Orchestral death metal collective, Gods Of Gaia, are proud to reveal their new lyric video for the track, "The Redeemer". This sonic journey is a glimpse into their upcoming album, As Daylight Dies, slated for re-release on October 13th under the banner of Wormholedeath Records.





Wormholedeath Records: "The upcoming album, As Daylight Dies, resonates with a unique fusion of elements. Gods Of Gaia boldly intertwine brutal riffs, extreme vocals, and epic orchestral arrangements to create an auditory experience that defies conventions. This collection of compositions bridges the gap between the raw power of electric guitars, drums, and bass, and the emotional nuances of a symphony orchestra."




Follow Gods Of Gaia via Instagram here.

Clutch performed at the Freak Valley Festival 2023 in Netphen, Germany on June 8th. WDR Rockpalast has shared pro-shot video of the band's entire show. Check it out below.


Setlist:


"Impetus"
"Subtle Hustle"
"Earth Rocker"
"X-Ray Visions"
"Firebirds!"
"Slaughter Beach"
"We Strive for Excellence"
"Burning Beard"
"The Regulator"
"Ghoul Wrangler"
"Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)"
"Nosferatu Madre"
"D.C. Sound Attack!"
"The Mob Goes Wild"
"Electric Worry"
"Noble Savage"
"The Face"
"Spacegrass"







Clutch have announced the fourth release in their series of live concert recordings, shared under the collective moniker PA Tapes. Released today, Tuesday 12th September, PA Tapes (Live In Nashville, 9/24/22) boasts another 20 live tracks to delight both new and old fans alike, drawn from the whole breadth of their three decade, stellar catalogue.


Legendary for changing the set list every night, with each band member taking turns in the hot seat, Nashville's songs that evening were selected by chief storyteller Neil Fallon, who notes, "Marathon Music Works is one of our favourite venues in the U.S. The crowds there make it easy to have a good time and we certainly did just that on September 24th." 


A decade on from boldly declaring, "If you're gonna do it, do it live on stage, or don't do it at all' in their acclaimed single "Earth Rocker", Clutch's PA Tapes comprise meticulously mixed and mastered live shows from around the world. Renowned for their captivating and authentic live performances, the handpicked shows reflect some of the best live atmosphere, giving fans globally a chance to experience the energy and excitement of a CLUTCH concert from the comfort of their own homes, whenever they like. The series launched in February 2023 and will total five or six edited and mastered digital only live shows.


PA Tapes (Live In Nashville, 9/24/22) is available from today, Tuesday 12th September, on all digital platforms, including Spotify. Make sure to check out the previous releases from the PA Tapes series, including recent shows recorded in Seattle and Copenhagen, and a very early show at the famous King's Head Inn in Norfolk, Virginia from 1993!





The tracklist is as follows:


"Passive Restraints"
"The Mob Goes Wild" 
"X-Ray Visions" 
"Firebirds" 
"Slaughter Beach" 
"Immortal" 
"The Soapmakers" 
"Mountain of Bone" 
"La Curandera" 
"Promoter (Of Earthbound Causes)" 
"Walking in the Great Shining Path of Monster Trucks" 
"Nosferatu Madre"
"Skeletons on Mars" 
"Big News I"
"D.C. Sound Attack!" 
"Electric Worry" 
"Rats" 
"Spacegrass" 
"Noble Savage" 
"The Face"





To see Clutch's live itinerary, including festival performances, click here.


Lineup:


Neil Fallon - Vocals
Tim Sult - Guitar
Dan Maines - Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster - Drums

Chicago, Illinois progressive heavy metal band Sacred Dawn have released their third new single, "The Lake Of The Dismal Swamp", from their upcoming new album Dismal Swamp, scheduled to be released worldwide on September 29, 2023 via Qumran Records in North America, and No Dust Records in Europe. It is Sacred Dawn's first full length album in over ten years.


Sacred Dawn guitarist / vocalist Lothar Keller comments: "The song is built around a poem written in 1806 by Thomas Moore that tells the tale of a young man who has lost his mind in search of his deceased love. He believes she's still alive and has gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp where by fire-fly lamp she can be seen paddling her white canoe. The music follows the mood of the poem, taking you on a journey of heavy, brooding riffage to somber, mystical, swamp-like dynamics. Special guest vocalist Rena Keller is the voice of the ghostly maid. And special guest bassist Mike Lepond (Symphony X, Ross The Boss, Death Dealer) recorded the amazing bass guitar solo heard during the song's eerie swampy musical interlude."







Dismal Swamp artwork and tracklisting:





Tracklisting:


“Das Chaos Beginnt”
“Unintended Consequences”
“Truth Be Told”
“Blood And Treasure”
“A Dream Within”
“Let Chaos Reign”
“One More Day”
“The Lake Of The Dismal Swamp”








 

Since the beginning of their career, Narnia has created a close relationship with their Latin American fans. The whole continent embraced the band with enthusiasm, providing them with loyal and passionate followers. Their music, with its infectious energy, inspiring lyrics and impressive technical skill, resonates deeply with Latin American fans, who can relate to the intensity and emotion transmitted by their songs.


The band recognizes and values this unconditional support, and this is reflected in their close relationship with their Latin American fans. They performed twice in Mexico and also toured twice in South America, and with another successful tour this time visiting the three Americas (North, Central and South) having just ended. These live shows are moments of celebration, where fans and band come together in an atmosphere of pure energy. Energy that is unparalleled and Narnia always makes a point of reciprocating, delivering intense and memorable performances.


In addition, the band maintains constant contact with fans through social networks and other online platforms. They interact regularly, responding to comments, sharing updates, and establishing a more personal connection. This virtual proximity allows fans to feel like being part of the Narnia family, closely following the band's creative process, news and achievements.




Initially born as a project related to the 25th anniversary of Narnia celebrated in 2021, this tribute album is made with love, and a lot of commitment to honor those who have blessed our lives for years with their uplifting lyrics and high quality music.


Here we find bands and musicians from countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Brazil, and some of them have even had the opportunity to open up for Narnia at one of the shows on the 2017, 2019 or 2023 tours, but all have a major influence of Narnia on their musical careers.


The songs present here were selected with care, providing a concise overview of the band's career, respecting their original characteristics but also providing them with special details that make them unique and unparalleled jewels, thus showing the quality, commitment and dedication of Latin American bands to all the world.


The physical release will take place through En Hakkore Records, the producer responsible for the tour, and can be purchased at any of the shows. The album will be available on streaming platforms at the end of October.





Tracklisting:


Renatinho Stauros – "Desert Land" 
Delohim - "Sail Around The World" 
Dynasty Of Metal – "Long Live The King" 
Allos – "The Witch And The Lion" 
Sunroad - S"helter Through The Pain" 
Angura – "Living Water" 
Rota de Escape - "Break The Chains" 
IronLand - "This Is My Life" 
Proyecto Aslan - "The Countdown Has Begun" 
Boanerges - "When The Stars Are Falling" 
Azorrague & Friends - "Back From Hell" 
YeanPierre Caipo – "Hymn To The North" 





(Cover art by Celso Alves, video by DanyMaxGatica)


 

Plaguestorm, the renowned solo artist from Argentina, is gearing up for the release of his Empty Eyes EP. Following the release of the first single "Thrown Into The Void", Plaguestorm has revealed the second track "Gardens Of Fire", which is now available for streaming.


Listen to the song here, and watch a visualizer below.


Mastermind Sebastián Pastor comments: "'Gardens Of Fire' is a slow and steady song. It tells the story of a boy who is indoctrinated "in the name of God" since he arrived on this earth, in which he could never find the promised paradise. It's a song with many melodies, melancholic and dark, with a beautiful guitar solo... musically you can hear the great influence that Hypocrisy has on me... I think you already figured this out."







Empty Eyes was mixed and mastered by Sebastián Pastor and will be coming out on October 20 via Noble Demon. Preorder the EP here.


Tracklisting:


"Thrown Into The Void"
"Gardens Of Fire"
"Empty Eyes"


"Thrown Into The Void":

MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the three new songs he and his bandmates earlier this year with legendary producer Bob Rock, including "Dogs Of War" and a cover of BEASTIE BOYS' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know when it's gonna come out, but everything is a plan. Everything is mapped out and structured, and everything is, 'We're gonna do it here and there,' and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So the songs are recorded, mixed, mastered. And they're so good. I can't wait for them to come out. They're so good. I'm really excited about 'em."

He continued: "Who knows what's going to happen? I don't know if we'll just release singles or an album. It's up to those guys, so I don't know. We just record and see what happens. But these songs that we recorded are so good; they're heavy and the melodies and everybody's just killing it on these songs."

Asked how much how much input he had during the songwriting process, John 5 said: "We all sat in a room and did it together. 'Cause me and Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] have written for years and years and years together. So it was nothing new. And me and Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] worked in the studio together many times as well. So it was nothing new being in the studio, but it was new with Bob Rock.

"What was so wild was we got in a room… It was like total old school, man," he explained. "You get in the live room and there's my amp and there's Nikki's amp and there's Tommy's drums, there's a mic… 'Cause I'm so used to just playing in the control room. And it's, like, 'Oh no, no, no. We're all gonna get in this room and we're gonna play.' And that's how we recorded. It was incredible. I've never recorded that way. And it was maybe one of the best experiences I had recording. It was so fun. It was a blast. I had to, like, make notes and all this stuff, and we just played through it. It was incredible."

This past spring, John 5 told Sirius XM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about recording with Rock: "Bob would come in and [say], 'Okay, let's try this here, and that here and this here. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever… I'm thinking, 'We've got so much great technology today'… but we got in that room and it was like being in a garage working on a song when you were in high school… It was incredible, and we documented a lot of it too."

Regarding the musical direction of the tracks he and the rest of MÖTLEY CRÜE have recorded so far, John 5 said: "The songs are fucking heavy. I sound like a little excited kid right now, but they're heavy and they're mean. I can't wait for them to come out. I'm just so excited."

When host Eddie Trunk asked John 5 whether the new MÖTLEY CRÜE music can be compared to the band's breakthrough second album, 1983's "Shout At The Devil", the guitarist said that some of the new riffs are "heavier than anything" on that LP. "All I can tell you is that it's heavy and it's aggressive, and I think people are going to dig it because, talking as a fan, it's fucking badass," he said.

MÖTLEY CRÜE debuted its cover of "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" during a "secret" June 30 club performance for 450 lucky fans at the Underworld in London, England.

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE last fall as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE last October as a result of worsening health issues.

