California groove metallers DEVILDRIVER will release part two of their "Dealing With Demons" saga, their tenth full-length, "Dealing With Demons Vol. II", on May 12 via Napalm Records. Once again produced and engineered by Steve Evetts with additional engineering from guitarist Mike Spreitzer, 'Dealing With Demons Vol. II' is inarguably heavier and relentlessly harsher than its predecessor — as proven last month with bludgeoning lead single "Through The Depths".

Today, DEVILDRIVER dropped another unrelenting track, "If Blood Is Life", plus an action-packed performance music video featuring exclusive footage from the band's recent U.S. co-headline tour with labelmates CRADLE OF FILTH. The dynamic anthem grips with an unforgettable hook and lead guitar lines, swaying with an undeniable headbang-worthy groove as it shifts between rhythmic passages.

DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara says about "If Blood is Life": "Shadows of the future, ghosts of your past walking the floor — why do these things haunt us as humans, when we should be focused on the fact that, like the chorus says, 'Time, it waits for no one, Time, it's worth the taking.' Learn to focus on the now, the here, the present."

International media mainstays like Revolver, Metal Hammer, Kerrang! and Consequence lauded "Dealing With Demons I", which debuted at No. 4 on the U.S. Current Hard Music Albums chart. BLABBERMOUTH.NET stated, "If the second half of this mammoth endeavor matches the first, this will be remembered as a pivotal moment in the DEVILDRIVER story." Rest assured, "Dealing With Demons Vol. II" doubles down on the brutality — and then some!

Track one "I Have No Pity" instantly keeps fans guessing with its contrasting, marching rhythmic groove and Fafara's icy, earworm warnings. The album's standout production immediately shines, with the track's thick riffs, haunting leads, room-filling drums and Fafara's vocal prowess leading the way. Eerie, insistent "Mantra" drops a wave of melodic aggression on the listener, instantly inducing headbanging with its breakneck pace and occult lyricism. Dynamic tracks like "Nothing Lasts Forever" and "Summoning" cascade with alternating passages of sinister riffage and memorable chants. "Bloodbath" is as brutal as its name suggests, ominously bending and pummeling with immediate aggression, as "It's A Hard Truth" continues the onslaught, cautioning against delusion amid balanced melodic leads. Closer anthems "If Blood Is Life" and "This Relationship, Broken" are the blood-soaked cherries atop "Dealing With Demons Vol. II", bringing together all of the elements that make DEVILDRIVER the best at their craft.

Fafara adds: "'Dealing With Demons Vol. II' is — simply put — a conversation in its entirety about dealing with 'inner' demons. It's a conversation in song form between 'self and a power apart from one's self, and trying to bury old entities.'"

"Dealing With Demons Vol. II" track listing:

01. I Have No Pity
02. Mantra
03. Nothing Lasts Forever
04. Summoning
05. Through The Depths
06. Bloodbath
07. It's A Hard Truth
08. If Blood Is Life
09. This Relationship, Broken

Last December, DEVILDRIVER parted ways with drummer Austin D'Amond and replaced him with Davier Pérez.

D'Amond joined DEVILDRIVER in 2015 as the replacement for original drummer John Boecklin.

In July 2022, DEVILDRIVER announced the return of original bassist Jon Miller after more than a decade-long absence from the scene. In addition to epic reunion, DEVILDRIVER added guitarist Alex Lee (HOLY GRAIL) to the lineup, replacing Neal Tiemann.

Ibarra joined DEVILDRIVER in 2016 as the replacement for former BURY YOUR DEAD guitarist Chris Towning, who appeared on the Fafara-fronted band's 2013 album "Winter Kills".

In October 2021, DEVILDRIVER parted ways with Tiemann. Neal, formerly of BURN HALO, joined the band in 2015 as the replacement for Jeff Kendrick, who left DEVILDRIVER in October 2014.

DEVILDRIVER 2023 is:

Dez Fafara - Vocals
Mike Spreitzer - Guitar
Jon Miller - Bass
Alex Lee - Guitar
Davier Pérez - Drums

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer

Hard-hitting and melodic; pissed off and groovy; energetic and catchy: upon first listen, it is clear that Sicksense is all of these things. The band - comprised of vocalists Killer V (Vicky Psarakis) and Rob The Ripper (Robby J. Fonts), guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The True Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard) – released their debut 5-song EP, Kings Today, on April 22, 2022.


Sicksense has released the new single, "Fools Tomorrow", featuring Fozzy guitarist Billy Grey. Check out the official video below.







The band recently checked in with the following update:


"Sicksense is ecstatic to announce we are playing our first shows ever, and they'll be happening in our hometown of Montreal! Two back-to-back headline dates in June at Turbo Haüs. Come celebrate our Double EP Release shows with us! We hope to see you there. Get pre-sale tickets & VIP Upgrades here."





Kings Today is now available here.





Kings Today tracklisting:


"Kings Today"
"Forgotten Days"
"Make Believe"
"Soul Snatcher"
"Heart Of Stone"


"Make Believe" video:





"Forgotten Days"





"Kings Today"





Having both performed a range of styles in numerous heavy bands, Killer V and Rob The Ripper (who are married) wanted to return to a genre that’s close to their hearts, but also make music that is specifically written for two vocalists. Written with dual vocal interplay from a male / female perspective, their performance reflects a personal and fun side of them as people, but also tackles social and societal issues in the world today. Backed by guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The Trve Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard), Sicksense would be born out of the band’s desire to share their upbeat and fun message with the world. Sicksense chooses musical inspiration from various bands and those influences shine through in their debut EP, Kings Today.   


Sicksense is:


Killer V – Vocals/Keys
Rob The Ripper – Vocals
Breakdown Bran – Guitars
Spot-On Sam/SOS – Bass
The Trve Cody Taylor – Drums


(Photo by: Chris Kells, Edit by: Ash To Life)

CANDLEBOX will release a new, live acoustic album, titled "Live At The Neptune", on June 23 via Pavement Entertainment. It will be available on all streaming platforms, as well as on vinyl and CD.

Featuring all four original CANDLEBOX members — Kevin Martin, Peter Klett, Bardi Martin and Scott Mercado — "Live At The Neptune" was recorded at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, Washington on November 5, 2021, when the lineup reunited for one night only to celebrate the 26th anniversary of their iconic album "Lucy". The setlist features hit songs from the band’s self-titled debut as well as their sophomore release "Lucy".

Lead singer Kevin Martin says: "That was such an amazing night for us to share with our fans. We're so stoked with how great this recording turned out. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do!"

Guitarist Peter Klett adds: "I love that we were able to capture such a vibe. It feels as though you're there with the band."

The track listing is as follows:

Side A

01. Cover Me
02. Blinders
03. He Calls Home
04. Change

Side B

01. Blossom
02. Sometimes
03. You
04. Far Behind

Fans can also pre-order "Live At The Neptune" on CD. This format has two bonus songs that are not included on the vinyl: "A Stone's Throw Away" and "It's Alright".

Last month, CANDLEBOX announced details of its 30th-anniversary celebration and farewell tour. "The Long Goodbye Tour 2023", which kicks off June 10 and runs through September 23, will feature a career retrospective of the band's extensive eight studio album catalogue.

The farewell tour dates, alongside CANDLEBOX's support dates with 3 DOORS DOWN on their "Away From The Sun Anniversary Tour", will hit amphitheaters in major markets across the U.S. CANDLEBOX will also perform with legendary LYNYRD SKYNYRD on Friday, May 5 at Frank Brown Park in Panama City, Florida.

To celebrate, CANDLEBOX will offer VIP meet-and-greet packages at each 3 DOORS DOWN date, including a ticket, early entry, photo with the band, and merchandise.

In addition to CANDLEBOX's extensive tour schedule this year, the band is working on its final studio album with producer Don Miggs. It will be released later this year by Round Hill Records. Additionally, a feature-length documentary, "Far Behind: The Candlebox Story", is in the works for the group. Executive produced by Guy Oseary and Amy Decker and co-produced by Warner Music Entertainment (WME),the television and film division of Warner Music Group, and Highway West Entertainment, the film will explore the beginnings of what the world would come to know as the grunge scene, following CANDLEBOX on their rise to fame.

CANDLEBOX first formed in 1991 and helped lay the groundwork for the grunge genre, alongside notable bands such as PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA, and others.

CANDLEBOX has sold over seven million albums worldwide, scoring the megahits "Far Behind" and "You", which have garnered over 100 million streams, decades after their initial release. The band's latest album, "Wolves", had been in the top 10 on two Billboard charts (Hard Music Albums and Alternative Albums).

Last May, Martin announced plans to retire after the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's debut album in 2023. "I am retiring after next summer — yes, I am retiring," the CANDLEBOX frontman told the 94.3 The Shark radio station.

Noting that CANDLEBOX would celebrate its 31st birthday in October 2022, Martin said: "I don't know if I would have ever thought that CANDLEBOX would be around this long. I wanted it, of course; I think every kid wants to have that opportunity and a career that lasts decades, and I'm very grateful that it has. But there comes a time where my responsibilities as a husband and a father supersede my responsibilities to the music that I make. And that's kind of where I'm at. I enjoy it, but it's not the love of my life anymore. And that's, I think, when you as an artist you kind of have to recognize that and step away from it. And if it means that five years after that I decide that I wanna go out and do some shows, I'll do it; if two years after that I decide I'm going to do some shows… But I won't be doing the full-band tours for two, three, four months. I don't wanna do that. It's really, really hard. And I miss my family. And physically, it's very taxing. The way I sing, it's acrobatic, so it's not something that I wanna be performing and not have my voice work. So I'd rather go out on top, I think, is the term."

