Ted Nugent joined NIGHT RANGER on stage this past Monday (July 3) at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan to perform the DAMN YANKEES song "Coming Of Age" and the Nugent classic "Cat Scratch Fever". Video of Ted's appearance can be seen below (courtesy of the Shor'Line YouTube channel).

DAMN YANKEES was the 1990s supergroup that both Nugent and Blades were part of, alongside STYX's Tommy Shaw and Michael Cartellone.

During a March 2023 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Shaw was once again asked about the possibility of a reunion of the DAMN YANKEES. He responded: "I think we kind of ran that thing until the wheels fell off of it. And I'd like to just keep it like that. It was a fantastic run. It was just wild and wooly. We made those two records. The first record, that was the shit. The second record, it just started to lose the thing that it had on the first album. And I think everybody else knew that it was probably time to go back to your regular job."

Pressed about whether he would be open to revisiting DAMN YANKEES for a one-off tour or concert, Shaw said: "Michael is a permanent fixture in LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and DAMN YANKEES without Michael Cartellone just wouldn't be right. And we [in STYX] do 90 to 120 shows a year, and you have to go home some time. It's like having two wives, your two families.

"As far as I'm concerned, we had our day. We had big records, we sold a lot of records, we got a lot of airplay, and I just don't know how we would be able to fit all that in," Tommy explained. "I wouldn't wanna tell the guys in my band [STYX], 'Sorry, guys. We can't play any shows for a few months.' 'Cause that's what everybody wants to do."

DAMN YANKEES formed in 1989 and released two albums, an eponymous debut and the 1992 follow-up "Don't Tread". Hit singles included "Come Again", "High Enough" and "Coming Of Age".

DAMN YANKEES has reunited twice since its early-'90s heyday — in 1998 and 2010.

In 1999, A&R guru John Kalodner tried to reunite the DAMN YANKEES for a new album for the Portrait Records imprint, but Shaw's commitments to STYX prevented him from taking a major part in the writing and the recording. Kalodner later told Melodic Rock about the aborted effort: "I didn't think it was quite good enough, and at the time with 80's style rock, you'd have to come up with something pretty spectacular. I was disappointed in the record mostly because of Tommy Shaw's non-participation. I say that was probably the greatest problem. Tommy was totally an integral part of it. He was busy with STYX and it was sort of my mistake because I just couldn't control him. It's one of those projects that I failed on. I mean the buck stops here. It lacked the input of Tommy Shaw."

Shaw previously discussed a hypothetical DAMN YANKEES reunion during a June 2020 appearance on "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". At the time, he said: "Well, we never broke up… We are all still best of friends. [So] who knows? It's hard, because with STYX, we work so much, and to do that [a DAMN YANKEES reunion], it would mean putting [the members of STYX] out of work for a while. So it's a tough one. But every once in a while, we wind up on the same stage."

Asked if he feels there is some "unfinished business" with DAMN YANKEES creatively and whether he would like to do a record or a song with the band to "put a button on it," Shaw said: "Well, we can always do more. I don't think you can ever put a 'we're done' button on any of the members of the DAMN YANKEES. Who knows? Never say never. And we haven't said never."

“Happy 4th Of July” 🇺🇸

Had such a blast last night at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan! Stephen...

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On June 30, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson surprised 100 lucky fans from the band's official fan club who had gathered for an event to mark the tenth birthday of the Trooper beer, MAIDEN's hugely successful and award-winning beer produced in collaboration with the Stockport-based Robinsons brewery.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Bruce poured pints at the bar for the brewery's visitors. They had been invited to a special tour, but had no idea he was going to visit.

Bruce said: "I get more nervous pulling pints than I do on stage."

A new three-minute video recap from the official IRON MAIDEN YouTube channel can be seen below.

Trooper celebrated its tenth birthday on May 9, 2023.

To celebrate the milestone, and the achievement of over 35 million pints sold worldwide, a brand new 10% ABV Trooper X Imperial Stout has been created by Dickinson and the Robinsons team. Each 660ml bottle of Trooper X comes in a presentation box and is available to order online from IronMaiden.com and Drinks Aisle.

The new brew has again been created by Bruce, alongside Robinsons' head brewer Martyn Weeks.

Launched in 2013, the 4.7% ABV Premium Ale has proved a runaway success around the world and is now firmly established as one of the leading British ales globally, being exported to 68 countries worldwide.

Trooper was recently awarded a further Gold Medal by the British Bottlers' Institute, adding to awards at the World Beer Awards, Global Beer Masters and International Beer Challenge, making a total of 18 awards for Trooper original to date and 23 across the Trooper family of beers.

Along with the core beers — Trooper Original and Trooper IPA — the Trooper family includes a range of seasonal and limited-edition beers that have joined the charge over the last ten years, including popular brews such as Fear Of The Dark stout, Sun And Steel sake-infused pilsner, Red N' Black porter, Trooper 666 ESB, Hallowed Belgian-style beer, as well as annual Day Of The Dead special edition versions. Trooper X Imperial Stout joins this growing stable.

Dickinson has also taken the Trooper brand worldwide, identifying like-minded brewers overseas who can bring unique local versions of Trooper to the legions of IRON MAIDEN fans and Trooper drinkers around the world. IRON MAIDEN have partnered with Brewdog in the U.S. to produce Hellcat, an IPL; Nils Oscar in Sweden to produce a local Trooper as well as Running Free, the first zero alcohol Trooper; Crew Republic in Germany with Trooper Progressive Lager; Bodebrown in Brazil with a local Trooper and Aces High lager; and Nomad in Australia to produce Trooper XPL.

Dickinson said: "I'm immensely proud that Trooper has reached this milestone. To get to 10 years is a brilliant achievement, and I'm having a great time working with Robinsons and our partners around the world coming up with some fantastic beers! Thanks to our fans, Trooper has become a permanent feature with beer lovers around the world, and it's still growing.

"We are delighted to add 'Trooper X' to the roster and there'll be more beers to come as our Trooper family continues to expand and provide new beers and choices to our fans everywhere."

MAIDEN has amassed over 100 million record sales, almost 2,500 live performances across 64 countries, 17 studio albums and last year finished its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour, where they played to over 3,000,000 fans. In May 2023 they embark on "The Future Past Tour", bringing together songs from their most recent album "Senjutsu" with the iconic 1986 album "Somewhere In Time".

Los Angeles-born guitar hero Nita Strauss has released the official music video for the song "Digital Bullets", featuring a guest appearance by Chris Motionless of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. The track is taken from Nita's brand new album "The Call of the The Void", which is being released today (Friday, July 7) via Sumerian Records.

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Nita revealed that "Digital Bullets" was written about Internet haters who spend much of their time criticizing her every career move. She said: "It really talks about these trolls online firing the 'digital bullets'. They'll never come to you to your face and say, 'You suck,' 'You whore,' 'You money-grubbing whore,' or whatever. No one has ever said that to my face, but you go on social media and it's, like, 'I hope you die in a fire.' [Laughs] It's just people being tough on the Internet. It's not new. It's not going away."

She continued: "My boyfriend said it to me personally one time… And it was hurtful — I can't lie and say that it was not hurtful. Of course it was hurtful. But he said, 'You know, no one's coming and spitting on your face in the street. People aren't coming to you, being rude to you. It's just fake. It's just online.'

"People will talk online," Nita added. "And they have a saying, 'Living well is the best revenge.' So those people can keep spending their time on Facebook, talking their shit. I will keep touring the world, eating fabulous food, staying in nice hotels, playing guitar with some of the biggest stars in rock and pop and metal. And I think that's a good compromise. I'm happy with that. [Laughs]"

"The Call Of The Void" is a star-studded affair featuring guest vocals from DISTURBED's David Draiman, ARCH ENEMY's Alissa White-Gluz, HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's Chris Motionless, IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén, Hungarian-born vocalist/writer Dorothy Martin, Alice Cooper and Lilith Czar.

Regarding her decision to make her second album half vocal songs and half instrumental, Nita told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn in a new interview: "It was really just a natural progression, I think. As an artist, I think you always have to keep growing and pushing yourself. And I didn't wanna stay in the same place and just keep doing the same thing over and over again. I try to do that in every aspect of my career, so this just seemed like the natural next best step."

