DISTURBED frontman David Draiman says that he has lost more than 30 pounds in the last six months.

The 50-year-old singer, who moved to Miami, Florida in early 2022 after residing in Honolulu, Hawaii for a few years, took to his social media earlier today (Tuesday, July 4) to share a shirtless bathroom selfie, and he included the following message: "180 lbs. Down 34 lbs since I started this whole thing in January. Haven't been this weight since the mid 2000's. In shape to kick everyone's asses this summer @disturbed #takebackyourlifetour #cantstop #wontstop #downwiththefitness".

As previously reported, DISTURBED was forced to cancel two shows on its just-completed European tour due to Draiman's "vocal issues."

In May, David underwent on operation to have a benign tumor removed from the radius in his right arm.

A month earlier, Draiman confirmed that he recently finalized his divorce from his wife of 11 years, Lena Draiman.

DISTURBED's latest album, "Divisive", came out last November. The LP was recorded earlier last year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.
180 lbs.
Down 34 lbs since I started this whole thing in January.

Haven’t been this weight since the mid 2000’s

NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen has canceled her previously announced solo concerts in the Netherlands: July 6 at Royal Park Live in Baarn and July 8 at Caprera in Bloemendaal.

Earlier today, the 42-year-old Dutch-born singer, who is several months pregnant with her second child, released the following statement via social media: "Dear everyone, with great regret, I have to cancel my shows on the 6th and 8th of July. The reason is that my health is not good enough to responsibly perform the shows.

"I became exhausted after my last show with NIGHTWISH in Finland. So much so that I collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. There, the doctors determined that my baby is healthy and I don't have any serious illnesses. However, I was so fatigued that continuing to work is no longer an option. The show with NIGHTWISH in Oslo had to be canceled as a result of this. That was 3 weeks ago. I had hoped that I would be able to rebuild enough energy to still perform those wonderful solo shows in the Netherlands. But unfortunately, that's not the case. To ensure the health of both myself and my unborn baby, I need to rest and focus entirely on my recovery and the final phase of my pregnancy.

"Canceling a show breaks my heart! It's a decision I definitely don't take lightly. But I hope to welcome you back to one of my shows in the near future! In good health. For now, I will temporarily bid farewell to the public stage and promise to take good care of myself and my little one.

"Love, Floor".

NIGHTWISH played its last concert before its current break from touring on June 17 at Lemonsoft Stadion in Vaasa.

In November 2022, Floor revealed that she was "cancer free" after recently undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

This past March, Floor and SABATON drummer Hannes Van Dahl announced that they were expecting their second child. Jansen and Van Dahl already have a six-year-old daughter named Freja, who was born on March 15, 2017.

In April, NIGHTWISH surprised fans by announcing that the band was not going to be playing any live shows for the foreseeable future and would be not be touring in support of the group's next studio album, which is tentatively due in 2024.

NIGHTWISH's statement read as follows: "As the 'Human :ll: Nature - World Tour' is drawing to a close, we feel now is the time to tell you of our plans for the next phase in our journey.

"After the planned shows for June 2023 we will be 'hanging up our spurs' for an indeterminate time, as far as live concert performances go, and won't be touring the next album.

"The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor's pregnancy or our other individual projects.

"However, an album of 12 new songs will see bright daylight in 2024, as will 3 music videos! The band is positively hyped beyond words over this new upcoming musical adventure.

"Stay tuned for updates from our legendary NIGHTWISH band camp & studio this summer!"

Last December, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen said the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." will be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album. He told Metal Hammer: "I immediately knew after getting that album ['Endless Forms Most Beautiful'] done that, 'Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this.' And the same thing happened after 'Human. :II: Nature.'; we're still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.

"In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with 'Endless Forms…' and then 'Human. :II: Nature.' There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to 'Human. :II: Nature.'"

According to Tuomas, NIGHTWISH's next LP will cover previously uncharted ground while continuing in the more cinematic style that has characterized some of the band's recent efforts..

"The wonderful thing is that we have had the demo [of the album] done since last spring. So it's been done for six months now. We really have all the time in the world to go through it all, and we have had a such great time with the band, just listening to the demo in our hotel rooms — me singing the lyrics and the melodies to Floor [Jansen, vocals]. She's recording them and then she's seeing them and throwing ideas to each other."

Last September, Tuomas was asked if NIGHTWISH's upcoming LP will once again be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the previous two releases. Tuomas said: "Yes and no. It sails on the same waters, but there's some new surprises there as well."

Holopainen went on to say that NIGHTWISH fans will have to wait a while before hearing new music from the band. "We'll enter the studio next year and the album is gonna come out maybe early 2024," he said.

In August 2022, Tuomas told Rock Sverige that he spent "about a year" working on the music and lyrics for the next NIGHTWISH album.

Asked if he got any kind of inspiration from the pandemic, Tuomas said: "Yeah, lyrically there's a couple of things that reflects the pandemic, but not in the way you would expect."

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of bassist Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the last year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.
Dear everyone,

With great regret, I have to cancel my shows on the 6th and 8th of July. The reason is that my health is not good enough to responsibly perform the shows. I became exhausted after my last show with Nightwish in Finland. So much so that I collapsed and had to be… pic.twitter.com/QD77vyESda

— Floor Jansen (@FloorJansen_) July 4, 2023

In a new interview with Amy Harris of The Travel Addict, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine briefly touched upon the band's plans for the rest of 2023. He said: "So far, it doesn't seem like anything is out of reach. We have the elusive Grammy that we were trying to reach for so long. That happened and it was really exciting. We've completed our record deal, our publishing deal. Everything. I'm a free agent of a fortunately very large band that owes nobody anything.'

He continued: "Right now, the world's my oyster. We're getting ready to look for a new record deal, new publishing deal, merchandise deal, all of that stuff. We got rid of everybody from our past and we wanted a brand-new start. New broom sweeps clean, right? So, we've started the process and I've never been happier."

Mustaine added: "It's funny because one of the guys I fired used to say 'onward and upward' and I got to say right now to him, 'fuckin' A, baby.'"

MEGADETH's recently completed "Crush The World" tour kicked off in British Columbia, with shows in Abbotsford and Kelowna on April 28 and 29, respectively, before making stops in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and Moncton, and wrapping up on May 15 in Halifax. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and ONI provided support on the tour.

MEGADETH's current lineup includes guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA, and bassist James LoMenzo. James was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s and stepped back in as a touring member for the 2021 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year". In May 2022, it was announced that Lomenzo was officially rejoining the MEGADETH family.

Last September, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", debuted at the top of the charts during its first week of sales, taking the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 as well as number ones on Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was the highest-charting MEGADETH album of all time around the world, notching No. 1 In Finland, No. 2 in australia, poland, Switzerland, and Scotland, No. 3 in the U.K., and more.

