TRIVIUM bassist Paolo Gregoletto will miss the band's next few shows while he is recovering from emergency hernia surgery. He will be temporarily replaced by Josh Baines of the British metal band MALEVOLENCE.

The news of Gregoletto's condition was first revealed by TRIVIUM guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy, who wrote in a social media post: "Attention! Yesterday, we arrived in Germany from America. After experiencing abdominal pain, Paolo needed to be taken to the hospital for emergency hernia surgery late in the night. The operation went well and Paolo is recovering.

"Paolo will need to stay under observation for the next few days, and Josh from MALEVOLENCE will be filling in for the next few shows.

"Please send your healing energy and love over Paolo's way – you'll be seeing him back on stage in a few days.

"See ya Wacken!"

Gregoletto shared a post-surgery video message on his social media in which he said: " Hey, guys. [I'm] obviously starting this tour a lot differently than I had planned. But I'm gonna rest up here in Hamburg for a few days and I'll join back up with the tour either in Marseille or in Belgium at Alcatraz. You know, I might play in a chair, might just kind of stand there to play, but I will be joining back up and just taking it easy. But thank you guys for understanding. I really appreciate it and love you guys. Thank you."

Florida native Gregoletto joined TRIVIUM in 2004 when Matt and then-drummer Travis Smith held auditions for a new bass player. He got the gig just in time for the tour with MACHINE HEAD and replaced bassist Brent Young just after the band had finished recording "Ember To Inferno".

According to EMG, Paolo uses a variety of techniques to perform his bass-lines. He uses a two fingered plucking style to pick out the more elegant counter melodies and rapid pentatonic accompaniments necessary for some of TRIVIUM's material. He also frequently uses a modern three-fingered plucking style, as favored by Billy Sheehan, in order to achieve a gallop rhythm (two 16ths and one 8th) in the style of IRON MAIDEN's Steve Harris. His preferable way to warm up is by performing chromatic exercises up and down the whole neck of the bass, using both fingers and a pick.

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paolo Gregoletto (@triviumpaolo)



View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matthew kiichichaos Heafy (@matthewkheafy)

Swedish death metal pioneers, Dismember, recently announced the long overdue physical standalone reissues of their expansive discography. The first batch consisting of the first two albums, Like An Everflowing Stream (1991) and Indecent & Obscene (1993), as well as the Pieces EP (1992) will be released on August 25.


Today, the band reissues the music video for "Soon To Be Dead", from Like An Everflowing Stream. Revisit the video below:







For the reissues, the entire audio has been mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony with the goal to preserve a 'true to the original' sound and contains the more dynamic June '91 master of Like An Ever Flowing Stream on vinyl for the first time. All album layouts were created together with Dismember resulting in a return of the Indecent and Obscene sticker.





Pre-order the physical reissues here, or at the band's official webstore.





Like An Everflowing Stream
Available Formats: LP | CD | Cassette


Considered one of the best death metal albums of all time, 1991's Like An Ever Flowing Stream is a timeless masterpiece establishing Stockholm's Dismember as one of the most talented acts of the genre and laid the groundwork for their merciless buzz-saw sound. This new edition features the more dynamic June 1991 master resulting in the best sounding version of this classic ever!





Indecent & Obscene
Available Formats: LP | CD | Cassette


Released in 1993, the second, more refined studio album by Sweden's death metal masters Dismember includes classic tunes like "Skinfather", "Fleshless", and "Dreaming In Red", which are mainstays in the group's live set up until now. CD and LP feature the cult Indecent and Obscene sticker mocking the censorship troubles Dismember faced at that time.





Pieces
Available Formats: MLP | CD


To the very day, this EP - originally released in 1992 - is an epitome of nastily loud, savagely distorted, uncompromising Swedish death metal.


Keep your eyes peeled for the next batch of physical Dismember reissues to be announced soon.


Upcoming live dates:


August
9-12 - Fortress Josefov, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault
11-13 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Festival


September
7-9 - Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland - Summer Dying Loud Festival


October
13 - Karlstad, Sweden - Nöjesfabriken
14 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Strand


May 2024
23-26 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Death Fest


Dismember are:


Fred Estby (Drums)
David Blomqvist (Guitars)
Robert Sennebäck (Guitars)
Matti Karki (Vocals)
Richard Cabeza (Bass)


(Photo - Nathaniel Shannon)

BMG has announced "Year Of The Devil", a multi-configuration celebration of the 40th anniversary of MÖTLEY CRÜE's landmark second album, "Shout At The Devil". The centerpiece of "Year Of The Devil" is the Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set which features the newly remastered album on LP, CD and cassette. Also included are reproductions of the original 7" singles of "Too Young To Fall In Love" and "Looks That Kill" alongside a Pentagram Séance Board, Devil Board with Metal Planchette, Metal 7" Adapter, album art lithographs, tarot cards, devil candle holder and more. In addition, seven rare demo tracks have been resurrected and are included as "Shout At The Demos & Rarities".

"Shout At The Devil - 40th Anniversary" is available as a streaming/digital deluxe edition and the following Limited Edition configurations: Super Deluxe Box Set, Picture Disc, Red/Black Vinyl (Walmart),Ghostly Orange Vinyl (Urban Outfitters),Blood Filled Vinyl (Newbury Comics),LP Replica CD, and Lenticular CD (Walmart).

Originally released in 1983 at the height of the Satanic Panic, "Shout At The Devil" catapulted MÖTLEY CRÜE to superstardom. Delivering on the hype and promise of their platinum debut "Too Fast For Love", MÖTLEY CRÜE's second album hit the US Top 20 and was certified four times platinum. For many music fans, "Shout At The Devil" was the first time they witnessed an album with this imagery and lyrical content on mainstream retail shelves.

"Shout At The Devil" continues to be a cornerstone of MÖTLEY CRÜE's live set, with the band playing up to four songs from this iconic album at every show of "The World Tour" which is currently underway. Fittingly, the original touring cycle for this album saw MÖTLEY CRÜE jump from opening act to full on arena headliners.

The ground-breaking music videos for "Looks That Kill" and "Too Young To Fall In Love" set the standard for countless MTV moments. Those two singles, combined with the sinister title track, reckless cuts like "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid", "Bastard" and "Red Hot", their frenzied take on "Helter Skelter" and the haunting nearly instrumental "God Bless The Children Of The Beast" helped create this era- and genre-defining album.

Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set Includes:

* Original Album Remastered on Orange/Yellow Splatter LP
* "Shout At The Demos & Rarities" Red/White Splatter LP
* "Shout At The Devil" CD
* "Shout At The Devil" Cassette
* "Looks That Kill" White 7"
* "Too Young To Fall In Love" Orange 7"
* Devil Board w/Metal Planchette
* Metal Pentagram 7" Adapter
* Pentagram Felt Bag
* Devil Candle Holder (candle not included)
* Band Member Tarot Cards
* 12" x 12" Pentagram Séance Board
* Two 12" x 12" Shout At The Devil Blood Album Cover Litho Art Prints

Album track listing:

01. In The Beginning
02. Shout At The Devil
03. Looks That Kill
04. Bastard
05. God Bless The Children Of The Beast
06. Helter Skelter
07. Red Hot
08. Too Young To Fall In Love
09. Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid
10. Ten Seconds To Love
11. Danger

"Shout At The Demos & Rarities" track listing:

01. Shout At The Devil (Demo)
02. Looks That Kill (Demo)
03. Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid (Demo)
04. Too Young To Fall In Love (Demo)
05. Hotter Than Hell (Demo for "Louder Than Hell")
06. I Will Survive (Demo)
07. Black Widow (Demo)

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, MÖTLEY CRÜE — Vince Neil (vocals),Nikki Sixx (bass),Tommy Lee (drums) and Mick Mars (guitars) — has commandeered the rock pantheon for 41 years. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, garnered seven USA platinum and multi-platinum albums, 22 Top 40 mainstream rock hits, six Top 20 pop singles, three Grammy nominations, five New York Times best-selling books, a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and a Netflix hit movie.

