During an appearance on this past Wednesday's (August 16) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was asked if he has thought about working on a follow-up to his 2021 album "Parabellum". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. I'm in the studio all the time, so I've got a whole crapload of things that I've been working on. But I'm very, very pleased with that record. It's one of these albums that I feel it really came together. So I'm not rushing to put something out right this second. But, yeah, for sure. I've already talked to the label and I've already been in the studio. I probably have like 40, 50 things already recorded. But, as I said, I'm not rushing to put anything out yet. And plus my whole year now is booked with touring."

As previously reported, Yngwie and Glenn Hughes will embark on a tour of the U.S. this summer. Malmsteen will perform his "greatest hits" while Hughes will play a set of classic DEEP PURPLE songs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Burn" album.

"Parabellum" was released in July 2021 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Brian Wilson.

In an interview with Tigman of WPDH Radio 101.5 FM in Poughkeepsie, New York, Yngwie was asked to name the best of the three singers he worked with early on in his career: Jeff Scott Soto, Mark Boals and Joe Lynn Turner. The legendary Swedish guitarist responded: "Here's the way I look at this. So I came to America in 1982 and I joined a band called STEELER. And then I formed a band called ALCATRAZZ. In January 1984, I signed a record deal as a solo artist. So from the point of January 1984, it was never a band — never. There was never a band called RISING FORCE. My first solo album was called 'Rising Force'. I had a band called RISING FORCE in Sweden in '79. And when I hired people for my solo stuff, I would write the bass parts, the drum parts, the guitar parts — obviously — the keyboard parts, the vocal parts and the lyrics. So like an ensemble, like an orchestra or whatever, or even for a performance on Broadway, there's a written piece and the performer is hired to perform the piece. If they, for some reason, don't work out, you put someone else in there.

"For some strange reason, somebody seemed to think that a) it was a band, and b) the guy that was supposed to be the singer at the time was Elvis Presley or something," he continued. "No. So I therefore, [in] 2012, decided I'm not gonna hire singers anymore and I sing myself. I said, 'Good luck to you, guys. See you. Bye.'"

When Tigman noted that none of the singers Yngwie hired over the years "worked out" in the long run, Malmsteen said: "Well, they seem to think because they're the singer and not the keyboard player they're Elvis Presley. And they will soon find out, in my outfit they're notElvis Presley and they will have to move on.

"It's an Yngwie Malmsteensolo career," he explained. "And even now, for the last album I even played all the instruments as well.

"Listen, it's not like, oh, yeah, I minimize these guys — they're all great; whatever — but the thing is that I'm like an artist like a painter or something. Leonardo Da Vinci didn't call someone, like, 'Hey, dude, can you come over and finish half of my painting?' And that's how I work — I paint the whole painting. That's how I work."

Malmsteen previously floated the Elvis Presley comparison in reference to his former singers during a 2018 press conference in Malaysia. Asked why he chose to handle lead vocals himself on his then-latest album, 2016's "World On Fire", he said: "When I started out when I was a kid in Sweden, I had a band called RISING FORCE, I was the singer. Then I came to America and I was playing with STEELER and ALCATRAZZ, they [had their own] singers.

"I always thought that singers have the Elvis Presley syndrome — they think they're Elvis Presley," he continued. "They're not Elvis Presley. Because I write the music, I write the lyrics, I write the vocal melody lines — I write everything. Just because I let somebody sing something doesn't mean they're more important than the bass player or the keyboard player or the drummer. Because I write all the parts — I write the drum parts, the bass parts, the keyboard parts, the guitar parts and the vocal parts — like a classical composer. And I really kind of got tired of dealing with their bullshit, really. So I decided to sing myself."

In 2017, Malmsteen gave an interview to Metal Wani in which the iconic axeman said that he had no interest in collaborating with vocalists like Jeff Scott Soto, Joe Lynn Turner and Tim "Ripper" Owens ever again. "I'm very comfortable singing myself, first of all," Yngwie said. "Secondly, there's a certain disconnect when you write the song and you have someone else sing it for you. And it's kind of like a fakeness about it. I always wrote everything — I wrote all the lyrics, I wrote all the melodies, everything; it's just somebody else sung it. And to me, the singer is nothing else than a different… like a bass player or a keyboard player — they're not more important than any other musician. And they, unfortunately, seem to think that they are. And I've kind of had it with their sort of… self-absorbed sort of way, and I'm very much against it. No. I don't like that. I don't like any of those people, and I don't like to do anything with them ever again."

Robin McAuley sat down with Chaoszine before Michael Schenker's show at Time To Rock festival and discussed in depth his solo career and how has it been to work with one of the best guitarists on the planet. An excerpt from the chat follows...


Chaoszine: Robin, you have now re-joined MSG. And, like last year, you joined the band in the middle of the tour, replacing Ronnie Romero. How did this thing now happen again?


Robin McAuley: "That was easy. I get an email, “Can you jump in and sing the festivals and shows for the rest of 2023?” And I said, “Let me check the schedule.” We’re about to start working on a new Black Swan and a new solo record, the third of each, and we won’t start working until very late in the year. So I said, “Yeah, sure.” I didn’t ask any questions. And then I saw all of the posts, and I went, “Whatever.” It was the same thing last year or whatever it was. So I’m in for the rest of the year with MSG with Michael for his 50th-anniversary tour. And I’m happy to be here. It’s a lot of fun."




Chaoszine: So, is it wrong to say that you’re a kind of savior for Michael Schenker nowadays? [laughter]


McAuley: "Oh, I don’t know if I’m a savior, but I’m reliable. I’m reliable."


Chaoszine: I have to ask this. Since you joined on tour with really short notice, were you kind of on standby the whole time?


McAuley: "No, no, no, no. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I remember when I saw– because this post comes up on Facebook. And I went, “Oh, look, Rory Gallagher Festival.” And I went, “Oh, I’d really like to do that.” Because my wife and I were planning a trip to Ireland to go visit family, and coincidentally, it was at the same time as the Rory Gallagher Festival. So I sent Michael an email, and I went, “Hey, I see you guys are playing Rory Gallagher. I would love to do that if Ronnie Romero needs a break.” And I don’t think anymore about it, right? And then I had a reply from Michael’s people, and they said, “This would be great if you still want to do it.” And I went, “Oh, that’s a nice surprise. I’d love to do it.” And I was only supposed to do just that one show, only because of Michael, right? And it was a good excuse. I went, “I’m in Ireland anyway to visit family,” and we were planning to do some sightseeing. My wife, I think you know, is from Austria, so she hasn’t seen a lot of Ireland. I haven’t seen a lot of Ireland. It’s been a long time, right?


So anyway, after we had agreed that I would do the Rory Gallagher Festival, maybe a month later, I had another email saying, “Hey, can you jump in for the rest of 2023?” And I went, “Oops, what just happened?” And it says, “Ronnie will not be singing with MSG anymore. If you could do it, it’d be great. Michael would love you to do it.” And I went, “Sure.” And I again check my schedule, and we don’t start the next Black Swan record until later in the year. And so here I am. Yeah, so no, I wasn’t prepared. Obviously, you have to check and see what the setlist and what I have to learn and jump in without a rehearsal and all of that sort of stuff. So I actually went through Rory Gallagher without a rehearsal. We just had a sound check, and I went, “Oops, better get this right.” But I’m good at doing my homework."


Chaoszine: But the setlist is now pretty much the same as it was last year.


McAuley: "Correct. It’s very similar. So, it was just a matter of revision. Getting ready for the exam."


Chaoszine: Now that you are back in the band again, it would have been great if the setlist had included at least a few songs from the McAuley-Schenker Group era.


McAuley: "Everybody says that. I don’t know why that is, but since the live set is rehearsed already and this is what they’ve been doing, it would, logistically, probably take a couple of weeks of rehearsal to come in and start rehearsing newer material. Not that it’s new material, but you’d still have to rehearse it and change the show or add it or whatever. So it’s easier just to do it this way. And if Michael decides that “Okay, we’re going to add some of the McAuley Schenker period.” then I’m assuming that there would be a rehearsal for that. But right now, we need to do what we were doing before. So usually, it’s pretty good. We learn a two-hour set. And it’s a year since I sang the set, and you still have to come in and prepare and do your best. And it’s not always perfect, but it’s live."


Chaoszine: So, as you said earlier, you now have a deal to tour with Michael until the end of this year.


McAuley: "Yeah."


Chaoszine: What about after that? Have you talked to Michael about it?


McAuley: "Ask Michael that question. I don’t have an answer to that. All I know is that I committed to the rest of the year, and I will finish it out. I won’t be going anywhere."


Chaoszine: But would you like to do more things with Michael in the future if you had the chance to do that?


McAuley: "Well, of course. Absolutely. I mean, I keep telling people that Michael is without question one of the best rock guitar players on the planet. After 35 years of standing on stage with him, I’m still in awe. His level of playing is phenomenal to watch and to be up there on stage, I go, “Damn, this is cool. It doesn’t get much cooler than this.” And he’s amazing. He’s amazing because I know a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on age and everything. Attitude has a lot to do with it too, and it’s where you are in your place. There’s a lot of pride in what we do, I think. And I always tell people that as a singer, I can see a lot that’s going on. And if I see people whispering going, “Shh, this guy can really play.” I’ll hear it. And I don’t want that to happen a lot. I don’t want to get too much pride for that. So I do my best. And I know that, yeah, I would love to make another record with Michael or whatever he’s got planned. If it’s a tour and I’m free– Black Swan and the solo record, they don’t tour. So there’s a recording period of time that that’s involved, but it’s the same with Reb Beach and the same with Jeff Pilson. We find time to record, but we don’t have the time to play live because we have all of this other stuff going on."


Read the complete interview at Chaoszine.net.


Robin McAuley's new solo album, Alive, was released back in February. Order/save Alive here.





Tracklisting:


"Alive"
"Dead As A Bone"
"Bless Me Father"
"Feel Like Hell"
"Can’t Go On"
"The Endless Mile"
"Fading Away"
"My Only Son"
"When The Time Has Come"
"Stronger Than Before"
"Who I Am"


"Can't Go On" lyric video:





"Feel Like Hell" video:





"Alive" video:





Lineup:


Robin McAuley - vocals
Andrea Seveso - guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio - bass, keyboards
Nicholas Papapicco - drums

In a new interview with Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station, JETHRO TULL leader Ian Anderson spoke about what keeps him motivated to keep making albums and touring, more than five decades after the band's formation. The 76-year-old British-born musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Back in the '70s, we released a new album every year, which sounds like quite an industrious process. But in fact, I'm reminded of Stephen King, the novelist — he's managed two books a year for pretty much all of his adult life. And so I think those of us who are creative for a living, it's hard to imagine a year going by and you haven't come up with something new, even though in my case it may not be a new album release every year, but there's lots of other creative things that I've been doing in the period of time; even if it's not a new album release, there's always other stuff going on. And so it's part of what I do. And I'm not sure how long it will go on. There has to be that point where you just recognize that you don't have it in you anymore to do that stuff. But I can't imagine what that would feel like. The idea that there's nothing left; now I have to take up golf or go fishing or something — God help me. I would rather do somebody else's laundry than take up golf.'

He continued: "My son-in-law is a big golfer. In fact, he's coming for a takeaway curry this evening; I haven't seen him for a few weeks. He's a big golfer. He does charity golf events where he gets together with other people who you've probably never heard of who do these sort of charity golf events. He really loves his golf. Frankly, he's always asking me to go and play golf with him, but I don't play golf. It's a nice thing for those people who enjoy it. It's a very recreational and mildly physical sport, but for me it spells the end. I'm not ready for golf."

JETHRO TULL will embark on "The Seven Decades" tour later this month. Led by Anderson, the concert will feature a rich collection of the best-known JETHRO TULL repertoire from 1968 to date. Fans will recognize the key songs from various albums — songs which put JETHRO TULL and Ian Anderson on the map during these seven decades. "The Seven Decades" tour will hit the U.S. from August through November, with stops in Indianapolis, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, Albany and more.

JETHRO TULL released its 23rd studio album, "RökFlöte", in April via InsideOut Music. Following 2022's "The Zealot Gene", the group's first LP in two decades, Anderson and his bandmates returned with a 12-track record based on the characters and roles of some of the principal gods of the old Norse paganism, and at the same time exploring the "RökFlöte" — rock flute — which JETHRO TULL has made iconic.