Although Martin plans on retiring from the road, he hasn't closed the door on making more music.

"I know that I've got another record I have to do," he told the 94.3 The Shark. "And people are saying, 'Well, if you do another record, you've gotta tour on it.' Well, that's not necessarily true. I would certainly want to and have people hear it, but I think that the case is that it's probably best for me to just accept that the mindset that I'm in and what I've decided for myself is what I need to do. As much as I may wanna keep singing and doing this and putting myself in the music the way I do, I have to recognize that I'm not in love with it the way I [once] was."

Kevin went on to say that "a lot of people" are telling him that he can't retire. "And a lot of those people are my bandmembers and my management," he revealed. "They're, like, 'You can't retire. People love you, and they love your music.' But like I said, man, I have got to put myself first emotionally in everything I do. And that's kind of where I'm at. I don't want to stop singing a song like 'Sometimes' that means the world to me, or 'It's Alright' or 'Far Behind' or 'You', because I love them, but I just know that it's the decision I have to make."

Ted Nugent says that he stands with Kid Rock in the latter's meltdown over Anheuser-Busch's decision to enlist trans activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney as a Bud Light brand influencer.

The TikTok star with more than 10 million followers posted a video advertising the beer company's March Madness contest offering customers a chance to win $15,000. This caused a number of conservatives to share their apparent anger over the partnership, including Kid Rock, who posted a video of him using a semi-automatic rifle to shoot a rapid fire of bullets at several cases of Bud Light which had been placed on top of a table by a river.

"Grandpa is feeling a little frisky today. Let me tell you as clear and concise as possible," the 52-year-old rocker said before shooting up the beer. He then raised his middle finger and shouted: "Fuck Bud Light and fuck Anheuser-Busch."

Mulvaney revealed to her Instagram followers that Bud Light had sent her a personalized can with her face on it to commemorate 365 days since she began her gender transition.

However, Anheuser-Busch said the cans with Mulvaney's face on them were a personal gift to her and that she is one of hundreds of influencers the company partners with.

"Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points," a spokesperson for the company told Fox News. "From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public."

Nugent addressed Anheuser-Busch's collaboration with Mulvaney in an interview with Eric Bolling, the host of Newsmax's "Eric Bolling The Balance". Addressing Kid Rock's response to the world's largest brewing company's partnership with the TikTok star, Ted said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think I might have trained Kid Rock appropriately, because nothing says 'I love you' like a fully automatic MP5 and nine-millimeter blasting about 600 rounds per minute.

"The beauty of my life — there's so many things — is that I've never spent one red cent on alcohol, but I made my sure that my entire crew and my family will never allow any Anheuser-Bush products anywhere near my world," he continued. "Or now it looks like Jack Daniel's has fallen into the same crevasse of stupidity," he said, apparently referencing a Jack Daniel's ad from two years ago featuring a trio of drag performers as part of the brand's pact with "RuPaul's Drag Race" alums on the "Drag Queen Summer Glamp" campaign.

"How could they be that disrespectful and give the middle finger to their core consumer demographic?" Ted added. "Can they possibly have a meeting around a table and come to the conclusion that they're gonna piss in the face of the people that pay their salaries? This is the epitome of a cultural deprivation in an ongoing tsunami of cultural deprivation, but I get a kick out of it because good people are still standing our ground.

"I just wrapped up a wonderful shitkicker brunch I have every week with farmers and ranchers and cops and teachers and hardware store operators and energy barons and guitar players and music people, and we stand with Kid Rock's statement that if that corporation of that industry can be that out of touch and disrespectful to their consumer base, then — like Kid Rock said — have a nice day, dirtbags."

When Bolling implied that the vast majority of beer consumers would likely not be interested in promoting the radical gender theory associated with Dylan's gender identity, Ted said: "Don't try to use logic to figure this stuff out. Don't try to use logic to figure out Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Don't try to use logic or you'll have a headache, because there's no logic to be found.

"I'm a guy that celebrates truth, logic and common sense, much like you, Eric, and all of my friends, and truth, logic and common sense is kryptonite to our government, to Big Tech, to the media, to everything leftist, communist, Democrat party. These people have not only lost their minds, they've lost their souls.

"And remember, I'm a big fan of quality beverages," he continued. "I think a beer is probably better for you than a sugary, nasty drink loaded with things that are bad for you. But I don't drink alcohol. But I have a backstage party every night, and my crew and my band and my friends come. There will never be any Anheuser-Busch or Jack Daniel's because they've gone down the same route.

"So we the people who stand for good over evil, we can't just voice it; we've really got to enact it. Walk the walk, not just talk the talk. So everybody out there, this is an indicator that you don't support Disney. You don't even support Tractor Supply. Eric, they supported a drag queen event in Waco where these perverted monsters were singing to children, 'We like it when you kiss me where I pee.' And an outfit like Tractor Supply supports this?

"So we don't do business with those people," Ted added. "And we call their headquarters and we let 'em know that we don't do business with them and we tell 'em that nobody we know will do business with them. So I'd like to think that the response to this will be appropriate."

Nugent and Kid Rock got to spend some time in the Oval Office with then-U.S. president Donald Trump in April 2017. They were joined by Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan governor and GOP vice presidential nominee, who posted photos of the visit on social media the following morning. Nugent later told the Detroit Free Press that he and Kid Rock represent a salt-of-the-earth American demographic that helped Trump land the presidency.

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Finland's Recordshop X has issued the following update for Children Of Bodom fans:


"Back in 2009, the cover album of Children Of Bodom, Skeletons In The Closet, was released only on CD format, so it's about time to have it available on wax as well! Double vinyl includes all 20 tracks which were recorded on the album, now for the first time on same record. We suggest to pre-order the green color version asap, cos it's limited to only 300 copies worldwide. If you like to carry things, why not order a bundle tote bag with this magnificent vinyl reissue?"


Go to this location to pre-order. Official release date is June 16th, 2023.







Tracklist:


Side A
"Lookin’ Out My Back Door" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
"Hell Is For Children" (Pat Benatar)
"Somebody Put Something In My Drink" (Ramones)
"Mass Hypnosis" (Sepultura)
"Don´t Stop At The Top" (Scorpions)


Side B
"Silent Scream" (Slayer)
"She Is Beautiful" (Andrew W.K.)
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (Kenny Rogers)
"Bed Of Nails" (Alice Cooper)
"Hellion" (W.A.S.P.)


SiDe C
"Aces High" (Iron Maiden)
"Rebel Yell" (Billy Idol)
"No Commands" (Stone)
"Antisocial" (Trust/Anthrax)
"Talk Dirty To Me" (Poison)


Side D
"War Inside My Head" (Suicidal Tendencies)
"Ooops!… I Did It Again" (Britney Spears)
"Waiting" (King Diamond)
"Ghostriders In The Sky" (Bob Geddins Cavaliers)
"Shot In The Dark" (Ozzy Osbourne) 


"Aces High"





"Shot In The Dark"





"Hellion"

Bringing together East Coast attitude with West Coast swagger, Trip The Wire is a high-energy hard rock band from one of rock music’s meccas: Seattle, Washington. The group is set to release their self-titled debut on June 16th, 2023.


Today, Trip The Wire has shared the first taste of their new album with the single / video "Hurricane".







Born and raised in the Bronx, Trip The Wire’s frontwoman Eve Clarke joined forces with lifetime Washingtonian axe-man Dave Farrell in 2020. Soon after, Eve's bandmate from another project, bass player Johnny Massey, joined the fold. Drummer Rico Ybarra rounded out the lineup just prior to the band’s first show at Tony V’s in Everett, Washington. 


Trip The Wire’s upcoming self-titled debut offering, in all aspects, is a true blue heavy metal opus. The musical vibe is that of classic to traditional heavy metal with the catchiness and infectiousness of the occasional pop influence. Vocally, Clarke can sit right up on the throne with any of the great metal vocalists of the day. Musically, the same goes for the rest of the band, whose cohesion and tight execution make for an album that is both relentless and well-paced. 


Thematically, the album traverses a continent’s worth of territory. Album opener “In The Crossfire” is your battle anthem for 2023, while “Hurricane” is a hot, steamy endeavor about not being able to get enough of your lover. The accompanying video for “Hurricane” also sees Clarke’s video production debut. “Shine On” showcases the band’s softer, more emotional side, while “Step Nine” takes to task the harsh realities of coping with behaviors that stem from addiction. 


Trip The Wire wants you to “take a leap and put it all on the line. Go for it, live life to the fullest.” Recorded and mixed by Sean Walker at Uberbeatz Studios in Lynnwood, WA and mastered by Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in Los Angeles, CA, their debut is sure to fire you up to do just that!





Tracklisting:


"In The Crossfire"
"Anti Love"
"Hurricane"
"Zombie Child"
"Shine On"
"The Fire"
"Maybe Next Time"
"Outta My Hands"
"Never Enough"
"Step Nine"


 

METALLICA kicked off a four-night residency on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Monday night (April 10) by sitting down for a chat with host Jimmy Kimmel and performing "Lux Æterna", the lead single from the band's upcoming album, "72 Seasons". During the interview portion of their appearance on the ABC program, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich talked about being on our show all week, young people being into their music, "Master Of Puppets" exploding after "Stranger Things", their kids being musicians, their cover song competition for high school and college marching bands, going on tour and doing two nights in each city, pressing their own vinal records, and the first albums that each of them ever bought. You can watch video below.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has the distinction of being the longest-running late night program still on the air.