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in early April the now-72-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Live Nation)

Liv Maddix of the 105.7 The Point radio station conducted an interview with DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan before the band's August 29 concert with BREAKING BENJAMIN in St. Louis, Missouri. Dan and Liv discuss what a DISTURBED live show is all about, bringing in a new generation of fans, and the rollercoaster of emotions that DISTURBED brings with its music and shows. Dan announces that the next single from DISTURBED's latest album, "Divisive", will be the track "Don't Tell Me" featuring the legendary Ann Wilson from HEART, which sparks a conversation about DISTURBED's search for a female vocalist to tour with the band and perform Wilson's part of the song live.

Speaking about DISTURBED's plans for the coming months, Dan said: "No rest for the wicked. Even when we're not on the road, we get little breaks in between, but we're always thinking ahead, we're always planning for the future, we're planning for when's the next time we wanna go in the studio and write more and release. We have another single that we plan on pushing off this album, so we're not done just yet. We've been going pretty hard this year, but we'll have a little bit of a break after next week. We'll wrap it up and have a little bit of a break. But when I say 'break,' that means we're gonna shoot another video. We're doing some more radio stuff along the way. And then just prepping for a game plan for next year."

Regarding DISTURBED's next single, Dan said: "We have more of a power ballad off the album called 'Don't Tell Me' which features Ann Wilson from HEART, the legendary Ann Wilson. So we're gonna put that out next and that'll come — I don't know when the release date is just yet as far as pushing it as a single. So that's why we'll plan on doing a little bit more touring next year as well too."

"Don't Tell Me" marked the first time DISTURBED had included a guest feature on an LP.

Regarding how the collaboration with Wilson came about, DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren told Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM: "That was always supposed to be the 'power ballad,' per se. And as we were tracking it in the studio, David [Draiman, DISTURBED singer] just threw out the idea, 'Hey, let's do a duet on this song.' We've tossed around the idea before, but there wasn't ever either the right material or the right time. So in this particular case, we kind of said, 'Well, who you've got in mind?' And he didn't even have a list; he just had one person, and that was Ann. It was a no-brainer. 'Hey, let's hit up Ann. Let's see if she'd be into it.' And she was on board right away; we didn't have to convince her."

Mike continued: "[David and Ann] sort of struck up a bit of a friendship, a little bit of a rapport. When [DISTURBED cover version of] 'The Sound Of Silence' came out years back and had its success, she was one of many artists and celebrities that took it up themselves to go on Twitter and praise the song and praise our version of it, which we couldn't have been more honored. Iconic, legendary Ann Wilson thinks that we did a great job with a SIMON & GARFUNKEL cover. That's pretty incredible, a pretty great honor. So when we reached out to her, she was more than willing to jump on board. And she came in and she killed it… And she's super cool and down to earth too, and just incredibly talented. It's such an honor to have her be on our record. And to me, the blending of her voice and David's voice, they really, really work so well together. I'm so proud of David and just so honored to have her a part of our record."

Last September, Donegan, whose divorce inspired "Don't Tell Me", told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about DISTURBED's collaboration with Wilson: "Early in our career, we wanted to really establish ourselves without having any guests. We didn't really talk about it much, but just [felt], 'This is the band.' Not that we were ever against it, but this far along in our career… We're always pushing ourselves, trying to do stuff that's different musically. And there's so much talent out there and so many people we would love to do collaborations with now or later in our career.

"Ann Wilson had mentioned before — she tweeted about us before," he continued. "A few years back, somebody asked her in an interview or whatever if there's anything new out there, or newer, musically that she's heard that she's fan of, and she mentioned she really loved our version of 'The Sound Of Silence'. And that kind of opened the door to a social media friendship between her and David a bit. And then when we wrote this song, it just seemed like it would lend itself to Ann's voice and then trying to see that merge between her and David's voices together. She jumped on the opportunity. Immediately she responded, and we were, like, 'Holy shit. She just said yes to this.'"

Asked by Meltdown if "Don't Tell Me" is a more mellow track than the standard DISTURBED fare, Dan said: "I can't give it away, but their voices, it's like Fergie and Jesus — a little 'Step Brothers' [2008 movie] quote there… It was a pretty magical moment to be in the room and to hear the two of them harmonize together.

"We tracked David's vocals in Nashville, and we wanted to make it easy and convenient for her, 'cause we were, like, she said yes, she's gonna do it," Donegan continued. "Let's make it as easy as possible on her.' We flew out to California to meet with her. We went into a studio out there for just a couple of hours, and she sang against David's tracks. And he was there kind of going over the harmonies with her and stuff too. So it was kind of a really magical moment to see the two of them working on those harmonies together. It was pretty impressive. And she's such a pro, and she's so damn good. She's a legend. So it was pretty exciting. And it's not like she sits there and jumps on people's albums either, so we take that as a badge of honor to think that there's not many times where somebody as big a legend as she is that she would jump on any album. She doesn't have to, and she chose to be on this one. And she loves the track. And it just came together great."

Released in November, "Divisive" was recorded early last year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.

QUEENSRŸCHE has released the official music video for its cover of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". QUEENSRŸCHE's version of the song was originally released as a bonus track on the band's latest album, "Digital Noise Alliance", which was released in October 2022 via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

The video for QUEENSRŸCHE's cover of "Rebel Yell" was created by Thomas Crane of killDevil Films and can be seen below.

In an October 2022 interview with the "Heavy Demons" radio show, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton spoke about the band's decision to cover "Rebel Yell". He said: "With the record company, we have to have 10 or 11 songs [on an album]; that's what you're contracted for. And then they like extra songs, bonus tracks or whatever. So this time instead of giving a bonus track that's a live recording of one of our songs, we said, 'Let's do something different.' So we came up with the idea of doing a cover. Originally we were gonna do a CULT song, 'She Sells Sanctuary'. But Todd [La Torre, QUEENSRŸCHE frontman] didn't feel comfortable singing that. So he brought up the idea of doing the Billy Idol song. And it was really cool. We put a little spin of QUEENSRŸCHE in the song, but it's very reminiscent of the original. And Todd killed it on the vocals; it's awesome. So who knows? Maybe we might play that live; I don't know. But it's something that I think people are gonna be very surprised. They're gonna go, 'What?' They're gonna scratch their heads and then as they listen to it, they're gonna go, 'This is badass!'"

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2021, contributed guitar solos to the band's new studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past six and a half years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for QUEENSRŸCHE's original drummer Scott Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against the band's fellow original members Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit. That dispute is scheduled to go to trial in January 2024.

On the heels of a massively successful summer tour, BUSH will return this fall with the band's first greatest-hits collection — "Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023", set for November 10 release via Round Hill Records — and a new series of North American headline dates.

With over 24 million records sold, one billion streams and a procession of No. 1 hits, the Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum band — comprising Gavin Rossdale (vocals, guitar),Chris Traynor (guitar),Corey Britz (bass) and Nik Hughes (drums) — stands tall as rock outliers whose imprint only widens as the years pass. "Loaded" provides an expansive view of the band's incredible legacy with 21 tracks spanning nearly 30 years. Today, BUSH shared "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere", a powerful reflection on the shifts in perspective that time brings. Rossdale wrote the track, which is the second to last song on "Loaded". He and Corey Britz produced it.

As announced earlier this week, BUSH will launch the "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere" tour, a North American headline run, on November 14 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida. A ticket pre-sale is underway at bushofficial.com/tour. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 22 at 10:00 a.m. local time. See below for itinerary. BAD WOLVES and EVA UNDER FIRE will support on most dates.

This Friday, September 22, BUSH will play a special intimate show at Irving Plaza in New York City in honor of International Peace Day. A celebration of unity in the fight against gun violence, the show's proceeds will go to Artist For Action and Sandy Hook Promise. For those of you not in New York City, the show will be live streamed simultaneously on premier streaming platform veeps.com.

"Loaded" includes iconic hits from each of BUSH's nine studio albums as well as "Mouth" (The Stingray Mix) from the 1997 remix album "Deconstructed" and a cover of THE BEATLES' "Come Together" that saw a very limited release in 2012.

Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of BUSH's six-times-platinum debut album, "Sixteen Stone", so it's only fitting that "Loaded" explodes with five tracks from the seminal album: their debut single, "Everything Zen", "Little Things", "Machinehead" and the group's first No. 1 singles — "Comedown" and "Glycerine", which topped Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart in 1995.

Other chart-topping hits included in the collection include the Grammy-nominated "Swallowed" (from 1996's "Razorblade Suitcase"),"The Chemicals Between Us" (from 1999's "The Science Of Things"),"The Sound Of Winter" (from 2011's "The Sea Of Memories") and, from the band's 2022 album "The Art Of Survival", "More Than Machines", BUSH's seventh single to top the Active Rock Radio chart. "Bullet Holes", which figured prominently in the box office smash "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", is one of three songs pulled from 2020's "The Kingdom".

"I'm really grateful that I get the chance to make music after all of this time," Gavin Rossdale says. "The privilege is not lost on me. I'm still in the octagon, and I think that's healthy because I'm good at fighting."

"Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023" track listing:

01. Everything Zen
02. Little Things
03. Comedown
04. Glycerine
05. Machinehead
06. Swallowed
07. Greedy Fly
08. Mouth (The Stingray Mix)
09. The Chemicals Between Us
10. Letting The Cables Sleep
11. The People That We Love
12. Inflatable
13. The Only Way Out
14. The Sound of Winter
15. This Is War
16. Bullet Holes
17. Flowers On A Grave
18. The Kingdom
19. More Than Machines
20. Nowhere To Go But Everywhere
21. Come Together

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez (courtesy of 2b Entertainment)

More than 35 years ago, TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider marched into the United States Senate's Committee On Commerce in a jean jacket and tank top to confront a band of concerned Washington housewives hellbent on silencing the howl of metal and beyond. Co-founded by Tipper Gore, a committee of politicians' spouses labeling themselves the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) had lobbied to plaster "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" labels on any music that conformed to their definition of sexual, violent, or drug-endorsing. Partnering with Z2 Comics, Snider's war to preserve the First Amendment will be immortalized in "He's Not Gonna Take It", a graphic novel charting the rocker's passionate battle against censorship alongside writer Frank Marraffino ("Marvel Zombies") and artist Steve Kurth ("Avengers", "X-Force"). "Dee Snider: He's Not Gonna Take It" will be available at retailers everywhere on November 21, 2023.

This new graphic novel will follow the impact of Dee's battle for freedom of expression in the arts throughout his life. From a childhood where he was frequently silenced, through the early efforts to stifle his band's music, to the open warfare of the PMRC hearings in Washington, D.C., and his current efforts on social media. "He's Not Gonna Take It" tells the story of why free speech is so important to this man who has fought for it…even when it endangered everything that was important to him.

Z2 Comics and Dee Snider present "He's Not Gonna Take It" featuring cover art by Erik Rodriguez and Josh Bernstein. Deluxe editions include retro-comic art prints from Roy Burdine, Javier Aranda and Carlos Olivares.