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

MEGADETH recently received its thirteenth Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" for the song "We'll Be Back" from "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!".

MEGADETH won the 2017 Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the title track of the band's 2016 album "Dystopia". This marked the group's twelfth Grammy nomination in this category (including nominations in the discontinued "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category).

Image credit: Live Rock Music Concerts

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT frontman Adam Lambert was honored with the International Award at last night's (Friday, June 30) O2 Silver Clef Awards at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England. Speaking to Music-News.com editor Marco Gandolfi at the event, Lambert said about what it has been like to sing parts originally written and recorded by iconic QUEEN vocalist Freddie Mercury: "Listen, there's no replacing Freddie Mercury. It's impossible. Freddie Mercury is a mythic rock god. Not only did he sing the hell out of those songs, he wrote so many of them. Those were his stories in a lot of those songs. And if I didn't have the recordings of Freddie Mercury, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am with this music. So he's incredibly inspiring and he definitely gave me all of the ingredients that I needed to even pull it off on stage. So I look at it always as a celebration and a tribute to him."

Adam also touched upon Mercury's cultural legacy, saying: "I think Freddie's many things. I think the voice alone, it does something to you when you listen to it. He had an incredible voice, and I think that, as his tool, connected him with so many people out there. And then his songwriting — he wrote beautiful, human, emotive music about the human experience, and I think that also connected him with people. And then once you got him onstage, you look at old footage of him and he was very free and full of joy, and I think that inspired a lot of people as well, including myself."

This past March, QUEEN guitarist Brian May spoke to SiriusXM's Classic Rewind about the evolution of the band's live performance since he and drummer Roger Taylor first shared the stage together with Lambert more than a decade ago. He said: "I think our chemistry is better than it ever was. I mean, Roger and I go back hundreds of years, as you probably know. But with Adam, I mean, it was good from the beginning, but it's now amazing. We now have a real empathy on stage, a real kind of understanding. There's a connection. And you probably know, we don't have any clicks or backing tracks or anything, so we're completely free and we can feel what each other wants to do. So every night, it'll go a slightly different way. And I love that — the danger of that is brilliant. And we all feel more confident, I think. And I think as you get older, you get more forgiving of yourself. You don't regard things as mistakes. You regard everything as an opportunity. You get more forgiving of your younger self as well. You think, 'Okay, I was only young.' But it's a different feeling.

"I just think it's a privilege to be out there and to be able to do that and to get that incredible response from the audience," Brian added. "The QUEEN thing has been something amazing for all of us, and it's a real privilege to have that."

After SiriusXM's Mark Goodman noted that QUEEN managed to not only continue after the passing of Mercury, who died in 1991 of complications from to AIDS, but thrive following the arrival of Lambert, the guitarist said: "It's amazing that we didn't look for him. I always think that. We didn't advertise; we didn't audition. He just turned up out of the blue, out of heaven, and he had everything that we needed, plus more. And it is truly incredible."

Lambert, May and Taylor first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions". They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, Lambert performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They have since completed a number of tours and performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world.

In May 2019, Lambert said that he wasn't convinced it was the right move for him to record new music with QUEEN. Speaking to Hunger, he said: "People always ask if we want to record together, and I'm not sure it makes total sense, because it wouldn't really be QUEEN, because, to me, QUEEN is Freddie. My favorite thing is collaborating and putting these concerts together and creating on stage — it's super fulfilling and exciting. To present these ideas to these two gentlemen — especially when they like the idea."

May previously described Lambert as the only singer the band had found capable of filling Mercury's shoes. "Adam is the first person we've encountered who can do all the QUEEN catalog without blinking," said May. "He is a gift from God." Taylor echoed the guitarist's sentiments, adding: "[Adam's] incredibly musical, and we certainly take anything he says quite seriously."

Lambert, for his part, downplayed the Mercury comparisons, saying: "There's never going to be another, and I'm not replacing him. That's not what I'm doing. I'm trying to keep the memory alive, and remind people how amazing he was, without imitating him. I'm trying to share with the audience how much he inspired me."

In 2004, QUEEN recruited BAD COMPANY singer Paul Rodgers, with whom they completed two world tours and released an album, "The Cosmos Rocks", in 2008. They amicably parted ways a year later when Rodgers returned to BAD COMPANY. Since 2011, QUEEN has been fronted by Lambert.

During an appearance on this past Wednesday's (June 28) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler was asked how he feels about being considered one of the originators of the heavy metal genre. He replied: "I got used to it. It's just a term, like any other. People try and classify all kinds of music — try to put it in a bag or whatever and they come up with all these different things to call it.

"I think they called us heavy metal because we were a lot heavier than most hard rock bands that were around at the time. We'd gone one step heavier than anybody else, so they couldn't call it 'heavy rock'; they called it heavy metal."

Butler also acknowledged that SABBATH being called "heavy metal" tied in to the fact that he and his bandmates grew up in Birmingham, England, a city known for its former bleak industrial zones and often rainy streets, and worked in its factories.

"It was the first place to have factories — Birmingham was the very first place to have factories in the world, and it was part of the industrial revolution. That's where all the cars were made and all the ammunition and tanks and everything, Spitfires during World War II were made. It's always been an industrial part of England. I think that translated into the type of music that we wanted to play."

A little over a year ago, Geezer told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the first time he heard the term "heavy metal" in connection with BLACK SABBATH, it was being used by a music journalist in a disparaging way.

"When we were on tour in America, I think it was the second tour in the [United] States," Butler told Trunk. "I read this review, and the guy said, 'This isn't music. It sounds like a bunch of heavy metal being smashed together.' Somehow that got over to England, and from then on it was like the sarcastic thing they used to apply to us — 'this isn't music, it's a load of heavy metal being smashed together.' And for some reason we got stuck with it."

Back in 2018, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi told BBC that he and his bandmates initially simply referred to their music as "heavy rock." He added: "The term heavy metal came about from a journalist when I came back from America [in the '70s]. He said, 'You're playing heavy metal,' and I said, 'No, it's heavy rock — what's that?'"

"At first, we didn't like being called heavy metal," Butler admitted in the same interview. "But everyone likes to put you into certain pigeon holes, so we sort of got used to it. And then instead of it being derogatory, it became a whole lifestyle."

"We wanted to create a vibe like you get off horror films — try and create a tension within the music," Iommi added. "We thought it would be really good to get this sort of vibe, this fear and excitement. It was a struggle. There was nothing like what we were doing. We'd taken on something because we believed in it, and loved what we were doing."