Last Friday, when METALLICA first announced its "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" residency, the band wrote on social media: "In a first for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, it's 'Metallica Week,' as we will be the musical guest each night, beginning on Monday, April 10, through Thursday, April 13. We'll be playing live for all four shows, and you'll also catch us on the couch, chatting with Jimmy one night. Keep your eyes peeled for other sightings during the broadcast, as we really don't know what else Jimmy will get us involved in!"

METALLICA previously appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2021 when they read one-star reviews of their classic Black Album on the show. More recently, Kimmel hosted METALLICA's "All Within My Hands" benefit concert and auction in December.

"72 Seasons" will be released April 14 via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield and Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track "72 Seasons" is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct". The album will be released in formats, including 2LP 140g black vinyl and limited-edition variants, CD and digital.

METALLICA and Trafalgar Releasing will hold a worldwide "72 Seasons" listening party. For one night only on Thursday, April 13, "72 Seasons" will be played in full in surround sound, exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide — with every one of the new songs featuring its own music video and exclusive commentary from the band.

The "72 Seasons" global premiere sees METALLICA and Trafalgar joining forces once more, having previously worked together on the October 2019 worldwide cinematic release of "S&M²", which documented METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony reuniting to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their original "S&M" (Symphony & Metallica) concerts and releases.

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".

Iberian black/death metal practitioners, Noctem, performed the title track of their 2019 album, The Black Consecration, during their set at Bloodstock Open Air 2022. Watch professionally-filmed footage below:





The band’s new full-length, Credo Certe Ne Cras, was released last October via MNRK Heavy. Find order options here.







Credo Certe Ne Cras trackisting:


"I Am Alpha"
"Sovereign Providence"
"Sanctum Of Anguish"
"Credo Certe Ne Cras"
"Homilia Of Punishment"
"The Pale Moon Rite"
"The Tolling Of The Nine Bells"
"Chalice Of Turpitude"
"Ceremonial Miasma"
"We Are Omega"


"Credo Certe Ne Cras" video:





"We Are Omega" video:





Noctem:


Beleth - vocals
Varu - bass
Voor - drums
Moss - guitars
Tobal - guitars

Montreal, Canada's Vvon Dogma I burst onto the scene with their debut EP, Communion, back in 2017, which received critical acclaim for its innovative sound and intricate instrumentation provided by nine-string bassist Chaoth, known for his playing in Unexpect.


Now, Vvon Dogma I is releasing another album, The Kvlt Of Glitch, poised to take things to the next level, pushing the boundaries of experimental rock and challenging listeners with their unconventional approach to music.


The first single to be dropped is “One Eye”, on which Chaoth shares his thoughts: “It is the first single even though it doesn't necessarily represent the whole album. Sometimes you have to go with something different. It sounds more playful and not as serious than the rest of this dark-ass album and I guess the video shows that a little bit. I got to collaborate with my old friend Pierre-Olivier Forest for the video. Really just an excuse to reconnect with an old friend.”




Musically, Chaoth comes from a world where you have to dare to do something different, and The Kvlt Of Glitch is exactly that. It will wrench the listener out of his or her comfort zone and send them into another dimension of deep synths and extraordinary riffs.


The writing process for Vvon Dogma I is mostly taken upon by Chaoth right now, but he is looking to have way more collaboration on the following releases. ''It starts with the music and then I apply lines from my lyric book'', but Chaoth says that sometimes the music forces you to change the words so that everything flows phonetically. It's like a sonic Tetris where everything needs to fall into place and feel right.


“One Eye” is recommended for open-minded fans who enjoy avant-garde sounds and who already enjoy Sleep Token, Unprocessed, and Meshuggah. Watch the music video for “One Eye” below.


The Kvlt Of Glitch was produced by Chaoth along with Blaise Borboën-Léonard, Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy), and Dave Evangelista, and is due out May 5. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:​


"The Void"
"Tabula Rasa"
"Triangles and Crosses"
"Day of The Dead"
"One Eye"
"Hivemind"
"Lithium Blue"
"2 + 2 = 5" (Radiohead cover)
"Hurt"
"The Great Maze"


"One Eye" video:

Mentalist and former Blind Guardian drummer, Thomen Stauch, has released a drum playthrough video for Gotthard's "I Wonder", lifted from that band's 2005 release, Lipservice. Watch below:





A selection of Thomen's previous drum cover videos are available below:

Music In Motion Ent is set to release Honymoon Suite's Clifton Hill... Revisited. This 2023 reissue has been remixed from the original multi-tracks bringing the sound into the modern era. Johnnie Dee and Derry Grehan have recorded two new acoustic versions of “Ordinary” and “Sittin' In The Garden” with producer Vic Branco at Iguana Studios in Toronto, ON along with the accompanying videos. A Dolby Atmos mix of the album from Iguana Studios will also be available online.


Honeymoon Suite’s sixth studio album was recorded in an old church in Hamilton, ON and produced by Tom Treumuth, who also produced the band’s triple platinum debut album in 1984. The songs are classic Honeymoon Suite returning to the pure melodic rock sound that made the band famous in the 80’s. The title of the album is a nod to their roots in Niagara Falls, ON where it all started in 1982. Street date is soon to be announced for fall 2023.







Tracklisting:


"The House"
"Riffola"
"That's All U Got"
"Why Should I?"
"Ordinary"
"She Ain't Alright"
"Sunday Morning"
"Tired O' Waiting On You"
"Restless"
"Separate Lives"
"Sittin' In The Garden"
"Ordinary" (acoustic) *
"Sittin' In The Garden" (acoustic) *  


* denotes CD version only


The limited edition CD/LP version is now available for pre-sale on the Honeymoon Suite webstore here through RockPaperMerch.com. This special edition of 200 pieces is pressed on red/yellow swirl vinyl and comes in special gatefold packaging that also houses the CD version with bonus tracks. All albums are personally hand signed by vocalist Johnnie Dee and guitarist Derry Grehan.


Prior to their full band concert on May 26 at Classic Bowl in Mississauga ON, Johnnie and Derry will perform a special acoustic set on May 24 at the same venue to celebrate the release of Clifton Hill... Revisited. 100 fans will be the first to hear the new album and view the two new videos at a listening party. A special live acoustic set will follow including never before played songs from Clifton Hill plus a selection of  the band's hits. Johnnie & Derry will then have an exclusive Q&A and everyone who purchased the release will get their Clifton Hill... Revisited CD/LP personally signed.


Tickets and details are now available through the band's webstore on RockPaperMerch.com. Doors open at 6 PM. All packages also include a Commemorative Ticket and special Room Key keychain.

TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider was the latest celebrity to be revealed on Wednesday's (April 5) episode of "The Masked Singer", as the Doll.

Doll came in third place, behind Dandelion and Mantis, after a performance of "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley. None of the panelists got Doll's identity right. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg thought it was Iggy Pop. Robin Thicke went with Gene Simmons, Nicole Scherzinger named David Lee Roth and Ken Jeong guessed Austin Butler.

"I couldn't believe you guys didn't get it," Dee said to the panel during his unmasked interview with host Nick Cannon. "You were circling around it. But let me tell you — Gene Simmons, Iggy Pop, no one could wear pumps like I did. And by the way, ladies, it's like riding a bike. I wore them in the '70s. It all came back to me once I put them on." When asked if he had anything to say to his fans, Dee began an impromptu performance of his band's classic hit "We're Not Gonna Take It".

Based on an international hit, "The Masked Singer" features celebrities facing off against one another with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity.

Asked by Entertainment Weekly why he decided to do "The Masked Singer" now, Dee said: "Well, actually, to tell a secret, I was asked season one to be on the show. And I said, 'No, this show will never work.' [Laughs] Nine seasons later, they said, 'Will you be on it now?' 'Yes, I'll be on it now.' I did the same thing with 'Sharknado' by the way. They asked me to be in 'Sharknado 1', I go, 'Oh, this will never work.' And then 'Sharknado 6' there I was in Romania dressed as a sheriff. And apologizing to the director. 'You were right. You were right.' So you gotta imagine I said no and all of a sudden this show it's just like, blowing up. Well, that was really a bad call. So I was glad to get asked to have another chance."

Snider also talked about the difficulty of performing while wearing the Doll costume, saying: "I had to pull back my natural performing tendency. People say, 'Wow, you were really moving on stage.' But what I would do normally and what I wanted to do was so much more, but with my limited range of vision, and wearing these high heels, there was a lot of obstacles, many edges of the stage to fall off of. There was gaps, there was wires, all kinds of things like that. So if I communicate anything to your readers, I'd say, appreciate that this is a very difficult thing for every single member of the cast who comes on that show. And we're out of our comfort zone. It's almost like a sensory deprivation situation when they put that headpiece on you. It is like, whoa, where am I? What am I doing? Where am I going? I can't see anything. You know, so it's tough."

AS I LAY DYING has completed recording the drums for the band's next studio album. The LP will mark the band's first with its new lineup, featuring founding vocalist Tim Lambesis and longtime guitarist Phil Sgrosso alongside drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH),bassist vocalist Ryan Neff (MISS MAY I) and guitarist Ken Susi (UNEARTH).

Earlier today (Monday, April 10),AS I LAY DYING shared a photo and a short video from the studio and included the following message: "Drums have been tracked for the new album".

