In a new interview with Belgian Jasper, Michael Kiske spoke about his personal chemistry with the other members of HELLOWEEN before and after the initial "Pumpkins United" tour, which saw the band reunite with Kiske and guitarist Kai Hansen. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "At first I thought the idea [was just to do a tour with the classic lineup]. At first I thought, without firing [Kiske's replacement] Andi [Deris] or anything, they just wanted to make a 'Keeper [Of The Seven Keys]' tour or something like that. But I realized it doesn't make sense because you create another HELLOWEEN that is sort of in competition with the HELLOWEEN of the last 20 years. And it was pretty quickly clear to me, 'It doesn't make sense. I agree.' Jan [Bayati, HELLOWEEN's manager] was putting that to me that it doesn't work: 'You guys have to do it together.'

"It's so great now," Kiske continued. "It has so many benefits. I get along with everybody. I have a special relationship with each individual. It's normal [because] everybody is different. I have a different relationship with Kai. We meet on a specific level, like we always have. That hasn't changed. My relationship with Weiki [HELLOWEEN guitarist Michael Weikath] is completely different to how it was, because Weiki is completely different. I'm different too, but he has changed completely. He used to be a troublemaker; he used to be someone [who would play] games behind your back. He's not at all like that anymore. The only thing he cares about is smoking a cigarette and having a good time. And he sticks out of all arguments and fights, and that has completely changed. He's like the most easygoing person ever. And Markus [Grosskopf, HELLOWEEN bassist] is pretty much the same; he's just matured. He can express himself a lot better than he used to. When he was young, he wasn't able to put [his feelings] into words. But now he can. But he grew up too; he has matured too.

"The most important thing for me is that I get along with Andi so well," Kiske noted. "We even hang out privately. When we rehearse, for instance, we always sit together eating something, or somewhere outside or drink something or have a coffee or whatever. And that's perfect. And so you function on stage too, because all that works out. And that is something that I'm really happy with. If it wouldn't have been that way, I don't think we would still do it.

"We only made contracts for until after the first tour. We only made contracts for the 'Pumpkins United' tour. I think it was ending in 2018 or something, and the contracts were over. So if anybody wouldn't be up for it anymore, you would be free to leave. But since everything went down so well… we kind of thought, 'Well, how about a record?'"

Kiske's first album back with HELLOWEEN, 2021's self-titled effort, landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the latest HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analogue and Daniel Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".

HELLOWEEN will return to the U.S. and Canada this spring as part of the "United Forces" world tour alongside supporting special guests HAMMERFALL. The trek will commence on May 13 in Dallas, Texas and wind its way through a total of 13 cities, the journey drawing to a close on June 3 in San Francisco, California.

Swollen Teeth - the rapidly ascending four-piece straight from the bowels of hell - are back to detonate another explosion of brutality with new single “EMPTY” today. Their latest offering comes with a new music video featuring live performance footage capturing the raw energy and intensity of their live shows.


The band, who have been steadily making waves within the heavy music scene since the release of their debut single, “SWOLLENTEETH” have repeatedly taken things to the next level with each release from their upcoming, self-titled EP produced by Slipknot's Sid Wilson. Today, the band have also launched their brand new merch store, featuring a range of exclusive designs that fans won't want to miss (available here) and vinyl preorders for the EP here.







In the words of the band themselves,


“‘EMPTY’ HAS LANDED. With heavy respect we can’t wait to throw our horns down with you. This one is “FOR THE FA/W\ILY”. - /W\  


Swollen Teeth are gearing up for a string of headline dates across the US, on their FOR THE FA/W\ILY Tour, including a highly anticipated set at Bonnaroo. Tickets for all shows are available now from the band's official website.


“EMPTY” follows previously released singles “LETHAL” “CAR CRASH” and “SWOLLENTEETH”, which was released back in January.


Since their release, the tracks have clocked up nearly 200,000 Spotify streams and 140,000 YouTube views and have been included on Spotify's All New Metal and New Blood Playlists, Apple's Breaking Hard Rock, Fresh Blood and Breaking Metal Playlists and Deezer's Metal Radar playlist.


The collective will release their debut, self-titled EP, a brutal, visceral, roundhouse kick to the gut of the modern heavy music landscape, produced by Slipknot's Sid Wilson, on Wednesday, May 9. It will be the first release to come out on Blowed Out Records, the new label venture between legendary producer, Ross Robinson (Korn, The Cure, Slipknot, Glassjaw, At The Drive In and countless others), artist Ghostemane and Bill Armstrong (SideOneDummy).


Commenting on his excitement about the project, Sid Wilson shares, “After all these years, when I thought I’d never find another group of humans outside of Slipknot that knew the formula to transparency thru frequencies, and not thru appearance, I discovered Swollen Teeth. This is trü-Metal!” 


Ross Robinson adds, "Sid and I listening to roughs in Iowa, emotions ran high - I found myself getting chills throughout my body to that familiar molten metal pulse I love so much - this time that force is known as ‘Swollen Teeth’ - hunger + talent have that vibration I can’t ignore - Bill, Eric, and I (‘Blowed Out Records’) are totally committed to rip it out there for the long haul..”





Tracklisting:


“EMPTY”
“CAR CRASH”
“BIKE RIDE”
“SWOLLENTEETH”
“LETHAL”


"EMPTY" video:





“LETHAL” video:





(Photo: Hallway)

Blessed Curse has released the new single and lyric video for “Throne Of Bones,” the second sampling of the Nor Cal group’s new album. Recognized for their deadly thrash metal the trio strike back with another ruthless outing filled with crunchy guitars, bellowing vocals and hammering drums complimented by a lyric video created by Raf Orteaga at Ecliptic Visions (Ayreon, The Absence, Hecate Enthroned) which can be viewed below, while the digital single is on all streaming/download platforms.


“‘Throne Of Bones’ is a malicious track about an individual who meets with a witch that teaches you how to change your physical form into something sinister to get away with brutal murders,” explains guitarist/vocalist Tyler Satterlee. “With this power this person literally constructs a throne of bones of his enemies deep in the woods, gleefully sitting upon a bloody chair of vengeance.”


“‘Throne Of Bones’ is one of those tracks that has a great end cap feel to it,” furthers drummer Derek Bean. “Finalizing the album, it definitely brings an intense closure to an intense record. Loaded with all the dark imagery, heavy riffing and pounding double bass that the band is known for I couldn’t be happier with how the song delivers on all of the B.C. strong points. All the while it is still pushing the boundaries of what we do to keep progressing with heavy music without abandoning what we’re all about.”




“Throne Of Bones” follows up “Street Freaks,” the first self-released song the Sacramento-based outfit issued last year as work began on what eventually became the anticipated new full-length, Pray For Armageddon. Anticipated because it’s been 6 long years since Blessed Curse released the Beware Of The Night EP, and 11 since the group’s full-length self-titled debut. Productivity and output hasn’t been the band’s forte, but their core metal belief and dedication is and the band has played all over Northern California plying their trade and fans continue to support and anxiously await more new music.


That reality is becoming clearer as today we launch pre-orders for Pray For Armageddon featuring ten new songs planned for an August 11 international release on CD and Digital, and for the first time on vinyl with 300 transparent orange copies being pressed. Preorder here.


“Pray For Armageddon is about sadistic religious impatience caused by sorcery. A shortcut to Judgement Day, three lycanthropic prophets invoke a global curse causing all people to commit horrific sin instantly everywhere. Triggering the maker’s wrathful punishment, our world is quickly ‘cleansed’ by sky-high waves of flame and destruction,” eerily adds Tyler.


Pray For Armageddon was produced by the band and recorded, mixed and mastered by Joe Johnston at Sacramento’s Pus Cavern Studios (Will Haven, Silversun Pickups, Dance Gavin Dance) and once again features the cover art of Marc Sasso (Dio, Morbid Angel, Halford).


“We were very fortunate to once again work with the amazing Marc Sasso, who also did our 2012 debut album artwork,” furthers Tyler. “Once again featuring the BC Beast ‘Larry.’ He was able to bring our apocalyptic vision to life showcasing three beast prophets overlooking a major city being obliterated after their wicked spell angers the Almighty… Btw, Larry is named after the Universal Monster character Larry Talbot, who tragically becomes cursed in the 1941 classic ‘The Wolf Man.’"


More information on Blessed Curse, their forthcoming album, and additional live shows will be revealed in the months to come by M-Theory Audio.





Tracklisting:


“Pray For Armageddon”
“Beheader”
“Subspecies”
“Lock Me Up”
“Skinned Alive”
“Street Freaks”
“Into The Dark”
“Aftermath”
“Graveyard World”
“Throne Of Bones”


“Throne Of Bones” lyric video:





“Street Freaks”:

In a new interview with Wyatt of U.K.'s Planet Rock, Nikki Sixx spoke about MÖTLEY CRÜE 's decision to hire John 5 to replace Mick Mars, the group's founding guitarist, who announced his retirement from touring with the group last October as a result of worsening health issues.

"I've been friends with John forever and I would make jokes, 'As long as you're a 5, I feel good being a Sixx.' Y'know, stupid best buddy jokes.

"Me and that guy have been either hanging out at each other's houses, writing songs… he plays (guitar) all day long. So, he comes over here and he grabs one of my guitars or brings his own and we just sit around and play and talk about the '70s and how great LYNYRD SKYNYRD and 'Scooby Doo' was."

He continued: "My wife just said that when Mick told us he was leaving the band and I told her I'd talked to Tommy [Lee, CRÜE drummer] and Vince [Neil, CRÜE singer], and everybody feels that John would be a great fit, and I hadn't called John yet because you had to be sure we were doing everything correctly. My wife said, 'Well, that's great.' I said, 'What do you mean by that?' She goes, 'Well, you'll be going on stage and you'll be on the phone to John.' And they're, like, 'You gotta go on stage!', and he'll be like 'Okay, call me back in an hour and a half.'

"So we're always chatting and jamming and the friendship is so wonderful. Him and Tommy are really close. Vince loves him. He's just a great guy and a great musician and he gives us a great opportunity as a three-piece so to speak to really lock in. He's just such a great guitar player."

Comparing CRÜE 's current musicianship to how it was while Mick was still in the band, Nikki added: "It's nothing against any other musician that you play with, just that when you play with new musicians you play differently. We're still playing the same songs that people wanna hear but it kind of like re-inspires you. And I'm sure the same thing would happen if they got a new bass player. They're like 'oh wow, he's attacking it differently.' So it's never about how bad anybody was.

"It's a nice time [for MÖTLEY CRÜE] and it's kind of inspired us to write a little bit," he added. "We love our history, we're very proud of everything we've done. We've always been really supportive of Mick no matter what Mick was going through. We're just happy with where we're at right now."

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, earlier this month 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. Specifically, Mars claims he was asked to sign a severance agreement that would divest him of his 25 percent stake in the band's various business interests in return for a 5 percent stake in the band's 2023 tour. This stake, the lawsuit alleges, would be reduced to 0 percent for future tours. Mick claims CRÜE's management later upped the offer from 5 percent to a 7.5 percent stake in the band's 2023 tour, which would remain contingent on Mars divesting himself from the band and their businesses. When Mars refused to sign the papers, the band took the dispute to arbitration "rather than a public lawsuit so that the public would not be aware of the deplorable manner in which they treated their 'brother' of 41 years," Mick claims in the lawsuit.

Regarding Mick 's lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE, Nikki told Planet Rock: "If a member of a band tells you that they can't tour because of health reasons, you have two choices. You can quit as a band [after] 42 years of work. Or we could look at each other and go 'are we done yet?!' We're really peaking and we understand [Mick 's] health issues.

"We wish him the best and we know that he's a little bit confused and being misled by representatives right now. But we still have to stay focused on why we're here."

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.

In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only band member to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, claiming Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

After Mars filed his lawsuit, Sixx responded on Twitter, writing: "Sad day for us and we don't deserve this considering how many years we've been propping him up. We still wish him the best and hope he find's [sic] lawyers and managers who aren't damaging him. We love you Mick."

According to Variety, Mars's attorney said he was warned by the band's lawyers that "if your client rejects the severance package that was graciously offered to him by the band, he will get next to nothing. I suggest you think about the repercussions of this decision… There is undisputed legal cause here for Mick's removal. Mick is unable to perform as a full-fledged band member. Among other things, as demonstrated during the last tour, he repeatedly forgets his chords, does not play the right song, plays chords of a different song while on stage, and so on."

Mick's filing claimed that MÖTLEY CRÜE filed an arbitration case against him in February, "essentially suing him" to prove that it had the right to fire him from the band.

"They clearly commenced an arbitration, rather than a public lawsuit, so that the public would not be aware of the deplorable manner in which they treated their 'brother' of 41 years," lawyers for Mars wrote in the petition.

Mick is suing MÖTLEY CRÜE so he can go over all the financial books and determine if he's getting what he feels he deserves.

Today, multi-platinum rap rock band Hollywood Undead share the music video for “House Of Mirrors” featuring multi-genre sensation Jelly Roll. Available exclusively on the digital version of Hotel Kalifornia Deluxe, the song is a story of self-reflection and was co-written with Jelly Roll in a studio session last year.


"I’ve been a fan of Hollywood Undead for a long time — it was surreal to get to work with them,” shares Jelly Roll. “Everything just clicked in the studio that day the record is a perfect representation of where we all were at that point in our lives."


“‘House Of Mirrors’ is a song of self-reflection and redemption,” Hollywood Undead’s Johnny 3 Tears shares. “No matter how far you run you can’t escape the person staring back at you in the mirror. One day we all have to face ourselves… and hopefully we can look back and not have to look away at what we see.”




Hollywood Undead will release the deluxe version of their eighth studio album Hotel Kalifornia on April 28 in both digital and vinyl formats. 


Hotel Kalifornia, originally released in 2022, represents “a juxtaposition between the ‘haves’ and the ’have-nots,’ highlighting the ongoing homelessness and cost of living crisis that is affecting the band’s home state of California.” Hotel Kalifornia saw placements on genre playlists such as Spotify’s Rock Hard, Hard Rock & Rock Rotation, Apple Music’s Breaking Hard Rock & New in Rock, and Top 40 placement at US Rock & Active Rock Radio with the standout single “City Of The Dead.”


Hollywood Undead will make several festival appearances, co-headline appearances with Papa Roach, and headline throughout the spring and summer worldwide with Bamboozle Festival, and international festivals including Rock Im Park, Rock Am Ring, Nova Rock, Hellfest, and more. Find tickets and tour info at hollywoodundead.com.





Tracklisting:


“CHOAS”
“World War Me”
“Ruin My Life”
“Hourglass”
“Go To War”
“Alone At The Top”
“Wild In These Streets”
“Dangerous”
“Lion Eyes”
“Trap God”
“Happy When I Die”
“Reclaim”
“City Of The Dead”
“Alright”
“Evil”
“Salvation”
“First Class Suicide”
“Ransom”
“Break On Through”
“House Of Mirrors” (feat. Jelly Roll) (Digital Deluxe only)


"House Of Mirrors" video feat. Jelly Roll:





“Evil” video:





(Top photo: Cameron Nunez)

Napalm Records has announced the signing of Swedish symphonic metal pioneers, Therion. Following the release of limited vinyl reissues of the band’s classic albums Secrets Of The Runes, Lemuria, Sirius B and Gothic Kabbalah in autumn 2022, Therion is now joining forces with Napalm Records for the release of their new full-length later this year. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming album.


Therion states: "After almost 30 years of being signed to Nuclear Blast Records, it felt like it was time to try something new when we were out of the contract. Napalm Records is one of the biggest and best metal labels around and they have shown interest in Therion for many years, so when the time came to look around for a new label, it felt natural to start negotiating with them. We came to terms and now we are thrilled to start working with them and have great confidence that they will do an amazing job with the coming final album in the Leviathan trilogy."


Sebastian Münch, A&R, Napalm Records on the signing: “As a lifelong fan, it is with great pleasure that we announce the signing of Therion. As innovators of Operatic Metal, the band created timeless masterpieces with the albums Theli and Vovin. Recently, with the releases of Leviathan I & II Christofer started to tell a new musical story and a journey that we are very happy to walk together. Welcome to the Napalm family!“




Therion are:


Christofer Johnsson - guitars and keyboards
Sami Karppinen - drums
Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson - bass
Thomas Vikström - lead vocals
Christian Vidal - guitar
Lori Lewis - vocals


(Photo - Mina Karadzic)

In a brand new interview with Vintage Rock Pod, former RAINBOW and current ALCATRAZZ singer Doogie White spoke about his time working with legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. He said: "Well, I always got on well with him. It's not my name on the board. It's not me selling the tickets. It's him selling the tickets. I was in a very lucky position. He could have chosen any singer in the world to come and join him. But he chose me. And I'll be eternally grateful for that because it gave me a springboard to do [other things] — not so much with [Michael] Schenker but with Yngwie [Malmsteen] and ALCATRAZZ and things. It gave me a worldwide audience, and I've had a lot of work come from that worldwide audience and because of my collaboration with Ritchie — and, to some extent, Yngwie as well. And so I'll always be grateful to him for that."

Doogie went on to say that he "never really had any run-ins" with Ritchie. "We used to go to Blockbusters together when there was no football on," he said, referencing the throwback movie rental chain Blockbuster. "I used to go down to his house when we weren't doing anything. Go round to his house and we'd sit and watch 'The Princess Bride' or, you know, 'The Appointment' — I mean, just rubbish movies, the two of us walking round going, 'What's this one?' at Blockbusters. But we got on really well. And then one day, he just went [snaps fingers] and it was gone. And it was gone as quick as that.

"We played football the day before the last show in Esbjerg in Denmark," he continued. "We played the show. Nothing was wrong. And then within an hour of us coming off stage, it was all sort of [shaky]... And I went home and just phoned him up and just handed in my resignation. I said, 'Unless I hear from you in 24 hours, I'm not doing it, I'm not doing this anymore.' And that was it. And I've never spoken to him since. But he's always treated me fairly."

According to Doogie, he did have one brief correspondence with Ritchie after his exit from RAINBOW. "I did contact him because I was owed some... We had a publishing agreement for the songs that I'd written, and I provided his management with the evidence that I was due funds, and they wouldn't pay," he explained. "So I just wrote to him directly and said, 'Look, man.' And he went "Okay, there you go.' The check was in the post. So I've always had a great respect for him for that reason."

White said that he is grateful to Blackmore for giving him a break and making it possible for him to have a career in music.

"He's very good at bringing new people in and taking people — not necessarily off the streets, but out of clothing shops, or out of being a coach builder or whatever," White said. "And then he sets you free to do [whatever]. He sucks you in, bleeds you dry and then sets you free, and you can go off and if you can find your wings, you can fly. Some do, some don't. And that's one of his great gifts to the world of rock and roll, is the amount of people who he has given careers to that you would maybe never have had of. And we've all got to be very grateful for that. I mean, David Coverdale could still be selling suits in Redcar. You know, Ronnie Dio could still be trying to get ELF to do something. You know, Graham Bonnet could still be crooning away in Australia. I could still be sleeping on somebody's floor in London. But he gave us all this opportunity to go out there and make something of ourselves. And if you grasped it, you grasped it, and if you didn't, you didn't."

White first came to prominence when he was asked to audition for RAINBOW, subsequently joining the band in 1994 and releasing the album "Stranger In Us All". Since then, he has worked with CORNERSTONE (a band he put together with former ROYAL HUNT member Steen Mogesen),YNGWIE MALMESTEEN'S RISING FORCE, TANK, and, more recently, MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST and ALCATRAZZ. His vocal range is rich and distinctive and he is certainly one of the great rock vocalists of his generation.

In an interview with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito of TVK's "Rock City" conducted in late February at Tower Records in Shibuya, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine praised the band's current lineup, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think this is — and not taking anything away from any of the past players, but we seem to fit the best together. I'm not saying that anybody's better than anybody else, because we're all really good musicians and we're all very nice people, but I think the chemistry is really important. And things that we want to do are more similar than any of the other lineups that we had. There's always somebody that wants something different. Not so with the four of us. We really want to play and entertain and be the biggest metal band in history."

MEGADETH's current lineup also includes Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH, and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA. Playing bass for MEGADETH is James LoMenzo, who 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).

During an appearance on the latest episode of "The Chuck Shute Podcast", former VAN HALEN and current EXTREME frontman Gary Cherone spoke about how he deals with online criticism in the age of social media. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I was in VAN HALEN, so all the criticism I got, nothing can hurt me."

He continued: "You've gotta… Not only that — just through your life, you could dwell on it.

"It's so funny, and I'm guilty of it — I'm sure [other] people are [as well] — you can get a hundred compliments but the one negative thing is the one you remember.

"You mature," Gary explained. "You get old enough to [where] it's just, like, listen, don't paint a picture and put it out in the world if you don't want criticism. Some people are gonna like it; some people aren't. Not everyone's gonna like EXTREME, and if it hurts my feelings, [it's not like I will say], 'Okay, I'll quit. I'll go home and I won't play anymore.' That ain't gonna happen."

The third VAN HALEN frontman, Cherone took over when Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996.

Cherone's sole release with VAN HALEN, 1998's "Van Halen III", was a commercial disappointment. He was dismissed from VAN HALEN soon after the tour ended.

EXTREME will release new album, "Six", on June 9 via earMUSIC.

In addition to having its music appear in the Netflix juggernaut "Stranger Things", the Boston quartet has sold 10 million records, topped the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, packed major venues on multiple continents, memorably performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London, and regularly average over five million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Gary has also recorded and performed with Joe Perry, while EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt has recorded and performed with Steven Tyler and Rihanna.

Progressive rock legends YES, who are Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen, will release their new studio album, "Mirror To The Sky", on May 19 via InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The official music video for the LP's second single, "All Connected", can be seen below.

Jon Davison comments: "I, along with my YES bandmates are excited to announce that the second single from our new album, 'Mirror To The Sky', is out now. It's entitled 'All Connected' and it's a longer piece, clocking in at a challenging nine minutes. Steve added a beautifully poignant instrumental steel part which starts the journey. This section emotionally builds and crescendos into a glorious lead way for the vocals to begin telling their story. Billy composed complex and compelling musical themes which I helped to arrange, and we both composed vocals and lyrics, each of us singing our respective parts, making for a rich vocal tapestry."

Billy Sherwood adds: "The initial idea came from a musical sketch I'd created using the idea of our 'connectivity' in regards to communications in the modern age. It's very exciting to know YES are maintaining that edge and energy we all know and love. This track is firing on all cylinders. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating it."

"Mirror To The Sky" will be available on several formats, all featuring artwork by longtime YES artist and collaborator Roger Dean:

* Limited deluxe electric blue 2LP+2CD+Blu-ray artbook with poster
* Limited deluxe 2cd+Blu-ray artbook
* Limited 2CD digipak
* Standard CD jewel case
* Gatefold 2LP+LP-booklet
* Digital album

The Blu-ray editions include the album as Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound, instrumental versions and hi-res stereo mixes.

"This is a very important album for the band," says Steve Howe, YES's longest-serving member, master guitarist, and producer of "Mirror To The Sky". "We kept the continuity in the approach we established on [2021's] 'The Quest', but we haven't repeated ourselves. That was the main thing. As YES did in the '70s from one album to another, we're growing and moving forward. In later years, YES often got going but then didn't do the next thing. This album is demonstrative of us growing and building again." For YES, that "next thing" is a collection of high-energy, intricate, lush and layered new studio songs for an album which adds to the band's much-heralded legacy, while charting a path to exciting future times ahead.

The track listing is as follows:

CD1:

01. Cut From The Stars 05:27
02. All Connected 09:02
03. Luminosity 09:04
04. Living Out Their Dream 04:45
05. Mirror To The Sky 13:53
06. Circles Of Time 04:59

CD2:

01. Unknown Place 08:15
02. One Second Is Enough 04:04
03. Magic Potion 04:08

As they were wrapping up "The Quest", YES found themselves with song sketches, structures, and ideas that were demanding attention. YES received unconditional support from InsideOut boss Thomas Waber, who encouraged them to keep going in the studio, months before "The Quest" would even be released. It was like throwing gasoline on their creative fire.

"When we delivered everything, and they were just getting the vinyl and everything into production for manufacturing, we were still very much in that creative zone," explains Steve Howe. "That belief that Thomas had in us really meant a lot," he says.

"We truly get along as people," says Jon Davison. "I feel like everyone's focused inward to the greater circle, concentric to the core of highest standards that define YES. It's a wonderful thing to witness and of which to play a part. I believe this reflects vibrantly in the music and the creative input that each one is willing to apply, not for the benefit of the individual, but for the greater whole that is YES."

"There was a lot of material floating around because the band hadn't done anything in the studio for so long. Ideas were just copious," says bassist Billy Sherwood. "The pace of it was fast. As soon as we were finished with 'The Quest', and the mix had come out, we took a couple of little breaks there to catch our breath. But there was still music flowing around in the loop. It was just constantly being looked at and worked on. As we were all home and in that mode, things started progressing quite swiftly. We just went one album into another without really announcing, ‘Hey, we're working on a second record right now.' We just continued to work on material. It came about pretty naturally, and then we refined it as the process went on. But the initial bursts — there was a lot of material around!"

Much to everyone's delight, including that of longtime fan Thomas Waber, YES have pushed into territory they practically invented — the prog rock epic — albeit in a thoroughly new and modern way.

"I always felt that it would be great to have stuff that's a little bit more epic," he says, although he resisted the temptation to push for something that would be too formatted and could come off as contrived. He just gave the band space to do what they do and let things develop. "They were so excited by 'The Quest' and the momentum they had that they went straight back into the studio. What they were writing, even early on, was obviously headed in that epic direction — what YES music really is to me. It is almost a genre onto itself. It is 'YES Music.' 'Mirror To The Sky' certainly is YES Music."

"Mirror To The Sky" features not one, but four tracks clocking in at over eight minutes, with the sweeping and cinematic title track coming in just shy of fourteen minutes. What's more, the tracks, like YES's best, take the listener on a wide dynamically ranging journey of soundscapes which also showcase Steve Howe's dazzling guitars, keyboard wizard Geoff Downes's impeccable sounds, exquisite melodies and fills, Jon Davison's angelic, crystalline vocals, Billy Sherwood's deftly dancing bass and Jay Schellen's masterfully controlled explosions on drums.

Schellen, who has been touring with the band since 2016, was hand-picked to step into his mentor and friend Alan White's role when White sadly passed away in 2022.

"I had done the 2016 'Topographic Drama' tour on my own for Alan," says Jay. "From late 2017 onwards, we had a partnership, and a beautiful partnership, I might add. I learned so much, and discovered so much about Alan's style, and why it was the way it was. It fit his personality so perfectly. This album has Alan's presence all over it. It is inside of us. So this is still, in my heart, Alan just being present and with us, and with me, in a big way."

Photo credit: Gottlieb Bros.

Legendary New York metal band, The Rods, have issued a new archive release, Live From Rose Hall. Recorded in 2022, the album features Carl Canedy (drums), David "Rock" Feinstein (guitars / vocals) and Freddy Villano (bass). 


Recorded during a face-melting live show held in the band's hometown of Cortland, NY, this shows The Rods in full force.


Canedy comments: "The was our first show with our new bass player, Freddy Villano, we thought it would be a good way to show the fans that with our revitalized line-up we are hitting the ground running."







Tracklist:


"Brotherhood Of Metal"
"Louder Than Loud"
"Evil In Me"
"I Just Want To Rock"
"Violation"
"Rabid Thunder" (Drum Solo)
"Too Hot To Stop"
Guitar Solo
"Hurricane"
"Ride Free Or Die"
"Cold Sweat And Blood"
"I Was Born To Rock"
"Power Lover"
"Crank It Up"


Go to the The Rods' official website here for updates.

Failure by Proxy has released new single "Devil’s Got a New Friend" via Daeth Records/TLG/INgrooves. The single was produced by Nick Miller and written by Failure by Proxy and Nick Miller.





Artwork by David Lioncourt:







Failure By Proxy (FXP) is an American rock band from Galt, California. Founding member and drummer Eric “Spaz” Lewis established the band in December of 2017 with current members guitarist Chuck “Cash” Schubert and bassist and backing vocalist Chris “Gemini” Alosi. This would be the nucleus and creative foundation FXP would build upon.


The band had instant chemistry and begin writing new songs. Within six months they released two singles, “Not Gonna Break”(2018) and “In My Skin” (2018). With 8 songs written, the original lineup was ready to immerse themselves into the local Sacramento music scene.


As fate would have it, in November of 2018, Anthony “Antman” reached out to the band looking to see if they had interest in second guitarist. The combination of Cash’s bluesy Rock feel and Antman’s technical skill and knowledge was a perfect blend of feel, power and musicality. The musical foundation of FXP was now set but the band found themselves missing a vital piece with the departure of their singer in mid 2020.


The band set in search of their new frontman holding auditions until they came upon Rob Wall. Rob’s powerful vocals, writing style and stage presence brought the band up to a new level. The band was finally complete. But tragically in May of 2022, FXP was blindsided with the untimely passing of their singer and friend, Rob Wall. The band needed time to process what happened, to grieve and honor their friend.


After this brief hiatus, the band reached out to Antman’s former band mate and local Central Valley artist Big Elk to audition to be their new lead singer. The band sent new music that he immediately connected with and began writing at a feverish pace. After only 4 months Big Elk has recorded vocals to 5 new songs with 3 more ready to go! The new version of Failure By Proxy is complete and now sonically a force to be reckoned with.


Their high energy and stage presence have led them to open for national acts such as: Gemini, Messier, FLAW, Smile Empty Soul, Oleander, Puddle of Mudd, Buckcherry, Joyous Wolf, P.O.D., Nonpoint, Islander, Nine Shrines. Failure by Proxy was also nominated for Best Hard Rock band for 2018 in the Sacramento News & Review SAMMIES Award. FxP has also been featured nearly a dozen times on the Sacramento Rock Station 98.5 Rock.


Upcoming show:


May
7 – Roseville, CA – Goldfield’s Trading Post 

Amoriello has released a new single, “Electric Metal Man”, featuring guest appearances from members of King Diamond, Doro, Deadrisen, Power Theory and Liliumdust via Sliptrick Records.  





Amoriello is the studio project of New Jersey based guitarist Thomas Amoriello that fits comfortably into the categories of traditional heavy metal, neoclassical rock, power metal and progressive metal. The track features guest musicians including drummer Matt Thompson (King Diamond), bassist Nick Douglas (Doro), vocalist Will Shaw (Deadrisen), guitarist Carlos Alvarez (Power Theory) and keyboardist Ariel Pertuck (Liliumdiust). 







The track was produced by Carlos Alvarez at Dirty Viking Sound in Philadelphia. Previously releases from Amoriello include Phantom Sounds (2022 LP), Dear Dark (2020 EP), and the self-titled debut Amoriello (2018 LP) which are all available on CD from Shredguy Records (United States) , on vinyl from H42 Records (Germany) and digital from Sliptrick Records (Latvia). 


Thomas holds a Master of Music degree in classical guitar performance and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music Education degree. He also performs his neoclassical Hendrix-inspired American National Anthem at many professional sporting events.


Visit thomasamoriello.com for more information.

Alice Cooper was unstoppable during the 1970s when the band released four consecutive platinum albums and five Top 40 hits like "I'm Eighteen", "School's Out", "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Elected". Rhino will reissue two of those platinum albums — "Killer" (1971) and "School's Out" (1972) — with newly remastered sound, rare recordings, and previously unreleased live performances.

Both Deluxe Editions will be released on June 9 as 2-CD sets and 3-LP versions on 180-gram vinyl. "Killer (Deluxe Edition)" retails for $69.98 (LP) and $29.98 (CD). "School's Out (Deluxe Edition)" will be available for $89.98 (LP) and $29.98 (CD). Pre-orders are available now at Rhino.com.

A previously unreleased live version of "Be My Lover" from the upcoming "School's Out (Deluxe Edition)" is available today digitally. Listen below.

Released in 1971, "Killer" was the fourth studio album recorded by the founding quintet of singer Alice Cooper, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. Bob Ezrin produced all four of Alice Cooper's platinum albums from the 1970s, including "Killer" and "School's Out".

"Killer (Deluxe Edition)" introduces a newly remastered version of the original release, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard albums chart. Along with the singles "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover", the record also includes "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah", "Desperado" and the prog-rock-inspired epic "Halo Of Flies". The bonus material features alternate takes for "You Drive Me Nervous", "Under My Wheels" and "Dead Babies".

The collection also gives fans an unreleased live recording of the band's performance at Mar Y Sol Pop Festival in Puerto Rico on April 2, 1972. Recorded a few months before the band returned to the studio to make "School's Out", the show previews "Public Animal #9" from the upcoming album. The band played most of "Killer" during the concert, including "You Drive Me Nervous", "Under My Wheels" and "Halo Of Flies". They also tapped the group's 1971 album, "Love It To Death", for live versions of "Is It My Body?", "Long Way To Go" and the smash hit "I'm Eighteen".

Shortly after the festival, the band released the title track from its follow-up album, "School's Out". The single was released several weeks ahead of the full album to ensure it hit radio airwaves before the school year ended. It worked. By the time school was out, the song was a hit, reaching No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the U.K.

"School's Out (Deluxe Edition)" begins with a newly remastered version of the 1972 original, which peaked at No. 2 on the albums chart. Essential tracks like "Luney Tune" and "Alma Mater" are joined by "Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets". The latter is an homage to "West Side Story", a significant influence on the band. The song incorporates lyrics from "Jet Song" from the 1957 musical, which led to an unlikely songwriting credit for Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim on an Alice Cooper track.

The Deluxe Edition contains rarities like the single versions of "School's Out" and "Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets". Two previously unreleased tracks are also included, an alternate version of "Alma Mater" and an early demo for "Elected", a song that would appear in 1973 on the band's first No. 1 album, "Billion Dollar Babies".

Alice Cooper's concert in Miami on May 27, 1972, adds even more unreleased music to the collection. The show was recorded a few weeks before the band entered the studio to record "School's Out". The live performance features standout versions of "Halo Of Flies", "School's Out" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah", a song that gives Cooper a chance to show off his impressive harmonica skills.

The vinyl versions for both Deluxe Edition recreate the original album sleeves down to the smallest detail. For "Killer", that means a gatefold sleeve that opens to reveal a detachable 1972 calendar with a photo of Cooper in the gallows. The cover of "School's Out" looks like a wooden school desk and opens to reveal the LP wrapped in a pair of panties. The band stopped including the underwear following a controversy as to whether or not they were flammable. Thankfully, the lacy unmentionables in the new Deluxe Edition are not a fire hazard.

Both sets come with booklets that include track-by-track commentary by band members and former Creem magazine editor Jaan Uhelszki, plus liner notes by Bill Holdship, also a former Creem magazine editor. In "Killer (Deluxe Edition)", Holdship writes: "Listening to 'Killer' again after all these years to write these notes was rewarding because, like THE BEATLES and Elvis, it's gratifying to realize I ended up 'wasting' my life on something that, even in retrospect, really was that great. Fifty years later, 'Killer' remains a perfect — perfect! — rock 'n' roll record."

In addition to experiencing the unearthed concerts on these two new deluxe editions, fans can also see Alice Cooper revisit "School's Out" and "Killer" on an extensive tour spanning spring and summer. Beginning this weekend, the run of more than 40 shows will bring him and his band all across the country, including dates with DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE, plus a month-long run with ROB ZOMBIE, MINISTRY and FILTER for this year's "Freaks On Parade".

Killer: Deluxe Edition

Vinyl Track Listing

LP One: Original Album Remastered

Side One

1. Under My Wheels
2. Be My Lover
3. Halo Of Flies
4. Desperado

Side Two

1. You Drive Me Nervous
2. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
3. Dead Babies
4. Killer

LP Two: Live at Mar Y Sol Pop Festival, Puerto Rico (April 2, 1972)

Side One

1. Be My Lover *
2. You Drive Me Nervous *
3. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah *
4. I'm Eighteen *

Side Two

1. Halo Of Flies *
2. Is It My Body? *

LP Three: Live at Mar Y Sol Pop Festival, Puerto Rico (April 2, 1972)

Side One

1. Dead Babies *
2. Killer *
3. Long Way To Go *

Side Two

1. Under My Wheels *

Studio Extras

2. You Drive Me Nervous (Alternate Version)
3. Under My Wheels (Alternate Version)
4. Dead Babies (Alternate Version)

School's Out: Deluxe Edition

Vinyl Track Listing

LP One: Original Album Remastered

Side One

1. School's Out
2. Luney Tune
3. Gutter Cat vs. The Jets
4. Street Fight (Instrumental)
5. Blue Turk

Side Two

1. My Stars
2. Public Animal #9
3. Alma Mater
4. Grande Finale (Instrumental)

LP Two: Live in Miami, FL (May 27, 1972)

Side One

1. Be My Lover *
2. You Drive Me Nervous *
3. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah *
4. I'm Eighteen *

Side Two

1. Halo Of Flies *
2. Dead Babies *
3. Killer *

LP Three: Live in Miami, FL (May 27, 1972)

Side One

1. Long Way To Go*
2. School's Out *
3. Is It My Body? *

Side Two: Studio Extras

1. School's Out (Single Version)
2. Gutter Cat (Single Version)
3. Alma Mater (Alternate Version) *
4. Elected (Early Take) *

* Previously Unreleased

Orange County's Bleed The Sky has released new single "Soul Collapse" to all major platforms along with a visualizer.





"'Soul Collapse' is about being at odds with what you want to do and what you have to do. The persistent voice in your head stemming from the decisions that take you away from where you want to be in life. The natural connections, bonds and comforts we develop on that path become anchors to a life we cherish, but are antithetical to what we really want, but can't bring ourselves to sacrifice," says Monte Barnard.







Hailing from the musical breeding grounds of Orange County, CA, metalcore band Bleed The Sky began in 2003 with vocalist Noah Robinson, guitarists Kyle Moorman and Wayne Miller, bassist Casey Kulek, sampler Luke Andersen and drummer Austin D’Amond. Merely two months later and ready to dive into the music scene, the group performed their first show to a sold out crowd in an opening spot for Opeth and their second headlining the world famous Whisky A Go Go.


Early the following year their first EP, Bleed The Sky, was produced by Ben Schigel, known for his work engineering and mixing great music with groups such as Ringworm, Chimaira, and Walls of Jericho. The band sold over 1,000 copies on their own before signing a deal with Nuclear Blast Records in the fall of 2004. Their April of 2005 debut for the label, Paradigm in Entropy (2005), featured a futuristic, industrial, and melody-infused take on nu-metal’s dissonant riffs and aggressive vocals.


The album cemented the band as a forerunner in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement of the mid 2000’s and allowed for many opportunities and shows, including a consistent rotation on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. Their major success allowed them to tour with the likes of Hatebreed, Soulfly, Napalm Death, Red Chord, Agnostic Front, Disturbed, Diecast, and ILL Nino, only further promoting their albums and musical talent over the years.


Following the release of two well received albums with Nuclear Blast Records, Paradigm in Entropy (2005), and Murder the Dance (2008), they once again aimed to redefine who they are with a new label, Art Is War Records. The releases of This Way Lies Madness (2020) and the single "The Devil Will See You Now" (2020) started to gain the band massive online attention with the single reaching over a million streams on Spotify.


Not letting the pandemic keep them down for long, Bleed The Sky has returned with the same intensity that fans of their previous albums will be familiar with, as well as a new brutality that they are excited to share with the metal community. In 2022, Monte Barnard joined the group as the new frontman and was eager to bring his talent and experience to an already versatile group.


Getting his start in Northern California’s Death Metal scene, Monte Barnard joined Alterbeast in 2014 and continued his work touring and filling in on vocals with such bands as Thy Art Is Murder, The Kennedy Veil, and Fallujah. He still also fronts Emberthrone on Seek & Strike Records, as well as Lesser Animal.


Armed with a new vocalist and the release of a new single, “The Parasite” featuring guest vocalist Mark Hunter from Chimaira, they are set to make a mark once more in the music world and enthrall the masses with vigor.


The group is currently composed of Monte Barnard on Vocals, Kevin Garcia on Guitar, Wayne Miller on Guitar, David Culbert on Bass and Austin D’Amond on Drums.

The heavy metal 'n' roll, dark, madcap visionaries collectively known as Avatar - vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson - released their magnum opus and ninth album, Dance Devil Dance, back in February via Black Waltz Records, distributed by Thirty Tigers. Order the album here.


Today, they have shared the animated hybrid video for "Chimp Mosh Pit."


"Choosing what songs to make videos out of from Dance Devil Dance was harder than ever, with some very strong candidates," says Eckerström. "Having battle tested 'Chimp Mosh Pit' on stage over and over makes me feel we made a very good choice. It's a fun ride. I like how it leans into the good rock 'n' roll times we like to mix with the destructive energy of the metal stuff. It feels like we are the only band who could've made this video."







Dance Devil Dance artwork, tracklisting and videos below.





"Dance Devil Dance"
"Chimp Mosh Pit"
"Valley Of Disease"
"On The Beach"
"Do You Feel In Control"
"Gotta Wanna Riot"
"The Dirt I'm Buried In"
"Clouds Dipped In Chrome"
"Hazmat Suit"
"Train"
"Violence No Matter What" (Duet with Lzzy Hale)


"Violence No Matter What":





"The Dirt I'm Buried In" video:





"Valley Of Disease" lyric video:





Avatar will return to the road this spring on a headline tour that kicks off April 28 in Omaha and runs through May 28 in Pittsburgh. Veil Of Maya and Orbit Culture will support. All dates are below.





April
28 - Omaha, NE - The Admiral
29 - Denver, CO - Ogden
30 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot


May
1 - Boise, ID - Revolution
3 - San Diego. CA - Observatory
4 - Los Angeles, CA - Belasco
5 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
6 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
7 - Phoenix, AZ - Van Buren
9 - Austin, TX - Emo's
10 - Dallas, TX - The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
12 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theater
13 - Green Bay, WI - Epic Events Center
14 - Moline, IL - The Rust Belt
15 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
16 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theatre
18 - Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome To Rockville
19 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
20 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theater
21 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
23 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
24 - Boston, MA - Paradise
25 - Silver Springs, MD - The Fillmore
26 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
27 - Columbus, OH - Sonic Temple
28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theater


(Photo - Johan Carlén)

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the upcoming release of Swedish hard rock/traditional metal worshippers Vypera's second album, Race Of Time. Today, the band release a video for the new single, "Riding On The Wind", which can be viewed below.


Vypera, consisting of lead singer Andreas Wallström, guitarists Christoffer Thelin and Cederick Forsberg, bassist Andreas Andersson, and drummer Johan Pettersson, are hard rockers to the core. Emerging from the fruitful Swedish rock and metal scene, they are yet another high quality musical offering from, arguably, the new center of the rock n' roll universe. Their debut album, 2022's Eat Your Heart Out, was a headbanging, fist-raising salute to the great '80s metal/hard rock scene whose musical altar the band worships at.


Vypera, originally known as Madhouse, formed in Sandviken, Sweden in 2016 and soon set out on crafting original material to reflect the rock 'n roll and metal spirit that burned within the band. They began writing music that they felt traveled on the same good ol' road where their influences like Rainbow, Icon, King Kobra, London, Triumph, W.A.S.P., and the like had originally started. Their musical signature is that aforementioned classic hard rock/metal style played with immense pride... and joy.




Pre-order/save Race Of Time here.





Tracklisting:


"Hey You"
"Riding On The Wind"
"Mary Jane"
"Stormwind"
"Vicious"
"No Place For A Dreamer"
"Trying Hard To Run Away"
"Fool's Game"
"Speedin'"
"Daytona"
"Slave To Love"


"Riding On The Wind" video:





"Hey You" video:





Lineup:


Andreas Wallström - Vocals
Christoffer Thelin - Guitars
Cederick Forsberg - Lead Guitars
Andreas Andersson - Bass
Johan Pettersson - Drums

German symphonic metal band, Xandria, recently released their new studio album, The Wonders Still Awaiting. Today, the band share the official singthrough video for the single, “My Curse Is My Redemption”. Watch below:





Order The Wonders Still Awaiting here.







The Wonders Still Awaiting tracklisting:


"Two Worlds"
"Reborn"
"You Will Never Be Our God" (feat. Ralf Scheepers)
"The Wonders Still Awaiting"
"Ghosts"
"Your Stories I'll Remember"
"My Curse Is My Redemption"
"Illusion Is Their Name"
"Paradise"
"Mirror Of Time"
"Scars"
"The Maiden And The Child"
"Astèria"


“My Curse Is My Redemption” lyric video:





“Two Worlds” video:





"The Wonders Still Awaiting" video:





"Ghosts" video:





"You Will Never Be Our God" video:





"Reborn" video:





Xandria are out on a European tour with symphonic metal greats, Delain. Compelling the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, France and Germany in April and May, this package promises an unforgettable experience!
 



Xandria lineup:


Ambre Vourvahis - Vocals
Marco Heubaum - Guitar
Robert Klawonn - Guitar
Tim Schwarz - Bass
Dimitrios Gatsios - Drums


(Photo - Tim Tronckoe)

Arjen Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution will release their debut album, Golden Age Of Music, on May 19 via Music Theories Recording/Mascot Label Group. Watch Arjen unbox the earbook and LP editions below:





You think you know Arjen Lucassen? Towering Dutch prog rock polymath? The man behind the super successful prog rock conceptualists Ayreon? Not to mention his prog metal of Star One and Guilt Machine? Enormous overarching concept albums about space and time, packed to the hilt with special guests that read like a who’s who of modern day progressive rock? Arjen Lucassen? Well, think again…




Supersonic Revolution, the band behind Golden Age Of Music, are simply five men: Arjen on bass, long-standing keyboard player Joost van den Broek, guitarist Timo Somers, drummer Koen Herfst and singer Jaycee. Five men rocking out and having one hell of a time doing it.


The whole project grew from a request to provide a track for a cover CD for the German music magazine Eclipsed. “They asked if I had any cover versions lying around,” he recalls. “I said, ‘No but I’ll happily record one for you.’ So, they gave me a list of bands and I saw a ZZ Top song ‘I Heard It On The X’ that I really like. I said I could record it for them, but then they told me it had to be ready in one week...”


“I was like ‘Oh my god!’. I contacted my favorite musicians in Holland via WhatsApp and literally within 30 minutes I had assembled five people. A band basically. From there the seed was sown in Lucassen’s mind. ‘I want to form a band. And I want to simply have fun!’.


“I’m a perfectionist as you know, so I’m always sending musicians their parts back and asking them to change stuff,” he acknowledges. “But this was all brilliant. We were having fun, calling and WhatsApping all the time, and within a week we had a complete product.” He continues, “Also I wanted to have an up-beat, positive project.”


“I was like, let’s form a band and let’s write songs in the style of the 70s, and have the lyrics be a celebration of all the memorable things from that time, because those were my formative years,” he enthuses. “But I didn’t want it to sound like the 70s because that’s already been done, and I can’t do it any better than ‘Stargazer’ or ‘Kashmir’.”


“The guys are all younger than me - around 30 - so they weren’t even alive yet in the 70s. So, it was a great way for me to make 70s music with lots of Hammond and blistering guitars, but to update it to this time.”


The end result is 11 tracks of high energy, progressively inclined heavy rock that swings with the kind of groove Deep Purple rocked with in the early to mid-1970s. “This album is not a typical prog album. It’s not YES or Genesis. But it’s not a metal album either. There’s a track called ‘Burn it Down’,” Lucassen notes, “it’s totally based on ‘Smoke On The Water’ but written from the perspective of the ‘stupid with a flare gun’ mentioned in the original lyrics.


The album also features covers of some legendary songs given the Arjen Lucassen treatment as bonus tracks: T-Rex’s "Children Of The Revolution", ZZ Top’s "Heard It On The X", Earth Wind & Fire’s "Fantasy" and Roger Glover’s "Love Is All".


That, ladies and gentlemen, is the real Arjen Lucassen. Job done. Having fun.


Available formats:


- Artbook
- Transparent Blue 2LP
- Pink Marble 2LP
- Purple Marble 2LP
- Yellow Marble 2LP
- CD
- Digital


Pre-order here.





Golden Age Of Music tracklisting:


"SR Prelude"
"The Glamattack"
"Golden Age Of Music"
"The Rise Of The Starman"
" Burn It Down"
"Odyssey"
"They Took Us By Storm"
"Golden Boy"
"Holy Holy Ground"
"Fight Of The Century"
"Came To Mock, Stayed To Rock"
"Children Of The Revolution" (Bonus Track)
"Heard It On The X" (Bonus Track)
"Fantasy" (Bonus Track)
"Love Is All" (Bonus Track)


"Golden Age Of Music" video:





"The Rise Of The Starman" visualizer:





"The Glamattack" lyric video:

Melbourne, Australia-based progressive metal band, Teramaze, will release their new album, Dalla Volta, on April 27 via Wells Music and on July 7 in North American through Screaming Crow Records. Pre-order the album here.


Today, the band release a video for the album opener, "Navigate In Solitude". Watch below.


A message states: "Teramaze fans will love the new song, 'Navigate In Solitude'. This track features the band's signature heavy guitars, complex rhythms, and emotional vocals. The track not only showcases their impressive musicianship, but songwriting skills, whilst also offering a fresh and exciting sound. It is also one of the first Teramaze songs that all members brought something to the songwriting table. Guest "Scream Vocalist" Erick Wight (from USA) added such a powerful performance to the song. I think all fans, old and new will really love this track."







The album features not only new songs, but also reimagined versions of some of their classics. Dalla Volta blend together old and new sounds to create something truly unique. You'll be transported to another dimension with their mind-bending riffs and complex time signatures.





Tracklisting:


"Navigate In Solitude"
"Chaos In The Way"
"These Crystal Walls"
"Shadows II" (Re-Imagined)
"The Heist"
"Waves" (Piano Version)
"Broken" (Piano Version)
"Weight of Humanity" (2017 Demo Version)
"From Saviour To Assassin" (2017 Demo Version)
"Fight or Flight" (2017 Demo Version)
"Are We Soldiers" (2017 Demo Version)


"Shadows II" video:





"Chaos In The Way" video:

In the video below from AXS TV, Sammy Hagar's Rock & Roll Road Trip stops in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he meets with Poison frontman Bret Michaels for an "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" jam session. Plus, Bret gives Sammy the details on how he creates an audio-visual experience for his fans, staying true to himself, and more.





Andrew Hagar is appearing alongside his father, Sammy Hagar, in the music docuseries, Family Legacy, now available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ in the US and Canada. Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and Glass Entertainment Group, the new series will feature interviews with the children of legendary musicians.







The series will also premieres internationally today, Wednesday, April 26 in the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, LATAM and Brazil, and on Saturday, April 29 in Australia. An official trailer for the series can be viewed below:

In a new interview with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito of TVK's "Rock City", METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich spoke about how the making of the band's latest album, "72 Seasons", benefited from the bandmembers' increased maturity and respect for each other. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We love being in METALLICA and we love METALLICA and we cherish METALLICA and we want to be the best METALLICA possible. And I guess that 40 years later, to still be able to make music together and still be able to make a difference is something we cherish so much and it's something that we're so respectful of. I think that in the past there were times where we were more weary about… there was so much internal differences and so much negative energy within the bandmembers that writing songs and going to the studio was often kind of like… not something that we really wanted to do, because it was so exhausting. But now, with this record, and certainly as we get older, there's less and less in-fighting, there's less and less disagreements."

He continued: "This record we made, I think, without any arguments. Nobody was shouting or yelling or doing anything crazy. There was no posturing or 'my way' — it was basically nothing of that. And so I think ultimately that joy of going to the studio and creating this music shows up in the energy and the passion — the passion shows up in there somewhere. And like I said, this may be the most friction-free record METALLICA has ever made internally between the bandmembers.

"I think there's been enough documented over the years about how we made records," Ulrich added. "The Black Album was a very difficult record to make. A lot of the albums with [producer] Bob Rock — not because of Bob Rock, but just because of where we were at as people at the time, when we were having a hard time working in a collective environment… And I think now we're so much more appreciative and respectful and love each other in a different way now. I mean, we've always loved each other and cared for each other, but I think now we're protective of those relationships because we wanna make sure that they sustain through every experience that we have and we come out the other side fully intact. That, I think, is always the goal."

"72 Seasons" was released on Friday (April 14) via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and Ulrich, it is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

In the seven years since the arrival of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", METALLICA has reissued some of its classic albums, released a second live album with the San Francisco Symphony, commissioned a covers album featuring the likes of GHOST, VOLBEAT, WEEZER, Corey Taylor and THE HU, and landed on the Billboard songs chart with "Master Of Puppets" after a prominent placement in the hit Netflix show "Stranger Things".

METALLICA's "M72" world tour will feature two-night stops in nearly two dozen cities. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation, the 46-show trek will launch in Amsterdam on April 27 and will include shows all over Europe and North America through 2024. Each "No Repeat Weekend" on "M72" will feature two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour will feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age. Opening acts for the tour include PANTERA, MAMMOTH WVH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, ICE NINE KILLS, ARCHITECTS, VOLBEAT and GRETA VAN FLEET.

North Carolina blackened thrash trio, All Hell, has unveiled their lyric video for “Black Leather Wings.” The track come off the band’s All Hail The Night EP, released earlier this month via Terminus Hate City Records.





Recorded and mixed by Chris “Scary” Adams (Black Tusk) at Hidden Audio and mastered by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust), All Hail The Night contains six tracks: three completely new songs featuring a guest solo and additional vocals by Nate Garnette of American metal legends Skeletonwitch and three reworked and reinvigorated songs from the band’s earliest days.




All Hail The Night is available on CD, cassette, and digital formats. Orderat the Terminus Hate City Records webshop.


Spawned in the dark hills of Asheville, North Carolina and influenced by a wide array of genres from punk to thrash to first wave black metal to ‘80s deathrock and beyond, All Hell has relentlessly churned out their stygian works while spreading their volatile live show to eager audiences. All Hail The Night marks their first release since 2019's full-length, The Witch's Grail.


All Hail The Night paints an ominously dystopian portrait of a world shrouded in darkness and violence infusing their signature thrash-tinged black ‘n' roll style with new elements, providing some of the band's darkest and most memorable songs to date.





Tracklisting:


"Black Leather Wings"
"Neon Babylon"
"Let The Night Run Red"
"Suffer For Me"
"Breaker"
"Devilwolf"


For further details, visit All Hell on Facebook.


(Photo by Lauren D'Rosario)