"It’s been a while since we posted," begins the latest update from Orange Goblin.


"We have been busy in the rehearsal room writing and fine tuning new material ahead of the 10th Orange Goblin studio album. We will enter a recording studio in England in November to start laying it down, our first album since 2018’s The Wolf Bites Back, and first for new label, Peaceville Records. We have ten new songs pretty much ready to go, and are very excited to share these with you, hopefully to be released in the first half of 2024."


Catch Orange Goblin live on October 28, 2023 in the beautiful city of Rennes in Brittany, France to help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Garmonbozia Inc. The official event poster can be seen below.







 

THROWDOWN made its return to Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama last night (Friday, September 22). The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal band's mainstage set was their first performance since 2015, first in the United States since 2011, and first with the "Venom & Tears" lineup since 2007.

Fan-filmed video of the Furnace Fest concert can be seen below.

This past Jule, THROWDOWN announced plans for a 20th-anniversary edition of "Haymaker", which produced enduring metalcore classics "Forever" and "Never Back Down". Remastered by longtime collaborator Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, ROB ZOMBIE, DEMON HUNTER),the new edition of "Haymaker" will arrive later this year on CD (packaged in long-box format),cassette, and limited colored vinyl LPs.

"Haymaker" (2003),"Vendetta" (2005) and "Venom & Tears" (2007) were added to digital service providers and Bandcamp in recent years via the band's own Pit Viper Records, alongside the "Take Cover" EP (2020),which collects THROWDOWN renditions of classics by SEPULTURA, CROWBAR, PANTERA and MISFITS.

THROWDOWN's 2023 lineup includes frontman Dave Peters, bassist Matt Mentley, guitarist Mark Choiniere (his first appearance with THROWDOWN since 2009),and drummer Ben Dussault (first since 2008).

Revolver magazine declared THROWDOWN part of "The Future Of American Metal" in 2004. Over the years, the band participated in Ozzfest (2004),Sounds Of The Underground (2005) and Vans Warped Tour (2007),and international treks with genre titans including KORN, IN FLAMES, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, LAMB OF GOD, AS I LAY DYING, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, FEAR FACTORY and CHILDREN OF BODOM.

The band's popularity in the streaming era is a testament to the enduring power of their music, led by songs like "Holy Roller" (from "Venom & Tears"),"This Continuum" (from 2009's "Deathless"),"Burn" (from "Vendetta"),"The Scythe" ("Deathless"),"Forever" and "Burial At Sea" ("Deathless").

THROWDOWN's most recent album, "Intolerance", arrived via MNRK Heavy in 2014.

THROWDOWN previously performed at Furnace Fest in 2002 and again in 2003.

FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares and Milo Silvestro joined MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern for the latest installment of the latter band's "Electric Happy Hour" weekly Friday livestream. You can now watch the entire two-hour session below.

When this week's "Electric Happy Hour" episode was first announced, MACHINE HEAD wrote on social media: "Dino and Milo from @fearfactorymusic join the boyz for an extra special Electric Happy Hour of frankly EPIC proportions! Expect to hear a bevy of MACHINE HEAD and FEAR FACTORY classics, killer covers from KORN, HATEBREED and SLAYER, all peppered with amazing recollections and tales from the studio and road."

Featured songs:

0:00:00 Welcome And Beers Up
0:04:57 I Will Be Heard (HATEBREED)
0:08:16 Demanufacture (FEAR FACTORY)
0:13:25 Become The Firestorm
0:21:06 Imperium
0:27:18 Hope Begets Hope
0:32:12 Killers And Kings
0:40:33 Replica (FEAR FACTORY)
0:46:08 Ten Ton Hammer
0:51:22 From This Day
0:56:09 Arrows In Words From The Sky
1:07:22 Edgecrusher (FEAR FACTORY)
1:11:36 Archetype (FEAR FACTORY)
1:17:18 Destroy Everything (HATEBREED)
1:22:35 Electric Story Hour
1:39:20 Postmortem (SLAYER)
1:42:57 Raining Blood (SLAYER)
1:50:42 Scapegoat (FEAR FACTORY)
1:55:29 Blind (KORN)
1:59:06 Davidian

FEAR FACTORY's next album, which is tentatively due in late 2024, will be the band's first with Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

The Italian-born Silvestro joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for the band's original singer Burton C. Bell.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and touring drummer Pete Webber on May 5 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

FEAR FACTORY's recently completed "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour as the support act for STATIC-X marked the Cazares-led outfit's first run of shows with Silvestro and Webber.

Webber has been filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who is unable to play with the band due to "scheduling conflicts."

FEAR FACTORY played a one-off show on September 17 at the Metal Injection Festival where the band performed a very special "Demanufacture" and "Obsolete" set. FEAR FACTORY will next launch a five-date headlining "DisrupTour" with special guests LIONS AT THE GATE, which will kick off on October 7. This will be followed by the band heading out on the "October Dawn 2023" tour with headliners LACUNA COIL and openers LIONS AT THE GATE. The 10-date trek will begin on October 13 in Atlanta and make stops in Louisville, Oklahoma City, and Houston before concluding in St. Petersburg on October 29.

FEAR FACTORY will embark on a European tour this fall. The 44-date trek will mark the band's first European shows since 2016. Joining them on this run are BUTCHER BABIES from the USA and IGNEA from Ukraine.

In a recent interview with ADK Metal News, Reviews, Reactions & Interviews, Dino hinted at a "big" two-month early 2024 U.S. tour with another band as part of "a fucking killer package."

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.

In a new interview with Hall Around Town Radio, former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate spoke about his heavy touring schedule at the age of 64. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I feel better when I work. I feel stronger the more I sing, the more we perform. And, yeah, you just get to a level, I guess, of performance that —you try to get there, at least — where it's easy for you to keep doing it. And that's kind of what happens, I think, if you stay at it every day. We try to take one day off to give the crew a rest, but we do six shows a week, basically. And the tour never ends, really, 'cause where one tour ends, the other one begins a couple days later. [After] our American tour, we head over to Europe and Ireland in particular, start there, right after; I think we have three days off or something like that, travel time, to get there."

Regarding the high energy level of his live performances, Geoff said: "Well, I have to sort of give credit to the audience, really. The audience really pushes me over the top. I try to kind of maintain a certain performance level, but I can really be swayed by the audience. And I have to — well, I have to discipline myself, because sometimes I'll just give in to… Like a Sunday-night crowd is oftentimes less energetic than a Saturday-night audience. And I'm like everyone —I get kind of lulled in to the Sunday doldrums where you just want to like lay on the sofa and watch TV. [Laughs] It's hard to work on a Sunday, right? But over the years, I've just sort of disciplined myself to do it. And I feed off the audience — I really do. I feed off their energy. And if they're excited, it makes me excited."

Last month, Tate told Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station that he was "on the second round of writing" his autobiography.

Geoff celebrated his 64th birthday on January 14 during his concert at Amaturo Theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

After Tate's current six-week tour of the United States, he will embark on a European tour playing QUEENSRŸCHE's "Operation: Mindcrime" album in its entirety to celebrate its 35th anniversary. He will return to the U.S. in early 2024 for a co-headlining tour with VANDENBERG, the band led by former WHITESNAKE guitarist Adrian Vandenberg.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

In the summer of 2022, Tate underwent an aortic valve replacement at the Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg-Bad Krozingen (University Heart Center Freiburg) in Bad Krozingen, Germany.

THE DEFIANT, the new band featuring MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES singer Dicky Barrett alongside with Pete Parada (THE OFFSPRING) on drums, Greg Camp (SMASH MOUTH) on guitar, Johnny Rioux (STREET DOGS) on bass, and Joey LaRocca (THE BRIGGS) on guitar and keyboards, has released its second single, "Where Were You?".

"Where Were You?" and the previously released track "Dead Language" will be featured on THE DEFIANT's debut album, "If We're Really Being Honest", due out on October 27 via Side One Dummy.

"Dead Language" was a labor of love. Barrett says: "When Greg shared 'Dead Language', it was the first song anyone I ever collaborated with presented to me where I didn't want to change anything. I'm the type of egomaniac that looks at the Mona Lisa and says, 'Doesn't she need to be smiling?' It sounded perfect and it said what I wanted to say perfectly. It was at that point I knew we had something special."

Regarding the second single from the group, Barrett states: "Lyrically I tried to make 'Where Were You' a timeless pressure valve for everyone who's ever felt abandoned by anyone and step number one to healing the divide and bridging the gap that some people insist on widening." The song is accompanied by a lyric video that can be seen below.