Asked how she decides which songs to put vocals to and which to keep as instrumental tracks, Nita said: "For me personally, the process for writing an instrumental song is so different to the process of writing a song that's gonna be for a singer. And it's really because for an instrumental song there are no rules. The song can be two minutes; the song can be 15 minutes; it can be as fast or as slow with as many key changes and as many tempo changes… It's the Wild West. [Laughs] And if you're writing for a vocalist, suddenly all of these restrictions fall into place: it can't be too short; it can't be too long; it has to be a key that's comfortable enough for the singer you have in mind to sing in; it can't be so fast that they can't sing the vocals or so slow that it's uncomfortable for their delivery. If it's gonna go to radio, it has to follow sort of a specific format of length and arrangement. All these constraints pop up. So, for me, there wasn't really any track that was, like, 'Oh, this one could go either way,' because the instrumentals I just sort of pour out and the vocal [songs] are more carefully constructed."

Regarding the album's title, Strauss previously shared: "Have you ever been at the top of a high building and had the fleeting thought, '… I could jump right now?' This feeling is sometimes called 'The Call Of The Void,' also known as 'high place phenomenon.' It's not a suicidal impulse, rather the exact opposite — a subconscious decision to live your life, to step back from the ledge, and take control. As researcher April Smith aptly put it: 'An urge to jump affirms the urge to live.'

"I wanted the follow-up to 'Controlled Chaos' to be exciting, new, and fresh, to take listeners to a new place and take myself somewhere new as an artist too. We have some amazing collaborations on this album with incredible musicians, as well as the instrumental guitar music that first inspired me to play.

"Some pieces of music come into the world gracefully and easily. This album is not one of them! 'The Call Of The Void' was born kicking and screaming, a labor of love for sure, but also of blood, sweat and plenty of tears. I couldn't be more proud of the end result. Making this album helped me learn and grow so much as a musician and songwriter and I'm excited to finally unleash it on the world."

"Digital Bullets" is the fifth song Nita has released featuring a star guest vocalist, the first being the enormously successful "Dead Inside" which featured guest vocals from Draiman and saw Nita become the first-ever solo female to have a No. 1 hit at Active Rock radio. She also returned to her instrumental roots last year with the release of single "Summer Storm", a fast-paced, emotive shred-fest. In October 2022, Nita dropped "The Wolf You Feed", an epic headbanger of a track featuring the insane vocal talent of White-Gluz. This past March, Strauss released "Winner Takes All", featuring a guest appearance by Cooper. In May, Nita released the official music video for the song "The Golden Trail", featuring a guest appearance by Fridén. Later that same month, Nita shared "Victorious", featuring Dorothy.

"The Call Of The Void" track listing:

Physical

01. Summer Storm
02. The Wolf You Feed (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
03. Digital Bullets (feat. Chris Motionless)
04. Through The Noise (feat. Lzzy Hale)
05. Consume The Fire
06. Dead Inside (feat. David Draiman)
07. Victorious (feat. Dorothy)
08. Scorched
09. Momentum
10. The Golden Trail (feat. Anders Fridén)
11. Winner Takes All (feat. Alice Cooper)
12. Monster (feat. Lilith Czar)
13. Kintsugi
14. Surfacing (feat. Marty Friedman)

Digital:

01. Summer Storm
02. The Wolf You Feed (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
03. Digital Bullets (feat. Chris Motionless)
04. Through The Noise (feat. Lzzy Hale)
05. Consume The Fire
06. Dead Inside (feat. David Draiman)
07. Victorious (feat. Dorothy)
08. Scorched
09. Momentum
10. The Golden Trail (feat. Anders Fridén)
11. Winner Takes All (feat. Alice Cooper)
12. Monster (feat. Lilith Czar)
13. Kintsugi
14. Surfacing (feat. Marty Friedman)
15. The Wolf You Feed (instrumental)
16. Digital Bullets (instrumental)
17. Through The Noise (instrumental)
18. Dead Inside (instrumental)
19. Victorious (instrumental)
20. The Golden Trail (instrumental)
21. Winner Takes All (instrumental)
22. Monster (instrumental)

Nita released 2018's "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths".

In March, it was announced that Nita would return to Alice's band for his 2023 tour.

The Alice Cooper North American tour, with an all-new show dubbed "Too Close For Comfort", kicked off in late April in Michigan and will continue through late September, including a handful of August stadium shows with DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE, followed by a co-headlining late summer "Freaks On Parade" tour with Rob Zombie.

Nita spent eight years playing with Alice before joining Demi Lovato's band last summer,

Strauss played her first full live show with Demi in August 2022 at the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.

Nita made her live debut with Demi in July 2022 with a performance of "Substance" on ABC's Emmy Award-winning late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Strauss had been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

GHOST has released a cover of SHAKESPEARS SISTER's 1992 classic "Stay".

The track, which features actor-director Patrick Wilson, appears in final scene and end credits of horror film "Insidious: The Red Door", out now.

Regarding how the cover came about, Wilson comments: "It was Joe Bishara, our 'Insidious' composer and resident Lipstick Demon who first got me into GHOST about 10 years ago. Joe knew I liked metal… but he also knew I liked melody. What can I say? I'm a child of the ‘80s… when soaring voices and blazing guitars were played at every dance, every fast-food parking lot, and every day in my house. GHOST had the right blend of metal, melody, and an unforgettable image. This coming from a guy who collected KISS cards in the '70s… so I know good rock branding and imagery when I see it!

"GHOST, for me, is one of the most unique rock bands out there. Tobias's [Forge, GHOST mastermind] sense of melody is only matched by his storytelling. The blistering imagery of him and the band is unlike any other. The balance of dark lyrics with soaring (and dare I say… angelic) melodies, make listening to them a different experience than any other band out there. At least that's what it does for me.

"So clearly, when I wanted a band that embodied the spirit of 'Insidious' lore, I knew where to look first. 'Stay' is such a hauntingly beautiful tune to end my film with, because the dark lyrics juxtaposed against the sweeping melody (written by Dave Stewart) are a great bookend to my film. Singing on it, alongside Tobias, was an absolute thrill. I wanted the tune to feel like it was Josh Lambert (my character) singing… and then being tempted by the devil (the lipstick demon)… in this case, sung by the brilliant Tobias Forge. Tobias's tone is a sharp contrast to mine, and his new arrangement of the song is faithful yet fresh. It was an honor to be featured on the tune, and I can't thank Tobias and the GHOST crew, especially Tim Bickford and Kristen Mulderig, for making this happen.

"GHOST is the perfect blend of theatricality met with musical mastery. Tobias is at the top of his game and I'm thrilled to have him on the soundtrack, and honored to sing alongside him."

"Insidious: The Red Door" is the fifth film of the "Insidious" franchise.

Wilson makes his directorial debut with the horror feature, which is the first of the franchise since "Insidious: The Final Key" earned $67 million domestically and $167 million worldwide on a $10 million budget in 2018.

Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing's new band KK'S PRIEST made its live debut Thursday night (July 6) at Downing's KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

Downing is joined in KK'S PRIEST by former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST performed tracks from the band's debut album, 2021's "Sermons Of The Sinner", plus new material from KK'S PRIEST as-yet-unreleased second LP, "The Sinner Rides Again", as well as many a PRIEST classic thrown in for good measure.

When the show was first announced back in April, K.K. said in a statement: "It's been far too long! But I am stoked to say that KK'S PRIEST will once again have the honor playing our first-ever gig at the Steel Mill on July 6th, The perfect venue with the perfect audience.

"Metal has come home once more back to where it all started from, yes, the Black Country, where the embryo was conceived all of those years ago. I am incredibly fortunate to have been a part of it all.

"I will look forward to seeing you all again. Rest assured that it will be 'Blood And Thunder' with 'Hellfire Thunderbolt' and much more. We promise to make history together on this special occasion. See you then!!!"

Support at the gig came from former IRON MAIDEN vocalist Paul Di'Anno, with an opening set by up-and-coming U.K. metal titans TAILGUNNER.