The quartet has amassed over five billion streams across digital platforms and the band has over eight million followers on social media. Known for their iconic live performances, the band has sold-out countless tours across the globe in front of millions of fans with groundbreaking production highlights such as Tommy Lee's drum-rollercoaster and Nikki Sixx's flame-throwing-bass. They pioneered the Las Vegas rock residency with a sold out run in 2012. MÖTLEY CRÜE's hit songs such as "Kickstart My Heart" and "Home Sweet Home" are frequently licensed by major brands such as NASCAR, Dodge, Coldwell Banker, Carl's Jr. and KIA, to name a few, and their music can be heard on TV hit shows such as "Stranger Things" and "Cobra Kai", among many others.

The band's biography "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" became a New York Times best-seller in 2001 and has sold over one million copies worldwide. Members of the band have authored four additional New York Times best-selling books since. In 2019 Netflix premiered "The Dirt" biopic based on the bestselling book which became a global hit movie, scoring a 94% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, MÖTLEY CRÜE gained an entire new generation of young fans who discovered the band through the movie and further solidified their iconic status, relevance and the timelessness of their songwriting.

MÖTLEY CRÜE remains a huge global draw 41 years into their career and, in the summer of 2022 co-headlined a nearly sold-out North American stadium tour with DEF LEPPARD. "The World Tour" continues to travel to stadiums around the world throughout 2023, with John 5 stepping in on guitar as the replacement for Mars.

German metal queen Doro Pesch was joined by a number of guests — including Udo Dirkschneider (ACCEPT, U.D.O.),Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS),Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX),Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell (MOTÖRHEAD) and Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) — during her August 2 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. Professionally filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below.

Doro's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. I Rule The Ruins (WARLOCK song)
02. Earthshaker Rock (WARLOCK song)
03. Time For Justice
04. Burning The Witches (WARLOCK song)
05. Rock Till Death (with Hansi Kürsch)
06. Hellbound (WARLOCK song)
07. East Meets West (WARLOCK song) (with Sammy Amara)
08. Metal Racer (WARLOCK song)
09. Für Immer (WARLOCK song)
10. Antisocial (TRUST cover) (with Joey Belladonna)
11. Raise Your Fist In The Air (with Joey Belladonna)
12. Drum Solo (Johnny Dee)
13. Love Me Forever (MOTÖRHEAD cover) (with Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell)
14. Blood, Sweat And Rock 'N' Roll (with Michael Rhein)
15. Breaking The Law (JUDAS PRIEST cover) (with Uli Jon Roth and Udo Dirkschneider)
16. All We Are (WARLOCK song) ((with Uli Jon Roth, Joey Belladonna, Udo Dirkschneider, Hansi Kürsch, Sammy Amara and Michael Rhein)

Encore:

17. All For Metal
18. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD cover) (with Mikkey Dee and Phil Campell)

Doro's new studio album, "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", is due on October 27 via Nuclear Blast.

The 19-song LP is described in a press release as "the result of intensive hard work that took the incomparable singer and songwriter back to studios in Miami, New York and Hamburg, amongst others. The album presents Doro at the height of her creative powers."

This past June, Doro released "Time For Justice", the first single from "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", along with a "Mad Max"-style video. The clip was filmed with director Mirko Witzki (CALIBAN, ANY GIVEN DAY, EMIL BULLS).

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" will arrive one day before Doro's 40th-anniversary concert at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Doro's latest album, 2018's "Forever Warriors, Forever United" featured 19 regular tracks and six bonus songs.

In September 2022, Doro released a very unique single — a soulful adaptation of her classic metal anthem "Raise Your Fist In The Air". The track was made possible by the new ZDF (national German TV channel) music show "Music Impossible".

Sherinian/Phillips is the musical alliance of Derek Sherinian and Simon Phillips, whose parallel reputations in virtuosic sonic inventions combine on the backdrop of instrumental genre fusion.


Though the two had written and recorded together in the past, commitments to other projects had kept them busy in their own circles for a time. Upon their reunion for the recording of 2020’s The Phoenix, the duo has been going strong with consistent new releases ever since.


Now, they are pleased to announce the release of Sherinian/Phillips Live, which exhibits the pair uniting once again for a collaborative effort, documenting a special concert recorded at The Grape in Ventura, California on August 29th, 2022. The set is due out on August 25 via InsideOutMusic.




Joining Sherinian/Phillips are fellow creatives Ron "Bumblefoot' Thal on guitar and Ric Fierabracci on bass to round out the lineup of the evening. Several tracks from the latest studio album offering, Vortex, made their way into the set, such as the title track “Vortex”, “Seven Seas”, and “Aurora Australis” (the original recording of which featured Bumblefoot), alongside other instrumentals.


Today, they share another track from the album. Listen to “Inertia" (Live 2022) here, and below:





Sherinian/Phillips Live has every note - planned or jammed - captured like lightning in a bottle, taking listeners to the moment these sounds sparked from their instruments. The live performance sits naturally in a rock context, while reminiscent of jazz fusion concert structures, with room for each musician to stand out in a solo space, each carrying and trading unique melodies along the way.


Derek Sherinian: “After 20 years of making albums together, it was a great pleasure bringing this music to life with Simon for the first time.”


Pre-orderhere.





Sherinian/Phillips Live tracklisting:


"The Vortex"
"Empyrean Sky"
"Temple of Helios"
"Inertia"
"Alpha Burst"
"Barnacus"
"Seven Seas"
"Ascension"
"The Phoenix"
"Introduction"
"Aurora Australis"





Lineup:


Derek Sherinian (keys/synth)
Simon Phillips (drums)
Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal (guitar)
Ric Fierabracci (bass)


Sherinian’s background as a composer and keyboardist extends well beyond his familiar Dream Theater run, with a notable solo career creating a landscape for contributions from an array of acclaimed musicians, alongside performance credits with the likes of Alice Cooper, Black Country Communion, Billy Idol, Whitesnake, Kiss, Black Label Society, and Sons of Apollo (doubling on production credits), among others.


Phillips has equally rooted himself as a well-respected drummer and composer in the rock, metal, and jazz worlds, with credits ranging from Toto, Judas Priest, Jeff Beck, The Who, Whitesnake, and Joe Satriani, to a discography in jazz fusion with Protocol, movie soundtracks, and beyond.


The diverse range of this pair’s individual talents collectively emerges through each work they craft together; Sherinian and Phillips continue to evolve their joint musical endeavors in new directions.

IRON MAIDEN's Nicko McBrain has revealed that he suffered a stroke earlier this year.

The 71-year-old drummer confirms shared the news of the medical episode in a statement posted via MAIDEN's official web site, revealing that the episode left him "paralyzed" down one side of his body and left him "worried" that his career with the band was over.

McBrain's statement reads as follows: "I hope this message finds you all well!

