For much of the last few years, George Lynch has been rejoining DOKKEN on stage to perform the same three classic songs: "Kiss Of Death", "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail". George normally opens the shows with his longtime band LYNCH MOB, and then, to end the evening, treats fans to a special encore as he steps onstage with DOKKEN on stage to close the night.

In a new interview with Michael Christopher of Metal Edge, George stated about the experience of performing with his former band: "I don't know how long that's going to continue, but right now it's still on the books and we're still doing it. Nothing's forever — I'm okay with that. I always thought it would be a successful kind of pairing of the bands [DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB] just because of the history and there's the competition thing and we're really, at the end of the day, we're just entertainment. So we go out there and there's a little story there and people are invested in the story. It's a human story.'

He continued: "And then from the guitar players, there's the guitar competition thing, which guitar players thrive off — that's cool. [Current DOKKEN guitarist] Jon [Levin] is a very amazing guitar player and he plays my stuff better than I could ever play it. We open the show and then DOKKEN comes out and they do their thing. And then I come out and walk on and people are wondering, oh, are me and Don [Dokken, DOKKEN frontman] going to get in a fistfight or are we going to hug it out? And then we just all kumbaya at the end and everybody's had a great time and it was great."

When Christopher noted that DOKKEN fans are probably fans of LYNCH MOB and vice versa, George said: "[LYNCH MOB] play a good amount of DOKKEN songs. Obviously, I wrote the lion's share of that material along with Jeff [Pilson, former DOKKEN bassist]. And so, it's my music and I go out and I play it and to me it's seamless. Whether it's DOKKEN or LYNCH MOB doesn't matter. But when we play with DOKKEN, we can't do that obviously ‘cause it's their music."

Lynch went on to admit that he still finds it a bit difficult to get into the right mindset to play a couple of songs with DOKKEN even though he is no longer a member of the band.

>"One thing that is a little bit strange is when I'm sitting in the dressing room, I have this hour and a half, I have to wait between when LYNCH MOB finished and they put DOKKEN gear up on stage, do their line check, and then they go out and they do their intro 'Without Warning', which I wrote," he said. "And it's me playing on that intro. And I'm like, I'm listening to myself, something I wrote that I'm playing on physically. And then they come out and they play all these songs that I wrote and…it's just…I have to work at not letting it bother me. I have to definitely go into my Zen place to make sure I don't get… that it isn't weird for me."

In a January 2022 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", George was asked why he only performs three songs with DOKKEN as opposed to playing the entire set. He responded: "Well, that's probably an economic issue on Don's side. I mean, Don owns the name of the band. It works on me on all levels at this point, and obviously it works for Don, so if it's not broken, why fix it? And I don't know… I would just be speculating that he's concerned maybe that something could pop up if he gets in bed with me and then now he doesn't have what he's built over all these years. So there's that. And maybe financially it would be not as — I don't know — not as [much of] a positive outcome for him. I'm not sure; we haven't talked about it. But what we're doing now works. Obviously, what you just brought up is something that everybody's thinking about, but, hey, it's not up to me to decide. But I certainly feel that would probably make sense [for me to play the whole set]; I could see that making sense. I'm already there — why don't I just go out and finish playing the rest of the songs that are part of my legacy? People would like that. There's a lot of different ways to think about that. There's what we do as a business, and I'm not ashamed of that. I don't think it's a bad thing to talk about the business side of music. It doesn't take away from the art; it doesn't take away from the creative part of it. Those are two different sides of the same coin. We all need to make a living. But you have to have that balance of appreciating and producing music that you love and that people enjoy, and at the same time, it has to make sense financially. So I'm not sure which one that is, as to why we're not back together on a more complete basis, where I'm playing the whole set, but I've got a feeling it's probably financial."

In October 2016, the classic lineup of DOKKEN — Don, George, Jeff and Mick Brown (drums) — reunited to play the Loud Park festival in Japan. Fortunately for fans outside of Japan, cameras were there to capture the performance and Frontiers Music Srl issued "Return To The East Live 2016" in April 2018. In addition to the Japanese performance, the set featured footage from the classic lineup's only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The package also included a new song called "It's Just Another Day", the first DOKKEN track featuring the group's classic lineup since 1997's "Shadowlife", and two acoustic re-workings of classic tracks.

Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill, Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

DOKKEN recently finished recording a new studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", for a September release via Silver Lining Music, the label owned by Thomas Jensen, one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. It will mark the group's first disc since 2012's "Broken Bones".

Image and video below courtesy of pbeckster307 YouTube channel

Ever since legendary rockers FOREIGNER kicked off their farewell tour on July 6 in Alpharetta, Georgia, their bassist Jeff Pilson has been performing while seated on a stool as the result of a recent back injury. Asked in a new interview with Clint Switzer of On The Road To Rock what the experience has been like so far, Pilson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it is a challenge. What's probably the most difficult… I mean, yes, I'm in pain. It's generally not too bad a pain when I'm on stage, because I'm seated, but when I'm standing and walking, I'm in pain still. So that's a problem. But the challenge, really, has been psychological because I wanna rock so bad [laughs], and I have to sit there in a chair — which, thank God we've got a, an amazing band and I can just sit there and groove with Chris [Frazier], our drummer, and it's wonderful. But the performer in me is just dying because I wanna get out there and rock. And we've got this beautiful set going. We've got this great production and everything. I wanna be part of it so bad and I can't, so that's frustrating. But I also get this bird's eye view of the show and I see what's going on and I kind of don't miss me. [Laughs] So that's great. Lots of stuff going on. The show has been great. The audience has been fantastic. We do the acoustic portion of the show, which really excites me. So, as challenging as it's been because of the back — and it looks like I'm probably gonna be stuck like this until I get surgery — that's unfortunate, but at least I've got this great band to play with and these great shows to do, and when I'm up there, I'm having the time of my life. So that's what really counts."

