Shock rock legend Alice Cooper, who also fronts Hollywood Vampires - featuring Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen - recently guested on QFM96's Torg & Elliott program. During the chat he discussed working and touring with the band.


Alice: "Johnny's great. When he's with us he's not a movie star, he's a guitar player. And he's a great guitar player. You don't go out with Jeff Beck unbless you can play guitar, and he really is a player. The band is so tight. We've been together nine years and there's never been one argument in that band. It's just fun."







Torg & Elliott · Alice Cooper


On June 28th, Hollywood Vampires performed at  Zitadelle Spandau in Berlin, Germany . Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


The band is rounded out by Glen Sobel, Chris Wyse and Buck Johnson.


The setlist was as follows: 


"I Want My Now" 
"Raise the Dead"
"I'm Eighteen" (Alice Cooper)
"Five to One / Break On Through (To the Other Side)" (The Doors) 
"The Boogieman Surprise"
"My Dead Drunk Friends" 
"You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" (Johnny Thunders) 
"Baba O'Riley" (The Who)
"Who's Laughing Now"
"People Who Died" (The Jim Carroll Band) 
"The Jack (AC/DC) 
"As Bad As I Am" 
"Heroes" (David Bowie) 
- Jeff Beck Tribute - (instrumental) 
"Bright Light Fright" (Aerosmith) 
"The Death and Resurrection Show" (Killing Joke) 
"Walk This Way" (Aerosmith)
"The Train Kept A-Rollin'" (Tiny Bradshaw) 


Encore:
"School's Out" (Alice Cooper)

US power metal band Vainglory, featuring vocalist Kate French (Chastain) and shred guitarist Corbin King recently signed to Animated Insanity Records (USA) and No Dust Records (Netherlands). Both labels are responsible for the joint re-issue of Vainglory's long out of print albums, their 2008 debut album Vainglory and their 2019 second album Manifesting Destiny as a 2-in-1 re-mastered CD package.  The official release was on July 28th, 2023.


Corbin King comments: "Kate and I are very pleased to announce we have signed a deal with Animated Insanity Records and No Dust Records for a 2-in-1 CD re-release of our albums Vainglory and Manifesting Destiny.


The self-titled Vainglory album was our most successful release, but has been long out of print, and Manifesting Destiny was only released in a very small batch.




Joe and Henk at Animated Insanity Records and No Dust Records will give both these albums a proper worldwide release and an opportunity for those that missed out on the records the first time around to finally add them to their collection.


In addition to the 2-in-1 CD re-release; we have been inspired to get back to the riff machine and begin working out some ideas for a brand new third Vainglory album.


We are very excited about 2023 and look forward to this re-release and what the future may hold for our new music endeavor."





Tracklist: "Walking Dead" "Burdened" "The Only Way I Know" "Face of Death" "Midnight Hellfire" "Undying Love" "Decapitation Attack" "Act of God" "Vainglory" "Endlessly" "Blackened Soul" "My Living Hell"





Tracklist: "Comin' Back" "Force Centrifugal" "Epidemic" "Manifesting Destiny" "Dead to Me" "Ballistic" "Time of Reckoning" "Face" "Getcha Some" "Spit" "Waste of Skin" "Prophesy"


The discs are available exclusively at the websites of No Dust Records and Animated Insanity Records."

Since more than twenty years, iconic FIREWIND founded by guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) enthralls heavy music fans with their exciting blend of hard rock and power metal. Razor-sharp riffs, big hooks and solos meet the incredible vocal skills of charismatic singer Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue, amongst others), who joined the band in 2019.

September 1, 2023 sees the hard rock power metal titans release their epic anniversary live album, titled "Still Raging", through AFM Records. Recorded in 2022 at a frenetically-acclaimed hometown show in Thessaloniki, Greece, "Still Raging" will be available on Blu-Ray and as a 2CD edition.

"It's hard to believe that a band like Firewind has been around for 2 decades," Gus G recently said. "In 2022 we had only planned a re-issue of our debut album, but with the pandemic slowly winding down, we were fortunate enough to start doing shows in America and Europe again. Come Fall of 2022 we played 2 headline shows in our homeland, Greece to celebrate our 20th anniversary."


To celebrate with fans worldwide, today, FIREWIND have unleashed a video clip taken off their upcoming live album/Blu-Ray! “Mercenary Man was the lead single off our 2008 album “The Premonition” and it’s just one of those songs of ours that became a fan favorite through the years," Gus comments, and adds: "We always enjoy performing it and we hope you’ll enjoy this current live version!"

The new video for "Mercenary Man" is now premiering online below.

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, served up their take on the Mötley Crüe classic "Shout At The Devil" back in January as part of their weekly Sunday Lunch. They have shared the clip again and it can be viewed below.





Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch is going on tour throughout the UK in September and October. The couple will be accompanied by a live band, with Fripp on guitar. Tickets are available here.







Says Toyah: “When people ask, 'What is the show going to be?', it’s going to be about the hundred years of musical experience we have between us.”


Watch the "Toyah At Home" video below, where Toyah and Robert introduce the tour concept:

SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor joined Tom Kenny, who voiced SpongeBob in "SpongeBob SquarePants", at this weekend's Huntington Comic And Toy Convention to sing the theme song of the iconic Nickelodeon show. Video of their performance can be seen below.

This is not the first time Taylor had publicly sung "SpongeBob". Corey had performed the song at his solo concerts for more than a decade, including on last year's ShipRocked cruise and at the 2022 Spookala Horror Convention in Ocala, Florida.

Asked in a 2020 interview with Montreal Rocks if fans can ever expect to see him record a studio version of "SpongeBob SquarePants", Taylor said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, man. The funny thing is it's almost like a double-edged sword these days. It drives me nuts that it's one of the most requested songs at like my acoustic shows, and yet the whole reason I learned that song was so me and my son could connect on music. So I have a hard time saying no to stuff like that, man. I've thrown it in the set like a handful of times, even when it wasn't there. I did a version of it for this online critic called the Nostalgia Critic. I keep wondering whether or not I should do like a full band version and just trip people out, you know? So, I don't know. You can never say never. But it's very funny. Let's put it that way."

More than 200 vendors and a variety of panelists took part in this year's Huntington Comic And Toy Convention, which was reportedly attended by over 4,000 people.

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.

Prior to his band's headlining appearance this past Friday (August 11) at the
Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, drummer Justin Foley of Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE spoke to Forever Loud about the status of the their upcoming studio LP. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, we're still working on that record. Hopefully we can start getting some of it tracked fairly soon. We're just trying to do all the before work as much as possible, so when we get to the other work, it's as easy as it can possibly be. So, yeah, hopefully that will be done soon enough. And then next time we're back out here [in the U.K.], we'll have some new stuff to play."

Asked if KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz will once again be in charge of the production of the band's new LP, Justin said: "Yeah. We're pretty sure that we're gonna do it with Adam and Adam's gonna be the producer. I mean, it just makes sense. He knows what we're doing. We know how to work with him. We all know how to work with each other real well, and he obviously gets the band and what we're trying to go for. So it just makes too much sense not to do."

Last week, Adam told Kerrang! magazine about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2019's "Atonement" album: "We've been writing for quite some time now. Jesse [Leach, vocals] has been working out some lyric ideas and demos for the last few days, actually. We've got a lot of songs kind of rolling around right now. I'm thinking about getting back into the studio after this tour and getting to work, and I'm hoping we'd like to have the record done by the end of the year. But it might take a bit longer than that, so I would assume new music next year, for sure."

Last month, Leach told Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV about the band's next album: "I think we made some headway. Definitely some good ideas, some good demos. I'm revisiting some ideas. We had a great little meeting where all of us got together and listened and talked, which, to me, has been a great process. And I think it's gonna make this album a lot different than what we've done in the past, 'cause everyone sort of has their voice. We're taking more time with it. So, yeah, it is taking a bit longer but it gives me hope that the end result will be that much better because it is taking a little bit more time to do it. But I'm stoked, for sure. There's some bangers on there already."

During the same chat, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio revealed that he wasn't feeling very inspired in the early days of the coronavirus downtime. "During the pandemic, for me, I kind of wasn't able to do much at all," he said. "You'd think that that would be the best writing process, to be nervous about your future and not sure what's gonna happen next. But I was just locked in some sort of a mode where I couldn't even do graphic design; for about six to eight months, I didn't do anything. But I think after that, it definitely seemed to start flowing. Especially when we did the live gig at the Palladium [in Worcester, Massachusetts], the livestream that we did [in August 2021], that kind of helped make the juices work a little bit more. We learned a lot of songs from 'Atonement' that we actually never played live together before, so that was an experience. And I think that's what kind of jarred us into, 'Okay, let's get this thing moving again.'"

In June, Leach told Pete Bailey of Primordial Radio that the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE album was "taking a lot longer than, I think, any of us anticipated, because there's a lot of quality control going on. And making sure that it's fresh; we're not repeating ourselves," he explained. "So that process has been a little arduous but I think necessary because we don't wanna put out something that people are gonna go, 'Oh, yeah. Another KILLSWITCH record. Whatever.'"