Butler concurred, telling What's On Birmingham: "To other people it may have felt like a new genre of music. But to us it just felt like an extension of the bands that we liked, like [Jimi] Hendrix, CREAM and Robert Johnson. We just made songs for ourselves. We didn’t think 'this is rock' or 'this is metal' or anything like that; it was just music to us."

Butler is promoting his autobiography, "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond", which was released on June 6 in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books and on June 8 in the United Kingdom.

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The LORDOFTHE80S YouTube channel has uploaded video of METAL CHURCH's June 30 performance at Reverb in Reading, Pennsylvania. Check out the clips below.

METAL CHURCH made its live debut with the band's new vocalist Marc Lopes (ROSS THE BOSS, LET US PREY) on June 3 at the Legions Of Metal festival at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois.

Lopes joined METAL CHURCH in the summer of 2022 as the replacement for Mike Howe, who tragically passed away in July of 2021. The band's current lineup is rounded out by founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and drummer Stet Howland.

Lopes's first studio album with METAL CHURCH, "Congregation Of Annihilation", came out on May 26 via Rat Pak Records (America) and Reaper Entertainment (Europe). The LP was produced by Vanderhoof.

In a recent interview with Chris Akin Presents, Lopes spoke about the inevitable barrage of criticism that he will receive as a result of stepping into the role previously occupied by Howe, David Wayne and Ronny Munroe. He said: "Being in ROSS THE BOSS [the band led by former MANOWAR guitarist Ross 'The Boss' Friedman], I have faced so much stupid bullshit from fans, from MANOWAR fans. At the beginning, it bothered me, years back. Now I can give two shits; I don't fucking care. Because, you know what? If you fucking start worrying about what other people think, you'll never get anywhere. And the way I look at it is, it's, like, look, if you like it, great. If you don't, then fucking go somewhere else. I don't really give a shit. I know that I'm giving it everything that I have to do it and make it sound as best as possible. And if you don't like it, why am I gonna sit here and try to fucking satisfy you? I don't fucking care. I mean, obviously, if everybody fucking hates it, then probably I shouldn't do the gig. But with much respect to the METAL CHURCH community, they've been amazing; they love this new stuff.

"I've gotta be honest — the anticipation is insane, and it's making me more… I'm definitely nervous," Marc admitted. "But at the same time, I'm, like, look, I've gotta go out and do my thing. And the reason that I was put in charge of doing this new era of the band was because I am putting my own spin on it. Am I gonna sound like David Wayne? Maybe in some aspects. Am I gonna sound like Mike Howe? Maybe in some aspects. Am I gonna sound like Marc Lopes? Abso-fucking-lutely. And that's really what it comes down to.

"If this is my era of the band, then I have to do what I do best. Trying to imitate it isn't gonna do anybody any good. And the funny thing is, Ronny Munroe is amazing — he's a great vocalist — and he sounded more like David Wayne than me.

"I've gotta be honest: at first, I was, like, 'Fuck, man. How am I gonna do this?' [Then I was, like], 'Wait a minute. You're already approaching it wrong.' Kurdt would always be, like, 'You're already approaching it wrong.'

"Those guys are not imitatable because they are who they are… And Ronny has his own style too, and the stuff that he did was great. It just was a weird era for the band, I think, in the totality part of it…

"I already know there are gonna be the haters," Marc added. "And I don't care. And for those people — if you wanna waste your time with that kind of shit, then go for it. There's way more things to spend time on in life than being out there going, 'I hate this.' It's kind of ridiculous.

"The biggest joke is I'm a huge IRON MAIDEN fan and I never liked the Blaze Bayley era. And we always used to joke about it. I was, like, I'm a huge MAIDEN fan. Do I spend my time going, 'Oh my God. I hate that. And I hate this.' It's, like, why? I don't listen to it. [Laughs] Not everybody's gonna like everything you do. It's just the way it is."

When Lopes's addition to METAL CHURCH was first announced in early February, Vanderhoof wrote in a social media post: "We auditioned a handful of vocalists and while they were all great, Marc quickly became the clear choice.

"Both David Wayne and Mike Howe had a very unique, irreplaceable quality to their voices, so we were not looking for a clone of either. We wanted someone new, who could embrace the past, and also bring something fresh and exciting to the mix.

"Marc brings a very classic yet modern feel to the songs."

In an interview with Heavy New York, Vanderhoof described "Congregation Of Annihilation" as "definitely more aggressive and more back to our thrash roots". Regarding how the LP's tougher sound came about, he said: "I had written an album. Mike and I had just started writing and working on a new album. So I wrote a new album. And Mike and I started the process of collaborating. And then, obviously, he passed away. Then there was a few months of trying to decide if I even wanted to continue. But then, when we decided to continue, it was kind of a step-by-step process. So when things started working with Marc, there was definitely much more aggressiveness in his vocals and his delivery, and that seemed like a good way to go. I didn't want a Mike clone. If we were gonna continue, I wanted to kind of have it be another chapter — something a little bit different. Just a new phase — a new old phase, I guess you could say. So when that started happening, when things worked out with Marc, it was, like, 'Okay, that's definitely making the trajectory that we're going.' So a good batch of the songs that I wrote with Mike in mind fell by the wayside, and a part of the album was brand new material, to fit with our new direction."

Asked if Marc adds a new dimension to the METAL CHURCH sound, Kurdt said: "Yeah, absolutely. He definitely brings his own thing to it. But he also very much honors the past and our sound and what METAL CHURCH musically is all about."

Howe was found dead at his home in Eureka, California in July 2021. According to TMZ, Howe's official cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to hanging. A spokesperson for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Dept. told the site authorities are calling it a suicide. He was only 55 years old.

According to police, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the death and no controlled substances or paraphernalia were located at the scene.

Howe, who fronted METAL CHURCH from 1988 until 1994, officially rejoined the band in April 2015.

Howe is not the first singer of METAL CHURCH to die. David Wayne passed away in May 2005 from complications following a car crash. He was 47 years old.

Wayne sang on METAL CHURCH's first two classic offerings (1984's "Metal Church" and 1986's "The Dark") before leaving the group and being replaced by Howe.

The Rockin Rick Belanger YouTube channel has uploaded video of FLYLEAF's July 1 acoustic set at the American Family Insurance House at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Check out the clips below.

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

01. I'm So Sick
02. Breathe Today
03. Tiny Heart
04. Broken Wings
05. All Around Me

FLYLEAF played its first concert with singer Lacey Sturm in 11 years on April 27 at Schoepf's BBQ in Belton, Texas.

FLYLEAF, which hadn't performed live since 2016 prior to the Belton concert, will make a number of festival appearances this year, including at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September in Alton, Virginia.