FOREIGNER's farewell tour is currently scheduled to run through November 18 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but is expected to continue into 2024. For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation-produced tour, FOREIGNER is being joined by LOVERBOY.

Joining Pilson and Frazier in FOREIGNER's current lineup are founding guitarist Mick Jones, Kelly Hansen on vocals, Michael Bluestein on keyboards, Bruce Watson on guitar, Chris Frazier on drums and Luis Maldonado on guitar.

After singer Lou Gramm left FOREIGNER in 2003, Jones took some time off before regrouping a couple years later with an entirely new lineup, featuring Hansen and Pilson, among others.

In 2018, Gramm revealed that he was retiring from touring as a solo artist. The vocalist made the announcement just months after he participated in FOREIGNER's "Double Vision: Then And Now" concerts, which featured current and original members of the band, including Jones, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Rick Wills and guitarist/saxophonist Ian McDonald.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want To Know What Love Is".

Video courtesy of Klassic Live Rock & Roll Storm RWS YouTube channel

Kings Of Thrash, featuring Megadeth alumni bassist David Ellefson and guitarist Jeff Young, recently returned from their Thrashin' Down Under Australian Tour as the band continue to tour the world, playing some of their most widely-known early material. Young, who only appeared on Megadeth's 1988 album, So Far, So Good... So What!, before quitting the band, talked about those dark and hazy days in our upcoming Streaming For Vegeance video interview.

“When I was in the band I was just the biggest guitar geek," he looks back. "I would just be in my room playing guitar, I was hiding in a bathroom at a Holiday Inn while ‘that guy’ was trying to sleep hungover in the room. And if you’re playing hockey arenas, I was able to set up in the shower. We had a little Marshalls so I would set up mini stacks in the shower and it had a great reverb. I was playing like every waking minute. And when you’re not doing that, you’re either at a record store doing a signing or you’re sitting on MTV, doing a photo shoot. We did a ton of phone interviews back in the day. All four of us will be doing a bunch of interviews a day. We are really working to promote the record, and spread the word.”


BraveWords: That was a pretty dark era for Megadeth. I’m guessing you weren’t lead party animal?


“I’m kind of like Ted Nugent, I don’t like to be here around drunk people,” Young says. “So I don’t like to be around fucked up people. That’s why I ended up rooming with Nick (Menza - drum tech at the time). I was just trying to be in it, but not of it. I was just trying to be the best that I could be, because the music is challenging right? I just wanted to play my best every night, the best show that I could give. And I knew that I couldn’t do that being buzzed. I was just amazed that they were trying to do that buzzed. ‘How are you getting up in the morning man?’ Because I hate that feeling. I don’t wanna go on stage feeling like that. Like hungover and ready to sleep. I want to be energized. We were just all on two different frequencies, so that’s why my duration in the band wasn’t long because I didn’t wanna be around that low vibration. It brings you down.”

Jeff Young will be on BraveWords' Streaming For Vengeance tomorrow (Saturday, August 5th) at 3:33 PM EST. You can watch/listen Streaming For Vengeance on the BraveWords Facebook page and the BraveWords YouTube channel.






Young gave BraveWords an update on the original material the band is working on.


"It’s not frightening at all,” he says about creating new music that measures up to the band classic repertoire. “We have five tracks in the can. David lives in Arizona and we have this amazing underground recording studio. And in Arizona with that heat, it’s great if you’re underground because it’s like an oven there. That first song that David and I started which was spawned by the Menza movie. That song has come to life, and it’s called “Bridges Burned” (which has its origins from a riff Jeff brought in back in 1988, intended for what became Rust In Peace). We were doing it on the road with Kings Of Thrash. We’ve kind of taken a turn to where we are going to proceed. And David has talked about it a little bit, so I guess I can be the next one to leak out the next bit of news. Kings Of Thrash are going to continue to do exactly what we do. Doing the best of the classic Megadeth that we were a part of. It’s part of our heritage. We’re doing extra stuff in the encore like Riot’s ‘Swords And Tequila’. We even got Rick Ventura, the original guitar player, joining us when we were in New York. And I think we inspired them because Riot Act are out on the road performing Fire Down Under and it’s entirety. We are expanding and doing Metallica songs and Def Leppard’s ‘Wasted’ which is on David’s covers album. So Kings Of Thrash is going to continue on this path and play as many shows that people want to see us. For the original material, we are going to use a different singer. We are working with somebody who is frighteningly good. He’s already finished the vocals on 'Bridges Burned'. It’s really brand new, so I can’t really say too much more about it. The originals, they have thrash elements, but there’s everything because David and I have lived 10 different lives since Megadeth. We’ve grown as musicians, so we’re gonna bring all that stuff and the energy we had in our 20s and combine that with everything that we’ve learned in our 30s 40s and 50s is in that music. There is a thrash element, and it’s got the speedy, shreddy stuff, but we had much more. It’s like a jambalaya. I just love the songs. Each of the songs are quite different, but they all sound like the same band.”





Kings Of Thrash “The MEGA Years” features Grammy Award winning bassist David Ellefson, along with guitarist Jeff Young, reuniting to perform the early thrash classics upon which the genre was built and defined in the 1980s. Showcasing the songs from the above mentioned albums in their entirety, Ellefson & Young stay true to material not performed live in several decades, along with the spirit of the era which launched one of the greatest genres of heavy metal music, and one of the biggest names in metal, the mighty Megadeth!