Regarding where he and his KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are right now with respect to the writing process, Jesse said: "We're solidifying a lot, but there's still some back-and-forth and looking at parts and rewriting the music. And then I'm revisiting a lot of the lyrics. I've actually rewritten a bunch of stuff. 'Cause we all got together and had a meeting, and all of us just kind of gave our input on everything, and I took notes. It's the first time, really, I think we've done that. But, again, I do believe that it's necessary at our stage in our career to really just kind of get all of our heads together to make sure that this record is gonna be what we all feel is a good representation of who we are right now."

On the topic of the lyrical inspiration for the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE material, Jesse said: "Initially, for me, I really wanted to put out something that was healing, something that could help people cope. But it's kind of turned into anger, it's kind of turned into frustration, it's kind of turned into seeing the greater deceptions of everything that's going on, the struggles of humanity. So I've kind of taken a turn for a little bit more of a darker topic than I initially had hoped for, but I think it's necessary. I think once I really sort of dug into myself, I realized that there was a lot that I was not tapping in to. And when I got honest with myself, I [said], 'You know what? There is a lot to be pissed off about.' And maybe that's the route; maybe that's the good therapeutic way to deal with it. You don't always have to sugarcoat things and let people know there's gonna be hope. Maybe it's just time to get your hands dirty and talk about some of the harder-to-deal-with topics, and that's kind of what I've been doing lately."

Back in June 2022, Leach told Australia's Heavy that he and his bandmates would try to get the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE LP "wrapped up and done quickly, because we want it to be a record that's not gonna take a lot of time to create. We want that raw, fresh feeling, so a lot of these demos I'm trying to [get] through quickly just to get the energy and then we'll sort of dissect them as new get into the studio," he explained. "So I think there's a real spirit within us to put out new material and then tour on that new record come next year, hopefully. So that's kind of what we're all thinking."

Elaborating on the time table for the completion of the next KILLSWITCH ENGAGE LP, Leach told Heavy: "I'm personally setting goals for me to create quick, very emotional, raw stuff for the demos and then probably taking a little more time, once we get to the studio, to polish that up and make it sound really good. Some of these demos I'm getting ready to send to the guys, if you would listen to them, most people would probably laugh 'cause they're just me going nuts, just trying to get the idea out quick and then we'll worry about re-recording it and polishing it and sort of making it sound KILLSWITCH-y.

"I've always been really hard on myself — a perfectionist, if you will — and I think it's hindered me in the demo-making process," he explained. "So my approach to this record is I wake up in the morning and I write lyrics out of the sleep. I listen to the music. It's moving very quickly for me, and it just feels fresh; it feels new. And then us getting into a room and jamming on that shit together, which we haven't done in years, that's the vibe we're going for. We kind of wanna bring that live feeling, that live sound to this next record… I want that energy to be there.

"Live music shouldn't be perfect," Leach added. "I don't like the studio fixes, I don't like the tuning — I hate all that shit. So the less that can happen, I'm into it. I'd rather keep it raw. It's rock and roll, man — it shouldn't be perfect. I think metal, over the years, has become very compressed and very manufactured. To me, I'm all about pushing away from that. So I think this next record will be a push-and-pull, 'cause [KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer] Adam [Dutkiewicz] is very much a perfectionist with the way he likes things to sound. So it should be interesting. He's on board of that too — sort of getting more of a live feel to what we're doing. I think it comes across. When you come see a band live like us, it is a little different than a record. But it should be."

"Atonement" was released in August 2019 via Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and Sony Music Entertainment in the rest of the world. The disc featured guest appearances by former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. It marked the band's third full-length release since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.

In July 2021, Leach and Dutkiewicz released the second album from their TIMES OF GRACE project, "Songs Of Loss And Separation", via the band's own imprint label, Wicked Good Records, distributed by ADA Worldwide.

Japanese supergroup THE LAST ROCKSTARS has released a second single, "Psycho Love". Since its arrival on August 4, the track has reached No. 1 on iTunes rock and dance charts, including No. 1 on Japan's iTunes all-genres chart, plus No. 1 in six countries and Top 10 in 10 countries on iTunes rock and dance charts.

THE LAST ROCKSTARS has also announced an exclusive U.S. concert for this fall: November 29 at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, California. Tickets are on sale now.

Earlier this year, THE LAST ROCKSTARS released its first single and launched "The Last Rockstars Live Debut 2023" tour which included several sold-out shows in Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. The track "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)" was made available via the quartet's global distribution deal with Ingrooves, which is part of Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group.

THE LAST ROCKSTARS — which consists of Yoshiki, Hyde, Sugizo and Miyavi, four major forces from Japan's rock scene — played two shows in New York City in early February at Hammerstein Ballroom and followed it up a week later with a concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

On January 20, 2023, just a few days before their sold-out arena shows in Tokyo, THE LAST ROCKSTARS released the music video for "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)". The track landed at No. 1 on the iTunes Rock chart and All Genres chart in Japan and reached the Top 10 in eight international territories (Finland, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Macau, New Zealand, Norway, and Taiwan).

"We've come together to start this challenge for the world out of Japan," Yoshiki said.

"This may be our last chance at this challenge," Sugizo said. "We want to put what's left of our lives on the line to make the world rock with our music."

Yoshiki has several monumental accomplishments under his belt both as the leader of X JAPAN and as an accomplished solo artist. He has been named "one of the most influential musicians and composers in Japanese history" by Consequence Of Sound and has composed Hollywood film soundtracks, a concerto for the Emperor of Japan, and the official theme song for the Golden Globe Awards. He has performed at the world's greatest stages, including Madison Square Garden, Wembley Arena, Coachella music festival, and Carnegie Hall. In addition to his music, Yoshiki has been internationally recognized for his philanthropy, and was awarded a Medal Of Honor by the Japanese government.

Hyde is internationally recognized as the vocalist for L'ARC-EN-CIEL, VAMPS and as a successful solo artist. L'ARC-EN-CIEL has sold over 40 million albums worldwide, headlined Madison Square Garden, and were also the first rock band to headline Japan National Stadium. Hyde has also had great success touring internationally as a solo artist.

Sugizo has worked and performed globally as a member of LUNA SEA, X JAPAN, and U.K.'s JUNO REACTOR, a group credited with creating psychedelic trance. As a solo artist he has been pursuing his unique style of electronic music while creating for multiple movie and theater soundtracks.

Miyavi "The Samurai Guitarist" has enthralled the world with his transcendent unconventional "slap style" of playing his guitar, which has taken him around the world nine times to tour in over 30 countries. In 2014 he made his debut as a Hollywood actor in "Unbroken". He was the first Japanese public figure to be featured in Gucci's global campaign, and has been appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNCHR, providing support for refugees.

With their illustrious experience in Japan's most influential rock bands, remarkable sales records individually, and hit collaborations with global artists, these four musicians coming together is a monumental occurrence. THE LAST ROCKSTARS are here to usher in a new legendary era of rock.

Swedish bashers Cyhra performed at the Bloodstock Open Air in Walton-on-Trent, England on Auhust 13, 2022. Pro-shot video of the entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"I Am The One"
"Letter To Myself"
"Dreams Gone Wrong"
"Man Of Eternal Rain"
"Battle From Within"
"Ready To Rumble"
"Karma"
"Out Of My Life"







Cyhra recently released their new single, "If I". The track is featured on their new studio album, The Vertigo Trigger, out on August 18 via Nuclear Blast Records. Watch the new clip below:





The band recently issued the following message: "Cyhra would like to invite you to celebrate the release of our third full-length album, The Vertigo Trigger. The band will perform a full live show plus more special surprises will be added to the event soon. So please make sure you attend the event to make sure you'll get all the updates. Tickets will be released this Friday July 14th along with the release of our brand new single, 'If I'."


Go to this location for event information.


Founded by vocalist Jake E (ex-Amaranthe) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (ex-In Flames), and with the addition of lead guitarist Euge Valovirta (ex-Shining) and drummer Alex Landenburg (Kamelot), Cyhra has already released two highly acclaimed albums which proof that the band have managed to create their own identity and sound.


Now in 2023, coming four years after their last album, No Halos In Hell, The Vertigo Trigger is Cyhra's third studio album, and their first featuring recently added guitarist Marcus Sunesson (ex-The Crown / Engel).


Recorded in the summer/autumn of 2022, The Vertigo Trigger is the band's darkest album to date. The album was entirely self-produced and mixed by guitarist Euge Valovirta, whilst the mastering was handled by long-term producer Jacob Hansen. This new album offers fans the classic Cyhra sound, full of the band's trademarks, but fresh and refined. The Swedes have modernised their song writing meaning that no Cyhra fan will be disappointed, making The Vertigo Trigger a more than worthy successor to their first two albums.


And although guitarist Jesper Strömblad isn’t a part of Cyhra's live shows currently, he was deeply involved in the writing and recording process of the album. Therefore, the band can hardly wait for his return as soon as he is ready again.