"The reason I'm writing to you all today is to let you know of a very serious health problem that I have been through. In January I had a stroke, thank the Lord it was a minor one referred to as a TIA. It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down, of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors, especially Julie my OT (Occupational Therapist),and my MAIDEN family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered. After 10 weeks of intense therapy it was almost time to start rehearsals for our tour.

"I feel it's important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100% fitness. I'm not there yet but by the grace of God I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by.

"Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing.

"Well that's it from me. God bless you all, stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all somewhere in time. :-) :-)"

Manager Rod Smallwood added: "The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him. With this new and musically very complex set to learn ahead of him, he just got his head down and concentrated on recovery. We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May and there was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!

"Nicko being Nicko he did not want to make a fuss and cause any distraction to the tour at the time but, now that he is sure he will soon get there, he thought you fans should know straight from him rather than by any rumours! We are all of course delighted he battled through this so well and look forward to many more tours together starting with the three Western Canada shows and Power Trip in California coming up in a couple of months time. We can't wait! This tour is that good!"

McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer in 2020 and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps.

The now-71-year-old musician received his cancer diagnosis after undergoing an endoscopy at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University Of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine. Within a week, McBrain's cancer was surgically removed and he now gets check-ups every few months to make sure the cancer hasn't returned.

McBrain, who had the cancer in a part of his vocal cords, isn't the first member of MAIDEN to beat cancer. Back in late 2014, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with throat cancer. The singer, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

In a 2015 interview with Overdrive, McBrain admitted that he thought MAIDEN was over when it was discovered that Dickinson had a cancerous tumor. "Well, I'd be a liar if I didn't think for a minute that IRON MAIDEN [was] finished," he said. "[But] I thought more about the possibility of losing my friend than anything else, to be honest. Then later, I was thinking, 'God forbid if the worst ever happened, the legacy would be the last 16 albums.'"

McBrain, who is a dedicated Christian, continued: "I've got to be honest, I did question his mortality at one point and thankfully that didn't last long. Honestly, I got down on my knees and said a prayer, picked my thoughts up and got positive about it all, thinking to myself, 'If anyone can beat this, it's Bruce.' He's so positive about everything he's ever done in his life, or whatever he is about to do. Basically, I prayed for him and my prayers were answered, as well as everybody else that knows and cares for him."

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE frontman Josh Homme says that it's "a little cunty" when certain music acts don't perform their "big songs" in concert.

The 50-year-old musician weighed in on the topic of bands not playing their most popular tracks while discussing how he puts together his band's setlists during an appearance on appearing on the "Tuna On Toast With Stryker" podcast.

Homme remarked: "I understand that I'm always going to play [QOTSA's hit] 'No One Knows' because I still like playing that song, and that's something that, it's an agreement with the audience. 'I assume that this is a part of coming here to see us, and here you go.'"

He continued: "When there's bands that don't wanna play their big song or their big songs, I always think it's a little cunty to do that. [Laughs] Acting like a song that a lot of people like is a burden is just a strange reaction to the gift that your fans have given you. Seems like an odd reaction."

Homme went on to say that some acts have a hard time dealing with the success of their own hit songs. "I think especially when something blows up, I can understand perhaps that feeling of it's overshadowing the rest of what you do and all," he said. "But perhaps these are uptown problems, you know? And while I understand bits of that sentiment, I don't think the end result can be that you deny the sort of world that that song would give you… In the years of doing this, I've seen a lot of artists do that — at times they sort of get angry at their own music for doing well, for creating this world."

He continued: "I don't know. Having fans is a cool thing, and they want stuff, and when it comes to playing the stuff they want, I feel like that that's why this is happening, right? You guys are all here because you wanna hear some stuff and also have no idea what's gonna happen. And you needed to have that basic food group in order for me to surprise you, too. Surprise requires knowing some constants are going to happen, you know?

"So, I don't know. I don't sweat stuff like that. Why would I not play 'No One Knows'?"

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's latest album, "In Times New Roman…", was made available across all platforms on June 16 via Matador Records.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE performed live for the first time in more than three years on May 26 at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to the Columbus gig, Homme and his bandmates played one gig in early 2020, their first since 2018.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's 11-song set included the live debut of the new song "Emotion Sickness".

"In Times New Roman…" was recorded and mixed at Homme's own Pink Duck (RIP),with additional recording at Shangri-La. The album was produced by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and mixed by Mark Rankin. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging was designed by longtime collaborator Boneface.

At this year's Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, which was held on July 14-16 at the Ohio State Reformatory, a historic and allegedly haunted former prison which most famously featured in the 1994 film "The Shawshank Redemption", one winner and their guest joined SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor on a private tour of the "Blood Prison" haunted house. A video recap of the experience, shot and edited by Cyrus Entezam, can be seen below (courtesy of Danny Wimmer Presents).

"Blood Prison" is a harrowing walk through the unrelenting horrors of the Ohio State Reformatory — the state's notoriously haunted prison. In this unsettling space where paranormal activity abounds, hear the ear-splitting wail of the warden's widow. Encounter the frightening phantasms of maniacal inmates and deformed guards in the world's largest free-standing steel cell block. Descend into the suffocating blackness of The Hole.

The haunted house takes guests on a 45-minute walk through several haunts, including the warden's widow's quarter, a post-apocalyptic corridor, and an area roamed by clowns.

"Some people come just to see the scenes, some people come for entertainment and others come for fear," owner Victor Amesquita told Spectrum News 1. "You are going to get some sort of thrill while you are here."

The "Blood Prison" has been a part of the Ohio State Reformatory since 2017.

According to Amesquita, the prison's haunted reputation helps them bring the scares to their guests. "A lot of people were already thinking that coming in," he told ABC 6. "That they're actually coming into a haunted facility. That's very paranormal and it's active in that manner. So that adds a little uneasiness to the guests."

During an appearance on today's episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", guitarist Joe Bonamassa spoke about the status of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, his supergroup with legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH),drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL). Asked if the band's fifth album has already been completed, Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It is not done. I'm actually, after I see you today, I'm gonna go to Sunset Sound [studios in Hollywood] and see Glenn. And I've gotta sing a little bit on it and redo one guitar part for [the record]. And he's over there cutting vocals now. 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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glenn Hughes (@glennhughesonline)

PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix joined FALLING IN REVERSE on stage on July 29 at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, California to perform the song "Popular Monster". Video of his appearance can be seen below.

This past June, FALLING IN REVERSE shared a cover of PAPA ROACH's "Last Resort" by turning the song into a slow-burning, piano-led ballad.

"I wanted to reimagine one of the biggest rock songs of the last 20 years, because lyrically, it is so powerful and resonates," FALLING IN REVERSE vocalist Ronnie Radke said at the time. "I got the blessing from Jacoby and I think that PAPA ROACH are one of the nicest, humble, and most down-to-earth bands to date and it inspires me to keep going, since they have been so successful for so many years. This is me paying homage in the best way I know how."

A few days, later Jacoby shared his reaction to the song on social media, writing: "WOW I AM BLOWN AWAY!!!! Honestly this one cuts deep. Right to the true emotion and depth of the lyrics. What an amazing cover @RonnieRadke. I'm trippin."

He added: "We are humbled that this song, 20+ years later continues to be meaningful to so many. Well done @FIROfficial & Ronnie."

FALLING IN REVERSE's "Popular Monstour", its name a play on "Popular Monster", kicked off on June 26 in Charleston, West Virginia. Support on the trek is coming from ICE NINE KILLS, UNDEROATH and CROWN THE EMPIRE, among others.