Says Ellefson, “I think we’ve assembled an energetic song list and group of musicians to capture the spirit of a genre we helped create & define so many years ago. Fans have been requesting these songs for a long time now and it seems like a good moment to bring them back to the stage”.


Jeff Young adds, “The mission here is to bring a connection of goodwill through the music, with a collaboration of musicians and friends in our community. Our thrash tribe casts a wide net to give people hope in a time when they’re looking for something positive and uplifting. What better way than to do that than through the music which has become the soundtrack to our lives.”

(Photos by Jeremy Belinfante and Kings Of Thrash)

Cyhra guitarist Euge Valovirta has launched a new series called In Depth via his YouTube channel, where he recreates a track (without vocals), plays it, and then goes through the production and mix. In the clip below he tackles the Anthrax classic, "Indians".










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:

Noveria has released a lyric video for “Descent” (featuring Angra vocalist Fabio Lione), second single taken from the new album The Gates Of The Underworld to be released on August 25 through Scarlet Records.


Produced by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, The Gates Of The Underworld will be released in the following formats:


- digipak CD
- digital




Preorder at scarletrecords.it.


The modern progressive metal agenda: Noveria’s goal is to create a complete headbanging experience with a melodic twist, combining massive and heavy riffs with dark atmospheric keyboards along with technically challenging solo sections and memorable vocal lines.


The Gates Of The Underworld takes things to a personal level, each song featuring real life stories from the band as well as from the fans. The human condition is ever present with all its challenges and mysteries, explored through the lens of both scientific research and lived experience.


With their new album, Noveria will take you on a wild roller-coaster ride through a psychotic break, escaping a narcissistic relationship, the aftermath of surviving a heart attack, a near death experience, and much more.


Artwork by Nicolas Spreutels:





Tracklisting:


“Heritage”
“Origins”
“Descent” (feat. Fabio Lione)
“Venom”
“Revenant”
“The Gates Of The Underworld”
“Ascent”
“Overlord”
“Anima”
“Eternal”


"Descent" lyric video:





"Overlord" video:





(Photo – Matteo Ermeti)

Chicago, Illinois progressive heavy metal band Sacred Dawn have released their second new single "A Dream Within" and accompanying lyric video from their upcoming new album.


"A Dream Within" is taken from their upcoming new album Dismal Swamp scheduled to be released worldwide on September 29, 2023 via Qumran Records in North America and No Dust Records in Europe. It is the band's first full length album in over 10 years. The album will be available in a 160-gram transparent swampy green vinyl, CD, and all digital platforms.


A Dream Within is a juxtaposition between being awake and dreaming... and a subconscious mind making choices between light (good) and dark (evil). The progressive elements in the music take you on a dynamic journey as its starts off heavy and intense before taking you into dreamy atmospheric sonic experience The song follows the human experience and that fine line of right or wrong, good or bad... and ending up in the same place over and over again.







Tracklisting:


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


"Truth Be Told" lyric video:





Sacred Dawn is:
Lothar Keller (Vocals/Guitar)
John Vitale (Guitar)
Joey Vega (Bass)
Mike Mousel (Drums)

Hard rock / heavy metal artist Armagelion has released his standalone single titled "Sweet Pain". The song is taken from the upcoming debut Armagelion five song EP to be released in late 2023.





Armgelion comments:




“Armagelion is back!


“‘Sweet Pain’ is a powerful song about something we can all relate to: A love that kills us, and we enjoy at the same time. We embrace pain and make it sweet. ‘Sweet Pain’ keeps Armagelion's signature melodic hard rock style, adding a touch of power ballad to the Divine Beast's arsenal!”


“Sweet Pain” is the latest single to be part of Armagelion's debut EP, which will be released later in 2023. The Armagelion EP will include all four released singles plus one unreleased song.

Brazilian band Armored Dawn has released their newest single "Brand New Way", the title track for their forthcoming fourth album, which will be released in the second half of 2023. Different from the heavy theme of the last singles, “S.O.S.” and “Tides”, “Brand New Way” brings a more optimistic view of life, of how we shouldn't let ourselves be overwhelmed by defeats or by those who want to bring us down, as there is always a new beginning and a new path to follow.





As with the previous singles, "Brand New Way" was mixed by Chris Lord Alge (Muse, Green Day, Nickelback) and mastered by Ted Jensen (Bring Me The Horizon, Evanescence, Metallica), and again shows a great evolution in the band's sound. The music brings the characteristic identity that marks Armored Dawn's sound, expands horizons and surprises those who still don't know the band's music.




As is Armored Dawn's tradition, the new single also features a super-produced music video, directed by Rafael Agostino, also the band's keyboardist. The current lineup features Eduardo Parras (vocals), Tiago de Moura, and Timo Kaarkoski (guitars), Heros Trench (bass), Rafael Agostino (keyboards) and Chris Oliveira (drums).

French/Irish alternative rock-metal outfit Molybaron, known for their energetic, hard-hitting sound, will release their new album Something Ominous on September 15 via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music. The announcement of the new album comes following the success of the recent single and video “Something Ominous”.


Molybaron are also pleased to share the second single from the album. You can check out the lyric video for “Breakdown” below.


"Breakdown" is a heavy, pop-tinged track, with lyrics conveying the struggle of a mind on the edge of collapse, capturing a sense of isolation, confusion, and vulnerability that accompanies these dark moments. A rousing, emotional mix of melodies, driven by aggressive guitar riffs, crushing bass, and electronic synth-scapes, "Breakdown" is invigorating and immersive in equal measure.







