filling in for the band's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, who announced last 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. Regarding the latest guitarist switch, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We currently have a guitar player situation, where our current guitar player is a man named Teemu Mäntysaari and our regular guitar player was Kiko Loureiro, Kiko had some issues. He went home and Teemu came in, and people are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together.'

According to Mustaine, MEGADETH has been able to change up its setlist a bit as a result of the guitarist switch. "We've got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we're playing, a bunch of new songs too," he said. "We've been able to add a bunch of songs to the set because Teemu was a metal fan. Kiko did not grow up baptized in metal… Like the show we did a couple of nights ago, we opened with 'Hangar [18]' and then we followed it up with 'Mechanix'. We've never done that before, so it's a pretty heavy beginning. And we've added a second track off of the new album with 'Soldier On!', and we're getting ready to add a third."

He continued: "But [this] tour is going to be ending in a couple days, and the next thing, obviously, is preparing for next year. We have another really good run in the States [coming up]."

Last month, 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 [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman]. 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."

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The 36-year-old 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.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

Shortly after Loureiro's addition to MEGADETH, Mustaine called him "definitely the best guitarist we've ever had." His comments echoed those he made about Broderick during the latter's tenure in the band. Back in 2013, during the making of MEGADETH's "Super Collider" album, Mustaine wrote in a tweet that Chris was "without a doubt the best guitarist I've ever played with."

Mustaine told Revolver magazine that finding Loureiro "was really a mind-blower. It was the first time since Marty Friedman joined the band that I was really intimidated as a player," he said. "He's such an amazing talent, and he's been coming in with all of these fresh ideas." Mustaine added that Kiko was a good fit personality wise. "Chris [Broderick] and I had a good chemistry, but we weren't really as close as I would have wanted us to be," Mustaine explained. "Kiko, I feel like I've known him for years."

In 2009, Mustaine praised Broderick, saying in an online post: "I am going on record and I am saying unequivocally that Chris is THE BEST GUITARIST MEGADETH has ever had. And the real talented musicians in MEGADETH's alumni will agree, he is an absolute monster. I mean, he plays the catalog better than anyone did. Jeff Young never wanted to do Chris Poland's stuff, and so on, and so on, until the last guitarist we had before we disbanded over my arm injury."

Mustaine added: "It's funny, because just when I think [Broderick] can get no more outrageous, or any more thrilling with the guitar solos, he comes up with something really beautiful like Marty Friedman would do (he has Marty pretty well down pat),and then goes into the GIT styles that Jeff Young did, yet, there is still such a freshness to his playing and he is so raw, it's like having a new prize bull. And even though he ain't a such a young bull, he's definitely an old bull like me."

In addition to Mustaine andLoureiro, MEGADETH's current lineup includes former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini has just released a new solo single, "Freak Of Nature". The track will appear on Mangini's upcoming debut solo album, "Invisible Signs", which is set to arrive in November.

Accompanying Mangini on "Freak Of Nature", which features words and music by Mike, were Tony Dickinson on bass, Ivan Keller on guitar, Gus G. (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) on lead guitar and former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura on vocals.

In a recently released video message, Mangini spoke about the lyrical inspiration for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "The lyric to 'Freak Of Nature' came about pretty interestingly. As I was researching things I'm interested in, like forces and laws of nature, and I came across a hurricane and 'force of nature' hit me, but it didn't sound very good to me. Then, all of a sudden, 'freak of nature' beamed in from somewhere. And the interesting thing is that that's inherent throughout the record; it just permeates the whole thing where there's meaning, but the sound was more important to me, because if it didn't sound right, I didn't think anyone would want to sing it, if that makes any sense. So, I was thinking about other freaks of nature, like musicians and athletes and things like that, and [American football player] Rob Gronkowski, who played for the [New England] Patriots, came to mind, as he was like an unstoppable force. And so those are just a couple of the things that weave their way into the song. But mainly, I was concerned about the sound, and luckily that phrase came into my mind, freak of nature, and I liked it. So I based all the lyrics off of that."

A week earlier, Mangini released a separate video message in which he spoke about the "source of the music" for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "One thing it isn't is a recreation of any band I've ever been in. I mean, why would I do that? I'm already working with, and have worked with, the best that do that. So it's not something I wanna do. Plus in DREAM THEATER, everyone's solo album sounds different than the final DREAM THEATER album."

He continued: "Anyway, one of the sources for me came from when I spent a dime ordering records from a company called Columbia House and, like, 912 LPs showed up. One of them was LED ZEPPELIN 'IV'. And when I put 'Black Dog' on, it did something to me. There was something about that riff. So over the years, I wrote some songs. And when it came time for this album, 'Freak Of Nature' was the first [song] written. And it's a riff. The thing is I had to learn how to write lyrics and melodies over the riff. But that's one of the sources, if you're interested."

Other tracks set to appear on Mangini's solo LP include "Deep Inside", "Invisible Signs", "Habit To Change", "Not Drowning", "Saying Sorry", "So Alive", "Glamorous Shades", "It's Noise", "Seek And Find", "Black Box" and "Let Me Shine".