Pre-order or pre-save The Vertigo Trigger here.





The Vertigo Trigger tracklisting:


"Ready To Rumble"
"Let's Have My Story Told"
"Live A Little"
"1,000,000 Fahrenheit"
"Buried Alive"
"The Voice You Need To Hear"
"Life Is A Hurricane"
"If I"
"Fear Of Missing Out"
"Ashlight"
"Too Old For Fairy Tales"


"Ready To Rumble" video:





"Life Is A Hurricane" video:

Swedish rockers, Sarayasign, released their sophomore studio album, The Lion's Road, today (August 11). Watch a video for the new single, "Hope And The Sorrow", below, and order/save The Lion's Road here.


"The new album will take the listener on a new journey for sure,” explains drummer/keyboardist/guitarist Jesper Lindbergh. “There will be places, familiarity and sounds and melodies that you'll recognize, but this time around, we've really found our own DNA as a band and most of the things you'll hear are played out in uncharted territory and with an evolved hunger. Welcome to the darker chapter two, The Lion's Road.”


Sarayasign is a cinematic melodic hard rock band, headquartered in Örebro, Sweden. With guitar driven roots from the late ’70s and the cinematic experience of the 21st Century, layered with strings and storytelling driven, melody-focused songs with an edge, the listener will be in for a treat.




Formed in late 2020, with their debut album, Throne Of Gold, released in May 2022, Sarayasign is a concept driven, cinematic, melodic hard rock band that aims for the same experience often felt through films, for they believe that music can propel a narrative and take the listener into unexplored dreamlike and emotional territory. Through the lens and the voice of the storyteller depicted in their lyrics and the atmospheric music and soundscapes of their world called Saraya, created by drummer/keyboardist/guitarist Jesper Lindbergh, Sarayasign wants you to close your eyes and enjoy the journey they will take you on.


The Lion's Road is the band’s sophomore release, the first for the Frontiers Music s.r.l. label. The songs, or shall we say stories, on the upcoming album are directly connected to and a continuation of the initial eight stories told on Throne Of Gold. Transcending time and space, like a lost treasure in the Swedish melodic hard rock scene, with some of the most outstanding musical visionaries and craftsmen the scene has to offer comes a beautifully crafted trajectory that reaches beyond traditional melodic hard rock. Introducing cinematic soundscapes and with the mesmerizing stories that take place in the land of Saraya, Sarayasign brings something new and fresh to the table.


With stellar guitar riffs and haunting melodies and arrangements from childhood dreams merged with Sarayasign’s own twist of cinematic hard rock, the band is able to offer something new that still has strong liaison with the classic sounds.





The Lion's Road tracklisting:


"When All Lights Go Out"
"Blood From Stone"
"A Way Back"
"The Beginning Of The End"
"Will You Find Me"
"Everdying Night"
"The Lion's Road"
"Love Will Burn"
"Hope And The Sorrow"
"Throne Of Gold Part II – A Heartless Melody"


"Hope And The Sorrow" video:





"When All Lights Go Out" video:





"Everdying Night" video:





Lineup:


Stefan Nykvist - Lead and backing vocals
Jesper Lindbergh - Drums, rhythm guitar, keyboards, loops & soundscapes
Daniel Lykkeklev - Bass, keyboards
Peter Lundin -  Lead and rhythm guitar

America's Destructor has revealed the cover artwork and tracklisting for their fifth album, Blood, Bone, and Fire, which will be released later this fall via Shadow Kingdom Records on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.


Destructor formed in 1984, hailing from the steel town of Cleveland, Ohio. The original lineup consisted of guitarist Pat Rabid, drummer Matt Flammable, bassist Paul Warhead, and vocalist/guitarist Dave Overkill. Paul Warhead was soon replaced by Dave Holocaust. With this lineup intact, Destructor would find themselves taking Cleveland by storm, playing legendary shows with bands such as Megadeth, Slayer, Nasty Savage, Anthrax, and more. 


In the summer of 1985, Destructor would record their debut album, Maximum Destruction, for Auburn Records and then license it to Roadrunner Records in 1986, helping to spread Maximum Destruction across the European continent. With the band's signature power-thrash sound, Destructor would gain a bigger and broader fanbase worldwide. In 1987, the band would gain the attention of major label Island Records, but tragedy would strike the band on New Year's Day 1988: Dave Holocaust would be murdered by a complete stranger in the early morning hours. After the loss of the beloved member and the major label deciding to pass on the whole record deal, Destructor found themselves struggling to stay the course for the next few years in and the American market ever changing with the birth of grunge. They would finally call it quits in 1992. 




After much interest still gaining for the band, Destructor would reunite in 1999. After new member Jamie Boulder, AKA Athenar of Midnight, joined in 2002, the band would record the album Sonic Bullet. Blasting their way into the future with the following releases Forever in Leather, EP Storm of Steel, Back in Bondage, and Decibel Casualties, Destructor would find new life breathed into the band's fanbase worldwide. 


In the year 2012, original member Pat Rabid and Jamie Boulder would depart the band's camp, opening the door for Nick Annihilator and Tim Hammer (Wretch). This lineup would continue the tradition of pounding evil for the next 10 years. Nick Annihilator would decide to leave the band but helped in writing two new songs and open the door once again for guitarist Mark Hellhound; Tim Hammer would also contribute a new song. With this lineup now set, the band would start recording a new record for new label home Shadow Kingdom in 2022. 


Now, at long last, that album is ready, bearing the true-as-steel title Blood, Bone, and Fire. Destructor's first new recording is six years, Blood, Bone, and Fire is a timeless slab of PURE METAL, taking in speed metal, thrash, power metal, and traditional styles alike - in essence, same as it's always been for these enduring cult legends. What's more, it's been nearly 40 years since the original release of Maximum Destruction, and one could easily slot this new Destructor album next to it: sinister, surging riffs not without (mean) melody, varied but utterly propulsive rhythms, and the tough 'n' commanding vocals of founder Dave Overkill. 


Classy and classic in equal measure, recorded and mixed powerfully but thankfully not lacking grit, Blood, Bone, and Fire is simply a great record no matter what year you place it in. That Destructor have managed to keep intact their original '80s spirit but not lazily rehash past glories is something to celebrate; that they arguably sound fiercer and more fiery than ever is almost astonishing - and obviously something to also celebrate.


Release date and preorder info to be announced shortly.





Tracklisting:


“Blood, Bone, And Fire”
“Iron Clad”
“Storm Upon The World”
“Never Surrender”
“Depths Of Insanity”
“The Calling”
“Heroic Age”
“Hammering The Steel”
“Dominate” 

Phoenix, AZ based melodic hard rockers Escape The Hive have released a brand-new single today and along with it, the video for “Separate Lives”.


Pulled from the band’s debut album, This is Gonna Sting, released on 15 September via Shock Records / Vanity Music Group and distributed through The Orchard / Sony Music, “Separate Lives” is a perfect setup for the album as it best represents the AOR aspects of the band and the album.  With their roots firmly planted in ‘70s arena rock, along the lines of Foreigner, Deep Purple, Journey and the like, Escape The Hive has the material to sit alongside their new contemporaries in the "New Wave of Classic Rock" phenomenon that's taking hold across the world. “We are definitely influenced by that era of rock, but a bit more first hand. That era of music actually formed who we are as people as well as the music we write,” says Beck.







As for the track, Beck explains, “‘Separate Lives’ is a song about what ifs and what is important in your life and how the choices we make when we are younger stick with us as we get older. We all think back to how things would be different if another choice was made. It's a song that has been around for a little while but was never used. But I knew when writing the lyrics that it kinda had a special meaning to me.and when we were looking for songs to include on our debut, it felt like the time was right."


Produced and directed by Gavin Donnelly from Soundphoria Entertainment, the video actually stars Michael’s son Jake in his acting debut.  “Jake plays the younger version of me and that meant I had a chance to get my ’74 Camaro in the video, as well,” he laughs. “It just all kind of worked out that way!”





Recorded at Phoenix's Soundvision Studios, This is Gonna Sting was produced by frontman Michael Thomas Beck and shows the quintet expanding on their ‘70s arena rock influences with modern production values. The sonics of the record are a throwback to that sound. A very vintage approach. With soaring harmonies that are ingrained in that writing style with some of the flash and dynamics of the ‘80s. 


Escape The Hive is:
Michael Thomas Beck - Lead Vocals
Conrad Varela - Guitars, backing vocals 
Paul Williams - Bass, backing vocals
Mike Vars – Keyboards, backing vocals
A.D. Adams - Drums, percussion, backing vocals


Upcoming shows:


August
18 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater (with The Iron Maidens)
25 – Kearney, NE – The Other Side
26 – Lincoln, NE – Rosie’s Downtown
27 – Omaha, NE – Dream On The Green

MEGADETH's Dirk Verbeuren has shared a drum-cam video of him performing the song "Sweating Bullets" with his bandmates on August 8 at the Orange Metalic Festival in Orange, France. Check it out below.