KK'S PRIEST's setlist was as follows:

01. Hellfire Thunderbolt (live debut)
02. One More Shot At Glory (new song; live debut)
03. The Ripper (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
04. Reap The Whirlwind (new song; live debut)
05. Night Crawler (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
06. Sermons Of The Sinner (live debut)
07. Burn In Hell (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
08. Beyond The Realms Of Death (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
09. Hell Patrol (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
10. Brothers Of The Road (live debut)
11. Metal Meltdown (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
12. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (FLEETWOOD MAC/JUDAS PRIEST cover)
13. Breaking The Law (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
14. Victim Of Changes (JUDAS PRIEST cover)

Encore:

15. Raise Your Fists (live debut)

"The Sinner Rides Again" will be released on September 29 via the Austrian rock and metal empire Napalm Records. The nine-song effort was produced and written by Downing and mixed/mastered by Jacob Hansen.

Downing said about "The Sinner Rides Again": "To continue the legacy of the traditional rock and metal that I have been so fortunate to be a part of for over 50 years, this latest album, 'The Sinner Rides Again', has been created to take the listener on a journey that is both real and fictional with its characters, although sometimes ambiguous. These songs allow the imaginations of all fans of this wonderful genre of music to escape reality and join with us to continue our heavy metal experience into the future."

KK'S PRIEST will embark October U.K. headlining tour. The "Priests, Killers & Witches" tour starts at the O2 Institute in Birmingham on Saturday, October 7, and visits London, Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham. Special guest on all dates will be Di'Anno who will be performing a full set of classics straight from the first two MAIDEN records, and opening up the bill is BURNING WITCHES.

"Sermons Of The Sinner" was released in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording "Sermons Of The Sinner" and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the 1980s.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

In a recent interview with Ernest Skinner of Border City Rock Talk, Owens spoke about the upcoming sophomore album from KK'S PRIEST. He said: "It's really good too. I like it better [than the debut LP]. It's a little heavier, a little edgier on the vocals — and even music, I think."

Downing was reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last November at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.

Nearly two years ago, Downing said that he had no problems with fans making comparisons between PRIEST and KK'S PRIEST. "It's absolutely fine, because it's who I am and what I am and what I do and how I do it," he told Brazilian journalist Igor Miranda. "It's too late to change; I can't change. I can't go out and buy different guitars and different amplifiers and start to write differently and think differently. I have to do things the way that I like them to be done. And that's what I did in JUDAS PRIEST for all those years to the best of my ability. But even now that I don't have to consult with anyone else, really, then I feel a lot more freedom to be able to do this.

"I think I can do what I do better now than I did before, if that makes any sense," he continued. "Because I'm working and writing and putting things together for me — and, obviously, of course, the rest of the members in [KK'S PRIEST] as well. But I was on my own, for the most part, in the lockdown doing this. But there was a lot of things I wanted to say and get off my chest.

"The [KK'S PRIEST] album's full of emotions, sentiments and messages and also rejoicement. It's a lot of things, all in one package. And it was very important for me to be able to express myself through this album.

"I know that people will make comparisons, but that's fine. I either succeed or fail, like everyone else in life. But I'm a fan of this wonderful style of music, and if I like it, I'm hopefully sure that the fans will like it too. And I really hope they do. And I'm very much looking forward to the feedback from everybody all over the world.

"Towards the end for me in JUDAS PRIEST, it wasn't as energized as it was in former years, and I missed that. I remember the days when Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] used to come offstage and he used to empty his boots out, and the water — which was sweat — used to just pour out of the boots. And it was the same for all of us. It was like we ran a marathon or something. So, hopefully we deliver that up. So I'm looking forward to doing that. I'm definitely gonna do my best, put it that way."

In September 2021, Owens said that there was no competition between JUDAS PRIEST and KK'S PRIEST. "I don't think we look at it [like that]," he told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn in an interview. "There's one JUDAS PRIEST. They're JUDAS PRIEST. If [K.K. and I] wanted to take that angle, we would have called [our new band] KK'S JUDAS PRIEST. But I think fans are happy 'cause they know they do have two things that are the same vein, and they have K.K. back. I went nowhere — I've been putting music out like crazy — but they have Ken and I back together again. So there's no competition. I mean, how awesome would it be if we do shows with them? I don't care. I really don't. I love the guys in PRIEST. Rob's [Halford, PRIEST singer] my idol. And Richie [Faulkner, PRIEST guitarist] and I are friends. But this isn't a competition. We're not trying to make it a competition or another JUDAS PRIEST. That's why we put an album out first; that was the difference. If we were trying to make it that, we would start touring right away, doing the back catalog."

Asked if KK'S PRIEST is really open to touring with JUDAS PRIEST, Tim said: "I'm open to anything. I've never burned bridges. From the sounds of it, it's never gonna happen. 'Cause it never happened with me. I tried to get BEYOND FEAR to support JUDAS PRIEST on tour. Wendy Dio was my manager, and they were, like, 'Absolutely not. You're not gonna support us.' But we're all friends. I mean, I'm speaking for me — I'm not speaking for Ken. But, yeah, listen, I always look at it as how much fans would love stuff. How cool would it be if that happened?"

In a recent interview with SiriusXM Octane host Jesea Lee, ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce spoke about the so-called "nu-metal" genre which swept the airwaves and peaked for a brief period in the late nineties and early noughties. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "People say now, 'Oh, what a terrible era.' I think it was one of the best eras of metal ever because it was so huge, but it also birthed… That was the cool thing about nu metal. If you listen to, like, '80s metal bands, a lot of them sound very similar. But they spawned, the '80s spawned some incredible bands. Same with the '60s — same with every generation and era of music. And nu metal was so diverse. I feel like when you say nu metal, an automatic sound goes into your head. But the reality is you've got SLIPKNOT on one end of that spectrum, LINKIN PARK on the other end of the spectrum you've got EVANESCENCE somewhere in the middle, you've got SYSTEM OF A DOWN, you've got KORN, you've got all these great bands that came from nu metal, and they all sound so different; they're so unique. SLIPKNOTis a nu metal band — they are — but they do not sound anything like LINKIN PARK, and LINKIN PARK do not sound anything like SYSTEM OF A DOWN. So I just think it's such a great era. I still listen to it."

Ben continued: "If I'm gonna put on a metal album, chances are — eight, nine times out of 10 — it's gonna be a nu metal record from that era. Probably 'Toxicity' or something or 'Iowa', but it's gonna be from that era. And I still love listening to METALLICA and all kinds of other metal bands too, but nu metal — I don't know — holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it's my age."

Along the way, several bands associated with nu metal, including KORN, DEFTONES and SLIPKNOT, took a somewhat defensive stance against being labeled as such. Even those less apologetic nu metal groups eventually changed their sound, effectively disowning the genre that they helped pioneer.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA will release its eighth full-length studio album, "Where Do We Go From Here?", this fall via Better Noise Music. The LP's debut track, "Dark Void", was released in May and saw the band return to their metalcore beginnings has already amassed five million streams and one million video views to date. Last month, ASKING ALEXANDRIA shared the album's first official radio single "Psycho" along with the track "Bad Blood" across digital platforms.

Last month, ASKING ALEXANDRIA announced a co-headlining tour with THE HU, the acclaimed Mongolian rock sensation and Better Noise Music labelmates. The "Psycho Thunder" tour will kick off this fall and also includes BAD WOLVES and opening act ZERO 9:36. ASKING ALEXANDRIA will make three festival appearances in July — Rock Fest (Wisconsin),Inkcarceration Festival (Ohio) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky) — before the co-headlining tour commences August 30 in San Antonio, Texas. Throughout the trek, which ends October 8 in Los Angeles, ASKING ALEXANDRIA will appear on additional festival dates, including Rocklahoma (Oklahoma),Blue Ridge Rock Festival (Vrignia) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky).

Having joined Better Noise Music in 2021 with the release of their critically acclaimed album "See What's On The Inside", ASKING ALEXANDRIA subsequently achieved their first-ever No. 1 Active Rock radio single "Alone Again" and a follow-up Top 10 single with "Never Gonna Learn" (No. 6) in 2022 from their EP of the same name. The band has garnered over 1.4 billion combined streams to date across all platforms along with over 3.1 million monthly Spotify listeners. Their music videos have received over 700 million views.