Regarding how she landed the gig as the singer in Mangini's solo band, Majura wrote on her social media: "When I was a young teenager, my awesome dad took me to a concert of a guitar player called [Steve Vai], who became one of the most meaningful musicians in my life and literally influenced who I became in life. He was on tour with this thing called 'G3'. I was little, but I was in the front row. Not only was I fascinated by Steve's performance, but also I realized for the first time what a drummer does: I understood when he hits the 'golden plates' it's a very treble-ish shhh-sound, when he does some thing with his feet, the big drum is producing a low-end sound of dummdumm and the 'white thing' (=snare) in the middle is being a very punchy loud sound. Little did I know that the drummer's name was [Mike Mangini] and when he gave me his drumstick at the end of the show… for a few days, I thought I'd become a drummer instead of a guitar player. All of this happened decades ago. So I can easily say that Mike Mangini was the first drummer that made me understand what a drummer does.

"2 decades later, I've already become an active professional touring musician, I met up with Mike again during a summer when DREAM THEATER played a lot of festival shows and I happened to play the same festivals with the band I was with back then. Mike and I started talking, met up at festival caterings, spent a bit of time in festival backstages together, I handed him my first solo album and told him the story of my childhood with the 'G3' concert…

"In 2020 I approached Mike to participate in my '1min jammms' YouTube Series and we had major fun performing Stevie Wonder's 'Sir Duke' together with my dear friend [Alex Skolnick]. Little did I expect that Mike would choose me to be the vocalist for his first solo album ever.

"If there are any meaningful things in life for me personally - this is it!!! I am beyond proud of this collaboration and I'm even more grateful to have gotten to known this amazing human being and finding a new friend for life through countless hours of Zoom and Facetime recording sessions."

In a June 2023 interview with Heavy Debriefings, Mangini stated about his long-awaited solo album: "There's a reason why it's been taking a while and has gone in steps. I wrote everything. I'm the executive producer, engineer with our DREAM THEATER guy, Jimmy T [James Meslin] that knows my thing inside and out. I wrote the songs, wrote all the parts, wrote the lyrics, did everything, and then found some wonderful people to replay my virtual instruments and most especially to re-sing my horrific vocal guides. [Laughs]"

In July 2022, Mangini spoke in more detail about his approach to making a solo album during an appearance on the Sarah Hagan Backstage podcast. At the time, he said in part: "It's important to me 'cause of the way it sounds… I actually write notes on a keyboard, because that way I can communicate to people… But for the solo album, I wrote absolutely every single note on the keyboard, virtual instruments or MIDI. I composed absolutely everything and then at one point I turned it over to some players who took it in and occasionally would offer things like, 'Well, that doesn't work on my instrument.' I'm, like, 'I know. I know. It's a keyboard. Go ahead and just do it this way,' or whatever."

He continued: "This album is above and beyond more me than anything, because it's me doing it… It's a long time in the making. And that's how it came to be where it's not ultimately just fully totally me, 'cause Jimmy T's gotta put his little bit of whatever in there. But working together for so long, it's, like, 'This is how I sound.' When I hit the cymbal, I wanna hear it ringing two seconds later… With everything else that I've done, you're working in a group. You're working with people. You have to morph to the group. And when something's out of your control, it's out of your control, which is why it sounds so different… The end result morphs to the person in charge. That's gonna happen every single time. So whatever that result is morphs to that person who is making the call. And sometimes that person spreads the autonomy, and sometimes that person takes it and does everything that they wanna do. It just depends on the situation."

Circling back to his solo LP, Mike said: "I'm excited when it comes out, 'cause it is a solo record, except that now I'm not the one playing every single instrument. But that's okay, 'cause it came out better than my virtual instruments. [Laughs]"

Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Mike Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

Mangini made his name in the hard rock world in the mid-1990s when he played with EXTREME, before landing the gig with guitar legend Steve Vai in 1996. Nearly a decade later, Mangini took up a full-time teaching position at the world-renowned Berklee College Of Music.

DREAM THEATER won its first-ever Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April 2022 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER was nominated for "The Alien", a track from its 2021 album "A View From The Top Of The World". DREAM THEATER's previous Grammy nominations were for the song "On The Backs Of Angels", from 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album, and the single "The Enemy Inside" from 2013's "Dream Theater".

This is gonna be a bit of a read🤓 - go down memory lane with me…
When I was a young teenager, my awesome dad took me to...

Posted by Jen Majura on Friday, September 29, 2023

LAMB OF GOD has released a new single called "Evidence".
The song arrives on the first anniversary of the release of the band's "Omens" album and was recorded during the sessions for the Richmond, Virginia metal act's ninth album.

LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe stated about the lyrical inspiration for "Evidence": "One of the more baffling aspects of modern-day life is the conscious rejection of empirical facts in favor of Internet echo chamber emotional security blankets. Truth is not subjective, no matter how uncomfortable that makes some people. Art is, though, so enjoy the song, however you may choose to interpret it."