Something Ominous comes as CD in sleeve pack, 180g black LP in 12’’ inch vinyl sleeve and digital album. Stream the singles and pre-order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"Something Ominous"
"Set Alight"
"Billion Dollar Shakedown"
"Breakdown"
"Anyway"
"Daylight Dies In Darkness"
"Dead On Arrival"
"Pendulum"
"Reality Show"
"Vampires"


"Breakdown" lyric video:





"Something Ominous" video:





In addition, Molybaron will support Soen on their upcoming Memorial Tour 2023 in Europe, starting September 20.





Formed in Paris, early 2015, by Dublin-born singer/guitarist Gary Kelly, Molybaron have become one of the most talked-about bands in the modern metal scene. Fusing together elements of alt rock, hard rock, and modern metal to create an eclectic, sonically dynamic experience, Molybaron deliver an intensely raw, original musical signature, appealing to fans across the genres.


Molybaron is:


Gary Kelly – Guitar/Vocals
Florian Soum - Lead Guitar
Sébastien de Saint-Angel – Bass
Camille Greneron – Drums

Downes Braide Association (DBA) announce the release of the second single and video, “Keep On Moving”, from their new album Celestial Songs, out September 8. Following their previous studio albums, Celestial Songs will be the fifth DBA studio collaboration for Geoff Downes (keyboards) and multi award-winning songwriter Chris Braide (vocals). The album will be released in three formats: CD, 2LP and Box Set.


“Keep On Moving” is an uplifting track that picks up on the themes of DBA’s previous album, Halcyon Hymns, as songwriter and vocalist Chris Braide explains: “It’s a nostalgic song in that it's looking back at a kind of formative period in time, a love letter to the past, really. There's a reference to Prefab Sprout’s ‘Cars and Girls’ which is one of my favourite songs.”


The mood for “Keep On Moving” is set by Francis Dunnery’s sensitive guitar work before multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge (guitarist for the remainder of the album) shows his prowess on keyboards.




“The track has a great guitar riff,” says Chris, “and an arpeggio guitar picking out the riff, played by Francis. It gives it that kind of shimmery, summery feeling and the keyboard solo is wonderful. Dave Bainbridge played that solo and, I think, it's one of the finest moments on the album.”


While “Keep On Moving” forms a bridge of continuity to DBA’s previous output, Celestial Songs includes a lot of variety and, generally, leans more towards classic rock.





“We were aiming to get quite a bit more dynamics into this album,” says keyboardist Geoff Downes, “because there were some very quiet pastoral moments. I think it makes it a more interesting listen for people to get their heads around and enjoy. I hope people will appreciate it and get behind it, not just the songwriting and vocals but the overall instrumentation and musicianship is very high on this album. I know that Chris really likes the depth of chord sequences that I put together. This particular collection just really grabbed him and he got it up and running very, very quickly, so I was really pleased about that.”


You can pre-order all formats of Celestial Songs via the links below:


- CD
- 2LP
- Box Set





Celestial Songs tracklisting:


"Look What You Do"
"Clear Light"
"Keep On Moving"
"Darker Side Of Fame"
"Hey Kid"
"Will To Power"
"Heart Shaped Hole"
"Dear Petra"
"On The Run"
"Goodbye To You (Sister Shame)"
"Beyond The Stars"


"Clear Light" lyric video:





-  All tracks written by Chris Braide and Geoff Downes except “Keep On Moving” (Chris Braide/Francis Dunnery/ Geoff Downes) and “Goodbye To You (Sister Shame)” (Chris Braide/Andy Partridge/Geoff Downes)


- Produced by Chris Braide and Geoff Downes


About Downes Braide Association:


Downes Braide Association was formed as a studio-based project by Geoff Downes and Chris Braide and has previously produced four studio albums: Pictures Of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015), Skyscraper Souls (2017) and Halcyon Hymns (2021) and a live album Live In England (2019). The project draws on Downes’ and Braide’s rich musical heritage to create a delightfully accessible brand of progressive rock.


Keyboard wizard Geoff Downes was thrust into the limelight with the worldwide success of Video Killed The Radio Star in 1979. The single topped the charts in 16 countries for The Buggles duo of Geoff and Trevor Horn (vocals, bass guitar). They briefly joined prog legends YES before Downes became a founder member of the supergroup Asia with YES guitarist Steve Howe, ELP drummer Carl Palmer and the late John Wetton (vocals, bass guitar).


The Wetton-Downes composition “Heat Of The Moment” became a world-wide hit in 1982 heralding many years of success for Asia with their FM radio-friendly brand of rock. Downes later rejoined YES in 2011 and remains with the band alongside Steve Howe.


British singer-songwriter-pianist Chris Braide has recently returned to UK shores after many years based in California. He enjoys enormous success writing and producing music for film scores, advertising campaigns and working closely with artists including Sia, Lana Del Rey, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, Britney Spears and Marc Almond.


An Ivor Novello award-winner and Grammy-nominated, Braide has recently won a BMI Pop Award in Los Angeles for co-writing Sia’s Unstoppable, her eighth US Top 40 hit after making a surprise, and long, rise to the top having been released in 2016, becoming the biggest selling single in the USA.


(Photo - DBA)

SiriusXM host Tommy London (Hair Nation, Ozzy's Boneyard, Classic Rewind) recently joined Bret Michaels on the Parti Gras Tour date at PNC Arts Center in New Jersey for a performance of the Poison classic, “Nothin’ But A Good Time”. Watch below:





Earlier this year, Tommy London released his debut solo album, Emotional Fuse, available everywhere you steam/download music.




The album features ten infectious power pop/rock songs, including "Boom Boom Boom", the official theme of the 3ICE hockey league on CBS, and a cover of the Rod Stewart classic, "Infatuation". All nine originals were written by Tommy London and guitarist Matt Hogan, who also produced the album with John Fields (Pink, Jimmy Eat World).  
 