"He's Not Gonna Take It" will be available as a deluxe edition for a list price of $99.99 (includes deluxe edition graphic novel oversized HC with slipcase, signed by Dee Snider, commemorative coin, and three retro Dee Snider commemorative art prints),hardcover for a list price of $29.99, and paperback for a list price of $24.99, available at retailers everywhere on November 21, 2023.

Snider was ranked as one of the top 100 metal vocalists of all time by the magazine Hit Parader. His 1984 album with TWISTED SISTER, "Stay Hungry", sold three million copies in the United States and around eight million copies worldwide, with lead single "We're Not Gonna Take It" eliciting ire from the PMRC. Snider would go on to co-found the 1990s metal band WIDOWMAKER before writing and starring in the cult horror film "Strangeland" in 1998. Snider has been the host of the "House Of Hair" radio show since 1997, curating heavy metal, glam, and hard rock primarily rooted in the 1980s and 1990s and syndicated over 200 markets.

Swedish symphonic metal legends, Therion, have unveiled the first single, “Twilight Of The Gods”, off of their upcoming album, Leviathan III, out December 15 via Napalm Records.


With the new album, Therion return to deliver another masterpiece - fulfilling the Leviathan trilogy. With more than 35 years under their belts, the band around mastermind Christofer Johnsson is considered one of the most style-defining acts of symphonic metal. Down to the present day, Johnsson claims Swiss Celtic Frost and their way to combine opera vocals and orchestral instruments in the late 80s as one of his main influences back in the days, leading to Therion’s Symphony Masses (1993) and Lepaca Kliffoth (1995) to set the stages for the genre in the early 90s, followed by symphonic metal milestone Theli in 1996.


“Twilight Of The Gods” delivers the finest of epic and symphonic metal, finding a harmonious and balanced blend between guitars, choirs and orchestra. Join Therion on their versatile and style-melding musical journey, and watch the brand-new official music video for “Twilight Of The Gods” below.




The album sets off with the powerful “Ninkigal”, catapulting the listener directly into the dramatic universe of Therion with skillfully crafted compositions and operatic female vocals by Lori Lewis, alternating with grim growling and pleasing melodies. It’s followed by “Ruler of Tamag”, enchanting with a gentle acoustic guitar intro and lingering female vocals that open up to a fairytale-like scenario of old times. This then bursts into a heavy track with gloomy parts, building up to a fascinating score-like symphony. Therion once more draw charm from the courage to mix styles ranging from gothic parts to melodic death metal and neo-classical elements to power metal in a complex and versatile way, thus challenging their listeners. The songs are quickly engaging and skillfully employ catchy melodies, as witnessed on uplifting tracks like “An Unsung Lament” and “Baccanale”. Advancing melodies are combined with rock elements, captivating lyrics and choir parts, while lively “Maleficium” is structured around a duet between Thomas Vikström and Lori Lewis. Stomping “Ayahuasca” is a true musical journey featuring a male choir and psychedelic elements, while speedy “Nummo” offers splendid hard guitar explosions and the finest classic vocals and choirs.


Overall, the compositions lean towards the magnificent and theatrical, offering a high variety of musical styles while deftly blurring the boundaries of metal and classical music. With their newest opus, Leviathan III, mastermind Christofer Johnsson proves his incredible talent once more, and that Therion have perfected their very own combination of versatile styles - resulting in the creation of a symphonic league of their own.





Leviathan III will be available in the following formats:


- 6-Page Digipak CD
- 2LP Gatefold in Black
- 2LP Gatefold Silver LTD to 500 copies
- Die Hard Deluxe Edition Gold / Black Marbled Album Cover Slipmat, Covert Artprint & Alternative Album Cover Artprint LTD to 300copies
- Digipak Bundle Pendant, Cotton Bag, Patch
- Digipak & Shirt Bundle Shirt


Pre-order here.





Leviathan III tracklisting:    
 
"Ninkigal"
"Ruler Of Tamag"
"An Unsung Lament"
"Maleficium"
"Ayahuasca"
"Baccanale"
"Midsommarblot"
"What Was Lost Shall Be Lost No More"
"Duende"
"Nummo"
"Twilight Of The Gods"


"Twilight Of The Gods" video:





Therion are:


Christofer Johnsson - guitars and keyboards
Sami Karppinen - drums
Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson - bass
Thomas Vikström - lead vocals
Christian Vidal - guitar
Lori Lewis - vocals


(Photo - Mina Karadzic)

IN THIS MOMENT has released the official visualizer for a cover of the Bjork song "Army Of Me". The track is taken from the band's upcoming eighth studio album, "Godmode", which will be released on October 27 via BMG.

IN THIS MOMENT vocalist Maria Brink says: "I was a teenager when I first got into Bjork. I was mesmerized by her. She has a really inspiring energy to a lot of her stuff, an enlightening feeling. She's just so innovative and groundbreaking and inspiring and magical."

Guitarist Chris Howorth adds: "Maria played me three different Bjork songs to see which I thought would be the best. This was the one. I didn't know it was gonna come out as cool as it is. It's so rockin'."

"Godmode" was recorded at Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producers Kane Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, PAPA ROACH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) and Tyler Bates ("John Wick" movies, Jerry Cantrell, BUSH).

Howorth and Brink recently spoke to Razor of the Tucson, Arizona radio station Rock 102.1 KFMA about "Godmode". Asked how the new LP is different from the band's previous efforts, Chris said: "It differs in a lot of ways. One big way is the fact that COVID happened and we had this break to actually organically come up with ideas versus having to, 'Oh, gosh. We have an album coming up. We have to do this right now,' and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and just forcing ourselves to do music if maybe we didn't really feel it at the time or whatever. We had the time to come up with the music and the ideas for 'Godmode' [while we were off the road]. So that's hugely different from all of our other things in the past. And then also what happened was our producer that we normally work with, Kevin Churko, we've been working with him for every album we've done except our first one and 'Godmode'. We ended up hiring his son Kane, and Kane has worked with us on all of our big songs and all of our albums, but he's kind of been under his dad's wing and under the radar and so him in [the studio with us] is a fresh energy as well and he's hungry to prove that he's a kickass, badass producer and he knows working with us is gonna be different and huge for him. And just that whole energy together with our energy made this completely different."

Added Maria: "I think Chris just said it mostly, but, yeah, it was everything that we had experienced going into… We were writing from this place where me and Chris really were meshing; everything he was sending me I was loving. Me and Chris have been known to go back and forth as far as maybe we're not in the same place emotionally when we go into an album and we've been known to butt heads here and there, where this was, like, everything he was sending me, I was, like, 'Oh my God. I love this. This is amazing.' Everything was just… unfolded…. I couldn't have asked for a better way. Same with Kane and working with Tyler Bates and just all the different things that were coming to life for the album. And definitely it's heavier. I was going into this in a more emotional, visceral, kind of wanting to release a bunch of built up pressure inside of me. So I think people definitely are gonna hear that in the album. I haven't been this excited for one of our albums in a really long time, so I'm excited for the world to hear [it]."

"Godmode" track listing:

01. Godmode
02. The Purge
03. Army Of Me
04. Sacrifice
05. Skyburner
06. Sanctify Me
07. Everything Starts And Ends With You
08. Damaged (feat. Spencer Charnas)
09. Fate Bringer
10. I Would Die For You

In July, IN THIS MOMENT released the first single from "Godmode", a song called "The Purge", along with an official music video directed by Jensen Noen (ICE NINE KILLS, FALLING IN REVERSE, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD). A month later, IN THIS MOMENT shared the official visualizer for the "Godmode" title track.

IN THIS MOMENT debuted "Sacrifice" and "The Purge" at the opening concert of "The Dark Horizon Tour" on July 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

"I Would Die For You" previously appeared on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4".

IN THIS MOMENT was joined on "The Dark Horizon Tour" by co-headliners MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, along with special guests FIT FOR A KING and FROM ASHES TO NEW. The trek, which saw IN THIS MOMENT and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE alternating closing sets each night, wrapped with an August 19 performance at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

In support of the new album, IN THIS MOMENT will embark on a 2023 co-headline "Kiss Of Death" tour with ICE NINE KILLS. The 20-date tour kicks off on November 3 at Hard Rock Live in Gary, Indiana making stops across the U.S. in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Orlando and more before the final show in Washington, D.C. at The Anthem on November 28.

Last October, IN THIS MOMENT released an EP called "Blood 1983". The effort commemorated the tenth anniversary of IN THIS MOMENT's gold-certified album "Blood" (2012) and was made available digitally across all digital service providers as well as CD via BMG.

"Blood 1983" was co-produced by Tyler Bates and Dan Haigh, and mixed by Zakk Cervini.

IN THIS MOMENT is Brink, Howorth, Travis Johnson (bass),Randy Weitzel (rhythm guitar),Kent Dimmel (drums).

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer

Festival producer Goldenvoice has announced the set times for its inaugural Power Trip three-day metal music event, scheduled to take place October 6-8 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California

GUNS N' ROSES will hit the stage at 9:25 p.m. and IRON MAIDEN will perform at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, October 6; AC/DC will play at 9:25 p.m. and JUDAS PRIEST at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 7; METALLICA will close the event at 9:35 p.m. and TOOL will kick off at 6:55 p.m. on Sunday, October 8.

Three-day general admission is $599 and three-day reserved seats are $999-$3,250 at PowerTrip.live.

The event promises a heightened experience rather than a mere festival field packed with metal fans.

"This unique night-time desert setting with unmatched concert production will amplify the experience beyond the traditional stadium or parking lot concert norm with three double-billed headlining performances," the original announcement from Goldenvoice read. "This is the most rocking line-up to ever perform in an unparalleled location for heavy music audiences looking for an unforgettable weekend escape."

A month after Power Trip was announced in April, several people told the Palm Springs Desert Sun that they thought the event was "too expensive", resulting in slower-than-expected ticket sales. It has also been speculated that METALLICA's August 25 and August 27 performances at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and GUNS N' ROSES' scheduled October 1 concert at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego were negatively affecting the demand for tickets to Power Trip. Power Trip is also scheduled to take place during the same weekend as the Danny Wimmer Presents-produced Aftershock festival in Sacramento, which features headliners TOOL and GUNS N' ROSES.

JUDAS PRIEST is filling the slot originally reserved for Ozzy Osbourne, who canceled his appearance at Power Trip in July due to his ongoing health issues.

This past March, AC/DC, METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, OZZY OSBOURNE, GUNS N' ROSES and TOOL shared a teaser video for Power Trip that featured iconic metal images, including a Gibson SG guitar, a stack of amplifiers and cactuses creating the "devil horns", plus logos of each of the six bands.