On Saturday, October 7, LAMB OF GOD will release the documentary "Making Of: Omens" to a wide audience for the first time via YouTube. October 7 is the literal one-year mark for "Omens", and last year the documentary was released in a limited capacity on-demand during release month to fans who purchased viewing tickets and/or vinyl/CD bundles.

"Omens" was the follow-up to LAMB OF GOD's self-titled album, which arrived in June 2020. That effort marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with drummer Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

In August 2022, LAMB OF GOD bassist John Campbell told Germany's EMP that "Omens" is "a fairly dynamic record. There's a few other little surprises and tweaks," he said. "But we recorded it differently this time. We went to Los Angeles and all of us in the same room and same time recording, which gave us some leeway to make changes as things happened and just kind of feel it out in a different way than we've done in the past, which would be everybody kind of going in their corner recording and it gets assembled later. So it was a real team effort on this one, in the recording — all the way through it's been a team effort — and in the recording especially, when we were all in the same room doing that stuff, it was great. I got to spend three and a half weeks working on a record instead of four or five days — working on the recording of the record."

Also in August of last year, Campbell was asked by Knotfest what led to the decision to record "Omens" live in the studio. John responded: "Well, we've been doing this so fucking long, we had to do something different. I believe that was [producer] Josh Wilbur's idea to do that. I know he had a great place worked out to do that in. And we had just kind of been doing it the same way over and over and over again, and we were looking to get a little more excitement into it and maybe see if that couldn't produce a different feel on the record."

VAN HALEN has released a newly remastered official music video of the band's classic track "Right Now" in HD on the official VAN HALEN YouTube channel for the first time. In 1992, the video won three awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, including the award for "Video Of The Year".

VAN HALEN has just released a new boxed set spotlighting the iconic band's second incarnation, with singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony. The set includes newly remastered versions of four multi-platinum studio albums, along with a selection of rarities recorded between 1989 and 2004.

"The Collection II" is now available on five LPs for $124.98 and five CDs for $49.98. All the music in the set was mastered directly from the original master tapes, a process overseen by the band's longtime engineer, Donn Landee.

The new set is the long-awaited sequel to "The Collection", a compilation released in 2015 that focused on the six studio albums recorded by the band's original lineup, which featured singer David Lee Roth. "The Collection II" picks up where its predecessor left off and covers the four consecutive No. 1 albums released during the Hagar era: "5150" (1986),"OU812" (1988),"For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) and "Balance" (1995).

The journey begins with "5150", VAN HALEN's seventh studio album and the band's first to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200. Certified platinum six times in the U.S., the record treated fans to hits like "Dreams", "Love Walks In" and "Why Can't This Be Love", which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group returned two years later with "OU812", a quadruple-platinum smash that delivered four Billboard Hot 100 hits, including "Finish What Ya Started" and "When It's Love".

The accolades continued with "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", which earned VAN HALEN its first Grammy Award for "Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album". Debuting at No. 1 and staying there for three weeks, the album achieved triple-platinum certification. The record produced an incredible seven singles, including hits like "Poundcake", "Top Of The World" and "Right Now".

In 1993, the band released its first live album, "Live: Right Here, Right Now", before returning in 1995 with "Balance", its final studio album with Hagar. The album was another commercial triumph, debuting at No. 1, selling more than three million copies, and earning a Grammy nomination for "The Seventh Seal".

"The Collection II" concludes with "Studio Rarities 1989-2004", an exclusive compilation that assembles eight gems from the Hagar era for the first time. Among these rarities is "Crossing Over", the B-side to "Balance"'s "Can't Stop Lovin' You" and the band's only non-album B-side.

The compilation boasts other exceptional highlights, including the band's cover of LITTLE FEAT's "A Apolitical Blues" and the instrumental "Baluchitherium", which were originally left off the vinyl versions of "OU812" and "Balance", respectively. Additionally, the set features two songs the band contributed to the "Twister" soundtrack — "Humans Being" and the Grammy-nominated "Respect The Wind".

Rounding out the set are "It's About Time", "Up For Breakfast" and "Learning To See", which were recorded during the band's temporary reunion with Hagar in 2004. All three debuted that year on VAN HALEN's second greatest-hits collection, "The Best Of Both Worlds".

"The Collection II" 5-LP track listing

LP One: 5150

Side One

01. Good Enough
02. Why Can't This Be Love
03. Get Up
04. Dreams
05. Summer Nights

Side Two

01. Best Of Both Worlds
02. Love Walks In
03. 5150
04. Inside

LP Two: OU812

Side One

01. Mine All Mine
02. When It's Love
03. A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
04. Cabo Wabo

Side Two

01. Source Of Infection
02. Feels So Good
03. Finish What Ya Started
04. Black And Blue
05. Sucker In A 3 Piece

LP Three: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Side One

01. Poundcake
02. Judgement Day
03. Spanked
04. Runaround
05. Pleasure Dome

Side Two

01. In 'N' Out
02. Man On A Mission
03. The Dream Is Over
04. Right Now
05. 316
06. Top Of The World

LP Four: Balance

Side One

01. The Seventh Seal
02. Can't Stop Lovin' You
03. Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
04. Amsterdam
05. Big Fat Money
06. Doin' Time

Side Two

01. Aftershock
02. Strung Out
03. Not Enough
04. Take Me Back (Déjà Vu)
05. Feelin'

LP Five: Studio Rarities 1989-2004

Side One

01. A Apolitical Blues
02. Crossing Over
03. Baluchitherium

Side Two

01. Humans Being
02. Respect The Wind
03. It's About Time
04. Up For Breakfast

Photo by Eika Aoshima (courtesy of Shore Fire Media)

ATREYU has announced the final installment of its three-part EP series, "A Torch In The Dark", due November 3 leading into "The Beautiful Dark Of Life" album out in December via Spinefarm.