As the renowned frontman of NYC's The Dirty Pearls, Tommy has supported the likes of KISS, Cheap Trick, Mötley Crüe, The Darkness, Scott Weiland and many others, including opening for Lady Gaga, who he sang with as well, at New York's Citifield.





Tracklisting:


"Runaround"
"Boom Boom Boom"
"Sugar Red"
"Wicked Ways"
"Make You Love Me"
"Love Overdose"
"Vampira"
"You Belong To Me"
"Infatuation" (Rod Stewart Cover)
"Say Whoa"


"Make You Love Me" video:





"Sugar Red" video:





"Boom Boom Boom" video:





"Say Whoa" video:

Southern Californian melodic death shredders, Exmortus, have revealed the final single, "Storm Of Strings", ahead of the release of their sixth studio album, Necrophony, out August 25 via Nuclear Blast Records.


On their latest song, Exmortus puts their signature shred into a cover of legendary new age artist Yanni’s song “The Storm”, which was based off of the great Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi’s concertos, "The Four Seasons".


Commenting on the single, guitarist/vocalist Conan says: "We've been meaning to cover this piece for a long time and now it feels right for Necrophony. Honoring two artists at once, we give you a heavy metal shred version of Yanni's arrangement of Vivaldi's Summer Concerto. Enjoy the groove, enjoy the passion!"







Available for pre-order now, the record four years in the making finds the shredders at a new creative peak, re-born in the isolation of the pandemic and wielding a master craft of metallic savagery.


Commenting on the impending record, Conan says: "Necrophony was an album title idea for as long as I can remember. This Symphony of the Dead couldn't be realized for a collection of songs until now. Finally, we have our darkest and most classically inspired work yet, with artwork by the great Toha Mashudi to match perfectly. We returned to Sharkbite Studios to have the mighty wizard that is Zack Ohren aid us again in forging our metal, and resulted in the finest steel we're all proud to wield on the battlefield."





Necrophony tracklisting:


"Masquerade"
"Mask Of Red Death"
"Oathbreaker"
"Mind Of Metal"
"Storm Of Strings"
"Test Of Time"
"Darkest Of Knights"
"Prophecy"
"Children Of The Night"
"Beyond The Grave"
"Overture"
"Necrophony"
"Moonchild"


"Beyond The Grave" lyric video:





"Mind Of Metal" video:





"Oathbreaker" lyric video:





(Photo - Hugo Juarez; Juarez Photography, Heavy Defender)

On August 2, a giant tribute to Motörhead’s Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister took place, featuring a parade, communal toasts, and the enshrinement of his ashes at Lemmy’s Bar in the village of Wacken.


Despite wretched weather conditions, nothing could derail the thunderous celebrations, which saw band members Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee participate in an afternoon parade featuring several giant floats carrying hundreds of loud and raucous Motörhead fans.


The proceedings started at the festival site and headed through the town of Wacken to Lemmy’s Bar, where hordes of fans were waiting for the enshrinement ceremony, which saw Phil and Mikkey place Lemmy’s ashes, which are contained in a smaller version of his custom urn, in a specially-prepared glass display next to his personal items including his hat, boots, bass guitar, and Marshall stack.




Fans were also treated to a re-enacted version of Lemmy’s Dressing Room, which contained all his favorite things such as books, newspapers, whiskey, of course, and even his beloved Kinder Eggs with a toy, and the building itself was adorned with various Motörhead-themed murals, including one of Lemmy himself.


Later, at night onstage, headlining rocker Doro (an old friend of Lemmy’s) was joined on stage by Phil and Mikkey for “Love Me Forever” and “Ace Of Spades,” which saw the crowd go crazy and underscore the enormous presence Lemmy carries as an immortal man of the people. As the band played “Ace Of Spades” a flurry of drones flew above the stage forming Doro’s logo, Lemmy’s face, and the Lemmy & Wacken Forever logo. Throughout the day (and doubtless into the remaining days of the festival), toasts were raised in Lemmy’s name.


“Lemmy loved playing Wacken; there was a long relationship as we played for the first time in 1997 and returned many, many times,” said Mikkey Dee. “It is quite natural that he is returning now and has another place forever.”


“It’s great that Lemmy will be at Wacken forever among such good friends,” said Phil Campbell. “And I’m glad there’s another home where people can raise a toast to him.”


The Lemmy Forever at Wacken celebration was part of a wider movement that started at last year’s Hellfest, and sees Lemmy enshrined and celebrated at select spots around the world, which he loved and allowing fans a place to gather, remember, and honor him.

On August 4th, Iron Maiden brought The Future Past Tour to Wacken Open Air 2023 in Wacken, Germany. Fan-filmed video of the show can be veiwed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Caught Somewhere In Time"
"Stranger In A Strange Land"
"The Writing On The Wall"
"Days Of Future Past"
"The Time Machine"
"The Prisoner"
"Death Of The Celts"
"Can I Play With Madness"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"Alexander The Great"
"Fear Of The Dark"
"Iron Maiden"




Encore:
"Hell On Earth"
"The Trooper"
"Wasted Years"

From Hell is a metal horror concept band in which each recording is intended to be its own horror story. From Hell's first full-length album, Ascent From Hell, is the musical tale of a corpse that wakes up in Hell and finds out he must go back to earth to find his soul that still lives on inside the body of a priest, and drag it back to Hell.