Sturm left FLYLEAF in October 2012. She was replaced by Kristen May, who recorded one album with the group, 2014's "Between The Stars", before exiting.

Lacey opened up about her reasons for her departure from FLYLEAF in a video promoting her 2014 memoir "The Reason: How I Discovered A Life Worth Living". At the time, she said: "We were on our second album when I got married. And the album was called 'Memento Mori'. And 'memento mori' means remember you're mortal, remember that you'll die and remember that your life is short and precious and so are the lives of those around you.

"For two years, I toured with my husband and it was really amazing, and then after those two years, we ended up getting pregnant with my son," she continued. "And I recognized that my priorities were gonna change even more and that message of 'memento mori' and remembering how short your life is was really weighing on my heart.

"We toured for ten years. I mean, we weren't home for more than a month, probably, a year. So, for me, I just felt really blessed to be pregnant and to be in a place where I could stay home if I wanted to, and really ask that question: how is this gonna change my priorities? How is this gonna look? We had a few things happen that really brought that message home, but the one that hit the hardest was the death of our sound engineer [Rich Caldwell]. We did one last show with FLYLEAF as a benefit for his wife Katy and their son Kirby. And it was really hard to do a show without him, and it was really hard to think it could be our last show. So I remember looking at my son after Rich had passed and just wondering to myself, if this was the last year I had with my son, how would I spend it?

"It was really amazing to recognize this season changing in my life and the freedom that I was gonna be able to focus on my family. And I'm so thankful for that time. And although it was really hard, I'm thankful. And that's the reason I stepped down from FLYLEAF."

Back in 2016, Sturm was asked in an interview with RockRevolt Magazine if there was chance that she could reunite with her former bandmates after they had parted ways with May. She responded: "Well, you know, I feel like I'm the kind of person that I think so much happened that I never in a million years thought would happen, so I've learned to quit saying 'never.' But at the same time, I'm a really present person."

She added at the time: "I don't have any plans for that, but then again, you never know. I don't know… [Laughs] They haven't called me. And I don't have any plans [to go back]."

At several shows last year, Sturm joined SEETHER on stage to perform the FLYLEAF song "I'm So Sick".

In December 2021, Sturm released the official music video for her latest solo single, "Awaken Love". The track followed the previously released "The Decree" and "State Of Me".

The acoustic set today was 🔥 @summerfest

📷 by @dexas711

Posted by Flyleaf on Saturday, July 1, 2023

A thousand broken hearts carried by a thousand broken wings// Flyleaf shot for Summerfest

Stoked doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling for their full set tonight at 9:30

Posted by Bailee Logan on Saturday, July 1, 2023

In a new interview with "Paltrocast" host Darren Paltrowitz, Chris Robertson of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY was asked how he feels about the "southern rock" tag that is sometimes attached to his band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're just BLACK STONE CHERRY, man. We float through so many different stylistic kind of vibes. If you go back through our catalog, there's stuff that could touch on the fence of metal, there's stuff that could touch on the fence of country, and then there's this whole big pot of all kinds of shit that we like to throw together in the middle.

"Yeah, we're southern," he continued. "Listen [to] me. I obviously don't sound like you; it's [people from] New York and Kentucky [talking to each other] here. I think it's an age-old thing, man, of we're a rock band from the northernmost part of the South, essentially. We're in Kentucky; we're more Ohio Valley than South, really.

"Hell, I don't know. I talk like I talk, I'm from where I'm from, but at the end of the day, I like BLACK STONE CHERRY just being classified as good music. If that's what you think, and if you think it's shit music, classify it as that. But it's music for any kind of feeling. At the end of the day, you're putting yourself in a box; it only does that. So we've never said, 'We're this kind of band' or 'We're this kind of band.' At the heart of it, we're a rock and roll band, but we're a lot more than just a rock and roll band at the same time. And there's nothing wrong with being just a rock and roll band. AC/DC is the greatest rock and roll band that ever did exist, and they do it in a way that nobody can fuck with them when they do it.

"I don't know, man," he repeated. "I love the approach when bands do all kinds of different stuff. But then at the same time, I wanna hear METALLICA do '72 Seasons'. Their new record is exactly what we've all been wanting METALLICA to do. But at the same time, what if [LED] ZEPPELIN would have only done '[Led] Zeppelin I' and never experimented and got to 'In Through The Our Door'? You would have never heard 'The Crunge' or you would have never heard 'Fool In The Rain' or any of those iconic songs that were less of a rock song and more of just a great song.

"So, I guess that's a really, really long-winded way of saying we're a band that loves great music."

BLACK STONE CHERRY will release its 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.

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 in 2021.

"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.

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.

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

In a new interview with "Rock & Review With Eric Dahl", BUSH frontman Gavin Rossdale was asked if he would ever consider writing an autobiography. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They do say everyone has at least one book in them. But, of course, Christopher Hitchens, the great English polemicist, said, 'And quite often, that's where it should stay.'

"There's a number of things that have happened to me that have not been appropriate to comment on, because — it has not been appropriate," he explained. "And insights and things that happened that are not part of a kind of a diary. And I think that one day it would be good to write a sort of a drifty, wannabe-Patti Smith-esque memoir… So I'd be interested in a kind of a leaf. Like if you go into a big painting and you take a little part of it, a smaller leaf of it. If I could just weave together a few things that would be surprising, then I would consider it. I would not do a sort of a, 'And then, after Christmas, January, there…' Anything people could read about or know already wouldn't make any sense to me."

BUSH released the deluxe edition of its 2022 album, "The Art Of Survival", on June 9.

AllMusic called "The Art Of Survival"BUSH's "best post-hiatus offering to date…an essential late-catalog installment that re-energizes their sound with fresh tricks and newfound purpose" while Billboard noted that "The Art Of Survival" "finds Rossdale and company full of bombast, huge guitars, and memorable hooks."

BUSH wrote and recorded what would become "The Art Of Survival" during 2022, reteaming with producer/writer Erik Ron (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, GODSMACK) who produced "Flowers On A Grave" and the title track for 2020's "The Kingdom", and collaborating once again on two tracks with film composer, musician, and producer Tyler Bates ("300", "Guardian Of The Galaxy"). The central theme speaks to both the human spirit's resiliency in the face of trials and tribulations as well as the band's own enduring place as rock outliers.

In a recent interview with RPM Online, former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes looked back on his involvement with "Stars", the 1985 charity single for famine relief released under the HEAR 'N AID banner.

On May 20 and May 21, 1985, 40 artists from the metal community gathered at A&M Records Studios in Hollywood, California to participate in the making of a record called "Stars" as a part of a very special fundraising project spearheaded by Ronnie James Dio known as HEAR 'N AID. The "Stars" single and a video documentary on the making of the record was used to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. These 40 artists — including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, QUIET RIOT, TWISTED SISTER, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and even SPINAL TAP — along with hundreds of other volunteers, donated their time and talent over four months to make HEAR 'N AID a reality. "Stars" was a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.

