San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have canceled their previously announced spring 2023 U.S. tour.

The 18-date "The Electric Happy Hour (Live)" trek was scheduled to kick off on May 15 in Ventura, California and make its way to Des Moines, Fort Wayne, and Detroit before ending in Los Angeles on June 9.

The Robb Flynn-fronted outfit broke the news of the cancelation in lengthy statement released earlier today (Friday, April 14). The band wrote: "Head Cases of America, it is with great regret that we must inform you that due to reasons entirely beyond our control, we're forced to cancel our upcoming Electric Happy Hour (Live) tour due to work visa issues.

"As you may know, half the band, as well as a handful of key crew members, reside outside of the US, and while the work visa process can often be quite lengthy, costly and complicated, in the past we were able quickly apply and be granted the needed documents. The same process we've been using forever and most recently with both the pre-Covid 'Burn My Eyes 25th Anniversary Tour' and last year's sold-out Electric Happy Hour Tour dates, this was the last thing on our collective minds. Unfortunately, that is not the case this time around and it is with immense frustration that we bring you this news.

"It must be said, that the post-Covid touring world has complicated this process tenfold and unfortunately, we are feeling the effects of it.

"Preparations for a tour like this takes an enormous amount of work by the agents, tour manager, merchandise printers, ourselves, VIP organizers, and our crew to coordinate. Tens of thousands of dollars have already been spent which we may or may not get back, and most importantly ticket buyers have made plans, and our crew relies on the jobs that the tour provides. It is a staggering blow to us and our team. We wanted nothing more than to pick up where we left off at the end of 2022 with so many shows still fresh in our minds! That was an incredible run and saying we were itching to get back out is a total understatement.

"Our plan is to keep moving forward, starting with a clean slate we begin the process of scheduling dates for the beginning of next year.

"To be clear, we are not postponing the tour. Postponing would mean that you hold on to your tickets until we can reschedule. We know how hard it's been financially these last few years, so we are choosing to cancel the tour. Canceling allows you to get full refunds for both tickets and VIP packages at the point of purchase.

"Thank you, Head Cases, for your patience and understanding during this difficult time."

MACHINE HEAD is still tentatively scheduled to perform at the Milwaukee Metal Fest on May 28 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

MACHINE HEAD has been touring in support of its latest album, "Of Kingdom And Crown", which came out last August. The follow-up to 2018's "Catharsis" includes the three songs that were featured on the 2021 "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single: "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky". Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/producer Zack Ohren.

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

Hard rock band Blacklist Union has returned with the official music video for their new single, "The Queen Of Everything". Filmed and directed by Thomas Crane of Kill Devil Films, "The Queen Of Everything" is the first single off of the band's upcoming fifth album, Letters From The Psych Ward, tentatively set to release in Summer 2023.


"'The Queen Of Everything' is about never letting love destroy you, and never ever judging a book by its cover," says Blacklist Union.







Blacklist Union are back in the studio working on their fifth CD, Letters From The Psych Ward. Fans are guaranteed inspiration from this brand of street rock with songs like “Out On A Jones”, “Keys To The Kingdom”, and “Dirty Halo”. Gifted singer/songwriter Tony West spins a musical web, tackling subjects not often mentioned with heart wrenching honesty, and sometimes humor. Addiction, sex, friendship, child abuse, death, and living on the edge of destruction are just a fraction of what the band touches on in their music. Blacklist Union is a true rock n’ roll band that continuously pushes themselves to the limit in every aspect of their music and live performance.


“Letters From The Psych Ward is about keeping your sanity before trying to keep someone else’s," reveals Tony West.





 

Joe Lynn Turner doesn't believe there's any truth to the rumor that DEEP PURPLE has been entertaining the idea of bringing Ritchie Blackmore back into the band.

Turner, who has played with Blackmore in both RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE, weighed in on the possibility of Ritchie's return to PURPLE during an appearance on this past Wednesday's (April 12) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk".

After host Eddie Trunk told Turner that he heard "as a rumor from a very reliable source that there were talks that [Ritchie] might do another run with PURPLE," Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I'll tell you — I don't know how. They're doing fine with [current PURPLE guitarist] Simon [McBride], and I think, shall we say, [laughs] the friction between [Ritchie] and [PURPLE singer Ian] Gillan is not getting any better.

"But you know what? God bless," the singer continued. "I think it's more people's imagination, people's desire that people want. If it does [happen], happy days. I'll be the first one to buy the record. But at the same time, a rumor is just a rumor. It doesn't seem to be going that way. I think Steve Morse — God bless him — was in the band longer than Ritchie was, and now Simon's in the band. And I don't see where [Ritchie's] gonna fit in again."

Blackmore, who is celebrating his 78th birthday today (Friday, April 14),is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable guitar riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 exit. Morse effectively took over Blackmore's slot in 1994 and was in the group for 28 years — longer than Ritchie — before being officially replaced by McBride in July 2022.

Gillan most recently addressed the possibility of a Blackmore return in a November 2022 interview with Spain's RockFM. The 77-year-old singer said: "Look, DEEP PURPLE is a family that's been together before I joined. In '68, it was Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Nick Simper and Rod Evans. Roger Glover and I joined in '69. And in the intervening periods, there's been David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes and a couple of other guys. And then, when we grew up, when we settled down and the human chemistry was okay, we were getting on fine. We had the reunion with 'Perfect Strangers', but everything was slightly different. Ritchie was different, and I think we all were. Ritchie used to be my roommate in DEEP PURPLE; we used to party together. And I don't like to think of the negatives. I just have lots of fantastic memories of Ritchie as a great guitar player [with] a wicked sense of humor — and I mean wicked — and a professional, a real good guy, in that sense. But something changed in Ritchie when we got back together, and we'd all changed, and the human chemistry wasn't quite the same. So it became difficult. And in the end, there was this antagonism. And I got fired from the band because I wanted to do more touring, and Ritchie wanted to do less touring. And we had a meeting one day, and I said, 'Why don't we go to South America? Why don't we go to Russia? Why don't we go all over the world? We're a live band.' And the next day Ritchie went to the management and said, 'Well, it's him or me.' So they chose him. And that was fine. And then they made a record with — another singer; I can't remember his name. And the record label said, 'Either you get Ian back in the band or we're tearing up the contract.' So I went back in DEEP PURPLE, and Ritchie went crazy. He didn't like it. So eventually he walked out. So, in normal terms, in a family or something like that, because we are a family, you'd think it was like a divorce — something like that. He walked out; he's gone. But he wanted to keep control of the band after having walked out. And he's been a pain in the ass ever since. [Laughs] But we are getting on much better these days. I think his manager has got a lot to do with it, the problem that exists. So it's one of those things that you cope with."