Last December, Verbeuren spoke to That Metal Interview about the songwriting process for MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", which arrived in September via UMe. He said: "There was a lot of freedom. [Dave Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] invited Kiko [Loureiro, MEGADETH guitarist] and myself from the get-go to contribute our own ideas and our interpretations, and that's what we did.

"The way we work and the way Dave tends to work is that he has this massive vault of riffs, guitar riffs that go all the way back to the early years, to the '80s. And that's all sitting in a folder and organized. And so we started by him picking out a bunch of riffs and working with those. And as the process went on, those started turning into songs and we would maybe add some riffs or change some riffs or maybe go fishing for some more or write new ones — whatever felt right at the time. So I also contributed some music myself, and so did Kiko; Kiko co-wrote quite a few of the songs on the album. So it was a very collaborative process. As far as the drums went, same thing. Of course there were certain parts where Dave preferred one idea over the idea, and he would be, like, 'Play it more like this,' or, 'I prefer that beat over this beat.' But for the most part I pretty much got to do what I wanted to do and how I felt it. Because I think, at this point, having been in the band for over six years, I've got a pretty good feel of what MEGADETH drums are supposed to sound like, and it seems like Dave feels the same way."

Dirk went on to say that he didn't want to deviate too far from the drumming style that characterized MEGADETH's classic albums. "It's an important thing, because I'm also a MEGADETH fan," he explained. "I was for many years when I was younger. So I know what it's like to be a fan and going and watching your band or hearing a new album by your band that you like and you expect it to be within certain parameters. So, having grown up listening to [previous MEGADETH drummers] Gar Samuelson and Chuck Behler and Nick Menza, of course, I wanted to have kind of that vibe. So that's what I aimed for. In the end, it's gonna sound like me as well, because I can't change that. And I also put some of my own flavors in there, of course. But I did wanna be very mindful of the legacy of MEGADETH history and respect that and carry on that tradition."

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprised 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

A judge has set a February 20, 2024 sentencing date for the ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer in connection with his role in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.

Earlier today (Friday, August 11),U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued the following minute order: "The Court hereby refers Defendant Schaffer to the U.S. Probation Office for preparation of a presentence investigation report. The Final Presentence Investigation Report shall be due on or before February 6, 2024. The Parties' Sentencing Memoranda shall be due on or before February 13, 2024. Replies, if any, shall be due on or before February 16, 2024. Reply briefs shall be limited to five pages. Sentencing for Jon Ryan Schaffer is hereby set for February 20, 2024 at 2:00 PM in Courtroom 10 before Judge Amit P. Mehta. Signed by Judge Amit P. Mehta on 8/11/2023."

According to an April 2021 Justice Department press release, Schaffer has "acknowledged he is a founding lifetime member" of the right-wing Oath Keepers extremist group.

In January 2022, Mehta granted the U.S. government's request to share sealed materials from the case involving Schaffer's role in the U.S. Capitol riot case as discovery to the three main Oath Keepers cases.

This past May, Mehta handed down an 18-year prison sentence for the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that ended with the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

As part of his April 2021 plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

According to CNN, prosecutors and Schaffer's attorneys agreed to recommend that he get between three and a half and four and a half years in prison, based on how fruitful his cooperation was with the government.

The government agreed not to oppose Schaffer's release during the sentencing phase.

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer acknowledged that on January 6, 2021 he was in Washington to attend the "Stop The Steal" rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election, which he believed were fraudulent. Schaffer wore a tactical vest and carried bear spray, a dangerous weapon and chemical irritant used to ward off bears. When the rally finished, Schaffer joined a large crowd that marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Michael Pence, was in session to certify the electoral college vote results. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., members of the mob forced entry into the Capitol building, disrupting the joint session and causing members of Congress and the Vice President to be evacuated from the House and Senate chambers.

In his plea agreement, Schaffer admitted that after arriving on Capitol grounds, he walked past barriers intended to restrict access to the public and to a set of locked doors on the Capitol's west side. At approximately 2:40 p.m., Schaffer positioned himself at the front of a crowd that broke open a set of doors being guarded by four U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers wearing riot gear. Schaffer admitted to being among the first individuals to push past the damaged doors and into the Capitol building, forcing officers to retreat. Schaffer and others advanced toward five or six backpedaling USCP officers while members of the mob swelled inside of the Capitol and overwhelmed the officers. The officers ultimately deployed a chemical irritant to disperse the mob. Schaffer was among the people who were sprayed in the face, after which he exited while holding his own bear spray in his hands.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

Also as part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

The 55-year-old musician was the first Capitol riot defendant to reach a plea deal.

The Indiana chapter of the Oath Keepers distanced itself from Schaffer after his arrest, claiming he was not a member of the local group. But the national organization, which sold lifetime memberships for $1,200, had not commented on his alleged affiliation with the group.

At a November 2020 Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., Schaffer was videotaped walking behind a Florida couple, Kelly Meggs and Connie Meggs, who were accused of being among 10 members of the Oath Keepers to have played a leading role in the Capitol assault. In May 2023, Kelly Meggs was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his participation in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and was sentenced to spend 12 years in prison.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January 2021, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.
Sentencing for Jon Schaffer set for 2/20/24. https://t.co/T5qoWTqTvGpic.twitter.com/q2DWPNaMJr

— M & M Enterprises (@sfoguj) August 11, 2023

Resurrected San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans FORBIDDEN played their first European show last night (Friday, August 11) at the Alcatraz festival in Kortrijk, Belgium. Video and photos of the band's performance can be found below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Posted by Forbidden on Friday, August 11, 2023

My Brother Chris Kontos killing the drums today in Belgium at Alcatraz fest with Forbidden…
We are brothers and from totally different worlds.💙⚡️❤️ very proud!!

Posted by Johnny Markowski on Friday, August 11, 2023



FORBIDDEN! Nicely done!

Posted by Henry Moreno on Friday, August 11, 2023

What a thrill and honor to bring Forbidden back and to do it at Alcatraz !

Our home away from home

Thanks to everyone who raged with us.

Posted by Forbidden on Friday, August 11, 2023

One of my all time favorites ! Forbidden 🤘🤘🤘🤘 gonna be epic at Alcatraz festival Belgium

Posted by Claudeous Creamer on Friday, August 11, 2023

Former VITAL REMAINS vocalist Brian Werner has joined the newly reactivated TERRORIZER.

Werner, who left VITAL REMAINS in 2019 after a seven-year run with the group, announced his addition to TERRORIZER in a social media post earlier today (Sunday, August 13). He wrote: "Been quiet about this for a little while, but now I got the thumbs up to announce that I will be singing for TERRORIZER with Pete [Sandoval, drums] and David [Vincent, bass]...... time to get back to work. Super excited to also be jamming with my brother Richie Brown too.......get ready the world is about to fall".

Sandoval announced TERRORIZER's comeback last week, confirming that he would be joined by his onetime MORBID ANGEL and current I AM MORBID bandmate Vincent.

Just seven months after saying that TERRORIZER was "over" due to his "busy schedule" with his personal life and I AM MORBID, Sandoval took to his social media to announce that TERRORIZER will perform on October 22 at the Maranhão Open Air 2023 in São Luís, Brazil.

"Hey Brazil #terrorizer is ready for you," Pete wrote. "This time with my friend and original member (World Downfall 89 Hordes of Zombies @officialdavidvincent ."

Before Sandoval recorded MORBID ANGEL's first album, 1989's "Altars Of Madness", he performed on two demos and a split album with his original band TERRORIZER. Today, the group's 1989 full-length debut "World Downfall" is still considered a pinnacle for death metal and grindcore, featuring impossibly fast blast-beats and double-bass drumming along with a blitzkrieg attack by late guitarist Jesse Pintado (NAPALM DEATH),and ex-vocalist Oscar Garcia (NAUSEA). The 1989 lineup was rounded out by Sandoval and Vincent on bass.

Over the next twenty-three years, Sandoval took time between MORBID ANGEL albums to continue working with TERRORIZER, recording two more cataclysmic full-lengths, 2006's "Darker Days Ahead" and 2012's "Hordes Of Zombies". Six years down the burning highway, TERRORIZER released 2018's "Caustic Attack", described at the time as "their heaviest and most eclectic album to date."

Back in 2021, it was announced that TERRORIZER had signed a worldwide deal with Earache Records. At that time, the band's lineup had consisted of Sandoval, Lee Harrison on guitar, and Sam Molina on bass/vocals.

Last fall, I AM MORBID parted ways with guitarist Kelly McLauchlin (POSSESSED, DIABOLIC, UNHOLY GHOST) and replaced him with Richie Brown (EXMORTUS, THE ABSENCE, TRIVIUM). Brown made his live debut with I AM MORBID, which also includes guitarist Bill Hudson (NORTHTALE, DORO),on October 16, 2022 at the Grita Fest in Colombia.

I AM MORBID's spring 2022 European tour marked the first time Sandoval and Vincent played together in 12 years.

Sandoval, who now lives his life as a born-again Christian, was forced to leave MORBID ANGEL in 2010 after undergoing surgery for a prolapsed disc.