Formed back in 2008 by Radke while he was incarcerated, FALLING IN REVERSE's recent single, "Zombified", hit no. 1 on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. The aforementioned "Popular Monster" earned platinum RIAA status and has been streamed nearly half a billion times.
Big thanks to @jacobyshaddix for joining us on stage in Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/Ofz2s08mrF

— Falling In Reverse (@FIROfficial) August 1, 2023

In a new interview with "The Jesea Lee Show", P.O.D. vocalist Sonny Sandoval was asked about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the three-time Grammy Award-nominated rock quartet's next studio album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been a long progress, just because of COVID and everything. Once COVID hit, everybody thought, 'Well, we can make records and get everything out and get it ready to go.' But it was kind of a difficult thing for us because we're used to being together and writing together. So, it was a different process for us, but now it's mixed, mastered, ready to go, but we aren't releasing it till next year, because, you know, the way labels work. But it's cool, 'cause they're gonna waterfall like a bunch of different singles and stuff like that. So it should be cool. So hopefully by… The plan is by the time the record comes out, you would have already seen three videos or [heard] four or five songs."

Asked if the next P.O.D. album will see him and his bandmates returning to their "old-school" sound or if it will represent "a whole new era" for the group. Sonny said: "All we know how to do is be ourselves. But I think this album is definitely more rocking. The last album, 'Circles', was a little bit more on the alternative side and a little bit of all the elements of our styles and flavors. But this one, it's just kind of rock, you know what I mean? But I dig it. I think it's kind of the album that we needed. Not everybody gets all the different flavors and styles and the soulfulness of P.O.D. Sometimes I compare it to… I don't eat McDonald's, but they're the number one food chain for a reason. People, they know what they get, they know what to expect. I'm more of a foodie, so I like a great burger or maybe a steak. But people love their McDonald's, so sometimes you just kind of give 'em what they want."

P.O.D.'s latest album, "Circles", was released in November 2018 via Mascot Label Group. The disc saw the band collaborating with the Los Angeles-based production duo called the Heavy (Jason Bell and Jordan Miller),who ensured the album is contemporary sounding without losing any of the band's core sonic signifiers.

P.O.D. dropped "Satellite: 20th Anniversary Edition" as a double-CD and digitally in September 2021 through Rhino. Released a few days before the album's official anniversary, the 27-song collection introduced a newly remastered version of the original album, plus a selection of rarities, remixes, and four previously unreleased demos, including "Alive (Semi-Acoustic Version)". A few weeks later, "Satellite: 20th Anniversary Edition" was released on vinyl as a double-LP as a part of Rhino's Rocktober campaign.

After debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, "Satellite" went on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, including three million in the U.S. The record generated four singles: the title track, "Alive", "Youth Of The Nation" and "Boom". In addition to its commercial success, "Satellite" earned P.O.D. three Grammy nominations for "Alive" ("Best Hard Rock Performance", 2002),"Portrait" ("Best Metal Performance", 2003) and "Youth Of The Nation" ("Best Hard Rock Performance", 2003).

"Satellite: 20th Anniversary Edition" has a bonus disc that includes B-sides like "Critic" and "Sabbath" that were initially released in Europe, plus remixes for "Boom" by THE CRYSTAL METHOD and "Youth Of The Nation" by Mike$Ki.

In a recent interview with Rockin' Metal Revival, ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, was asked if he gets tired of still getting asked questions about his former band more than two and a half decades since he last played with the group. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It doesn't bother me because, look, at the end of the day, I do realize, first of all, I'm grateful for the opportunity that they gave me. I also realize, too, that having been a part of that has actually given me, you know, I don't wanna say 'longevity' because I've been productive. But it's just kind of kept me afloat. I can't even say that. Maybe 'longevity' would be the word; it's given me some longevity or some credibility, whatever. But the thing that bugs me more than anything is if the question, like if I do an interview and the whole interview winds up, or the majority of it winds up being about MÖTLEY, that's kind of frustrating 'cause you wanna talk about the new thing that you're doing. But the other thing that irritates me is I get asked questions about that and I give honest answers, or my opinion anyway, and it winds up becoming clickbait on — God — every web site ever. And then it's funny — you see these comments from the fans and it kind of irritates me because I've done this in the past where I said, 'You know what? I don't wanna talk about that.' And immediately all the comments after they wrote on all the clickbait channels, it was, like, 'Oh, John Corabi doesn't wanna talk about MÖTLEY CRÜE anymore.' And all these comments are, like, 'Oh, my God. What an ungrateful bastard. They gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.' But then, if I do talk about it and somebody asks me [for my] opinion and I give it, they're, like, 'Oh my God. Doesn't that guy have anything better to do? He's still talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE 26 years later.' So I've just kind of resolved myself to being, whatever way I go, I'm gonna stick my foot in my mouth, so just start learning to enjoy the taste of my socks. [Laughs]"

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own.

John reflected on his time with CRÜE during a November 2022 interview with Dawn Osborne of TotalRock. He said: "I'm not a Bible thumper. I'm not a religious person, but I think that I look at things, in some ways, in a little bit of a spiritual way. And I kind of look at my way as I've been blessed with a lot of great things, but there was always something to follow up a great thing, there was a not-so-great thing that actually really… Now, in hindsight, I look at it and I go it was kind of a blessing because it kept me balanced. Had I gotten the MÖTLEY gig and nothing bad happened as well, maybe I would have went nuts; maybe I would have drank myself to death, or whatever. But there was always something happening. And I find it odd — and it took me a minute to think about it this way — but I found it odd that I was offered the gig in… it was February of 1992. And just prior to that, my mother had called to tell me that she was diagnosed with cancer, maybe a month or two. And then I was offered this gig. And with the gig came a lot of money. And then my mother passed away in, I believe it was December of '96, and then shortly after Vince came back.

"So I just sat there and I went, I got to meet Glenn Hughes and Brian Johnson and some of the [other] guys in AC/DC… I got to meet all these people, mainly my musician heroes, and they were super cool to me. And I was financially able to take care of my at-the-time… Joining MÖTLEY, I also got a divorce, but I was able to take care of my ex-wife and my kids. I took care of my mother. I took care of myself. So I just have a weird way of looking at it. I go, you know what? The universe gave me something that I needed for that five years. I needed that to take care of my son, who was a diabetic, ex-wife and my family. And then when my mom passed, it was, 'Okay, we're gonna take that back now. You don't need it anymore.'"

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Last year, Corabi released his autobiography. Titled "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", it was written with the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles, and was made available via Rare Bird Books.

In a 2016 interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx said that writing the "Mötley Crüe" LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it "a very unfocused record" that was "painful for me, because John Corabi can't write lyrics, and I had to do all that work."

OTEP, the band led by singer, poet, illustrator, author and activist Otep Shamaya, will release a new studio album, "The God Slayer", on September 15 via Cleopatra. The follow-up to 2018's "Kult 45" offers up a mix of inspired original tracks as well as covers of Eminem, Billie Eilish, SLIPKNOT, Lil Peep, Olivia Rodrigo and more.

The LP's first single, the cover of Eilish's "You Should See Me In A Crown", was release during OTEP's U.S. tour earlier this year and has been generating massive buzz as well as landing in top 10 most popular tracks on Spotify.