Speaking about his experience recording "Stars", Holmes told RPM Online: "It was horrible. I knew Jimmy Bain [then-DIO bassist] well. A year before he died, he said, 'Chris, we personally asked your management if you could come and play guitar and they said that you had other obligations and couldn't.'

"Did you see me playing guitar on there? You know why I didn't? It's because of one man's jealousy," Chris claimed. "I went to sing on there — yes, I sang on there because I went with Rod [Smallwood], our manager [at the time] and [W.A.S.P. leader] Blackie Lawless. Jimmy Bain asked four times and they said I couldn't play; I had other obligations. That came from Blackie Lawless himself. He was jealous. He didn't want me being seen better than him. That's what happens when you work with a narcissist."

Holmes added: "That HEAR 'N AID thing is a crock of shit to me, a bunch of crap. It was nothing but a jealousy thing. I don't care what people say about that. When Jimmy told me that — we were great friends; we hung out together — he said, 'We asked your management four times.' I said, 'Why didn't you just ask me personally, Jimmy?' He said, 'We didn't know how to get hold of you.'"

Lawless spoke about his experience recording "Stars" during a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before W.A.S.P.'s December 11, 2022 concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. He said: "Ken Kragen was the guy that produced that, and Ken was also — he passed away, like, two years ago — Ken was the guy that put together 'We Are The World' [with] Michael Jackson and Ray Charles and all those guys. Actually, in the same room at A&M Records where they had done that. Well, as the story went, Ken had a big sign posted on the front door, when you walked in the studio: 'Check your ego at the door.' Well, when we got there, the same sign was on the door. But the odd part about it was once you got in the room, the sign was not necessary at all. Because you're looking around the room at all those faces you recognize, and if anybody had an ego in there, they didn't show it. Because it humbles you when you're in there with that kind of talent. As a matter of fact, Ronnie came out at one point… When we started the group thing when we were in the room, and Ronnie came out after about ten, fifteen minutes, he goes, 'C'mon, guys. Loosen up. You're all so stiff out here.' So that's when I went down and got Kevin DuBrow [QUIET RIOT] on my shoulders and started loosening up. And plus, there was an open bar. And the longer that went on, people got loose."

Due to contract differences with the labels, the "Stars" song and album weren't released until New Year's Day, 1986, and were only ever made available on vinyl and cassette. But Ronnie's wife and manager Wendy Dio has said in recent years that she is continuing her efforts to correct that.

Wendy previously revealed that one of the reasons the HEAR 'N AID reissue was taking so long to come out was the "legal stuff" that needed to be taken care of. "You can always get the bands to do something, but it's the legal licensing of talking with the record labels they're on and the management and so on, to get something off the ground," she said. "So we're hoping to do that."

In a new interview with Disturbing The Priest, vocalist Marc Storace of Swiss hard rock legends KROKUS spoke about the group's status, five years after he and his bandmates announced that they would embark on their "farewell" tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're doing gigs again. We did this big festival tour in 2019, and then came COVID, the big lockdown. And we kind of lost our nerves, and the guys said that, 'Let's just close down the shop. It's not worth it.' And that's when I started working on my solo thing, the STORACE stuff. And now, we just played a couple of big places, and we've got another coming up. With KROKUS we're playing Riverside Aarburg [in late August]. It's a really nice festival. The last time we played there was in 2019, and we're really looking forward to it. It's on the 25th of August, so we should start beginning of August, regular rehearsals. Even rehearsals are fun for me. [Laughs]"

When the interviewer pointed out that many fans thought KROKUS was dead during the pandemic, Marc said: "So did I. I really thought it was [over]. But then, you know how it is — we've all got this rock and roll virus in our blood. Music isn't easy to switch off. For us, it's like a hobby which turned to work, and we could manage to live off it, which is, for me, a golden thing. I really treasure the fact that what I do is what I love to do, what I loved to do when I was a kid already, and I'm still doing it."

Regarding KROKUS's touring plans beyond the Riverside Aarburg festival, Marc said: "You never know what's gonna happen in the future, but I think we'll carry on; I have the feeling the band will carry on. I'm not sure about flying overseas yet. I mean, Fernando [Von Arb, guitar] will never do that, because of his health. 'Cause he had a heart operation; he had cancer. He's doing well now, though. He's got this cover band, and he plays a few KROKUS songs. And he's having fun, which is great. Because I think every musician, just like athletes, if you don't practice your profession, you start to rust, especially singers. If you allow your voice to get lazy, then you're never gonna bring it up there again."

As for the possibility of new music from KROKUS, Marc said: "If it was up to me, we would be rehearsing in August, not just for the Riverside [show] but for a tour to follow. There are lots of places we could play in. And I'm always open. I would be eager to write new songs. You know, just get together somewhere where we can be alone and get into this routine of songwriting, just like in the old days. I mean, we've only got one life, and it's nearly over for us… So that would be great to do, even though I'm doing my solo stuff now. But I think there's always time for everything."

Three years ago, KROKUS postponed what was supposed to be the band's last-ever concerts in USA and Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic that was sweeping the globe. The 13-date trek was originally scheduled to kick off at Canton Hall in Dallas, Texas on September 18, 2020 and conclude at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California on October 10, 2020.

Last September, KROKUS played a special concert on the steps of the St. Ursus Cathedral in Solothurn, Switzerland. In addition, Solothurn honored the band with a "Stone Of Honor" on its 2000th anniversary. KROKUS also returned to the "holy ground of rock" in Switzerland, the Hallenstadion in Zürich, on May 6.

Earlier last year, Storace explained to Rock Show Critique why he and his bandmates toured America so infrequently over the course of the last 20 years. The 71-year-old musician said: "Well, it starts with the work permits. And they cost money. Then the tax. Then the booking fees, the percentages, the renting out of equipment, buses, hotels and everything. So if you've gotta do a club tour, you can't even pay for all that. We haven't been there for a long while, so we don't expect to come over and do a headliner tour in stadiums; we're far from that again. Because in the meantime, there's a lot of water under the bridge. And that's how it is. The status sinks because there's no longer promoters who believe that you're gonna bring in the money back for that. I guess that's the way it is. It's like a vicious circle. You have to come over one day and get the ball rolling again and then come back the next year and the next year to reach the status that you are used to. And you have to also release a new album to accompany that. And the new album isn't enough. Albums don't sell anymore. There's Spotify — all these parasites around — streaming, which don't give you your money's worth."