Today, the band released "(i)". If you can't remember where you came from, can you truly know who you are? ATREYU frontman Brandon Saller wrestles with this idea, and on "(i)", he examines his own perplexing inability to remember anything of note from his childhood.

"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 last month'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

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn played a nearly two-hour solo concert last night (Thursday, October 5) at the Concept store in São Paulo, Brazil. At the event, which was limited to 100 attendees, Flynn shared stories of how the songs were written, performed some almost never-played-live rarities, and even took a few fan requests (learned on the spot).

The setlist was as follows:

Electric:

* Unhallowed
* Bulldozer
* Desire To Fire
* The Burning Red
* In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins cover)
* Davidian

Acoustic:

* Circle The Drain
* Descend The Shades Of Night
* Fade To Black (METALLICA cover) (fan request)
* Bastards
* Die Young
* Sand In My Boots (Morgan Wallen cover)
* Now We Die (fan request)
* Arrows In Words From The Sky (fan request)
* Darkness Within

MACHINE HEAD will embark on a two-and-a-half-week tour of Latin America next week.

The band played a one-off show on September 17 at the Metal Injection Festival in Anaheim, California.

This past April, MACHINE HEAD canceled its previously announced spring 2023 U.S. tour "due to work visa issues," explaining that "half the band, as well as a handful of key crew members, reside outside of the U.S."

The 18-date "The Electric Happy Hour (Live)" trek was scheduled to kick off on May 15 in Ventura, California and make its way to Des Moines, Fort Wayne, and Detroit before ending in Los Angeles on June 9.

MACHINE HEAD has been touring in support of its latest album, "Of Kingdom And Crown", which came out in August 2022. The follow-up to 2018's "Catharsis" includes the three songs that were featured on the 2021 "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single: "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky". Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/producer Zack Ohren.

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

ROBB IN SÃO PAULO THURSDAY! Na próxima quinta, a nossa Concept Store em São Paulo tem a honra de receber um evento...

Posted by Machine Head on Monday, October 2, 2023

On October 27th, Brilliant Emperor Records will release Erosion Of Gods - the new album from Australian death metal quintet The Plague, on Vinyl, CD and Digital formats.


Erosion Of Gods follows-up the band's 2021 debut album Within Death, and once again sees The Plague churning out a raw, unadulterated death-metal sound inspired by the forefathers of Swedish death metal such as Dismember and Entombed. This chainsaw-fueled masterpiece features ten brand-new tracks that will leave even the most hardened death metal fanatic reeling in awe. Brace yourselves for an onslaught of biblical proportions. Pre-orders are now available at this location. 







Tracklisting:


"Harbinger Of The Abyss"
"Hacked And Butchered"
"Living Catatonic"
"Impulsive Convulsions" 
"Incinerated"
"Desolate Wasteland"
"Rotten, Dried, And Mummified"
"Roadside Burial"
"Entrenched In Decay"
"Erosion Of Gods"





 

Germany's Electric Callboy, who recently wrapped up a sold out North American tour, have shared an official live video for "Pump It" shot at their Denver, CO show along with the following message: 


"This is a $0 production. We decided spontaneously to record the show in Denver, so we equipped our crew with iPhones and action cams, and we think they did a damn good job."










Electric Callboy's Tekkno (Tour Edition) is available to order in the following formats:


- Ltd. 180g. ultra clear-red splattered Vinyl (limited to 1.000 copies / band exclusive)
- Ltd. 180g. yellow-black marbled Vinyl (limited to 500 copies / band exclusive and CM Distro)
- Ltd. 180g transp. light blue-lilac marbled Vinyl (available at all outlets)
- Standard CD Jewelcase





Tracklist:


"Pump It"
"We Got The Moves"
"Fuckboi" (feat. Conquer Divide)
"Spaceman" (feat. Finch)
"Mindreader"
"Arrow Of Love"
"Parasite"
"Tekkno Train"
"Hurrikan"
"Neon"
"Pump It" (Live)
"Hate/Love" (Live)
"Spaceman" (Live)
"We Got The Moves" (Live)
"Hypa Hypa" (Live)

Black/doom metal project In A Forest Dark has officially joined forces with Wormholedeath Records. Led by the mastermind multi-instrumentalist, Mário Pereira, known for his work with Eternal Mourning, In A Forest Dark is poised to unleash a torrent of haunting and immersive soundscapes upon the world. The project's debut album, Buried Giant, is set to be re-released on October 20th.