"The God Slayer" track listing:

01. My Violent Appetites
02. Ostracized
03. Good 4 U
04. Exit Wounds
05. You Should See Me In A Crown
06. The Way I Am
07. California Girls
08. Pet
09. Territorial Pissings
10. Star Shopping
11. Purity
12. God Slayer

Not only is Shamaya a revered musical figure, known for her intrepid blending of metal genres and hip-hop, as exemplified on her notorious 2002 debut album "Sevas Tra", but she's also amassed an enormous following based on her fearless performances and confrontational, spiritually tinged lyrics. It's that combination of radical artistry and galvanizing message that the world desperately needs now more than ever, and OTEP is ready to answer the call.

"You Should See Me In A Crown" was the lead single from the 2018 debut album of another controversial female figure who cut across musical and social norms to carve out an identity all her own. That artist is, of course, Billie Eilish, and OTEP's cover version is no mere homage to a young acolyte but rather a radical reimagining of the song that mines all of its dark sonic complexity as well as its bold lyrical message, transforming it into the kind of modern metal epic that nobody does better than OTEP.

As Shamaya herself puts it: "To me the song is a warning against cultural reduction, biased underestimation and the volatile anti-Newtonian reaction of judging someone before you know their true power."

Last September, Shamaya told the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire" about the songwriting process for OTEP's new album: "This record actually was written with a couple of different songwriters, which I was really excited to work with. 'Kult 45' was my last album, which is four years old now. It's insane to believe that it's been four years, but it has. When I went back in the studio, the band had sort of dispersed at that point — everybody was trying to make a living and trying to find other jobs — and so I just went to the producer and we sat down and we found some really, really talented, creative people. And even though I've been doing this for a long time and have accomplished a lot — at least I think I have — I really work best with mentors. I like people that are, I feel, creatively better than I am so that I can have this sort of spiritual intercourse between all of us where we're sort of sharing ideas and I'm inspiring them and they're inspiring me."

Throughout the span of her career, Shamaya has been an undeniable force in bringing awareness via various acclaimed mediums to social and political injustices felt by various communities and subcultures. For years, publications such as Revolver magazine have lauded Shamaya for "following in the footsteps of outspoken musicians from folk singer Woody Guthrie to RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Zach de la Rocha, dubbing her "one of music's catalysts for social change".

OTEP's latest album, the aforementioned "Kult 45", was recorded at The Lair in Los Angeles, completely utilizing the same equipment used for OTEP's first album, "Sevas Tra" (down to Shamaya's vocal microphone, a SHURE Beta 58),in order to create a sound reminiscent of their roots. "Kult 45" was produced by the band, with assistant engineering from Larry Goetz, Nicolas Schilke and Lizzy Ostro.

Death By Digital is thrilled to team up with gore masters, Exhumed, to release two live shows from the 90s. Vomit From The Vault : Vol. 1 features a rare set of early gore-drenched tunes from an early appearance on January 20, 1995. Vomit From The Vault: Vol 2 is a ripping set from the Gore Metal tour, when they played Stalag 13 on May 2, 1999 in Philly.





A few words from Exhumed’s Matt Harvey: "We, along with our bud Doug at Death By Digital, have - ahem - exhumed some deep cuts and old wounds from our vaults. These nasty, crude and extremely raw live tracks showcase a band finding their feet and beginning to gash their way into their own - as not only a live band, but as songwriters and players. You'll hear everything developing in real time here, from the songs themselves, to the performance, to the stage banter. These platters of splatter are a warts-and-then-some document of Exhumed clawing its way toward whatever semblance of "legitimacy" we've achieved through the years. We invite you to delve into this aural odyssey of sonic sickness with us and we promise you - your eardrums will never be the same!"




When lined up, both album covers show a cascade of gore, which is designed by ex-Exhumed bassist Matt Slime.


Both volumes are previously unreleased. They are available through Deathbydigital.com on August 11, and each is limited to 500 copies (400 black/100 Blood Red).

Mr. Big is putting on their signature top hats and old shoes one last time for a worldwide tour, aptly titled The BIG Finish. Since the band’s original drummer and co-founder, Pat Torpey, lost his battle with Parkinson’s disease in 2018, the band now feels it’s time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy.


The first leg will take the band to Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August, while shows in South America, Europe, and the US will launch in early 2024 and will be announced soon.


On July 25th the band performed at the Budikan in Tokyo, Japan. Fan-filmed video of the entire show,  courtesy of MJT Live, can be viewed below. The setlist was as follows:




"Addicted to That Rush"
"Take Cover"
"Undertow"


Lean Into It
"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy"
"Alive and Kickin'"
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"
"CDFF-Lucky This Time" (Jeff Paris cover)
"Voodoo Kiss
"Never Say Never
"Just Take My Heart
"My Kinda Woman
"A Little Too Loose
"Road to Ruin
"To Be With You


Acoustic
"Big Love"
"The Chain"
"Where Do I Fit In?"
"Promise Her The Moon"
"Wild World" (Cat Stevens cover)


- guitar solo -
"Colorado Bulldog"
- bass solo -
"Shy Boy" (Talas cover)


Encore:
"30 Days in the Hole" (Humble Pie cover)
"Good Lovin'" (The Rascals cover) (Paul Gilbert on drums, Billy… more )
"Baba O'Riley" (The Who cover)





“We wanted to do a proper farewell, and this seems like the right way to do it,” asserts bassist/vocalist Billy Sheehan. Notes guitarist/vocalist Paul Gilbert, “We’re in the process of making sure we come up with a suitably big entertainment extravaganza to go along with our music. And since our music has resonated so wonderfully in places all over the world, we’re going to play in as many of those places as we can.” Submits lead vocalist Eric Martin, “If we were in the movie business, we’d just put it all up in lights and say, ‘Welcome to The BIG Finish!’ Seriously, I’m glad we’re getting a chance to do it all onstage together as Mr. Big again and raise a flag to everything we’ve done as a band over the years.”


After 35 years of being addicted to that perpetually electrifying performance rush, the band feels it’s finally time to collectively hang up their top hats and shoes after coming together for one final, extended curtain call — a curtain call that will take them on an all-out world tour commencing in 2023 that will go for as long as, well, as long as Mr. Big fans demand it.


Joining Mr. Big on drums for this special final world tour will be longtime friend of the band Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train), stepping in for founding drummer/vocalist Pat Torpey, who sadly passed away in 2018 following his heroic battle with Parkinson’s disease. “We found a wonderful drummer in Nick, and he’s got a great voice too,” confirms Sheehan. “Nick has a vocal range similar to Pat’s, and he’ll be able to do the parts Pat did with a similar finesse. It’s a big relief because Mr. Big has always been heavy on the harmonies. When the band began, we really relied on each other. We knew each guy would do exactly what he needed to do vocally and to do it righteously, on key, and in time. It’s difficult to find a drummer who sings in that range, but Nick has the voice we really need onstage.”


Concurs Gilbert, “Nick gets close to the spirit of Pat Torpey. Billy, Eric, and I have been really happy with the music we’ve already shared back and forth. I’m impressed with Nick’s level of musical adaptability and breadth of skill. He and I have done some recording together, and I was blown away with his groove, and how he just played what fit the song. If the song requires him to be more progressive and stand out, he will stand out. But if the song requires him to groove, he will groove. That’s actually a rare thing, and it really fits in with what we do in Mr. Big.” “I love the fact that Nick was a fan of Pat Torpey and wants to keep our BIG sound intact,” says Eric. “When I first saw his audition demo video of the Lean Into It song ‘Lucky This Time,’ Nick was playing drums with those signature Pat snare hits and singing harmonies spot on to what Pat used to do. It gave me goosebumps!! I am so thrilled to have this man who will be filling some mighty BIG shoes join us on our last tour.”