Last September, Lambesis told Metalshop TV about AS I LAY DYING's recent lineup changes: "I think for our fans, they think that the changes happened all in a very short period of time, but they actually happened over the last two years. The first change was on guitar we invited Ken Susi to fill in for us. And that was about two years ago that we invited him. But then, of course, the pandemic happened and so we had a lot of breaks until we had a tour again. So Ken's been rehearsing with us, or talking about rehearsing with us, for the last couple of years. And on drums we have Nick Pierce, who joined us. Nick Pierce was previously in UNEARTH; Ken is from UNEARTH as well. And Nick stopped playing with UNEARTH and coincidentally at the same time we needed a drummer, because our previous drummer hadn't been communicating with us; he went very isolated once the pandemic hit. And so there wasn't an argument or anything like that; it was just a situation where when the pandemic hit, he decided to take a new direction in life and kind of cut himself off from the rest of us. And we decided we wanted to keep going forward. Phil and I had been the ones writing the songs all these years, so when Nick Pierce left UNEARTH, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have him perform with us. And then Ryan came from MISS MAY I. He was the last guy to come in. And he didn't come in until a couple of months ago. Our bass player, Josh, previously left, and he's with SPIRITBOX now. And when he decided to go perform with SPIRITBOX, we called up Ryan, who was with MISS MAY I. And Ryan Neff was on tour at the time. And then we asked him, 'Can you start touring with us as soon as this tour is over?' And he said, 'Well, I'm only gonna have three days off to rehearse in between tours.' He said, 'If you guys want me to do it, I'll make sure I come prepared.' And he had a lot to learn in three days, but he pulled it together. He's a very, very hard-working guy."

Lambesis also talked about AS I LAY DYING's plans for a new studio album as a follow-up to "Shaped By Fire", which came out in September 2019 via Nuclear Blast.

"Well, we have demos going back and forth between Phil and I," he said at the time. "The two of us have been writing songs for 20 years, and so we have a very, I guess, refined method of writing where we exchange demos early on so that they have room to be pulled apart. And then once there's a full instrumental, then I start writing lyrics. And I typically don't write lyrics until after we have all the instrumentals together. So pretty shortly after this tour we'll finish the demo process and then I can start writing lyrics. And hopefully by the end of the year we'll finish recording so we can have an album next year."

In June 2022, longtime AS I LAY DYING drummer Jordan Mancino announced that he would sit out the band's tour due to "a number of ongoing internal issues" that "have not yet been resolved."

Mancino's announcement came less than a month after AS I LAY DYING's longtime bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert revealed that he was leaving the band. In a statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said that Gilbert "decided to exit" the group "to pursue other musical opportunities."

Josh was the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. In August 2021, guitarist Nick Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.

Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

In September 2021, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".

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Nomad Snakepit Productions has announced the June 1 release of Infernäl Mäjesty's None Shall Live (In Rotterdam) album.


Infernäl Mäjesty, the undisputed Canadian masters of old-school death/thrash metal, went on tour through Europe in 1997 (together with Malevolent Creation, Vader and Vital Remains), where they finally presented their timeless ’87 opus, None Shall Defy, for the very first time to the hungry European crowds. One of their live shows (in Rotterdam, The Netherlands) happened to be captured with an amazing sound quality, and was recently resurrected by Nomad Snakepit Productions.







The LP features five tracks from their magnum opus None Shall Defy, and one that would later appear on (and name) their sophomore album, Unholier Than Thou. The LP has been pressed on red/yellow vinyl (honouring the flames of Hell) and is strictly limited to 200 copies. It further contains an insert with extensive liner-notes and exclusive band pictures.





Tracklisting:


"None Shall Defy"
"Anthology Of Death"
"Overlord"
"Unholier Than Thou"
"S.O.S."
"Night Of The Living Dead"

In a new interview with Consequence, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said that he prides him on the ability to play what the song calls for, adding that a talented drummer will play what's best for the song and can perform simply, even though they are capable of doing more when needed.

"It's often easier to play fast than it is to play slow," Ulrich explained. "Or it's easier to sit down and figure out how to play 600 notes in a guitar solo than it is to play 20 that are tasty. You can learn the 600 notes from a book, but it's much harder to learn how, like a [Eric] Clapton or [Jimi] Hendrix or [Ritchie] Blackmore, some of these guys weave in and out of time signatures. That's not something that's so easy to write down. That's more feel, and feel is less easily definable in a book than is ability.

"I'm just more interested in landing on what the song needs, than, 'Look at what I could do with backwards paradiddles standing on my head, dangling from the ceiling,'" he added.

Lars's latest comments come more than two years after he told METALLICA's So What! fan-club magazine that he is no longer bothered by people's criticism of his drumming abilities. At the time, the Danish-born musician said: "Unlike years ago, I basically don't read any of the interviews that the other guys [in METALLICA] do. 20 or 30 years ago, we would all sit and fucking read every page of Kerrang! and every page of Circus magazine, see what so-and-so's saying and what the other band members were saying, what James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] was saying about this and that. Now there's just none of that. I also don't really read what people say about METALLICA.

"I'll say that occasionally, once every six months or something like that, it's kind of fun to go through the trolling section just because of the ridiculousness of all of it, but it's not something that I do regularly anymore," he revealed. "20 years ago, it would've been, 'Oh, my God, somebody said something bad,' or, 'That person said a nasty comment in the comments section,' or whatever. Now, none of that really means anything to me."

Back in 2016, Ulrich, who has gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast that he went through a period in the mid-1980s "that probably culminated in the 'Justice' album where I felt sort of compelled to try to show ability."

According to Lars, part of the reason for him feeling insecure about his abilities was the increased competition from some of his peers.

"Listen, when you've got Dave Lombardo and Charlie Benante breathing down your back, it was, like, 'Okay, I've gotta…' I tried to step it up a little bit and tried to do my own thing and do all this crazy shit," he said. "I was trying really hard to push the drums kind of into the foreground. And then, after like a year or two of that, I was, like, 'Okay. Seriously? Just do your thing. Chill out. Support the riffs. Do what's best for the song.' So since around I guess the late '80s — so I guess it's been, like, 25 years now — the only thing that's really interested me is just doing the best thing for the song."

Asked in a 2008 interview with U.K.'s Rhythm magazine if he was troubled by the fact that he's gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, Lars said: "It used to, back in the day — and I spent a lot of time overcompensating for that on the early records. But then you wake up one day and you're like, whatever. It hasn't bothered me for [many] years. I'm no Joey Jordison, I'm no Mike Portnoy, and I have nothing but love and respect and admiration for all those guys. When I hear some of the young dudes, they blow my mind with what they can do with their feet and stuff — but it's not something that makes me go, 'I need to feel better about myself so I'm gonna learn how to do what they do with my feet.' I'm not a particularly accomplished drummer but I am very, very, very good at understanding the role of the drums next to James Hetfield's rhythm guitar. I guarantee you I'm the best guy in the world for that, and that's enough for me."

Ulrich stated about his playing ability in a 2012 interview with DRUM! magazine: "I usually feel like I've regressed. [Laughs] I'm like, 'Why can't I do that anymore?'" He continued: "I can't say that I necessarily sit down to practice, like, 'I'm going to play and practice so I can get better.' What happens is that I just sit down and kind of play to just more stay in shape."

Ulrich added: "You know, METALLICA was up to two or three months off [in 2011], and I would sit down, I have an iPod next to my drums so I can play along to all kind of crazy stuff, and try to see if I can land in the same zip code of some of that stuff occasionally. But I can't say that I sit down to necessarily practice to sort of get better. For most of my stuff, it's about listening and about interpreting stuff that I'm listening to. So all the kind of sitting down and, you know, 'Now I'm going to do thirty-second-note paradiddles standing on my head — you know what I mean? I don't do that kind of stuff so much. For me it's more about the regimen of staying in shape, running every day, eating healthy, you know, being on top of that side of it."

EMPEROR frontman Ihsahn (real name: Vegard Sverre Tveitan) says that he would be open to the idea of him and his bandmates writing and recording a comeback album under the right set of circumstances.

EMPEROR's last studio album, "Prometheus - The Discipline Of Fire & Demise", was released in 2001 and was written entirely by Ihsahn. The band broke up shortly thereafter, with Ihsahn going on to pursue a solo career, while guitarist Samoth (real name: Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen) partook in a variety of bands, including SCUM and ZYKLON. EMPEROR has reunited frequently in ensuing years to perform live, but has continually resisted calls to release new material, something Ihsahn says he is no longer completely opposed to.

Asked in a new interview with Australia's Heavy if there will ever be a follow-up to "Prometheus - The Discipline Of Fire & Demise", Ihsahn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If I had a dime for every time someone asked that… That's, of course, a question that has come up a lot. And I think it's easy to answer and it's kind of hard at the same point. Because to start with, for 20 years, I've been, like, 'No way.' I've seen no point in doing that. But it's always come up. And it's something that me and Samoth have to relate to. And sometimes we touch on it more like just by coincidence.

"From my perspective, and I can only speak for myself, so far it's been very hard to see where we would pick up," he continued. "The legacy of EMPEROR is that we never compromised. I think that is what appealed to the people who got into this music, that it was not made in a certain way for people to like it. It was just made totally without compromise, and people picked up on it probably because of that honesty.

"If we were to make another EMPEROR record, should we make something that sounded like the old stuff? Which would be easy, but it wouldn't really be true," Ihsahn explained. "Or should we pick up where we left off with 'Prometheus', with me doing more and more experimental stuff. I'm not sure that would be what the fans would want. In the end, what would be the motivation outside any commercial things? And I think for it to happen, we would have to come to a place where our ideas aligned and that it felt right to do, in the same way that the shows have come together and we are now in a place where it feels right to do, where everybody's kind of in the same place.

"So, before [I would have said] immediately no, but if circumstances would have it that we would connect creatively and that we could create something on the same pure kind of values that we did in the first place, then I would be open to do that," he added.

EMPEROR will embark on their first U.S. tour in over 15 years this summer. The trek will kick off on June 23 in Chicago, Illinois and conclude on July 1 in Anaheim, California.