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, IN FLAMES frontman Anders Fridén was asked to name his "most important idol or role model". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have a few. Layne [Staley] from ALICE IN CHAINS was a huge lyrical inspiration, and ALICE IN CHAINS is one of my top bands ever. 'Dirt' is probably the best album that ever was… I really admire Trent Reznor and what he's done, and his work with Atticus [Ross] now; they write a lot of soundtracks, stuff like that. Martin Gore of DEPECHE MODE. My God, there are so many out there, artists that I really look up to. A person like David Bowie, what he did and how he treated his art and what he'd done with his career. And he passed away way too early. But there's a lot of them."

Last year, Anders told The MetalSucks Podcast that he never got to see ALICE IN CHAINS with Staley. "But I've seen 'em since, and I met the guys and everything," he revealed. "But Layne's been a huge lyrical inspiration for me — maybe not the topics but the way he could describe the darkness in such a beautiful way. It's very, very sad what happened to him. Next to SCORPIONS, that's my favorite band."

Back in 2017, IN FLAMES released a covers EP, "Down, Wicked & No Good". Featuring takes on DEPECHE MODE's "It's No Good", ALICE IN CHAINS' "Down In A Hole" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", as well as a live rendition of NINE INCH NAILS' "Hurt".

IN FLAMES previously covered DEPECHE MODE's "Everything Counts" on the Swedish band's 1997 album "Whoracle".

Last month, IN FLAMES parted ways with bassist Bryce Paul and replaced him with Liam Wilson (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).

Wilson made his live debut with IN FLAMES on June 7 at the Release Athens 2023 festival in Athens, Greece.

Bryce joined IN FLAMES following the departure of longtime bassist Peter Iwers.

Iwers quit IN FLAMES in November 2016, saying that he was leaving the band "to pursue other endeavors."

IN FLAMES' latest album, "Foregone", was released in February via Nuclear Blast. According to a press release, the LP "combines the greatest aggressive, metallic, and melodic strengths of their landmark records with the seasoned songwriting of their postmodern era."

"Foregone" was the second IN FLAMES album with Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne, the first with ex-MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick, and the third with Grammy-winning producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, THREE DAYS GRACE). Mike Plotnikoff (ALL THAT REMAINS, WARBRINGER) engineered at Benson's West Valley Recording Studios. Joe Rickard (10 YEARS, STARSET, DIAMANTE),who played drums for IN FLAMES from 2016 through 2019, handled mixing duties.

Fan-filmed video of KISS's July 5 concert at the O2 in London, England can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Detroit Rock City
02. Shout It Out Loud
03. Deuce
04. War Machine
05. Heaven's On Fire
06. I Love It Loud
07. Say Yeah
08. Cold Gin
09. Guitar Solo
10. Lick It Up
11. Makin' Love
12. Calling Dr. Love
13. Psycho Circus
14. Drum Solo
15. 100,000 Years
16. Bass Solo
17. God Of Thunder
18. Love Gun
19. Black Diamond

Encore:

20. Beth
21. I Was Made For Lovin' You
22. Rock And Roll All Nite

KISS's final runs of shows will kick off this September and will wrap up with a massive concert in the city where it all began for the legendary rock act. New York City has been a part of the band's ethos and storyline for more than four decades, so they felt it fitting to culminate an iconic Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-worthy career on stage at New York's famed Madison Square Garden.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but has since been extended to late 2023. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Paul Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass, vocals),alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

In a recent interview with Yahoo! entertainment music editor Lyndsey Parker, Stanley was asked whether he thinks it will be emotional for him to play the final KISS show. Paul said: "More so than I know. There's gonna be some tears shed, for sure.

"You've gotta remember that Gene and I started this together when I was 17 and he was 20, 21. It's 50 years later. We've lived pretty interesting lives, and we have families and children and huge sales in terms of albums and concerts. So it's a big part of who we are; it's a big part of our lives. So, that final show, yeah, that's momentous. And it's gonna hit harder than I think we know. And we know it's gonna hit hard."

Asked whether the last concert of KISS's "End Of The Road" tour will truly mark the band's final performance or if there is a chance of one-off shows or a Las Vegas residency in the future, Stanley said: "I really can't say. But it is the last of any kind of regular shows or touring.

"It's just time," he explained. "And in the same way, it's time consuming. And physically, it's grueling to do what we do. Hell, if I could go out on stage in my jeans and a t-shirt, give us another 10, 15 years easily. But what we do is a whole different sport. I mean, we're athletes; we're running around on stage with 30, 40, pounds of gear, and it's not possible to do it that much longer. So we're not like other bands.

"So, will we do more shows or one-offs? I really have no idea," Paul admitted. "But this is a real clear mindset that the touring days and doing those kind of shows, that's over."

Rhino has set an August 18 release date for a new BLACK SABBATH box set called "Hand Of Doom 1970 - 1978". The set will be available for $249.98 and is limited to 4,000 copies in North America only. The set is exclusive to the Rhino and Warner Music Canada stores.

In 1968, BLACK SABBATH was formed by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. The quartet created a fierce sound that was beyond anything that had been heard before. Throughout the 1970s, the band produced an array of metal classics that set the standard for heavy music and inspired countless generations of fans.

Comprising some of BLACK SABBATH's most powerful albums ever produced, "Hand Of Doom" features the "Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978" collection on picture disc for the first time. The highly collectible set contains the band's self-titled debut (1970),as well as the multi-platinum "Paranoid" (1970),the platinum albums "Master Of Reality" (1971),"Vol 4" (1972),and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973),the gold-certified "Sabotage" (1975),alongside "Technical Ecstasy" (1976) and "Never Say Die!" (1978).

"Hand Of Doom 1970 - 1978" includes each album's artwork printed on Side A. The self-titled debut, "Vol 4", "Technical Ecstasy" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" feature the original back album artwork on Side B. "Paranoid", "Master Of Reality" and "Sabotage" features an album-era photo of the band. The collection also includes a large color poster of the band taken in Los Angeles during the summer of 1972 while the band was recording "Vol 4".

"Hand Of Doom 1970 - 1978" comprises a range of BLACK SABBATH's most iconic albums throughout the decade, starting with their self-titled debut LP in the 1970s, which boasted hits like "Black Sabbath" and "N.I.B." This was followed by the breakthrough album "Paranoid" in 1971, which featured the popular songs "War Pigs" and "Iron Man". Fans were then treated to "Master Of Reality", "Vol 4", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sabotage", "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die!" — all of which are included in this comprehensive collection. Some of the standout tracks from these albums include "Snowblind", "Supernaut", "Symptom Of The Universe" and "Hole In The Sky".

Pre-orders are available now at Rhino.com.

"Hand Of Doom 1970 - 1978" featured albums:

* "Black Sabbath" (1970)
* "Paranoid" (1971)
* "Master Of Reality" (1971)
* "Vol 4" (1972)
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1974)
* "Sabotage" (1975)
* "Technical Ecstasy" (1976)
* "Never Say Die!" (1978)

Atomhenge, the home of HAWKWIND's back catalog, has announced the release of a deluxe 50th-anniversary edition of HAWKWIND's legendary live album "Space Ritual". It was recorded on the band's U.K. tour of December 1972, which followed the release of the band's then-recent studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido". The live show was a continuous performance linked by poetry recitation by Robert Calvert and was a complete audio-visual experience. Featuring the dancers Stacia, Miss Renee and Tony Carrera, the concerts also featured an elaborate light show by famed lighting designer Liquid Len.

The "Space Ritual" tour followed the huge success of the "Silver Machine" single (although the song did not feature in the live set) and three concerts were captured on tape by the Pye Records mobile unit. The resulting double album was adorned with memorable artwork by designer Barney Bubbles and was a Top 10 hit in the U.K. upon its release in May 1973.

Due on September 29, this 50th-anniversary limited-edition deluxe boxed set comprises 10 CDs and a Blu-ray disc and features a new remaster of the original album, along with new mixes of all three complete concerts recorded on the tour at Liverpool Stadium, Sunderland Locarno and Brixton Sundown, all mixed by Stephen W Tayler. The set also includes a stunning 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album, along with a new stereo mix of the album, including the complete unedited versions of "Brainstorm" and "Time We Left This World Today" and the encore of "You Shouldn't Do That". The set is completed with a 68-page illustrated book with new essay and a reproduction of the rare "Space Ritual" poster format tour program, making this box set the definitive release and this legendary album.