"Dead Language" marked Barrett's first new music since the BOSSTONES broke up in early 2022, shortly after the release of the band's last album, "When God Was Great".

"If We're Really Being Honest" track listing:

01. Everybody Loves Me
02. Dead Language
03. Where Were You?
04. We Make Drugs
05. Can't Stop Cryin'
06. No Nothing
07. Where Did Lady Liberty Go?
08. As One
09. One Reason Or Another
10. Like Flies
11. These Shoes
12. It Is Over

Barrett previously stated about THE DEFIANT's distinctive combination of clever, quick-witted, thought-provoking lyrics and well-crafted punk rock songs: "All I've ever really wanted to do is bring people together and share a message of peace, love, and unity. With that in mind, the music created by THE DEFIANT could very well be some of the best I've ever had a hand in making, as well as one of the most important and thoughtful musical experiences of my career. I am thrilled to be a part of it."

Added Parada: "It is an insanely solid lineup, like Murderers Row from the 1927 New York Yankees. This project is a real throwback to when albums felt like books, and songs were integral chapters in a story. It's a tribute to the heartbroken, the misunderstood, the lost and found, the isolated, the fighters, the believers, the wildly hopeful and irrationally optimistic." "I agree with Pete but let's take it easy with the Yankees analogies," interjected lifelong Red Sox supporter Barrett.

Rioux said: "The diversity of the material is great, too. You can hear hints of THE JAM, THE POGUES, THE SPECIALS and BLUR. So many different influences make up this project. Those influences, along with incredible unifying and biographical lyrics, have resulted in something I'm really excited about."

When asked about this new musical brotherhood, Camp said: "We have all either known each other or run into each other on the road over the years. But the moment we were all in the same room at the same time, it was like we had been buddies since birth."

When it comes to THE DEFIANT, the whole is — at the very least — equal to the sum of its not inconsiderable parts. "For me, the best thing about this group is that we’re so aligned on just about every aspect of our lives. From our similar musical backgrounds and influences to our general life philosophies, we have much in common and a lot to share," said LaRocca.

DEAD ICARUS, the new project of former ATREYU lead vocalist Alex Varkatzas, has shared the video for the new track "The Vultures Circle".

"Hands down, this is the heaviest song I've ever been involved with," Varkatzas says. "It's an 'F you' to the cancel culture that has infected society. 'Savior, Saint, Sinner, or Thief. Live long enough you'll die one of these.' It doesn't matter what's living inside you; it's just about what people wanna believe."

DEAD ICARUS previously shared the video for the new single "Sellout". The track is a hyperkinetic slab of fast-paced, face-ripping metal with layered vocals and a pit-clearing breakdown. The song shows off a different side of the artist's musical personality. It hits hard, but it's also infused with a melody that just won't quit.

DEAD ICARUS recently signed a worldwide deal with MNRK Heavy. The band's first full-length project is slated for spring 2024.

A staple of Ozzfest in the mid-2000s with two gold albums, ATREYU is one of the defining bands of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, alongside groups like AVENGED SEVENFOLD and LAMB OF GOD. Metalcore classics like "The Curse" and "A Death-Grip On Yesterday" were powered by Alex's distinctive scream.

In October 2020, ATREYU surprise-released a new song called "Save Us". It was the first taste of the band's music since the departure of Varkatzas a month earlier. A couple of days before "Save Us"'s release, Varkatzas updated his Instagram stories with hashtags that seemed to throw shade at his former bandmates and their new material: #fakeheavy, #conartists and #justwaitandsee.

ATREYU's former drummer Brandon Saller, who is now focusing completely on singing after previously sharing lead vocals with Varkatzas for most of the band's two-decade-plus existence, discussed Alex's departure from ATREYU in an interview with Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com's "Mosh Talks With Beez". Asked what he thought of Varkatzas implying in a social media post that "Save Us" was "fake heavy," Saller said: "I thought it was hilarious, because I think everyone heard it and then was, like, 'Hmm. Okay.'

"The four of us were very, very adamant on this whole thing" — referring to the split with Alex — "being very, very positive. There's no shitting on people that we wanna do. There's not a part of us that wanted anyone to shit-talk us or him. And our whole stance was, like, this is what it is, but we can still lift each other up and make our fans feel good about the fact that there's no beef; there's no whatever.

"He did his own thing, and it wasn't exactly the kind of idea of a narrative that we would have liked to put forward," Brandon continued. "We've always, still to this day, been fully positive. When people say stuff about Alex, I'm still, like, 'The dude's awesome. You should support whatever he does next.' He's learning guitar, he's taking interest in different things, and I will still, till I'm blue in the face, say, yeah, support him. If you like his voice, if you like what he did in ATREYU, he's probably gonna make more music. Now you have two bands you can listen to.

"The 'fake heavy' thing was — we don't know where that came from," Saller added. "Alex wrote 'Save Us' with us. He wrote probably seven, eight songs that are on the next record. He was a part of the beginning of the album, so for him to say it's fake heavy, then he wrote a fake-heavy song.

"I think 'Save Us' is one of the heavier songs we've ever written. It is two and a half minutes of facepunch. Another view we've had is no matter who says what, let's do what we've always done and just let the music talk. We're just gonna continue doing that and let the tunes do all the talking. And people will know what we're all about. They'll know everything they need to know from [listening to] the songs."

According to Brandon, he and his ATREYU bandmates wanted to avoid making the split with Alex more dramatic than it needed to be in the eyes of the public, preferring instead to give everyone a taste of the new music they were working on.

"A lot of people got really butthurt because of the lack of detail that we gave [in our statement announcing Alex's departure]," Saller said. "And I feel like we just felt so strongly that in this day and age, click culture and clickbait, every headline's looking for, 'Guitar player of ATREYU slept with the singer's wife' — some weird drama. But we had no interest in that. We just wanted to keep it about the music and keep it positive and let our fans know that this is what's happening, we're separating, it is what it is, and let's just think about the future."

"I think people think a lot of it is a lot more quick than the reality," Brandon theorized. "I think that people think that we just made this decision and posted it on the Internet, and that was it. But we've been going through this for months and months and months. When you're in a business and a relationship — a marriage, essentially — with someone for 20 years, there's a lot of steps to go through before you can say anything. We were very much wanting to say really nothing — just be positive and let's be adults. And luckily, we have so many people that really, really are showing us a lot of love."

In December 2020, Brandon implied in an interview with "Sappenin' Podcast With Sean Smith" that ATREYU was no longer on speaking terms with Varkatzas: "We'll call it a breakup," he said. "There's obviously a separation, so I think that's something that, in our hopes, the future will heal. But the five of us in the current situation are tighter than ever."

Two-time-Grammy-nominated band RIVAL SONS have unleashed a brand new single titled "Mercy", available on all streaming platforms now. It heralds the impending arrival of their new album, "Lightbringer", on October 20. It notably marks the group's second full-length offering to be unveiled in 2023, following June's critically acclaimed companion album "Darkfighter".

As an album standout, "Mercy" illuminates the group's uncanny knack for dynamics. Howling vocals toss and turn over a hulking guitar riff. Lyrically, it confronts pain passed down from one generation to the next as vocalist Jay Buchanan bemoans, "You know that anger moves like electricity."

Regarding "Mercy", Jay elaborated: "It's so conductive, the way trauma moves from person to person. Anger moves like electricity in a similar way, once it gets inside you it immediately seeks transmission to latch onto someone or something else. The verses have this cyclical friction to them and it brought this to mind; inherited trauma and its vicious, silent grip. Breaking these cycles begins with recognition and I wanted to sing about that. Try a little mercy, mercy never lets you down."

Guitarist Scott Holiday shared: "It's time to reveal yet another track (the last before release day!) from 'Lightbringer'! This round, we are sharing the song entitled: 'Mercy'. A song that deals with internal struggle and trying to connect with our 'higher' selves... to turn that energy within the struggle into something better. Musically this was a song I started very early in the writing process... Working with a similar tone that I used on the track 'Mirrors' from 'Darkfighter'. Yet, we didn't complete this song until the end of recording all the others. Like so many of the riffs I write, I hear the drums / groove immediately, and it's equally important / integral to the riff. Miley delivers a pretty deadly and infectious groove to accompany my guitar. One of the coolest drum / riff moments of both records in my opinion. I love the minimalism Jay attacks the song with. Really drives the message home for me. Also an inspired guitar solo, which I cut at home in my own studio. Please enjoy 'Mercy'."