Check out the offcial video for "Forever Alone" below.







Mário Pereira expressed his excitement about this collaboration with Wormholedeath, stating, "I am very happy to announce my unholy pact with the mighty Wormholedeath Records! It's an honor to join the team. Together with Wormholedeath Records, I'm positive that 'In a Forest Dark' will ascend to new heights, unleashing dark sonic creations upon the world. Prepare yourselves for an immersive journey through the realms of doom, black, and gothic metal. The darkness awaits."


At the core of In A Forest Dark lies the conceptual masterpiece, Buried Giant. This album weaves an intricate tapestry of doom and black metal elements, seamlessly entwined with haunting gothic influences, birthing a fusion that embraces both the sublime darkness and melancholic beauty. Inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro's evocative novel The Buried Giant, the music delves deep into the realms of mystery and enchantment. Each composition, a mosaic of soulful melodies, atmospheric layers, and emotive lyrics, creates an all-encompassing sonic journey.





Mário Pereira's artistic vision transcends mere musical composition. With In A Forest Dark, he introduces listeners to an immersive sonic voyage into the depths of doom, black, and gothic metal. Channeling the essence of The Buried Giant, the debut album is a testament to his unique ability to translate literature into captivating soundscapes. From conception to production, Pereira commands every facet of this auditory masterpiece, inviting audiences to traverse the veiled dimensions of the human experience.


"Where My Heart Went"

LINKIN PARK's Mike Shinoda has released a new solo single, "Already Over". A music video for the song, directed and animated by Dusty Deen and featuring visuals contributed by Shinoda, Frank Maddocks, Mark Fiore and Mike Miller, can be seen below.

Shinoda said about the song: "'Already Over' came to me as I was sitting with my favorite guitar in my hands — the same guitar I used on songs from 'What I've Done' to 'In My Head'. There was a familiar DNA to the song that I think LINKIN PARK fans will recognize. For me, it creates a bridge from the past to a blurry but exciting future."

Along with "Already Over"'s arrival, Shinoda will release a connected online game via his web site next week.

"In the bigger picture, this release takes some of my favorite things about releasing music and assembles them in a different way — with more music, games, challenges, great things to watch, and lots of new art on the way," he said.

This past March, Shinoda contributed the song "In My Head" to "Scream VI", the sixth movie in the horror film franchise. The dark, electro-rock track featured guest vocals from alt-pop singer Kailee Morgue. He also co-wrote and produced Demi Lovato's "Still Alive" song, which is featured in "Scream VI".

"In My Head" was Shinoda's first new solo material since he shared the standalone track "Happy Endings" in 2021.

LINKIN PARK has been on hiatus since the death of singer Chester Bennington in 2017.

A year and a half ago, Shinoda said that there are no plans for new music, albums or live shows from the band.

LINKIN PARK has not performed together in public since October 2017, when the surviving members staged a tribute concert in Los Angeles to Bennington. The band has not officially announced whether it intends to carry on following the death of Bennington, who committed suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41.

Bennington's passing was ruled a suicide soon after his body was found in July 2017 at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

LINKIN PARK released a concert album titled "One More Light Live" in December 2017.

In a new interview with Heavy Galaxy, PRONG leader Tommy Victor was asked about Dino Cazares's recent comment that FEAR FACTORY not belonging to any subgenre ultimately hurt the band and whether the same could be said about PRONG. Tommy responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I agree with what Dino said, but I don't know if it really applies to him that much because they've been committed to this industrial metal thing ever since I can remember, so I don't know what he's talking about on that. I think he's probably talking about PRONG, really, because we're the ones who had to dig all these trenches for these bands. And now that's I sound like I'm blowing my horn but it's true. I mean, FEAR FACTORY wouldn't exist if it wasn't for HELMET, GODFLESH, and PRONG. I could say that STATIC-X wouldn't exist without PRONG and MINISTRY, and the list goes on. The whole nu metal scene, I don't know if they would have been brave enough or the labels would have been able to sign these bands if it wasn't for [PRONG's song] 'Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck' [from 1994's 'Cleansing' album]. This sounds like I'm bragging, but it's true."

He continued: "I'm not that happy with where I am now, because of that. And the fact that I had to… God rest his soul, with [STATIC-X frontman] Wayne Static, they went to the fact of really stealing our logo and that much, and then taking so much. And it's just, like, 'Dude, I've never seen you say one thing about PRONG in any interviews,' and he got all mad at me. So that kind of stuff would always annoy the hell out of me. Now I'm old and I'm just trying to get through life and I have a bunch of kids, so I don't really worry about it that much.

"But, yeah, that's been the story of the band from the beginning," Tommy added. "We did all this stuff and everyone was just, like, 'What are these guys doing?' And then later on bands were picking up on what we were doing and then capitalizing on it."