Power Trip will mark AC/DC's first concert since September 2016, when the band concluded a run of U.S. dates with GUNS N' ROSES' Axl Rose on vocals while frontman Brian Johnson recovered from hearing loss.

Last year, Johnson told Rolling Stone he didn't know if AC/DC would perform again. "I would love to," he said. "It's as simple as that. I think everybody would. There's a groundswell of people just asking. But I hate talking about the future, because, fuck, we were ready two years ago, and the pandemic came, and it screwed everything up. So I'm terrified to say what could happen and what couldn't."

METALLICA previously performed at the Empire Polo Grounds in 2011 as part of the West Coast installment of the "Big Four" event, also featuring ANTHRAX, MEGADETH and SLAYER.

The similarly named Desert Trip festival was held in 2016 and featured performances by THE ROLLING STONES, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and THE WHO. That event was reportedly the single most lucrative music festival in American history, having grossed $160 million.

OF MICE & MEN has released the visualizer for the new song "Indigo". The track is taken from the band's upcoming album "Tether", which is due on October 6 via SharpTone.

OF MICE & MEN bassist/vocalist Aaron Pauley states about the song: "'Indigo' is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else — blue also meaning sad. It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too."

In a recent interview with Finnegan "Finn" McKenty of The Punk Rock MBA, Pauley spoke about the musical direction of "Tether", saying: "I think there's some material that's maybe touching on things we haven't done, but I think largely what we wanted to do was sort of take our sound or what we feel like our best qualities and distill that into our eighth album. I think it sort of presents itself with a unique challenge of how do we offer the audience something new but with familiar flavors and with a familiar history. So when you listen to it, it still has a very sort of nostalgic feeling to it, I think. And I think it had that for us creating it. It reminded us, sort of, of being back in the 2013 studio where it's, like, 'All right, let's figure out what we're doing now,' like working on [2014's] 'Restoring Force' or whatnot. And I think there's a lot of stuff that's going to excite fans that have been with us for a long time."

Asked if that means that fans can expect something super heavy from the "Tether" album, Aaron responded: "There are moments that get super heavy. It's interesting, 'cause I feel like I see that a lot, but then we'll release something that's not super heavy that focuses more on like the emotional aspect of the song and that seems to resonate way more with people that listen to it in higher numbers, but that don't necessarily take their time to tweet me about it. So it's super interesting. I'd say of all the records, it's probably closest to 'Restoring Force'. That'd be my guess. If I took myself out of it and just objectively looked at all of our other albums and said, 'Oh, which is this most like?' I think it's most like that one. Truthfully."

Pauley mixed and mastered "Tether" while drummer Valentino Arteaga designed and painted the album's artwork.

"With this one, we weren't really focused on how it sounded as much as we focused on how it felt," Pauley explained in a press release. "And that's a weird thing to do when all you're working with is sound. But that was really the goal. And we walked away from making it, feeling like we've accomplished that."

In a separate interview with Outburn, Pauley elaborated on OF MICE & MEN's mindset while writing "Tether", saying: "I honestly think it's chasing the exciting moments when we are collaborating and writing music. It becomes easy, especially as you achieve some success. It's very easy to choose that as a model, but you end up getting too formulaic with things. Whereas we try to focus on the excitement factor when we're writing together, and not always just writing exciting sounding songs, but chasing those little moments where a spark of creativity happens where two people's ideas combined become greater than the sum of both.”

"We wholeheartedly love to create music," Arteaga added. "We are all musicians at the start of the day, and I believe we all admire and respect each other's artistic integrity since we are able to be in a creative group or band together. For us, being creative musicians is what keeps us going and the fact that we can bounce ideas off each other. It may not be the most amazing concept, but the exciting part is sharing it and witnessing someone else's excitement. Then we extrapolate and fall down a few rabbit holes to develop something we never thought was possible. That has been the case since the beginning. Whenever we are writing music or creating something, we use each other as a barometer for excitement."

OF MICE & MEN will hit the road this fall with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and VENDED.

According to WMUR, Marilyn Manson appeared in a New Hampshire courtroom earlier today (Monday, September 18) to plead no contest to a misdemeanor simple assault charge related to an alleged incident with a videographer during a 2019 concert in New Hampshire.

Manson was charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault after a videographer accused the singer of spitting and blowing his nose on her at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion.

The second charge was dismissed with a negotiated plea deal, according to his attorney. A no contest plea means Manson did not contest the charge and did not admit guilt.

Manson will have to pay a fine of $1,200 and was sentenced to 20 hours of community service to be done within six months.

Manson allegedly approached the videographer, whose company was contracted by the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion for the concert season the first time, put his face close to the camera and spat a "big lougee" at her. She was struck on both hands with saliva. The shock rocker allegedly returned a second time, covering one side of his nostril and blowing in the videographer's direction.

Belknap County attorney Andrew Livernois said about the singer: "At one point [during the concert], he approached the camera, looked into the lens and spit at the camera and struck the camera operator with saliva. He approached the camera again, and this time, he expelled matter from his nose at the camera, striking the woman again this time."

In court, a victim's advocate read a victim-impact statement on behalf of the videographer.

"For me, I'm a professional person and I've been in this industry for 30 years," the statement read. "I've worked for a lot of companies, and in all the years I've worked with people, I've never been humiliated or treated like I was by this defendant. For him to spit on me and blow his nose on me was the most disgusting thing a human being has ever done. I understand this was not a big criminal charge to begin with, but I was hoping that the defendant would receive a sentence that would make him think twice before doing something like this again."

Check out a video report from WMUR below.

Manson performed in Gilford, New Hampshire on August 19, 2019 as part of the co-headlining "Hell Never Dies" tour with Rob Zombie.

In a previous statement, Manson's attorney Howard King said: "It is no secret to anyone who has attended a Marilyn Manson concert that he likes to be provocative on stage, especially in front of a camera. This misdemeanor claim was pursued after we received a demand from a venue videographer for more than $35,000 after a small amount of spit came into contact with their arm. After we asked for evidence of any alleged damages, we never received a reply. This whole claim is ludicrous, but we remain committed to cooperating with authorities, as we have done throughout."

Seemingly contradicting King's statement, three concert attendees — including a security guard — told People that they saw Manson spit and "shoot his snot" at the camerawoman.

"He was spitting everywhere and one time it got on her camera so she wiped it off and looked semi-irritated. He noticed this and kept purposely spitting on her camera," one attendee told People. "I think her final straw is he got on the floor, got within 2-3 feet of her and hacked a giant snot rocket at her not the camera. She was pissed off and disgusted so she stormed off and he just laughed."

"I stopped listening to his music after that and told my husband I would never go to another one of his concerts again," she added.

A second attendee concurred, stating that he "bent down to shoot his snot all over this woman. I can remember him just laughing about what he did."

"I was right there when it happened, she was beyond furious when he did that to her," a third man, who works as a security guard at the venue, said. "He spit on her a couple of times and then leaned real close to the camera and blew a huge snot rocket on her. After he did that, she almost threw her camera right down on the ground."

Last year, Marilyn confirmed he was dropped by his record label, Loma Vista Recordings, and talent agency CAA after at least 15 women have accused the musician of sexual assault. Manson has denied all allegations, which he has called "horrible distortions of reality."

Resurrected San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans FORBIDDEN have shared professionally filmed video of their first European show, which took place on August 11 at the Alcatraz festival in Kortrijk, Belgium.

The new FORBIDDEN lineup — consisting of Craig Locicero (guitar),Matt Camacho (bass) and Steve Smyth (guitar),alongside the group's latest additions, Norman Skinner (vocals) and Chris Kontos (drums) — made its live debut at a "secret" show on July 16 at Baltic Kiss in Richmond, California under the TWISTED INTO EVIL banner.

FORBIDDEN will support DEATH ANGEL at two Christmas shows on December 21 and December 22 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

When FORBIDDEN's "rebirth" was first announced in April, Locicero said in a statement: "First off, I did NOT see this coming. When FORBIDDEN quietly disbanded the second time in 2012, I figured it was over. While I always apply the 'never say never' mantra to my life, Russ [Anderson, vocals] made it clear that he was completely finished with touring. My wingman and main dude from the conception of FORBIDDEN EVIL, Russ was my mentor and the guy who bought me beer when I was 15! I couldn't imagine FORBIDDEN without him, so I had little hope of a future with FORBIDDEN. Today Russ is happily retired and living the sober life. I have nothing but love for that and him. Everyone needs to respect his wishes like we do.

"So then ….. fast forward 11 years after our last show, Bay Area vocal talent Norman Skinner walks in to help us rehearse and sing a few thrash classics for the BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL set at Dynamo MetalFest 2022. WHAMMO! That's when it all happened by accident. Truly. Then it happens AGAIN when Norman sings 'Chalice Of Blood' onstage alongside WARBRINGER at the one Bay Area show of BAY AREA INTERTHRASHIONAL. Holy fuck! We will go into detail thoroughly in the upcoming weeks. It's an amazing and organic progression story to tell.

"I now can announce that alongside my brothers Matt Camacho (bass) and Steve Smyth (guitar) we are officially introducing Norman Skinner (vocals) and Chris Kontos (drums) to the FORBIDDEN family. As far as Kontos goes, he's well known as one of the Bay's very best and most respected drummers. Chris's work in MACHINE HEAD and ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT alone are legendary. Historically he's sat behind the kit in with EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL, and TESTAMENT to name few. I've been lucky enough to play music with Chris in the past and present as well most recently with punk legends THE BONELESS ONES. We work amazingly well together and have remained great friends for over 30 years. In a long line of amazing drummers… Bostaph, Jacobs, Hoglan, Hernandez and Horn… Kontos is the perfect fit for FORBIDDEN. Having 5 people all moving the same direction with enthusiasm and positivity. It's all I've ever wanted with FORBIDDEN. Making the seemingly impossible, possible.

"This is not a reunion, it's a rebirth."

Originally founded in 1985 as FORBIDDEN EVIL by Anderson, guitarists Locicero and Robb Flynn, basses John Tegio and drummer Jim Pittman, the quintet started playing house parties and Bay Area clubs such as the legendary Ruthie's Inn soon after. After a couple of lineup changes (Paul Bostaph on drums and Matt Camacho on bass) in '86, the band quickly rose through the ranks of Bay Area thrash to gain a massive following and worldwide notoriety. In 1986, the band added Glen Alvelais as the second guitarist. It was this lineup that cemented itself into the Bay Area scene and soon after recorded 1988 release "Forbidden Evil" for Combat Records, changing the band's name to simply FORBIDDEN. In May of '89 while on a European tour with SACRED REICH, FORBIDDEN made their first appearance at the legendary Dynamo Open Air in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was here that FORBIDDEN made their European mark and recorded the "Raw Evil" EP. The band returned Stateside and replaced Alvelais with Tim Calvert. Calvert was a missing ingredient that brought the band closer together as a team. They continued to tour the U.S. first with EXODUS and then again with SACRED REICH with Calvert on second guitar. The band went on to release "Twisted Into Form" in 1990, "Distortion" in 1994 and "Green" in 1996. However, the band, having gone though many lineup changes, disbanded in 1997.