When KROKUS first announced its decision to embark on a farewell tour in September 2018, the band explained in a statement: "KROKUS shows have always been special and should stay that way. That's why we decided to stop when it's still really good. That's how the fans should remember us."

Formed in 1975, KROKUS has sold over 15 million records, toured the world, and received gold and platinum discs in the USA and Canada. KROKUS was also the first Swiss band to sell out Hallenstadion and has received a diamond disc for selling one million albums in Switzerland alone.

In the course of its career, KROKUS has rocked over 2,000 shows on five continents, countless cities, unique locations, crazy gigs, and loyal fans.

English rock journalist Malcolm Dome quite rightly said: "If you look at the long-term output of this band, KROKUS is clearly one of the best hard rock bands of the last 40 years."

In a new interview with Pod Scum, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French revealed that the band's classic debut album, 1982's "Under The Blade", will receive an expanded 40th-anniversary reissue this year. "That's gonna be a double vinyl album," he said. "And one of those albums is gonna have us playing cover material from back in the bar days, which we've never released before. So you're gonna have us playing [LED] ZEPPELIN and AEROSMITH songs, which no one has ever heard. So I think people will appreciate [it]. That's new."

As for the possibility of more live performances by TWISTED SISTER, which was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame earlier this year, Jay Jay said: "TWISTED SISTER's 50th anniversary is this year. 'We're Not Gonna Take It' [and] 'Stay Hungry''s 40th anniversary is next year. What does that mean? We were inducted into the Heavy Metal Hall Of Fame in January. We played three songs. They are up on YouTube. It was fun to do it. Does it mean we're gonna do more? Right now I don't know. We may or may not. I don't know… So I don't know what's gonna happen with TWISTED. That's an open conversation. I just don't know."

Back in 2011, Eagle Rock Entertainment reissued "Under The Blade". The expanded edition of the LP — originally produced by Pete Way of UFO — contained four tracks from TWISTED SISTER's 1982 "Ruff Cuts" EP (never before available on CD) as well as "Shoot 'Em Down", an '82 live track from England's prestigious Reading Festival. The lavish package featured the original "Under The Blade" cover, which had not appeared on any domestic versions of the album until then, and reflected the original Secret Records track list and remastered audio mix.

French joined the band SILVER STAR, a New Jersey-based "glitter band" in December 1972. The group, whose original purpose was to be the New Jersey version of the NEW YORK DOLLS, changed their name to TWISTED SISTER on Valentine's Day 1973. The band, however, continually changed lineups and didn't take off until singer Dee Snider joined in 1976. The lineup didn't fully coalesce until 1982 with the final addition of drummer A.J. Pero.

"Under The Blade" first came out on an independent U.K.-based label called Secret Records, but really gained momentum when Atlantic Records released a different mix of the album nationally in 1985 while taking advantage of the bands newly minted stardom. Their meteoric ascent came in tandem with the simultaneous rise of MTV.

In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled "Forty And Fuck It", in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band's "core lineup" of Snider, French, guitarist Eddie Ojeda and bassist Mark Mendoza, along with drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of Pero.

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.

The surviving members of the classic lineup of TWISTED SISTER previously reunited virtually in March 2021 for a special episode of Mendoza's Internet TV show "22 Now". The hour-and-a-half-long program was a tribute to Pero, who died exactly six years earlier at the age of 55 while on tour with the band ADRENALINE MOB.

Prior to the March 2021 virtual reunion, the four surviving members of TWISTED SISTER reunited for two days and nights in November 2019 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band's classic album "Stay Hungry".

During a recent edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted Nugent offers his take on the news of our world every night, the legendary rocker was asked for his opinion on the "current state of music in America." He responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, thank God I was born in 1948 because Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and the Motown Funk Brothers and all those great soulful musical authorities inspired all the best music that we still love today. So I'm spoiled to a fault, because I lived in a whirlwind, the energy vortex of the most intense work ethic-driven music.

"The reason we love AEROSMITH and AC/DC and ZZ TOP and HEART and JOURNEY and CHEAP TRICK and FOREIGNER and so many bands I could name… I cannot overstate the incredible animal work ethic that we put forth to practice and practice and practice, because the music makes us do it," he continued. "And as young kids, all we wanted to do was be as tight as James Brown, as energized as Chuck Berry, as soulful as the Motown Funk Brothers and Wilson Pickett and Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and Mose Allison and Lightnin' Hopkins. We wanted to get that black soulfulness, so the work ethic was unbelievable.

"Now, we've still got some bands that are doing it, like GRETA VAN FLEET out of Grand Rapids, Michigan here. There are some bands out there — certainly the FOO FIGHTERS with the great Dave Grohl; they still play fire-breathing real soulful tight music. But I'm afraid it'll never be like it was with THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE BEATLES and THE WHO and THE KINKS and LED ZEPPELIN and what VAN HALEN created and what the Ted Nugent band and Ronnie Montrose and what Sammy Hagar still does — so many people out there still doing it. But I'm afraid that most of the successful music today — some of it is mind-boggling."

Ted added: "I don't know this gal's name with the long legs, but she gets a thousand bucks a ticket or whatever it is." When co-host Keith Mark threw out Taylor Swift's name, Nugent said: "Yeah, Taylor Swift. But that music, to me, sounds like cartoon music. It sounds like if I bumped into a child's cartoon show on a Saturday morning, I would probably hear the No. 1 country song or I would hear the No. 1 pop song, because it's all formulated to give a certain vocal delivery and a certain chord change and a certain tempo that they examine so closely that it's not organic and instinctive and sexy and unleashed and genuine and believable.

"I liked it when we were in the experimental stage of trying to duplicate what Chuck Berry had invented, what Little Richard had invented," Nugent said. "And again, there's some great artists. I got to play some of my songs with the Big & Rich band, with the Toby Keith band, and these bands are unbelievable. There's a Tim Montana; I got to play 'Cat Scratch Fever' with the Tim Montana band. Ira Dean, who co-wrote that amazing Aaron Lewis song 'Am I The Only One'. There's some great, great musical moments still happening — but not the unlimited flurry of incredible music in the late '50s and the '60s and into the '70s. And even the POISONs and the WARRANT and — I can't think of all those… RATT and some of the big hair bands, they played really good — they were great musicians. But there will never be a 1966 ever again, because it was so raw and primal. Now it's predictable, and I'm afraid it's mostly cookie-cutter stuff. Now, only the guilty need to feel guilty, 'cause there's some great artists out there that are making some wonderful music. But it's just not as raw and primal as my original inspirations, and I cling to that."

Last August, Nugent blasted Swift for her "hypocrisy" after she topped a list of celebrities whose private jets had produced the highest amount of carbon dioxide in 2022.