Victor previously talked about PRONG's influence on other bands last month in an interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Asked if he thought a lot of other groups owed a debt of gratitude toward PRONG, Tommy said: "It was a little frustrating later on. I wasn't really listening to that much stuff, but I remember when LIMP BIZKIT came out. People said it was rap music with PRONG guitar parts. I listened and said, 'I don't get it.' But when STATIC-X came out, I thought, 'Okay. Jesus.' I won't say it's plagiarism, but it got very close."

"Unfortunately, [STATIC-X] never paid too much homage to us," Victor added. "It was a little bit aggravating. When [Wayne] was alive, I called him on it several times. He got very annoyed with me. Rest his soul. I know [STATIC-X bassist] Tony Campos very well and he said the 'Rude Awakening' record was one of their standards. Tony acknowledged us later on. The time I mentioned it to Wayne, he got very annoyed. [Laughs]"

PRONG's thirteenth studio album, "State Of Emergency", will arrive on October 6 via Steamhammer/SPV.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Shannon

Industrial music icons STATIC-X have released the song "Z0mbie" from their upcoming eighth studio album, "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2". Due on January 26, 2024, the LP is a collection of 14 brand-new tracks that contain the final vocal performances and musical compositions of founding vocalist Wayne Static, along with the original "Wisconsin Death Trip" lineup featuring Tony Campos (bass),Koichi Fukuda (guitars) and Ken Jay (drums). The new album was produced by STATIC-X's current vocalist/guitarist Xer0 and mixed/mastered by longtime collaborator Ulrich Wild.

The "Z0mbie" music video is an animated clip created by Makinita Silva and directed by STATIC-X creative director Edsel Dope — who is also widely believed to be Xer0, the masked current frontman of STATIC-X. The video takes the viewer on a psychedelic, drug-fueled sex ride, featuring a host of colorful characters.

"Project Regeneration: Vol. 2" track listing:

01. Stay Alive
02. Z0mbie
03. Jic-Boi
04. Black Star
05. Kamikaze
06. No Hope
07. Take Control
08. Tone
09. Run For Your Life
10. Dark Place
11. Disco Otsego
12. From Heaven
13. Terrible Lie (bonus track)
14. Grover Yoda Data 14 (bonus track)

Last month, STATIC-X released a music video for the first original track from "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2". The song "Stay Alive" is one of the last original compositions Wayne Static was working on before his passing in 2014. The song's lyrics echo Wayne's state of mind during this tragic time, as he professes himself to be a "professional addict" and screams the words: "I just need you to survive - Cut you up to stay alive." The track features Wayne Static on lead vocals, along with the original "Wisconsin Death Trip" lineup of Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda and Ken Jay. The video was directed by Dope and co-directed by Matt Zane. Outtakes from the Wayne Static "Assassins of Youth" video — originally directed by Zane — were added to help fully portray Wayne's disturbing vision for the song. According to the band's former sound engineer Eddie Ortel: "Wayne was working on this track the night that he passed away."

"We knew that if we were going to release this song, we wouldn't be able to tip toe around this tragic subject," says Campos. "The first draft of the video was really hard for all of us to watch, so we ended up removing many of the more graphic scenes. As dark as this piece of art may be, it is also a very honest representation of where Wayne was at during this controversial time. My hope is that when people see this, that they understand the cautionary tale that Wayne's life ultimately became and can avoid some of those pitfalls."

"We always want to remember Wayne as the intelligent, funny, 'Star Trek'-loving rock star," adds Aimee Pittman, Wayne's younger sister. "It makes his family sad and angry to see Wayne depicting himself in a way that we understand to be a realistic portrayal of his life and the choices that ultimately ended it. If one person watching this video can benefit or make better choices related to drugs and alcohol, then we are grateful for the reminder."

With the success of their last release, "Project Regeneration: Vol. 1", and on the heels of their recent multiple-city sold-out "Rise Of The Machine" tour, STATIC-X have reinvigorated their fan base and brought Evil Disco back to the masses. The original lineup of Campos, Fukuda and Jay backed by frontman Xer0 have proven that STATIC-X is back and better than ever.

The "Rise Of The Machine" tour sold out 37 of its 42 dates, while showcasing the largest stage production that STATIC-X has ever put together. The band promises that the production on "The Machine Killer" tour is going to be even bigger and more impressive this time around.

Continuing to create new music, STATIC-X announced "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2" and unveiled the first single from that album, a cover of the NINE INCH NAILS classic "Terrible Lie".

All of the music associated with "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2" is the result of collaborations between the four founding members along with their new vocalist/guitarist/producer Xer0. No additional guests appear on the album and there were no outside contributions to the songwriting, musical compositions, or the performances on "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2". Between the two releases, STATIC-X fans around the globe have been treated to over two dozen brand new songs — most of which feature Static on lead vocals — and all released after his untimely passing.

Static died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".

The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer

In a new interview with 518Scene.com, HELMET frontman Page Hamilton spoke about how the world events of the last few years — including the global pandemic and political unrest — have provided him with the inspiration to create some of the songs on the band's upcoming album "Left".