"Mercy" lands in the wake of the upbeat and undeniable "Sweet Life" — available on all streaming platforms. Right out of the gate, it gathered over 376,000 Spotify streams and counting. Beyond plugs from Consequence, Classic Rock and many more, American Songwriter praised, "The heavy subject matter at the heart of 'Lightbringer' is temporarily lifted on their latest single, 'Sweet Life', adding "the groovy cut offers an energizing escape from every day worries," and Guitar Player spoke to Scott extensively for an in-depth profile.

About "Lightbringer", Scott said: "When you do two albums back to back like this, there are a lot of things to think about. The first record has to pack enough of a punch and tell enough of a story for the second half to have an even bigger impact. We balanced them out with energy and meaning, but the follow-up always needed to deliver a bigger blow. I think 'Lightbringer' provides this."

Jay added: "'Darkfighter' is a new RIVAL SONS, and 'Lightbringer' is the clear definition of what we are now. We broke ground on 'Darkfighter', but 'Lightbringer' is a step beyond the personal innovation and exploration. It goes a little further. We really took everything into our own hands and pushed to see how far we could go. It was a self-exploration to see who we were and who we'll be now. We had more friction and compromise than ever, because we isolated the bare essence of where we needed to go — and then we went there."

RIVAL SONS crafted "Darkfighter" and "Lightbringer" during the same sessions over the course of 2021. Once again, they recorded with creative confidant and longtime producer Dave Cobb behind the board. The band initially dropped "Darkfighter" to unanimous tastemaker praise earlier this summer. Classic Rock attested, "'Darkfighter' might just be RIVAL SONS' masterpiece," and Glide Magazine enthused, "'Darkfighter' is a lean hard rock album that condenses what RIVAL SONS does well into a brief attack." At the same time, they have piled up millions of streams across the likes of "Nobody Wants To Die", "Bird In The Hand", "Rapture" and more.

RIVAL SONS recently concluded a tour with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and will be touring through the end of 2023 with select U.S. headline shows and festival appearances.

In 2021, RIVAL SONS celebrated the tenth anniversary of their 2011 album, "Pressure And Time", by performing the landmark long player live in its entirety on the "Pressure And Time" tour for the first time. They also lit up Southern California with a two-night livestream event, "Pair Of Aces", live from the historic Catalina Casino on Santa Catalina Island. They performed their debut LP, "Before The Fire" (2009),in its entirety on the first night and their self-titled EP, "Rival Sons" (2010),on the second.

"Lightbringer" track listing:

01. Darkfighter
02. Mercy
03. Redemption
04. Sweet Life
05. Before The Fire
06. Mosaic

Photo credit: Patrik Skoglöw

In a new interview with Rock Sound, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor spoke about the solo album of covers and acoustic recordings, titled "CMFB…Sides", that he released last year via Roadrunner Records. "CMFB…Sides" comprised nine previously unreleased B-sides, covers of tunes that influenced Taylor, acoustic renditions, and live versions. Asked if he used "CMFB…Sides" as an opportunity to tip his hat to artists that had inspired him growing up, Corey said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, absolutely. I mean, there are so many people I have not had the chance to nod to, to acknowledge, to thank. Let's not forget music kept me alive. Music was the only source of happiness for me for the longest time, from when I was a kid all the way up until even into my twenties, for God's sakes. Music was the only thing that made me feel something other than horrible about myself. So there were so many voices in my head and so many people kind of holding me up that I am just really scratching the surface. Obviously, I've had a chance to show my respect over the years — 'cause of SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR, I've been able to kind of talk about my influences, whatnot — but there's still so many out there that I really want to acknowledge. And the cool thing about doing the B-side stuff is getting to show those little hints and bursts of — doing everything from 'Lunatic Fringe' [RED RIDER cover] to 'Shakin'' [Eddie Money cover]."

He continued: "The B-sides that we have for this album [Corey's recently released sophomore solo LP, 'CMF2'], people are gonna freak out. We've got everything from Alice Cooper to ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN. I mean, it's that level of fucking radness. And I also have a band who can play anything, and I'm really, really, really spoiled when it comes to that. So I'm really looking forward to putting that out next year. It's one of those things that I want the audience to kind of get to the point where they expect that, just like, 'Oh, man, this album is great. There's also going to be this album that comes out next year with like all the B-side stuff.' And the cool thing with this is that in addition to the covers — it's not just acoustic versions, it's actually leftover originals that didn't make this album. So it's changed up even more from that side of stuff, so it's evolving. And it just feels great. It's everything that I've ever wanted to do. It's everything I've tried to do with SLIPKNOTandSTONE SOUR, and I'm finally getting to do it now because I'm the boss and I get to fucking make the decisions."

"CMF2" was released on September 15. Taylor's first album for BMG and the first on his own label imprint, Decibel Cooper Recordings, was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER, AMON AMARTH),who also helmed STONE SOUR's 2017 LP "Hydrograd" as well as 2020's "CMFT".

Throughout "CMF2", Taylor sings, plays lead and rhythm guitar, piano, and mandolin.

The 13-track opus packs the energy, experimentation, and forthrightness that's defined a career which has seen him sell more than 12 million albums with his Grammy-winning band SLIPKNOT and several million with chart-toppers STONE SOUR.

Taylor began tracking the follow-up to 2020's "CMFT" LP in early January at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with Ruston. Joining Corey in the studio was the rest of his solo band — bassist Eliot Lorango, drummer Dustin Robert, along with guitarists Christian Martucci and Zach Throne.

Twenty-six songs were recorded for "CMF2", including "Beyond" and "Post Traumatic Blues".

"CMFT" featured the No. 1 Billboard mainstream rock single "Black Eyes Blue" and streaming sensation "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (feat. Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie). The LP hit No. 6 on Billboard's U.S. Top Rock Albums chart.

In support of his new album, Taylor recently embarked on his 2023 tour featuring special guests WARGASM, OXYMORRONS and LUNA AURA on select dates. Produced by Live Nation, the 28-city tour kicked off on August 25 at Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, making stops across the U.S in Detroit, Orlando, Dallas and more before the final headline show in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on October 5.

In a new interview with Big Jake of the Razor Wisconsin radio station, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli was asked why he thinks it's important to maintain a somewhat personal connection with fans on social media nowadays. Chris responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think people just wanna know who they're supporting. They wanna know who the person is behind the music or behind the words and whatever it is. And sometimes I don't feel like I need to just divulge every personal thought or opinion. I just like to just be myself, and a place like TikTok has been a fun place for me to just be stupid and funny — and that's just a side of my humor that I love. The way that I've run it for the last bunch of years, I just like to just be myself whenever I feel like I want to or I use it to get valid information out there for fans or cool things to celebrate that they've helped us accomplish. So it's just a nice way to stay connected and give them a piece of knowledge of what they're getting behind. And I like that."

Earlier this month, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE released "Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)", a special deluxe reissue of the band's celebrated album "Scoring The End Of The World", which sees the Cerulli-fronted outfit expanding on its acclaimed 2022 album with new four new bonus tracks, including "Hollow Points", "Fool's Gold", "Timebomb" (STEOTW Mix)" and "Porcelain: Ricky Motion Picture Collection".

"Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)" is available in multiple formats and on vinyl for the first time ever in several different color variants, including black, orange, hellfire, scorched earth, and electric purple, the latter of which comes with exclusive alternate cover artwork.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has just embarked on its biggest North American headline run to date, "The Touring The End Of The World Tour". The trek includes support from special guests KNOCKED LOOSE, AFTER THE BURIAL and ALPHA WOLF.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE is Chris Motionless (vocals),Ricky Olson (guitar),Ryan Sitkowski (guitar),Vinny Mauro (drums) and Justin Morrow (bass).

Photo credit: @ROCKCANDYPHOTO

The debut album from German melodic doom / post-black metallers from Sarlic Bliss will be called Brægn Hæft and will be released on November 2 via MDD Records. The album features only six songs for a stately length of over 45 minutes, whereby it is clear that the fellows take the necessary time to let a song unfold.


Not surprisingly, the sound is characterized by dark, aggressive-melancholic sounds. Gloomy, brute and poignant at the same time.







The tracklist, revealed to BraveWords, is as follows:


"Darkest Desire"
"Lust"
"The Truth Within"
"Floatin Swefn"
"Invidia"
"Departed Grace" (feat. Gogo Melone)


A musical sample will be available soon. Pre-orders are available on MDD Shop.