HAWKWIND were formed in 1969, originally as HAWKWIND ZOO, by former London busker Dave Brock. In 1970, the band appeared outside the perimeter fence of the Isle Of Wight festival as a protest to the admission charge. Jimi Hendrix was spotted in the audience. The same year they played at the first Glastonbury festival. These activities helped establish them as the people's band, as well as being widely acknowledged with creating a brand new genre of music — space rock. Also in that year the band's first single, "Hurry On Sundown", was released followed by the self-titled debut album, "Hawkwind".

By 1972, the band's popularity had grown to such an extent that they could now headline venues such as the famous Chalk Farm Roundhouse in London. A gig billed as the "Greasy Truckers Party" at this venue in February was to be forever etched into HAWKWIND folklore, as it was at this show that their trademark single "Silver Machine" was recorded. The track, which featured Lemmy on vocals, brought the band to the attention of the wider general public after it reached number two in the U.K. charts in the June of that year.

The success of "Silver Machine" financed their famous themed tour, titled "Space Ritual". This show set the precedent for all future HAWKWIND shows. The band's wealth of creative talent, including contributions from the likes of sci-fi author Michael Moorcock, poet and visionary Bob Calvert, designer Barney Bubbles and lighting engineer Liquid Len created the world's first truly multimedia touring roadshow. The barrage of light, sound, dance and theatrics has since become a hallmark of all subsequent HAWKWIND shows, making each gig a unique and spectacular event, rather than another standard rock concert.

Following the "Space Ritual" U.K. tour, the band went on to continue the tour in the USA coinciding with the release of their acclaimed third album, "Doremi Fasol Latido", and then the live recording "Space Ritual".

Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY will release their eighth studio album, "Screamin' At The Sky", on September 29 via Mascot Records. The opus will be available in white solid vinyl, limited edition vinyl boxset, CD and digitally.

Today, BLACK STONE CHERRY has revealed another new song, the "Screamin' At The Sky" title track, together with an accompanying official lyric video.

BLACK STONE CHERRY frontman/guitarist Chris Robertson explains the new album's opening song as follows: "Much like most BSC songs, the music was written first and it set the tempo. We envisioned standing around a bonfire and just letting go of everything, throwing your problems into the cosmos and letting them be what they are. It starts the album off exactly how we wanted, right off the bat, in your face."

Earlier this year, BLACK STONE CHERRY released the album's lead single, "Out of Pocket", which went on to be a crowd favorite on the band's recent U.K. arena shows.

The Kentucky-based band, featuring Chris Robertson (lead vocals/guitar),Ben Wells (guitar/backing vox) and John-Fred Young (drums/backing vox),are joined for the first time on an album recording by "new" bassist Steve Jewell Jr. (ex-OTIS). The band's fanbase will be more than familiar with Steve, as he has been touring with BLACK STONE CHERRY since 2021.

With regard to the new album, BLACK STONE CHERRY says: "Every band that puts out a new record will tell you they are excited — as they should be. However, we may take the award for being the most excited about releasing a new album into the world! We can guarantee that it'll move you in one way or another. We had a lot to say lyrically, musically, and sonically. We pushed ourselves to create not only something relevant, but also pushing the envelope to bend the trend. We are truly proud of this collection of songs and we hope you'll celebrate it with us."

"Screamin' At The Sky" features all-new material written collaboratively while on tour, but when it came time to record, BLACK STONE CHERRY decided to try something it's always dreamed of doing: tracking an album at The Plaza Theater in Glasgow, Kentucky — a legendary 1020-seat venue built in 1934 that boasts meticulous acoustics.

"Every time we played the Plaza we wondered what it would sound like to record drums there. We finally decided to put all our eggs in one basket," Chris says. In June of 2022, the band rented the whole place, brought in all its recording equipment and its trusted engineer, Jordan Westfall. They set up the basement as the control room and the stage as the live drum room. Time between recording sessions and incredible room ambience have resulted in a career high watermark for BSC.

BLACK STONE CHERRY's last album, "The Human Condition", released in October 2020 was their sixth consecutive No. 1 debut on the U.K. Rock Albums chart. The album's lead single, "Again" was the band's biggest single in over 10 years in America, peaking at No. 15, and their highest-charting record ever in Canada, landing in the Top 15. The album racked up 50 million streams worldwide. Over the years, BSC has both headlined and rocked 12,000-cap arena shows and shared the stage with a wide range of superstars, including ALTER BRIDGE, DEF LEPPARD, GOV'T MULE, NICKELBACK, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, BAD COMPANY, MÖTORHEAD, HALESTORM, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, THE DARKNESS and ZZ TOP. In 2018, BSC performed in front of 100,000 people at the Download festival as main support to GUNS N' ROSES and in 2021, the band played the venerated Royal Albert Hall, immortalized on 2022's live DVD "Live From The Royal Albert Hall…Y'All".

"Screamin' At The Sky" track listing:

01. Out Of Pocket
02. Screamin' At The Sky
03. Nervous
04. When The Pain Comes
05. Show Me What It Feels Like
06. R.O.A.R.
07. Smile, World
08. The Mess You Made
09. Who Are You Today?
10. Not Afraid
11. Here's To The Hopeless
12. You Can Have It All

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of "Permission To Land", the chart-topping, award-winning, multi-platinum debut album from THE DARKNESS, the British rockers have announced "Permission To Land… Again", a special 20th-anniversary reissue collection due on October 6 via Warner Music.

Britain's beloved rock band celebrate this landmark with a special 4-CD/DVD release including the original album, rare B-sides, bonus unreleased demos, as well as live albums from their iconic shows at London's Astoria (2003),Knebworth (in support of Robbie Williams in 2003) and Wembley Arena (2004). A 2-CD edition with a reduced track listing is also available.

Footage of the Knebworth and Astoria shows have been captured on the DVD, as well as the music videos for their hit singles "I Believe In A Thing Called Love", "Get Your Hands Off My Woman", "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" and more. There is also a "History Of The Darkness" documentary including various behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes from the "Permission To Land" era.

"Permission To Land…Again" is also releasing on 5-LP, mirroring the 4-CD track listing. The original 1-LP, which has long been out of print since the original pressing in 2003, has now been made available to purchase once again, alongside a new special blue and black marbled limited-edition color variant.

Having further polished their eternal rock stardom alongside GUNS N' ROSES at BST Hyde Park last week, THE DARKNESS are heading out on a world tour starting in the U.S. on October 3 in San Francisco and wrapping up in Washington, D.C. on October 22 before heading to Europe. The shows promise to be a grand spectacle with the band playing the foot-stomping, guitar-wailing, groove-making masterpiece album in full, alongside a "Best Of The Rest" set, stuffed to the gills with all the hits and fan favorites from their six subsequent studio albums.

"Permission To Land...Again" (20th-anniversary edition)

5LP

LP1: "Permission To Land" (2003)
LP2: Studio bonus tracks (2001-2003)
LP3: Singles & B-Sides
LP4: Live at Knebworth (2003)
LP5: Live at The Astoria (2003)

2CD

CD1: "Permission To Land" + bonus tracks (demos)
CD2: Singles, B-Sides, and non-album tracks

4CD+DVD

CD1: "Permission To Land" + bonus tracks (demos)
CD2: Singles, B-Sides and non-album tracks
CD3: Live at Knebworth (2003) and Live at The Astoria (2003)
CD4: Live at Wembley (2004)
DVD: Promo videos, extra features, Live at Knebworth (2003),Live at The Astoria (2003)

Digital

* "Permission To Land" (2003)
* Bonus tracks (demos)
* Singles, B-sides and non-album tracks
* Live at Knebworth (2003)
* Live at The Astoria (2003)
* Live at Wembley (2004)

"Permission To Land" was originally released in 2003 via Atlantic Records and stormed to the top of the U.K. albums chart, where it remained for four weeks, and spent 53 weeks in the Top 100. It landed the band three Brit Awards, including "British Album Of The Year", "British Group" and "British Rock Act", where they fended off competition from the likes of BLUR, RADIOHEAD, SUGABABES, MUSE, PRIMAL SCREAM and more. The record has sold over 1.4 million copies to date.

Contemporary thrash metal virtuosos Comaniac are back in full force, releasing their powerhouse single "Eye To Eye" as a tantalising precursor to their fourth studio album, None For All.