Vincent told Invisible Oranges in a December 2013 interview that Pete had "found Jesus," which meant that Sandoval and MORBID ANGEL were no longer "compatible."

Less than a decade ago, Vincent spoke to told Capital Chaos TV about his guest appearance on TERRORIZER's 2012 album "Hordes Of Zombies". He said: "It was a lot of fun [laying down the bass tracks on the CD]. He asked me if I'd be willing to play on the record, and of course I said yes. It's a good record. It's obviously a different style to MORBID ANGEL, and that's okay. We like all kinds of music."

Been quiet about this for a little while, but now I got the thumbs up to announce that I will be singing for Terrorizer...

Posted by Brian Werner on Sunday, August 13, 2023

3x Grammy-nominated and Gold-certified rock group Nothing More have spent the past year relentlessly performing headlining shows across North America and UK/Europe and at rock’s largest festivals in support of their critically acclaimed 2022 album Spirits released via Better Noise Music. 


Combining unapologetically massive anthems, catchy hooks, and progressive music with introspective, philosophical lyrics and thought-provoking emotionalism, Spirits documents the tumultuous time the world experienced over the past two years and was accompanied by their self-designed meta-personality test, Spirits Test (akin to tests such as Myers-Briggs, Big 5 and the Zodiac) and their debut graphic novel Spirits Vol.1 (via Z2 Comics).


Today (August 11), Nothing More have released their first-ever live recording with the acclaimed title track "Spirits" available now across digital platforms alongside a new music video. “Spirits (Live)” follows the release of two revamped Spirits tracks, “Best Times (feat. Lacey Strum)” and “You Don’t Know What Love Means (Piano Version)” featuring guest vocals from rock singer/songwriter Taylor Acorn, both of which are set to be included on a new deluxe version of Spirits due later this via Better Noise Music. Stay tuned for additional details to be announced in the coming weeks.







Nothing More will return to stages across the U.S. this fall on the second leg of their Spirits 2023 headlining tour with support from Dead Poet Society, Hyro The Hero (rap-rocker and Better Noise Music labelmate), and Post Profit. The Live Nation-produced tour will kick off September 8 in Nashville, TN, and end in Charlotte, NC on September 25. Nothing More are excited to share that “Best Times” guest vocalist Lacey Sturm (Flyleaf) will join them as direct support on their September 14 stop in Dallas, TX at The Factory.


Tickets are available at nothingmore.net.





Spirits 2023 Fall tour:


September
8 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
9 – Little Rock, AR – The Hall
11 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
12 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion Ballroom
14 – Dallas, TX – The Factory
15 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues
16 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
18 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen Music Hall
19 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall
20 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine
22 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
23 – Orlando, FL – House Of Blues
25 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore





(Photo - Jody Domingue)

Swedish heavy metal force, Lancer, have released their fourth studio album, Tempest. To celebrate release day, Lancer also reveal a new lyric video for the album opening track, "Purest Power".


The song title says it all, but still the track reveals a lot of new sides within the bands genre. "It was one of the first songs written for this album, with the original idea dating back to 2018. Doing a majestic chorus in 5/4 time signature is a new move for Lancer, widening their musical landscape. Lyrically it's about rising up to madness, that we the people have the power to get rid of tyranny and injustice. Or if you'd rather, we are singing about ourselves being the best and most powerful metal band on the planet!", comments the band.







Tempest is available in the following formats:


- CD Digipak incl. 2 bonus-tracks
- 2LP Gatefold Vinyl incl. 4 bonus tracks (purple, limited to 300 copies)
- 2LP Gatefold Vinyl incl. 4 bonus tracks (orange, limited to 300 copies)
- Digital





At the Atomic Fire Records Records Webshop you can also order any format along with an exclusive bundle t-shirt. Order here.





Tracklisting:


“Purest Power”
“Fan The Flames”
“Entity”
“Out Of The Sun”
“Tempest”
“Corruption”
“Blind Faith”
“We Furiously Reign”
“Eye For An Eye”
“The Grand Masquerade”
“End Of The World” (Bonus Track)
“Postlude” (Bonus Track)


"Entity" video:





"Fan The Flames" lyric video:





Lancer is:


Jack L. Stroem - Vocals
Per-Owe "Ewo" Solvelius - Guitar
Fredrik Kelemen - Guitar
Emil Öberg - Bass
Pontus Andrén – Drums


(Photo – Erik Hansen, EH Digital)

During a new appearance on the "Zach Sang Show", SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor addressed his previous comment that he and his bandmates are "not necessarily people who would've been friends" if it had not been for the fact that they are playing together in the same group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I know that, that quote has been taken and run with for a lot of people, but what people don't realize is that there's something so much more than friends. The guys in SLIPKNOT, it's family. That's so much deeper than just a friendship. I'm in bands with people who I'm friends with those people, but we're not close. And that's the real difference. When we get on the road with SLIPKNOT, it takes us a second to kind of knock the rust off of our relationships. The playing always just kicks right in. I've never seen a band like SLIPKNOT where rust just does not stick to us for some reason. I mean, we can walk on stage with literally no rehearsal and we sound like we've been touring for two weeks, three weeks. I mean, it's incredible. But that means that something has to have worked. And that's where the relationships in the band have come. That's what we've really had to work on, is embracing each other for who we are and not who we want each other to be. And that's psychosocial behavior. And that's where that term came from, because that's when we really started to talk about trying to get on another level. We had all spent so much time pushing against each other or pushing away from each other that we forgot all the great shit that we had done together and that we appreciated about one another. And that, to me at least, was where I really tried to change my ways and change the things that I said and my approach to how I, you know, appreciate everybody."

Taylor was also pressed about SLIPKNOT's lineup changes over the years and how many people within the band have to be replaced before SLIPKNOT ceases to be SLIPKNOT. He said: "I think as long as there are certain people in the band. 'Cause right now, I mean we have six original people — or no, five, excuse me. And those five, we've kind of been the core for like the longest time. The people who we lost, obviously we would do anything to have them back. But you kind of get on with it, when it comes down to stuff like that. I think if any more people left, it wouldn't be the same. I know I've said in the past that somebody could replace me if I physically couldn't do it. And I've had the guys in the band kind of push back on that and go, 'Taylor, shut the fuck... What are you talking about?' And I'm, like, 'Hey, listen…' To me, SLIPKNOT is a state of mind. SLIPKNOT is an emotion — it's something in your soul that you have to have. What if there was a kid out there who had that same kind of ferocity and had the same chops, man?"

He continued: "If this band wanted to continue without me and if I couldn't do it, I would do everything I could to help it continue. If I just couldn't give to it the same level that I wanted to… It's the old adage: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. If that were the case, then I would 100 percent help them find a replacement and give them my blessings to go out there. Now I'm still pretty spry — I'm not dead yet. I've probably got another 10 years of touring like this — you know, five to 10. So as long as that's the case, I'll still be here; I'll still be doing it. But if it ever came down to making people choose between me and SLIPKNOT, I would totally push them back out there to get out there."

This past June, SLIPKNOT announced the addition of a new keyboardist, two weeks after Taylor and his bandmates revealed the departure of longtime member Craig Jones.

SLIPKNOT played its first show with its new mystery member on June 7 at the Nova Rock festival in Austria. The concert took place hours after the band announced in a social media post that it had parted ways with Jones.

A short time after SLIPKNOT revealed Jones's exit from the group, the band's original post announcing his departure was deleted and a photo was shared of SLIPKNOT's apparent new member. The same unidentified person appeared onstage behind the keyboards at the Nova Rock show and all subsequent SLIPKNOT tour dates.

No reason was given for Jones's departure from SLIPKNOT.

Jones joined SLIPKNOT in early 1996, shortly after the band had finished the recording of its demo album "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." He was initially brought in to replace Donnie Steele, one of the two original guitarists, though he quickly moved on to the role of sampling and keyboards. Following the departure of drummer Joey Jordison in 2013, Jones was the second-longest-serving member in the band.

SLIPKNOT is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "The End, So Far", which was released last September via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to "We Are Not Your Kind", it is the band's final record with Roadrunner after first signing with the rock and metal label in 1998.

During a recent appearance on QFM96's "Torg & Elliott" radio show, legendary rocker Alice Cooper, whose 1970s "Hollywood Vampires" celebrity drinking club included THE BEATLES members Ringo Starr and John Lennon, was asked if he thinks THE BEATLES would have reunited at some point for at least one concert had Lennon not been murdered back in 1980. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Absolutely. Here's the thing about them. When they were after each other's throats, when it came to the breakup and all that stuff, if anybody in the 'Vampires' back in those days — that was our drinking club — if anybody said anything bad about Paul [McCartney], John would take a swing at you. Because that was his best friend. If anybody said anything about John to Paul, Paul was not like that, but Paul would walk out of the room; he'd just walk out. Because you are not allowed to talk about their best friends. They were best friends no matter what was going on in the whole thing. One went one way and one went the other. I think John wanted to be more political; Paul was not into that that much. John was always trying to get me into politics, and I said, 'John, you're trying to save the world. I'm just trying to entertain them.'"