"For me, the biggest part of it was the political climate, and how much it's changed in our country," Page said. "I can't speak for other countries — I know Hungary has a fascist guy too, and there are neo-Nazis popping up and they've always been around — but they were a little more underground before Orange Juice Face made it okay to be a racist douchebag," he continued, apparently referencing former U.S. president Donald Trump. "That stuff really had an effect on me. I have a trans godson, for example. I have nieces and nephews. I have two other godsons. I would like to leave a better world behind when I go for them, than the current state of divisive, caustic [beliefs] and whatever is going on in this country."

Hamilton also discussed the song "Gun Fluf", which specifically targets the gun lobby. He said: "I feel I have a right to express myself. I'm happy to sit down and have a conversation with any gun owner. I own guns. I grew up owning guns. I grew up in southern Oregon. I got a 12-gauge shotgun when I turned 12 from Grandpa Bones, and I hunted. I'm all for it, but I'm not all for there not being tighter restrictions on who can purchase a gun.

"Automatic weapons are unnecessary for a citizen population," he explained. "They're not for hunting; they're not for recreation. They are for killing human beings.

"Every time there's another mass murderer shooting, it affects me deeply. That's just heartbreaking. What we are saying is, yes, we have the right to bear arms, but we also have children who have a right to go to school and not fear for their lives, or go grocery shopping — as in Buffalo — and not worry that somebody's going to come in with an automatic weapon that can shoot 200 rounds in however many minutes. So that song poured out of me. It makes me angry that people are not more responsible."

"Left" will be released on November 10 via earMUSIC. The LP sees HELMET — comprising Hamilton, drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Dave Case — carve out a musical landscape that is taut, muscular, and direct.

Guided by Hamilton alongside co-producers Jim Kaufman and Mark Renk, and mastered by Howie Weinberg, the 11 songs on the new album are leaner and meaner in their execution than previous aural throwdowns. "Left" is powered by unbridled determination, a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to create more new dialects within the musical language Hamilton invented via his use of drop-D tuning.

To coincide with "Left"'s release, HELMET will undertake a European tour the same month. The trek will kick off on November 8 in Prague, Czech Republic and make stop the Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and France before concluding on December 13 in London, United Kingdom.

For a complete list of tour dates, visit HelmetMusic.com.

HELMET's first official live album, "Live And Rare", was released in November 2021 via earMUSIC. It was made available on heavyweight black vinyl as well as a CD digipak edition and digital.

Although HELMET disbanded in 1997, Hamilton revived the band in 2004, and the group has continued to tour and record.

"Dead To The World" was released in October 2016 via earMUSIC. The effort was produced by Hamilton and mixed by Jay Baumgardner.

In 2021, HELMET released a cover of GANG OF FOUR's 1981 song "Into The Ditch". The track was recorded for a tribute album to GANG OF FOUR's guitarist Andy Gill, "The Problem Of Leisure: A Celebration Of Andy Gill And Gang Of Four".

Photo courtesy of earMUSIC

TRAPEZE's "Lost Tapes Vol. 1" will be released on November 24 via Metalville Records.

When rock band TRAPEZE called it a day, they left behind them a series of now-classic albums. Their influence on other groups has been immense, individual members themselves going on to join heavyweight rock acts such as DEEP PURPLE, WHITESNAKE, JUDAS PRIEST and URIAH HEEP. But their story's not over, as "Lost Tapes Vol. 1" will soon reveal.

These are tracks recorded on tour and either side of album releases, great songs that were stockpiled just never released as the various lineups hit the ground running, playing live relentlessly, honing their craft while rarely seeing home. However, guitarist Mel Galley did take those tapes to his elder brother Tom's house. There, they — as co-writers of many of the band's best-known songs — would review them, making various decisions that felt right at the time. Mel also had the foresight, to leave them with Tom for safekeeping, so they didn't get lost.

"One of Mel's last wishes, before he passed away, was that I'd get together with TRAPEZE manager Tony Perry and put all these things together," said Tom Galley, who went on to produce the celebrated PHENOMENA album series, "And that's what we've done!"

"Lost Tapes Vol. 1" is an opportunity to hear TRAPEZE with all the primal energy of young men stretching out; demonstrating there was even more untapped potential between the musicians involved than had hitherto been imagined.

Smashing the doors open across America by pioneering a heavy funk rock sound that would later be taken up by the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS, EXTREME and others, back in the 1970s Glenn Hughes (vocals, bass),Mel Galley (guitar, vocals) and Dave Holland (drums) barely had time to catch their breath while stepping into studios to lay down several unique songs that you'll find on this collection, as well as tracks later recorded at Garage Studios in the U.K. during their 1990s reformation. Strident hard rocker "Breakdown" comes from that latter period.

"This features Glenn singing. His voice is one of the wonders of the world!" Tom remarked, and it truly is, the song sounding immensely fresh and contemporary even today. From the same period, with "Don't Let Them Push You" it's a case of "more cowbell!" and Mel's guitar weaving tirelessly with him also taking lead vocals.

On the trio's older tracks, with songs like "Bad Kid From School" and "Enough Is Enough", it's their classic sound you'll relish hearing afresh.

"I was able to get that funky heavy rock sound out of those old tapes," Tom said. "And that's what I call the TRAPEZE style!"