Winger performed in Tokyo, Japan at Ex Theater Roppongi on September 6th. Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"Stick the Knife In and Twist"
"Seventeen"
"Can't Get Enuff"
"Hungry"
"Down Incognito"
- guitar solo - (Howie Simon)
"Proud Desperado" (with Katsuki from Saiseiga on bass)
"Junkyard Dog (Tears on Stone)"
"Miles Away"
"Rainbow in the Rose"
- guitar solo - (Reb Beach)
"Black Magic" (Reb Beach song)
"Who's the One"
"Time to Surrender"
"Blind Revolution Mad"
- drum solo - 
"Headed for a Heartbreak"
"Easy Come Easy Go"
"Madalaine"




Encore:
"Pull Me Under"
"Deal With the Devil"





One of the most-aired hard rock bands on MTV during the late '80s and early '90s was Winger, a band who had it all - expert chops, chart success, arena tours, etc. And now for the first time ever, the band's best-selling albums will be compiled together in the new box set, Chapter One: Atlantic Years 1988-1993 - which will be released on November 17 via Atlantic/BMG, and will be available as both vinyl and CD versions.


Included will be the band's self-titled debut from 1988 (which spawned the hits "Madalaine," "Seventeen," and "Headed For A Heartbreak"), In The Heart Of The Young from 1990 (which gave us "I Can't Get Enuff," "Miles Away," and "Easy Come Easy Go"), and Pull from 1993 (which contained "Down Incognito").


And long-time fans of the band - whose classic lineup was comprised of singer/bassist Kip Winger, guitarists Reb Beach and Paul Taylor, and drummer Rod Morgenstein - will probably be most intrigued by the inclusion of the fourth disc, Demo Anthology, which includes original demo versions of Winger's biggest hits. Additionally, the set will be newly remastered by Ted Jensen - with the remaster process overseen by Kip Winger.


“I’m very proud of this box set.  It captures an unforgettable era for the band and these are the only remasters I officially endorse.” - Kip Winger


Still rocking to this day - the band issued their seventh studio effort overall in 2023, the appropriately titled Seven. Kip Winger is also a respected and successful symphonic composer, having issued recordings under the name C.F. Kip Winger, while Reb Beach has been a member of Whitesnake since 2002, and Rod Morgenstein has served as a professor at Berklee College of Music (in addition to playing in a variety of other more jazz-fusion-based projects).


To obtain all of Winger's definitive LP's in one fell swoop, Chapter One: Atlantic Years 1988-1993 covers all the bases - and then some!


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


Winger (1988)


• US - PLATINUM / CANADA - GOLD / JAPAN - GOLD
• #21 US Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart / #96 Canadian Albums Chart
• "Madelaine” (#27 US Rock) / “Seventeen” (#19 US Hot 100 / #19 US Rock)/ “Headed For A Heartbreak” (#19 US Hot 100 / #8 US Rock) / “Hungry” (#85 US Hot 100 / #34 US Rock)


"Madalaine"
"Hungry"
"Seventeen"
"Without The Night"
"Purple Haze"
"State Of Emergency"
"Time To Surrender"
"Poison Angel"
"Hangin’ On"
"Headed For A Heartbreak"


Personnel:
Kip Winger - Bass/Vocals
Reb Beach - Guitar/Vocals
Paul Taylor - Keyboards/Vocals
Rod Morgenstein - Drums


Producer:  Beau Hill


Winger II:  In The Heart Of The Young (1990)


• US - PLATINUM
• #15 US Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart
• “Can’t Get Enuff” (#42 US Hot 100 / #6 US Rock) / “Miles Away” (#12 US Hot 100 / #14 US Rock / #56 UK Singles Chart) / ”Easy Come Easy Go” (#41 US Hot 100 / #20 US Rock)
 
"Can’t Get Enuff"
"Loosen Up"
"Miles Away"
"Easy Come Easy Go"
"Rainbow In The Rose"
"In The Day We’ll Never See"
"Under One Condition"
"Little Dirty Blonde"
"Baptized By Fire"
"You Are The Saint, I Am The Sinner"
"In The Heart Of The Young"


Personnel:
Kip Winger - Bass/Vocals
Reb Beach - Guitar/Vocals
Paul Taylor - Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals
Rod Morgenstein - Drums


Producer:  Beau Hill


Pull (1993)


• #83 US Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart
• “Down Incognito” (#15 US Rock)


"Blind Revolution Mad"
"Down Incognito"
"Spell I’m Under"
"In My Veins"
"Junkyard Dog (Tears On Stone)"
"The Lucky One"
"In For The Kill"
"No Man’s Land"
"Like A Ritual"
"Who’s The One"


Personnel:
Kip Winger - Bass/Vocals/Keyboards
Reb Beach - Guitar/Vocals
Rod Morgenstein - Drums


Producer:  Mike Shipley, Kip Winger


Demo Anthology (2023)


"Madalaine"
"Hungry"
"Seventeen"
"Headed for a Heartbreak"
"Can't Get Enuff"
"Easy Come Easy Go"
"Miles Away"
"Blind Revolution Mad"
"Down Incognito"
"Who's the One"


Winger tour dates:


October
7 - Rock The Locks Music Festival -  Unatilla, OR
13 - Rocktober 2023 At The Old Gray - Monterey, TN
14 - District 142 - Wyandotte, MI


November
11 - Newton Performing Artist Center - Newton, NC
18 - Buffalo Rose - Golden, CO


December
16 - Smart Financial Centre - Sugar Land, TX
17 - The Factory In Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX


January
17 - Rockisland Fest 2024 - Key West Amphitheater - Key West, FL

In a new interview with Power Metal Point, PRETTY MAIDS singer Ronnie Atkins, who is battling stage four cancer, was asked if there are any plans for him to do anything again with the long-running Danish hard rock outfit. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's been issues between the band since 2019, particularly between me and Ken [Hammer, guitar]. But now we're actually talking again. We just met a little while ago, and we still have some business through 40 years we have to discuss sometimes on mails. I think it's gonna end up that we will bury the hatchet, if nothing else for the fans."

He continued: "It's always been a love-hate relationship, and I can't confirm anything, but I think we might do some selected gigs next year or something like that. Because the whole thing ended in a bad way and I got sick and we had a brand new album out in 2019 and we never hit the road with it, 'cause we had to cancel the tour. Then the lockdown came, the corona thing. So, yeah, let's see, let's see. We might do something next year."

Last December, Atkins painted a more bleak picture of PRETTY MAIDS' future, telling Dawn Osborne of TotalRock: "We haven't seen each other since 2019. And there are some issues within the band that haven't been [resolved]. So nothing is happening. Ken is doing some other projects. Everybody is doing their own things, kind of. I'm not saying we won't get back together one day. Maybe — I don't know. But time is not on our side. Let's see. It would need some talks — a band meeting and some talk — before we go on."

He added: "I'm a bit like 'I've been there, done that.' I mean, sometimes I miss it. On the other hand, I'm on with something else now, doing my own stuff."

Formed in early 1982 by Atkins and Hammer, PRETTY MAIDS' second album, 1987's "Future World", is still today regarded as a classic.

During the ensuing years, PRETTY MAIDS continued to release albums usually followed by European and Japanese tours.

PRETTY MAIDS' latest album, "Undress Your Madness", came out in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

"Future World" was released by CBS in 1987. By 1990, the album had sold 300,000 copies worldwide. The album charted at No. 165 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

"Future World" was produced by Eddie Kramer, who was reportedly fired during the recording sessions. The band then finished the LP with engineer Chris Isca, who was credited as co-producer on the album. Mixing duties were shared between METALLICA, RAINBOW and MORBID ANGEL producer Flemming Rasmussen, and Kevin Elson, known for producing multi-platinum albums by JOURNEY, MR. BIG and EUROPE.

After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, the now-58-year-old Atkins underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments in the fall of that year before being declared cancer-free. In October 2020, he announced that his cancer had returned.

In a 2013 interview with Myglobalmind, Atkins joked that the secret to keeping his voice in shape was "twenty cigarettes a day and little drink now and then."

Ronnie's third solo album, "Trinity", will be released on October 13 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Photo credit: Tallee Savage

DEF LEPPARD has released a live video for "Take What You Want", the opening song from the band's 2022 album "Diamond Star Halos". The footage for the clip was filmed during DEF LEPPARD's 2023 "The World Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE.

"Diamond Star Halos" sold 34,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release in May 2022 to land at position No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the band's eighth top 10 LP.