"The Zealot Gene", released in January 2022, was JETHRO TULL's 22nd studio album and it garnered critical acclaim across the board. Reaching No. 9 in the U.K. album charts, a feat the band hadn't reached since 1972, it also debuted at No. 4 in Germany, No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Austria, No. 8 in Finland, as well as top 10 in the U.S. album charts, Current Album charts and Rock Album charts.

With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, JETHRO TULL are one of the most successful rock bands of all-time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Anderson, TULL continue to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages.

The band consists of:

Ian Anderson - Concert and Alto flutes, Flute d'Amour, Irish whistle and vocals
David Goodier - Bass
John O'Hara - Piano, keyboards and Hammond Organ
Scott Hammond - Drums
Joe Parrish-James - Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin

In a new interview with ADK Metal News, Reviews, Reactions & Interviews, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares spoke about the band's plans for the coming months. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We start October 6th going into December 17th, and then we have Christmas break, obviously. January we go back into the studio, start finishing more stuff from the [upcoming] record. And then late January, we've got another big tour coming up, which I can't say who it is yet, but it's gonna be a fucking killer package. And it's in the U.S. And that's gonna be another two-month tour. And then we've got some festivals — April, May, June and probably August. Then, in the summer, I need to take the summer off to finish the new record, get it out and then get back on the road probably by October, November next year again."

He continued: "It's a lot of planning. We're getting asked to do a lot of things and right now I've been saying yes, just to try to get the band back out there, try to get the band to rebuild our large live credibility. We want the fans to come back. And then you hit 'em with a new song and then you hit 'em with a new album. And you just get back out there and do it again."

An early instrumental version of a new FEAR FACTORY song called "Roboticist" was made available in March to promote Toneforge Disruptor, a virtual guitar rig plugin and standalone app.

Cazares told BLABBERMOUTH.NET about "Roboticist", which was mixed by longtime FEAR FACTORY collaborator Damien Rainaud: "Initially it was just going to be a instrumental for the plugin, but it came out so good that I decided to make it a song for the new album. Maybe the album will be called the 'Roboticist'. It fits so well with our concept."

FEAR FACTORY's next LP will be the band's first with singer Milo Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

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

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

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

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

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

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

FEAR FACTORY's latest album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside Heller.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

Alice Cooper's new album, Road, will be released on August 25 via earMUSIC in a wide variety of formats and limited vinyl colours. Watch an official lyric video for the song, "Welcome To The Show", below.


"Welcome To The Show”, showcasing Alice Cooper's signature blend of hard rock, theatrical storytelling, and haunting melodies is the third single released prior to the launch of Road. One of the most influential and iconic figures in music, Cooper's latest offering taps into the essence of his classic hits while offering a fresh and invigorating sound, bursting with energy from the first note.


"'Welcome To The Show' is just that: Telling the audience here it is. The show is ready to go and we are fully loaded. Here it comes!", Alice says.







Complementing the album’s theme, the bonus DVD/Blu-ray comes with Alice Cooper’s full live show at Hellfest 2022 and includes all the classics and rarely played gems. Check out "School's Out" from the set, below:





Produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, Road was written, composed and recorded with Alice's trusted, longtime bandmates - Ryan Roxie [guitar], Chuck Garric [bass], Tommy Henrikson [guitar], Glen Sobel [drums], and Nita Strauss [guitar]. Road channels the spirit of old school Alice with instantly recognizable grit and plenty of gusto. It’s everything you’d hope for from him and more.


“For Road, I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs,” says Alice. “I only see these guys when we’re on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off, and this is my way of doing so.”


The album opener and first single, “I’m Alice”, sets the tone for the album with its driving drumbeat as guitars wail in the distance. Alice’s instantly recognizable rasp takes hold, “I know you’re looking for a real good time. So, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. I’m Alice. I’m the Master of Madness; the Sultan of Surprise...so don’t be afraid, just look into my eyes.”


Pre-order your copy of Road at AliceCooper.com.





Road tracklisting:


"I'm Alice"
"Welcome To The Show"
"All Over The World"
"Dead Don't Dance"
"Go Away"
"White Line Frankenstein"
"Big Boots"
"Rules Of The Road"
"The Big Goodbye"
"Road Rats Forever"
"Baby Please Don't Go"
"100 More Miles"


"Welcome To The Show":





"White Line Frankenstein" video:





"I'm Alice" video:





Trailer:





Rock City Music Company, earMusic, WCSX / WRIF and Alice Cooper are teaming up to bring his new album, Road, to life with an exclusive in-store signing set for 4 PM ON September 4. Fans will have the chance to meet Alice Cooper and have their copy of Road signed in person.


Alice Cooper - "I’m coming to Detroit, and of course, that’s my hometown and the home of hard rock,  so, with the Road album just released the week before, I can’t think of a better place to  do an in-store album signing than the Motor City! So, all of you Detroiters come out and  see me and we’ll rock a little bit together!"


Alice will only be signing copies of Road and a ticket must be purchased to participate in the signing event. Due to time constraints, there will be no photos permitted with Alice. Tickets are available to purchase at RockCityMusicCo.com via Eventbrite.

You can brand your steak or favorite meat using a SLAYER branding iron.

The SLAYER meat brander will make you a hit at your next cookout or party by allowing you to sear the band's logo onto your ordinary grilled meats.

The meat brander, which is currently on pre-order from SLAYER's official webstore for $75, will begin shipping in mid-October.

Back in 2018, Global Merchandising revealed that "more than $25 million worth of licensed merchandise bearing the SLAYER name, trademark, logos and/or likenesses" had been sold up until that point.

Global Merchandising had previously licensed SLAYER for consumer products such as a collection of kimonos from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brand Tatami Fightwear, jigsaw puzzles and action figures.

In late 2019, prior to the launch of the last leg of SLAYER's final tour, Barry Drinkwater, who co-founded Bravado and now runs Global Merchandising, told Pollstar that more than $10 million worth of SLAYER merchandise had been sold on the farewell tour up until then.

SLAYER played the final show of its farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, guitarist Kerry King's wife Ayesha King said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more live appearances. In August 2020, she once again shot down the possibility of her husband and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya sharing the stage ever again under the SLAYER banner.

After Ayesha shared three photos of Kerry holding their cat in slideshow-type Instagram post, a fan wrote: "No Tom, No SLAYER Kerry. Stop thinking SLAYER without @tomarayaofficial". Ayesha then replied: "don't worry, they'll never be SLAYER again! You can rest easy".

That same month, SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph confirmed that he is involved in a brand new project headed up by Kerry King. The duo spent much of the last four years working on music with the hopes of recording it properly once the coronavirus pandemic had subsided.

SLAYER's final world tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band's intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last SLAYER show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wrapped at the Forum, the band had completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30 countries and 40 U.S. states.

Long-running SoCal band (HED) P.E. will release a new album, "Detox", early next year via Suburban Noize Records. The official animated video for the LP's title track can be seen below. The clip is the first installment in a series that combines the art of the legendary Jim "Taz" Evans, the music of (HED) P.E. and a storyline written years ago by Kevin Zinger of Suburban Noize/Regime. The story, and art were all pre-existing elements blended together with the music to make a new animated movie called "Detox: Planet Earth". The animated series will be released chapter by chapter and then in its entirety with the drop of the entire new (HED) P.E. album.

"I wrote this story years ago with no plans of it going anywhere and one day I was looking at the body of work of Taz and thought this art is the perfect visual for it," commented Kevin Zinger. "Some years went by and [(HED) P.E. frontman] Jared [Gomes] sent me the new (HED) P.E. record and it dawned on me. I've never seen anyone take pre-existing elements like this and mix them together to make something new. It was a challenge for sure but it came together unreal with the help of animator Bonez. And now it's a full-blown animated movie with (HED) P.E. as the soundtrack."

The story is a weaving narrative of a futuristic America that has undergone a metamorphosis into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Within this desolate terrain, a resilient group has formed, known as the New World Orphans. Bound together, they stand against government corruption, greed, and the degradation of the environment. The New World Orphans embody humanity's ultimate chance for survival, positioned to embark on the vital mission of cleansing the planet of its toxicity. This first release is a foreshadow of what is to come.

"Detox" was recorded at Jared's home studio, with production and songwriting led by Remy Dovianus and engineering/mixing by Ulrich Wild (known for his work with PANTERA, DEFTONES and STATIC-X). Gomes delved into the G-Punk essence reminiscent of their earlier albums, capturing the chaotic energy and all the distinctive elements of the (HED) P.E. signature sound. Wild undertook the mixing and mastering, skillfully harmonizing raw aggression, braggadocious hip-hop, and unfiltered hardcore to create a seamlessly integrated auditory experience.

Gomes shared: "This album marks a return to the cherished G-Punk sound that (HED) P.E. fans know and adore. When listeners hear this record, its familiarity will be striking because it encapsulates the essence of (HED) P.E."

He continued, "The 'Detox' album embarks on a spiritual journey from a state of chemical enslavement to self-liberation, and then, ironically, back again. I composed this from an intimately personal standpoint, as I grappled with addiction throughout my life."

"On this album, I'm unapologetically candid, addressing topics such as sexuality, substance use, and a hardcore lifestyle. I've incorporated more rap elements, and the music is notably heavier and thrash-oriented. I discovered the inspiration to delve into some gritty subjects. Balancing parenthood brings a unique challenge to finding 'alone' time with one's spouse, akin to a covert mission that must be accomplished at all costs! This album truly grants the audience what they've longed for, without compromising artistic integrity."

He added: "The album's title, 'Detox', stems from a period post-pandemic where I found myself engulfed in a sea of red wine, attempting to make sense of my thoughts amidst the influence of various substances in my mind. At a critical juncture, I confronted my struggles with substance abuse. This inner battle became the focal point of the album's narrative, addressing a topic I'm all too familiar with — addiction."

The unvarnished, raw honesty of this narrative compelled Gomes and the band to embrace their bold and provocative history, leveraging it as a stark contrast to more politically correct releases. While albums like the 2005's "Only In Amerika" reacted intentionally against the radio-friendly sound of prior works, "Detox" boldly extends a middle finger to mainstream conventions.

(HED) P.E. stands as pioneers of the G-Punk genre, an innovative blend of punk-rock, metal, hip-hop, and reggae. With a career spanning over two decades, the band has toured worldwide, sharing stages with rock heavyweights like PAPA ROACH and LINKIN PARK, hardcore icons SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and the iconic Ozzfest tour. The band's partnership with Suburban Noize Records in the early 2000s fueled a creative resurgence, contributing significantly to the flourishing underground music scene.

Extreme metallers BRUJERIA will release their fifth full-length album, "Esto Es Brujeria", on September 15 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The music video for the LP's second single, "Bruja Encabronada", can be seen below.

"Esto Es Brujería" track listing:

01. Esto Es Brujeria
02. El Patrón Del Reventón
03. Estado Profundo
04. Bruja Encabronada
05. G-A-K
06. Tu Vida Loca
07. Mexorcista
08. Bestia De La Muerte
09. Políticamente Correctos
10. Mochado
11. Perdido En El Espacio
12. Odio Que Amo
13. Testamento 3.0
14. Covid-666
15. Lord Nazi Ruso
16. Cocaína

"Esto Es Brujeria" was recorded worldwide at the following studios: Dog Run Studio in Riverside, California; Total Annihilation Studios in East Los Angeles, California; Robanna's in Birmingham, United Kingdom; and Audiocustom in Santiago, Chile. Production of the record was handled by the band while engineering was a joint effort between Eddie Casillas, Eddie Rivas and Miguel Seco. The mixing and mastering of the album was completed by Seba Puente who was also a part of the engineering team. The album artwork was created by Gary Ronaldson. "Esto Es Brujeria" sees the return of their metal mascot Coco Loco who is emblazoned on the ferocious cover.

In June 2020, BRUJERIA released a digital single, "COVID-666", via Nuclear Blast Records. It was accompanied by a quarantine-style music video for the title track, directed by Juan Brujo.

BRUJERIA's most recent album, 2016's "Pocho Aztlan", was the band's first release since "Brujerizmo" came out in 2000 via Roadrunner. It was recorded over the course of many years and at several studios around the globe. The end result was mixed by Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, THE EXPLOITED).

In a 2015 interview with The Moshville Times, Brujo said that BRUJERIA was never meant to be a touring band. "We only ever meant to make some records. What it was, was back in L.A. in 1989, there was a metal scene which included grind and hardcore stuff. There was a band called TERRORIZER, and they wouldn't let them play in the normal clubs so they'd play in backyards in the Mexican parts of town. We would go — in the backyard of someone's house — and none of the fans there watching the show spoke English. All these Mexicans — there are a lot of Mexicans in L.A., so we just thought, 'We have to start a band that sings in Spanish. Give them what they want.'