With various co-writing tracks from that period recovered, Tom also noted how "Catching Up On You" had "started off as an instrumental but they decided to add vocals."

These tracks embrace both powder-kegged bravado performances as well as the band's more nuanced emotional side, with nothing off limits as the musicians involved can be heard exploring their potential both collectively and as individuals. Powerful with deft time changes, tinged with subtly or bleeding out ferociously; belting rockers find them surging forward as one only for a propulsive rhythmic heartbeat to take hold over which solos soar.

Initially a five-piece patronized by THE MOODY BLUES, even as that lineup fractured, Galley, Holland and original keyboard player Terry Rowley went into 10CC's recording studios and some of those songs will also see the light of day for the very first time on this record.

"'Destiny' and 'Lights Of Tokyo' were songs that were overlooked and never ended up on an album," recalled Tom. Important pathfinders on the band's journey, they pre-empt the heavier rock and progressive sounds that the band would find acclaim with, beginning with 1970's "Medusa" album.

Following Hughes's joining DEEP PURPLE, Mel Galley took the helm; both singing and playing guitar, while bringing in bass player Pete Wright and second guitarist Rob Kendrick. This was their 1974 Billboard-charting "Hot Wire" era, finding them particularly prolific laying down tracks in studios like Island in the years either side. "Going Home" is a fiery arena-ready alternative rendition of that album's classic pinpointing exactly why THE ROLLING STONES had TRAPEZE open for them back then.

From a little later we get "So In Love".

"If you listen to 'Chances' on the second self-titled TRAPEZE album, it's 'So In Love' with different lyrics, sung by Glenn, and Mel sings this," Tom said of the more melodic number. Likewise, "Lover" finds the guitarist in particularly good form on vocals. Blending funk rock with a little soul, this so should have been a single, back in those days when music crossed the airwaves without fear of genre-boundaries, and only good taste mattered.

When Kendrick joined BUDGIE, Pete Goalby came forward and stepped up to the mic; oozing impressive vocal charisma and allowing Galley a chance to ease his voice. From that late 1970s golden patch we get the mainstream appeal of "You've Got It" and "Who Do You Run To" while on "Cool Water" it's slick, funky with a blues rock edge that's sat somewhere in between THE JAMES GANG and LITTLE FEAT in their prime.

"Mel wrote and sang on an original version, but this is a version with him and Pete both singing. It also had Terry Rowley on keyboards," recalled Tom, noting the ongoing bonds between former members, before astutely noting in conclusion: "This collection of recordings show not only how good the various lineups were, but capture the passion and excitement of the creation of the songs themselves."

"Lost Tapes Vol. 1" track listing:

01. Cool Water
02. Lover
03. Breakdown
04. Don't Let Them Push You
05. Destiny
06. Lights Of Tokyo
07. So In Love
08. Bad Kid From School
09. Catching Up On You
10. Do You Understand
11. Enough Is Enough
12. You've Got It
13. Who Do You Run To
14. Going Home

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has released new version of the song "We Love You" from the recently released "Life Is But A Dream…" album. Retitled "We Love You Moar", the track features PUSSY RIOT's Nadya Tolokonnikova on guest vocals. In addition, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and PUSSY RIOT have collaborated on a special and very limited-edition balaclava, featuring the logos of both bands, that is available to buy online from the AVENGED SEVENFOLD web site. All proceeds from sales of the balaclava, which can be purchased for $50, will go toward aiding the LGBTQ+ community in Russia's North Caucasus region.

"We collaborated with Nadya to create a custom balaclava with proceeds going to SOS North Caucasus," AVENGED SEVENFOLD said in a statement. "Limited to 300 – with each purchase you’ll be helping LGBTQ people facing mortal danger and persecution in the North Caucasus, Russia."

According to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, LGBT persecution has been particularly severe in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya, where the Kremlin-backed strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov has styled himself as the defender of so-called traditional Muslim values. His personally controlled security forces, called Kadyrovites, have been accused of abducting, torturing, and killing Kadyrov's political opponents and members of the LGBT community.

PUSSY RIOT was among the opening acts for AVENGED SEVENFOLD's concert at New York's Madison Square Garden in June.

"Life Is But A Dream…" sold 36,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. AVENGED SEVENFOLD's previous LP, "The Stage", debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart in November 2016. The surprise release of "The Stage" earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in eleven years. It sold 76,000 copies in its first week, less than half the tally of its previous two efforts.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD made its first festival appearance in five years on May 19 at Welcome To Rockville at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's first concert since June 2018 took place on May 12 at AREA15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In April, AVENGED SEVENFOLD announced the second leg of its extensive "Life is But A Dream…" North American tour featuring support from FALLING IN REVERSE. Produced by Live Nation, leg two includes stops in Nashville, Denver, Austin, and more before concluding at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on October 15.

The first leg with support from ALEXISONFIRE and KIM DRACULA included thirteen cities across the U.S. and Canada, such as Mansfield, Québec City, Tinley Park, Calgary, and more.

Photo credit: Brian Cattelle