Emanating an aura of futuristic thrash metal dynamism, "Eye To Eye" marries relentless riffs, a potent chorus, and cutting-edge sound effects. The song is a forceful exploration of artificial intelligence and its implications for the future of our world. Comaniac's lead vocalist, Schmirgel, uses his raw, screaming vocals to ponder the profound impacts of AI today and tomorrow.







On the horizon is Comaniac's fourth studio album, None For All, scheduled for release on October 13th, 2023. The album is a captivating blend of technical thrash metal and thought-provoking lyrical content, focused on societal indifference and empathy. None For All consists of nine tracks that oscillate between structure and chaos, hope and resignation, prompting individual, social, and political reflection.


Following three studio albums and numerous tours across Europe and Japan, Comaniac are set to hit new heights with their unique technical approach to contemporary thrash metal. None For All strikes a perfect balance between intricate song structures and compelling hooks, with Schmirgel's unfaltering vocal performance vividly bringing the profound lyrics to life.


The forthcoming album None For All will be released on MetalWorld and available on vinyl, CD, tape and digital formats. To get a head start on experiencing Comaniac's latest sonic journey, pre-order None For All now, or pre-save the album on Spotify and Deezer.





Tracklisting:


"Eye To Eye"
"Desolation Manifest"
"None For All"
"Long Life Doll"
"Start The Madness"
"Nothing But Lies"
"Breakdown Rite"
"Between The Stars"
"Self Sacrifice"


For further details, visit Comaniac on Facebook.


 

Vintersea recently completed their tour supporting Moonspell, Eleine and Oceans Of Slumber and captured some footage of the band performing live, as well as their travels. It can all be experienced in the Portland-based group’s latest video, “Lonesome Tide”.
 
“Our recent tour with Moonspell, Eleine, and Oceans Of Slumber was special, and I thought capturing as much as I could would allow us to not only showcase a song but also show off how much we love touring and meeting our fans,” tells bassist Karl Whinnery. 





"'Lonesome Tide' is one of my favorite tracks on the album - it starts with all the emotions in the vocal performance and then breaks open and goes on a rollercoaster of a journey. We played it live every night of the tour, and it was a fan favorite every show! All the love from Vintersea to you.”




“We are lucky enough to have a professional videographer in the tour van with us on every tour - and even though sometimes we don't have as much time as we'd like to pull over and shoot the beautiful places we see, Karl was able to capture some of the magnificent places we visited in this video,” further explains guitarist Riley Nix.


“This was our first time visiting Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and British Columbia, and it was eye-opening and humbling to see how many of you came out to see us in cities we had never visited before. We hope this video serves as a love letter to our fans all over the world, because we are coming for you next!”





“Lonesome Tide” is the quintet’s fourth music video from their current album, Woven Into Ashes, following: “Into The Horizon”, “Unveiling Light”, and “At The Gloaming Void”, giving a broad sample of the majesty and breadth of the band’s third opus harnessing progressive, melodic and blackened tendencies into a profoundly unique vision.











Fresh off the road with Moonspell, Eleine, and Oceans Of Slumber and an appearance at Oregon’s Riverafest with labelmates Voices Of Ruin, Vintersea have already announced their next run of the Pacific Northwest shows with Cyborg Octopus.


August
10 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
11 – Tacoma, WA – Plaid Pig
12 – Vancouver, BC – The Astoria
13 – Seattle, WA – Madam Lou’s


For further details, visit Vintersea on Facebook.


 

Riot guitarist Rick Ventura will be bringing his band Riot Act back to England for a short run of shows to warm up for the British Steel Festival in France on October 7th. Riot Act will be playing the Riot album Fire Down Under in full, as well as other classic Riot tunes. Kaine, a young heavy metal band from Essex, England will be joining them on the tour. This is the first headline tour the band has done in England. 


Catch Rick Ventura's Riot Act and Kaine live at the following venues:


September
30 - The Music Room - Ipswich, England




October
1 -  Waterfront - Norwich, England
3 - Portland Arms - Cambridge, England
4 - Three Wise Monkeys - Colchester, England
5 - The Cart & Horses - London, England
7 - British Steel Festival - Fismes, France





Rick Ventura was a member of the classic Riot lineup that recorded the legendary albums Narita (1979), Fire Down Under (1981), Restless Breed (1982), and Born In America (1983). He also appeared on the Riot Live (1989) live album. Fire Down Under is considered the ultimate Riot album, having made the Billboard 200 on its original release. 


Riot Act released their debut double album Closer To The Flame (Global Rock Records) in 2022 which features both original material and re-recordings of Riot classics. The band then joined Lillian Axe on their UK Tour in 2022 to promote the album, alongside the English heavy metal band Kaine. 


This will be a rare opportunity for classic rock / metal fans to see Rick perform the Fire Down Under album in full, as well as all the other legendary Riot tunes from the 1980s.


 

During a new appearance on the "That Metal Interview" podcast, TESLA frontman Jeff Keith was asked for his secret to keeping his voice in such magnificent shape. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'll tell you one secret. We started dropping things down to — instead of in E, the key of E, we dropped it to E flat. On particular songs, where I sing really high — I don't even know how I hit the notes back then in the '80s and the '90s — but I think they can drop as low as… there's E flat, and then you can drop as low as D. And on a couple of songs we drop down to the D tuning, so I can sing the same melody but dropped down a whole step. And from what I understand, you can't drop any lower than that, or the strings are so loose [that they are too floppy to play]. So, we just dropped some keys, and then we tried it on a couple of songs and when we even dropped down a whole step, I still can't quite hit the notes [on some songs]."

He continued: "Once again, I don't know how the heck I hit them notes way back then, but all I know is from 'Into The Now' [2004] on, I started thinking about, 'Hey, I've gotta watch out what key we're doing it in, because next thing you know, I sing something that I can't go out there and do it night after night live.' I mean, it is 37 years later, so… [Laughs] So, with 'Forever More', 'Simplicity' — all that stuff — I just started keeping in mind, 'Hey, whatever you write, you've gotta sing it night after night.' Back in the '80s, and stuff like that, I wasn't thinking about it. You just do 20, 30 takes of something, pick the best out of it and go, 'Hey, there you go. That's great.' But I never had the thought in mind of, 'Hey, you've gotta go out there night after night and sing it.' And back then, I could — thankfully — but today, it's, like, 'Hang on a second.' I'm gonna turn 65 in October. It's, like, 'Hang on now.' I'm starting to fill out forms for Medicare and all that stuff. [Laughs] So [I've gotta] be careful with what melodies I come up with, because I've gotta be able to do it night after night."

Keith is not the first high-profile rock singer to admit to having trouble hitting some of the notes that he was able to reach several decades earlier. In October 2022, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn that it was important for him to come out and almost apologize for the fact that he and his bandmates were tuning down because of his voice. "Maybe it's wrong for me to think this way, but it's a little bit of a pride issue; you're proud that you don't have to tune down 'cause you could do it in the original key," he said. "And there's something to be said for that; it feels good to be able to say that. But then I realized everyone tunes down except for maybe a select few — very select few. And those few are bands that don't sing in a super-high register. The bands like STRYPER that sing in a very high register, belting…

"See, the vocals for STRYPER, and this isn't to put us on a pedestal, but they're unique in the sense that not only are they high, but they're chest-belted vocals," he explained. "They're not [makes growling sound]; they come from here [puts hand over chest], not from here [puts hand over his throat]. That makes it a little bit more difficult to pull off. So when we dropped the key down a half step, I felt like, 'Wow, okay, this is a little easier.' I can get through the show a little easier and not have to strain or struggle so much.

"You've got all the vocal coaches out there watching right now, saying, 'Oh, if he took lessons, he'd be able to do it again.' That's bullcrap," Michael said. "It makes me laugh sometimes when you hear these guys say, 'Oh, yeah, 'cause he's singing wrong.' No, I'm not singing wrong. I get my vocal cords checked every year. I've never had surgery; I've never had nodules. They tell me my vocal cords look pristine. I'm not singing wrong. If I was singing wrong, they would not look pristine. So my problem lies with just aging. Your vocal folds, as you age, they start to stiffen, and there's not a darn thing you can do about that. Your muscles, they change. It's just part of life. You deal with it the best way that you can. You stay in shape; that's important. Take care of yourself, of course. But also, I've got post-nasal drip really bad. And I'm always clearing my throat; it's a real thick post-nasal drip. My doctors who scoped me have said, 'We've never seen anything like it.' It's almost like glue on my vocal cords continuously, and that keeps me from being able to sing at the best of my range and at the top of my range. But they also said that they think it's protected my vocal cords as well. So I'm definitely singing right. I'm blessed to still have the voice that I have. Is it what it once was? No."