Ian added: "I think the idea of a call for a grand reunion or something like that, it would be utterly disrespectful to the living, breathing DEEP PURPLE. It would be awful. The atmosphere would be terrible. It would be artificial. It would be only for money — nothing else. Because there's no love there. There's no affinity.

"Twenty-five percent of the essence of DEEP PURPLE is improvisation, and we've got a musician now that is absolutely unbelievable. And I don't know how much Ritchie has been practicing or anything like that.

"I could go on for a long time, but the simple answer is no. It's the ex-wife. We do not want to get back together again."

Gillan also spoke about his longstanding feud with Blackmore in a September 2021 interview with Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road. Asked if he was still in contact with Ritchie and whether there was any chance at all of the guitarist ever sharing the stage with DEEP PURPLE again, Ian said: "No. The answer to your question is yes, we are in touch. Tensions eased quite a lot after we got hold of our business affairs and sorted everything out. There were previous managers from the past who had not done things exactly as you would like. I didn't get paid for 10 years when I was with DEEP PURPLE — in the big years — and goodness knows what happened to all that. And there were other tensions too. And needless to say, it was all pretty nasty when we finished and Ritchie walked out. But we're too old for that now. We've both written some pleasant notes via our managers. I can't write to Ritchie or phone him because he doesn't have a telephone, he doesn't have a computer. He lives in a world of greensleeves — he lives in a medieval world, and he has messages given to him and that sort of thing. But he's sent some pleasant words to me, and I've sent some pleasant words to him. There are still issues; there are still bones of contention. I've seen a lot of rubbish being spoken — it's not worth even rising to the occasion — but I hear [former DEEP PURPLE singer] David Coverdale and others talking about what happened at the Rock And Roll Of Fame. Well, we were very kind to everybody, the current band. And we did invite Ritchie to play 'Smoke On The Water' with us at the ceremony, but he declined. So, [those] are just opportunistic remarks from the others.

"We've never had any antagonism towards Ritchie," Ian clarified. "He has his own interpretations, and the rest of us have our interpretations, so it's really not worth being fired up about it. But I think probably this late in our career, and with things moving along so pleasantly for the band, it would naturally enough — we discussed this years and years ago when it was first talked about — it would be a circus and it would be a distraction to everything we're doing, to be honest. It would be no fun at all, because we don't work that way anymore."

Blackmore previously suggested that PURPLE's manager had blocked him from joining his former bandmates onstage during the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, and he used that as an excuse for not attending the event.

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

In late 2020, Coverdale expressed his exasperation at DEEP PURPLE for how he and Glenn Hughes were treated by their former band ahead of their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. The singer, who played with DEEP PURPLE along with Hughes from 1973 to 1976, said: "Once it had been announced that we were officially being inducted into it, the current DEEP PURPLE refused to go if Ritchie Blackmore was going to be there. And this was, like, 72 hours before, when I was ready to fly with my family. And this cost me, like, $75,000 [or] $85,000, because you have to pay for all the tables apart from the one you're on, and I had my daughter fly in from Germany, my son came out of college. It was a family affair."

He continued: "Suddenly, Glenn Hughes and I were told, 'Well, we don't want you singing with us.' Initially, I'd spoken to Ian [Gillan] about coming up and singing the backgrounds of 'Smoke On The Water', because originally they were going to close the show. So, that suddenly was pulled, the plug. They tried to stop us doing speeches, and my wife was fucking furious, apart from the fact she spent a fortune on posh dresses. [Laughs] And I said, 'Fuck it! Nobody's going to keep us off.' I got in touch with Carole, Ritchie's manager, and I said, 'Tell him to come with me. Nobody's going to fucking touch him. Tell him to come with me,' and he didn't want to do it."

Coverdale added: "The first thing I said when I was up there, was, 'None of us would have been standing here without Ritchie Blackmore,' and I made sure of that point. Steve Morse and Don Airey [current DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] were more complimentary to Glenn and I than the other guys. We had a blast; we had a fucking great time. I'm very happy that I am who I am, and I just talked to Glenn the other day about it: 'What the fuck was up their ass?!'"

Joe Lynn Turner photo credit: Agata Nigrovskaya

NME is reporting that Pink Floyd legend, Roger Waters, has said he will play in Frankfurt despite a planned performance there being cancelled over claims of anti-Semitism.


Waters was supposed to play at the publicly owned Festhalle on May 28, but the council called off the performance over the musician’s views on Israel. They later described him as “one of the world’s most widely-known anti-Semites”.


According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation notice cited Waters’ boycott of Israel – also known as the BDS campaign – as well as the musician’s talks with Hamas-affiliated media, comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa and what many see as anti-Semitic imagery at shows. It also referenced the sensitivity surrounding the venue, which was used as a detention centre for some 3000 Jewish people who were then deported to concentration camps in 1938.




Now, however, Waters has suggested he’s “coming anyway” despite the cancellation. He posted an update to social media alongside a photo of the grave of Sophie Scholl, a German student and anti-Nazi activist who was beheaded via guillotine in 1943 for distributing anti-war leaflets around the University of Munich.


The post also suggested that Waters has filed an injunction against the council but has not had a response. He had previously indicated that he could take legal action against the motion to cancel his performances, which he argued was “unjustifiable” and an attempt to “silence him”.