"There were issues with some of the guys — 'I've got a contract with my other band,' 'I might be on the road' — but we were only ever going to make music; we were never going to tour it. Just make music in Spanish and see how it went. We did the first record in a day at the studio. We had nothing written; we had no drummer… we just showed up. Someone who'd never played drums in their lives was playing drums. We recorded four songs and when we left, we gave a copy to a Mexican kid and a white guy — one of those hardcore dudes, just someone who didn't speak Spanish. The next day we met the hardcore guy again and he had a patch on his arm. He'd got a BRUJERIA tattoo. He wanted to be the first guy with a BRUJERIA tattoo. The day after we recorded the songs. The Mexican guy — he didn't speak any English — we saw him a couple of days later and he'd memorized all the words. I mean, they're really [makes harsh vocal noises] but he'd listened to them about a thousand times and worked them all out. He was singing them to us there and that's when we thought, 'This thing is gonna work.'"

BRUJERIA is:

Juan Brujo, Sangron - Vocals
Fantasma - Vocals
Pinche Peach - Vocals
La Encabronada - Vocals
El Criminal - Guitars
El Embrujado - Guitars
Hongo - Bass
El Cynico - Bass
Hongo Jr. - Drums

Following on from Steve Vai's admission that he was "a bit of a prima donna" during his stint in WHITESNAKE in a story that made the news last week, Adrian Vandenberg has revealed that his one-time six-string partner apologized to him for his behavior during their tenure in David Coverdale's rock behemoths. Vandenberg made the revelation during a chat with Eonmusic about VANDENBERG's new album "Sin".

Vai joined WHITESNAKE in time for 1989's "Slip Of The Tongue", an album co-written by Vandenberg, and although the Dutch guitarist didn't feature on the album, he rejoined the band for its subsequent touring cycle.

Speaking to Eonmusic about their musical partnership, Adrian said: "Steve and I became really good friends pretty much instantly. I think it worked really well between Steve and I because I thought it sounded so different".

Going on to talk about their differences as players, Vandenberg said: I'm a very melodic player — that's always been my passion — and Steve, especially in that period, was very flashy, because he felt he had to prove himself more. That's what he told me later."

Going on to reveal that Vai had apologized for what he himself last week described as "prima donna" behavior, Vandenberg said: "Steve later on said, 'Man, I have to say, you know, at the time, my ego was a little inflated', and he kind of apologized for it. He said, 'You know, I was just getting carried away by that period of time where everybody was going, 'Oh! Steve Vai.'"

Admitting that it was tough to not get to play on the "Slip Of The Tongue" album, Adrian was philosophical. "As frustrating as it was that I wasn't able to play on my own songs because of this wrist injury, at the same time, I thought, 'Well, in a way, it's kind of cool that a player of Steve's caliber plays on the songs,'" he said.

In a recent interview with Vintage Rock Pod, Vai stated about his decision to join the David Coverdale-fronted band after parting ways with David Lee Roth: "In my mind, that's what I was doing — I was surrendering my career. Because the music for [my solo album] 'Passion And Warfare' [which ended up getting released in 1990]… I knew it was very different."

Vai went on to admit that he lacked the confidence to perform instrumental music in front of an audience as he was used to having a frontman. "So I thought, 'Well, it would make much more sense to tour with WHITESNAKE and make a record with them,'" he explained. "And for the momentum of that other side of my career, and lucky for me, I really liked the music of WHITESNAKE. Back then, their 'Whitesnake' album [had] sold 25 million copies and it was a great record. I just love great singers, and Coverdale was a monster. I mean, come on. I watched that guy get on stage every night and deliver like a boss. So I thought, 'Yeah, man. I want in.' It was great. When I got into the band, all the music was written and recorded for the 'Slip Of The Tongue' record. I just had to put the guitars on it. That was another really great group of guys."

Vai continued: "If anybody was difficult, it was me. I was a bit of a prima donna. I came from Dave Roth, and with Dave Roth, you learn certain things, how to navigate the business and navigate the magazines and the press and things like this. Plus I had 'Passion And Warfare' out. It was blowing up while I was touring with WHITESNAKE. So we did the 'Slip Of The Tongue', and we did a huge tour. It was fantastic. At the end of it, David was going through some personal things. He was going through a divorce, so he disbanded everything. But I knew instinctively that I [had to] do a record and a tour with them, and [then] return to the quirky music that was in my head. And I did."

WHITESNAKE scored the band's third consecutive platinum record with its eighth studio album, "Slip Of The Tongue". Originally released in November 1989, it peaked at No. 10 on the U.K. and U.S. album charts thanks largely to its two Top 40 hits — "Fool For Your Loving" and "The Deeper The Love". The fan favorite turned 30 in 2019 and Rhino celebrated with several new versions, including a colossal seven-disc boxed set.

Following the eight-times-platinum success of its eponymous album in 1987, WHITESNAKE returned two years later with "Slip Of The Tongue". At the time, the band included Coverdale, bassist Rudy Sarzo, drummer Tommy Aldridge, Vandenberg and Vai. Vandenberg and Coverdale co-wrote all but one song on the album, but Vandenberg couldn't record them in the studio at the time due to a hand injury. To fill the void, Vai joined the band for the album and tour.

"When I had joined WHITESNAKE, the tracks were already recorded and Adrian had laid down guide rhythm tracks," Vai told Guitar World. "What had happened was Adrian developed this situation with his wrist that persisted throughout the tour. I'm not sure what caused it, but he'd have to soak his wrist after every show.

"Adrian's such a great player, but the injury made it so he couldn't really sustain for too long because of the pain. I've stayed pretty close with Adrian over the years and I see him whenever I'm in Holland, and when I spoke to him a couple of years ago, he was still having that wrist problem — but they located the source of it to his neck.

"So Adrian had made these guide tracks and that were basically chords and structures, and I obviously copped a lot of the riffs from those, but I put my spin on them because it was all like one track of guitar. I went in with 20 tracks on some songs; it's a very dense guitar record and I definitely did my best to decorate it. It was a departure for what WHITESNAKE was normally known for in the guitar department."

Asked if he had any reservations about not staying wholly true to WHITESNAKE's old signature sound, Vai said: "You have to find a balance between what's expected of you from the band, what the fans are expecting, what the song requires and is telling you to do — and also being true to your own voice. I had no choice but to express my own voice because that's all I know.

"If I had tried to sound like Yngwie [Malmsteen] when I had joined ALCATRAZZ, it just wouldn't have worked because I'm very satisfied with the way I play, but I also can't play like Yngwie. It was the same thing when I was playing with Dave [David Lee] Roth; I needed to deliver in a rock context — which was very natural to me — but I'm not going to compete with Edward Van Halen.

"There's no way those records would've been accepted if I didn't have some kind of rock integrity, but I knew what the songs needed and I knew what the audience was expecting and there's a side of me that I knew could deliver that. It was the same thing with WHITESNAKE.

"The foundation of WHITESNAKE's sound was rooted in rock blues, and there's a whole culture that emanated from Europe in that traditional solid rock blues guitar playing that had a real authenticity to it.

"Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Adrian Vandenberg, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page — that was the sound all WHITESNAKE records had been built upon. But WHITESNAKE had gone through different permutations of guitar sounds throughout the years, and the previous one to me was John Sykes, and he absolutely had his own sound.

"Sykes didn't sound like any other previous WHITESNAKE guitarist, but his thumbprint is an indelible part of the WHITESNAKE record he did. The fatness of that record and the rock integrity it had was all Sykes. So I knew I wasn't going to sound like Sykes and I wasn't going to try to.

"You cheat yourself when you try to do that and play like someone else. And the audience is a lot smarter than you think; they're very intuitive and perceptive and if you try to pull anything over on them — like biting someone else's thing — you'll get beat up for it."

Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., who joined Ozzy Osbourne's band nearly a decade and a half ago, was asked in a new interview with Rat Salad Review if he still keeps in touch with the legendary heavy metal singer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not really. Not very much. I mean, I sent a couple of e-mails, like in the beginning when I heard he got injured. I just sent him my wishes; I e-mailed Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] and stuff. But, yeah, I'm pretty much keeping up with them online, like the rest of the world, whenever he issues an update for his health."

Addressing Ozzy's persistent health problems that have plagued his career in recent years, Gus said: "I hope he can get back on track. I don't think he's gonna be able to tour again on the scale that he used to, but at least he can do a couple of nice farewell shows, at least a couple of one-offs. I think he would really like that. And I think he will, because he's the 'iron man.' I don't think you can take him off stage that easily. [Laughs]"

Last fall, Gus told Czech Republic's Backstage TV about his time playing with Ozzy: "It was really good times. It was a really highlight of my career, obviously, playing at such a big level and, of course, to play with one of the fathers of this music, heavy metal. So, just to be a part of that legacy is incredible; it's mindblowing. I still cannot believe it happened. I learned a lot.

"I'm not a guy who thinks so much about the past," Gus explained. "I think I have evolved since then; I have become a better musician, better person, better performer. That was a big stepping stone for me. I look at those days with a lot of joy, and I have nice memories, nice feelings about Ozzy and Sharon [Ozzy's wife and manager] and the [rest of the] Osbournes; they treated me very nice. And it was some of the best years of my life with them; I got to see and experience things that not many musicians do, so I was lucky in that sense. But I'm doing my thing now and I've had my own thing for a long time. And I'm happy where I'm at in life right now."

Two years ago, Gus was asked by Guitar World how he found out he was no longer in Ozzy's group. "Sharon called me at home," he said. "I was kind of expecting it. They had announced a festival, and I was waiting to hear back what was going to happen. And then eventually, she gave me a call. I think it was in the middle of the night, because we have such a time zone difference. She called me in Greece, and said, 'I just wanted to let you know personally, so you don't find out online, we're going to do the farewell tour, and Zakk is coming back for that.' And I was, like, 'No worries at all. No problem.' And I thanked her for everything they had done for me. We're still on good terms, so, no problem at all."

Asked if he would ever consider working with Ozzy again, Gus said: "I think that's more of a question that you have to ask him. [Laughs] It's pretty obvious, I wouldn't say no if he called me up and wanted to play a show or for an album. I loved my time with him, and of course I would do it again. I think it's more of a question for him — because he gets to pick and choose who he works with. I don't think there is a guitar player on earth that would turn that down…or maybe there would be, I don't know. [Laughs]"

Back in 2018, Gus told TrueMetal.it that "it was a little bit of a relief" to find out that Ozzy was getting back together with his longtime axeman Zakk Wylde. "I was just kind of tired of waiting around for all these years, not hearing anything about potential tours or recording activities," Gus said. "Of course, [Ozzy] was very busy with BLACK SABBATH — I understand that — but then in between of all that, there would be all these one-off [solo Ozzy] shows popping up and I had to make myself available for that. But there was never any… I felt like there was no… I didn't see stuff coming up for the future, you know? So, as much as I loved being in that band and working with him, in a way, it was a little bit of a dead end for me, speaking personally. Of course, now he's gonna go on a big tour again and do his farewell thing, and that's great for him, but it was not a creative thing for me."

It was announced in April 2017 that Wylde would be rejoining Ozzy's backing group for all his upcoming solo show dates. Osbourne's most recent touring lineup also included Rob "Blasko" Nicholson on bass, Tommy Clufetos on drums and Adam Wakeman on keyboards.

Gus, who played on Ozzy's latest studio album, 2010's "Scream", told TrueMetal.it that part of his frustration stemmed from the fact that he wasn't told far in advance when his services would be needed by Ozzy, making it difficult for the guitarist to make long-term plans with any of his other projects. "There was never any definite announcement, like, 'Hey, guys, we're gonna see you next year' or something; it was always, like, 'We'll see what happens,'" he said. "So that's a bit of an uncertainty right there, and, of course, I had my own band [and] I had stuff to do, but I could never really book stuff too far ahead into the future just in case something [with Ozzy] came up. So it was really hard to get some info at some points… Anyways, you know, that's how it is; that was the situation. So, yeah, in a way, like I said, it was a relief, because now I can totally control what I'm gonna be doing, and that's a much nicer feeling."

Wylde originally joined Osbourne's band three and a half decades ago and backed the legendary frontman from 1987 to 1995, then again in 1998, from 2001 to 2004 and also from 2006 to 2009.