In early 2019, From Hell began recording tracks for their sophomore album, entitled Rats & Ravens. The album was released on May 22, 2020 via Scourge Records. Then the pandemic hit and a massive European tour supporting Atheist was cancelled. Three times! But, as From Hell tells us, "things seem to be turning around and we’re eager to get out and play again and soon get back in the studio to work on a new record. We’d like to play a few shows first, since we never had the opportunity to support Rats & Ravens."


During the recording session for Rats & Ravens the band recorded “Come To The Sabbath,” a cover of the Mercyful Fate classic. From Hell shares, "We intended to release 'Come To The Sabbath' on the Rats & Ravens album, as the track fit so well with its concept."  




Of course, things didn't always go as planned in 2020. Now, the standalone "Come To The Sabbath" single drops today, August 4. Feast your ears!


Once upon a time, vocalist Aleister Sinn fronted Grandma, the King Diamond tribute band, and his experience pays off here. The overall musicianship is brilliant and From Hell are moving onward and forward. On deck is a cover of the KISS classic, "God Of Thunder", which will drop in the fall.





From Hell is:


Aleister Sinn – vocals and lead guitar
Stephen Paul Goodwin (ex-Vicious Rumors) – bass guitar
Steve Smyth (Forbidden, ex-Testament, ex-Nevermore, ex-Dragonlord) – lead guitar
Wes Anderson (ex-Blind Illusion) – drums

As previous episodes of The Greatest Live have already revealed, Queen’s kaleidoscope of influences meant almost no song was off-limits as a potential cover. From formative rock ‘n’ roll standards to classic showtunes, the band never ceased to surprise on the stage - but one song that obviously held era-spanning affection was “Big Spender”, showcased by this week’s archival footage from two of the band’s most famous concerts in 1975 and 1986. You can watch it in full below.


With its irresistible gold-digger lyric and fruity flourishes of brass, this timeless showtune was first performed on the Broadway stage in the 1966 musical Sweet Charity. But it’s more likely the song reached Queen’s Freddie Mercury via the definitive rendition by legendary Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey, the three-time James Bond soundtrack theme song star.


As Freddie told Hit Parader in 1977, the decision to expand Queen’s oeuvre was not taken lightly. “Sneaking my cabaret influences into our act was done slowly. Could you imagine me doing 'Big Spender' when we were first starting? As a rock band? They’d freak. Now we do more a combination of rock ‘n’ roll and theater.”




Having made that leap of faith, Queen never looked back. This week’s episode of The Greatest Live opens with footage from Hammersmith Odeon on Christmas Eve 1975, where the band teased the sell-out crowd - and the BBC audience watching at home - by walking offstage after the frenzied finale of “In The Lap Of The Gods”. Finally, with the atmosphere at fever pitch, the band returned to encore with “Big Spender”.


With Roger Taylor pounding his toms in a multi-colored clown wig, Brian May reimagining the classic brass motif as an anvil-heavy slide guitar riff, and Freddie playing provocatively with the cord of his kimono - before dropping the garment entirely - it’s a bravura performance topped only by the band’s show-stopping reprise, eleven years later, at Wembley Stadium.

In a new interview with Gibson Gear Guide, JUDAS PRIEST's Richie Faulkner was asked what piece of advice he would give to aspiring guitarists out there. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I've always been an advocate for, you don't need to know the latest mode or scale, or you don't need to know all the theory, anything like that. And I'm living proof of it. I don't know what I'm doing at all, apart from what I've found out by putting pedal to the metal and finding out via experience — gear, sound, what works, strings, picks. It's what works for you. I'm living proof. If I can do it, you can do it. Trust me. You don't need to know what mode this is before you go out. You don't have to be great to do, but you have to do to be great. You know what I mean? That's been my philosophy. So just get out there and do it. Experience. Make mistakes. Do what feels right to you, not what someone else tells you to do necessarily. Just get out there and play and what feels right. If I can do it, you can do it. That's what should be on my gravestone."

On September 26, 2021, the now-43-year-old British-born musician suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during JUDAS PRIEST's performance at the Louder Than Life festival, just a short distance from Rudd Heart and Lung Center at UofL Health - Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. It took the hospital's cardiothoracic surgery team, led by Dr. Siddharth Pahwa and also including Drs. Brian Ganzel and Mark Slaughter, approximately 10 hours to complete the surgery, an aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement with hemiarch replacement.

Last December, Faulkner, who returned to the road with his PRIEST bandmates in March 2022, reflected on the onstage episode that resulted in him being rushed to the hospital, telling Mexico's El Cuartel Del Metal: "I remember it well. I remember up until the point when I was in the ambulance, I think. I think I went into shock and everything kind of went blurry from there. But I remember playing. I remember the moment when it was about halfway through 'Painkiller' and something happened in my chest and I thought, 'That's a bit strange. That doesn't usually happen.' And it was obviously a big pain in the chest. And I remember, as I was playing the song, I went kind of light-headed. And I'd never fainted before, but I felt like, 'This is what it feels like. And I might faint soon.' I remember I was conscious of moving away from the side of the stage, because I thought if I fainted and I fell off the stage — the stage was quite high, so I thought if I fell off, I could do myself some damage. And I remember all that.

"What happened was at the end of 'Painkiller', I lift the guitar up into the air — usually I do that," he added. "And I think I tried to lift the guitar up, and I couldn't — I didn't have the strength because all the blood had gone; it was running out. It dissected, so all the blood was kind of doing different things. I didn't have the energy to lift the guitar, and I knew something was terribly wrong. But, again, luckily, there was a medic on hand with the ambulance and they got me to the hospital in time and they were able to save me. But I remember up until the point. But I didn't know what it was. I think if I would have known how dangerous it was, I would have gone straight off. But I didn't know. So I carried on playing. I just didn't know what it was, really."