Ted will launch his last-ever tour, dubbed "Adios Mofo '23", in July.

Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975 was certified double platinum in the United States, while "Free-for-All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Weekend Warriors" and "State Of Shock" all reached the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Nugent has reportedly sold over 40 million albums and was named Detroit's greatest guitar player of all time by readers of MLive.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Nugent's latest album, "Detroit Muscle", was released in April 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's most recent band, which included bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

Last month, Smith, who had played bass for Ted for the past 16 years, announced his departure from the legendary rocker's touring band.

"Blood And Treachery" is the new single from symphonic melodic death metallers Exist In Ruin. "Blood And Treachery" features the legendary Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Charred Walls Of The Damned) on vocals.





Exist In Ruin, based in the Pacific Northwest, is the project of musician Teren. The debut self-titled EP was released in 2022.




"Blood And Treachery" featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens’ soaring and immense vocal style perfectly melds with the exciting and lush symphonics that, in turn, provide a perfect backdrop for the fast paced, epic, and melodic death metal that comprises the backbone of the song.  Blackened edges and a dynamic composition continue to push the project’s sound further. 





For further details, visit Exist In Ruin on Facebook.


 

Canadian hard rock band, Dali Van Gogh, is set to captivate rock enthusiasts once again with their latest release. The band has unleashed their highly anticipated second single, a riveting cover of Bob Dylan's timeless classic, "All Along The Watchtower" infused with their signature rock sound and style.





Dali Van Gogh's rendition of "All Along The Watchtower" pays homage to the original composition by the legendary Bob Dylan, while adding their own inimitable flair and hard-hitting energy. With powerful guitar-driven melodies, explosive drumming, and soulful vocals, Dali Van Gogh has created a hard rock anthem that resonates with fans of both the original track and Dali Van Gogh's unique brand of music.




Available now on all major streaming platforms, listeners can experience the rock rendition of Dali Van Gogh's "All Along The Watchtower"


Buy/stream the single here. Listen below:

Five years after their second album, Wolves And The Hideous White, left a trail of blood and bone through the metal underground, Northern Ireland’s premier exponents of doom, death and devastation, The Crawling, have returned. They bring with them seven tracks of harsh truths, seven tracks of enthralling power and soul crushing despondency, entwined together like serpents... the emptiness that awaits, the noose that sways from the branch, the bleak understanding at the end of the road. They bring All Of This For Nothing.


Working once more in conjunction with Grindscene Records, who have accompanied the band on their bitter march since that very first step, The Crawling will cast All Of This For Nothing into the storm on August 4th. Draped in the cold, despairing artwork of Travis Smith (Death, Nevermore, Opeth), this frostbitten prophet of doom will knock on every door, bringing its message of emptiness, its words like ashes… there is no meaning, there is only a brief flaring of light in the unending shadow and all your efforts, all your desperate attempts to belong, to be wanted, to be loved… All Of This For Nothing.







Tracklisting:


"March Of The Worm" 
"Thy Nazarene" 
"Another Vulture" 
"Bound To The Negative" 
"A Light We Cannot See" 
"Leaving The Skin" 
"Sparrow" 


"March Of The Worm" video:





"Thy Nazarene" video:





Vocalist / guitarist Andy Clarke comments: “Life is hard, very hard, at times almost impossible. I see more and more people make their lives so difficult with continued efforts to conform, fit in with societal cultures and expectation from so called peers. This is rarely effective, and often results in further misery and unhappiness. The album looks at various iterations of this concept, along with the dreadful outcomes. The lyrics explore the lack of personal accountability in life, and the ultimate realisation none of the inane aspects matter, as life is finite… and you only get one go. Life is a journey through a bleak, cold, harsh reality… that ends in a void of nothingness.”





For further details, visit The Crawling on Facebook.


 


 


 

Hailing from New Hampshire, blackened melodic death metal act Begat The Nephilim have long been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to delivering high energy and complex riffing backed by harsh otherworldly vocals. This was very evident on the band’s sophomore album The Grand Procession which was released through Noble Demon Records. For a taste of what the album delivers, and to see the intense skill set from the band, check out the latest single and video "Ossuary".


The video for "Ossuary" depicts a story that features the figure from the cover art for the album which was designed by Giannis Nakos (The Agonist, Suffocation, Evergrey) and based on a concept from the band's vocalist and lyricist, Tyler Smith.


Offering some background to the lyrics to the song, the album and video concept, Smith states: “This song lyrically and thematically, with the music video, was inspired at first by one of my favourite movies, Cemetery Man. The cover art for the album as well. At the heart of it, this song is as important to this album's overarching theme of death and grieving as the title tracks are. I wrote this song for my father specifically, as well as my friends that I have lost along the way. The ossuary in this song is representing both a mental and physical place I can bury my lost. This song and album overall is an ode to the dead.”




Discussing the music behind "Ossuary", guitarist Cam Dupere offers: “The impetus for the composition of 'Ossuary' was to showcase the frenetic energy of our earlier material juxtaposed against a more brooding and moody atmosphere. Elements of our sound that were hinted at on our first album are explored more thoroughly, such as the black metal influenced riffing and technical flourishes. The middle section was written to contrast the blitzkrieg that proceeds and follows it, allowing the listener time to decompress before the sonic onslaught begins again. The focus on a more dynamic shifts was definitely a driving force behind 'Ossuary' and will be a great asset in our bag of tricks going forward.”





The video for "Ossuary" was created by Eric DiCarlo from SquareUp Studios, who has previously worked with acts such as Lorna Shore, Shadow Of Intent, Dying Fetus and Chelsea Grin. The location for the shoot was also once used by Alice In Chains for the video "Voices".


Begat The Nephilim have been busy writing their third album which will be mixed and mastered by Cryptopsy guitarist Christian Donaldson, who has worked with acts such as Ingested, Beyond Creation, Get The Shot and more. The band are due to hit the studio late this year.


"Ossuary" will have the blood pumping for what comes next; be sure to check out more from The Grand Procession.





Tracklisting:


"Panegyric"
"Pygmalionism"
"Paterfamilias"
"Threnody - Death Of Spring"
"The Grand Procession"
"Ossuary"
"Exanguinated"
"Dirge"
"Paupers Grave"
"The Grand Procession Part ll"
"Leucomalachite Green"


"Paterfamilias" visualizer:





"Paupers Grave" lyric video:





The Grand Procession is out now on Noble Demon and is available for purchase at this location.


 

Brazilian progressive power metal veterans ANGRA have signed a deal with Atomic Fire Records. The band's tenth studio album, "Cycles Of Pain", will be released on November 3. A special ecord-release show which will take place at São Paulo, Brazil's Tokio Marine Hall on the same day.