End - guitarist Will Putney, vocalist Brendan Murphy, guitarist Gregory Thomas, bassist Jay Pepito, and drummer Matt Guglielmo - will release their second album The Sin Of Human Frailty on October 27 via Closed Casket Activities. Pre-order it here.


Today, the band has shared the video for the enraged first singe, "Gaping Wounds Of Earth". Watch the clip below.


"'Gaping Wounds Of Earth' is a jarring and chaotic exploration into what it feels like to be uncomfortable in your own skin," the band says. "The spiral of a broken human continues. As in all our work, there is no light at the end of this tunnel."




End initially materialized during 2017. The group's From the Unforgiving Arms of God EP spawned the fan favorite "Necessary Death," and lead to a signing with label Closed Casket Activities. Highlighted by "Covet Not" and "Absence," the band bulldozed the senses with their 2020 full-length debut, Splinters From An Ever-Changing Face.


In 2023, the members congregated once again to write and recorded what would become this sophomore release. "Part of the goal was to do things our way," states Putney. "We didn't want to lean on our influences too heavily, whether it's in terms of production, guitar tone, arrangement, or other elements. We were like, 'Let's just make a record that sounds like End.' I feel like there's more of an identity to the band than there has ever been on this record."


The final result is a unique blend of HM2 driven grind and metallic hardcore cross over with moments of Industrial chaos over ten tracks. Featuring guest vocal appearances by J.R. Hayes (Pig Destroyer), Debbie Gough (Heriot), and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), this Graphic Nature Audio recording clocks in over 30 minutes of unhinged aggression and grind.


Produced and engineered by Will Putney and featuring the art of Alex Eckman-Lawn, this release pushes the complexity of End, both sonically and visually. Vinyl comes packaged in a ten panel die-cut jacket, pressed on deluxe colored vinyl and with a digital download code.





The Sin Of Human Frailty tracklisting:


"A Predator Yourself"
"Gaping Wounds Of Earth"
"The Sin Of Human Frailty"
"Thaw"
"Embodiment Of Grief"
"Twice Devoured Kill"
"Worthless Is The Lamb"
"Hollow Urn"
"Infest"
"Leper"


"Gaping Wounds Of Earth" video:

In a new interview with EMP, vocalist Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA weighed in on a debate about people using an AI (artificial intelligence) music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and machine learning (ML) models. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We talk about it amongst each other in the backstage with our colleagues and other creative people. Some have bigger worries than others. I myself try to adapt as good as I can. I mean, you can't stop it anyway, and I think we should try to use it to our benefit, however we can. But I do notice a lot of my friends are occupied with this topic, but I try to not let myself get too crazy because of it. I think in the end, humans need humans and art needs to be created by actual flesh and blood."

She continued: "One of our crew members, he used the voice from Pink to sing [EPICA's] 'Abyss Of Time', and he sent it to me, like, 'Look, Pink is singing your song.' And at first I didn't recognize that it was even EPICA. And then I was, like, ah, it's Pink's voice but still, you hear there's no soul in it; it still sounds artificial. The emotion, you can't fake that, I think. But you can write lyrics. So for the Dutch people [celebrating] Sinterklaas [holiday] where you have to write like little rhymes for all your family and friends and you work a whole week every night, you can just ask AI to do it for you.

"But, yeah, for writing lyrics, it's a different thing," Simone added. "There you can definitely, probably cheat. But for me, one of the nice things, of course, besides singing, is also writing lyrics. So far, whenever I wrote lyrics, I asked thesaurus or like RhymeZone [rhyming dictionary and thesaurus], which is already in a way a little cheating, I guess. But my lyrics will still be coming from my weird brain."

This past May, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows said that he "would love to" have his voice cloned using artificial intelligence in order to create new songs. The singer, whose real name is Matt Sanders, was also enthused about the possibilities, saying that "AI can be incredibly useful" for songwriters. M. Shadows went on to say that AI gives fans the opportunity to use the work of their favorite acts as a machine learning library to create their own songs.

Pop singer Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, recently said she would "split 50% royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses my voice". "Same deal as I would with any artist I collab[orate] with. Feel free to use my voice without penalty," she tweeted.

Earlier this month, former VAN HALEN bassist and current MAMMOTH WVH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen was asked by Primordial Radio if he thinks there is any "place" for artificial intelligence (AI) in music, particularly when it comes to the creative process. He responded: "I think when aiding in creation, sort of like that 'intelligent' drummer thing [from Logic], [it] can be helpful. But overall, when it comes to creative merits and creative processes, I really just don't think AI can compete. The only way it competes is by plagiarizing a combination of everything else that we've already done. So without us, it couldn't be. So when it comes to creating original sort of things, no chance."

Hardcore forerunners Harm's Way have released their frenetic new single "Devour" which examines the impact of toxic relationships.


The band tell, "'Devour' is an expression of self-reflection following the realization that everything that was once there to give has been spent. Led down a path of deception and manipulation, one's sense of self has been lost along the way. 'Devour' is the process of waking up to your isolation, with actions and purpose that are somehow no longer your own. It's a crossroads that can lead you either the rest of the way down, or back to where whatever's lost may be found again."


For nearly two decades, Harm’s Way has evolved from whispered underground favorites to favorite sons with an arsenal of songs that helped shape heavy music’s trajectory – creating a roadmap for legions interested in “reinventing” themselves. Harm’s Way has never stayed complacent and constantly morphed shape– absorbing and reapplying influences in new and creative ways to create some of the most well-executed songs in hardcore punk and metal. And yet, considering the changeling that they and their previous efforts are, Common Suffering is easily the most musically diverse undertaking in their catalog. 




Despite Harm’s Way’s reputation for unrelenting brutality, Common Suffering surprises at several turns with quieter moments of well thought out songwriting that emphasize light and shade. It’s their understanding of how to effectively orchestrate these dynamics that makes an already ironclad record feel infinitely more merciless. This is Harm’s Way at the top of their game – the ambitious sound of a band traversing new ideas. “We really tried not to settle on parts,” recalls guitarist Nick Gauthier. “Sometimes a direction that we could have taken in a song felt too obvious… We would just troubleshoot that until we felt creatively satisfied with the direction we were taking.”


The key to the success may be a shift to recording at Studio 4 in Pennsylvania with producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Code Orange). Going into the recording, the goal was to improve some of the band's processes, examine vocal cadences and experiment during production to gain the best idea from each track. The first change dealt with refocusing members on their specific wheelhouses. While Pligge had previously assisted with riffs, on this effort, his main objective was to ensure the perfect vocal attack– leaning into Yip for advice and letting the remainder of the band take the wheel with their respective parts. The result is each player pushing to the far reaches and creating material that has previously never been colonized by any band, or hardcore writ large, before. 


The title Common Suffering is a clear nod to the collective experiences of the past three years of chaos, misanthropy, paranoia, disorder, confusion and anxiety, with the band exploring themes ranging from personal struggles with mental health, relationships, political upheaval, corruption, and political power. Pligge digs deep into these subjects such as the track “Cyanide,” which examines the expansion of media outlets, the correlative rise of disinformation, and the pervasive impact it has on people’s lives and systems of power. Additional tracks include “Devour,” which examines the impact of toxic people in one’s life, the highly personal “Hollow Cry,” where Pligge explores his own humanity and relationships, and the somewhat improbable “Undertow,” which features the haunting vocals or Kristina Esfandiari--AKA King Woman--who adds a whole new dimension to the record and helps exhibit the band’s willingness to push into uncharted territory.


Common Suffering sees its release September 29 across all digital streaming platforms, vinyl and CD formats via Metal Blade Records.





Variants include: Digipak CD, Grey / Black Marbled Vinyl (US Exclusive), Clear Smoke Vinyl (US Exclusive), Fog Marbled Vinyl (US Exclusive), White / Black Marbled Vinyl (EU Exclusive - Ltd. 500 copies), Silver Vinyl (EU Exclusive - Ltd. 500 copies), Crystal Clear w/ Black Dust Vinyl (EU Exclusive - Ltd. 300 copies), "Black Hole" w/ Red & White Splatter Vinyl (EU Exclusive - Ltd. 300 copies).


Preorder at metalblade.com.





Tracklisting:


“Silent Wolf”
“Denial”
“Hollow Cry”
“Devour”
“Undertow”
“Heaven’s Call”
“Cyanide”
“Terrorizer”
“Sadist Guilt”
“Wanderer”


"Devour" video:





“Silent Wolf” video:





Harm's Way have also announced a month long North American tour which kicks off October 18 in the Midwest and routes them through Texas, both coasts and more. Fleshwater, Ingrown and Jivebomb are set as support. Tickets go on sale Friday, August 18 at 10 AM local time.





Dates:


September
22 – Mississauga, ON – Hold Your Ground Fest


October
18 – Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade
19 – St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill
20 - Louisville, KY - Portal
21 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
22 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
24 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving Underground
25 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
27 - Brooklyn, NY - Monarch
28 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
29 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
30 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
31 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club


November
1 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
3 – Dallas, TX – Studio at The Factory
4 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
5 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Studio
7 – Phoenix, AZ – The Nile
8 – Las Vegas, NV – Eagle Aerie Hall
9 – Los Angeles, CA – 1720
10 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
11 – Berkeley, CA – 924 Gilman Street
12 – Sacramento, CA – Goldfield Trading Post
14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
15 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
16 – Kansas City, MO – RecordBar 


(Photo – Vanessa Valadez)

18 years ago today, Canadian five-piece Silverstein released their sophomore album, Discovering The Waterfront. Featuring such enduring hits as “My Heroine” and “Smile In Your Sleep,” the LP launched a new era for the post-hardcore band – both creatively, as they shifted towards punk influences, and commercially, as they made their debut on the US charts. 


Now, as the Juno-nominated band celebrates more than two decades together, the long out-of-print album will return to vinyl. In stores September 29 and available for pre-order today, Discovering The Waterfront can be found on classic black vinyl, while select retailers will offer the LP in a variety of limited-edition colors including brown (via Urban Outfitters), green (via Revolver), green and brown marble (via Craft Recordings), and blue marble (via the band’s official store).







The busy band is also gearing up for an extensive global tour this fall. Dates kick off October 14 and 15 in Shibuya City, Japan, with a two-night engagement at Cyclone. The band will continue through the end of the year with stops in Australia, the Philippines, and North America. Ahead of that, fans can catch Silverstein at Chicago’s Riot Fest (September 15) and the Is For Lovers Festival in Mansfield, MA (September 17). 


Formed in 2000 in Burlington, Ontario, Silverstein has long been at the forefront of the hardcore scene, thanks to their dynamic mix of melody and aggression – all blended with the unabashed earnestness of emo. When the five-piece – whose name was inspired by a shared fondness of the poet Shel Silverstein – joined Victory Records in 2002, they had already released two EPs (Summer's Stellar Gaze and When The Shadows Beam) and established a strong regional fanbase. Their acclaimed full-length debut, When Broken Is Easily Fixed, followed a year later and offered a bold introduction to the band, thanks to tracks like “Giving Up” and “Smashed into Pieces.”


After more than a year of non-stop touring with bands like Rise Against, Bayside, and Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein was eager to begin work on their follow-up. Their first of several records with GRAMMY®-winning producer Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Kelly Clarkson, Disturbed), Discovering the Waterfront found the band broadening their sound, as they integrated the urgency of punk rock and the catharses of hardcore with lyrical songwriting and infectious melodies.


The result was a dynamic album that was chock-full of anthemic hooks, including the pop-punk opener “Your Sword versus. My Dagger,” “Call It Karma,” and single “Smile In Your Sleep.” Throughout, Shane Todd demonstrated the breadth of his vocal abilities – particularly in tracks like “My Heroine,” in which he guided listeners through a rollercoaster of emotional balladry and ferocious breakdowns. Todd also displayed his sensitive side in the reflective “Discovering The Waterfront,” which featured string arrangements and a performance by Yellowcard violinist, Sean Mackin.


The band’s stylistic shift paid off: Discovering The Waterfront was embraced by fans and served as their commercial breakthrough in the US. Marking Silverstein’s debut on the Billboard 200, the record peaked at No.34, while it landed at No.3 on the Independent Albums chart. By the year’s end, it had sold over 100,000 copies and ranked among the Top 50 best-selling Independent Albums of 2005. Today, those figures have more than quadrupled.