Of "Diamond Star Halos"' 34,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 32,000, SEA units comprised 2,000 (equaling 2.7 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs) and TEA units comprised less than 500 units.

DEF LEPPARD's previous Top 10 albums included "Pyromania" (which peaked at No. 2 in 1983),"Hysteria" (No. 1 for six weeks in 1988),"Adrenalize" (No. 1 for five weeks in 1992),"Retro Active" (No. 9; 1983),"Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (No. 10; 2005),"Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" (No. 5; 2008) and "Def Leppard" (No. 10; 2015).

Earlier this year, DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott said that he was pleased he and his bandmates had opened their set on the 2022 "The Stadium Tour" with "Take What You Want", telling Classic Rock: "It was a mission statement, our way of saying this is not a victory lap. Doing the opening number, your adrenaline is off the charts. It's magic. You have to stand where I stand to really feel what that's like. So we had the crowd lit up. It's a 'Hi, we're back!' moment, and it's a new song. That was pretty special."

In a separate interview with Rock Candy, Elliott said that the album format is still important — at least for DEF LEPPARD.

"When we got together in 2014 we noticed a trend of people releasing one song a month," Elliott said. "They might bang them all together on an album two years later. Other people were just doing EPs. Maybe for a younger generation, an album isn't important, because they didn't grow up when it was. But we did. We grew up in the era of 'Ziggy Stardust', 'Dark Side Of The Moon', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' — the greatest double album of all time, in my humble opinion. That's where we come from. You can't unscramble an egg. We invested in laying on the bed and looking at the sleeve, reading every word."

Season Of Ghosts guitarist / composer Zombie Sam recently checked in with the following update:


"My new Horror band is called PhantasmaGore. It is a horror synth band made of four monsters. I present to you Dark Bones = me, myself & I. 


The project is based on a core value: Music Meets Art. How are we going to do that? Each release will be connected to an artwork, and each artwork will be connected to a horror story.




There's PhantasmaGore's official website here."


The first PhantasmaGore single, "Cold Nights, Long Nights", is now available via Spotify.





The Story: A creature, conjured by one’s own vanity, gains more power the longer one gazes into the mirror. The music accompanying this scene feels like spiraling and fast-flowing currents, reminiscent of a spell spinning out of control. Eventually, the glass shatters, providing a moment of peace in the calm section before the ending. However, this tranquility is only temporary. The end music resumes, leading to an abrupt ending where the candle is snuffed out, leaving nothing but pale green smoke.

Ohio-based metal band, 72 Legions, present their latest EP which features a range of metal sub-genres, from brutal death metal to black metal. The EP, which was recorded over a 10-day period at the Custom Audio Mutation Studio in Ohio, was written collaboratively by all members of the band during rehearsals for their Venom Inc. tour. 





The aim behind the EP was to build upon the success of their 72-EP released earlier this year, and explore new areas of extreme metal that the band members have never ventured into before. Produced by guitarist Curran Murphy and mastered by Joel Wanasek, the EP boasts elegant metal riffs, powerful grooves and intense breakdowns that will leave fans begging for more. 72 Legions' latest offering is a must-listen for any metal fan looking for something new and exciting.




Check out the title track, "What A God Could Be", below. The EP will be released on September 25th and is now available for pre-order via Bandcamp here.





Tracklist:


"Beautiful In Sin"
"Darker And Darker"
"Invented Purpose"
"The Lamentations Of The Women"
"What A God Could Be"





Formed in 2022 by Devin Wirick (vocals) and Curran Murphy (guitars), the lineup was completed with Dan Gates (bass), Robert Quad (guitar) and Colton Zeitler (drums). The band is currently out supporting Venom Inc in the US alongside Satan and Ringworm. Remaining dates are as follows:


September


27 - New York, NY - Meadows
28 - Clevand, OH - No Class
29 - Milwaukee, WI - X-Ray Arcade
30 - Chicago, IL - Cobra


October
1 - Iowa City, IA - Wildwood
3 - St. Louis, MO - Red Flag
4 - Covington, KY - Madison Live
5 - Spartanburg, SC - Groundzero
6 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
7 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
10 - Raleigh, NC - Pour House
11 - Leesburg, VA - Tally Ho Theater
12 - Wilmington, DE - The Queen
13 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
14 - Portland, ME - Genos Rock Club
15 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

Costa Rica's Unborn Prophecy released their album, Waking Our Ancient Memories, on April, 28th via Wormholedeath. They have released a drum playthrough video for their track, "Awakening of Tiamat". Check it out below.





Unborn Prophecy was founded in 2018 by lead guitarist David González and drummer Juan Carlos Suárez, both from a previous project that played covers from several metal bands. After that period they began working on their own material. Their unique sound has made them one of the most anticipated bands in the Costa Rica metal scene.




Inspired by the apocalyptic prophecies of ancient cultures and their ancestral wisdom, as well as the aboriginal roots of the band members, Waking Our Ancient Memories is a conceptual album that features Unborn Prophecy's original sound. With a sound heavily influenced by technical and roove metal bands like Opeth, Obscura, Gojira, and Decapitated, the band aims to capture the fury of nature and their ancient roots.


Check out the official lyric video for "Ocean" below.

In a new interview with Rock Feed, STAIND frontman-turned-best-selling-country-artist Aaron Lewis was asked if he and his bandmates are planning to continue touring now that they are about to release their first studio album in 12 years, "Confessions Of The Fallen".

"Let's see how this tour goes," Aaron said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "The key difference between touring with STAIND and touring solo for me is the overhead. So, the overhead aspect doesn't really work very well with STAIND for all of that production to sit while we go home for three days, like the country schedule. Country schedule is weekend warriors. That's why Nashville is such a great spot, because it's a perfect hub for most of the country. You can drive out of Nashville the night before and arrive at your venue in the morning."

Lewis continued: "I haven't done this for a while, even though I work really hard. I haven't done the, the rock tour, which is... It doesn't matter what night it is. It's three [shows] in a row, a day off; two [shows] in a row, a day off; three [shows] in a row, et cetera, et cetera. It just perpetually keeps going. It doesn't matter whether it's a weekend night or a Monday night. It doesn't matter. That's a harder schedule to keep. Even if I'm playing five days a week [with my country thing], I still get to go home on Sunday and Monday and kind of ground myself for a second.

"Festivals are easy," Aaron added. "You're rarely playing a full headlining set. Festivals are easy. Festivals are fun. The thing with festivals is that they're driven by radio play, and we haven't been on the radio for — aside from our old stuff — for so long."

Lewis made headlines in the summer of 2021 when his solo single "Am I The Only One" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country chart. That feat, which had only been accomplished nine times since 1958, earned Lewis an RIAA-certified gold-selling single. Last month in Nashville, Lewis was presented with a plaque commemorating half a million in certified units.

"Am I The Only One" takes aim at liberals and touches on American flags burning and statues that have been removed in the country.

The track, which Lewis wrote with Ira Dean and Jeffrey Steele, was released in July 2021 and topped the Hot Country Songs chart on Billboard.

In January 2022, Lewis's solo album, "Frayed At Both Ends", debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Country chart. Between physical sales and digital downloads, the LP was the top-selling album in America upon its release. Lewis is no stranger to chart-topping records. His "Town Line" and "Sinner" albums both debuted at No 1. on the Billboard Country Albums chart.

"Confessions Of The Fallen" will be released on September 22 via Alchemy Recordings/BMG. STAIND's first new LP album since 2011 was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, BLACK VEIL BRIDES).

STAIND has released seven albums since 1995. The band has had a number of hit songs during its first two decades, including the Top 10 smash "It's Been Awhile" from the No. 1 album "Break The Cycle". Follow-up LPs "14 Shades Of Grey" and "Chapter V" also topped the Billboard chart.

STAIND released its first album in nine years, "Live: It's Been Awhile", in May 2021 via Yap'em/Alchemy Recordings. The "Live: It's Been Awhile" album was accompanied by "The Return Of Staind", a two-part global streaming series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents.

STAIND and GODSMACK recently completed a 25-city co-headlining 2023 tour, produced by Live Nation. The trek launched on July 18 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri, with stops across the U.S. before wrapping up in Austin, Texas at Germania Insurance Amphitheatre on August 31.

Hirax frontman Katon W. De Pena has checked in with the following update:


"Yesterday, Friday September 22nd, 2023 we finished recording the new Hirax album at Skull 7 Studio with Bill Metoyer at the helm! 


To have this record coming out on the eve of our 40th anniversary, I couldn’t be prouder! All that needs to be done now is mixing and mastering, more information to come soon.