“Frankfurt Council were legally required to respond to Roger Waters [sic] interim injunction by midnight April 14,” Waters wrote. “Did they? Nobody knows? We can only guess at what’s going on in Frankfurt? Are they playing for time? Who knows?”


He continued: “Not that it matters much! We’re coming anyway! Because human rights matter! Because free speech matters! Yes!


“Frankfurt City Council, we remember Kristallnacht! Like Sophie Scholl our fathers stood with those three thousand Jewish men and today we stand with the Palestinians! We’re coming to Frankfurt on the 28th of May! [sic] Love, R.”


Read more at NME.com.

In a new interview with Brazil's A Rádio Rock, SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs and singer Klaus Meine were asked to name some of the newer rock bands they have been listening to. Matthias said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For example, this band GRETA VAN FLEET, from the U.S., is pretty cool. Very inspired by LED ZEPPELIN, though, but a very good band. And we had an all-girls band as a support band on the U.S. tour last year. They're called THUNDERMOTHER, and they're from Sweden. They're also very interesting."

Klaus added: "I always enjoy GRETA VAN FLEET. It's one of those young, upcoming bands. VOLBEAT, it's another great band. I don't know if they are quite popular in Brazil. Over here [in Germany], you hear 'em a lot on rock radio. There are a couple of great bands from the young generation. I mean, some of those bands, like VOLBEAT, they're out there for quite a while. But it's great to see that there's a young generation of rock artists, musicians, bands that carry the flame and keep going."

SCORPIONS's latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in February 2022. The LP was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

"Rock Believer" marked SCORPIONS' first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS' previous full-length collection of new recordings was "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

In a new interview with Dom Smith of Soundsphere magazine, CRADLE OF FILTH frontman Dani Filth spoke about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're a bit in a weird state of play at the present because of the whole Russian scenario. That's had a knock-on effect with fuel and bus hire. People really now have not been able to afford to do a lot, so tours are becoming very difficult.

"There's a lot of American bands I've spoken to — big bands as well — who are not touring Europe for a while," he continued. "A lot of English and mostly European bands are not touring America for a while. Now there's even talk of bigger taxation by venues on merch, places taking bigger cuts of the band's merch, which is their life's blood, seeing as everything's digital these days and physical product's down. And America is now talking about upping the cost of touring there, the prices of the visa. I mean, it's about 30 quid for them to come over here; it's in the thousands for us to go there.

"So, yeah, it's all doom and gloom now," Dani added. "Obviously, as everything goes in cycles as well, we're seeing a bit of a re-emergence, a bit of a reaffirmation of the whole metal community."

Financial issues are continuing to wreak havoc on the touring industry, with the economics of the business simply not adding up.

Acts of all sizes are canceling or postponing shows, with several claiming that it was "not sustainable" for them to go ahead with the tours.

For many midsized acts, ticket sales are not even enough to cover their overheads.

Last October, SHINEDOWN canceled its previously announced fall 2022 dates in continental Europe due to "economic and logistical side of touring". ANTHRAX also canceled shows in continental Europe as part of its fall 2022 touring activities, citing "ongoing logistical issues" and "costs that are out of our control."

CRADLE OF FILTH will release its first live album in over 20 years, "Trouble And Their Double Lives", on April 28, 2023 via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded between 2014 and 2019 at different performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond during the band's "Cryptoriana" world tour and dates following.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, England with recording captured by Danny B, the brand new live offering not only features a slew of fan favorites encompassing the band's discography — such as "Nymphetamine (Fix)" , "Bathory Aria" and "Blackest Magick in Practice" — but also two bonus tracks and two entirely brand new songs, "She Is A Fire" and "Demon Prince Regent".

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, are back with their latest Sunday Lunch video. Watch below.


A message states: “This week we go back to the one where we locked Toyah up! It's time get a little bit 'Paranoid'!"







A couple of Robert and Toyah's previous videos can be viewed below:

German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN will release a special "anniversary edition" of their second album, "Sehnsucht", on June 9. The iconic 1997 LP will be made available for the first time in remastered HD sound. In addition to the singles "Du Hast" and "Engel", the album exclusively includes a new mix version of the track "Spiel Mit Mir". The elaborately reworked packaging was designed by the original artwork designer Dirk Rudolph. The CD comes in a Blu-ray-sized eight-panel digipak with a 40-page booklet and an embossed silver foil slipcase. The 40-page booklet features numerous unpublished and re-edited portrait photographs by artist Gottfried Helnwein.

Following the release of their debut album "Herzeleid" ("Heartbreak") as a "limited anniversary edition", it is time to revisit "Sehnsucht" ("Longing"),originally released in August 1997, effectively announced the arrival of the six onto the global stage. "Sehnsucht" peaked at No. 1 on the German and Austrian charts, also going Top 50 in the U.S. (it stands as the only fully German album to be certified platinum Stateside).

26 years and a new century on, it's clear that "Sehnsucht" — another 11-tracker like "Herzeleid" — indeed like all of the studio outings has lost none of its initial power. From opener, "Sehnsucht" itself, to the aforementioned "Du Hast" or the follow-up "Engel", through to closing number "Küss Mich (Fellfrosch)" ("Kiss Me (Fur Frog))", RAMMSTEIN's sophomore release sees the founding members spectacularly hitting their stride, making greater use of electronics and samples, as well as the melodic side of Till Lindemann's considerable vocal range.

That signature RAMMSTEIN sound has been given an added boost now — remastered in HD sound for the first time on CD for the "anniversary edition" of an album that can rightfully be termed "iconic". This 2023 version exclusively includes a new mix of the track "Spiel Mit Mir", and comes in a selection of exclusive, elaborately packaged formats: CD, MC, digital, plus a pair of double LPs, one black vinyl, the other white.

To millions heroes, to others villains, there's no question that "Sehnsucht" — the band's first official release in the U.S. — was the album that fully shaped who RAMMSTEIN were, what they sounded like and what they stood for. "Sehnsucht" underlined in red pen just how intriguing, and singular, they really were, and just where that collective mind was prepared to go, starting with the sleeve itself.