Back in 2017, Alice told NME that THE BEATLES was one of his biggest influences. Cooper added that he heard "She Loves You" as a child, saying it was "the first song by THE BEATLES I ever heard and it literally changed something in my brain. It inspired what Alice Cooper became."

In 2020, Alice included "Meet The Beatles! in his list of top albums of all time, telling Rolling Stone magazine: "It was the first one that totally knocked me out because I'd never heard anything like that before. We were listening to the BEACH BOYS and the FOUR SEASONS, and all of a sudden, here's this band coming along with all this hair and Beatle boots and these suits, and they were singing these songs that you could hear them one time, and you knew them."

He continued: "I've always said this, and people might disagree with me, but it's easier to write something like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' than it is to write something like 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. I'm still pretty sure they're aliens. I don't think they're from this planet."

This past June, McCartney announced that he had employed AI technology on an unreleased BEATLES demo from the 1970s, telling BBC Radio 4's "Today" program that AI had been used to "extricate" Lennon's voice from a cassette recording of the demo. The track is widely believed to be a 1978 Lennon composition titled "Now And Then". The song was included on a cassette labelled "For Paul" that Lennon had recorded shortly before his death in 1980.

Photo credit: Jenny Risher

German/American heavy metal legends ACCEPT are back in a Nashville, Tennessee-area studio working on their next album.

Earlier today (Friday, August 11),the band shared a photo of guitarist Wolf Hoffmann in the studio and included the following message: "We back at our permanent studio and it's Mark, Wolf, and Uwe's week again!

"More stunning Metal vocals ( most of the lyrics are now written ) and rhythm guitars are in the making! The brilliant @andysneap always guiding us, like a Metal Godfather! More footage to come…

"See you at our shows in September and December! It will be the last run of the 'Too Mean To Die' Album, so don’t miss out! Tickets available now!"

This past June, ACCEPT bassist Martin Motnik wrote on social media that he and his bandmates were "recording demo versions" of "a solid dozen of songs" with ACCEPT's longtime producer Andy Sneap for the group's next LP. He added: "The songs are already amazing and promise to make for another killer album!"

Earlier that month, in an interview with Cassius Morris, Hoffmann spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2021's "Too Mean To Die" album. He said: "Actually, I'm sitting here every day working on songs, believe it or not. And I just talked to Mark Tornillo, our singer. He's gonna come over to Nashville this month for some intense demoing of the new songs. So the stuff is in progress. And I think we're planning on having Andy Sneap, our producer, come over in August to actually lay down the tracks. And then, yeah, before you know it, there's gonna be a new album. I don't have a title yet. I have some songs — about a little more than half are written, I'd say."

Asked where ACCEPT is planning to record the next album, Wolf said: "Well, we have this place in Nashville that we have made the last five albums in. And we basically do drums at a place — it's not quite sure where we're gonna do it this time. And then guitars are usually happening here in Nashville and mixing happens in England. Nowadays, with technology, we don't really need to be together in the same place for four weeks at a time; we do it here and there and everywhere. But it's still important to know that we're doing it kind of together; we're not just sharing files over the Internet. 'Cause that has never worked for us. So, in other words, Andy has to be in the room, if possible, and then whoever gets to record their tracks, and then a bunch of others are usually around. So it's a group thing, for sure, but it's not [like] everybody's there the whole, all the time together."

Last fall, ACCEPT completed a North American tour with support from NARCOTIC WASTELAND. The band played a career-spanning set of new and classic tracks, including mega-hits "Balls To The Wall", "Princess Of The Dawn", "Fast As A Shark" and many more.

In February 2022, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

"Too Mean To Die" came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville with Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last five studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017) and "Too Mean To Die".

We back at our permanent studio and it’s Mark, Wolf, and Uwe’s week again!

More stunning Metal vocals( most of the...

Posted by ACCEPT on Friday, August 11, 2023

Had a phenomenal, long weekend. Started in Atlanta with my homey, Rich Ward, aka The Duke and seeing the Guardians of...

Posted by Ed Aborn on Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson joined UGLY KID JOE on stage on August 4 during the latter band's performance at the Vagos Metal Fest in Vagos, Portugal to perform a cover of the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Ace Of Spades". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

This past May, UGLY KID JOE kicked off its first U.S. tour in 27 years.

UGLY KID JOE is touring in support of its latest studio album, "Rad Wings Of Destiny", which came out last October.

"Rad Wings Of Destiny" saw UGLY KID JOE re-teaming producer Mark Dodson who was behind the desk for the band's debut album, "America's Least Wanted", which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

Speaking to France's Loud TV about the "Rad Wings Of Destiny" album title, UGLY KID JOE frontman Whitfield Crane said: "I love JUDAS PRIEST. UGLY KID JOE has a penchant for poking a little humor into the universe — the universe needs a little humor — and also giving respect to things that we love. So we love JUDAS PRIEST. We're from California. We say 'rad' all day long. So 'Rad Wings Of Destiny'."

Regarding how first single "That Ain't Livin'" came together, Crane said: "I wrote the riff in Greece. We worked on the song as a band in Mallorca, Spain. We tracked the song in El Paso, Texas. And then we couldn't finish all the vocals in El Paso. So then I found myself living in Lisbon, Portugal. And I flew to London to meet the producer and I tracked the vocals in London."

Asked if the rest of "Rad Wings Of Destiny" is musically similar to "That Ain't Livin'", Whitfield said: "Well, it's hard for me to describe it, 'cause I'm so close to it; I'm really close to it. But yeah, the first track, 'That Ain't Livin''… Also we love old-school AC/DC; I mean, I love for AC/DC. I wrote the riff for 'That Ain't Livin'' on an island in Greece and I had the riff. And so we wrote that song. And it's really an homage to 'Powerage'[-era] AC/DC. So that's that song. But there's nine other songs, and there's a lot of different frequencies that we're embracing."

As for the lyrical themes covered on "Rad Wings Of Destiny", Crane said: "'That Ain't Livin'' is just — if you feel stuck in a nine-to-five rut, stop. Embrace life… We cover a version of THE KINKS' 'Lola', which is really cool; we did great on it. But I'll let the thematic structure of the album, I'll let that remain a mystery for someone to figure out themselves. I think if I project what I think it is, sometimes that takes away from somebody feeling what it is for them."

After a 15-year hiatus, UGLY KID JOE reformed in 2012 and has toured extensively throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

The band released the EP "Stairway To Hell" in 2012 and the full-length "Uglier Than They Used Ta Be" in 2015.

Three years ago, Crane told Eonmusic about UGLY KID JOE's huge success on the back of single "Everything About You" in 1991: "'Eye of the storm' is a good way to put it, because it just was all happening at a deadly fast gait. And it was a lot — it was beautiful and also very challenging, because there's a lot of people that surround the business of music that are full of shit. But when you're 23 [or] 24, you don't know how to negotiate that, so on one hand, it was super fun and we did all the things you should do at that age, and on the other hand, it was too much for me. But we survived it, and I can deal with it all now."

A previously unreleased Ronnie James Dio song which guitarist Doug Aldrich was working on with the legendary heavy metal singer before his 2010 death will be included on an upcoming Dio collection of never-before-heard and obscure recordings. The track in question was written during the sessions for DIO's "Magica II", a sequel to 2000's "Magica" that was left unfinished when Ronnie died in 2010. Another "Magica II" track titled "Electra" made it on to 2012's "The Very Best of Dio Vol 2".

Aldrich discussed the unreleased music he worked on with Dio in a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, first of all, 'Electra' was part of what was gonna be a next album for Ronnie. He basically came up with 'Electra' to promote the tour that he wanted to do at the end of 2009. He was gonna re-release 'Killing The Dragon' and a live show that we did from that tour, and that song was gonna promote the album and the tour and it was gonna be this whole thing And then he got sick; he found out he had cancer. So it all went away. But the song 'Electra' did come out and it was pretty cool man. But prior to 'Electra', he had another song that — and I'm sure he had lots of bits of songs and maybe a few that were completed — but he did give me a completed song prior to 'Electra' that he wanted to be the promotional track. And then he basically moved away from that and we went with 'Electra' instead. But I had that [other] track, and I put a solo on it. It didn't have a title, but I had it, and I talked to Wendy [Dio, Ronnie's widow and longtime manager] about it, and we never, she never… To be fair, I didn't go over and play it for her, but I did talk to her about it on the phone. And then she kind of wasn't ready to listen to anything like that at that point. Years went on. And then I ended up doing a renovation at my house and I took those hard drives and I put them in storage. So at the moment, there's talk that Wendy wants to put out some stuff, some unreleased stuff next year, in '24, with Ronnie, including a remake of the track that he sent me, which I'm still in the process of finding it. And Wendy texted me last week and said, 'Any luck?' And I said, 'I'll get it, Wendy.' I just have dozens of hard drives I need to go through to find it. And once I do, I'll give her the track and I'll either record it with her and them or somebody else will. But it was haunting, because it was Ronnie playing bass and playing rhythm guitar with a drum machine and singing, and the vocal was just — it was haunting, man; really crazy."