To our fans in Central America, the Czech Republic and Japan. We will see you soon."


Watch for the release in 2024. Stay tuned for updates.


Back in June, Hardline Media announced the return of D.R.I., and welcome, for their first time in Australia, Hirax. After selling out shows in Australia the last time they were down under, the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles are set to pack it out yet again.


Tour dates are available below.

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared a new epic metal cover of "The Skye Boat Song", the theme music for the Outlander TV series. The video was filmed on locations well known from the show:


- Blackness Castle (where Jamie Fraser got whipped in public)
- Culloden Moor (the last known battle between the English and the Jacobites)
- Inverness, where the first episode takes place (Falkland Square)
- Jamie's Printshop in Season 3 (an alley in Edinburgh)
- Midhope Castle (Lollybroch, Fraser's home)







Johansson, who has become known for his weekly covers of '80s classics, has released a seven song compilation of fan favourites from his catalogue. It is now available on digital platforms. 





The tracklist is as follows: 


"Africa" (Toto)
"Headless Cross" (Black Sabbath)
"18 And Life" (Skid Row)
"You're The Voice" (John Farnham)
"The Price" (Twisted Sister)
"Alone" (Heart)
"I'm Still Standing" (Elton John) 

Extreme brought  their Thicker Than Blood tour to Yokohama, Japan on September 19th. Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"It ('s a Monster)"
"Decadence Dance"
"#Rebel"
"Rest in Peace"
"Hip Today"
"Teacher's Pet / Flesh 'n' Blood / Wind Me Up / Kid Ego"
"Play With Me"
"Other Side Of Midnight"
"Hole Hearted"
"Cupid's Dead"
"Am I Ever Gonna Change"
"Midnight Express"
"More Than Words"
"Banshee"
"Take Us Alive"
"Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee"
"Get the Funk Out"
"Small Town Beautiful / Song for Love"
"Rise"







"We have been absolutely blown away by all of the love and support during the first leg of the Thicker Than Blood Tour," begins an update from multi-platinum hard rock icons Extreme. "You all have shown up and brought it every night and we could not be more grateful. So with that, we are excited to announce the second US leg of the Thicker Than Blood Tour with special guests Living Colour."


Tickets are available now.





Dates:


January
24 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
26 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino Resort
27 - Atlantic City, NJ - Tropicana Atlantic City
30 - Rochester, NY - Kodak Center
31 - Roanoke, VA - Berglund Performing Arts Theater


February
2 - Charles Town, WV - Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
3 - Northfield, OH - MGM Northfield Park
6 - Munhall, PA - Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
7 - Indianapolis, IN - The Egyptian Room
9 - St. Louis, MO - River City Casino and Hotel
10 - New Buffalo, MI - Four Winds Casino Resort
13 - Wichita, KS - The Cotillion
14 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
16 - Quapaw, OK - Downstream Casino
17 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues Dallas
19 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater
20 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Houston
23 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
24 - Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
25/24 -Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live Wheatland
28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether
29 - Las Vegas, NV - The Theater at Virgin Hotels


March
2-7 - Miami, FL - Monsters of Rock Cruise


Extreme - Gary Cherone (vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Pat Badger (bass), and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) - recently released their new album, SIX, via earMusic.


SIX was recorded at Nuno Bettencourt’s home studio in Los Angeles. The album swings between unapologetic fits of fret-burning hard rock and intimately introspective balladry. Order SIX here.





SIX tracklisting:


"Rise"
"#Rebel"
"Banshee"
"Other Side Of The Rainbow"
"Small Town Beautiful"
"The Mask"
"Thicker Than Blood"
"Save Me"
"Hurricane"
"X Out"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Here's To The Losers"


"Here's To The Losers":





"X Out":





"Hurricane":





"Save Me":





"The Mask:





"Small Town Beautiful":





“Other Side Of The Rainbow” video:





"Banshee" video:





"#Rebel" video:





"Rise" video:





More Extreme tour dates are listed below.





September
25 - Nagoya, JP - Shimin Kaikan Hall
26 - Osaka, JP - Zepp Namba





November
27 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall #
28 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy #
30 - Manchester, UK - O2 Academy #


December
1 - Wolverhampton, UK - Civic Hall #
3 - Bristol, UK - O2 Academy #
4 - London, UK - O2 Forum #
8 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 Konzertfabrik *
10 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys *
11 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall *
12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max *
14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix *
16 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz *


# with Living Colour
* with The Last Internationale

In a new interview with the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station, SEVENDUST frontman Lajon Witherspoon was asked how he feels about the supposed nu-metal resurgence in recent years, partly thanks to a whole new wave of exciting revivalists. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "All right, so, listen, I don't know who made that word up. I think it's amazing that you can just make up a word and all of a sudden you have a big following of people that are like, 'Yeah.' But I would rather be 'nu metal' than 'old metal.' So with that being said, I feel like we were put in that era because we were in it, but it's fine.

"I feel like we're a rock and roll, soulful rock band, metal band, soulful metal band, whatever you wanna call it — I don't know — nu metal," he continued. "It's funny. I don't mind being in that category because I feel it's awesome that music is resurging and we're not letting a movement get away from us and get so far away that we don't even like it or listen to it anymore. I think it's a beautiful thing that it's coming back around. These bands have a chance to share that music and that energy, and maybe that's what we need right now, to have those type of memories back in our lives, to build it back up to that good feeling, and if that's what it takes, man, I'm behind it.

"It's funny you say that, because last night I got an offer to host a 'nu metal' show in Texas," Witherspoon added. "I'm, like, 'What does that mean?' 'Oh yeah, man. You'll be the DJ, and you'll get a setlist and you'll play all the nu metal songs and even maybe sing over.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, I don't know. I'm not gonna sing over anyone's else song.' I said, 'It might be interesting if you pay me enough cash to do it.' [Laughs]

"But no, I'm definitely behind this movement," Lajon said."Like we did the Sick New World [festival] in Las Vegas [in May], even though we only played 13 minutes and 28 seconds, because everything blew up, it was so hot. But to be amongst the KORNs, SISTERS OF MERCY, BODY COUNT was beside us at one point in time in the [backstage area]. I mean, everybody that you grew up [listening to] was there, and it was so cool to see that movement take charge like that. So I don't mind being nu metal, if that's what it is."

Nu metal thrived during the remarkable decade from 1994 to 2004 when mainstream charts, magazines, radio and TV were all taken over by a host of diverse artists performing their own brands of hard rock, hip-hop and heavy metal.

Essentially a fusion of rap and alternative rock (arguably born out of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),nu metal inexplicably swept the airwaves and peaked for a brief period, with Gregory Heaney of AllMusic describing the genre as "one of metal's more unfortunate pushes into the mainstream." Along the way, several bands associated with nu metal, including KORN, DEFTONES and SLIPKNOT, took a somewhat defensive stance against being labeled as such. Even those less apologetic nu metal groups eventually changed their sound, effectively disowning the genre that they helped pioneer.

A ballet soundtracked by the music of BLACK SABBATH had its official premiere last night (Saturday, September 23) at the Hippodrome theatre in the heavy metal legends' original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Commissioned by Birmingham Royal Ballet's director Carlos Acosta and Ballet Now, the ballet includes eight specially reorchestrated BLACK SABBATH songs plus new music inspired by the legendary British heavy metal outfit.

SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, who had been present at some rehearsals, came up on stage at the end of last night's performance to play guitar on the band's classic song "Paranoid". Iommi also took a bow at the end of the night along with the cast and crew. Also in attendance at the event were Iommi's bandmate, SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler and Sharon Osbourne, wife of SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, along with LED ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant and ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's Bev Bevan, who served as the touring drummer for BLACK SABBATH from 1983 to 1984 and played percussion on "The Eternal Idol" album in 1987.

Earlier today (Sunday, September 24),Iommi took to his social media to share a photo of his appearance at last night's show, and he included the following message: "Thanks to everyone who supported us at the Ballet, we had a great premiere last night. I'm honoured to be involved with these talented dancers." He added: "I'm afraid I won't be joining every performance."

This past April, Iommi was asked by Birmingham World if he could ever have imagined that half a century after he formed SABBATH that Birmingham's ballet company would be dancing to their music. Tony laughed and said: "I wouldn't have believed them, really, to be honest. At the time when I got involved with BLACK SABBATH, I thought it was great, because it was something so different, and hasn't been done before. And I found it, I think, a good challenge.