Formed in 1991, EMPEROR's game-changing debut "In The Nightside Eclipse" (1995) created the template for symphonic, bombastic, melodic black metal, while the follow-up record, "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" (1997) became an instant hit. They disbanded in 2001 following the release of "Prometheus – The Discipline of Fire & Demise". They reunited periodically between 2005 and 2014. In late 2016 it was announced that EMPEROR would reunite again for a special set of performances to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk". This legendary album cemented EMPEROR's reputation as the flagbearers of black metal and is still recognized as one of the most influential in this genre.

Photo credit: Bjørn Tore Moen / Freeman Promotions

JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon says that he supports MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars in his legal dispute with his bandmates over the latter group's ongoing tour.

When Mars, a co-founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE, announced his retirement from touring with the group last October as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in his lawsuit, which was filed last Thursday (April 6) in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, Mars said 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.

Schon, who founded JOURNEY in 1972 and remains the band's sole consistent member, having participated in every album and tour to date, weighed in on Mick's dispute with CRÜE on social media on Saturday (April 8). Responding to a Twitter poll asking "Are you on #TeamMick [or] #TeamMotleyCrue", Schon wrote "Mick" and added in a follow-up tweet: "Given his health issues, and he obvious swagger, he gives to the band through his guitar playing. He didn't deserve this."

After Mars filed his lawsuit on Thursday, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki 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."

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.

"Retiring from touring is resigning from the band," MÖTLEY CRÜE lawyer Sahsa Frid told Variety in response to the lawsuit. "The band's primary function is to tour and perform concerts. And as you saw from the amendment, if a shareholder resigns, he cannot receive any compensation from touring — which is what Mick is trying to get. It's clear-cut that Mick is not entitled to any more money."

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."

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.

Neal Schon photo credit: Erik Kabik
Given his health issues, and he obvious swagger, he gives to the band through his guitar playing. He didn’t deserve this.

— NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) April 8, 2023

GHOST leader Tobias Forge has revealed in a new interview with NME that he recorded covers of classic songs by RUSH, MISFITS, U2 and MOTÖRHEAD during the sessions that yielded the upcoming "Phantomime" EP, scheduled for release on May 18. However, it is not clear if those tracks will ever see the light of day.

"During the demoing of [GHOST's latest studio album] 'Impera', I kept working on demos for what I just referred to as the 'cover album'," he told NME. "Originally, the idea was to have 10 songs on this covers record, because I wanted to make a complete record and that LP was going to basically mirror 'Impera' somehow.

"Originally the selection was a little bit more eclectic," Forge revealed. "Look, I'm not going into great detail about them, because we might use some of them at a later point. But it was basically like a piano version of a MOTÖRHEAD song. There was [also] a MISFITS song that was really cool and a U2 track. We recorded it all. In fact, we did a really finished demo of RUSH's 'Distant Early Warning', and then after 'Impera', I was just like, 'I want to do a rock EP. A pure rock EP.'"

Forge explained that the decision to abandon the idea of a 10-track covers album in a favor of an EP came about because he felt "fried" by the "Impera" album sessions.

"I thought I’ll sort of take away some of the more experimental stuff, and just focus on the rock songs — the ones that are energetic," he said. "The ones that don't go into any excursions, as in not a piano-led MOTÖRHEAD track. There were even instrumental covers; like proper instrumentals. But I just wanted to basically make a new recording that was as opposed to 'Impera' as could be — quick and fairly simple."

"Phantomime" is comprised of covers of classics and deep cuts by TELEVISION, GENESIS, THE STRANGLERS, IRON MAIDEN and Tina Turner.

Sunday's (April 9) announcement of "Phantomime"'s impending release also solved the mystery of GHOST's recent "Jesus Is Coming" campaign, as referenced in the Good Friday premiere of the newest installment of the band's long-running webisode series, "Chapter 17: Nap Time". "Phantomime"'s May 18 release via Loma Vista Recordings was heralded by GHOST's interpretation of GENESIS's 1992 satirical stab at televangelists "Jesus He Knows Me", available now to stream and download.

This second coming of "Jesus He Knows Me" is accompanied by an Alex Ross Perry-directed video that will surely make the case that one person's beauty is another's blasphemy. Culminating in a climactic ritual that must be seen to be believed, GHOST's visual interpretation of "Jesus He Knows Me" rises to the occasion in unholy fashion — and then some.

"Phantomime" track listing:

01. See No Evil (TELEVISION)
02. Jesus He Knows Me (GENESIS)
03. Hanging Around (THE STRANGLERS)
04. Phantom Of The Opera (IRON MAIDEN)
05. We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (Tina Turner)

GHOST is no stranger to covers, having previously tackled material originally written and recorded by THE BEATLES ("Here Comes The Sun"), ABBA ("I'm A Marionette"), DEPECHE MODE ("Waiting For The Night"), Roky Erickson ("If You Have Ghosts"), METALLICA ("Enter Sandman"), PET SHOP BOYS ("It's A Sin") and EURYTHMICS ("Missionary Man"), among others.

This past February, GHOST revealed details of its upcoming "Re-Imperatour" summer 2023 U.S. tour with special guest AMON AMARTH. Produced by Live Nation and FPC Live, the 27-date trek kicks off on Wednesday, August 2 in Concord, California at Concord Pavilion, with stops in Salt Lake City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Austin and more before wrapping up with the band's Monday, September 11 return to the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

GHOST is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Impera", which sold 70,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the third top 10 album — and fifth top 40-charting set — for the Swedish act. The 12-song effort was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace.

"Impera" landed at position No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in France and Ireland, and No. 20 in Italy.

Forge worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare, whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga.

In January, GHOST released a new version of its song "Spillways" featuring a guest appearance by DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott.

"Spillways" is taken from "Impera", which was released in March 2022.

SWEET & LYNCH, the musical union of guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of STRYPER and legendary guitarist George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB),will release its third album, "Heart & Sacrifice", on May 19 via Frontiers Music Srl. The combination of Sweet's powerful, high-octane vocals and Lynch's immediately recognizable guitar heroics once again prove to be an unbeatable combination sure to please the hard rock faithful.

The official music video for the second single from the album, "Miracle", can be seen below.

Alessandro Del Vecchio, who co-produced this release with Sweet, plays bass on the album, while Jelly Cardarelli (LALU) plays drums.

Sweet says: "I'm very pleased with the outcome of the new SWEET & LYNCH album, 'Heart & Sacrifice'. It's diverse, complex and flows beautifully. Every song has something to say in its own unique way. George has always been one of my favorite players and it's an honor to work with him again. It's also an absolute pleasure working with Alessandro. We're able to bring all our own contributions and contribute to create an amazing set of songs and I couldn't be happier with the results. Get ready for 'Heart & Sacrifice'!"

SWEET & LYNCH, which has yet to play a single concert, first emerged with its debut album, "Only To Rise", in 2015. The album cracked the Billboard 200 and came in at No. 6 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, No. 17 on Independent Albums, No. 18 on Top Rock Albums, and No. 4 on Christian Albums charts. SWEET & LYNCH's sophomore album, "Unified", followed in 2017, landing at No. 53 on Top Current Albums, No. 13 on Top Current Rock Albums, and No. 8 on Record Label Independent Current Albums. While plans for a third album were always on the table, the project went on a slight hiatus while the guys concentrated on their other musical endeavors. 2022 proved to be the year where the creative juices for SWEET & LYNCH began to flow again and work on what would ultimately become "Heart & Sacrifice" began.

"Heart & Sacrifice" track listing:

01. Heart & Sacrifice
02. Where I Have To Go
03. Miracle
04. Leave It All Behind
05. You'll Never Be Alone
06. After All Is Said And Done
07. Give Up The Night
08. Will It Ever Change
09. It's Time To Believe
10. Every Day
11. It Rains Again
12. World Full Of Lies

"Heart & Sacrifice" recording lineup:

Michael Sweet - lead vocals, guitars
George Lynch - lead guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio - bass
Jelly Cardarelli - drums

Produced by: Michael Sweet and Alessandro Del Vecchio
Executive producer/A&R: Serafino Perugino

In a recent interview with the "Scars And Guitars" podcast, Sweet stated about "Heart & Sacrifice": "[It's got a] killer cover. When everyone sees the artwork, I think they're gonna love it. It's dark, but it says a lot; really cool. And the album itself went through some periods of change. In other words, George submitted a bunch of songs, and a couple of 'em weren't quite right, and we had to get some more songs submitted. We went and recorded the album, and then we wound up re-recording some other songs to add to it to make the album better. And the stage that it's in now is fantastic. It's really, I think, the strongest SWEET & LYNCH album."

Regarding the overall sound of the new SWEET & LYNCH LP, Michael said: "It's a little darker musically — not much; just a little bit. And a little heavier — like some of the songs are tuned way down; the guitar has a nice heavy feel to it. And I just love the feel of it. It's a little bit more, for lack of an explanation, a little bit more '90s than it is '80s. A little more '70s and '90s than it is '80s. But then you also hear the '80s flair. George is killing it on guitar. I kept trying to pull that out of him. Like he'd send a song where the solo was simplified, and I'd say, 'Dude, people wanna hear you tear it up. Just burn. Give 'em George — George Lynch.' And he'd submit a new solo, and it's, like, 'There it is. Just bring in the fire and the heat.'"

He added: "So I think this album is gonna really please people; they're gonna be pleasantly surprised and hopefully blown away."