In 2008 Craig being inspired at a screening of the movie "Get Thrashed", called the other members of the band and suggested getting back on stage to see if they could reignite the FORBIDDEN machine. With Anderson, Locicero, Camacho back in the mix along with new additions Glen Alvelais and Gene Hoglan they played two sold-out DEATH ANGEL shows in San Francisco. Steve Smyth came into the mix in place of Alvelais and Mark Hernandez took Hoglan's place. The band then released "Omega Wave", the fifth in the catalog and went on a U.S. tour with OVERKILL. European festivals were next but afterwards Hernandez had to walk away due to personal reasons leading to a tour cancelation. Sasha Horn was the answer to fill the drummer's spot.

After playing "Bonded By Baloff" with EXODUS and one Bay Area show, FORBIDDEN embarked for Chile to play the Metal Fest in Santiago. It was on this flight back home that Russ informed the band that he couldn't tour anymore because of the physical toll it was taking on him. With that, the band dissolved once again for 11 years.

Fast forward to 2023. The once improbable and impossible happened. FORBIDDEN is reforming with new blood. Locicero, Camacho and Smyth remain from the "Omega Wave" lineup.

New vocalist Norman Skinner has taken the elite position that belonged to Russ Anderson. Norman shocked everyone who witnessed his performance of "Chalice Of Blood" with Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER accompanying him as the band. It was undeniable to all in attendance. Norman grew up in the Bay Area. His first thrash metal show was seeing FORBIDDEN at the Omni. Russ would point to Norman at shows and call him "Little Russ" on the mic. It could ONLY be Norman Skinner that fronts the band.

German heavy metal singer Udo Dirkschneider, who started his professional career in the mid-1970s with ACCEPT, has told Belgian Jasper in a new interview that he is contemplating staging a "big event" to celebrate his decades-long involvement in the music industry. Speaking about the possibility of playing special shows to celebrate various anniversaries of some of his classic albums, Udo said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Maybe [we'll] do one anniversary [celebration], 50 years. That will be then in 2025. We're talking about already this. I did stuff in Wacken together with Doro [Pesch]. She had the 40th anniversary. That was also fun. And I think I will do something if we can [celebrate] 50 years. And that will be a big event, believe me."

Udo, who turned 71 this past April, was scheduled to celebrate the 35th anniversary of ACCEPT's "Metal Heart" album by performing it in its entirety at the 2020 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, but the entire event ended up getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a recent interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Udo spoke about the evolution of his singing voice. The vocalist said: "The [first] real proper European tour we did in — before we did the tour together in '81 with JUDAS PRIEST — it was the '80s; we did the first real European tour. And then also you have to learn that you keep your voice working. But never, ever — knock on wood [chuckles] — I never had any problems. For me, it's better to sing in a row maybe four or five shows than instead of singing just two shows, have a day off, and maybe three shows, maybe two days off. For me, I like to have, let's say, four or five shows in a row and then a day off. But [the voice is] still working, you know? So I don't know. I never had any problems. Of course, sometimes on tour you get a cold. But, for me, I have always a secure — I have a Plan B. And nobody really realizes that when you have a cold or something like that can always go around. But I think not many people will realize that."

Asked how his "warmup routine" has changed in the five-plus decades that he has been singing professionally, Udo said: "In the old days — now, I'm out of smoking for 20 years — but in the old days, I just was smoking a cigarette and then go on stage. I never warm up. Never. I never, ever did this. And this is for me — it's nothing bad against other bands, but sometimes when we have a support [act], and they are warming up for half an hour and screaming like hell, I say, 'Woah' — it goes on your nerve. But anyway, I do only just one shout, and then I know everything works and here we go. So that's enough for me."

This past May, Udo talked about his vocal approach during a press conference for U.D.O.'s latest album, "Touchdown", in Hamburg, Germany. He said: "For me, the most important thing is that you are open-minded with music — not [have the attitude of], 'This is what I did for 40 years. I don't wanna change anything.' For me, [it's important] to be really open-minded. I always was open-minded. I mean, I was working with so many musicians. It was out of my control. We had a lot of changes. And I always [had the attitude of], 'Yeah.' I'm interested for me, myself, to see how far I can go with my vocals, with my voice.

"It's a different thing, but when I did this cover album [2022's 'My Way', released under the Udo Dirkschneider banner], I was making like a spectrum… For me, it was, like, 'Yeah, I can do that,'" he explained. "It was helping me also to see, 'Oh, can I cover this like this?' The range — this is also very interesting — my range got wider. I mean, I didn't expect this. It's like an old wine; the taste is getting much better.

"With my voice now, I can do so many different stuff," Udo added. "This is also a miracle for me, for myself. 20 or 25 years ago, to sing some songs, it was, like, 'What?' [Laughs] But now it's easy for me to do some also different stuff. And yeah, it's good to see. That means, for me, I see we can do a lot of different stuff also in the future."

"Touchdown" was released on August 25 through Atomic Fire Records. The 13-track LP was recorded at various locations with producer Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer and was mixed at Redhead Studio (Wilhelmshaven, Germany) while the mastering was handled by Stefan Kaufmann at ROXX Studio (Solingen, Germany),The record also includes a guest appearance by violinist Stefan Pintev on the closing track, and bass tracks were recorded by former ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes. Artwork was provided by Martin Häusler who was also responsible for shooting band photos in support of the new album campaign.

In April, Baltes officially joined U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER, the two bands fronted by Udo Dirkschneider. The former ACCEPT bassist had been playing bass for U.D.O. since September 2022, initially as a temporary replacement for U.D.O.'s then-bassist Tilen Hudrap who was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany.

DIRKSCHNEIDER is the name of Udo's band which performs ACCEPT material exclusively.

Although Udo announced eight years ago that his initial DIRKSCHNEIDER tour would mark his final time performing ACCEPT songs, he has continued to play select shows under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner.

On September 16th, Italian power metallers Frozen Crown made their debut as a six-piece band at Stadthalle Tuttlingen in Tuttlingen, Germany, having added third guitarist Alessia Lanzone to the line-up. Fan-filmed video can be viewed below.


Frozen Crown has shared the following message:


"Wow! Our first show as a 6 piece band has been amazing! Thanks to U.D.O. for allowing us to play for their awesome crowd, and thanks to all old fans that showed up to attend this special night! And yes, our Alessia rocked the stage and her guitar with a big smile on her face (the same you can see in the photo) and it felt like she was part of the band since forever!"










Frozen Crown's official message welcoming Alessia to the band is below:


"Dear friends, yes, you're seeing right: there's a sixth member in our band (and this is not temporary)! Her name is Alessia Lanzone and she's going to share lead and rhythm guitar duties with Sheena and Federico both live and in the studio. Just like Niso when he joined the band, she's just 17 years old, but during the last months spent secretly together she already gave us proof of her huge talent - as well as being an awesome person - and we can't wait to finally introduce her to you live! She'll make her live debut with us at our next show September 16 in Tuttlingen, Germany, where we'll bring her on stage with us for the first time for an exclusive and unique event. Don't miss it!


As you know, we progressively increased the amount of guitar tracks in our albums, and nowadays our songs are a feast of harmonized riffs and leads, counting dozens of guitar layers, at least in the studio. During our stage performances we've been missing for long the huge impact a rhythm guitar player can add during twin leads, and lead guitar-wise, Sheena and Federico had to re-arrange many songs, sacrificing many parts for the sake of them sounding right in a live environment and not too empty. 


Yes, some may say: 'Why don't you simply add guitar layers in your backing tracks like most bands do nowadays?' The answer is we never included guitars in our backing tracks, and we never will. That just feels so wrong. Yes, this may go in sharp contrast with the latest tendencies of having layers and layers of instruments (and even vocals) included in the backing tracks: many bands do that and it's definitely more practical (as well as it's making things easier, let alone having less people in the line-up means less travel costs). But that's not our cup of tea, we just want to sound as live as possible (and if you ever attended one of our live shows lately you'd already know we just have a few keyboard as sequences, mostly just in some crucial parts, and that we always sounded as raw as possible). We always did what we felt doing, and never followed any trend since day 0. So here we are: Frozen Crown is officially becoming a band with three guitar players!


So let's welcome Alessia: thanks to her our live songs are going to sound truer to their original sound and our shows are going to turn into an even crazier guitar action feast!"


Frozen Crown recently inked a worldwide contract with Napalm Records. The five-piece was founded in 2018, and have since become one of the most influential Italian metal bands in the current scene.


So far, Frozen Crown have released four albums - The Fallen King (2018), Crowned In Frost (2019), Winterbane (2021) and this year’s Call Of The North - which have brought the band huge media exposure, millions of streams and video views, and big European tours with the likes of Dragonforce and Nanowar Of Steel, as well as two headlining tours in Japan.


Their current album, Call Of The North, is Frozen Crown’s most mature work so far, showcasing the best of the band’s unique power metal style infused with classic heavy metal, melodic death metal and speed metal influences, all topped with bombastic production highlighting opulent orchestrations and harmonies.


Frozen Crown on the signing: "We're happy and honored to join the Napalm Records family and we're ready for our next big step together. Since we founded this band in 2018 we worked hard incessantly, day after day, not only trying to put our best in our studio albums and live, but also managing the band all by ourselves, conquering every single little accomplishment with our DIY attitude, always keeping loyal to our (extremely) small entourage. Thanks to the support of our lovely fans, Frozen Crown eventually grew bigger, and got to a point where we were not able to handle it all by ourselves anymore. At the same time, we knew we needed more firepower to push the band further and bring it to the next level. And speaking of firepower, Napalm Records was just the best record label to start this new chapter with... We're excited beyond words to be part of the best metal label in the world, and we can't wait to start working together on our new album, joining forces with this huge team of professionals."


Sebastian Muench, Senior A&R Napalm Records, adds: “Frozen Crown are simply one of the most creative power metal bands to emerge in the last five years. Their previous releases, Winterbane and Call Of The North, are brilliant. We look forward to working with Frozen Crown to reach the next level in their career.”


Frozen Crown are:


Giada “Jade” Etro - Vocals
Federico Mondelli - Vocals, Guitar
Fabiola Bellomo - Guitar
Alessia Lanzone
Francesco Zof - Bass
Niso Tomasini - Drums

Award winning singer/songwriter Bryan Adams, whose live concerts and signature brand of feel-good rock and roll and hit ballads have established him as one of the world’s best rock singers and showman, today announces a series of concerts recorded live at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall will be released as a box set via BMG.