Four years ago, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson said that he takes pride in the fact that he and his bandmates perform their songs in the original key. "We don't detune, like some other people do," he said. "We don't do any of that. I suppose if one day we have to, we have to, but we don't have to do it now, and I think the songs sound better as a result of it. They're meant to be played in that key."

Back in 2014, QUEENSRŸCHE's Todd La Torre said that the fact that he sings the band's songs in their original key is one of the reasons he has been able to win over so many of the QUEENSRŸCHE fans following the departure of original frontman Geoff Tate.

"We don't drop-tune," he said. "When I first got in the band, [the other guys in QUEENSRŸCHE] said, 'Hey, if you want us to tune down a half a step, if it's easier for you, don't be afraid to ask us.' And I said, 'No. I wanna do this the best way that I can to represent the songs the way that they really go, and if it's a struggle for me, I just have more work to do for me. But let me keep trying to do this.' So I think the fact that those old songs weren't being played [in the last few years with Geoff in the band]… I mean, some of them were played, but a lot of times they were tuned down or songs were not played in their entirety, like 'Roads To Madness'; we play that song in its entirety. We play 'NM 156' in its entirety. And those fans, they really love hearing that. So the fact that that wasn't happening, and then when I came into the band, it started happening, it really kind of made it easier, I think, for fans to kind of rally around and go, 'Awesome!'"

ATREYU will release a new EP, "The Moment You Find Your Flame", on August 18 via Spinefarm, hot on the heels of the recent EP "The Hope Of A Spark".

Inspired initially by ideas brought by guitarist Dan Jacobs, the lead single "Gone" is an arena-ready rock anthem that yearns for a lost love and laments the personal failings that brought about the relationship's demise. Live performance footage in the lyric video is credited to Christian Lawrence and Micala Austin.

ATREYU has also announced "The Beautiful Dark Of Life" album, due later this year as part of the EP series delivering the final chapter of the "Seasons Of Life" concept along the rollercoaster of human existence.

"The Moment You Find Your Flame" EP, produced by longtime collaborator John Feldman, reflects the struggle in recognizing one's self-worth and it touches on internal battles, self-doubt, and insecurities that can overshadow one's perception of their own abilities. The band has found its own flame, a metaphor for their soul-baring introspection and providing comfort and catharsis through music in the face of universal emotions that unite us all.

"We draw strength from each other and give each other the space and support to be the best, most creative person we can be," Jacobs explains. "And together, right now, that makes us the best band we've ever been."

The EP and the band encompass five friends who came together to create music for themselves, for each other, and for the thriving community that has forged around it. They are bonds born of time, of joy and sadness, of success and hardship and most importantly, they are born of an openness that allows five unique creative personalities to unite in something far stronger and far bigger than the sum of its talented parts.

"'The Moment You Find Your Flame' is the path you've set out on to recovery. You've followed the glimmer of hope and potential, and the way forward is beginning to reveal itself. But it is still only a little flame. It needs nurturing still," said bassist/vocalist Porter McKnight.

"Everything that we have put out to this point has built up to this moment," concluded Jacobs. "Something special is happening with ATREYU right now. We can feel the creativity and collaboration when the five of us get in the studio. We can feel the confidence we all give each other when we stand on stage together. And we can see it in the audience when they're losing their minds. They're having as good a time as we are ourselves."

"The Moment You Find Your Flame" track listing:

01. Good Enough
02. Immortal
03. Gone
04. I Don't Wanna Die

ATREYU will join IRON MAIDEN in Calgary on September 28 at Scotiabank Saddledome, Edmonton on September 30 at Rogers Place, and Vancouver on October 2 at the Rogers Arena.

The band will perform at California - Is For Lovers, Rocklahoma 2023 and the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in the fall ahead of the Canada dates.

ATREYU ushered in a new movement in heavy music. Their music seamlessly intertwines with formative experiences for a diverse legion of dedicated listeners, many of whom started their own bands. They've broken into the Top 10 in the Billboard 200 more than once; two of their albums, "The Curse" and "Lead Sails Paper Anchor", are certified gold with two million albums sold worldwide and an encompassing 600 million streams. Their most recent album, "Baptize", has clocked 65 million streams alongside a Top 10 at rock radio hit with "Warrior" featuring Travis Barker.

Where once the band was heralded as the early innovators of the nascent metalcore scene, their place in heavy music's diverse and boundary-breaking scene has never felt more relevant, with inspirations of pop-punk, hardcore, thrash, '80s rock, and more melding into a unique and varied sound that has never felt more relevant than in today's increasingly genreless world.

With a 20-year career and eight acclaimed albums in the rear-view mirror, ATREYU in 2023 is focused only on the present and the future, and a mission to continue shaping and defining the rock and metal scene, just as they have always done since their emergence from Huntington Beach in Southern California.

Frontman Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Porter McKnight and drummer Kyle Rosa are one of the most respected names and potent forces in heavy music, and their live show is one of the most heralded on the touring circuit.

According to Westside BID, legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi was presented with a life-sized sculpture of a prehistoric fossil named after him.

Palaeontologist and heavy metal fan Mats Eriksson had previously discovered the 469-million-year-old fossil of an eel-like marine vertebrate in Russia and named the new species Drepanoistodus Iommii after his rock hero.

Mats was invited to Birmingham, England from his home in Sweden to present Tony with a life-sized model of the fossil, specially made for the occasion by sculptor Esben Horn. Tony had previously enjoyed a Facetime chat with Mats on the BLACK SABBATH bench in Birmingham at the end of 2021.

Mats and Esben were invited to the Velvet Music Rooms in Broad Street to present Tony with the sculpture of the fossil.

Tony said of the meeting: "It was great to meet Mats and Esben today and receive an amazing replica of the Iommi fossil. And thanks to Mike Olley and Steve at Velvet Music Rooms."

Iommi had previously said: "It was a real shock to hear that a fossil's been named after me. I've had a bit of abuse from my friends about it who've enjoyed calling me an old fossil, but I think it's great, a real honor.

"This has to be the weirdest thing that's ever been named after me but I'm really proud of it and I wanted to thank Mats and his team in person for being such brilliant fans."

Mats, who has been a fan of BLACK SABBATH since he was a boy, said he was thrilled by his team’s discovery of the fossil, and it was great to combine his love affairs of nature and music.

Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, said: "I’m delighted we were able to set up a meeting between Tony, Mats and Esben, and present Tony with the model of the fossil named after him.

"Tony is one of Birmingham's greatest rock heroes and this is a fantastic gesture by Mats, and Esben, to honor him in this way. He is now officially an old fossil!"

Rock met rock as legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was presented with a giant sculpture of a prehistoric...

Posted by Westside BID on Thursday, July 6, 2023

A punch in the face is coming right at ya’ in the form of Rockin' Engine’s Altered By Evil EP, out July 7th. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location. For a first taste, check out the "Monsters Under Your Bed" video.





Altered By Evil is the third studio offering from Canada's Rockin' Engine, and fans will notice huge musical growth as it's more technical and refined, but punchy and heavy as hell. After the release of 2020’s The Wretched And The Damned, the band knew exactly what direction they wanted to go in - and buckle up, because they are taking listeners on a rock n’ roll road trip. Altered By Evil is creepy and dark, full of horror, while also creative, fun and theatrical.




“Altered By Evil is a tribute to everything we love about horror movies and serial killer documentaries. There’s a fascination behind the love of the macabre and the grotesque that we wanted to explore with our lyrics and expose different nuances of some classic works of art. With this record, we’re bringing the audience into a fantasy world of monsters and evil spirits, with a dash of historical elements that makes the listening experience even more interesting,” says Rockin' Engine.





Tracklisting:


"Carnival Of Evil" 
"Day Of Wrath" 
"Liber Ex-Mortis" 
"Monsters Under Your Bed" 
"Psycho Path" 
"Room 185" (ft. guest vocals by Stef Jomphe of Insurrection)





For further details, visit Rockin' Engine on Facebook.