Today, Discovering the Waterfront remains the group’s highest-selling album and continues to be a perennial favorite among fans, while “My Heroine” endures as the band’s biggest hit. In 2015, as a testament to the album’s popularity, Silverstein embarked on a tenth-anniversary tour of the record, performing it in venues across North America, Europe, the UK, and Australia. 


Speaking to the latest reissue, the band declares: “Our long out-of-print sophomore album, Discovering The Waterfront, has finally returned to vinyl! We still cherish this album and celebrate it any chance we get, so we’re glad our fans can pick up a new physical copy. We’ve been doing this for over 23 years, but never forget our roots. Whether you heard Discovering The Waterfront back then, or just discovered it now, we appreciate you listening.”


In the years following Discovering The Waterfront, Silverstein (whose current line-up includes vocalist Shane Told, guitarists Paul Marc Rousseau and Josh Bradford, bassist Billy Hamilton, and drummer Paul Koehler) has played thousands of shows around the world (including multiple mainstage runs with the Vans Warped Tour) and released over a dozen studio, live, and compilation albums, including the popular Arrivals & Departures (2007) and the Juno-nominated A Beautiful Place to Drown (2020). Last year, the band released their 11th studio album, Misery Made Me.


Preorder here.





Tracklisting:


Side A
“Your Sword Versus My Dagger”
“Smile In Your Sleep”
“The Ides Of March”
“Fist Wrapped In Blood”
“Discovering The Waterfront”
“Defend You”


Side B
“My Heroine”
“Always And Never”
“Already Dead”
“Three Hours Back”
“Call It Karma”


Tour dates:


September
15 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
17 – Mansfield, MA – Is For Lovers Festival


October
14-15 – Shibuya City, Japan – Cyclone
18-19 – Brisbane, Australia – The Fortitude Music Hall
21 – Moore Park, Australia – The Hordern Pavilion
24 – Adelaide, Australia – Hindley Street Music Hall
25-26 – Melbourne, Australia – Forum
28 – Northbridge, Australia – Metro City
29 – Fremantle, Australia – Metropolis Fremantle
31 – Quezon City, Philippines – SM Skydome


November
23 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
25 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda
26 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
28 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts
29 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore 


December
1 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade 
2 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
3 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
5 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
6 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
8 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
9 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater
10 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues Anaheim
12 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
13 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
15 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
16 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
17 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre 


(Photo – Wyatt Clough)

Argentinian solo artist Plaguestorm, the formidable force in the realm of melodic death metal, is set to captivate fans once again with his brand new three track EP, entitled Empty Eyes. Slated for release on October 20, 2023, via Noble Demon, the upcoming offering promises to be a relentless assault on the senses.


Founded by mastermind Sebastián Pastor in early 2014, Plaguestorm has consistently pushed the boundaries of the genre, delivering a unique blend of furious and raging melodies, drawing inspiration from both the old and new Scandinavian sound of death metal.







To give fans a taste of what's to come, Plaguestorm has unveiled the first single from the EP, titled "Thrown Into The Void". This blistering track serves as a powerful introduction, showcasing Pastor's signature blend of sweeping melodies, heavy arrangements, and dark, melancholic undertones. For the first single Plaguestorm is accompanied by Okko Solanterä (Vocals/Horizon Ignited) and Eugene Ryabchenko (Fleshgod Apocalypse) on drums.


Sebastián Pastor comments: "‘Thrown Into The Void’ is a very fast song, with a lot of blast beats, skanks and tremolo riffs, ‘an old school melodic death metal song’ you could say... speed, melodies, blasts, growls... a little touch of clean vocals and a simple but melodic guitar solo... that's what my doctor recommended me these days ;)"


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”:

Varg, Germany’s top-notch pagan metal force, returns stronger than ever on their new album, entitled Ewige Wacht (Engl. Eternal Vigil), to be released on October 13 via Napalm Records. With their last and most successful record to date, Zeichen (Engl. Signs, 2020, #16 in the German album charts), Varg put the thematic and musical focus completely on their pagan roots. On their brand new brainchild, the wolves follow this path unwaveringly, honestly, authentically and raw, and impressively manifest their reincarnation and matchless standing on top of the scene.


The eighth studio album transports Nordic mythology as well as values like honesty and loyalty. Varg once again show themselves to be an invincible unit, as the first single and opening track "Immer Treu" (Engl. Always Faithful) already is proof of. Upon very first listen, it becomes apparent how involved singer Fylgja has been in the full album process this time around. Her valkyrie-like singing expands the band's sonic spectrum and forms a perfectly harmonizing contrast to Freki's razor-sharp screams and growls.


Fylgja on “Immer Treu”: "’Immer Treu’ is a song that stands for many things. For fortitude, strength and loyalty. But it also underlines that hate, based on different views like for example in terms of religion, is absolutely bad and senseless. In the end we are all the same and should accept and respect each other. It stands for the freedom to be what we want to be."
 
Watch the official music video for “Immer Treu” below.




Songs such as "Schildmaid" (shieldmaiden), "Fylgja" and "Eisenseite" are emblematic of the striking interplay between both vocalists and the path Varg have been treading since Zeichen. "Weltenfeind" (enemy of the world), "Tyr" and "Hammer" resound as powerful hymns, uncompromising with mercilessly brute nagging and cutting riffs. The folky melodies in "Morgenrot" (dawn) lead to the epic "Siegreiches Heer" (victorious army), which once again sharpens the idea of unity that runs like a red thread through Ewige Wacht.  The title track forms the final climax and combines pagan themes, haunting melodies and the engaging power of the wolves to end this outstanding sonic adventure, leading into promising times for the German horde.


Freki adds: "Ewige Wacht is both our most emotional and strongest album. It is a journey through Nordic mythology that tells of old stories and the protection and preservation of the flame of our ancestors. Traditions and values like family, fortitude and desire are like a common thread running through the entire record. Uncompromising harshness meets epic and sustaining melodies. Authentically raw production and yet more powerful and mighty than ever. This album will pierce the hearts of our fans, because it comes deeply from ours.”





Ewige Wacht will be available in the following formats:


- Deluxe Box  (incl. Digipac, drinking horn, bottle of mead, pendant) - limited to 500 copies
- 2CD Digipac in Slipcase (28 pages, bonus: guest vocal album)
- 1LP Gatefold (Marbled) - limited to 100 copies
- 1LP Gatefold
- 1CD Jewel Case
- Digital Album
 
Pre-order here.





Ewige Wacht tracklisting:    


"Immer Treu"
"Schildmaid"
"Weltenfeind"
"Fylgja"
"Tyr"
"Járnsíðasleið"
"Eisenseite"
"Hammer"
"Morgenrot"
"Siegreiches Heer"
"Ewige Wacht"


"Immer Treu" video:





Varg undoubtedly stand as a firmly rooted, leading entity in the German pagan scene that has been gathering fans around the world for over 18 years of the band's existence, touring Europe and North America, and have always driven their following upwards through numerous gigs at Europe's biggest festivals, such as Wacken Open Air, Party.San and Metalfest. Even after all these years, Freki (vocals), Fylgja (vocals), Morkai (guitar) as well as the newest additions to the line-up, Ulvar (guitar, bass) and Rohgarr (drums,) still manage to provide incomparable sonic surprises to their devotees. The revitalized lineup with two highly talented and innovative musicians brings a breath of fresh air and leads Varg into a new chapter in the band's history. Grown artistic maturity meets a unique feeling of common bond between band and fans, which is reflected thematically in the new album. Ewige Wacht tells of myths and legends of long forgotten times and transfers them into the here and now in trademark multifaceted pagan garb.


Varg are:   
   
Freki - Vocals
Fylgja - Vocals
Morkai - Guitars
Ulvar - Guitars, Bass
Rohgarr - Drums


(Photo - Jörg Schmitz)

Following a series of fantastically well-received live dates, both in the UK and Europe, Thunderstick are back with new recordings. Led by the NWOBHM icon, Barry Graham Purkis (aka Thunderstick), and fronted by the mesmerizing lead vocalist, Raven Blackwing, the band have recorded a brand-new studio album which is set for release in October. Available in both CD and digital formats, it will be the band’s first new studio album since 2017.


A single from the album, a thunderous new studio recording of the band’s long-time stage favourite, "Go Sleep With The Enemy (I Dare Ya)", is released on August 25, and will be available to order here.







Lead singer Raven Blackwing: “I, along with the rest of the band, wanted to show that the material on the new album follows an altogether weightier vein. Releasing a single from the album in the form of a song that people already know and love played live seemed a perfect way of introducing everyone to our new direction. I hope you love it the way we do.”


Thunderstick's alter ego and creator Barry Graham Purkis adds: “The single ‘Go Sleep With The Enemy (I Dare Ya)’ is a four-minute tale of infidelity and the wrath of a woman spurned. Although released before on the album Something Wicked This Way Comes and as a track on the very limited-edition EP The Singles, I wanted to re-visit this particular track by way of demonstrating the heavier aspects of the new band that make up the forthcoming  album. I felt this track was the ideal vehicle to do that.”


“With the new album now completed and ready for an October release I am of the opinion that the collection of songs on it are the strongest Thunderstick have ever recorded.”





About Thunderstick: Charismatic Raven Blackwing (vocals) is joined by her thunderous band-mates: Pete Pinto and Dave Butters (guitars), Rex Thunderbolt (bass) and the legendary Thunderstick/Barry Graham Purkis (drums).


Best known for his time with Samson and an early Iron Maiden, Barry Graham Purkis (AKA Thunderstick) has been the legendary icon for the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) scene since the late 1970s. His eponymously-named band, renowned for its female-fronted power rock and theatricality, have a considerable heritage. The band played live and recorded for six years, both in UK and in the US, throughout the 1980s until playing their last gig October 1986.


Then in 2016 former lead vocalist, Jodee Valentine, tragically died following a five-year battle with early onset Alzheimer’s. In recognition of Jodee's memory Barry decided to record some of the songs that Jodee had performed live. This became the Something Wicked This Way Comes album, the first Thunderstick product in over thirty years. It was released in July 2017 to enthusiastic reviews worldwide.


Barry: “Back in 2017 after the ‘Something Wicked’ album was released I had no intention of forming a live performing band or indeed a follow-up studio album but after such positive encouragement from both long- time supporters and new followers alike I realised that there were still an audience of many out there that wanted our particular brand of mayhem. The die was cast. After much deliberation a new Thunderstick was formed staying true to its theatrical roots but still relevant in today’s fast changing-musical environment. I am so lucky to have found the musicians that I now work with especially Raven of whom I consider to be one of the finest rock singers that I have the good fortune to watch and listen to every time we perform. She is the ‘real deal’ both in terms of voice and stagecraft. The next chapter in our story is now ready for the writing.”

In a new interview with Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf, VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen spoke about the band's recent split with longtime guitarist Rob Caggiano. Rob's replacement for VOLBEAT's current tour is Flemming C. Lund of the Danish extreme metal outfit THE ARCANE ORDER. Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's a statement on the net [about the split with Rob], and I can't go into too much details. But the thing was, three weeks before a tour, we suddenly became a three-piece. And, of course, for us, [we initially thought], 'Let's just go out as a three-piece. This is the situation we are in now.' But at the end of the day, when we were sitting down and I was about to do the setlist, of course we became a little bit handicapped. So, there was different options to who we were going to give a call to help us out, but since I already worked with Flemming and I knew Flemming, I gave him a call, even though he said, 'I have no idea how VOLBEAT sounds like.' [Laughs] He's only into death metal. So he said, 'I just have to listen to a lot of VOLBEAT records, I guess.' Of course he knew VOLBEAT — everybody knows VOLBEAT in Denmark — but he was not listening to VOLBEAT. So he said, 'Give me a few days just to actually figure out what you guys are playing,' beside the stuff that you hear on the radio. And he took up the challenge, and we made an agreement and he's helping out VOLBEAT for this year."

VOLBEAT played its first concert with Lund on June 10 at the Rockfest festival in Hyvinkää, Finland.

Just five days earlier, VOLBEAT announced that it had officially parted ways with Caggiano. No reason was given for the split, but the remaining bandmembers said that they wished their "brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future." They went on to thank Rob "for ten amazing years."

A day later, Lund commented on his decision to accept the offer to play with VOLBEAT on the band's 2023 shows, saying in a statement: "The cat's out of the bag! Sometimes unexpected things happen in life and this must be said to be one of them: I can now finally reveal that I will be playing stand-in in VOLBEAT for Rob Caggiano on lead guitar on VOLBEAT's upcoming summer tour. This means I'm playing all upcoming European festival shows in Finland, Norway, Sweden (warming up for METALLICA),Switzerland, Germany and Austria as well as the US/Canada tour in July and August.