"I'm looking at our music differently now with this [the ballet], because it is being interpreted in a different way. It's still got the basic things, but then it did have in the different orchestral things coming in. And then I never thought for a minute we would have people dancing to BLACK SABBATH and 'War Pigs' and 'Iron Man'. But here we are, you know."

Regarding Birmingham Royal Ballet's interpretation of SABBATH's music, Tony said: "Birmingham Royal Ballet are very conscious of the work being what it is — the SABBATH music. We don't want to change it so you can’t recognize it. So they've held that part of it, but added another dimension to it. So I was very happy with that."

As for whether he thinks the Black Sabbath Ballet could inspire heavy metal fans to become ballet fans, and ballet fans to become heavy metal fans, Iommi said: "I certainly hope so. I mean, it is a strange combination, but you've got to push the boat out. And, you know, hopefully, we can get everybody together. But they're opposite but they're not at the same time — because it's still creative. They're creating what they're doing. We're creating what we've done, and we're bringing them together. And I think it'd be really interesting to see the SABBATH fans and then to see the ballet fans liking it, hopefully."

Artistic director Carlos Acosta revealed five months ago that 60 percent of tickets at that point had been bought by SABBATH fans. He said that "BLACK SABBATH is so different from the world of ballet, and I wanted to multiply our reach. I hate to be predictable; I hate for the company to be taken for granted. Everyone knows 'Swan Lake' and 'Cinderella' … [It's] a great opportunity for us to show people the world of dance."

Austin, who supervised the music for the project, said: "Unlike THE BEATLES where you can buy two enormous volumes of all their scores with all the instrumental parts, there's not so much for BLACK SABBATH.

"When I was asked to take part in this project I thought, where do you start? The BLACK SABBATH catalog is enormous, it's so rich and so varied. So the process initially was starting to narrow down the amount of material that we wanted to work with that would furnish us with variety, with richness, with different emotional tones, but also help us create this evening-length show."

Austin added: "What I love about BLACK SABBATH music is the glorious irregularity. All the aspects of music — the flexibility of tempo and feel. And the extraordinary early period Ozzy vocals which are stratospheric, it's exceeding Pavarotti in term of the high notes and ringing power."

The songs chosen are:

* "Paranoid" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Iron Man" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "War Pigs" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Black Sabbath" ("Black Sabbath" album, 1970);
* "Solitude" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Orchid" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Laguna Sunrise" ("Vol 4" album, 1972) and
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" ("Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" album, 1973).

"Black Sabbath - The Ballet" will run through September 30.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's "Today" program, Acostasaid he had been a fan of SABBATH for more than two decades, and said he felt the band's classic protest song "War Pigs" still has particular resonance.

"'War Pigs' is so relevant today, how sometimes politicians and governments hide behind words. And all the wars happening at the moment... it's timeless," he said.



Black Sabbath the Ballet! Amazing

Posted by Michaela Porter on Sunday, September 24, 2023



Tony iommi.So great to see tony onstage again tonight.He came on in the end and did paranoid..Brilliant night.

Posted by Michael Suilleabhain on Saturday, September 23, 2023

Thanks to everyone who supported us at the Ballet, we had a great premiere last night. I’m honoured to be involved with these talented dancers.

I’m afraid I won’t be joining every performance. Tony

Posted by Tony Iommi on Sunday, September 24, 2023

An evening at the Black Sabbath ballet with an old friend

Mr Tony Iommi

Posted by Ollie Johnson on Saturday, September 23, 2023

Rounded off the weekend with the fabulous Black Sabbath ballet opening night performance at the Birmingham Royal...

Posted by Karen Marie Savage on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Black Sabbath co-founder and Music Legend TTony Iommimade a surprise entrance at the BBirmingham Royal Balletproduction ...

Posted by Jas Sansi on Sunday, September 24, 2023

The opening night of Black Sabbath - The Ballet at Birmingham Hippodrome last night culminated in the standing ovation...

Posted by Birmingham Royal Ballet on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Congratulations to Black Sabbath on the opening of the ballet ft their music.
A few great rock stars there. Tony Iommi. Robert Plant. Bev Bevan. Birmingham the greatest rock city in the world.

Posted by Barry Tomes on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Still reflecting on last night’s amazing experience for the opening of Black Sabbath The Ballet at the Birmingham...

Posted by James Laney on Sunday, September 24, 2023

It doesn’t get better than this. With Carlos Acosta, #dancer , Tony Iommi #blacksabbath and Robert Plant #ledzepellin at...

Posted by Alexandre Arrechea on Saturday, September 23, 2023

So last night Paul and I went to the Ballet. More precisely the world premiere of Black Sabbath. Sitting just in front...

Posted by Julie Bowers on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Jaw-dropping night celebrating the world premiere of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s sold-out Black Sabbath: The Ballet! 🎸

Posted by Ben Wooldridge on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Black Sabbath ballet

Posted by Roger Wynne-Jones on Sunday, September 24, 2023

It was such fun to be at the World Premier of ‘Black Sabbath – The Ballet’ in Birmingham. An exciting performance with...

Posted by Darryl Thomson on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Curtain call for Chris Austin composer, conductor music supervisor on Black Sabbath Ballet. Birmingham Hippodrome on its feet at the act 3 amazing climax of the evening Sharon Osbourne included. #whoknew

Posted by Gill Graham on Sunday, September 24, 2023

Black Sabbath The Ballet 🎸

Posted by Jenny Pelosi on Saturday, September 23, 2023

Black Sabbath Ballet - World Premier! With the legend @tonyiommi to end the show! Amazing @blacksabbath Birmingham Royal Ballet

Posted by Todd Hallam on Saturday, September 23, 2023

Birmingham Royal Ballet:Black Sabbath The Ballet. And Tony Iommi came on in the finale.

Posted by John Jeremy on Saturday, September 23, 2023

French groove/nu-metal thrash monsters Rage Behind have announced their debut album Eminence Or Disgrace, which will be released on December 8, 2023 via Atomic Fire Records. In addition, they have also revealed a powerful new song titled “Don't Break” which is accompanied by a visualizer video. 





Aggregating the precision of Slayer and the groove of acts like Lamb Of God, both transported in a modern groove metal world, their new track will delight a new generation of metal fans. In this decadent world, where one easily loses its moral compass, Rage Behind's intention with their music is to bring the listener to achieve eminence. The rage might be held behind the mask, but they always deliver the message.




The band comment: "'Don't Break' is a song fueled by hatred. However, the message through this hate is that patience, serenity and karma always work for you and are your best allies. It's a perfect song to describe the energy of our band, thrashy and incisive. It reminds us on some good memories when we were in the studio. It was a tough one to record but the result is sick!"


Rage Behind are an alliance of seasoned musicians who have combined forces to defend the legacy of modern groove and thrash metal and spread a call to fight in a world of ever-growing disgrace. This new devastating metal monster, with a heart fueled by passion, rage, and ambition, has paid its dues while being on the road with Heaven Shall Burn, Protest The Hero and Between The Buried And Me, and on their new album Eminence Or Disgrace, every song is a call to surpass one's self-imposed limits.


Preorder/presave Eminence Or Disgrace here.





Tracklisting:


“Eminence Or Disgrace”
“Eye For An Eye”
“Genesis”
“Season Of Blood”
“Through Wrath”
“Dictated Freedom”
“The Blind”
“Hourglass And Revenge”
“Don’t Break”
“Worldwide Hostility”
“The Reign” (digipak bonus track)
“The Hands Of Revenge” (digipak bonus track)


“Don’t Break”:

Melodic power metal band Signum Regis has released a lyric video for "Daniel's Prophecy", the second single from their new album Undivided. Undivided will be released on CD, limited vinyl editions and digital on November 17 via Ulterium Records.


Ronnie König of Signum Regis comments on the new single:


"The song 'Daniel's Prophecy' is one of the band's favourite songs. It is mainly up-tempo, but it also goes through a couple of mood and tempo changes and has epic lyrics inspired by the Book of Daniel. The chorus is a really good one. It's one of those that stick with you and you want to sing it with the band. It will become a part of our live shows for sure. We hope you'll enjoy it!"




Undivided was produced, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Kamelot, Evergrey) and the epic artwork was created by Uwe Jarling (Grave Digger, Mystic Prophecy). Guests on the album includes guitarists Jimi Cimbala (No Control) and Daniel J. Fries (Affector) and vocalist David Åkesson (Moonlight Agony, Quantice, Symphonity).