"Sehnsucht" anniversary edition track listing:

01. Sehnsucht
02. Engel
03. Tier
04. Bestrafe Mich
05. Du Hast
06. Bück Dich
07. Spiel Mit Mir
08. Klavier
09. Alter Mann
10. Eifersucht
11. Küss Mich (Fellfrosch)
12. Spiel Mit Mir (2023 mix)

"Hangxiety" is the latest single from Denver, Colorado's resident dirt rockers, Lost Relics. Written from the perspective of an outsider watching an already dystopian culture collapse even more, this track will grab you from the broody beginning. Driving guitars and anthemic vocals will have you shouting along in no time!


'Hangxiety' is available now digitally via Iron Head Records / Golden Robot Records. It is the first single from Lost Relics' upcoming EP, Die + Cry + Loathe, which can only be described as an attack on the banal mantras of the perpetually vacuous.


Featuring anthems of disruption, truth and existential dread, these tracks are targeting the mindless echo chambers of celebrated dimness that have become so prevalent in our narcissistic society. Prepare to Die + Cry + Loathe as you turn this one up to 11. The EP is set to release June 23.







Lost Relics formed in 2019 and have been gaining steam since the day they plugged in.


Formed from the ashes of Low Gravity, The Worth and Smolder and Burn, Marc Brooks, Jess Ellis, Jason James and Greg Mason quickly hit the ground rolling with their monstrous riffs, with breakneck changes and dual vocal delivery. 


After releasing their self-titled EP in February of 2019, they have steadily been taking the stage to open for national acts such as Howling Giant, Whores, Serial Hawk, Telekinetic Yeti, Dikaiju, Black Cobra and more.

Blackened death metal machine, Nexorum, based in Trondheim, Norway have unveiled the official video for "Elegy Of Hate". The song is taken from their sophomore album, Tongue Of Thorns, which will be released on May 19th via Non Serviam Records.


With haunting melodies, crushing riffs, and guttural vocals, this track unleashes a sonic assault on the senses that will leave listeners reeling.


The band comments: "The lyrics tell a tale of despair and rage, of a soul consumed by hatred and driven to the brink of madness. As the relentless beats and thunderous drums build to a fever pitch, the listener is pulled ever deeper into the abyss, until they are consumed by the fury of our music. Brace yourself for an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness, as 'Elegy Of Hate' takes you on a terrifying ride through a twisted and tormented mind."




Stream / purchase the song here.





Events of the past years led Nexorum down a much darker path, emphasizing the elements of black metal in the band's music. As the second horseman of Revelations is currently pushing the world closer and closer to the brink of nuclear holocaust, Famine is sure to follow. Now the end times draw near, Nexorum's upcoming album, Tongue Of Thorns, will serve as a sonic feast to stave off Famine. A fitting soundtrack when the Day of Wrath finally is upon us. 





Tracklist:


"Shun"
"Solvet Saeclum in Favilla"
"The Pestilential Wind"
"Elegy of Hate"
"Cult of the Monolith"
"Eldritch Abominations"
"Sinnets Krig"
"Mother of Ghouls"
"Wrath of Zeal"


Pre-orders:


- CD 
- Vinyl
- Bandcamp

Eva Under Fire are thrilled to announce their own version of "War Pigs", a cover of the iconic Black Sabbath anthem. This version of the song bursts with new life thanks to Eva Marie’s warm, yet gritty, vocals and the backing of a majestic instrumental re-imagination of the song. The track was released via Better Noise Music and is available on all streaming platforms. Check it out below.


Eva Marie comments: "This cover pays tribute to yet another legend who has inspired us. My early days of falling in love with rock music included OzzFest and singing along to Black Sabbath on the way to school in the back of my parents minivan so it’s a bit of a full circle moment for me personally. It’s crazy that the lyrics in this song still ring true and are relevant today. Although the lyricism highlights the sad truth about the power hungry evils of the world, I also think it speaks volumes about how timeless this song really is. As a blue collar slave to the grind, I wanna thank Ozzy Osborne and Black Sabbath for this one. Generations later, we feel heard because of your song." 



 
The single launch follows from an incredibly successful 2022, which saw Eva Under Fire release their long-awaited debut album Love, Drugs & Misery  featuring tracks with guest performances from Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills, Jonathan Dörr (formerly of Ego Kill Talent) and From Ashes To New. Although they had to push their album back due to the pandemic, the band saw great success with singles such as Blow (ft. Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills), which is featured in The Retaliators soundtrack and now boasts over 8M streams across the globe, and the Sno Babies soundtrack single Heroin(e)  earning over 24M streams. 

Disillusive Play has released an official lyric video for their new single, "Sisyphus", a track from their highly anticipated album Songs For The Non-Existent. The album is set to drop on May 26th via Wormholedeath Records.





Disillusive Play is known for its unique sound, which blends elements of hard/heavy rock with a metal attitude and progressive nuances. The band's inspiration comes from a diverse range of sources, including Queensrÿche, Conception, Marillion, King Crimson, Pendragon, Halestorm, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, and many others.




Songs For The Non-Existent promises to be an impressive album, packed with powerful and captivating tracks that are sure to leave a lasting impression on fans of hard rock and metal.


Line-up


Vocals: Antigoni Kalamara
Lead guitar: Jim Knikos
Rhythm guitar: Fotis Trivizas
Bass: Michalis Mytilinis
Drums: Aris Dolianitis

Of Romulus sees Heather Michele and Jason Ashcraft reuniting in full force since the 2016 debut self-titled Helion Prime album along with ex-Dire Peril bassist Chelsea McMasters joining the band. With their debut single, which is also the namesake of their new project, they are happy to present to Star Trek and metal fans Of Romulus. The track was mixed by Michael Goodrich and mastered by Ted Whitten Media. Additional engineering was done by Carlos Alvarez of Dirty Viking Audio along with drums performed by Justin Tvetan (Wastewalker).