"When I was asked by Michael Poulsen not many weeks ago if I wanted to help them, I was honestly at first very overwhelmed by the request and found it very difficult to see myself in that role. But after a little time to think and talk with those closest to me, it dawned on me that it was something I could not possibly say no to.

"So this summer takes a somewhat unexpected, but obviously insanely cool turn. I will try to enjoy every moment and just take in the many experiences and impressions that will surely be an experience of a lifetime.

"A big thank you must go to my fantastic workplace MCB for the great flexibility so that it could be successful, and not least to my better half Julie who, as usual, supported and stood behind me!"

THE ARCANE ORDER is a Danish extreme metal quintet which released its fourth album, "Distortions From Cosmogony", on June 9 via Black Lion Records.

Caggiano played on VOLBEAT's last four studio albums: 2013's "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", 2016's "Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie", 2019's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" and 2021's "Servant Of The Mind".

An acclaimed musician, songwriter and producer, Caggiano joined ANTHRAX as lead guitarist in 2001, appearing on 2003 album "We've Come For You All" and 2004's "The Greater Of Two Evils". He was onstage with the band during the famous 2010-2011 "Big Four" tour alongside SLAYER, MEGADETH and METALLICA, and he played on and produced ANTHRAX's 2011 critically acclaimed album "Worship Music".

Over the years, Caggiano has also garnered five Grammy nominations as a record producer/guitarist and has worked with a very wide range of artists including CRADLE OF FILTH, ANTHRAX, VOLBEAT, THE DAMNED THINGS, H20, Jesse Malin and even Bruce Springsteen.

When Caggiano was enlisted as producer for Danish heavy rock quartet VOLBEAT in early 2013, the collaboration was so phenomenally successful that he was quickly invited to join the band as well. The resulting album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", achieved major chart success on both sides of the Atlantic, as did "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie".

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Q Prime)

WINGER has released the official music video for its latest single, "Voodoo Fire". The track is taken from the band's seventh studio album, "Seven" which was released in May via Frontiers Music Srl. The 12-track album was produced by WINGER frontman Kip Winger and recorded in Nashville.

In January, WINGER shot music videos for three of the songs from "Seven", including "Tears Of Blood", "It All Comes Back Around" and "Proud Desperado".

As with "Tears Of Blood", "It All Comes Back Around" and "Proud Desperado", the "Voodoo Fire" clip was directed by Jack Edward Sawyers.

WINGER's new LP is the follow-up to 2014's "Better Days Comin'".

In a recent interview with Metal Edge, Beach stated about "Seven": "Well, for starters, it took frickin' forever. But Kip Winger had a vision, and when that happens, we see it through until the end. The way it works for me is that I come in with stuff and show it to Kip, and when he hears a specific thing, we run with it. I mean, look, everyone knows I'm the '80s guy, so the riffs I'm offering up aren't anything alien. This stuff is true to what I've written with Kip in the past; they're very progressive and totally sound like WINGER being WINGER. Kip is really into the classical symphony thing, but we've made it heavy and super grandiose. Aside from that, Kip's voice is amazing, and I think he got some great solos out of me. I will say that this time around, Kip's lyrics are very intense, which made for this super intense record. This isn't like the first WINGER record; it's way more profound than that."

Regarding how WINGER has progressed from "Better Days Comin'", if at all, Beach said: "In a way, I'm the wrong guy to ask that question because I just do what I do best — play guitar how I always have. This record was Kip Winger's baby, so it's his thing to make all the calls on. I just come in, play a riff, and let Kip pick up on it so he can make a song out of it. Of course, I make suggestions, we're a great writing team, but Kip takes things to another level. As far as the progression, with 'Better Days Comin'', on my end, I lost interest in the second half of the record. But with this album, the whole thing is really good. There aren't any songs I dislike; every song is good, which is great for us. There's no question that 'Seven' is a strong record, and a lot of people are telling me they feel the same way. I think our last record was more fun and lighthearted, whereas this record is darker and will surprise listeners. I'd call it a step up for sure."

In the spring of 2020, WINGER invited artists, friends and fans — including Alice Cooper and members of SCORPIONS, STEELHEART and WARRANT — to sing along to "Better Days Comin'", the title track of the band's sixth studio album. An official music video for the new version of the song was made available in late April of that year.

WINGER formed in the late 1980s and soared to immediate success with its 1988 self-titled release. The album spawned the hit singles "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heartbreak" and achieved platinum sales status. "Winger" also stayed on The Billboard 200 chart for over 60 weeks where it peaked at #21. Their next album, "In The Heart Of The Young", also achieved platinum status behind the singles "Can't Get Enuff" and "Miles Away". The change in musical climate of the mid-'90s, compounded with unprovoked ridicule on MTV's popular "Beavis And Butt-Head" show, led the band to go on hiatus in 1994. In 2001, WINGER reunited and has not looked back since. Kip also earned a 2016 Grammy nomination for the classical album "C.F. Kip Winger: Conversations With Nijinsky", recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

CREED's singer Scott Stapp spoke to Jason Bailey of Audacy Check In about the group's recent announcement that it will reunite for its first shows in 12 years in 2024, when Stapp and his bandmates set sail as the headliners of the "Summer Of '99" cruise next April. Asked how the reunion came about, Scott said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was something I think managers were talking about for a long time before the artists were approached. And so then we were approached and everyone signed on. [We] thought it would be a good way to kind of kick things off and see what happens."

As for the possibility of more CREED shows beyond the upcoming cruise, Scott said: "We don't have anything planned after that right now. It's baby steps. But you know what? Relationships were positive, we support each other. And so we'll see what happens from there. But right now I'm just excited to get back on stage with those guys. I respect them all so much. And I can't wait to have a good time on that cruise and play some CREED tunes."

Presented by Sixthman, "Summer Of '99" will sail April 18-22, 2024 from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas aboard Norwegian Pearl.

In addition to CREED, the cruise will feature performances by very special guest 3 DOORS DOWN alongside a stacked all-star bill featuring BUCKCHERRY, TONIC, VERTICAL HORIZON, FUEL, THE VERVE PIPE, TANTRIC, DISHWALLA, Louise Post (of VERUCA SALT),NINE DAYS, and hosted by Eddie Trunk and the stars of AXS TV's "Power Hour" (Matt Pinfield, Caity Babs and Josh Bernstein). "Summer Of '99" cruise will also feature an exclusive live Q&A with CREED open to all guests, activities with bands and podcast hosts, panels, autograph sessions, and a very special Y2K Countdown theme party. As if that weren't enough, all guests will receive an autographed commemorative item signed by CREED prior to the event.

CREED's enormous success is largely due to the prolific writing team of Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti, who founded the band together in 1993. Their winning combination of driving guitar riffs, rousing hooks and introspective lyrics earned them legions of loyal fans around the world. Following the release of their first two albums, the four-piece — which also included bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips — became the first band ever to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. CREED's third album, "Weathered" (2001),also debuted at No. 1, and produced several popular singles, including Top Ten hits "My Sacrifice" and "One Last Breath". Though CREED announced its breakup in 2004, the band briefly reunited in 2009 to release "Full Circle". Heavier than their previous albums, "Full Circle" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, proving the incredible staying power of the band.

This past March, Tremonti spoke about the possibility of a CREED reunion an interview with Rock 100.5 The KATT's Cameron Buchholtz. He said: "It's just a matter of timing for everybody. Everybody's juggling so many projects, we would just have to find a window where it made sense.

"There's always people talking," he continued. "We always get calls from people that are interested in putting a show together. But it's tough to get a band that hasn't toured in 10 years to just do a show. We would have to put it all together. We would have to put weeks into preparing the production and weeks into doing the rehearsals. And it's a big production. You can't just do one show."

Tremonti's March 2023 comments were similar to those he made last fall when he spoke to The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn. At the time, he stated about the possibility of a CREED reunion: "It's just a matter of timing. We're all so busy running around the world doing our things, we would just have to have the time where it made sense. I don't think we need to rush into it, because I don't think CREED fans are going anywhere. I think whenever we decide to do something, I think it's gonna be a safe time to do it. It's just gonna be when it makes sense for everybody. You don't wanna derail a whole album cycle by jumping into doing CREED. It would just have to make sense."

In September 2021, Tremonti told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn that constantly being associated with CREED — more than 10 years after the band completed a tour in support of its fourth album, 2009's "Full Circle" — was "definitely both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now if it weren't for CREED; I wouldn't have this career, this long career," he said. "But at the same time, for my entire life, I will be that guy from the band CREED, which is good and band. 'Cause certain people loved CREED, certain people hated CREED. So no matter what I do artistically, I'm gonna be the guy who was in CREED that was, at certain points critics liked to come after us. So I've kind of lived in both worlds — I was in a band that sold lots of records but got some critical attacks, but I also got to be in a band that didn't sell as many records but got critical praise. So I got to see both sides of it. It would be great to have it all in one. But it's tough."

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.

In 2019, Tremonti said in an interview on Jamey Jasta's podcast that he was sitting on an album's worth of material for CREED. Asked whether CREED could reunite again, Tremonti said, "People say, 'Is it done? Is it over? Is there new music coming out?' I'm sitting on an entire CREED album... When we were together doing the reunion tour, we put a lot of music together and I have like really sketchy little demos of probably 13 songs. I listened to them maybe a year ago and they're good songs."

Tremonti added: "It's just, there's no time. Is it good enough for me to put everything on the back burner that I've been working on for the past 14 years? No. Is it good enough to maybe 10 years from now or seven years from now... or some big resurgence happens or there's an anniversary where everybody's like, 'We want to see CREED and the world demands it like they used to.' I wouldn't say no."

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann

In a new interview with NME, SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor spoke about the dangerous rise of conspiracy theorists in America and other parts of the world, with an increasing number of people believing in theories that go against rational thoughts, scientific facts and recorded truth. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I was just talking to somebody about this the other day. I miss facts. I miss when we lived in a world where facts weren't met with such disdain because they fly in the face of something that you believe. Belief is not a fact. And not only that, but the fact that people who may or may not be as intellectually inclined as other people have decided to kind of conflate these grandiose notions of conspiracy theories and absolutely fucking batshit fucking ideas just so they can make themselves feel special and feel like they are on to something. 'These intellectuals, they don't know anything. I've got all the answers.' The fact that they do that just to make themselves feel special, and that it is attractive to other people like that and that now that is very much a norm is absolutely fucking terrifying to me. And unless that gets nipped in the bud fast and soon, it's gonna get worse."

Regarding the fact that the authors of conspiracies call themselves experts on the matter and spread their lies throughout the Internet, Corey said: "It doesn't take intelligence to be an 'expert.' All you have to do is be confident enough in your own stupidity and you're an expert. And an 'expert' doesn't have to be anything that you recognize. You can give yourself a fucking shitty name description and come off and be like, 'Well, you know, I happen to know…' And people are so tired of that, man, that they will make themselves an expert in bullshit just to refute it."

According to research published by the American Psychological Association, people can be prone to believe in conspiracy theories due to a combination of personality traits and motivations, including relying strongly on their intuition, feeling a sense of antagonism and superiority toward others, and perceiving threats in their environment.

The researchers found that overall, people were motivated to believe in conspiracy theories, which often develop out of real-world problems and anxieties, by a need to understand and feel safe in their environment and a need to feel like the community they identify with is superior to others.

Earlier this year, it was reported that national weather services, meteorologists and climate communicators in various countries said they were experiencing an increase in threats and abuse from conspiracy theorists and climate change deniers who accused them of faking or even fixing the weather. The latest movement from anti-government protesters radicalized by their opposition to pandemic lockdowns is about what they claim are powerful global elites' efforts to control, divide and even dramatically reduce the world's population. They frame climate policy as a loss of civil liberties and loss of freedoms.

This past June, The Guardian reported that almost a quarter of the population in the United Kingdom believed COVID-19 was probably or definitely a hoax.

Corey will release his second solo album, "CMF2", on September 15. "CMF2" is Taylor's first album for BMG and the first on his own label imprint, Decibel Cooper Recordings.

Released in May, the first single from "CMF2", "Beyond", entered the Top 15 at Rock Radio in just six weeks and was the cover and No. 1 spot of the Rock Hard playlist on Spotify.