Five years ago, Michael expressed his frustration about SWEET & LYNCH's lack of activity, telling the "Focus On Metal" podcast: "I've gotten to the point with SWEET & LYNCH where I'm almost sensing and feeling like maybe it's run its course. We did two albums. I talked about doing a third and a fourth and a fifth, but there is kind of no point to it if we don't tour. We really should be touring and playing those songs live. It's kind of pointless, after a while, if you're not doing that."

Sweet said in the aforementioned 2018 interview that another reason SWEET & LYNCH hadn't played any gigs is the fact that the LYNCH MOB leader and former DOKKEN guitarist "has his hands in so many different things. When the first album came out and the second album came out, I promoted the snot out of 'em and was really pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing," he said. "George didn't do a lot of promoting and a lot of pushing with those albums. It gets to be exhausting for me when I feel like I'm the only guy really pushing it. And that's not to take anything away from George — it's just a fact. It's a simple fact that I'm stating in saying that that becomes an issue.

"I'm one of those guys where I want everybody in the band pushing and promoting equally as much, as they should be," he continued. "Or why are you doing it? So I'm at that stage right now where I'm just kind of feeling like the fire is kind of dwindling. I don't want it to — I wanna pour some gasoline on the fire and ignite it again. Maybe that'll happen, but it's quite possible that it won't."

Sweet helms the Grammy-nominated Christian hard rock outfit STRYPER, which he co-founded more than 35 years ago, as the band's vocalist, guitarist, and main songwriter. To date, the band has more than 10 million career album sales worldwide. The venerable band ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40-charting singles like "Calling On You", "Honestly" and "Always There For You" and has in more recent years enjoyed an unparalleled career renaissance, delivering arguably the best albums of their storied career, including 2022's "The Final Battle".

Michael has released multiple solo albums, including a self-titled release in 1994, which yielded five No. 1 singles, "Truth" in 2000, the critically acclaimed 2015 project "I'm Not Your Suicide" (which peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Hard Rock albums),and 2019's "Ten", which reached No. 4 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. He recently partnered with Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE),Nathan James (INGLORIOUS),Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE) and Tommy Aldridge (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE) in the supergroup ICONIC, which was greeted with much adoration by rock fans around the globe.

Lynch emerged from the '80s hard rock scene with the L.A. based group DOKKEN and went on to become a world-renowned guitarist. Aside from DOKKEN, he also enjoyed great success with LYNCH MOB, the group he founded after leaving DOKKEN.

Lynch has gone on to become a prolific (that is an understatement, to say the least) music creator, continuing with LYNCH MOB, releasing solo albums, and a wealth of collaborative efforts over the decades. Those include, but are not limited to, KXM with Doug Pinnick (KING'S X) and Ray Luzier (KORN),THE END MACHINE with Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, ex-DOKKEN),Mick Brown (ex-DOKKEN),and Robert Mason (WARRANT),SWEET & LYNCH with Michael Sweet (STRYPER),ULTRAPHONIX with Corey Glover (LIVING COLOUR),DIRTY SHIRLEY with Dino Jelusick (ANIMAL DRIVE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA),and THE BANISHMENT with Joe Haze.

Original JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing says that he sympathizes with MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars in his legal dispute with his bandmates over the latter group's ongoing tour.

When Mars, a co-founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE, announced his retirement from touring with the group last October as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in his lawsuit, which was filed this past Thursday (April 6) in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, Mars said 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.

Downing, who left JUDAS PRIEST in 2011 just as the band was preparing to embark on what was supposed to be PRIEST's farewell tour, addressed the similarities between his situation and Mars's battle with his CRÜE bandmates in an audio message sent to BLABBERMOUTH.NET earlier today (Saturday, April 8). K.K. said: "I do sympathize [with Mick], because I'm going through exactly the same thing. And it's pretty unsavory, to say the least. After spending a lifetime building the band's name, reputation, popularity and value, in particular brand name, it should be all right for people to retire, especially through illness.

"In my case, we were gearing up in 2010 to do a final world tour, the 'Epitaph' tour, which was meant to be the end of the band," Downing explained. "And because I was having pressure put on me to write for an EP to support that tour, which I absolutely was not gonna be any part of… I certainly didn't want to finish my career with an EP. So I threw the towel in and sent a retirement letter in.

"There was a whole set of circumstances for me not doing the final tour. And one of the main considerations [was] we were getting to be concerned about Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] and we thought that he was gearing up, ready to leave [the band] again. Because in 2010, when all this was going on, the planning of the farewell tour and finishing the band, the justification was that Rob pretty much within 12 months [in] 2010 had released two studio albums with his own band and had done a world tour, including Ozzfest. And we were very much thinking that Rob, with his own manager, would go separate ways again. And that was another serious consideration. I really wanted to mention that because it really wasn't the band I was leaving; it was just I decided not to do the farewell, final tour of the band, because that's what we all agreed and that's what was intended to happen. So essentially my decision was just not to do the final tour of the band. Of course I didn't know that the band would continue, at that time, right up until today. Otherwise things and decisions may well have been different. But, as I said, I sympathize with Mick because the circumstances between the two of us seem to be pretty much… well, identical."

K.K. went on to say that Halford, bassist Ian Hill and guitarist Glenn Tipton "ganged together" and "kicked me off as a director" in the company Judas Priest Music Limited, which controls PRIEST's assets. "As a 25 percent shareholder in the company, their stance is that my shares don't have a value, which is completely ridiculous," Downing said. "I think Mick actually talked about that particular thing as well [as it relates to MÖTLEY CRÜE] and it seems to be what the rest of the guys in his band are trying to do also…. Even the [JUDAS PRIEST] 50-year anniversary book, for example, that's seriously well illustrated with so many pictures of my life's history that I don't get any revenue from that whatsoever, or from any merchandise. And I've been told that the company has no value."

Downing added that he wanted to speak about his experience in order to warn other musicians who could one day find themselves in a similar situation.

"I think to safeguard any other people that may be coming around to being in this position that may well be acquaintances of mine or even good friends of mine, I wouldn't like them to be in the same position," he said. "So safeguards needs to be put in place to avoid even the thought of litigation. But as for me and Mick, it seems that's our only route."

Downing left PRIEST amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.

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

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

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

K.K. reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony last November.

Halford, Hill, Tipton and drummer Scott Travis were joined by former PRIEST drummer Les Binks, Downing and current PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner for a three-song medley consisting of "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

The Metal Voice interviewed legendary songwriter and bassist Bob Daisley (Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath) about his Book For Facts Sake in 2021. During the conversation, Bob was asked about the time in 1984 when on tour with Ozzy he convinced Mötley Crüe not to fire Mick Mars.


“That night after the show Mick Mars went on our bus (with Ozzy on the Bark at the Moon tour in 1984) and I went on their bus so I was the only one from Ozzy that went on their bus," he explained. "And they were having a meeting. What they were planning on doing was getting rid of Mick and getting another guitarist in and they asked me for my opinion. So I said 'If you want my opinion for what it's worth I would say do not try to fix something that is not broken.' I said 'I have seen it before with Lee Kerslake in the Blizzard of Ozz.' I said 'You've got a chemistry there, you have a functioning unit, Mick Mars is part of that don't fuck it up. Don't do it.' I think I saved Mick that night cause they were serious about getting someone else. Mick was good for the band, he was part of the sound of the delivery of what they did."

The guitar Eddie Van Halen used in the music video for VAN HALEN's "Hot For Teacher" is going up for auction at Sotheby's.

The custom-made Kramer axe has a minimum bid of $1.8 million, and is valued at between two and three million dollars.

According to Sotheby's, stage-used and -filmed guitar was custom made by Paul Unkert of Kramer Guitars for Eddie Van Halen, including important innovations customized for Eddie's evolving guitar technique. It served as one of Eddie Van Halen's primary guitars in 1983 and 1984. The guitar was gifted by Eddie Van Halen to the band's retiring drum tech Gregg Emerson around 1990. Emerson subsequently gave the guitar to his nephew, who sold the guitar to Neal's Music in Huntington Beach, California. Neal's Music then sold the instrument to its current owner.

The guitar comes with a letter of provenance by Unkert, a signed photograph from Eddie Van Halen, its original case with tour and Warner Brothers tags, and the strait jacket and white gloves worn by Van Halen in the video.

Unkert's accompanying letter details the guitar's history: "The 'Hot For Teacher' Van Halen [guitar] was built by me at the Kramer Green Grove Road Plant in Neptune, NJ around 1982-1985/ #CO176. Look for 'Unk' stamps on Neck and Body. It was my last project for Ed and Kramer."

Bidding for the guitar closes next Tuesday, April 18.

"Hot For Teacher" appeared on VAN HALEN's album "1984". The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) objected to the song after its original release, calling for it to be pulled from both the radio and television, due to the track's sexually suggestive lyrics referring to sex with a teacher, and a female teacher stripping in the video, among other issues.

In 2009, "Hot For Teacher" was named the 36th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

The "Hot For Teacher" video was filmed at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, California. Because the school had been shut down due to insufficient funds at the time the video was recorded, VAN HALEN not only paid to rent the school for four days of filming but they also contributed money to the city to help get it reopened.

FIRSTBORNE, the band featuring Grammy Award-winning artist Chris Adler and MEGADETH bassist James LoMenzo, has released another new single, "Follower".

As was the case with "Bad Things" and "One Of A Kind", which were made available in September; "Dead Rats", which came out in October; and "Intercontinental Champions", which was released in November; and "Sinners", which arrived in February; "Follower" was independently produced by the band — also featuring soft-shred pioneer Myrone (guitar) and rising-star vocalist Girish Pradhan.