One particular aspect of this upcoming final run that Mr. Big are excited about to a man is the decision to perform the entirety of their breakthrough Platinum-selling 1991 album Lean Into It from start to finish as a featured highlight of the live setlist. (To be sure, the full setlist will encompass Mr. Big’s entire career.) Fact is, Lean Into It is the perfect litmus testament to the band’s inherent dexterity at blending a variety of styles together, whether it’s the heady rocking brew of “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind,” the power-drilled and power-chorded identity checklist “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy,” or the truly heartfelt sentiments found within “To Be With You,” Mr. Big’s chart-topping, worldwide #1 smash hit single.


For his part, Martin the songwriter remains eternally grateful for the never-ending success of “To Be With You,” but the essence of Mr. Big goes much, much deeper than that. “That song helped put the stamps in our passports,” Martin allows, “but we really nailed it on Lean Into It. I’m still in awe of how Billy and Paul play on that album, because they’re such brilliant players. I used to call them the dynamic duo. And Pat Torpey was an underrated drummer, in my opinion. I mean, just listen to his tone! Lean Into It is totally indicative of who we are as a band.”


Explains Sheehan, “Lean Into It was put together much like a movie, with an opening scene that lets us get into the dialogue and find out what the story is. And then you get the love scene, the car chase, and the punchline ending. I think it’s a perfectly sequenced album.” Observes Gilbert, “Some people thought we had brought in professional background singers to do all those harmonies on Lean Into It, but no, it’s really us. We always felt like we had something to prove whenever we went on the road and did all that singing ourselves, just to show everyone that we really could do it.”


Just like the consummate performers they are, Mr. Big still want to reach into your dreams. “I hope the people who come see our shows get to feel what it’s like when musicians get together and really play and sing the songs they wrote,” offers Sheehan. “We want the audience to be one with us, and feel our evening together was a magical and beautiful event.” Theorizes Gilbert, “Music is like time travel. You can hear something that takes you right back to 1992, and it reminds you exactly of what was happening back then. On this tour, I want to give people the opportunity to time travel like that and go, ‘These guys are on fire!’ Good music is timeless.”


Concludes Martin, “I love playing with these guys. And if I’m being honest, I don’t want it to ever end. I’m the guy who just knows we still have that special spark together, and I always want to keep the torch burning. But if it really is the end, then I want us all to have a happy ending together. We’re a great live band. I want everybody to come out and see us, because we want to blow you away and have you all think as you’re leaving, ‘Mr. Big really is the real thing.’”


Indeed, when it comes to harnessing the real thing that best represents the unyielding power of rock & roll, Mr. Big have truly got what it takes. Make sure to catch them before they bring down that final curtain, because when it’s through, it’s through. Mr. Big really do want to be with you at least one more time, and they’d be more than honored to see you, one and all, somewhere around the world.





Tour dates:


August
2 - Taiwan - Zepp New Taipei
4 - Singapore - Marina Bay Sands Theater
5 - Singapore - Marina Bay Sands Theater
7 - Bangkok, Thailand - Show DC Hall
9 - Manila, Philippines - Skydome
12 - Kemayoran, Jakarta - The 90's Festival

Helter Skelter Productions - distributed and marketed by Regain Records - announces October 27th as the international release date for Graven Dagger's striking self-titled debut album on CD and vinyl LP formats.


Hailing from the rising Argentinian stoner scene - from which labelmates Mephistofeles, Fulanno, Sahara, The Crooked Whispers, and Serpent Cobra sprang - Graven Dagger is the work of one, mysterious individual. And while surely one could get stoned to his self-titled debut album, Graven Dagger the entity instead creates a dusky 'n' dusted blend of garage rock, proto-metal, private-press prog, and even a bit of spooky Spaghetti Western - and all instrumental. And across its quick-hitting half-hour runtime, the album's eight tracks display an amazing wealth of variety, each one as different as the last, but each one straight outta the garage and dungeon simultaneously. 


In the meantime, stream Graven Dagger in its entirety at Regain Records' Bandcamp, where the album can also be pre- ordered. 




The vinyl LP debut album limited edition of 200 copies on black/pink splatter vinyl features an A3 poster. It will ship in October 2023.





Tracklist:


"Towards Dawn"
"The Dungeonist"
"The Devil And The Madman"
"Skull Citadel"
"Blood Knight"
"By Sword And Witchery"
"Blues From The Black Lagoon"
"He Who Laughs Last"

Rock act Free Under Fire, whose accolades include opening for the legendary Pat Travers, are set to release the first single, “Airplane Over Texas”, on August 25, 2023 in anticipation of their album release on November 25, 2023.


Free Under Fire is a Canadian rock band known for their signature groundbreaking yet nostalgic sound of rock and sonic live performances. Emanating from Toronto, Ontario, Critical released their debut album Beauty in Extremes in 2018 alongside the official music video for the song “Somewhere”. The album, featuring 10 tracks including songs such as “6th Door”, “183”, “Cascade”, and “Wolves”, expanded Free Under Fires fan following and saw them featured on the Rock, 94.9FM Generation Next, the following year. 


Consisting of members Eddie Stone on vocals, Justin on guitar and Paul on drums, the band was formed in 2015 and bolstered their line-up in 2020 with the addition of bassist Lenn or as the band refers to him, Phill.




Check out a teaser below:

Jord is an atmospheric black metal band with blackgaze and post rock influences founded in 2020 as a one-man project by Jörg. Based in Sweden the inspiration came from northern nature, folk lore, mysticism, a man’s relation to this part of the earth and bands like Alcest, Enslaved, Anathema and Russian Circles. 


Two albums were released by Northern Silence Productions, Sol in 2021 and Måne 2022. Jord transformed into a trio in late 2022 and the new demo songs got attention from Hammerheart Records. A few months later a full studio recording of the third album Tundra, in this new band setting, was done. 


Tundra tells the stories about ancient gods, dark and terrifying beings from Swedish folk lore mixed with modern day power struggles. There is a sand grain of truth to every story however old it may be. Jord uses these old mythologies to give a hint about today’s problems with authorities, mind control and delusions. But most importantly on how the elite will break and fall when they have pushed us too far. 




- Recorded by Micke Andersson in Studio Soundport 
- Guest vocals from Ken Romlin (Night Crowned) and Erik Molarin from (Dark, Beseech)


Preorder Tundra here.


Cover artwork painted by Jord:





Tracklisting:


“Mara”
“Själens Död”
“The Fall”
“Vilddjurets Hjärta”
“Snöfödd”
“Kyla”
“Tundra”

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's "Deliverance", which saw the light of day 29 years ago, and was the band's first studio album featuring Pepper Keenan as frontman, was officially certified gold on August 1 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies.

The RIAA developed its gold and platinum awards program in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard by which to measure the commercial success of a sound recording. The program trademarked the gold record and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements.

Presently, the RIAA awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for 1 million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold.

In the streaming age, each permanent digital album or physical album sale count as 1 unit for certification purposes, 10 permanent track downloads from the album count as 1 unit for certification purposes, and 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album count as 1 unit. For songs, 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams count as 1 unit for certification purposes.