In 2022, Adams headlined three epic nights at the treasured venue where each evening Adams performed one of his classic albums in its entirety: Cuts Like A Knife (Night 1), Into The Fire (Night 2) and Waking Up The Neighbours (Night 3).


Scheduled for release December 8, Live At The Royal Albert Hall includes a total of 35 live songs, a Blu-Ray DVD of all the performances, plus a 32-page photo book featuring exclusive images from the storied nights.




Live At The Royal Albert Hall will be available in the following physical formats and is available for pre-order here.





- Vinyl Box Set
Vinyl box set includes 35 songs on 4LPs, a Blu-Ray DVD featuring all of the performances and a 32-page photo book featuring exclusive images from these storied nights.





- CD Box Set
CD box set includes 35 songs on 3 CDs, a Blu-Ray DVD featuring all of the performances and a 32-page photo book featuring exclusive images from these storied nights.





Bryan Adams - Live At The Royal Albert Hall tracklisting:


Cuts Like A Knife (Night One)


"The Only One" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Take Me Back" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"This Time" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"I'm Ready" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall) [Long Form Version]
"What's It Gonna Be" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Don't Leave Me Lonely" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Let Him Know" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"The Best Was Yet To Come" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Cuts Like A Knife" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall) [Long Form Version]
"Straight From The Heart" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)


Into The Fire (Night Two)


"Into The Fire" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Heat Of The Night" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Victim Of Love" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Another Day" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Native Son" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Only The Strong Survive" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Rebel" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Remembrance Day" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Hearts On Fire" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Home Again" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)


Waking Up The Neighbours (Night 3)


"Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Hey Honey - I’m Packin' You In!" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Can’t Stop This Thing We Started" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Thought I’d Died And Gone To Heaven" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Not Guilty" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Vanishing" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"House Arrest" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Do I Have To Say The Words?" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"There Will Never Be Another Tonight" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"All I Want Is You" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Depend On Me" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Touch The Hand" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?)" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"Don’t Drop That Bomb On Me" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" (Live At The Royal Albert Hall)

LIVING COLOUR has weighed in on recent controversial comments by Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner about black and female artists.

In an interview with The New York Times interview, Wenner said he had not included any women in his upcoming book featuring interviews with legendary rock figures because "none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level."

Defending the absence of black artists in the book, called "The Masters", Wenner told The New York Times, "I suppose when you use a word as broad as 'masters,' the fault is using that word."

"Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield?" the 77-year-old told the newspaper. "I mean, they just didn't articulate at that level."

Shortly after the interview was published, Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019, was removed from the board of directors the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Over the weekend, Wenner issued an apology for his statements, acknowledging that he "made comments that diminished the contributions, genius, and impact of Black and women artists" and explaining that the interviews in his book "were not meant to represent the whole of music and its diverse and important originators but to reflect the high points of my career and interviews I felt illustrated the breadth and experience in that career."

Earlier today, LIVING COLOUR, considered to be the first black rock group to attract a large mainstream audience since SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE in the early 1970s, released the following statement via social media: "We, the members of LIVING COLOUR, would like to address Jann Wenner's recent apology for controversial statements made in support of his new book.

"The very idea of a book called 'The Masters', which blatantly omits the essential contributions of black, people of color and women to Rock & Pop Culture speaks to a much larger and more systemic problem.

"His New York Times interview statement that African American and female artists are not 'articulate' enough to express themselves about their own work is absurd on its face. For someone who has chronicled the musical landscape for over 50 years, it is an insult to those of us who sit at the feet of these overlooked geniuses.

"To hear that he believes Stevie Wonder isn't articulate enough to express his thoughts on any given subject is quite frankly, insulting. To hear that Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner, or any of the many Woman artists that he chooses not to mention, are not worthy of the status of 'Master', smacks of sexist gatekeeping, and exclusionary behavior.

"Mr. Werner's apology only solidifies the idea. That his book is a reflection of his worldview suggests that it is narrow & small indeed".

"The Masters" features interviews with Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend and U2's Bono — all of whom are white and male.

All but one member of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame board of directors reportedly voted to expel Wenner.

We, the members of Living Colour, would like to address Jann Wenner’s recent apology for controversial statements made...

Posted by Living Colour on Monday, September 18, 2023

Ted Nugent has weighed in on recent controversial comments by Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner about black and female artists.

In an interview with The New York Times interview, Wenner said he had not included any women in his upcoming book featuring interviews with legendary rock figures because "none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level."

Defending the absence of black artists in the book, called "The Masters", Wenner told The New York Times, "I suppose when you use a word as broad as 'masters,' the fault is using that word."

"Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield?" the 77-year-old told the newspaper. "I mean, they just didn't articulate at that level."

Shortly after the interview was published, Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019, was removed from the board of directors the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Nugent, who has repeatedly said that said his political views are one of the main reasons he hasn't been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, addressed Wenner's removal from the Rock Hall board during the latest edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which he offers his take on the news of our world. Speaking to co-host Keith Mark, Ted said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Jann Wenner righteously and wonderfully created Rolling Stone magazine to celebrate the artists that have never been given credit except by me and us here at 'Nightly Nuge' on My Real America's Voice that the music that touches our soul came from black heroes who had more soul because they had to get out of the curse of slavery and celebrate freedom musically. [But he was removed from the Rock Hall board] because of racist and and misogynistic attacks that said that black and female artists are not articulate enough to reference in his book about rock and roll history, which is so clearly biased and so clearly racist and so clearly misogynistic. And those are the things that he has always accused me of, which is why, after I was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1979 with a Walther PPK [gun]… Jan Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone magazine, is a maniacal anti-gun, anti-First Amendment, even as a publisher of a magazine… And when he finally found out that I was on the cover of his magazine, totally anti-gun and totally leftist and Marxist-oriented… Just the content — just look at the content. Let's read the writings. They're always wrong. What was it? The Duke University claims of rape. Rolling Stone initiated that story and it was 100 percent false."

Asked by Mark if Rolling Stone was "that far left in '79," Ted said: "No, no, but he was. There were already many, many articles that [were] leaning far, far away from Second Amendment rights, conservative values, pro dope, pro peace and love. I'm all for peace and love, but not if you're comfortably numb, because then you can't accomplish either."

According to Ted, he "got contacted by a young lady who was at the meeting when Jan Wenner finally saw the cover of me with a Walther PPK 380 automatic… This young lady who was there, the came to a concert — it was either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh," Nugent claimed. "She said, 'I was at the meeting when Jann Wenner just went berserk on us because he couldn't believe that we got a photo of this redneck, right-wing NRA member with a gun on the cover.' And she said, 'Never again are we allowed to say anything about Ted Nugent's career except negative stuff and take him to task and go ahead and make false accusations.' Now this is what she told me, and that's what they've done since that cover. They've parroted the lies that I dodged the draft, which is a lie. They parroted that I had sex with Courtney Love, which is a lie. I mean, I have proof that I didn't have sex with Courtney Love because I still have both arms and I don't have rabies. The point is that he always parroted all the nastiest allegations — [that] I dissed the Native Americans, which I never did. That I'm a racist, which I'm not. That I'm a homophobe, which I'm not. The point being that Jann Wenner finally got thrown off the board of directors of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that he has made sure I'm not part of because he actually made racist and misogynistic attacks on women and blacks, and so the board threw him off, which proves that his accusations towards the conservative guy were actually what he was guilty of. Which by the way, isn't that the modus operandi of the Democrat party and the left? They always accuse other people of what they are glaringly guilty of. And Jann Wenner got caught, and adios, mofo."

Ted, who been eligible for the Rock Hall honor as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Ted has railed against the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a number of times in the past, including in a 2017 interview with the Q103 radio station in Albany. At the time, he stated about his exclusion from the institution: "Jan Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone [magazine] and the boss hog at Rock And Roll Of Fame, he hates freedom, he hates the Second Amendment, he hates me, because I'm on the board of directors — quite proudly — of the National Rifle Association for, like, twenty-six years with some of the highest votes except for Charlton Heston [NRA's president]. And I couldn't be more proud of that, 'cause the NRA is the ultimate family, grassroots organization that fights for the right to defend ourselves. What kind of numbnut would be against that? And so I'm on the board of directors of the NRA, Jan Wenner hates the Second Amendment, so that's the only reason I'm not in the Rock And Roll Of Fame. And until they get their heads out of their ass, I'm more than happy to do what I do and do it with all the vim and vigor that I do it every night."

Nugent added: "Hey, write this down. My name is Ted Nugent. I am the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Eat me!"

Asked if he would show up for his Rock Hall induction if he eventually got the nod, Nugent said: "Oh, hell yes! And you know what I would do? I would lead… I've seen a lot of the ceremonies, and they're so moving. All of us that love music, how do you not just shed a tear of joy when you see Bob Seger and certainly ZZ TOP and Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and James Brown… Are you kidding me? These are the gods of the soundtrack of our quality of life. But you know what I will do? And I will do it. I will lead the most important moment in the history of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because I will get on bended knee and I will say a prayer for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and THE VENTURES and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding and the Motown Funk Brothers and THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE KINKS and Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy and B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King… you know what I'm saying? Because Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is paying tribute and homage to geniuses who gave us the ultimate soundtrack for our American Dream. I'm all in, man, I'm genuinely moved, and I'm glad there is a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

Nugent went on to reiterate his belief that that rappers and non-rock artists like Madonna don't belong in the Hall Of Fame. "I mean, why don't you just piss on Chuck Berry's grave, you know what I mean?" he said.

According to Ted, the fact that both Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is the result of "political correctness," which he calls "a self-inflicted and embarrassing scourge." He added in a mocking tone: "Yeah, Grandmaster Flash is rock and roll. And I'm a gay pirate."

**UPDATE**: Jann Wenner has issued an apology following controversial comments he made about black and female musicians.

On Saturday, Wenner said in a statement: "In my interview with The New York Times, I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius, and impact of Black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks.

"'The Masters' is a collection of interviews I've done over the years that seemed to me to best represent an idea of rock 'n' roll’s impact on my world; they were not meant to represent the whole of music and its diverse and important originators but to reflect the high points of my career and interviews I felt illustrated the breadth and experience in that career. They don't reflect my appreciation and admiration for myriad totemic, world-changing artists whose music and ideas I revere and will celebrate and promote as long as I live. I totally understand the inflammatory nature of badly chosen words and deeply apologize and accept the consequences."

The original article follows below.

According to Variety, Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner has been removed from the board of directors the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame after his controversial comments about black and women artists.

In an interview with The New York Times journalist David Marchese to promote his new book "The Masters" featuring interviews Wenner conducted during his tenure at Rolling Stone, Jann was asked about using interviews he's only done with white male artists for the book.