The songwriting on Undivided is strong and the songs that ended up on the album were cherry picked from many. On the album you will find fast power metal songs, epic heavy metal songs, lots of catchy melodies, neoclassical influences and uplifting lyrics. Throughout the entire album you hear the strong musicianship that Signum Regis are known for, crowned by the excellent vocal delivery by Jota Fortinho.


The album marks the return of Signum Regis to Ulterium Records, the label where the band released three successful releases from 2013-2015: Exodus, Through The Storm and Chapter IV: The Reckoning.





Tracklisting:


“Daniel’s Prophecy”
“Ministry Of Truth”
“Salt Of The Earth”
“Interpreter Of Dreams”
“Pilgrim Road”
“Servants Of The Fallen One”
“Sea Of Galilee”
“Prepare For War”
“Undivided”
“Shield My Soul”


"Daniel's Prophecy" lyric video:





“Salt Of The Earth”:

David Coverdale was a relatively unknown 21-year-old singer-songwriter when he joined Deep Purple in 1973. He went on to record three classic albums alongside the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers before embarking on his musical journey a few years later with his band, Whitesnake.


Coverdale is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Deep Purple debut this year with a special version of The Purple Album, Whitesnake’s tribute to his three-year tenure with the legendary group. This newly remixed, remastered, and expanded edition of the 2015 album features previously unreleased recordings, including the very demo that secured Coverdale’s spot with Deep Purple.







The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition arrives on October 13 as a 2-CD/Blu-ray set and a 2-LP set on resplendent gold vinyl. Pre-order both versions here. The new remix of "Soldier Of Fortune" is available today digitally. Listen here, and watch a video below.


Coverdale recorded The Purple Album with guitarist Reb Beach, bassist Michael Devin, guitarist Joel Hoekstra (on his first Whitesnake album), and drummer Tommy Aldridge, reappearing on a Whitesnake studio album for the first time since 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue. The band cherry-picked gems from Burn (1974), Stormbringer (1974), and Come Taste The Band (1975), delivering inspired takes on fan favorites like “Lay Down Stay Down,” “Lady Double Dealer,” and “You Keep On Moving.”


The 2-CD/Blu-ray version of The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition goes beyond the original with the addition of live recordings and concert videos from The Purple Tour (“The Gypsy,” “Mistreated”), official music videos (“Sail Away,” “You Fool No One”), and an assortment of previously unreleased material, including six alternate mixes of album tracks. The Blu-ray also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the album’s making and a song-by-song commentary by Coverdale.





An exciting addition to the upcoming collection is the four-song demo Coverdale submitted to Deep Purple, hoping to become the band’s next singer. Recorded in 1972 with his former band, The Fabulosa Brothers, the reel-to-reel tape was extensively restored after Coverdale stumbled upon it among his late mother’s belongings. In the album’s liner notes, Coverdale says: “I had no idea my Mam had the tape…For me, to open my Mam’s trunk of personal items, 30 years after her passing, was a gift from Heaven.” The collection also features several demos Coverdale recorded while working on songs for Deep Purple’s 1974 album Stormbringer.





2-CD/Blu-ray tracklisting:


CD1: 2023 Remix


“Burn”
“Lay Down, Stay Down”
“Love Child”
“Holy Man”
“The Gypsy”
“Lady Double Dealer”
“Might Just Take Your Life”
“Mistreated”
“Stormbringer”
“Sail Away” (Interpolating “Elegy For Jon”)
“You Keep On Moving” – featuring the Hook City Strings
“Lady Luck”
“Coming Home”
“You Fool No One” (Interpolating “Itchy Fingers”) Dedicated in loving memory to Jeff Beck
“Soldier Of Fortune”


CD2: The Purple Tour Five Live


“Burn”
“The Gypsy”
“Mistreated”
“You Fool No One”
“Soldier Of Fortune”


Alternative Mixes:


“Holy Man” (Unzipped) *
“Stormbringer” (Punch In The Nuts Mix) *
“Love Child” (Alternate Mix) *
“Soldier Of Fortune” – featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings *
“Soldier Of Fortune” – featuring The Hook City Strings *
“Soldier Of Fortune” (Instrumental) – featuring The Hook City Strings *


The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers:


“Everybody’s Talkin’” *
“Get Ready” *
“Lonely Town, Lonely Street” *
“Dancing In The Street” *
1974 DC Demo Ideas For The Stormbringer Album *


Blu-ray:


Purple Music Videos:


“Lady Double Dealer”
“Stormbringer”
“Sail Away”
“Soldier Of Fortune”
“The Gypsy”
“Soldier Of Fortune” – featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings*
“Soldier Of Fortune” – featuring The Hook City Strings*


Purplesnake Videos:


“Lay Down, Stay Down”*
“Holy Man”*
“You Keep On Moving”*
“You Fool No One”*


Live Clips:


“Burn” – Live “Atlantis” Video
“Burn/Stormbringer” – Live In The Still Of The Night
“Soldier Of Fortune” – Starkers In Tokyo


The Purple Tour Five Live:


“Burn”
“The Gypsy”
“Mistreated”
“You Fool No One”
“Soldier Of Fortune”


The Purple Album: Behind The Scenes*
The Purple Album: Song-By-Song*


* Previously Unreleased


2-LP Track Listing


LP1:


Side One
“Burn”
“Lay Down, Stay Down”
“Love Child”
“Holy Man”


Side Two
“The Gypsy”
“Lady Double Dealer”
“Might Just Take Your Life”
“Coming Home”


LP2:


Side One
“Stormbringer”
“Sail Away” (Interpolating “Elegy For Jon”)
“You Keep On Moving”
“Lady Luck”


Side Two
“Mistreated”
“You Fool No One” (Interpolating “Itchy Fingers”) Dedicated in loving memory to Jeff Beck
“Soldier Of Fortune”


"Soldier Of Fortune" 2023 Remix video:





"Lay Down, Stay Down" 2023 Remix video:





"Burn" (Live) 2023 Remix video:

Desmond Child, the songwriter and producer behind dozens of Billboard hits including Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You", Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like A Lady", and Alice Cooper's "Poison", released his first memoir, Livin’ On a Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, today (September 19) via Radius Book Group. The memoir includes a foreword by KISS singer/guitarist, Paul Stanley.


In a new interview with People, Child discusses working with Aerosmith on the 1987 hit “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” and how he pushed the band to not change the song title.


“It's funny, Steven Tyler played down my contribution to the song in his memoir and said, ‘Well, we already had the song written, and Desmond just added a few words here and there.’ Joe Perry said the opposite. He said in his autobiography that I had come up with the title ‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady),’ and that wasn't true either,” recounts Child.




“I wouldn't take credit for that. It was Steven's title. I just had to drag him towards the title because they were starting to go with ‘Cruising For The Ladies’ instead of ‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady).’ I think I told them, ‘I don't think Van Halen would put that on the B-side of their worst record,’ hoping they would laugh and they didn't laugh, but I managed to get them to go with the storyline, which was so far ahead of its time. The second verse says, ‘Never judge a book by its cover or who you're going to love by your lover,’ and I think that's a beautiful thought. They used that verse in Mrs. Doubtfire when Mrs. Doubtfire did the broom dance imitating Tom Cruise.


“Later, Steven came to my studio and sang a song called ‘Red, White & You.’ That was written by one of my writers, and he got in there and sang it for his solo album. I told him the true story of ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady),’ and he stood there looking at me, and then he said, 'I like your story better than mine.'"





Description:  Desmond Child is the ultimate hitmaker, contributing to some of the biggest smash global hits that helped ignite the success of music icons KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and countless others. In Livin’ On A Prayer, he reveals how he climbed his way to the top and beyond amid extraordinary circumstances and shares his very personal and unbelievable journey that shaped him into an artist of international renown.


For over half a century, Desmond Child has collaborated with the world’s most celebrated artists creating timeless hits, such as Bon Jovi’s “Livin' On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well as Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “The Cup Of Life” amongst his vast catalog. But in Livin’ On A Prayer, Desmond himself takes center stage to share his transformational story from misfit outsider to cultural pacesetter.


In collaboration with legendary music biographer David Ritz, Child recounts his unconventional upbringing as his colorful family fled Cuba in the 1960s and fell into poverty. He details his shocking discovery at age 18 that the man he called “dad” was not his biological father after all, and he courageously bares his soul about navigating the trials of being a Latino gay man in the macho world of rock and roll. His is a story of willing himself to succeed and overcome impossible odds to establish himself as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of all time.





Order here.