Elaborating on how his unreleased song with Ronnie ended up getting lost among his personal household items, Doug said: "I did a renovation during 2020 when everything was shut down. I wanted to expand my house a little bit and clean it up and get new stuff. And so I wanted to pack everything up nice and neat and get it out of here. 'Cause when there's construction, hard drives would get dusty and all that. So I [packed everything up], including that computer was all backed up on a hard drive. So I'll find it. And I hope Wendy has some other kickass stuff. I really do. 'Cause that would be pretty cool to hear an album of unreleased stuff that was original music and/or some really cool versions [of previously released songs]. I can only imagine there's gotta some cool stuff that they did that maybe they didn't use with Viv [Vivian Campbell]."

Aldrich, who was a member of DIO for a short period between 2002 and 2006, previously spoke about his unreleased collaboration with Ronnie in a 2017 interview with Roppongi Rocks. He stated at the time: "I have a demo of Ronnie, an unreleased song nobody's ever heard. I offered it to Wendy and, I don't know, maybe she forgot about it, but I said 'I have this song. It's really haunting.' It was during [the] time he wrote 'Electra'. I just played on it. We were kind of bouncing around some of his ideas and working on some of them. Before we did 'Electra', he had this other one that he said, 'Can you put a solo on this?' and he gave me the track. I had put a solo on it and then, when I brought it to his house, he goes, 'No, no, no. I've got this new idea called 'Electra'.' We didn't even listen to it. I don't even think he ever heard the solo because we were so focused on trying to get one song done to promote the tour that we were gonna do. I was still a member of WHITESNAKE [at the time], but I said to him, 'If you work it out with David [Coverdale, WHITESNAKE frontman], I would love to go out on the road with you.' Because he had asked me to go. He worked it out and then he got sick. But there is this one track that is haunting, because the lyrics are… And he doubled his voice, it's just really trippy. At some point, it will have to come out. I got it. I got the mix. I actually have the recording session, which has got Ronnie playing bass, Ronnie playing rhythm guitar and vocals. And then a drum machine. One day."

In a 2015 interview with CrypticRock.com, Aldrich said that he was "only really in [DIO] for about a year, but in that year, we did do the 'Killing The Dragon' [2002] record. I got to contribute to that record with a couple of songs also, which was nice," he said. "We did a lot in that first year. We did that record, a bunch of touring, and a live DVD called 'Evil Or Divine - Live In New York City' [2005]. Then I joined WHITESNAKE, but I kept coming back to DIO. There was a couple of tours in 2005. Ronnie said, 'Would you come on tour with me?' I said, 'Absolutely, I just have to speak to David about it.' David said, 'Cool, just make sure you come back,' because we had talked about some new music and he did not want me to split."

Having also played with LION, HOUSE OF LORDS, BAD MOON RISING, HURRICANE and Glenn Hughes, Aldrich joined THE DEAD DAISIES in 2016 and can be heard on that band's last four albums, 2016's "Make Some Noise", 2018's "Burn It Down", 2021's "Holy Ground" and 2022's "Radiance".

Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and DIO, died of stomach cancer in May 2010 at the age of 67.

Back in July 2021, Wendy confirmed that there were "about three songs" from Ronnie that may eventually see the light of day. She told LiveSigning: "Actually, there are about three songs that Ronnie was… Ronnie was working on a song with [former DIO and RAINBOW bassist] Jimmy Bain before Jimmy passed away. That was one. Craig [Goldy, former DIO guitarist] were working together on a song; they were working on some material and stuff, and it got pushed to the side. And I think the last thing Ronnie was working on was with Doug Aldrich, and they were working on a song.

"All things are in a vault," she explained. "I have to go into the vault… We are taking the necessary steps — we are having it all itemized and categorized. And Wyn Davis, who was Ronnie's engineer, who loved Ronnie to death and Ronnie loved working with him. He's the only person I really trust to do that. So he's going there, going through the stuff, and he will listen to those songs and tell me if those are what Ronnie would approve. Because Ronnie was a perfectionist, so it has to be something that Ronnie would put out. We're not gonna shove something out because it's got Ronnie's name on it; that's not what Ronnie would want, and I would never do that to Ronnie. But if the lyrics are there and Ronnie sang the parts, we can always have the band go in and play the music. But we have to make sure that it's sung properly."

Ronnie was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Ronnie's memoir, "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press. It was written with longtime friend of 30 years and esteemed music writer Mick Wall, who took up the mantle after Ronnie's passing.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die", the first-ever career-spanning documentary on the life and times of Ronnie James Dio, will get a DVD and Blu-Ray release in September.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die" had its television premiere last December on Showtime. It is also available to stream via the Showtime app.

Italian post-black metal combo Deadly Carnage will release their fifth full-length Endless Blue in September via ATMF. 


A concept album based on Japanese folklore, "Endless Blue" is inspired by the legend of Urashima Tarō and is a journey through the dark ocean depths. It is a story of descent and ascent; Deadly Carnage aim to create a crepuscular sound made of lights and shadows, between the marine surface and the abyss, where each song represents a chapter of a single story in which the voice is free to narrate.


Ahead of the album's release, the band unveiled their lead single, "Swan Season", on which they stated:




“‘Ayakashi’ is a Japanese term that indicates a spirit apparition on the sea surface; In Nagasaki prefecture ghosts are said to appear in the waves in the form of blue lights, they are the vengeful spirits of those who died at sea and appear to the living to lead them to them. Swan Season tells this legend through its suspended and repeated riffs in which the voice sadly sings of the loneliness and attraction that leads it towards these ghostly lights.”


Endless Blue was recorded at Domination Studio by Simone Mularoni (guitarist of DGM) using mainly ‘70s tube amps and analog effects, and avoiding any type of drum sampling.


Endless Blue will be available digitally on September 15, on Digipack A5 on September 29 and on LP on December 15.





Tracklisting:


“Dying Sun”
“Sublime Connection”
“The Clue”
“Blue Womb”
“Mononoke”
“Swan Season”
“Moans, Grief And Wails”
“Unknown Shores” 


“Swan Season” video:

Danko Jones performed their latest single, "Good Time", during their set at Graspop Metal Meeting 2023. Watch video below.


A message states: "This was a blast and the first time we played our new song 'Good Time'. It's available on all streaming platforms, and mark your calendars for September 15th when our album will be released!"







With Electric Sounds, Toronto’s archbishops of amplification prove that even a global pandemic couldn’t stop Danko Jones.


“Not working for two years really felt like touring rock bands were being put out to pasture,” recalls Danko. “But I guess that only made us try harder. We were still able to record and release an album during the pandemic (Power Trio, 2021). We toured as soon as we were allowed. Now that Electric Sounds is getting released, it doesn’t feel like we missed a beat. During the pandemic, we moved away from each other. JC lives in Finland and Rich lives in Prince Edward Island. So the writing for this band has changed. We used to bash out ideas in our rehearsal place, day after day, but it’s more about sending files back and forth now. However, last summer, while on tour, we did manage to jam out ideas in a rehearsal room in Berlin for a few days. Out of those jams came the nubs for five songs...”


Five songs have since been expanded to eleven new Danko Jones songs, and Electric Sounds promises to have the instant sound and feel of a classic. With no need to reinvent the wheel, the group have further honed and refined their craft - always at full volume - although Electric Sounds is a deceptively diverse affair. No band has ever sounded more ready to hit the road than the pumped-up threesome showcased on the hell-for-leather ragers featured on their forthcoming album.


Electric Sounds was produced by Eric Ratz, and features guest spots from Tyler Stewart (Barenaked Ladies), Damian Abraham (Fucked Up) and guitarist Daniel Dekay (from Canadian thrash legends Exciter).


Pre-order the album here.





Electric Sounds tracklisting:


"Guess Who's Back"
"Good Time"
"Electric Sounds"
"Get High?"
"Stiff Competition"
"She's My Baby"
"Eye For An Eye"
"I Like It"
"Let's Make Out"
"What Goes Around"
"Shake Your City"


"Guess Who's Back" lyric video:





"Good Time" video





"Good Time" lyric video:





Danko Jones is:


Danko Jones - Vocals/Guitar
John Calabrese - Bass
Rich Knox - Drums

In a new interview with Harley Roxx, founding DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce discussed the inspiration for some of the new music that he and his longtime bandmates — drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton — are writing with singer Ryan McCombs. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I do electrical work on the side when I'm not touring, because we spent a very long, good, awesome 20 years of being able to get by and pay the bills playing music, which is not easy to do anyway because it's the music business and it's horrible… So yeah, I do electrical work, and it's great to separate my mind. It has its own art and its own thing to it. And I love all the dudes I work with.