In September 2022, Faulkner revealed that he underwent a second heart surgery a month earlier. He later explained to "That Fuzzing Rock Show": "They found something just before the European leg [of JUDAS PRIEST's world tour]. And it was basically a hole in the repair and there was a leak — I'd basically sprung a leak in there — and it was causing a sack to form around my heart. So they found it just before the European leg. And the surgeon said it was okay for me to do Europe, [so] I was actually touring Europe, playing Europe with this sack and a leak inside there. What that meant was when I got back from Europe, two days later I was back in the hospital for another open-heart surgery… But yeah, it was a bit daunting, to be honest, to be touring Europe knowing that that was going on. But you've gotta put your trust in the doctors, and it worked out okay."

Two weeks after his first surgery, Faulkner told reporters that he experienced a sharp pain as he was stepping off the stage. "That's when it exploded," he said.

"The more I read about it, the more astonishing it is to me to think that I even made it to the hospital," he added. "The amount of time when I actually go the pain and when I turned up in the hospital and when we were actually operating, it was quite a lot of time. The more I read about it, the more unbelievable — that amount of time — I don't know how I'm still around today."

Pahwha told reporters that the chance of survival for anybody with Faulkner's ailment is about 10%.

"There are about 70% to 80% patients who have their aorta ruptured and never make it to the hospital," said Pahwa.

Aortic aneurysms are "balloon-like bulges in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Dissections happen when the "force of blood pumping can split the layers of the artery wall, allowing blood to leak in between them."

After Louder Than Life, JUDAS PRIEST postponed the remainder of the U.S. dates on its 50th-anniversary tour, dubbed "50 Heavy Metal Years". The shows were rescheduled for March and April 2022.

Faulkner joined PRIEST in 2011 as the replacement for original guitarist K.K. Downing.

Richie was once the guitarist in the backing group for Lauren Harris, daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

Atomic Fire Records is massively proud to join forces with Athens, Georgia based progressive power metal five-piece Theocracy. Formed in 2002 to spread their majestic metal in the likes of Stratovarious, Sonata Arctica and Symphony X, Theocracy released four critically acclaimed studio albums, building a loyal fanbase as well. Now teaming up with Atomic Fire Records, the band consisting of Matt Smith (lead/backing vocals), Ernie Topran (drums), Jared Oldham (bass/backing vocals), Jonathan Hinds (guitars/backing vocals) and Taylor Washington (guitars/backing vocals) are more than ready to take Theocracy to the next level.


Vocalist Matt Smith comments, "We are thrilled to be members of the Atomic Fire Records family. From our first meeting, it was obvious that they've loved and supported our music for many years, long before there was a possibility we might work together. This personal touch was very important to us, and combined with their impressive roster featuring some of our favourite bands, we are so excited to work together for this new album release and beyond!"


Atomic Fire Records A&R Markus Wosgien enthuses, "We're more than happy to welcome Theocracy to the Atomic Fire Records family! With their latest album »Ghost Ship,« the band created a milestone in power/progressive metal history and I remember very well that I had the CD on endless rotation in my car for several years - and it keeps blowing me away. It's just one of those records which you'd pick for a trip to a lonely island, it's an album that recalls why one has become a metalhead: Because such tunes make addicted, one needs to sing along to them, and they fulfill our hearts. With their upcoming new album, Theocracy have taken it all another step further and have reached a new level, without repeating themselves but with adding more diversity to their sound. The world stands in awe of an album full of hymns, beauty and pure magic once again.”




For more than 20 years, Matt Smith has been pouring his life blood into Theocracy, creating a legacy and back catalogue that grants him a safe space to breathe and develop his vision.


"It's my life's work," says Smith. "All I wanted to do since I was a kid was writing songs, so Theocracy existed in my mind for many years before the first album. It's the vehicle that has taken me all around the world and allowed me to exceed my wildest dreams by getting my songs out, and I am so thankful."


Theocracy's fifth studio album will see the light of the day later this year.


Theocracy are:


Matt Smith | vocals
Jonathan Hinds | guitars
Taylor Washington | guitars
Jared Oldham | bass
Ernie Topran | drums


(Photo - Ron Carson Jr.)

In a new interview with Shawn of "The Rockstar Radio Show" on 96.3 The Blaze, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli spoke about a possible musical direction for the band's upcoming follow-up to 2022's "Scoring The End Of The World" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We are always gonna put out records that have a lot of variety. We're never, ever going to abandon the heavier stuff. We always have a few songs on the records that are just like the heaviest song we could do. I think the last record we had a song called 'Slaughterhouse' that was, like, in my opinion, top three heaviest songs MOTIONLESS has ever done this far into our career. So that's not going anywhere."

He continued: We're gonna have the songs that are the more like big sing-along moments, like 'Another Life' and 'Masterpiece' — the big, emotionally hitting songs that I think is really, truly what our fans want the most from the band. And then, you know, we're everywhere in between. We find ways to find everything in between and then push the envelope in directions we've never tried before. So, I think on our last record, 'Werewolf' would be a cool example of a song that was just, like, 'Let's try something completely new and different and do it our way.' And I thought it went well. We were really happy with it. So we'll find a way to do that with something else on the next one."

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE recently joined Grammy Award-nominated act IN THIS MOMENT for a co-headline run across North America featuring special guests FIT FOR A KING and FROM ASHES TO NEW. "The Dark Horizon Tour" sees the two bands alternating closing sets each night and performing at arenas and amphitheaters across the country. The trek kicked off July 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and will continue through an August 19 performance at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

Later this fall, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE will tour the U.S. with Louisville metallic hardcore crushers KNOCKED LOOSE, djent mainstays AFTER THE BURIAL and Australian metalcore unit ALPHA WOLF. The trek will kick off in MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on September 16 and will last over a month before wrapping up in Boston on October 29.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE recently earned two RIAA gold singles for "Another Life" and "Voices".