"In the introduction, you acknowledge that performers of color and women performers are just not in your zeitgeist. Which to my mind is not plausible for Jann Wenner. Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, the list keeps going — not in your zeitgeist?" Marchese asked.

"When I was referring to the zeitgeist, I was referring to black performers, not to the female performers, okay?" Wenner responded. "Just to get that accurate. The selection was not a deliberate selection. It was kind of intuitive over the years; it just fell together that way. The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them. Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level."

Marchese reacted: "Oh, stop it. You're telling me Joni Mitchell is not articulate enough on an intellectual level?" adding, "I'll let you rephrase that."

"It's not that they're not creative geniuses. It's not that they're inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest," Wenner said. "You know, Joni was not a philosopher of rock 'n' roll. She didn't, in my mind, meet that test. Not by her work, not by other interviews she did. The people I interviewed were the kind of philosophers of rock."

He added: "Of black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as 'masters,' the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn't articulate at that level."

Asked how he could make such statements without having given those artists a chance, Wenner said: "Because I read interviews with them. I listen to their music. I mean, look at what Pete Townshend was writing about, or Jagger, or any of them. They were deep things about a particular generation, a particular spirit and a particular attitude about rock 'n' roll. Not that the others weren't, but these were the ones that could really articulate it."

Later, Wenner added: "You know, just for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one black and one woman artist to include here that didn't measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism. Which, I get it. I had a chance to do that. Maybe I'm old-fashioned and I don't give a [expletive] or whatever. I wish in retrospect I could have interviewed Marvin Gaye. Maybe he'd have been the guy. Maybe Otis Redding, had he lived, would have been the guy."

A day after The New York Times interview was published, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced that Wenner has been shown the door.

"Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation," a statement from a rep reads.

Wenner founded Rolling Stone in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019. He is a co-founder of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which was launched in 1987.

The only metal or metal-adjacent acts to have made it into the Rock Hall so far have been BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, METALLICA, AC/DC, JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, VAN HALEN, RUSH, GUNS N' ROSES and DEEP PURPLE.

IRON MAIDEN finished in the fourth place in the fan vote for this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction class.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.
Jann Wenner Removed From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board After Controversial Comments About Black and Female Musicians https://t.co/pSrCTBJIdx

— Variety (@Variety) September 16, 2023

Frontiers Music Srl announces the forthcoming release of a new compilation album from Swedish hard rockers, Crazy Lixx, entitled Two Shots Of Glory, set for release in early 2024. The anthology is introduced today with a reimagined classic from the band’s catalog, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (’23)" available globally at all DSPs.  


Two Shots Of Glory is a celebration of the band’s 20+ year career with reimagined versions of their big choruses, memorable hooks and riffs, impressive guitar solos along with some new surprises. A full tracklist, street date, and pre-order campaign will be announced at a later date.


Listen to “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (’23)” here, and below.







Album after album, Swedish hard rockers Crazy Lixx have continuously carved out their reputation as leaders of the Scandinavian led ‘80s hard rock revival. With views in the millions for popular videos like “Wild Child” and “Hunter Of The Heart” on Youtube, outstanding streaming numbers for tracks like “Blame It On Love”, ”Hell Raising Women”, and “XIII”, and ”Wild Child” being featured in the Nicolas Cage horror movie “Willy’s Wonderland,” Crazy Lixx are steadily continuing on their march towards world domination.


Crazy Lixx will be on tour across Spain/Portugal this Fall with additional dates planned in 2024 including the Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024 departing out of Miami, Florida.


Current tour schedule is as follows:


November
2 - Bilboa, Spain - Santana 27
3 - A Coruna, Spain - Sala La Paquirri
4 - Leon, Spain - Lion Rock Fest 2023
5 - Lisboa, Portugal - RCA Club
7 - Sevilla, Spain - Sala CUSTOM
8 - Murcia, Spain - Garage Beat Club
9 - L’hospitalet De Llobregat, Spain - Salamandra


March
2-7 - Miami, Florida - Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024
10 - Mexico City, Mexico - La Piedad
12 - Santiago, Chile - Club Rbx
13 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Teatrito
15 - Curitaba, Brazil - Jokers
16 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Mister Rock
17 - Sao Paolo, Brazil - Carioca Club


July
26-28 - Rottenburg-Seebronn, Germany - Rock of Ages Festival


Crazy Lixx are:


Danny Rexon – vocals
Joél Cirera - drums
Jens Anderson – bass guitar
Chrisse Olsson - guitar

ART OF ANARCHY has returned after six years with a new single, "Vilified". The song is taken from the band's third studio album, "Let There Be Anarchy", which will be released on February 16, 2024 via Pavement Music.

The Dale "Rage" Resteghini-directed "Vilified" music video, which can be seen below, features Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., along with "news narrations" by former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate.

Gooding says: "'Vilified' is not a song, but a statement, a message, and a warning. It is a reflection of the many issues that are being brought to the forefront within our society. Mental illness, mass shootings, institutions, people being demonized without proper information or due process. 'Vilified' will no doubt be one of those culturally significant rock songs that will speak to generations to come. Because in the end, we must fight against the urge to vilify what we do not understand!"

Joining founding ART OF ANARCHY members Jon Votta (guitar),Vince Votta (drums) and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES, SONS OF APOLLO) in the band's new lineup are vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO) and bassist Tony Dickinson (SOTO, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).

"Let There Be Anarchy" track listing:

01. Die Hard
02. Echo Your Madness
03. Vilified
04. Bridge Of Tomorrow
05. Writing On The Wall
06. Rivals
07. Blind Man's Victory
08. Dying Days
09. The Good, The Bad, And The Insane
10. Disarray

Although STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman Scott Weiland sang on the first ART OF ANARCHY album, 2015's self-titled effort, he never performed live with the group and distanced himself from the project before his death from an overdose of drugs and alcohol in December 2015 while on the road.

In July 2015, Vice Inc., whose chief executive officer and principal executive officer are Jon and Vince Votta, sued Weiland, alleging that he refused to help promote ART OF ANARCHY's debut LP and take part in music videos after agreeing to write and perform the lyrics for 10 songs for the disc. According to The Blast, Vice said that it paid Weiland $230,000 upfront for his work.

In March 2017, ART OF ANARCHY issued its sophomore album, "The Madness", featuring Scott Stapp on vocals. Less than a year later, the founders of ART OF ANARCHY sued Stapp for allegedly refusing to tour with the band and participate in promotional photo and video shoots and publicity events. That $1.2-million lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court by Vice, which claimed to have paid the CREED singer $200,000 for services to be rendered, which he allegedly asked to be treated as a loan, for tax purposes.

According to Jon and Vince Votta, Stapp only performed at 18 concerts with ART OF ANARCHY in 2017 and was unwilling to appear at a scheduled video shoot in October 2017 on the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Stapp's failure to live up to his contract led to the cancelation of the group's recording contract at the end of October 2017, the complaint alleged.

††† (CROSSES) — DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno's project with FAR guitarist Shaun Lopez — will release its sophomore album, "Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.", on October 13 via Warner. The follow-up to ††† (CROSSES)'s 2014 self-titled album will feature guest appearances by THE CURE vocalist Robert Smith and El-P of RUN THE JEWELS.

††† (CROSSES) has released two more songs from "Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.": "Light As A Feather" and "Ghost Ride". Check them out below.

"When we started working on 'Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.', there was so much more light coming in my life, for numerous reasons," Moreno said in a press release. "There's a lot more optimism. Even the darker themes are more romanticized and not coming from a place of despair."

Last month, ††† (CROSSES) released the official music video for the LP's first single, "Invisible Hand", directed by Lopez and Lorenzo Carrera. Watch it below.

"Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete." track listing:

01. Pleasure
02. Invisible Hand
03. Found
04. Light As A Feather
05. Pulseplagg
06. Runner
07. Big Youth (feat. El-P)
08. End Youth (Reprise)
09. Last Rites
10. Ghost Ride
11. Grace
12. Eraser
13. Natural Selection
14. Girls Float † Boys Cry (feat. Robert Smith)
15. Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.

††† (CROSSES) has also announced the following live appearances:

Nov. 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Nov. 14 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Nov. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Nov. 18 - Huntington Beach, CA - Darker Waves Festival
Nov. 28 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
Nov. 29 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
Dec. 04 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
Dec. 05 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel

††† (CROSSES) issued its self-titled debut in 2014. Last year, the duo released the six-song "Permanent.Radiant" EP, which was later made available as a remixed version with reworked songs courtesy of Hudson Mohawke, Machinedrum, Suicideyear and Away.

In December 2021, Lopez confirmed that ††† (CROSSES) had signed a new deal with Warner Records. That same month, ††† (CROSSES) dropped its cover of Q Lazzarus's "Goodbye Horses" as a digital single. The track was previously covered by ††† (CROSSES) back in 2014.

Prior to "Goodbye Horses"' digital arrival, ††† (CROSSES)'s last release was a cover of "The Beginning Of The End" by '90s electropop band CAUSE & EFFECT. Made available in December 2020, it was the first new music from the alternative band since its 2014-released, self-titled record.

Moreno told The Pulse Of Radio how he got involved with the group in the first place, which was started by Lopez and Chuck Doom. "Shaun and Chuck were working together for a while before I came into the picture, and I just so happened to come in one day," he said. "These guys were, you know, writing some stuff and I heard it and I liked it right off the bat, and I sort of weaseled my way [Laughs] into the project. I think their idea was to get a bunch of different singers to, you know, just write different tracks, and... it didn't happen."

††† (CROSSES)'s CD included the songs from the band's two previously released EPs along with five new tracks.

Moreno told Rolling Stone about ††† (CROSSES)' sound: "By listening to the music, you can tell that a lot of the influences come from the new-wave era. That was basically the scene that I came up on. I just happened to wind up in a metal band when I was 15."

Asked about ††† (CROSSES)'s heavy use of the cross in the band's imagery and songtitles, Moreno said: "I think a lot of bands are influenced by religious symbolism and not even necessarily Christianity or Catholicism. Our band definitely doesn't follow any of those. It's more of the aesthetic. The art, the way it works. The initial name of the band was going to be HOLY GHOST. But at the last minute, another band came out with the name, so Shaun suggested CROSSES. It's a very strong symbol. Three crosses is great. It's great to look at, there's three of us in the band."

††† (CROSSES) made its live debut in January 2012 at The Glass House in Pomona, California.

There is no stopping the mighty Sorcerer and in the fall of 2023 the band will release their fourth album, entitled Reign Of The Reaper. Again not content with repeating themselves the album features some of the darkest, heaviest and most aggressive material the band has ever recorded, and at the same time some of the most lyrical and beautiful.


For a first preview of the album, a video (directed by Daniel Wahlström @ Heavy Groove Media) for the opening track, "Morning Star", can be viewed below.