When "Bad Things" and "One Of A Kind" were released, Adler had this to say about the new singles and the trajectory of FIRSTBORNE: "We've made good use of the time. For the next year-plus we will be releasing a song a month, starting here and now with a one-two-punch.

"I'm thrilled to be in a creative partnership that can do just about anything. Feels like playing in 'God Mode' on Guitar / Band Hero. It's a passion project and it's fun for us to share. Dig in. Or don't. See you next month!"

Myrone added about the ethos of the group: "No Labels, No Management, NO GODS, NO MASTERS!!!!"

FIRSTBORNE's self-titled debut EP came out in 2020 and marked Adler's first dedicated band release since his departure from MEGADETH and LAMB OF GOD.

"Firstborne" included five songs and two lyric videos. The EP represented several years of dedicated introspection and refined effort to the idea of a heavy and positive message.

As might be expected, Adler chose his bandmates in this endeavor meticulously.

Not too long ago, Adler shared the stage across the Middle East with LoMenzo in HAIL! Prior to that, LoMenzo and Adler orbited each other for years traveling together on tours crossing the globe. The connect was inevitable.

Adler and Myrone began collaborating in early 2019 after Myrone noticed Adler's e-mail address attached to a Bandcamp sales notification email. Adler had been a fan of Myrone's talent for years prior and as soon as they connected, it was game on.

A chance meeting in India, almost a second home to Chris after eight visits, was the spark needed to form the international group FIRSTBORNE and for Chris to return to the studio. Adler met and shared the stage with Pradhan during a six-week clinic tour of India in the fall of 2019. After the first show of the clinic tour, Adler immediately called Myrone, noting he'd "struck gold" in their search for a singer for the then-unnamed project.

Girish Pradhan is the glue that united FIRSTBORNE. Pradhan on vocals represents an almost unprecedented international collaboration.

Pradhan is an established and well-known recording and touring artist in India and resides in Bengaluru. His band GIRISH AND THE CHRONICLES made international headlines with their album "Rock The Highway" and music videos "Rock 'N Roll Is Here to Stay", "Identity Crisis" and "Rock The Highway".

Speaking on his experience creating with FIRSTBORNE, Myrone explained: "Every single part of this experience has been extremely surreal for me. Girish is one of the best metal vocalists on the planet, Chris is one of the most influential drummers of the last 25 years, and JLO can play anything from MEGADETH to John Fogerty to Motown and everything in between. I can't believe I get to share space on a .wav with them."

Myrone is a Los Angeles-based producer/guitarist who pioneered the "soft shred" genre. In the last few years, he has released several albums and two EPs of instrumental guitar music and racked up millions of Spotify streams. In addition to his own recordings, he has collaborated with Rivers Cuomo (WEEZER),SZA, Little Boots, Michael Christmas and Deaton Chris Anthony. More recently, Myrone was Guitar #1 in the L.A. production of "Rock Of Ages", the 29th-longest running show in Broadway history.

LoMenzo is a veteran touring/recording musician since his multi-platinum band WHITE LION in the 1980s. Lomenzo is one of the most in-demand rock bass players in the world. His list of credits includes WHITE LION, Zakk Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY/PRIDE & GLORY, MEGADETH, Jerry Cantrell, David Lee Roth, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, LYNCH MOB, FREHEY'S COMET and more. He officially rejoined MEGADETH as a touring member last year and became an official member in May 2022.

LoMenzo had this to say about his collaboration within FIRSTBORNE: "I first met Chris in 2006 on MEGADETH's 'Gigantour'. I was playing bass with MEGADETH at the time. Watching Chris on that tour, I recall being struck by the creativity, speed and power of his drumming with LAMB OF GOD. In contrast, I found him to be a gentle, thoughtful soul. Years later, I had the opportunity to finally play with Chris, performing in the Middle East with the all-star metal band HAIL! We had a great time. At this time, Chris mentioned he was looking forward to exploring making all kinds of music. I suggested he keep me in mind. Next thing I know I'm being introduced to Myrone through a demo that Chris forwarded to me. I was immediately drawn to the music. Myrone's guitar is uniquely untethered to any one style. He's a brilliant and capable amalgam of classic rock, new and classic metal. Girish on top of all this had me stunned! A soaring, powerful voice that while uniquely his own, conjures images of the greatest singers of metal, blues and classic rock. His voice is a powerful, emotive vehicle to inform through his heartfelt and socially conscious lyrics. To my ear, the combination of all this musical talent is wonderfully unique and perfectly familiar."

Adler added: "I've been incredibly fortunate in my creative endeavors. From the start, I sought out the best players I could find to work alongside. It's been an incredible journey that is clearly not over. Some things have changed. This may not be exactly what people expect from me right now, and I'm aware and embrace that. It's time for something new. I'm have a platform to present something important, true and collaborative. Creating FIRSTBORNE beckons cohesiveness as a mission statement. This is not about being mad all the time, egos or fabricating polarizing drama. 'This is right' is now my alarm clock. Girish, Myrone and James have the exact locker room mentality of 'kill 'em all! but let's make sure everyone is okay and having a kick-ass time' that I try and bring to everything I do. FIRSTBONE is the result of all of my experiences, both positive and negative, and I'm proud of what we are doing together."

Adler is a Grammy-winning American metal drummer from Richmond, Virginia. Chris founded LAMB OF GOD in 1994 and helped usher in what critics have dubbed the "New Wave Of American Heavy Metal." LAMB OF GOD's discography with Chris includes multiple gold records and platinum DVDs as well as five Grammy nominations.

Chris received a Grammy for playing drums on legendary thrash metal band MEGADETH's 2016 record "Dystopia". Chris also toured with MEGADETH in support of the record while juggling and occasionally combining tour dates with LAMB OF GOD.

Chris has collaborated and contributed to records with PROTEST THE HERO, TESTAMENT, THAIKKUDAM BRIDGE, Michael Angelo Batio and Ron Jarzombek.

In 2018, Chris created an artist management firm Kintsugi Management.

FIRSTBORNE is:

Vocals: Girish Pradhan
Guitar: Myrone
Bass: James LoMenzo
Drums: Chris Adler

Canadian metallers ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN will release their second full-length album, "Kingdom Undone", on May 26 via Nuclear Blast Records. The band began recording the LP in August of 2021 at Mark Lewis Studios in Hendersonville, Tennessee and at its own studio in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, and concluded in December 2021. The album was engineered by the band and Mark Lewis, who also was in charge of producing, mixing and mastering. The artwork for the album was created by Travis Smith.

The official music video for the LP's second single, "Ghosts", can be seen below.

ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN drummer Ty Fox comments: "Lyrically 'Ghosts' is the heaviest song we’ve ever written and it points the finger at religious entities that have never once taken proper responsibility for their actions. To this day. the church continues its role in lying, extortion, and its disgusting treatment of children and continues to protect the people who hurt them. 'Ghosts' touches on the dark history of Canada and the genocide committed against the indigenous people in the residential school system. We chose not to talk over them as it's their story to tell but we do point the finger at those responsible. We had to end up censoring the music video as it was too disturbing but it is nowhere near as disturbing as the atrocities of any organized religion."

"Kingdom Undone" track listing:

01. Scars
02. Your Fiction
03. Trust
04. Ghosts
05. Hell Comes Home
06. One More Day
07. Liminal
08. Burn
09. Who The Masters Serve
10. Bury Me
11. Hallowed

ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN previously said about the new LP: "After many obstacles and times of uncertainty, we are reenergized, refocused and ready to finally show the world what we have been working on! 'Kingdom Undone' is ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN firing on all cylinders. This is our masterpiece."

ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN is:

Jamison Friesen - Vocals
Brendan Anderson - Guitar
Ryan Sorensen - Guitar
Liam Frith - Bass
Ty Fox - Drums

Florida death metal legends, Obituary, have released a new spatial audio version of their 2023 album, Dying Of Everything. The album, available as a new Dolby Atmos mix, is streaming everywhere that supports spatial audio and compatible devices including Apple Music, Tidal & Amazon Music. In a new step forward for unforgiving death metal, Dying of Everything's spatial audio mix allows for more immersion, providing an advanced surround sound experience.





Regarding the new mix, which was developed at Morrisound by Tom and Jim Morris, Obituary comments: “We were so excited to get the call and have the opportunity to go back to Morrisound and work with Tom and Jim Morris for these mixes and very proud that we are one of the first metal bands to offer this modern technology to our fans with Dying of Everything. It’s hard to even describe the Atmos mixes of the new album. It’s really just something you have to experience for yourself to understand the technology and the amazing, epic sound it gives the songs. This is new technology that we know not everybody has access to but it is something we are super excited about and hope that fans are able to check it out and enjoy it. It is unbelievable!"




Dying Of Everything is available on LP/CD/CS/Digital via Relapse Records. Order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"Barely Alive"
"The Wrong Time"
"Without A Conscience"
"War"
"Dying Of Everything"
"My Will To Live"
"By The Dawn"
"Weaponize The Hate"
"Torn Apart"
"Be Warned"


Album stream:





“My Will To Live" lyric video:





"The Wrong Time" video:





Obituary recently announced the Barely-A-Live-Stream, happening from the band’s RedNeckStudio on April 22 & 23. The band will be performing fan favourites from their historic discography on April 22 and performing their new album, Dying Of Everything, in full on April 23.


For tickets and further details, head here.





Obituary also announced spring North American tour dates. The tour begins April 28 and ends in late May. Support will be provided by Immolation, Blood Incantation, and Ingrown. A full list of tour dates is available below, and tickets are on sale here.