SEVENDUST was forced to play the first two shows of its summer 2023 tour with ALTER BRIDGE and MAMMOTH WVH without guitarist John Connolly after he contracted COVID-19.

On Wednesday (August 2),Connolly released the following statement via social media: "To the SEVENDUST family- I had to do something this week that I have never had to do in my whole career – I had to miss a SEVENDUST show.

"In all of our years as a band, I have performed in every SEVENDUST concert played. Sadly, I had to miss last night and tonight.

"As people that follow my social media know, I have been training for my upcoming New York City marathon. During one of those sessions, I was exposed to COVID. To prevent any possible exposure from myself to my bandmates: Lajon, Clint, Vinnie, Morgan, our crew, ALTER BRIDGE and MAMMOTH WVH and their teams, local staff and attendees – I made the decision to sit out the first 2 shows.

"I was watching tonight's show via FaceTime and my SEVENDUST brothers sounded great. I feel fine and am now testing negative. I am all packed and ready to board my plane tomorrow to meet up with everyone and I'll be back rocking with you all soon."

Connolly sat out SEVENDUST's performances on August 1 at Buffalo Outer Harbor in Buffalo, New York and August 2 at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

SEVENDUST released its fourteenth studio album, "Truth Killer", on July 28 via the band's new label home, Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2020's "Blood & Stone" was once again tracked at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has previously worked with ALTER BRIDGE and SLASH, among others.

Originally known as RUMBLEFISH, then CRAWLSPACE, SEVENDUST emerged from Atlanta, Georgia's music scene in the mid-1990s and has had continued success ever since.

To the Sevendust family-

I had to do something this week that I have never had to do in my whole career - I had to...

Posted by Sevendust on Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Virgin Music has announced a partnership with the band INCUBUS for a special re-release of their critically acclaimed double-platinum album "Morning View" titled "Morning View XXIII". The band re-recorded the record and will be performing it in its entirety plus the hits at their previously announced show at the Hollywood Bowl on October 6.

Jacqueline Saturn, president of Virgin Music, says: "I am thrilled to welcome INCUBUS to the Virgin Music family. The re-recording of 'Morning View XXIII' will be a musical milestone for the band in their long and successful career. I am proud to have been there at the beginning of their career and now to be reunited with them marks a very special moment for us. We can't wait to share the new versions of their iconic songs with fans around the world."

INCUBUS originally released their critically acclaimed fourth studio album "Morning View" on October 23, 2001, and were met with an outpouring of love and acclaim from fans and industry alike. The album has been RIAA-certified double platinum and spent 60 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 2.

Lead singer and co-founder of INCUBUS Brandon Boyd says: "We are excited to partner up with Virgin to release 'Morning View XXIII', and we can't wait to perform it live for the fans at the Hollywood Bowl. 'Morning View XXIII' will give our fans a fresh new take on the songs and we look forward to sharing it with everyone when it drops on October 6th! It's also incredibly special to reunite with Jacqueline at Virgin who was with us at the very beginning of our career."

INCUBUS will perform "Morning View" in its entirety along with a selection of fan favorites. Supporting INCUBUS on this show will be ACTION BRONSON & HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE and PARIS JACKSON. INCUBUS began a U.S. tour on July 21, 2023 that will take them across the country playing multiple venues as well as festivals.

INCUBUS has released many multi-platinum and gold records throughout their career including their debut LP, "Fungus Amongus" (1995),"S.C.I.E.N.C.E." (1997),"Make Yourself" (1999),"Crow Left Of The Murder..." (2004) and "Light Grenades" (2006),"If Not Now, When?" (2011) and "8" (2017).

With over 23 million records sold and a legion of loyal fans, INCUBUS continues to be a mainstay fan favorite worldwide.

Photo by Julian Schratter (courtesy of Live Nation)

Patriarchs In Black - the project formed by Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction) and Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Quiet Riot) - have just put the finishing touches on their second album, My Veneration.


My Veneration will be released by Germany's MDD Records worldwide on October 6th. The cover art, created by Josh Anonymous, can be seen below.


As with the Patriarchs In Black debut, Reach For The Scars, Lorenzo and Kelly are joined by multiple singers and bassists. Karl Agell (Corrosion Of Conformity) is back, as is Rob Traynor (Black Water Rising). Mark Sunshine (Riotgod, Unida) sings along with hip-hop legend Darryl DMC from RUN/DMC on the track "Veneration". There's also appearances from John "JD" DeServio (Black Label Society), Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog), Johnny Araya (yes, Tom's brother), plus a cover of "I Stole Your Love" by KISS, featuring Johnny Kelly's brother Danny Kelly and many more guests, including the project's first use of violin and keyboards.




"Johnny and I have recorded with well over a dozen musicians on our two albums and each person brings their own influences to this project," stated Lorenzo. "We're not  trying to please everyone, but I do feel like there's something on My Veneration for everybody. Kelly Abe, who was on the TV show Battle For Ozzfest, is a decade younger than us and he brings, I guess you'd call it a nu-metal sound to the songs he sings on. Sunshine is perhaps the most unique singer I've ever heard, and Karl... is Karl. How can you not love Karl's voice?" 


Regarding the album title My Veneration, Lorenzo said, "Obviously, it's a play on words of a famous song, but you don't hear the word 'Veneration' used often. I love the word and it describes my love and deep respect of making music."


The first single from My Veneration is the track "Veneration" featuring DMC, out August 25th. 





Check out a brief video teaser: