Intromental Worldwide has announced the signing of the talented, Norwegian prog-metal act Course Of Fate.


There's something special in the water in Norway. Something that makes musicians play indecently amazing progressive metal. Following the ranks of acts, such as Circus Maximus, Leprous and Pagan's Mind, and taking great inspiration from bands, such as Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, and Opeth, Course Of Fate are displaying a fresh, very melodic and less ultra-technical take on the Norwegian prog-tradition with their fine-tuned and catchy music.


Course Of Fate released their first full-length Mindweaver in 2020 through Rock Of Angels Records and have been putting the corona-break to good use, as the 2nd and brand-new album is already written and ready to be released in the fall of 2023. Much more to come about the upcoming album soon.







(Photo: Linda Edvardsen)

Metallica launch a new contest with the following update:


"Calling all marching bands at a high school and collegiate level!! Add ‘Tallica songs to your performance this fall, and you could win thousands of dollars in equipment for your band by entering the first-ever Metallica Marching Band Competition.


In a national challenge to marching bands in the United States, we’re looking for the most exciting, unique, and impressive performances of some of our songs. High Schools and Divisions 1, 2, and 3 Colleges are invited to compete in the five categories listed below. Participants will be narrowed down to five finalists by professional judges, and we will select the final prize winners in each category. Fan Favorite winners will be chosen by popular vote.




- Collegiate: Division 1 - $75,000 in prizing
- Collegiate: Division 2, 3 - $40,000 in prizing
- High School - $15,000 in prizing
- Fan Favorite: Collegiate (across all divisions) - $10,000 in prizing
- Fan Favorite: High School - $10,000 in prizing


The victors in each category will win musical instruments and equipment for their school program thanks to our sponsors, TAMA, KHS America, Zildjian, D’Addario, and Gator, in partnership with Sweetwater and Hal Leonard.


Video submissions for the Metallica Marching Band Competition are due by November 16, 2023, with voting beginning November 17, 2023. Winners will be selected on December 1, 2023. To sign up and get more info, visit here.


Time marches on!"





A previous message from Metallica states: "We’re celebrating 72 Seasons release week by taking over late night! Catch us on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC Monday, April 10 - Thursday, April 13 for four live performances, one night of chatting on the couch, and whatever other fun Jimmy has in store for us."


Check local listings for air times.





Metallica’s 12th studio album, 72 Seasons, is out on April 14 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. The band have issued the following message:


"You know we love our indie record stores… over 300 shops around the world are joining us in our 72 Seasons celebrations and hosting official listening parties! And over 100 of those parties are happening at midnight. We can't wait for you to hear the album and hope you can join in the shenanigans at your local record store!"


Find the participating record stores here.


Produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track 72 Seasons is the band’s first full-length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.


Speaking on the concept of the album title, James Hetfield said: “72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is a reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”


Pre-order the new album in multiple configurations here.





72 Seasons tracklisting:


"72 Seasons"
"Shadows Follow"
"Screaming Suicide"
"Sleepwalk My Life Away"
"You Must Burn!"
"Lux Æterna"
"Crown Of Barbed Wire"
"Chasing Light"
"If Darkness Had A Son"
"Too Far Gone?"
"Room Of Mirrors"
"Inamorata"


"72 Seasons" video:





"If Darkness Had A Son" video:





"Screaming Suicide" video:





“Lux Æterna” video:





Tickets are on sale now for Metallica and Trafalgar Releasing's worldwide listening party for Metallica’s forthcoming 12th studio album, 72 Seasons.





For one night only on Thursday, April 13th, 72 Seasons will play exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide - with every one of the new songs featuring its own music video and exclusive commentary from the band. Fans can also experience Metallica like never before in Dolby Atmos®, an audio experience that will immerse listeners inside each song to reveal details with unparalleled clarity and depth.


Check metallica.film or contact your local movie theater for ticketing information on this one night only event (in Dolby Atmos where available).


Metallica: 72 Seasons Global Premiere will offer fans an unforgettable night as they see and hear 72 Seasons first and fully on the eve of its April 14th release. View a trailer below:

Dave Lombardo says he will sit out the remainder of TESTAMENT's 2023 shows, with no guarantee that he will return to the band.

Lombardo, who was the guest drummer on TESTAMENT's 1999 studio album "The Gathering", formally joined the long-running San Francisco Bay Area act last year. The former SLAYER drummer is currently a member of the MISFITS, MR. BUNGLE, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD and SATANIC PLANET, among others. He also played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES from 2016 up until 2020.

In a brand new interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Lombardo was asked to detail his 2023 plans and priorities. "Let's start with SUICIDAL," he said. "I haven't been able to play with SUICIDAL because he [frontman Mike Muir] is not on tour as often or as much as I'd like. When I joined them in 2016, man, it was on. But then the pandemic [happened], and I believe he has [health] issues. I think he's had a couple of surgeries on his back. It's limited the amount of shows he does a year. I haven't played with them in a while."

He continued: "I'm focusing on the MISFITS, MR. BUNGLE, EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, and in 2022, when I was on tour with TESTAMENT, I had stuff lined up that was starting to build for 2023. With TESTAMENT, we were having several scheduling conflicts. I couldn't back out of them. I won't be joining them on their upcoming tours for 2023. My focus is on BUNGLE, who I've recorded an album with back in 2019 and we did a live album. EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, I recorded an album for them in 2020. That's going to finally see the light of day later this year. We've already released a single. I'm not doing the [upcoming] shows with SATANIC PLANET… I won't be performing with them. Instead of doing live shows [with SATANIC PLANET], I really like to just be more on the production and songwriting side. It's very industrial, very dark. It's got a very evil vibe, but great guys nonetheless. Some of the most kindest people I've met in my life, which contrasts with the music."

Lombardo was then pressed about whether he will be playing with TESTAMENT in the foreseeable future, including performing on the band's next studio album. "I don't know, because everything is starting to snowball with MR. BUNGLE and EMPIRE STATE BASTARD and the MISFITS," he said. "I've been with the MISFITS since 2016. TESTAMENT is a well-oiled machine. They're always touring and releasing albums. To try to find that space or that time to release something… I don't know."

When asked whether this meant his status with TESTAMENT was "uncertain," Lombardo replied, "Yes. It's wait-and-see. I can't guarantee anything because of my commitments. I did fulfill my contractual commitment for 2022, which was quite extensive. We did one of the longest tours I have done. It was like seven weeks in Europe, which was great. I really needed to get out there and build my chops after the pandemic. That was a lifesaver. We'll see. The relationship is good. The doors are open. The communication is there. I told them that I was seeing some clashes coming up. This was in the first week of January when I reached out to Eric [Peterson, guitar] and told him. This has been brewing for a while. Actually, I saw it in November/December of last year. I started seeing, 'Oh no. This is going to happen. This is not going to happen.' It's very tricky."

Recent photos posted by TESTAMENT bassist Steve DiGiorgio on his Instagram show that the band has been rehearsing for its upcoming South American tour with drummer Chris Dovas (SEVEN SPIRES),who previously filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour". Lombardo was unable to make those gigs due to a scheduling conflict with the MISFITS.

TESTAMENT's "Klash Of The Titans" tour of Latin America with KREATOR is scheduled to kick off on April 19 in Lima, Peru and run through May 9 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

In a new interview with Chile's iRock.CL, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy was asked what it was like to play with Lombardo again last year. Chuck said: "Well, it was like old friends meeting together again, when we got to get back on the road together. It was really like old times. It felt like a normal family, I guess. It was great having him back. He came at a right time when Gene [Hoglan, longtime TESTAMENT drummer] wasn't available due to scheduling problems, and Dave had a lot of open time. So the timing worked. I know Dave's a busy man, so he has other projects too, and it's not TESTAMENT. So I imagine that'll… We can't really control all that. But it was very fun, those tours we did. He added his Lombardo-isms to the old TESTAMENT songs. So it was good."

In March 2022, Billy told the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station that he didn't expect Lombardo to focus only on TESTAMENT in the ensuing months. "I'm not holding my breath that Dave just is in TESTAMENT only but we're gonna have to kind of maneuver around what happens," he said. "But then again, this is the beginning of the relationship. We might be busy enough and he might just be happy enough just working with us and it works out. So we're just kind of taking it one day at a time, one tour at a time. We know he's gonna be with us for the next three tours — we know that for sure — so we'll see what happens after that."

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A post shared by Steve Di Giorgio (@sdglowend)

In a new interview with Alex Stojanovic of Metal Master Kingdom, OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth was asked if he has a workout routine and a meal plan that he adheres to in order to stay in such great physical shape. The singer, who turned 63 last month, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'm not in the same shape I was in before 60. [Laughs] But I'm still not carrying around a couple of saddlebags."

He continued: "I don't, really. There's a real simplistic kind of a view I take on things, and that's that I do a lot of things — I'm a self kind of doer; I mean, I do the stuff around my house. I used to heat my house by firewood; that's when I started getting that physique. So I would take the tree down, I would cut it into rounds, I would split those rounds into firewood. You do seven cords in October, and you're aching and baking. It so happened that it worked out for touring. The other thing is I don't like fast food; I just don't like it. Everybody's going to McDonald's, and I'm, like, not for me. I'll go as far as pizza because, to me, to some degree, it appears fresh in my head, where I can have peppers on top. I've lifted weights in the past, and I do have a gym. I have a Bowflex; it's like a tension kind of a thing. So I can get on that. And I do that more so to stay loose. I've always raised dogs. I'm always in the woods. I've lived in the mountains. So I think it's just lifestyle."

OVERKILL's new album, "Scorched", will be released on April 14 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP offered a new recording environment for OVERKILL as all members were able to record on their own. The mixing of the record was handled by Colin Richardson and his assistant engineer Chris Clancy. Johnny Rodd helped with producing vocals, and finally, Maor Appelbaum took over mastering and adding finishing touches. The band returned to artist Travis Smith to create the album cover art.

Richardson previously worked with OVERKILL on 1997's "From The Underground And Below", 2000's "Bloodletting" and 2003's "Killbox 13".

OVERKILL spent most of 2019 and early 2020 touring in support of its 19th studio LP, "The Wings Of War", which was released four years ago.

"The Wings Of War" marked OVERKILL's recording debut with drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM),who joined the band in 2017.

FIREWIND guitarist Gus G. spoke to Neil Jones of TotalRock about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's next studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's still in the works. We tracked drums before we left for tour [in Europe with BEAST IN BLACK] in early January. And actually now I have about a month off before I head out to another tour, which is for my solo band. But I have a month window here to finish up all the guitars. So basically I'm taking this week off and then next week I start tracking guitars. I'm hoping to have everything wrapped up by end of spring, right before summer, and start rolling out some more singles this summer."

Asked if FIREWIND's latest single, "Destiny Is Calling", which was released in February, is a good representation of what fans can expect to hear on the upcoming LP, Gus said: "Yeah. I think it's definitely a good taste of what's to come. All the songs, I think, have that type of anthemic vibe to them. So, yeah, I thought it was a really good, strong track to kick things off."

When "Destiny Is Calling" was first released two months ago, Gus said in a statement: "We've been testing the new track live every night [on the European tour] and the reception has been phenomenal.

"The video was filmed on February 11th in Munich at Tonhalle in front of 2,000 screaming metalheads and we feel it captures the energy and mood of the song.

"Crank it up and enjoy!"

In January, Gus told The Metal Voice that FIREWIND was taking a different approach with the release of the band's new music.

"The thing is I was talking to [our record label] AFM Records, to the owner, actually," Gus said. "We met over Christmas and talked about it. And now there's a new approach, it seems — we're just gonna be releasing singles. It was an interesting topic they brought on, because they just wanna keep on releasing singles, and then eventually those singles will be part of an album. I mean, we still worked on the album — we did it old school. I already wrote the songs; I wrote 10 songs and all that. But they were, like, 'We'll just drop singles as we go and see how much traction you get, see if we get playlist placement.' Because Spotify playlists are like the new radio; that's the new medium right now. And that's what makes money for labels and artists, I guess. You get 'X' amount million streams and then that's revenue and that keeps it going. And you move on to the next song and the next song, and then eventually you take those five or six singles over a period of a year and you package them with another four or five songs."

He added: "I know it sounds very boring now — it doesn't sound artistic at all — but that's how labels think nowadays."

Regarding the musical direction of the new FIREWIND material, Gus said: "I think it still sounds like FIREWIND. My goal was to make a little bit more anthemic type of tracks this time around. Because of the whole direction that was, 'Okay, let's work singles,' I thought every song should be a single. So I didn't write any kind of obscure type of tracks or didn't experiment in that type of area. I kind of focused on writing three- [or] four-minute songs that are very high energy, something that you can play in an arena in a festival in front of a large crowd. That was my philosophy behind this one this time. Which is good. It's not easy to write that type of songs. People think it's easy, 'Oh, it's so simple' and stuff. But it's not so easy to make that and resonate with a bigger crowd. So let's see how it does."

FIREWIND's ninth, self-titled studio album was made available in May 2020.

In early 2020, FIREWIND officially parted ways with guitarist/keyboardist Bob Katsionis and singer Henning Basse. The group's current vocalist is Herbie Langhans, who has previously played with AVANTASIA and SINBREED.

Gus and Langhans got to know each other back in the autumn of 2019, when the FIREWIND leader was looking for a suitable replacement for Henning Basse after the tour with QUEENSRŸCHE. Just a few weeks later, the recordings for "Firewind" were a done deal, ready for Swedish sound engineer Tobias Lindell (EUROPE, AVATAR, H.E.A.T.) to mix them in Lindell Audio Studios.

Gus spoke about the evolution of FIREWIND's sound in a 2020 interview with Audio Ink Radio. He said: "Like every band, we go through our different phases. Especially for us, having quite a few different singers in the lineup in the past, each guy brought a different vibe and different things to the band. I think on this record, you'll hear elements from all our past records, especially with our new singer, Herbie, because he reminds me a lot of Stephen Fredrick, our first singer. But this album also has a lot of variety, and that might remind fans of albums like [2006's] 'Allegiance' and [2008's] 'The Premonition'. But then again, we're not trying to be retro or nostalgic or copy those albums. We're moving towards the future. The way I see it, there's always a new song to write. Every album, I try to make better songs, play better guitar, try different tempos, write in different keys. There's always things you can experiment with in the studio."

FIREWIND 2023 is:

Gus G. (guitar)
Herbie Langhans (vocals)
Petros Christo (bass)
Jo Nunez (drums)

Photo: Tim Tronckoe

Legendary rocker Ted Nugent will embark on his last-ever tour, dubbed "Adios Mofo '23", this summer.

In a video message explaining his decision to retire from the road, the 74-year-old Nugent said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This is 'Adios Mofo'. This is my last tour. Now I'll always play music. I've got new records I'm gonna make. I can't wait to unleash some of these new songs. I've got an instrumental called 'Butter Fingers' that is just greasy. You can't eat barbecue ever again adequately without the song 'Butter Fingers' playing loud next to your brisket.

"The point being is thank you, everybody, for an incredible musical dream," he continued. "The musical dream will continue but I'm not going on tour anymore because hotels are jail. [Laughs] A hotel room is jail for me. My dogs won't allow me to not spend a day with them, so [my dogs] will go on the road with me this year. But the logistics are just too complicated when you have dogs and grandkids and kids and so many other things.

"The point is the American Dream has a soundtrack, and with my unbelievable musicians for 65 years, I have created the most fun, titillating, centrally stimulating soundtrack in the history of the world.

"Like last year, in 2022, 'Detroit Muscle', this will be the greatest, most intense, tightest, most dynamic, outrageously fun tour of my life. But 'Adios Mofo'."

The tour dates are as follows:

Jul. 20 - Blue Gate Performing Arts Center - Shipshewana, IN,
Jul. 21 - Hollywood Casino - Charles Town, WV
Jul. 25 - Kodak Center - Rochester, NY
Jul. 26 - Keswick Theater - Glenside, PA
Jul. 27 - Penn's Peak - Jim Thorpe, PA
Jul. 30 – RiverPark Center – Owensboro, KY
Aug. 02 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
Aug. 03 - American Music Theatre - Lancaster, PA
Aug. 04 - The Meadows Racetrack & Casino - Washington, PA
Aug. 05 - Clearfield County Fair - Clearfield, PA
Aug. 06 - The Adelphia Music Hall - Marietta, OH
Aug. 09 - The Temple Theatre - Saginaw, MI
Aug. 10 - Rose Music Center - Huber Heights, OH
Aug. 11 - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill - Detroit, MI

When the "Adios Mofo '23" tour was first announced earlier in the month, Ted said in a statement: "Performing my killer songs with this killer band for these killer music loving audiences every night is an indescribable joyous musical celebration beyond words. Every song has a life of its own and the spirit and energy of each night is off the charts stimulating on all human levels and beyond.

He added: "My amazing American Dream sure as hell ain't over, and no way can I even see it from here! However, my fiery vaportrail of flamethrowing all American R&B and rock 'n' roll has been so much damn fun, I can hardly believe it. I will write The Book, but for now, it's 'Adios Mofo '23'! Thank you thank you thank you all!"

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 current band, which includes bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

Following on from her last single “Fall Of Man" feat. Matthew K Heafy, Sophie Lloyd  returns with the new song “Hanging On" feat. Lauren Babic.





This third single from Sophie’s upcoming debut album sees the guitar sensation team up with famed YouTuber and Red Handed Denial/ CrazyEightyEight vocalist Lauren Babic.




“I've been a fan of Lauren for so long, she's honestly got one of the most amazing and unique voices I've ever heard, and she's also a phenomenal writer.” declares Sophie. “We discussed the feelings of performance anxiety and pressures of having a music career start in an unconventional way and subsequently being labelled as 'YouTubers' or 'Bedroom Players' a lot and sometimes people can underestimate us because of that, and that can get in our heads. But this song demonstrates us rising above that and releasing we deserve to be where we are, and we're two badass women making a name for ourselves in the rock music scene.”


"I'm so glad I finally had the opportunity to collab with Sophie.” says Lauren. “She's doing incredible things in the guitar community. I love diving into different genres and "Hanging On" was able to scratch that rock n roll itch! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!"


Sophie continues: “I love the heavy rock and bluesy feel that the riff and verses have, building to the end where Lauren showcases her screaming talents, I think it really tells a story throughout the track. I take a more laid back approach for the solo in the track, allowing sustained notes to breath and harmonies to carry the melody into a big finish and really tell a chapter in this story Lauren is singing about.”


Check out the video below. The song is available on all streaming platforms here.





Sophie Lloyd is one of the most prolific guitarists on the world wide web, a trailblazer who is redefining the concept of a “bedroom” guitarist. A talented composer and accomplished musician, Sophie graduated from the prestigious BIMM in 2018 with a First Class Honours BMus in Popular Music Performance, honing and refining a talent she has nurtured since childhood.


Since then, she has amassed the kind of following that even the guitar gods she grew up idolizing would be envious of, with a reach surpassing 3  million followers across her social channels, built through a steady stream of sharing her talent via guitar “shredleys”, covers and her own original material.


Most recently, Sophie could be seen shredding on stage as guitarist for multi-platinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly on his recent Mainstream Sellout World Tour, which included sold out shows at legendary venues such Madison Square Garden in New York and Wembley Arena in London.


At 27 Years Old, Sophie Lloyd is just getting started, with work on her debut solo album in progress and a few others items to tick off her bucket list.

Atlanta-based rockers, Royal Thunder, are proud to announce their fourth studio album, Rebuilding The Mountain, which will see a June 16 release via Spinefarm. The upcoming full-length is the trio’s first studio release in six years, dating back to 2017’s Wick LP.


Addressing some of the creative drivers surrounding their new album, guitarist Josh Weaver says: “It was really a special time writing and working on this record. There were a lot of hardships we had prior to the pandemic and during, as everyone experienced. The band dissolved and toxic behavior became a priority over the music, addiction being the number one factor for things falling apart. We reconnected with our drummer, Evan Diprima, during the pandemic. We agreed that we needed to get our priorities straight and do the band uncompromisingly right, as in right for us. There was a huge void in us, not playing. We started writing our album immediately. We surrendered our heart and soul to each song. It felt good to work hard and create, to have what felt like a second chance to be a band again. We are thankful for the music and the healing it has brought us. We hope that the music will be a source of hope, inspiration, and healing to all that hear it.”


To commemorate the announcement of Rebuilding The Mountain, Royal Thunder have dropped the second single off the record, titled “Fade”.




Speaking about the new track, lead vocalist/bassist Mlny Parsonz shares, “’Fade’ is a reminder to me that despite the exchange of positive and negative energy, we can heal all of our connections. We don’t have to live with our pain, we have the power to change how we interact with it and others.”


Watch the video for "Fade" below.





Rebuilding The Mountain tracklisting:


"Drag Me"
"The Knife"
"Now Here No Where"
"Twice"
"Pull"
"Live To Live"
"My Ten"
"Fade"
"The King"
"Dead Star"


"Fade" video:





"The Knife" video:





Royal Thunder are:


Mlny Parsonz – vocals, bass
Josh Weaver – guitar
Evan Diprima – drums

There is no end to the good news from the Warmen camp. The band reported back at the end of last year and announced a brand new studio album for 2023. After the band re-released their last studio album First Of The Five Elements (2014) in March, they announced the first line-up change shortly afterwards via social media. Seppo Tarvainen succeeds Mirka Rantanen  on drums. 


Mirka comments: "After 24 years I am happy to have Seppo as my successor and I think he is definitely the right man for the job. Good luck Seppo and Warmen!"


Today, the band can now confirm the complete line-up and introduce their new singer: Petri Lindroos from Ensiferum.




Warmen explains: "Due to the recent more aggressive style of songwriting, we were faced with the question of who should be the singer for the new album. After much deliberation, we contacted Petri as Janne has known him for ages and we thought he would be a perfect fit. We are so excited to announce Petri as the lead singer for our upcoming album. We also think Petri would be perfect for live shows so stay tuned for more updates on the new album!"


Peter adds: "The Wirman brothers messaged me and asked if I would be interested in singing on their new album and I said of course I would. That sounds like a very cool thing and also very metal."


The band is currently in the middle of recording their new, untitled album, due out later this year through Reaper Entertainment. 


Warmen started as a solo project of Janne "Warman" Wirman and when the keyboardist wasn't traveling the world with Children Of Bodom, he was regularly recording albums with his brother Antti Wirman (guitar), Jyri Helko (bass) and Mirka Rantanen (drums, Kotipelto, ex-Hevisaurus).


After the much too early end of Children Of Bodom and the tragic death of Alexi Laiho, Janne together with his brother Antti found their way back to music through Warmen. The band recently signed a worldwide record deal with Reaper Entertainment.


Janne comments: "After the abrupt ending of Children Of Bodom I wasn’t sure if I'd ever make music again. We did a couple of songwriting sessions last year with my brother and Jyri and I realized that I still have a lot of desire for music and together we wrote an album of exiting new stuff. We teamed up with Flori and Greg from the Reaper Entertainment as I had worked with them before with great results and knew they understood my past with Bodom and where we wanted to go next with Warmen."


The last official album, First Of The Five Elements, was initially released in 2014 via the crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic, which however ceased operations shortly thereafter. Since very few copies of the album hit the market, Reaper Entertainment is now re-releasing the album today (March 17th) to shorten the wait for the new album. The direction of the material is classically inspired power metal, but similar to Children Of Bodom, the focus of Warmen is on the interplay of guitar and keyboard perfected by the Wirman brothers.


In addition to ten original songs, cover versions of Madonna and Alice Cooper provide surprises and for the vocals on First Of The Five Elements the quartet was able to win Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone), Jonna Kosonen and the too early deceased Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom) as guest musicians.


Check out the new visualizer for "Suck My Attitutde" featuring Alexi Laiho.

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, who consist of AEROSMITH's Joe Perry, actor Johnny Depp and legendary rocker Alice Cooper, along with producer and songwriter Tommy Henriksen, will release their first live album, "Live In Rio", on June 2 via earMUSIC.

The official music video for "My Generation", taken from "Live In Rio", can be seen below.

In September 2015, the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES played their biggest and most legendary gig in front of more than 100,000 fans at the Rock In Rio festival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The accompanying music video shows the sheer magnitude of this concert and the reactions that this song still evokes in people — even 55 years after it was written. Originally by the American rock band SPIRIT, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES cover this classic in their very own way. Rocking, driving, and full of energy, "I Got A Line On You" seems revitalized and bristles with power. It's a three-minute track with hit potential.

In 2015, the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES not only released their first album, but also played one of their biggest concerts, which will now be released as their first live album. After this success and the media interest in the ultimate rock group, sold-out concerts, and tours all over the world followed, and in 2019, finally, the second album "Rise". Over 50,000 physical units sold, millions of streams, and worldwide cover stories in major magazines later, fans, press and the band were ready to bring these songs to the stage. Unfortunately, part of the tour had to be postponed due to the pandemic and will finally be made up for this summer. Fittingly, the first live album will be released a few days earlier on June 2.

"Live In Rio" track listing:

01. Raise The Dead
02. My Generation
03. I Got A Line On You
04. Cold Turkey
05. Five To One/Break On
06. Through (To The Other Side)
07. Manic Depression
08. 7 And 7 Is
09. Whole Lotta Love
10. Jeepster
11. I'm A Boy
12. School's Out
13. Billion Dollar Babies
14. Train Kept A-Rollin'
15. Brown Sugar

The three legends first came together to record in 2015, bonding over a shared love of their favorite songs and a desire to celebrate their "dead, drunk friends" by playing the songs of the fallen heroes. Riotous performances ensued around the world.

In 2019, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES completed a triumphant seven-city North American tour which included a sell-out show at the famous Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and were voted the "best performance" of 2018 at London's Wembley Arena.

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES' sophomore album "Rise", produced by Tommy Henriksen and the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, was hailed as one of the purest, most unapologetic and enjoyable rock and roll albums of 2019, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form. Unlike their 2015 debut record, the latest album consisted mainly of original material, written by the band. There are however, in the spirit of the VAMPIRES' original mission, three covers of songs originally written and recorded by legendary rockers who died far too young.

Four years ago, Cooper told Billboard about his chemistry with Depp and Perry: "That's a very odd thing about this. You've got three alpha males who are used to running the show, and all of a sudden, three guys are sitting there with zero arguments. The whole thing is, 'Okay, let's try that.' Every time they would send me a track with scratch vocals on it, if I worked on it and chopped it up and did my thing, it would turn into an Alice song. I took my fingerprints off of it. I would hear the song and say, 'Let's do it as it was written.' My instinct might be to say that this part goes too long or the intro goes too long, but that's what makes it interesting."

Regarding HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES' decision to record a second album as a follow-up to 2015's "Hollywood Vampires", which debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard 200, Cooper said: "We looked at each other and went, 'Let's do another album, but let's make this one original.' And just like that, Johnny was writing, Joe was writing, Tommy was writing, I was writing … and we just all kind of put it together while I was on tour. Tommy produced it, and the next thing you know, we had an album. The cool thing about it is that it doesn’t sound like an Alice album, it doesn't sound like an AEROSMITH album: It sounds like a HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES album."

MUDVAYNE frontman Chad Gray has revealed that he recently spent time in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas recording demos for the band's next studio release. He wrote on his Instagram: "This will be the first music we have released in 14 years! Still not exactly sure when it will release but yeah…it's coming!"

Last month, MUDVAYNE announced "The Psychotherapy Sessions" tour. Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city trek kicks off on July 20 in West Palm Beach at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, making stops across the U.S. in Syracuse, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and more before wrapping up in Englewood, Colorado at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre on August 26. MUDVAYNE will be joined by a number of supporting acts, including COAL CHAMBER, performing for the first time in eight years, along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the "Freaks On Parade" tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marks MUDVAYNE's first headlining endeavor since 2009.

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. MUDVAYNE is Chad Gray (vocals),Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals),Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass).

Gray has spent the past 17 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away more than four years ago.

MUDVAYNE did not tour behind its fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release.

In a fall 2022 interview with Revolver magazine, Gray and McDonough spoke about the possibility of new music from the MUDVAYNE. The reunited metallers haven't released released any new material since 2009, which means we're coming up on nearly a decade and a half without a single fresh MUDVAYNE song.

"That's obviously something we got to cross, right?" Chad said. "There's two ways you can do it. You could go out, and you can go once around the rock and just play catalog. For sure, that's absolutely a possibility. Or you can try to put something together. You can gauge it, you can decide. I'm not going to say because I've been constantly writing, recording touring for the last 12 years with HELLYEAH. So I don't think my well's dry by any means. And I'm excited, I would be excited to write with these guys.

"We've done a little bit of file sharing or whatever. Just some riffs. Greg went into the studio in Texas. He lived in Texas. He went in there and just laid some stuff down, sent it to Matt. Matt put just a really simple metronome drum beat to it. I was working on it. It's pretty rad, different stuff. I've got a few different angles that I'm working with kind of how I want it to be, my parts anyway. But it's cool, it's cool. And obviously we're not going to put something out if I don't feel like it stands up.

"It's going to have to fucking blow my hair back before I would put it out, because I wouldn't want to put anything out and then people are just, like, '[They] can't do it anymore.' You can be your own judge of that. And maybe it's not the first song, maybe it's not the third song, maybe it's the seventh song. That's like, okay, now we're on something, but we'll figure it out, man. We'll figure it out. We'll either do it or we won't. But yeah, I'm down for whatever right now, I'm having fun with it."

As for what a new MUDVAYNE album might sound like, McDonough said: "I can't honestly say. Some of the stuff that we have messed around is heavy. We messed around with some typical [sounds], people wouldn't be terribly shocked, but the opportunity to experiment and given our past success, I think I feel a sense of freedom. There hasn't been any kind of pressure from any professional direction to try to, 'You guys going to write another 'Dig'.' Or 'Not Falling' or whatever; nothing like that. So the headspace and the culture around the band right now is incredibly positive. So I personally just would like to be wide open and excited and positive about it. I want to be surprised."

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