The band members comment on the new endeavor and song:


"I am so excited to be singing over Jason's always exceptional music again. It's been a long time coming, and I feel what we're working to deliver is some of our best work yet. I am so happy to finally be working so closely on a project with Chelsea. She's an incredible human and a phenomenal bassist. I'm so stoked to get to write and sing about something so very close to my heart. I hope I do my fellow Trekkies proud! LLAP," says vocalist Heather Michele.




"It's been great working with Heather again. While we did write the third Helion Prime album together this is our first time really back in the thick of it since the debut Helion Prime album. I am very excited about what we've been coming up with and think fans of old Helion Prime will be very pleased. Of course, I had to bring Chelsea along to slay on the bass!" adds guitarist Jason Ashcraft.





(Logo by EyeCatchDesignStudio)


"I remember listening to Heather and Jason’s material a few years back before I had never really listened to power metal. That opened a door I never thought would have led to here and I’m SO thrilled to have gotten to be a part of this new project with them. I really think sci-fi fans will enjoy this high-energy, first release!" says bassist Chelsea McMasters.


For those who are not very familiar with Star Trek, Romulans are distant cousins of Vulcans (like Mister Spock). They look very similar to Vulcans, but where Vulcans are driven by logic and controlling their emotions, Romulans are highly emotional and rather xenophobic. They believe they are a superior race and are always scheming to take over control of the galaxy.


Heather Michele tells the story behind the band:


“So the concept for ‘Of Romulus’ is I am a Romulan commander, Jason is a Romulan sub commander, and Chelsea is our human companion we have enlisted to help us tell our story. Jason and I were members of a Romulan science vessel called the ‘Namek D’Ral that had figured out a way to travel through time (fun fact: The name for the ship is an anagram of Mark Lenard, who was the first actor to play a Romulan). So, the Romulan High Command sent our ship on a mission to travel through space and time, gathering intel on how we could manipulate the timeline to the planet Romulus’ advantage. Romulan starships have the ability to cloak, so they cannot be seen by the naked eye or by most tracking systems."


Basically, most of Of Romulus' songs are about episodes of Star Trek, with the assumption that the ship was there watching and couldn’t be seen.


Michele continues:


“While the ship was in the middle of our method of time travel (The Breakaway Effect; where you travel towards a star at the speed of light, then break away from its gravity and are thrown into another time), a glitch in the space-time continuum occurred causing the ship to malfunction and ultimately be destroyed. We happened to be in the vicinity of Earth in the 1980s, so before the ship exploded, Jason transported us off the ship down to Earth.


We’ve waited 40 years to find a way off Earth, to no avail, and we have finally decided our last option is to disrupt the timeline by telling everyone on Earth all these secrets we have learned in our travels (by singing about them). Our hope is this organization called ‘The Temporal Police’ will hear about what we are doing and come get us.”

The Live Rock Music Concerts YouTube channel has uploaded 4K video of STATIC-X's entire April 15 concert at the Belasco theater in Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the footage below.

STATIC-X kicked off the "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour on February 25 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California.

STATIC-X recently partnered with master costume/prop maker Eddie Yang and his Deity Creative to evolve the look for guitarist/vocalist Xer0. Yang is a movie industry veteran known for his work with "Avatar", "Iron Man", "Man Of Steel", "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Robocop" and "Terminator: Salvation", to name just a few. Eddie got his start working with Academy Award winners Rick Baker and Stan Winston before branching out on his own in 2006 with Deity Creative. The updated Xer0 look — including the new mask and wardrobe — was the result of a collaboration between DOPE frontman and creative director Edsel Dope — who is widely believed to be Xer0 — and Ed McDonough from ECCO Studios and Eddie Yang. The idea for the new mask and overall image update was born out of a desire from STATIC-X to evolve Xer0's look to match the theme of the "Rise Of The Machine" tour. Xer0 unveiled his new look at the San Francisco show.

Says Yang: "I have always been a metal fan and have listened to STATIC-X since their first release 'Wisconsin Death Trip'. I am honored to contribute to Wayne's [Static, late STATIC-X frontman] legacy and to work with the band on their incredible vision for evolving STATIC-X and Xer0 into something that is truly unique. This project finally combined my passion for character design and metal music into one big check-off the bucket list."

"Eddie is a genius" says Xer0. "We wanted to evolve the Xer0 character into a more cybernetic/robotic figure for the 'Rise Of The Machine' tour and Eddie absolutely fucking killed it!!!!!!!

"Eddie took the mask to a level that we never imagined possible, and we are so stoked with the result," adds bassist Tony Campos.

STATIC-X's eighth studio album, "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2", is scheduled for release on November 3. The LP is a collection of 13 brand-new songs that contain the final vocal performances and musical compositions of founding vocalist Wayne Static, along with the original "Wisconsin Death Trip" lineup featuring Campos, Fukuda and Jay. The new album was produced by Xer0 and mixed/mastered by longtime collaborator Ulrich Wild.

All of the music associated with "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2" is the result of collaborations between the four founding members along with their new vocalist/guitarist/producer Xer0. No additional guests appear on the album and there were no outside contributions to the songwriting, musical compositions, or the performances on "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2". Between the two releases, STATIC-X fans around the globe have been treated to over two dozen brand new songs — most of which feature Static on lead vocals — and all released after his untimely passing.

STATIC-X — featuring the lineup of Campos, drummer Ken Jay, guitarist Koichi Fukuda and Xer0 — will hit the road in 2023, headlining the "Rise Of The Machine" tour with FEAR FACTORY alongside DOPE, MUSHROOMHEAD and TWIZTID. The 42-date trek kicks off February 25 in San Francisco, California and wraps up April 15, in Los Angeles, California. Dates have been selling out across the country, with select markets upgrading to larger venues to meet the demand for the tour. STATIC-X also recently revealed plans for a tour of Australia and an appearance at the Blue Ridge Rock Fest this year.

Static died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".