"Mike and I, when we moved to Dallas and we were doing electrical work and listening to like late '90s music, and that's some of the influence that I had during the writing process of the 'Sinner' record [DROWNING POOL's 2001 debut album]. And now here I am doing electrical work again, and the dudes I work with, they like to listen to late '90s kind of stuff, so I'm in the exact same mindframe I was in. And then Ryan's staying in my house, in my studio and writing songs. So the stuff that's coming out now naturally has very, very 'Sinner' foundation to it. I know I've said that before in the past, but this time around, I'm not trying to write a 'Bodies Part 2' or 'Tear Away Part 2', but it's just coming out like that. So we have these new ideas that [sound like that], but with Ryan included on it. So it's, it's been a cool mix. The new stuff, the little bit that we played for the people that are around us that have seen it or heard it, the reaction has been really, really cool. You can tell — they're, like, 'Oh my God.' So I'm excited about it."

He added: "I'm just being honest with you. I'm not trying to pump myself up. You never know what people are gonna expect. And you play a little bit and you just see their eyes light up like they do when they hear 'Bodies'. So I'm, like, 'All right, we're on to something good.' So I can't wait to get new stuff out."

As for when fans can expect to hear new music from DROWNING POOL, Pierce said: "We wanna get new music out before the SALIVA tour in a few weeks. I just don't know if we have time to actually record it then, but before the end of the year, for sure — get some new stuff out with Ryan."

Last month, Pierce told Brutal Planet Magazine that DROWNING POOL had three new songs that were "pretty much done." The guitarist also talked in more general terms about the DROWNING POOL songwriting process, saying: "It's always been us since day one — Mike, Stevie and myself. We've been writing together since day one. The thing is we had a couple of different singer switches here and there. But it's fun having Ryan back in it, 'cause we did a lot of great songs with him back then and we're back on it. We've never been closer and we've never been more solid.

"Writing with these guys, especially now with Mike, we're in a room and it's almost like you don't even have to think," he explained. "You just know he's gonna go here, I'm gonna go there, and it just falls into place.' And it's awesome to be in a place now where you have an idea or a feeling or a thought and you can just put it out there and the other guys know what to do to express that right out the gate. We do try a lot of different things — 'Let's try this part. Let's try that part' — but it seems like we just fall into where we wanna be and need to be for the song to highlight and make it elevate to the rock song that you hear when you come [and see us play]."

"Sinner" was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD's first single, "Bodies", was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band. DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave "Stage" Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus.

McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL on March 17 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and on March 18, headlining the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.

The longtime SOIL frontman, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, originally joined DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band's studio albums, "Full Circle" (2007) and "Drowning Pool" (2010),as well as a live album, 2009's "Loudest Common Denominator". He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.

According to Metal Edge, McCombs will continue to front SOIL and will perform with both bands moving forward.

DROWNING POOL's first new record since 2016, "Strike A Nerve", came out last September via T-Boy/UMe. It marked the band's third album with singer Jasen Moreno, who joined DROWNING POOL in 2012.

DROWNING POOL addressed Moreno's departure in a social media post on March 16, writing: "We appreciate everyone asking about Jasen. We can't speak for him but we believe he was just ready to move on to other things in life. Maybe he will make a statement. Maybe he won't. Regardless, we wish him the best."

DROWNING POOL's U.S. tour with SALIVA will kick off on September 10 in Norfolk, Virginia.

DROWNING POOL press photo courtesy of DrowningPool.live

During an appearance on this past Tuesday's (August 8) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH) spoke about the status of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, his supergroup with guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL). He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I was in the studio last week completing vocals. And Joe was there with me last Wednesday before I had to leave to go to somewhere up north. I finished the last vocal track last Friday afternoon at three o'clock. Now the album is in the hands of [producer] Kevin Shirley to — he'll probably go back to Australia after Joe does the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow, and then the mixing process will start. I would imagine that the album will be out in the first quarter of next year."

Regarding the musical direction of the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION material, Glenn said: "It sounds like BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. There's not too many left turns, there's nothing happening that's weirdly different. We followed a vibe of the first four albums, so it it's an extension, but it's really a progression, if you can call it a progression. Everybody's playing out of their skin. The vibe in the camp has never been so friendly and fun. It's a really, really great vibe in the band. And we had a great time at Sunset Sound [studios] in Hollywood. And I can't wait for you to hear it."

As for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's touring plans, Glenn said: "If you go back 10 years when I wanted to… well, we all wanted to play more shows. And Joe has been very busy from the get-go of his career. What I want you to know, and I want everybody to know, that, of course, we want to play with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNITY, but Joe's schedule is crazy busy, and we all get it. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. So my priority is playing my own music with my own band and doing what I need to do to have fun on my own."

He continued: "Would I like to play some shows with Joe, Derek and Jason? Of course I would. I think everybody would like that. But what I can't do is say we're gonna do this, this, and that… I've done it before and it didn't happen, so I won't… I'm glad Joe has [said in a recent interview] he wants to do something like that, because I think we all wanna set some time out to do that, and we're hoping that we can play in North America next year."

On August 1, Bonamassa told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION album was "not done… And I've gotta sing a little bit on it and redo one guitar part for [the record]…. So we're, I would say, 90% done, but the music's done."

He continued: "The thing about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, whether you like the way we sound or not, when we all get together, it has a very specific thing that it does. Everybody brings a very specific thing to the table, and it's a special band."

According to Joe, he brought the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members back together to make the follow-up to "BCCIV", which was released in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first studio effort since 2013's "Afterglow". "I was the one that kind of initiated the text, be, like, 'Hey, is there anybody interested in doing a fifth one?'" he said. "And Derek got back to me. Jason got back to me pretty quickly. And Glenn called me and said, 'I can't do anything until this DEAD DAISIES situation goes one way or the next.' And I said, 'Fair enough.' So when Glenn left THE DEAD DAISIES last year, that was kind of the green light for us to get back together."

Regarding the songwriting process for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's fifth album and how it compared to that on the band's previous efforts, Joe said: "This was the same. I went over to Glenn's house about six times and we hashed out some ideas — pretty rough, loose ideas. Nothing in stone. And so I had a playlist on my phone, voice memos, BCC 1 through 10. And that was it. So, so day one, we just [said], 'Okay, let's start with BCC 1.' And we sat in the courtyard at Sunset Sound — they have this really nice courtyard with a bunch of chairs — and we sat out there with an acoustic guitar and a couple of things and we just bashed out the arrangement. We were, like, 'Okay, that's cool.' We went in, played it three or four times and that was it. Nobody charted anything; we just kind of memorized it and did it. And we would go into the control room, listen a little bit, maybe tweak something, but once it fired up and after the second day, we really hit our stride, going, 'Okay, the band's back.' 'Cause we hadn't played together in six years."

As for the recording process for the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION disc, Joe said: "There's not a lot of overdubs. I rarely double the guitars, 'cause Glenn's bass sound is so big and distorted, you know what I mean? It's, like, why do I need to double the guitar? Same thing with Derek. It's almost like playing in the band FREE. All of the sound comes from the four of us. And Jason takes up a huge amount of bandwidth; he's such a big drummer."

Bonamassa went on to say that he is looking forward to performing with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION again. "I'd like to do some live shows with 'em next year," he said. "I think it would be really fun… Scheduling is the hardest thing, because of what everybody's got [coming up]… [My solo band is] booked almost two years out. But next year, I really wanna at least set aside a week, maybe two weeks, where we can go out and do selected shows, do a couple here in the U.S., go to Europe, do a couple there. 'Cause it is fun."

The news of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's recording activity came less than three months after it was announced that the band will perform on next year's Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea IX cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on March 18-22, 2024.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's most recent performance took place in February 2018 at the fourth edition of the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea, which benefits the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa's non-profit organization dedicated to providing students, teachers, and musicians with the resources and tools needed to further their music education.

In a September 2022 interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa stated about what it is about a "band situation" that appeals to him, considering he has spent most of his career as a solo artist: "I like nothing more than to be a member of a band and playing guitar. I don't have to front it; I don't have to sing all the time. And it's a lot less pressure than being the front person. Being the person in front is a special skillset. You have to be an entertainer. You can't just sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, 'Wow. Look, I can play guitar pretty good.' That's not gonna fill the theater. You have to put on a show. And to put on a show requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the parts is greater than the single entity. So this thing where Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can just sit back and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his thing. He's a legend. And then conversely, Glenn doesn't have to sing all night; I'll sing three or four [songs]. So we kind of spread out the whole workload a little bit."

Just like its four predecessors, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's new album is being overseen by producer Kevin Shirley, who originally had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa in a band after seeing them jamming together onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's inception took place when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their styles on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King Of The Blues event. With the help and guidance of Shirley, they further added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.

In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked about the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, especially since all the musicians have had successful careers prior to launching the group.

"This band was meant to be," Glenn said. "It was formed out of a friendship with Joe and I. We got the [other] guys to come in, and it's always been a strong brotherhood. And we're just very lucky and fortunate to have met. I've known Jason since he was [a kid]. I just think that these four guys in this band are the right guys to play in the band."

Photo credit: Neil Zlozower