Since their rebirth in 2010, through a string of amazing live performances, signing to Metal Blade Records and releasing three excellent metal albums, Sorcerer have been firing on all cylinders with no plans of stopping for anyone.




In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross (2015) put everything into motion; with its classic epic doom metal approach it solidified Sorcerer's triumphant return to the scene. The follow-up, 2017's The Crowning Of The Fire King, gave fans that extra dose of Epic they craved, while also allowing the band to begin to reform and reshape their sound and direction. It was here that Sorcerer really laid the foundation on which they are still building - making heavy, melodic metal with crushing riffs, soaring vocals and hook-laden choruses.


2020 saw the band release what would be their most elaborate album to date, the concept album Lamenting Of The Innocent. This record allowed the band to test new waters with more elaborate, intricate songwriting, longer song forms and it features vocalist Anders Engberg at his absolute finest. The album was highly praised, and very well received, and has allowed the band to grace the stages of some of the most prestigious metal festivals and venues around the world.


For Reign Of The Reaper the band holed up in their home studios and wrote music all through 2022 and then once again headed to SolnaSound Recording in Stockholm, the studio owned, run and operated by Simon Johansson (Wolf, Soilwork) with Mike Wead (King Diamond) assisting, to record the drums. Sorcerer likes to work with a small, tried and trusted team so therefore they once again employed the services of Ronnie Björnström (engineering/mixing/ mastering) and Jani Stefanovic (cover art for the singles & artwork booklet/packaging design); these guys have been working with the band since the first album and as per usual they delivered superbly. The striking album cover artwork was created by Swedish artist Joakim Ericsson. Conny Welén as usual handled co-production duties. Anders says: "He has been working with us since 2015 and the reunion album In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross. Connys contribution to our sound is heard in every song; he is involved in the arrangements and plays all keyboards". He also co-writes the vocal melodies and the foundations of some of the lyrics and on top of this he also recorded Anders' vocals in his studio. Photographer Marieke Verschuren provided the awesome band photos as she also did on the previous album.


For the opening track and first single, "Morning Star", based on the fall of Lucifer, the band showcases their proficiency in fusing classic metal with other heavy elements with quite a few twists and turns along the way. With a bombastic rhythm section spear-headed by Evensand and Biggs, to the melodic and brilliantly executed guitar work of Niemann and Hallgren, culminating with the ferocious Engberg, whose voice soars, "Morning Star" takes the listener on a relentless journey through the kingdom of Pandemonium and hell itself.


Kristian says: "I came up with the majestic opening guitar line while I was in the gym, I remember that distinctly. I grabbed my phone and sang the line into the voice recorder, as I always do when I get ideas. I didn't think much of it and promptly forgot all about it until it was time to write songs for the album. I had about 150 riffs and ideas that I went through and this one immediately grabbed my attention. I'm super-happy with this track and it sounds exactly how I envisioned it when I first started working on it. The guys in the band KILLED it, everybody played and sang their asses off".


Reign Of The Reaper will be released on October 27 via Metal Blade Records and features eight brand new tracks guaranteed to appease the appetites of metal heads from all sides of the heavy metal spectrum.





Reign Of The Reaper will be available in the following formats:


- Deluxe Digipak-CD incl. bonus-CD 'Reverence'
- Deluxe 2-LP incl. bonus-LP 'Reverence' (limited to 500 copies)
- 180g black vinyl
- dark violet marbled vinyl (limited to 1.000 copies)
- smoke vinyl (limited to 300 copies)
- silver blackdust vinyl (limited to 300 copies)


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Morning Star"
"Reign Of The Reaper"
"Thy Kingdom Will Come"
"Eternal Sleep"
"Curse Of Medusa"
"Unveiling Blasphemy"
"The Underworld"
"Break Of Dawn"


"Morning Star" video:





Sorcerer lineup:


Anders Engberg - vocals
Kristian Niemann - guitars, backing vocals
Peter Hallgren - guitars, backing vocals
Justin Biggs - bass, growls
Richard Evensand - drums


Note: Since recording the album drummer Richard Evensand has left the band and been replaced by Stefan Norgren.


(Photo - Marieke Verschuren)

The Haunted guitarist, Ola Englund, has shared the new video below, stating: "Ola Learns is back and this time I'm trying to learn the song 'Fictional Reality' from Slayers Divine Intervention. It's a bit intricate and the intro riff is a frigging spidery one."





Ola, who is also the founder of Solar Guitars, recently shared the video below, featuring his recent random guitar store visit. Check out the official Solar Guitars website here.

Eonian Records announces the release of Taz - Wake Up & Sweat, Vol. 1 and Shipwrecked, Vol. 2. Both releases can be found wherever you listen or buy your music.


The band's entire career spans the 35 tracks between Wake Up & Sweat, Vol. 1 and Shipwrecked, Vol. 2. These releases feature recording sessions produced by Rob Cavallo, a future multi-Grammy Award winner for Warner Brothers Records as well as Kim Vincent Fowley for Q.M.I./MCA Records. Included are six live recordings from the legendary Gazzarri's, Sasch in Studio City, and The Whisky a Go Go.


All tracks are digitally remastered by Anthony Focx, who has worked with the likes of Buckcherry and The Dead Daisies. Both releases feature beautiful, custom hand-drawn artwork by Jesse Vital of V1TAL World Creative and two 20-page booklets featuring nearly 150 photos & flyers, including in-depth history of band time in West Hollywood.




Stream or download Wake Up & Sweat Vol. 1 here, stream or download Shipwrecked Vol. 2 here.


Stephen Craig, Eonian Records Founder, “We hope music fans will enjoy these two releases as much as we did putting it all together. Anthony Focx did a masterful job with the recordings. Also, the level of detail is incredible. Both albums feature 20-page booklets with in-depth history of the band’s time in West Hollywood, including nearly 150 photos and flyers provided from the band, friends, and fans’ personal archives. To top things off, custom hand-drawn artwork by none other than Jesse Vital of V1TAL World Creative.”


Kent Kleven, Taz lead singer, “We are really excited about these two releases. The 35 tracks between “Wake Up & Sweat, Vol. 1” and “Shipwrecked, Vol. 2” span our entire career. Every studio recording is represented. Many of which were never made available to the public. Of the studio recordings, two of the many highlights were us working with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Black Sabbath) & Warner Brothers, as well as with Kim Vincent Fowley, who produced ‘SEX,’ ‘LA Danger Zone,’ ‘She Does Bad Things Good,’ and ‘Missing You.’ Fowley worked with everyone from the Modern Lovers to Ariel Pink and produced the first demos for the iconic power pop band Candy. Anthony Focx (Buckcherry, The Dead Daisies) remastered both albums, and did such an amazing job! We also had over a dozen live tracks to choose from, and we settled on six taken from Whisky a Go Go, Club Sasch, and Gazzarri's. It’s been such a surreal experience to see this all come together. We’re truly grateful to our label, Eonian Records, as well as our longtime fans who had a hand in bringing this project to life.”


Wake Up & Sweat, Vol. 1:


1 - 4 Recorded the Hangar 14 Studio, Sacramento, CA
Produced by Taz, Engineered by Chris Hangar
5 - 7 Recorded at Music Grinder Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Taz, Engineered by Kim Fallion & Phil Moore
8 - 13 Recorded at Monterey Sound Studios, Glendale, CA
Produced & engineered by Kim Vincent Fowley (The Runaways, Candy, Steel Breeze)
14 - 17 Recorded at Ogden House Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Bryon DeLear & Taz, Engineered by Bryon DeLear
Mastered by: Anthony Focx @ A. Focx Productions, Nashville, TN


The Players:


Kent “K.K.” Kleven on Vocals
Ethan Gladstone on Guitar
Chris Roy on Bass
Kenny Pierce on Drums





Wake Up & Sweat, Vol. 1 tracklisting:


"Are You Ready" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"She Does Bad Things Good (86)" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Rock-N-Roll Rodeo" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Love Violations" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Love Violations" (Reprised Version) (Kleven, Gladstone)
"I'll Wait" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"You & Me" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"SEX (88)" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"L.A. Danger Zone" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"She Does Bad Things Good (88)" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Missing You" (Pierce)
"Political Song" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Caroline" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Cold Shoulder" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"M.I. Insane" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Bad Religion" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Tattoo You" (Kleven, Gladstone)


Shipwrecked, Vol. 2:


1 - 4 Recorded at Take One Studio, Burbank, CA
Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac)
Engineered by Magic A. Moreno (Eric Clapton, David Lee Roth, Steve Vai)
5 - 12 Recorded at Downtown Rehearsal, Los Angeles, CA
Produced & engineered by Taz.
13 - 16, Recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go, Hollywood, CA
Track 17, Recorded live at Sasch, Studio City, CA
Track 18, Recorded live at Gazzarri's, West Hollywood, CA
Mastered by: Anthony Focx @ A. Focx Productions, Nashville, TN


The Players:


Kent “K.K.” Kleven on vocals
Ethan Gladstone & Rick Berry on guitars
Chris Roy on bass
Kenny Pierce & Joey Carallo on drums.





Shipwrecked, Vol. 2 tracklisting:


"Shipwrecked" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"No Relation" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Desert Dog Night" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Father McGee" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Arizona River" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Day In, Day Out (Keep the Faith)" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Lady Conniver" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Where the Angels Play" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Sink or Swim" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Day of the Dog" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Luvin' Girl" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Dogtown" (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Easy Come Easy Go" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Let It Rain" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Round, Round, Round" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Shoot Your Steam" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)
"Cover Me in Roses" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)
"L.A. Danger Zone" - Live (Kleven, Gladstone)


"Shipwrecked" lyric video:





About Taz:


Originally formed in 1983, Taz started out in Orange County as Maniac Thrust. Founding members, singer/songwriter Kent Kleven and guitarist/songwriter Ethan Gladstone had known each other since elementary school, forming their first musical project together while attending junior high. In 1985, the band changed their name to Taz while adding new bassist Chris Roy, a high school friend of Ethan’s, and drummer Kenny Pierce. A few years later, added guitarist Rick Berry who was also childhood friends with Kent and Ethan. In 1990, just before heading to Japan, Taz would bring in the final addition to the band, Florida native drummer Joey Carallo. Throughout their career, Taz played at every well-known venue throughout Orange County, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and even Phoenix, but called Hollywood, CA, their home. Taz soon became one of Southern California's top-drawing original Hard Rock bands, headlining most every night. The band quickly made a name for themselves with their high-energy live performances and catchy songwriting skills, combining pop, funk, alternative, metal, and glam. Taz had also become regulars in numerous well-known publications. Taz was a big draw, and fans were lining up. Taz had formed one of the hottest bands to hit the scene in years.