Released in September 1994, "Deliverance" went on to become CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's biggest-selling album. It was fueled by the radio success of "Clean My Wounds", which also appeared on the soundtrack for "Tekken: The Motion Picture", and "Albatross".

In 2019, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY celebrated the 25th anniversary of "Deliverance" by embarking on the "Deliverance Revival Tour MMXIX" European tour.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY was originally an influential hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover act before reaching critical success with a then new lineup on 1991's "Blind" album. That trajectory continued with wider appeal as Keenan took over as the group's primary vocalist on "Deliverance" and "Wiseblood" (1996). These two recordings in particular fused the raw energy of their previous albums, with some great strides forward in classic rock-inspired songwriting and more spacious production and execution. This juggernaut gained mass and momentum with relentless touring alongside such greats METALLICA, CLUTCH, EYEHATEGOD and many more.

Eventually, following the release of "In The Arms Of God" in 2005, Keenan decided to focus all his energy on New Orleans supergroup DOWN — until he reunited with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY for 2018's "No Cross No Crown" album.

In 2014, after nearly a straight decade traversing the globe as a guitarist with DOWN, Pepper reconnected with the core CORROSION OF CONFORMITY trio of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist/vocalist Mike Dean and drummer Reed Mullin to hit the road hard. "Reed called me and mentioned maybe playing a couple shows," Keenan recalled back in 2017. "I said, 'Let's just go to Europe and see if it works.' So we went to Europe and then ended up going back four times in one year... We toured for a year and then started tracking."

Three months ago, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY confirmed the return of drummer Stanton Moore for its upcoming LP. The "brutal-sounding" follow-up to "No Cross No Crown" is tentatively due in 2024.

Mullin died in January 2020 at the age of 53. The drummer, who co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside Weatherman and Dean, had missed a number of shows in the preceding four years due to a variety of health issues, including an alcohol-related seizure he suffered back in June 2016.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY recorded "No Cross No Crown" in about forty days over the course of a year at a North Carolina studio with longtime producer John Custer.

Finland's Chaoszine caught up with The Halo Effect and Dark Tranquillity vocalist Mikael Stanne prior to The Halo Effect's show at John Smith Rock Festival in Laukaa, Finland on July 20th. Check out the interview below.


On the forthcoming second album from The Halo Effect


Stanne: "We were supposed to do an EP, but then we realized... maybe not. We're going to release the album at the beginning of next year, starting with singles and that kind of stuff soon. It's really exciting. We worked really hard just to fit in to all of our schedules to make sure the album was done in time. It's been... not stressful, but we did a lot in a short period of time, which ened up being fantastic just because it turned out to be a much more confident album. It's very focused. The first album was like 'Hey, let's figure out what we want to do...' whereas on this album we knew exactly what we wanted to do."







Four ex-members of In Flames - Mikael Stanne, Jesper Strömblad, Peter Iwers and Daniel Svensson - and still active In Flames guitarist Niclas Engelin founded The Halo Effect to get back to the roots of Gothenburg sound. In 2022, they played Germany for the very first time at Wacken Open Air #31. Check out pro-shot video of "Days Of The Lost", "Feel What I Believe" and "Shadowminds" below.





The Halo Effect recently released a visualizer for the song, "Path Of Fierce Resistance", which was previously released as a Japanese exclusive on the band’s acclaimed debut album, Days Of The Lost, that was released in August 2022.





Frontman Mikael Stanne comments: "'Path Of Fierce Resistance' is a song we wrote for the Days Of The Lost album but it only surfaced on the limited Japanese edition and it has been very close to us and having it here now for all to hear feels fantastic. The new album is in the works and we are incredibly excited about it, so consider this as something to keep you guys going until we unveil what is coming next. The song is another Jesper and Niclas classic that features everything that we love doing together in this band. Lyrically it deals with unrealistic expectations and about how important it is to follow one's own path and be adamant about it no matter what. We start our tour in the US on the 20th of May and we are beyond stoked to bring this band to America for the first time. Do not miss this!"


Stream the track here, and watch the visualizer below:





Lineup:


Niclas Engelin - guitar
Jesper Strömblad - guitar
Mikael Stanne - vocals
Peter Iwers - bass
Daniel Svensson - drums

Soul Sign, comprised of founder and bassist Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen, Quiet Riot, Dio Disciples), vocalist Mark Boals (Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth), drummer Mike Cancino (Unida, Lynch Mob) and guitarist Rob Math (Leatherwolf, Player) have released their first single, “Clean Soil”, It is available only via  iTunes. This is their first release featuring Boals and Cancino.


Check out Metal Talk's interview with Englen below.










Photo by Julie Bergonz

Canadian sci-fi metal innovators VOIVOD celebrated 40 eventful years of existence in 2023 with the release of their special anniversary studio album titled "Morgöth Tales". The LP, which is out now via Century Media Records, entered the official album sales charts in Germany at No. 36 and in Switzerland at No. 94. The band has now shared a new live video for the song "Thrashing Rage", recorded at Germany's Rock Hard Festival.

VOIVOD drummer Michel "Away" Langevin comments on the live video: "At the end of the last USA tour in May, Rock Hard Festival asked VOIVOD to fill in last minute for DISCHARGE, who could not make it. We last played there in 2015 and love the outdoor amphitheater as well as the metal family atmosphere on the site and backstage. One of the highlights for me was watching Brian Downey's ALIVE AND DANGEROUS from the side of the stage. Here's 'Thrashing Rage', a cut from our May 27th, 2023 Rock Hard Festival show, filmed by the legendary 'Rockpalast' during our 'Morgöth Tales' tour, which is not over yet! See you on the road soon…"

Once more recorded and mixed by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, "Morgöth Tales" includes fresh studio re-recordings by the band's current lineup of nine especially selected, not-so-obvious picks from the band's hyper-classy and extremely diverse back catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) as well as a brand-new song and the album's title track, "Morgöth Tales".

VOIVOD is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s. Starting out as a speed metal band, VOIVOD have added a mix of progressive metal and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and are credited as one of the "big four" Canadian thrash metal bands, along with SACRIFICE, RAZOR and ANNIHILATOR. They are considered by many as one of the most influential metal bands from the '80s, influencing and gaining praise from multiple bands and across numerous genres.

VOIVOD found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album, "Nothingface" (1989),which is the band's only album to enter The Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 114.

VOIVOD released a new EP, "Ultraman", last November via Century Media Records. The effort features a highly original tribute to the "Ultraman" TV series theme as well as previously unreleased bonus live cuts, available both as a 12-inch vinyl EP or as a digital EP.

VOIVOD's 15th studio album, "Synchro Anarchy", was released in February 2022 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2018's "The Wake" was produced by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio and features cover artwork created by drummer Michel Langevin (a.k.a. Away).

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Metallica's debut album Kill 'Em All, CMH Records is reflecting back on their widely-successful Pickin' On release Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute To Metallica. Performed with passion and skill by Alabama band Iron Horse, Fade To Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute To Metallica features high lonesome renditions of Metallica classics like "The Unforgiven," "Enter Sandman," "Fade to Black" and Kill 'Em All cut "The Four Horsemen."


Here's a performance video of Iron Horse performing their version of Metallica's "The Four Horsemen" at Grimey's Records in Nashville on November 25, 2016: 







Though Pickin’ On started modestly in 1993 with the release of Pickin’ On the Movies, tributes to The Beatles and Eagles soon followed, and by 1997 the Pickin’ On Series was on fire. It continues to thrive with one hand in traditional bluegrass and the other in popular music, ready for the next chance to create innovative bluegrass music.