The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

Dope recently told Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that the reason Xer0's identity has not been officially revealed is that he wants to make sure that STATIC-X is "properly represented, because I would never be interested in looking at a photo of STATIC-X or reading a liner note that mentions me as being the singer of STATIC-X. Edsel Dope has no interest in being the singer of STATIC-X," he clarified. "There's one living, breathing singer of STATIC-X, and that's Wayne Static. And then there's a character, an entity, for lack of better words, that was created in order to allow STATIC-X to have a future and to continue and be the legacy act that they are and tour and perform, and we gave that character a name that is respective to STATIC-X and fits the branding of what STATIC-X is, and that's what the importance is. It's the importance of recognizing the character as opposed to recognizing the person behind the character."

Back in October 2019, a photo was posted online clearly showing that Dope and Xer0 shared the same neck tattoo. However, Edsel later posted a lengthy statement on his band's Facebook page attempting to quash the rumors, implying Xer0's distinctive body ink was in fact a Photoshop job. Dope even provided a photograph of himself supposedly observing a STATIC-X performance sidestage to prove he and Xer0 were not the same person.

SOUNDGARDEN and Vicky Cornell, the widow and personal representative of the estate of the band's lead singer Chris Cornell, have announced that they have reached "an amicable out-of-court resolution" regarding the release of recordings made before the vocalist's death in May of 2017.

Earlier today, the following statement was posted to the Cornell and SOUNDGARDEN social media sites: "SOUNDGARDEN and Vicky Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell, are happy to announce they have reached an amicable out of court resolution. The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow SOUNDGARDEN fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on. The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon SOUNDGARDEN's incredible legacy as well as Chris's indelible mark on music history - as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time."

The resolution comes less than two years after SOUNDGARDEN and Vicky came to a temporary agreement that would transfer the SOUNDGARDEN social media accounts and web site to the band's remaining members, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd and their managers, Red Light Management. This included SOUNDGARDEN's web site, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In March 2021, Thayil, Cameron, Shepherd and their business manager Rit Venerus filed papers in Washington state U.S. District Court claiming that Vicky Cornell had locked them out of their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, Top Spin and Pinterest accounts, as well as SOUNDGARDEN's official web site, and changing all the passwords.

Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd claimed their socials were previously managed by their then-management company Patriot Management. They said they later learned that Patriot had handed over all the login information to Vicky after Patriot was terminated in October 2019.

The band asked a judge to order Vicky Cornell to hand over the passwords or include a final posting stating, "SOUNDGARDEN has temporarily suspended its official social media accounts due to pending litigation."

Cornell was found hanged in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017, following a SOUNDGARDEN show at the city's Fox Theatre. His body was found soon after he had spoken with a "slurred" voice to his wife by phone. The death was ruled a suicide.

In December 2019, Vicky filed a lawsuit against the surviving SOUNDGARDEN members, alleging the group owed Cornell's estate hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties and the rights to seven unreleased recordings made before the singer's death. Cornell is credited as a writer on all seven songs, receiving sole credit on two, "Cancer" and "Stone Age Mind". He wrote "Road Less Traveled", "Orphans" and "At Ophians Door" with Matt Cameron; "Ahead Of The Dog" with Kim Thayil; and "Merrmas" with Ben Shepherd.

At the time, Vicky claimed that Chris made seven recordings at his personal studio in Florida in 2017, adding that there was no explicit agreement as to whether the recordings were meant for SOUNDGARDEN, which made Chris the exclusive owner. However, the surviving SOUNDGARDEN members responded by saying that the unreleased recordings were the result of writing and recording sessions going as far back as 2015. They also pointed to public interviews with Chris and Thayil that suggested that SOUNDGARDEN had been working on the material since 2015, and detailed recording sessions up until April 2017, just one month before Chris's death. SOUNDGARDEN also included several text exchanges from Vicky, in which she referred to the unreleased recordings as the "SG files". They also provided a March 2017 e-mail from Vicky which said that Chris was travelling for the "SG record". The band went on to refute Vicky's claim that Chris's recordings took place in his personal studio in Florida in 2017, insisting that most of the actual sound files "significantly predate 2017" and that the recording sessions took place in Seattle and New York while the band was touring.

Responding to Vicky's lawsuit, Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron claimed that they "don't have possession" of their "own creative work," and alleged that "Vicky Cornell has possession of the only existing multi-track recordings of the last SOUNDGARDEN tracks that include Chris Cornell's instrumental parts and vocals. All of the band members jointly worked on these final tracks, Vicky now claims ownership of the final SOUNDGARDEN album."

Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron initially accused Vicky Cornell of misusing funds from the January 2019 "I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell" concert. After being challenged by Cornell's attorneys with the threat of sanctions, SOUNDGARDEN withdrew that portion of its countersuit, while its lawyers wrote at the time that the band believes the claims "remain well-founded."

In February, Vicky Cornell sued the surviving members of SOUNDGARDEN over the buyout price for her stake in the band. In the lawsuit, Vicky Cornell said Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd offered her just $300,000 for Chris's share. This amount, she said, is far lower than the real value of the Chris Cornell estate's interests in SOUNDGARDEN, especially considering the fact that the band got an offer of $16 million from an outside investor for SOUNDGARDEN's masters.

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BETTER LOVERS, a newly formed band featuring Greg Puciato, Jordan Buckley, Clayton "Goose" Holyoak, Stephen Micciche and Will Putney, has released its debut single, "30 Under 13", via SharpTone Records.

The blistering, four-minute track, and accompanying Eric Richter-directed video, serve as the perfect introduction to BETTER LOVERS, a band whose music is as uncompromising, unapologetic, and undeniable as anything they've done individually.

"Looking back, I'm so happy everything got me to where I am," explains Buckley. "The pandemic and the last few years made me hungrier and more grateful. This isn't a hobby. This isn't temporary. This is the next evolution for each of us. Greg and Will rejuvenated me and made me even more confident. Now, everybody needs to know we're a wild animal that just broke out of the zoo — there's no trying to put it back in the cage."

"Jordan sent me some already-finished instrumental tracks, and they hit me at just the right time," adds Puciato. "Those tracks woke up a side of me that I thought was fully extinct but was merely evolving and changing. To my complete surprise there was still something left in that area to dig at, and the vessel for it made sense."

Putney, who had worked on the most recent EVERY TIME I DIE albums, and won a 2021 Grammy Award for his production work on BODY COUNT's "Carnivore", encapsulates the band's thoughts: "It's a group of loaded weapons all firing at full power ready for the next chapter of our music careers, and I can confidently say our collective best work is ahead of us."

Tour dates are imminent.

Photo credit: James Hartley

Swedish-American atmospheric melancholic pop duo Silent Skies - featuring Evergrey vocalist Tom S. Englund and classically trained pianist and composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption) - have revealed a beautifully stripped-down cover of Linkin Park’s emotional hit song, "Numb".





Continuing on the atmospheric path of their full-length, the touching cover version of “Numb” captivates the listener with its stunning piano melodies and hauntingly beautiful yet intense vocals. The cover maintains the impactful emotion of the original song while impressing with deep soundscapes that only Silent Skies can achieve, while its accompanying visualizer video supports the eerie atmosphere of the song perfectly.




Listen to “Numb” here, and watch a visualizer for the song below.


Silent Skies on “Numb”: "Two decades on, and ‘Numb’'s haunting melody and raw lyrics still pierce through our souls, speaking to the inner turmoil that sometimes plagues us all. It's a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles, that our fears and insecurities are shared by many.


In a world that often seems to delight in tearing us down, this song is a beacon of hope, a reminder that we are stronger than we think. Our arrangement seeks to amplify this message, to imbue it with the full force of emotion and meaning that it deserves. For when we connect through music, we tap into something deeper, something that transcends time and space and unites us all.


This is our contribution to honor the legacy of Linkin Park and to celebrate the beauty and power of music. For in these troubled times, it is the one thing that can still bring us together, that can still lift us up and carry us forward towards a brighter tomorrow."





(Photo - Patric Ullaeus)

Kingdom Of Tyrants, the US power/heavy metal band comprising veterans of the Boston metal scene, will release their debut album, Architects Of Power, on CD and digitally on April 20.


Pre-order the album here, and watch a new video for the album opener, "Unforgotten Souls", below.


Out of the Boston area rises a new metal beast ready to take on the world. But its musical ancestry is neck-deep - it comprises the Steel Assassin guitar duo of Kevin Curran and Michael Mooney who teamed up with other veterans of the local '80s metal scene: the original Meliah Rage vocalist Mike Munro and drummer Stuart Dowie.




Drawing heavily on the mythology and history of mankind, their debut album brings their take on classic heavy metal mixed with a dose US power. This masterwork shows a wide breadth of distinct, remarkable and consistently heavy songs with driving rhythms, catchy melodies and plenty of hooks. The rhythm section represents a bombast of anger and furious beauty, the riffs are massive and the inspired leads exude pure talent and class. Atop of this foundation, Munro's powerful bellow evokes the alpha wolf lusting after the thrill of the hunt.


The excellence and confidence expected from such seasoned musicians is complemented by superb production. The band remains grounded in the footprints of masters like Metal Church, Savatage, Accept, Judas Priest, Armored Saint and Heretic, but doesn't sound exactly like any of them, having already forged their own personal style.





Tracklisting:


"Unforgotten Souls"
"Daedalus"
"War Machine"
"Diabolical"
"Kingdom Of Tyrants"
"Ghosts Of Industry"
"Judas Gate"
"Masque Of The Red Death"
"Metal Or Die"


"Unforgotten Souls" video:





"Ghosts Of Industry" video:





"Diabolical":





"A Boston Metal Story" interview

In a new interview with Larry Mac of the 96.1 KLPX radio station, GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall confirmed that he has been working on new music with Brett Carlisle, who was officially named the band's new vocalist last October. Brett joined the group as the replacement for Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE),who sang for GREAT WHITE for only five months.

"I've had [Brett] out here a few times," Mark said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And we've been going down to a buddy of mine's, who was in DIO for seven years. His name is Tracy G. His actual last name is Grijalva. But [he's] a great, great guitar player. His studio's a little bit better than mine. I always have to bring a guy over here, and it's just a nightmare. He's been recording there for years and years, so it just goes quicker when I go there.

"We're just putting down demos with a drum machine," Kendall explained. "I'm playing bass. It's crazy. But it's coming out really good. We wanna get something out this year."

According to Mark, there is still no concrete plan for GREAT WHITE to release a new studio album. "We're not really sure how we're gonna do it," he said. "For sure we'll have a couple of videos, but we don't know if we want to put out one song at a time. Do we wanna put out an EP-type thing or just a full album? Because the world has changed so much that I don't wanna waste any music. I want somebody to hear it all, the whole album. And the way people download one [song] at a time or two or three songs here and a couple of songs there… We wanna figure out the best way. So we're talking to a lot of people that are really hip to today's thing and the way it'll work the best to get our music to our fans the best way possible."

Kendall went on to say that he is not as concerned about record sales or commercial success as he is about making sure the new GREAT WHITE songs are strong enough to stand alongside the band's classic material.

"Even in our heyday, I've never really thought dollars and cents; I just wanna know if people like the music or not," he explained. "To where I would be so desperate, I would go to friends of mine who are pretty hard on me — tough critics or whatever — just to get feedback. 'Cause that space in time after you're done recording to when it comes out is pretty brutal. So I always run to friends: 'Tell me you love me. Listen to this.' So I'm kind of the same way now. I just wanna get the music to the people and get feedback: 'How is this? Would this hold up in the '80s? Is it better?' Because I still feel really creative. And we can always get better.

"I'm really feeling pretty good about these songs that we're coming up with," Kendall revealed. "So I'm more anxious for people to hear it than I am selling a million records or whatever. And I think it makes us viable that we still are creative; we still wanna make new music. We're not quite an oldies band yet, even though they kind of label us classic rock or whatever. But that's not so bad. So, yeah, that's it. We wanna keep [creating] and not just go out and be the oldies band that plays the hits every year or whatever. We wanna come up with some tunes and get it to the folks and let 'em know that we're still making music for you. And no matter what's happened with the industry or whatever, we're still the same band and we still make music. This is what we do."