 

"I Want To Know What Love Is", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Juke Box Hero", "Urgent" plus five more Top 10 hits. Recently, FOREIGNER, the band behind these iconic songs, announced the launch of their farewell tour. Today, FOREIGNER announces the farewell tour companion album, "Farewell - The Very Best Of Foreigner", available at FOREIGNER tour stops and independent retailers.

A must-have collector's album, this limited-edition stunning gold vinyl features FOREIGNER's greatest hits produced by Mick Jones with Jeff Pilson. Only 5,000 individually numbered albums are available. When they're gone, they are gone for good!

The tour is set to launch today, July 6, 2023, at Atlanta's Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, the area's largest outdoor venue. For the first leg of the U.S. Live Nation tour, FOREIGNER will be joined by LOVERBOY, one of the 1980s biggest hit-makers. The spectacular show will thrill audiences with stellar performances of more than 20 combined chart-topping songs. Tickets are going quickly, available at LiveNation.com.

Jones continues to elevate FOREIGNER's influence and guide the band to new horizons with his stylistic songwriting, indelible guitar hooks and multi-layered talents. Lead singer Kelly Hansen, one of rock's greatest showmen, has led FOREIGNER into the digital age, inspiring a whole new generation of fans. Bassist Jeff Pilson; Michael Bluestein on keyboards; guitarist Bruce Watson; Chris Frazier on drums, and guitarist Luis Maldonado provide an unprecedented level of energy that has resulted in the re-emergence of the astounding music that speaks to FOREIGNER's enduring popularity.

FOREIGNER has an extraordinary streaming and radio audience, and in June 2023, PBS TV featured the band's epic "Double Vision" 40-year celebration concert during Pledge Week.

With more Top 10 hits than JOURNEY, as many Billboard Top 10 hits as FLEETWOOD MAC, and just one less than THE EAGLES, FOREIGNER is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 80 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll's most enduring anthems, including "Juke Box Hero", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Feels Like The First Time", "Urgent", "Head Games", "Say You Will", "Dirty White Boy", "Long, Long Way From Home" and the worldwide No. 1 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is", FOREIGNER still rocks the charts more than 40 years into the game with massive airplay and continued Billboard Top 200 album success. Streams of FOREIGNER's hits are approaching 15 million per week.

"Farewell - The Very Best Of Foreigner" track listing:

Side A:

01. Feels Like The First Time
02. Cold As Ice
03. Long, Long Way From Home
04. Hot Blooded
05. Double Vision
06. Head Games

Side B:

01. Dirty White Boy
02. Urgent
03. Waiting For A Girl Like You
04. Juke Box Hero
05. I Want To Know What Love Is

Photo credit: Karsten Staiger

Saint Agnes have released an emotional live video for their poignant new single, "This Is Not The End", a tribute to Kitty A. Austen's grief for her late mother. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album Bloodsuckers, out July 21 via Spinefarm. Stream the single and pre-order Bloodsuckers here.


"I really wanted to write a song directly about my grief to have on the album, but it was just too difficult for the longest time," says Austen. "I was so raw and broken that I struggled to put myself in the place I needed to be in to get it done. But I did get there. The song was written and recorded as the very last thing on the album at the eleventh hour. It's a tribute to my mother and the depth of my love for her. Then for the video we recorded a live piano version of the song at Rockfield Studios, it was a very vulnerable but special moment for us as a band."







Hailing from the UK, Saint Agnes are all about honest lyrics and intense vocal performances, plus rage-fueled music intended to give a voice to those closer to the fringe than the center. With its violent riffs, venomous vocals, and punk attitude, the title track single serves as a no-holds-barred introduction to the Bloodsuckers album.


Vocalist Kitty A. Austen comments on the single and video, saying, "I wrote 'Bloodsuckers' when I couldn't take it anymore - when I decided to stop allowing people to crush me, to diminish me. I took my rage and my pain and used it as fuel and I burned. We are not defined by what has been done to us. We decide who we are. We choose who we want to be. We are whole. We are worthy. The video is an introduction to Team Bloodsuckers. Join us."


As much gang as band, Saint Agnes seek to empower those who've been battered and bruised yet refuse to lie down, and it's a thread that runs deep within Bloodsuckers - SA's first album for Spinefarm and the follow-up to 2019's Welcome To Silvertown, issued on the band's own label.


From the title track onwards, Bloodsuckers is a genre-jumping body of work, taking in elements of metal, punk, industrial, and grunge, without being bound by any specific style; the 11 tracks here come straight from the source, largely self-produced and mixed (NIN collaborator Sean Bevan lends his mixing and production skills to "Follow You"), and this self-contained approach provides an extra emotional weight throughout, with doom trap provocateur Mimi Barks further fuelling the chaos on the short, sharp shock that is "Body Bag."


Created in the months following the unexpected and untimely death of Kitty's mother, Bloodsuckers explores a number of themes, including mental illness, pent-up rage, undying love and, of course, grief; from the trash-metal howl into the night that is "Bloodsuckers" right through to broken ballad, "This Is Not The End," a poignant reflection of Kitty’s still-raw emotions, this is a call to outsiders everywhere...


Concludes Kitty, "Creating this album gave me a reason to get to my feet at a time when I really wasn't sure if I could. I've tried to put everything I've been feeling into it, all the pain, the rage, the grief, even the unexpected moments of beauty and belief. I hope it makes you feel less alone. I hope it makes you feel bigger, badder, and stronger. We might be damaged but that doesn't mean we're worthless. This is a record for the defeated, the crushed. We might be broken but that doesn't mean we're not whole. Bloodsuckers forever, Saint Agnes forever."





Tracklisting:


"Bloodsuckers"
"Animal"
"I Mean Nothing To You"
"Outsider"
"This Is Not The End"
"Follow You"
"I Am"
"At War With Myself"
"Middle Finger"
"Body Bag" (Feat. Mimi Barks)
"Forever And Ever"


"Bloodsuckers" video:





Lineup:


Kitty A. Austen - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Jon James Tufnell - Guitar, Vox, Bass
Andrew Head - Drums
Ryan Brown - Bass


(Photo - Rob Blackham)

With charting at #21 in the German album charts, and formidable performances at Wacken Open Air, Full Force Festival, ArcTanGent and recently as headliners at the renowned Euroblast Festival, The Hirsch Effekt have impressively established themselves in the German progressive metal landscape.


Three years after the release of their album, Kollaps, the band marks their return with the official announcement of the the release of their upcoming full-length, entitled Urian, out September 29 via Long Branch Records.


Today, in conjunction with this announcement, the band released their new single, "Agora", alongside a brand new video. "Agora" is the second single from 'Urian', following up the release of album's title track. Find both below.




The Hirsch Effekt comments: "During stay at a vacation home in 2021, we developed a number based on a short guitar riff with acoustic guitar and electric bass. You can tell that Ilja and Nils listened to 'Californication' a lot when they were young: 'Road Trippin' was definitely in the back of their minds at the time. When Ilja's cello parts came in, however, 'Agora' drifted into another, almost Celtic atmosphere.


In terms of content, it is a very personal, autobiographical song. 'Agora' not only reflects finally arriving in the age of crises, but also a literal and genuine, humane tightness. Triggered not least by the pandemic, which lasted throughout the entire album writing phase and influenced everything, and all the lockdowns and isolations that went with it."


The Hirsch Effekt, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Nils Wittrock (i.a. vocals, guitars), Ilja John Lappin (i.a. bass, vocals) and Moritz Schmidt (drums), plays an extremely variable style of music, as well as combines various elements to the utter peak of sophistication.


The end result is nothing less than a homogenous and enormous sound monster, nearly beating your speakers to death. Although the very first impressions coalesce into an epic, aggressive, and sinister sound, there is a specific personal touch and frankness in the German lyrics. They signify authenticity and closeness and stand out as a counterpart to the musical periphery.





Pre-order/save Urian here.





Urian tracklisting:


"Agora"
"Otus"
"2054"
"Urian"
"Stegodon"
"Granica"
"Blud"
"Eristys"


"Agora" video:





"Urian":





The Hirsch Effekt are:


Nils Wittrock (Guitar, Vocals)
Ilja John Lappin (Bass, Vocals)
Moritz Schmidt (Drums, Vocals)


(Photo - Vol Vincent)