Recent releases featuring Iron Horse, Pickin' On Pearl Jam and Pickin’ On Nirvana, were well-received and garnered press from Rolling Stone, Brooklyn Vegan, and Uproxx, among others. Pickin’ On Modest Mouse and Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica both charted on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart. The series has also been given extensive retrospective write-ups by Los Angeles Times and No Depression and currently has over 204,000 monthly listeners and more than 93,000 followers on Spotify. 


Songs from Pickin’ On have been featured in the television series Revolution and HBO’s True Blood. Other artists that have been given the Pickin’ On treatment include Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, Coldplay, The Black Keys, Jack White, The Killers and many more.

Dobermann have just released their latest lyric video, for the track "Summer Devil". Check it out below.


Dobermann are one of the most active independent groups in the European rock circuit. With 900 concerts and five albums in twelve years under their belt, the band has covered more than 1 million kilometers across Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, and Germany, playing hundreds of dates in Spain and the United Kingdom.


They have also participated in important festivals such as Hard Rock Hell, Rock The Ring, Moped Marathon, Cubelles Rock Festival, Luppolo in Rock, Suoni di Marca, and many others, sharing the stage with Skid Row, Girlschool, Doro, Great White, and the Quireboys, all without an agency or management.




Their latest studio work, Shaken To The Core, was released in 2021, with deliberately sleek and essential production by Alessandro del Vecchio.

End Reign made their Relapse Records debut with their explosive album, The Way Of All Flesh Is Decay, released last month. Today, the band shares a drum playthrough video for the album track, "House Of Thieves". Watch below:





Masterminded by underground music fixture Domenic Romeo (Integrity / Pulling Teeth / A389 Recordings) and featuring an all-star cast of musicians and contributors, End Reign fuses apocalyptic hardcore with vicious metal in a deadly collision of the classic and the modern.




The Way Of All Flesh Is Decay can be ordered here. Digital downloads/streaming here.





The Way Of All Flesh Is Decay tracklisting:


"Desolate Fog"
"Chaos Masked As Order"
"The Hunger"
"Divine Abysmal End"
"Serpent Messiah"
"House Of Thieves"
"Giving Life To Tragedy"
"Chasing Divinity"
"When Death Comes Crawling"
"The Night Creeps Upon Me"


“Chaos Masked As Order" video:





"Chasing Divinity" video:





"Desolate Fog" video:





End Reign Is:


Mike Score: Vocals
Domenic Romeo: Guitar
Adam Jarvis: Drums
Arthur Legere: Bass / Backing Vocals
Sebastian Phillips: Guitar


(Photo - Blake Roemer)

New York metal heathens, Extinction A.D., are returning with another blistering slice of their signature metallic hardcore punk in the form of new single, "Morality Bait". Stream the new track, out via Unique Leader Records, here. Find a visualizer below.





Serving as a scathing callout of performative activists, "Morality Bait" focuses Extinction A.D's impeccable combination of groove metal, thrash and hardcore in to a furious riff-storm overlaid by a pointed lyrical evisceration of those exploiting morality for personal gain.




Vocalist Rick Jimenez elaborates: "Exploitation of moral causes is nothing new but it has never been more prevalent and transparent as it's been recently. No surprise that people talk out of both sides of their mouth when there is profit to be made though. 'Morality Bait' is a powerhouse song that takes the frustration with false allies and rallies for their destruction with the weightiest Extinction A.D. riffs yet."





European fans will be will be treated to the first live taste of the new track this August when the band hit the road for a string of headline dates along with support dates with Sepultura, Warbringer and Pro-Pain as well as several festivals including Summer Breeze, Dynamo and Brutal Assault.





"Morality Bait" is just the beginning of the next chapter of Extinction A.D. Keep it locked for big news coming soon.

On the full moon, Tuesday, August 1, Peter Gabriel releases the eighth track from the album i/o. This month the song is "Olive Tree" and the first version to be heard is the Bright-Side Mix, by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent.


Written and produced by Peter Gabriel, "Olive Tree" is another song about connection, both how we interact with nature and the other species around us, but also a greater sensitivity to the potential for broadening human experience, ‘in some ways I do think we are part of everything and we probably have means to connect and communicate with everything that we often shut off. We only want to see and listen to the things that seem important and relevant to us and shut out the noise of everything else when, probably, hidden in that noise there are all sorts of things that can help us realise our place in this future world.’


Like the song "Road To Joy", released in June, "Olive Tree" is also part of a separate brain-related project that Peter is currently working on, as well as being partly influenced by his interest in the brain reading research of the likes of Jack Gallant’s Lab at Berkeley and Mary Lou Jepsen’s work at Openwater.cc, "it feeds into this idea that we're no longer these islands that have our own private thoughts, that our thoughts are going to get opened up to the outside world. The lubrication that allows society to function is based, in part, on not being able to read what's going on in other people's minds, so unless we get more comfortable with how we really are, we're probably going to prefer to stay partly buried in our private worlds."




Musically, "Olive Tree" provides another up-tempo moment for the i/o record, "I wanted it to have some speed to it but I also wanted some mystery, too. I think it is a celebration in a way and there's a real sense of being alive." The song features a string arrangement from John Metcalfe, with further contributions from Manu Katché on drums, Tony Levin on bass, David Rhodes on guitar, Josh Shpak on trumpet and additional percussion from Jed Lynch. The song was recorded at Real World Studios, Bath, The Beehive and British Grove, London.





This month’s full moon release comes with artwork from the artist Barthélémy Togou and his work "Chroniques avec la Nature".


"I was aware of Barthélémy Toguo’s work, which I found very haunting and very strong, but I first met him at WOMAD in 2015, when he came as artist in residence. I wasn't talking about this project at that time, but when I was thinking about re-connecting to nature and his work seemed ideal. I think it's super strong and looks wonderful on stage.


Barthélémy listened to the song and his piece was created as a direct response to the music, which hasn't always been the case with the other artists, but he was determined that he should generte something new and I'm very glad he did, it's wonderful."


Just like the previous full moon releases, "Olive Tree" will come with differing mix approaches from Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (Bright-Side Mix), released today, and also from Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos mix (In-Side Mix), released later in the month.





Further details on the release plans for the full album will follow.


The i/o tour continues in North America in September and October.





Tour dates:


September
8 - Quebec City, Quebec - Videotron Centre
9 - Ottawa, Ontario - Canadian Tire Centre
11 - Toronto, Ontario - Scotiabank Arena
13 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
14 - Boston, Massachusetts - TD Garden
16 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wells Fargo Center
18 - New York, New York - Madison Square Garden
20 - Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena
22 - Buffalo, New York - KeyBank Center
23 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - PPG Paints Arena
25 - Columbus, Ohio - Nationwide Arena
27 - Cleveland, Ohio - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
29 - Detroit, Michigan - Little Caesars Arena
30 - Chicago, Illinois - United Center


October
2 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Fiserv Forum
3 - St. Paul , Minnesota - Xcel Energy Center     
7 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
8 - Seattle, Washington - Climate Pledge Arena
11 - San Francisco, California - Chase Center
13 - Los Angeles, California - Kia Forum
14 - Palm Springs, California - Acrisure Arena
16 - Denver , Colorado - Ball Arena
18 - Austin, Texas - Moody Center
19 - Dallas, Texas - American Airlines Center
21 - Houston, Texas - Toyota Center


(Photo - Nadav Kander)