Tour dates:


April
28 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground
29 - Virginia Beach, VA - Elevation 27


May
1 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
2 - Philadelphia, PA - Brooklyn Bowl
4 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
5 - Boston, MA - The Middle East
6 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount
7 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix Concert Theatre
9 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
11 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room *
12 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre *
13 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
15 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
16 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
18 - Berkley, CA - UC Theatre
19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
20 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
22 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
23 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
24 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
26 - St. Louis, MO - Red Flag
28 - Louisville, KY - The Mercury Music Hall


* no Immolation


(Photo - Tim Hubbard)

Warlord, the legendary cult US metal band formed in 1980, announced today that they will undertake a limited number of special shows in 2024 to celebrate both the legacy of the band, as well as the music and memory of founding guitarist. William J Tsamis, who sadly passed away in May 2021.


40 years after the release of both the seminal Deliver Us MLP and the classic And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun full-length album, Warlord will perform a set with a focus on the earlier material that shaped and influenced what we know now as epic heavy metal, becoming one of the sub-genre's most important pioneers. The limited number of those special shows celebrating Warlord's and William J Tsamis' legacy, will be extremely emotional for both the performers and the fans, who will once again experience the music that marked part of their lives and their emotions. Those special 2024 shows will be built around that feeling and bringing it back, and not as a "reunion act".


The special touring lineup will be:




Mark Zonder - Drums
Giles Lavery - Vocals
Philip Bynoe - Bass
Jimmy Waldo - Keys


The guitarist position will be revealed at a later date. Says Mark, "We will be using guest players whom we will reveal later. Bill is irreplaceable"


The band offered the following comments...


Mark Zonder: "Rising out of the ashes once again."


Giles Lavery: "It has been 10 years since I performed with Warlord in Germany and for the amazing fans in Greece, I am excited to have the opportunity to sing these great songs again... in memory of our friend Bill and together with all Warlord fans, in celebration of the band's everlasting legacy."


Philip Bynoe: "It will be great to pay tribute to Bill and to play the old songs with the band. The fans will enjoy seeing and hearing us perform on the big stage."


Jimmy Waldo: "In between touring and recording with Alcatrazz I am very excited to be part of these special shows. I will be staying true to the original Warlord tradition in every way."


Further announcements will be made, as well as other exciting news in the coming months. Stay tuned.


Interested promoters should contact:


- mark@markzonder.com
- contact@glm-artists.com

Alice Cooper has released more remastered video footage from his Brutally Live tour. Joining the previously released "Brutal Planet" is the fully remastered video for "Go To Hell". The videod were filmed at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2000. The Brutally Live tour followed the release of the studio album, Brutal Planet, a great collection of songs showing Alice Cooper embracing the harder side of heavy rock.


Watch both clips below:










The Alice Cooper North American tour, with an all-new show dubbed "Too Close For Comfort," kicks off in late April in Michigan and continues through late September, including a handful of August stadium shows with Def Leppard and Motley Crue, followed by a co-headlining late summer "Freaks On Parade" tour with Rob Zombie.


For tickets + VIP information, head here.





Tour dates:


April
28 - Mt. Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino + Resort
29 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
30 - Hershey, PA - The Hershey Theater


May
2 - Fort Wayne, IN - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
3 - Milwaukee, WI - Miller High Life Theatre
5 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Mystic Showroom
6 - Bemidji, MN - Sanford Center
7 - Sioux City, IA - Tyson Events Center
9 - Champaign, IL - State Farm Center
10 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace Theater
13 - Knoxville, TN - The Tennessee Theatre
14 - Spartanburg, SC - Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium
15 - North Charleston, SC - Performing Arts Center
17 - Shreveport, LA - Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
18 - Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage Theatre
20 - Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome to Rockville*
 
* Festival


With Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe:


August
5 - Syracuse, NY - JMA Wireless Dome
8 - Columbus, OH - The Ohio State University Ohio Stadium
11 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome
13 - Omaha, NE - Charles Schwab Field Omaha
16 - Tulsa, OK - Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium
18 - El Paso, TX - Sun Bowl Stadium





Freaks On Parade Tour with Rob Zombie:


August
24 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
26 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
27 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
29 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
30 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater


September
1 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
2 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena
5 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
6 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
8 - Scranton, PA - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
9 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
10 - Hartford, CT - The XFINITY Theatre
12 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
16 - Englewood, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre *
19 - Ridgefield, WA - RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
20 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
22 - Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion
23 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
24 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

The clip below features Firewind guitarist Gus G. running through his solo instrumental track, "Enigma Of Life". It is taken from his 2021 solo album, Quantum Leap.





Gus G., Michael Angelo Batio, Rowan Robertson, and Andy Martongelli are teaming up for the upcoming Electric Guitarlands tour.




Description: A fantastic musical evening with four of the best guitarists in the world of rock music, performing for more than two hours of entertainment.


Michael Angelo Batio, the legendary Chicago shredder, former member of Nitro, is currently the guitarist of Manowar. Gus G., the great Greek guitarist was a member of Ozzy Osbourne's band from 2009 to 2017 and is the frontman of Firewind. At the age of 17, Rowan Robertson was recruited by Ronnie James Dio to join his band. Suddenly, he escalated from obscurity to worldwide fame. Andy Martongelli, one of the best known Italian shredders, guitarist, composer, producer and teacher, member of the David Ellefson band.


A unique evening with a set list that, along with songs from the solo careers of these great performers, will also be full of classics from legendary bands such as Van Halen, Pantera, Black Sabbath, Dio, Megadeth and more. The legendary double neck guitar solo of Batio will  be part of the show as well.


The band is completed by Francesco Caporaletti on bass (The Gang, Vinnie Moore), Roberto Pirami on drums (Vinnie Moore, Michael Angelo Batio band) and Riccardo Curzi on vocals.


Dates:


April
20 - Druso - Bergamo, Italy
21 - Borderline - Pisa, Italy
22 - Crossroad - Roma, Italy
27 - Bochnia Rocks - Bochnia, Poland
28 - Collosseum - Kosice, Czech Republic
30 - Smer klub 77 - Zilina, Slovakia


May
2 - Reigen Live - Vienna, Austria
3 - Analog Live Hall - Budapest, Hungary
4 - Bounty Rock Caffe - Olomouc, Czech Republic
5 - MDS - Kolin, Czech Republic
6 - Neuberinhaus - Reichenbach in Vogtland, Germany
7 - The Pitcher - Dusseldorf, Germany
8 - Meisenfrei - Bremen, Germany
10 - South Of Heaven - Bilzen, Belgium
20 - Teatro Mercantini - Ripatransone, Italy


For tickets and further information, head here.

The hvymtlmom YouTube channel has uploaded video of DEICIDE's April 7 concert at Conduit in Winter Park, Florida. You can watch the clips below.

During an appearance on a recent episode of "The Jasta Show", the video podcast hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, Glen Benton spoke about the status of DEICIDE's long-awaited new studio album. He said: "Well, we signed a new deal with one of these record companies out there. I guess I'm not at liberty to say anything, who it is yet; [they're] gonna announce it soon. Yeah, man, we've had the album in the works, but we got stuck doing this whole 'Legion' [30th-anniversary celebration] thing, and it kind of put the record to the backburner. So now it's out of the way, and we're really… I'm in the process of writing lyrics right now."

Regarding what he and his bandmates were looking for in a record deal, Glen said: "We wanted a one-record deal, man, with a big pile of money to get it done. And we got it… We get to both walk away after it. I think it kind of puts people to do a better job and to promote it better. I think it's gonna be a lot better experience for us. We've always had these multi-record deals that we've had to do. And you know as well as I do, after the first record, you're, like, 'What did I do?' It was a toss-up between doing it like this and just doing it ourselves. And me and Steve [Asheim, DEICIDE drummer] don't wanna lick envelopes and put stamps on shit. So that's why we went this route."

Last August, Benton told "The Garza Podcast" that DEICIDE's new music "is really anthem-style stuff. It's really good, man. There's a lot of prog stuff in there, mixed in there. Steve's our prog guy, man; he's the progressive rock guy. He likes to write those really black metal riffs and the progressive stuff. He's an amazing talent, man. He plays piano. He can play sweeps on guitar. He's a drummer. Yeah, he can do it all."

Benton went on to say that the next DEICIDE album was written in 2021 before he and his bandmates agreed to embark on a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of DEICIDE's sophomore album, "Legion". But, he explained, "We're getting ready to hammer this deal out right now and get this thing out."

DEICIDE played its first show with new guitarist guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A little over a year ago, Nordberg spoke about how he landed the DEICIDE gig in an interview with "The Zach Moonshine Show". He said: "In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE in the U.S. And we got to know the guys and got along really well. And I actually found out that Glen lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, where we live. So Jeramie and Glen became good buddies and they ride bikes all the times. It's a funny little thing, thinking about that. But long story short, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I believe he's the head of A&R at Dean Guitars so he's focusing on that for right now. I heard that they needed a guitar player, so I learned a couple of songs, made a couple of videos, and Glen saw 'em and liked what he saw. So we had a couple of practices, and bing bang boom, here we are."

Cannella amicably left DEICIDE in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

In February 2022, Nordberg was asked in an interview with the "Brews N Tunes" podcast if he and his new bandmates had commenced work on the follow-up to "Overtures Of Blasphemy" album. He responded: "They had started most of the new album before I joined, but since announcing [that we are going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of] 'Legion' [by performing the LP in its entirety], we've kind of shifted gears and we're trying to lock that in and get a set prepped just in the event that a show pops up. But they have most of the new album prepped, and then we're hammering out, ironing out some details with the last couple songs. But the material is sounding killer. It sounds like DEICIDE."

"Overtures Of Blasphemy" was released in September 2018 via Century Media.