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

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

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

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

In a new interview with EMP conducted at this weekend's Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy was asked about the band's plans for new music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Normally we are always, we're so open with everything — we show everything we do, we talk about everything — but the one thing we are always secretive about is the records. But this time I can say that we're just going on a proper break this time. Because we've done 10 albums of 'album-tour, album-tour.' This time, when this tour cycle ends, we're gonna take a true break, and instead of working on music, we're actually gonna work on building our hangar studio, so that way when it comes time to make records, we can do that again. But there are currently no plans for a new record. And I'm not being deceitful there. There's no plans right now."

TRIVIUM's latest album, "In The Court Of The Dragon", came out in October 2021 via the band's longtime label Roadrunner Records. The record was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur and recorded in the fall of 2020 at Full Sail University in Orlando. The album cover is an original oil painting by French artist Mathieu Nozieres.

In the spring of 2022, TRIVIUM guitarist Corey Beaulieu was asked in an interview with Wisconsin's WZOR (Razor 94.7/104.7) radio station if he and his bandmates had begun working on material for the follow-up to "In The Court Of The Dragon". He responded: "No. There's always material. During our downtime, I wrote some stuff, just 'cause I needed something to do and I had a couple of riffs, and I was, like, 'Screw it. I'll just kind of start working on it.' And then there's fragments of songs or demos of songs that maybe someone… I know I have a couple of things I wrote and demoed for the last record, but when you have three people in the band writing song ideas and riffs and stuff, by the time you finish the record there's a bunch of stuff everyone's got that we never got around to. So there's always a stockpile to pick from if we need a starting point for a song. We're never short on those."

According to Beaulieu, TRIVIUM "usually" released albums at two-year intervals in the past. "We'd put out a record and then tour and then two years later [put out another one]," he said. "That's basically how our whole cycle has been for our career. At one point, I think there was three years between records, but usually it's two 'cause you do your touring and then the way it is, you just kind of keep it going. That's why we have I think six albums that have come out in October, so we're pretty consistent with the timeline of what we're doing. We just felt that since 'What The Dead Men Say' came out basically right when everything shut down and we weren't gonna tour, the whole thinking was, 'Who knows when we're gonna be able to tour?' 'Cause no one knew at that point if it was gonna be six months, a year, a year and a half, two years — it was unpredictable when bands were gonna be able to tour and do all that stuff. Do we wanna go out on tour a year or two down the line with a record that's been out for a year or two? Or when we kick off touring, get people excited with new material. So we chose that route and surprised people with another album. We had all this free time, so why just sit around and not do anything, just trying to wait it out? It's, like, we can always write — no one's stopping us from doing that — so we jumped into that."

GUNS N' ROSES have returned with a brand new single titled "Perhaps", out now via Geffen Records. "Perhaps" notably made its debut via a simultaneous world premiere at U.S. rock radio. Fans may also now pre-order a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl of "Perhaps", including another new song "The General". The "Perhaps" seven-inch single will ship on October 26.

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

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

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

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

Last month, GUNS N' ROSES' longtime production manager Tom Mayhue confirmed that a new single from the band was coming soon.

Mayhue discussed the Axl Rose-fronted outfit's future plans while speaking to the media ahead of GUNS N' ROSES' July 13 concert in Paris, France. Noting that GN'R will finish the North American leg of its tour in mid-October, he added: "And I know that the band's gonna start working on new music. They've got a bunch of stuff recorded already. So there will be new GUNS N' ROSES music very soon. In fact, I think they're trying to get a single out any day now, so you may hear something very, very soon."

Regarding what the new GUNS N' ROSES material sounds like, Mayhue said: "It sounds great. It's a lot more kind of 'Appetite [For Destruction]'-orientated. They had a lot of songs. When the band went in originally and recorded 'Appetite For Destruction', I think they recorded, like, 29 songs. So there's a bunch of other music that was left over that didn't make the first record. I think there's only 11 songs on the first record."

This past June, Oslo's Urban Sound Studios shared a new photo of Rose and GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash, apparently taken the day after the band's performance at the Tons Of Rock festival in Norway's capital city. The picture was posted on the Urban Sound Studios Instagram account along with the following message: "We got to hang out with these 2 rock legends in the studio today. Really cool guys! (The two in the middle...). The band wanted a nice studio with a variety of speakers and headphones to listen to new mixes before they head for Glastonbury. It sounds awesome!"

During an October 2022 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show, Slash was asked about GUNS N' ROSES' plans for new music in the coming months. He said: "I wanna go in and cut a whole brand new record at some point, probably sooner than later. But other than that, we have stuff that we've still got to come out. So that's gonna be coming out piecemeal over the next — I don't know — over the next few months or something like that. So that's basically it. We have one more tour left to do next summer, and then that'll free us up to be able to go in and work on a new record."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of The Oriel Company

In a new interview with Mary Anne Hobbs's BBC Radio 6 Music show, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich reflected on the band's 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", which ended up becoming an honest examination of one of the world's most successful heavy metal bands. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Transparency has always been a really big thing for us. And so we decided very early on that the bands that we appreciated and the bands that we were inspired by, most of them were very transparent. And we wanted to have the door, the connecting door to the fans, be as open wide as possible. I think if you decide to open the door, the only thing you can do is open the door completely. You can't cherry-pick when to let people in. It's gotta be the good and the bad, and it's gotta be all of it, and there's gotta be continuous access. So we feel that we've always tried to honor that. And that movie from 20 years ago was obviously… I think for a lot of people that never had that kind of open door access to a rock and roll band and seeing all of it, including the warts and all the crazy shit that was going on behind the doors as we were trying to figure out who we were and trying to figure a way through understanding the growth that had occurred with who we were as people and how we related to each other and the state of our minds and our own mental health and all of it. And at that time, obviously, there were all these camera crews there, and we just decided to go for it, because we weren't scared and we trusted the film people and we felt that that kind of transparency was part of who we were."

You can listen to the entire chat at BBC.co.uk

Originally intended to be a promotional video paid for by Elektra Records to document the members of METALLICA going back into the studio for the first time in five years, "Some Kind Of Monster" ended up following METALLICA through the three most turbulent years of their long career, during which they battled through addiction, lineup changes, fan backlash, personal turmoil and the near-disintegration of the group during the making of their "St. Anger" album.

While initially helping METALLICA towards restoring band harmony, "Some Kind Of Monster" shows "performance coach" Phil Towle, a former psychotherapist who was brought into the picture in January 2001 to help James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Ulrich repair their relationship with then-METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted, attempting to increasingly insert himself into the band's creative process, submitting lyrics for the album and even attempting to join them on the road.

"The presence of the cameras helped keep the process on track," Ulrich told The Wrap in a 2014 interview. "There was another set of eyes and ears there. Sometimes when somebody else is in the room, you watch your p's and q's a little more. I think it kept the whole thing from derailing in some peculiar way.

"We were at a crossroads," Ulrich added. "We had been really good at being able to compartmentalize a lot of this stuff. Suppress it with drinking or other extravagances. This was the first time we had to talk to each other, get to know each other and work stuff out … The cameras were there catching all of it."

"Some Kind Of Monster" also documented Hetfield's spiral into alcoholism and decision to check himself into a rehab facility. Hetfield's re-emergence from rehab is when the film really gets into gear, with the chief worry in his mind whether or not he could do METALLICA sober.

"Hetfield went away, but we said, 'Why don't we keep filming? Because we think it's interesting,'" Ulrich said. "We said, 'We trust you guys.' And they ended up being another set of eyes and ears in those rooms for the next 18 months as we dealt with the aftermath of Hetfield going away and all of the subsequent domino issues that came in the wake of that."

According to Ulrich, METALLICA had no idea how fans would respond to seeing footage of the band's touchy-feeling therapy sessions that ultimately healed the group and kept METALLICA from splitting up.

"As much as you want to control how people react, there are always things that throw you for a loop," Ulrich explained. "The fact that the music world was a little bewildered by it and the fact that the movie world sort of embraced the film was not something we would've predicted."

METALLICA released a tenth-anniversary two-disc Blu-ray edition of "Some Kind Of Monster" in November 2014. The new edition of the film was made available digitally and via VOD for the first time. It also contained a new bonus feature, "Metallica: This Monster Lives", a 25-minute follow-up segment filmed at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival during the premiere of the band's second film, "Metallica Through The Never". The segment featured interview footage with the band and directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, in which they all looked back at the decade since the release of the film.

Guitar legend George Lynch will release his sophomore instrumental album, "Guitars At The End Of The World", via Rat Pak Records on September 8. The LP, which features 10 all-new studio tracks along with three new bonus tracks, is the highly anticipated follow-up to George's 2021 opus "Seamless", which fans of the shred-master embraced with open arms.

The first single from "Guitars At The End Of The World", a song called "Borracho Boogie Delux", can be streamed below.

"Guitars At The End Of The World" features pro drumming legend Curt "Kirkee B." Bisquera, who has worked with such greats as Elton John, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty, and also features renowned bassist Tony Franklin, who is known for his work with THE FIRM, Jimmy Page and Kenny Wayne Sheperd. Also appearing is LYNCH MOB drummer Jimmy D'Anda on the track "The Crucible".

Regarding George's approach to instrumental albums, the virtuoso states: "I always focus on creating guitar-driven music that delivers something outside the realm of what most people would expect, coming from a semi-redeemed '80s hair shredder. I want my instrumental records to be challenging, but not exhausting; personal, without being belligerently self-indulgent, include a fair amount of guitar histrionics, and pay tribute to the masters without making it sound like I'm competing to be the end-all summation of all guitar legacies that preceded me. I also wanted the underlying music to be more than vehicles for solos, I want the compositions to stand on their own."

Track listing:

01. The Knowing
02. Psycho Beta
03. The Crucible
04. The Passage
05. Borracho Boogie Delux
06. Shadow Of The Needle
07. The Wolf
08. Serpentarium
09. The Ritual
10. Contraflow

Bonus tracks (CD and digital versions only)

11. Tone Bender
12. Brilliant Lion From The Second Mountain
13. Bitches Be Trippin'

For the recording of "Seamless", Lynch was backed by D'Anda and bassist Eric Loiselle.

Produced by Lynch, "Seamless" included three bonus tracks that were added to the album after the extra tracks were presented to the label.

Lynch previously said: "'Seamless' is my attempt at creating a guitar-driven instrumental record that delivers something outside the realm of what most people would expect from a guitar instrumental record coming from a semi-redeemed '80s hair shredder. I wanted the record to be challenging but not exhausting; personal without being belligerently self-indulgent and include a fair amount of guitar histrionics and pay tribute to the masters without making it sound like I'm competing to be the end all summation of all guitar legacies that preceded me. I also wanted the underlying music to be more than vehicles for solos; I wanted the compositions to be able to stand on their own."

Asked by Audio Ink Radio what made 2021 the right time to release his debut instrumental album, Lynch said: "The real story is I had written a record intending it to be a new LYNCH MOB record, and it didn't pan out, because none of the vocalists that I talked to and worked with on it could really come up with anything to go over it. Nobody was really feeling it, and that's the first time that's ever happened to me as long as I can remember where I completely failed at a record. It wasn't even salvageable. Looking at it and listening to what these singers were telling me, the critique of it was that it was just too intricate and too busy and too involved and wasn't leaving enough space for the vocals to put their footprint on it, and I got that. I'm usually aware of the kind of thing when I'm writing, so I don't know how that happened. I think I just got carried away and was having fun with the compositions. I think by default — a happy accident — I was making an instrumental record and didn't know it."

Starting in music in 1977, Lynch has long since been considered one of the most-notable guitar players of all time. His work with DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB has garnered him a legion of devoted fans around the globe. His creativity and musicianship has been showcased on over 50 albums since 1982, and 2022 marked his 45th anniversary as a professional musician. Lynch continues to redefine guitar playing and songwriting while showing no signs of slowing down.

In recent years, Lynch has recorded albums with a number of different projects, including LYNCH MOB, KXM, SWEET & LYNCH, THE END MACHINE and DIRTY SHIRLEY. One of his most recent releases was "Heavy Hitters", a collaboration with his former DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson on a collection of studio recordings that turn pop music classics into metal anthems.

In 2020, Lynch told Guitar World magazine that staying "diversified" was key to making a living in rock music today. "Do everything," he said. "Be an engineer, be a composer, play every instrument you can, get endorsements, learn how to make a web site, be social-media savvy and keep your eye on everything."

Photo credit: Cat Parker

Alice Cooper has shared a YouTube clip containing audio samples of all the songs that will appear on his upcoming album "Road", due out August 25 via earMUSIC.

Produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, "Road" was written, composed and recorded with Alice's trusted, longtime bandmates — Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henrikson (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Nita Strauss (guitar). "Road" channels the spirit of old-school Alice with instantly recognizable grit and plenty of gusto. It's everything you'd hope for from him and more.

"In the past, the show got reviewed before the music did," laughs Alice. "We had hit #1 albums, but it was always about what we did on stage. For 'Road', I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs. I only see these guys when we're on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. That's what we did for this record. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off, and this is my way of doing so."

The album opener and first single "I'm Alice" sets the tone for the album with its driving drumbeat as guitars wail in the distance. Alice's instantly recognizable rasp takes hold, "I know you're looking for a real good time. So, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. I'm Alice. I'm the Master of Madness; the Sultan of Surprise…so don't be afraid, just look into my eyes."

"Road" is going to be released in a wide variety of formats and limited vinyl colors. Complementing the album's theme, the bonus DVD/Blu-ray comes with Alice Cooper's 2022 full live show at Hellfest and includes all the classics and rarely played gems.

"Road" track listing:

01. I'm Alice
02. Welcome To The Show
03. All Over The World
04. Dead Don't Dance
05. Go Away
06. White Line Frankenstein
07. Big Boots 
08. Rules Of The Road
09. The Big Goodbye
10. Road Rats Forever
11. Baby Please Don't Go
12. 100 More Miles
13. Magic Bus

"Live At Hellfest 2022" (DVD/Blu-ray) track listing:

01. Feed My Frankenstein
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. Bed Of Nails
04. Hey Stoopid
05. Fallen In Love
06. Go Man Go
07. Guitar Solo By Nita Strauss
08. Roses On White Lace
09. I'm Eighteen
10. Poison
11. Billion Dollar Babies
12. The Black Widow Jam
13. Steven
14. Dead Babies
15. I Love The Dead
16. Escape
17. School's Out

No stranger to doing things his own way, Alice has cast a long shadow over rock music with an unrivaled live show and timeless anthems like "School's Out", "No Mr. Nice Guy" and "Poison". Selling over 50 million albums worldwide, he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2003, and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducted him as part of its class of 2011.

Boasting one of the most influential catalogs in history, Rolling Stone cited 1971's platinum-certified "Love It To Death" among the "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time", while other platinum releases spanned the seminal "Killer" (1971),"School's Out" (1972),the Billboard 200 No. 1 "Billion Dollar Babies" (1973),"Welcome To My Nightmare" (1975) and "Trash" (1989),to name a few. The latter even graced Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums Of All Time." He's so embedded in generations of popular culture that he not only made a cult-classic cameo in "Wayne's World" during 1992, but he also starred alongside EGOT winner John Legend and Sara Bareilles in NBC's 2018 production of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert" — not to mention, who else appeared on "The Muppets" in seventies and "That 70s Show" in the early aughts?!

Beyond hundreds of syncs, everyone from Etta James, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, MEGADETH and THE FLAMING LIPS has covered his tunes. THE BEASTIE BOYS, DISTURBED, and countless others have sampled him. His collaborators have notably included the late Vincent Price, AEROSMITH, GUNS N' ROSES and Jon Bon Jovi, to name a few. Plus, he co-founded HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES alongside AEROSMITH's Joe Perry and Johnny Depp.

Most recently, 2021's "Detroit Stories" garnered widespread critical acclaim with Classic Rock grading it "4- out-of-5 stars" and hailing it as "his most concise bolt of precision-tooled heavy rock in 50 years." It bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Sales chart, hit No. 1 in Germany, and garnered nine Top 10 debuts worldwide.

Throughout 2022, he collaborated closely with his band members and longtime producer Bob Ezrin, putting together what would become "Road".

"I said to everybody, 'This is your album, so I want you all to bring songs in'," he recalls. "Hearing Ryan or Tommy gives it so much personality. The backbone is the group. Once they shared their ideas, Bob and I sat there and connected the songs. It was like directing a play. We're old school; we still write thematic albums."

Fittingly, the record opens with "I'm Alice". A dusty drumbeat sets the tone as guitar wails in the distance. Alice's instantly recognizable rasp takes hold, "I know you're looking for a real good time. So, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. I'm Alice. I'm the Master of Madness; the Sultan of Surprise…so don't be afraid, just look into my eyes."

"Ryan brought in 'I'm Alice', and we were like, 'This NEEDS to open the record'," he goes on. "You don't fight it. You just let it be what it is. It sets up the rest of the whole album."

Ragtime piano and a funked-out bass line cut through the distortion on "Big Boots" as the lyrics detail a diner interaction with a whole lot of double entendre. "It's the funniest song," he grins. "You've got a waitress saying, 'Take me on tour', and the guy says, 'Well, she's got big boots'. That's the joke."

Kane Roberts (a touring and recording collaborator with Alice in years past who briefly rejoined Cooper on the road in 2022) makes a special guest appearance, contributing the raucous and rip-roaring "Dead Don't Dance". Other special contributors to the album include RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello, who co-wrote, and plays and sings backing vocals on "White Line Frankenstein", and BUCKCHERRY's Keith Nelson and MC5's Wayne Kramer, who also co-wrote new songs with Alice. This particular sonic wrecking crew reupped "Road Rats" from 1977's "Lace And Whiskey" as "Road Rats Forever" as "a tribute to the roadies." On the other end of the spectrum, "100 Miles to Go" captured the yearning to get home at the end of a tour. They topped off the journey with a cover of THE WHO's "Magic Bus". Alice grins, "We love the original, so we made it more hard rock."

In the end, the road is as open as ever for Alice Cooper. "There's no downtime for me at all," he leaves off. "I've got this album, this tour, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, and a whole lot more. Most guys my age want to rest and relax. I've never felt more up. Physically, I'm in as good of shape as I've ever been. I'm not looking for any way out. I'm not going retire, and I don't want anyone to think I am. I'm at the top of my game right now."

Cooper recently announced the extension of his 2023 North America tour, adding shows through the month of October. The shows October 3-23 will be "An Evening With," and he closes out the month October 25, 26 and 28 with three co-headlining "Halloween Hootenanny" shows with Rob Zombie. This follows his six shows with MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD, along with six of his own "Evening With" shows August 5-22, followed by a monthlong co-headline "Freaks On Parade" tour with Rob Zombie August 24-September 24.

Photo credit: Jenny Risher
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NY Post is reporting that newly divorced, heavy metal band Disturbed lead vocalist David Draiman is listing his Florida mansion for $5.19 million — down from its $5.75 million initial ask last January, and from $5.5 million in May. He paid $5.22 million for the home in March 2022.


The 6,583-square-foot home, at 12650 SW 77th Ave. in the Miami suburb of Pinecrest, comes with seven bedrooms and 6½ baths.


Draiman, who has shared his struggles with depression, also has a sense of humor. “Anyone want to buy a beautiful house in Pinecrest Florida?” he posted in May on social media. “No my account didn’t get hacked. It’s me. It’s mine lol.”




The stunning Spanish-Moroccan, modern-style villa comes with a chef’s kitchen, an outdoor kitchen, a home theater, a wine gallery, a courtyard, a koi pond and a spiral staircase to a lagoon-style pool - and lots of entertainment spaces. A main bedroom suite leads to a private terrace.


Read more, and see photos, at NYPost.com.

Former Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist / keyboardist turned solo artist Lindsay Schoolcraft has checked in with the following update:


"This year is the gift that just keeps on giving. I am so stoked and beyond honoured about this nomination (two years in a row).


As a music creator representing women, this is such a cool thing to be recognized for! This is for the song 'Remember To Breathe', that couldn’t have been possible without Sarah Jezebel Deva, Tyler Williams, Øyvind Mustaparta, Fabian Daniel, Håkon Didriksen, Chris Caouette, Effy Gold (artwork), and my incredible Patrons for backing the production costs. It takes a village and I am SO grateful for all of you! Thank you!"







Schoolcraft released "Remember To Breathe" in October 2022 along with the following message:


"This one is rather special because it’s the result of community. Community of musicians and community of fans.


The track was originally something I orchestrated that didn’t make a cut a few years back, but I loe how on Patreon I can just throw up my lost demos and the community there decides what path I go down next. I definitely have not been on the heavy train much the past few years, but it was time to change that.


The minute I came across this demo I knew it had to be another duet with the one and only Sarah Jezebel Deva and along the way the lovely and talented Mustis lended his piano talents (I’m still over the moon about that). I also couldn’t have done it without the super talented team that came on board.


Anyways, due to marketing school I’m labeling this as my heaviest solo track yet: Blackened Gothic Metal. But you can decide that for yourself. It’s rather perfect for this time of year."


Vocals: Lindsay Schoolcraft and Sarah Jezebel Deva
Piano: Mustis (Susperia, ex-Dimmu Borgir)
Guitars and Drums: Fabian (Antiqva)
Bass: Memnock
Additional Orchestration: Christopher Caouette

Just days after their outstanding appearance at Alcatraz Festival – Belgian metallers Hunter have released a lyric video for the title track of their new album Rebel Angels Rise. Earlier this month, the band released a single for the song "Wicked". The new album will be out on September 2, and is already available for preorder on Bandcamp (CD and digital).


About the newly released song "Rebel Angels Rise": “We have all fallen down to Hell, we've been banished from paradise. But as the victorious, optimistic melody of the song suggests: we decide not to accept this fate. A sing-along song about a challenge accepted. If not for victory, then revenge.”


Rebel Angels Rise brings listeners a barrage of pure metal with a variety of influences, highs and lows, speed and slows, screams and grunts, sizzling riffs and twin solos. Hunter's second album shows maturity in song writing. They've taken some adventurous choices: more melody here, more thrash there. Maybe a wink to classic rock somewhere else. While always clearly Hunter, always rooted in traditional metal, the seven songs are different, taking you from one setting to another, to keep you hooked from start to finish.







Tracklisting:


“Wicked”
“The Forge”
“Rebel Angels Rise”
“Requiem”
“The Knight Of The Black Rose, Part 2”
“Suffocate”
“Morior Invictus” 


“Rebel Angels Rise”:

Ignescent, the dynamic hard rock band hailing from Chicago, has announced their signing with Frontiers Music Srl, the esteemed Italian label known for representing rock giants such as Def Leppard, Toto, Whitesnake, Journey, and Stryper, among others.


Jennifer Benson, the founder and frontwoman of Ignescent, expresses her excitement about the partnership, stating, "We are overjoyed to revitalize our brand and join forces with Frontiers. As musicians, we've dedicated ourselves to our craft for years, and it's crucial for us to align with a label that appreciates our journey and the effort we've poured into our music." 


The new album is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a series of singles leading up to including songs co-written with Disciple and with Jeremy Valentyne & Brandon Wolfe of the band New Years Day. Frontiers Music Srl (distributed by The Orchard/Sony) is poised to reach a much larger global audience. Their music video will be directed by JT Ibanez who recently worked on the latest music video for Sevendust for their song "Superficial Drug".







In addition to their record deal, Ignescent has kept busy this spring with headlining appearances at notable festivals including Exodo Fest in Mexico and Revelation Rockfest in South Carolina. They also recently played at Lakes Jam Festival on the MAIN stage with Skillet. They will be playing with The Letter Black and Seventh Day Slumber August 19 in Unity, WI and at the Canopy Club on October 11 with September Mourning in Urbana, IL. Jennifer has been invited to sing at Petra's 50th Anniversary bash in Nashville, TN on November 4.


Ignescent, was founded by Jennifer Benson. Since 2018, the band has been primarily touring throughout the Midwest and Nashville area. Ignescent's recent single, "Remnant", hit #46 on Billboard Rock Charts. Ignescent’s first CD, Electrified, was produced by 4 time Dove Award winning & Grammy Nominated producer Travis Wyrick (10 Years, P.O.D.) and recorded at Lakeside Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. The first song on the CD, “Calling Out to You”, was co-written with former lead guitarist of Skillet, Ben Kasica, and hit the top 30 on Billboard Rock Charts. Jennifer co-wrote a song with Sameer Bhattacharya of Flyleaf. Sameer played with Ignescent at their CD Release show in March 2022. Ignescent's song "Into The Night" was produced by Cameron Mizell (Memphis May Fire, Sleeping With Sirens) and has been played at radio stations all over the world.


"You Got Me", has also seen some radio across the country. "Exodus" was co-written with Jeremy Valentyne of New Year’s Day.