Formed in 1991, ANGRA's current lineup includes vocalist Fabio Lione (ATHENA XIX, ex-RHAPSODY OF FIRE, ex-VISION DIVINE) alongside Rafael Bittencourt and Marcelo Barbosa on guitars, Felipe Andreoli on bass and Bruno Valverde on drums.

Founding member/guitarist Bittencourt says: "I'm very proud to announce that our newest album will come out on the 3rd of November and it's going to be released and distributed by Atomic Fire Records. We're very proud to be part of the Atomic Fire Records family now. It's a special moment for us in the band.

"For me, who started the band over 30 years ago, but also for everyone in the band, we're now in the third generation which means in the era of our third singer as we have Fabio Lione on vocals. So this will be the third record of the third generation. It's our tenth studio album, so it's like keeping the legacy but also focusing on the future.

"It's very funny to have this partnership with Atomic Fire Records because the word 'Angra' also stands for a place in Brazil where an atomic reactor was built in the '70s. This nuclear power plant is basically created to originate a kind of clean energy, but it's a very powerful one which could save the world in a way, but also destroy it. It'll be a very huge explosion and metaphorically we can say that it's going to be a very strong album and I hope to burn the world with music which can heal the soul of sad and lonely people."

Atomic Fire Records A&R Markus Wosgien says: "I remember receiving the ANGRA demo 'Reaching Horizon' in 1992 for the fanzine I published in the '90s. I fell in love immediately, this was simply a new form of power metal — and after his departure in VIPER, André Matos finally had a new home back then. One year later, 'Angels Cry', which I still consider being one of the best power metal albums of all time, was released, and over the years, ANGRA always developed, but still remained true to themselves.

"We are more than happy to be a part of their future now and to release their upcoming tenth studio album that blew us away once more. For us, ANGRA is also a matter to our hearts since they're a band we've always been following, respecting and loving; our whole team is more than proud that the band and their management decided to join our roster and to trust in us."

Photo credit: Marcos Hermes

Earlier tonight, world-renowned rockers MÖTLEY CRÜE put on a mind-blowing live performance for 450 lucky fans at the Underworld in London, an incredible rare secret club show from the global icons.

The streets of Camden came alive Friday night with the buzz that MÖTLEY CRÜE might be the band on the flyer listed as DÖGS OF WAR, with lines around the block for the most exclusive gig in town.

In a venue where most bands play their first gig, as part of their set, the band — vocalist Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and guitarist John 5 — performed their iconic anthems "Shout At The Devil", "Dr. Feelgood", "Girls Girls Girls" and many more including a premiere of their cover of BEASTIE BOYS' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" as fans couldn't believe their luck seeing the band perform in such a small venue.

MÖTLEY CRÜE said in a statement: "This wasn't our first time playing a SECRET club show and it will definitely not be the last. We love doing this, especially before larger shows. We love when we can play these intimate shows for our fans."

The news of the intimate show first came last week to fans via a cryptic flyer across the band’s Twitter, under the name DÖGS OF WAR. Tonight this show put an end to all speculation, as the band revealed this is the name of one of several brand new songs that they have recently recorded with Bob Rock in the studio.

London's MÖTLEY fans have never been closer to the band in the U.K., in touching distance of Vince on the mic, Nikki as he commanded the bass, Tommy on drums and John 5 on guitar as the clubs amps blasted out hit after hit with raw intensity. Social media immediately became flooded with live clips by excited fans.

Tomorrow (Saturday 1 July) by contrast, MÖTLEY CRÜE will perform at Wembley Stadium in front of 50,000 fans as part of their current European leg of "The World Tour" with DEF LEPPARD.

The Underworld setlist was as follows:

01. Wild Side
02. Shout At The Devil
03. Too Fast For Love
04. Live Wire
05. Looks That Kill
06. Rock And Roll, Part 2 / Smokin' In The Boys Room / Helter Skelter / Anarchy In The U.K. / Blitzkrieg Bop
07. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) (BEASTIE BOYS cover)
08. Dr. Feelgood
09. Girls, Girls, Girls
10. Primal Scream
11. Kickstart My Heart

CRÜE and LEPPARD kicked off the European leg of their "The World Tour" on May 22 in Sheffield. The European leg will conclude on July 6 in Glasgow.

LEPPARD and CRÜE will team up with Alice Cooper for a U.S. mini-tour this summer. The trek will kick off on August 5 in Syracuse, New York and include stops in the Midwest before concluding in El Paso, Texas on August 18. Shows in Japan and Australia will follow in the fall.

In April, Sixx said that MÖTLEY CRÜE had completed recording several new songs with longtime producer Bob Rock.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's new guitarist John 5 told Sirius XM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about recording the group's new music with Rock: "Bob would come in and [say], 'Okay, let's try this here, and that here and this here. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever… I'm thinking, 'We've got so much great technology today'… but we got in that room and it was like being in a garage working on a song when you were in high school… It was incredible, and we documented a lot of it too."

Regarding the musical direction of the tracks he and the rest of MÖTLEY CRÜE have recorded so far, John 5 said: "The songs are fucking heavy. I sound like a little excited kid right now, but they're heavy and they're mean. I can't wait for them to come out. I'm just so excited."

When host Eddie Trunk asked John 5 whether the new MÖTLEY CRÜE music can be compared to the band's breakthrough second album, 1983's "Shout At The Devil", the guitarist said that some of the new riffs are "heavier than anything" on that LP. "All I can tell you is that it's heavy and it's aggressive, and I think people are going to dig it because, talking as a fan, it's fucking badass," he said.

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE last fall as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE last October as a result of worsening health issues.

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE last summer that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in early April the 71-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

Metallic hardcore heavyweights Violent Life Violent Death have reached a new level of intensity on their most assaultive release yet with Break.Burn.End, which will be released on September 15 via Innerstrength Records.


The official video for the first single, "Saying Your Name Is To Choke On Ash", can be seen below. The song is also available on Spotify and Apple Music.


The band issued the following statement concerning the new single: "'Saying Your Name Is To Choke On Ash' is about losing your shit and becoming primal. We tried to depict this sonically by using impactful dynamics throughout the song."







Sometimes violence is the answer. Break.Burn.End drives that point home with unparalled lethality. Don't say you weren't warned.





Tracklisting:


"Weapon Of Pain"
"The Snapping Of Teeth"
"Deceit Welcomed By Blind Grace"
"Devastation On The Tip Of The Tongue"
"The Light Behind"
"Break. Burn. End."
"Saying Your Name Is To Choke On Ash"
"Maintain The Quiet"
"Heaven So Far Away"
"Come Armageddon"


Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.


(Photo by Justin Driscoll)