This past January, Kendall told the "Mark 2.0" podcast that he was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response to Carlisle's addition to GREAT WHITE. "It was world news," he said. "I'm seeing stuff on the Internet from Italy, Germany, the U.K. And even some of the more online dirt-seeking-type entities that normally are just huntin' for the headline to say, 'He said his singer sucks'. That's the article. That's the way it starts. These guys actually said good things and posted some of the [fan-filmed videos]. They're cellphone cameras, so the quality probably isn't… But you can hear it. You need to sing great."

Last October, Carlisle was asked in an interview with AL.com about his approach to singing the band's classic songs. He said: "I just want to do the songs justice, because that's what people expect to hear. They want to go to the shows and hear the songs the way they remember them, the way they know them. It's not about me and how many high notes I can hit or anything like that. I just want to do the give the people, and the band, what they want."

Brett went on to say that he is honored to be singing for a band whose songs — including "Save Your Love", "Rock Me" and "Lady Red Light" — he had previously covered with his other band ALL OR NOTHING.

"I just want to learn from them," Carlisle said of his new bandmates "It's just really cool to be included in what I've grown up listening to, like looking at the CDs and everything. And then now people are coming up after the shows asking me to sign like original GREAT WHITE cassettes and stuff. And I'm sitting here feeling like I'm not worthy. Because I didn't record that. But I'm like, I just sang with them, so, sure, if you want me to."

Carlisle made his live debut with GREAT WHITE on September 24, 2022 at the Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to Brett, he felt welcomed by his new bandmates and the GREAT WHITE fans from the get-go.

"After meeting [the GREAT WHITE guys], they're all super-cool dudes," he told Kevin McKay of the 99 Rock WKSM FM radio station. "In Vegas, we had a rehearsal the day before, and I already knew half the songs well enough to be able to do it. So I wanted to do the best that I could on 'em. But after we hung out, everybody was cool and stuff. I mean, it's a big crowd. I love big crowds; they're fun."

Carlisle has been playing guitar and singing since the age of eight and counts bands like VAN HALEN, SKID ROW and METALLICA as his main influences.

In May 2022, GREAT WHITE announced that it had parted ways with singer Mitch Malloy and had replaced him with Freeman. Malloy had been in GREAT WHITE for nearly four years, having joined the group in 2018 following the departure of Terry Ilous.

Ilous, frontman of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was dismissed from the group.

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, which features original GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell.

A statue of AC/DC's Brian Johnson was unveiled earlier today (Sunday, April 16) in Namur, Belgium to commemorate the first concert he ever played with the band on June 29, 1980 at the city's Palais Des Expositions.

The project came together after a crowdfunding campaign launched by AC/DC fans Michel Remy, Mike Davister and Georges Boussingault, as well as support from the national radio station RTBF Classic 21.

The statue itself was created by the company Design Stone from Libramont using top-quality Belgian Blue Stone, a natural stone mined in Belgium, which is reportedly between 150 million and 350 million years old.

Johnson himself recorded a video message thanking the fans for their support and promising to visit Namur in the next few weeks to see the statue in person. You can see the video below.

"[Namur is] a very special place for me," he said. "It was the first might I sang with AC/DC, and I was a very nervous boy. So that memory will stay with me forever, and now that you've built this statue. Honestly, I'm not worthy of it. I thank you, and I'll take it in good grace."

A little over two years ago, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young told 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" series about how late AC/DC singer Bon Scott first met Johnson in the early 1970s. "Bon had been in a band that had toured in Britain, and they were opening for the band Brian was in, which was a band called GEORDIE," Angus said. "Anyhow, they were gigging away, and as Bon told the story, he was saying he was listening to GEORDIE performing and listening to Brian, and then he heard this screaming. He said it sounded great — he said it sounded like Little Richard was on the stage. He said this guy [was] howling and yelling. And then he said then he saw the guy on the floor. Bon thought it was great — it was the best act he had seen, and a singer, in a long time. But what he didn't know, afterwards he found out, Brian had an attack of appendicitis. But Bon thought it was part of the act. He thought, 'This guy is incredible.' 'And he was still hittin' these high notes.'"

Brian previously spoke about crossing paths with Bon in a 2011 interview with New York Post. He said: "I met Bon in 1973 or 1974. His band was supporting my band, GEORDIE. I had a terrible case of appendicitis and I went down on my side, kicking and going, 'Ooh!' But I kept on singing. Apparently, he told the boys when he joined AC/DC, 'I saw this guy Brian Johnson sing, and he was great. He was on the floor, kicking and screaming — what an act!' Of course, it wasn't an act. I was really ill."

On July 25, 1980, AC/DC released "Back In Black" in the U.S., followed by the album's U.K. release on July 31. It was the band's first album without Scott, who had died a few months earlier after passing out and choking on his own vomit following a long night of drinking.

The group quickly decided to press on and hired Johnson from the band GEORDIE to take over on vocals, and they headed to the Bahamas for about six weeks to do the album. AC/DC had made some serious headway in America before Scott's death, but no one knew how "Back In Black" would be received.

"Back in Black" first went platinum in October 1980. The RIAA lists "Back In Black" as the fourth biggest-selling album of all time.

"Back In Black" included the singles "You Shook Me All Night Long", which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Back In Black", which peaked at No. 37.

Despite its massive success, it never got higher than No. 4 on the album charts. The band's next album, "For Those About To Rock", reached No. 1.

"Back In Black" was produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange, who went on to produce DEF LEPPARD, FOREIGNER, THE CARS, and BRYAN ADAMS.

In 2012, "Back In Black" was added to The Recording Academy's legendary Grammy Hall Of Fame collection.

In 2020, AC/DC launched a range of new merchandise to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Back In Black".

Inauguration de la statue de Brian Johnson (AC/DC)

Ce dimanche midi, la statue de Brian Johnson, chanteur d'AC/DC , a été inaugurée devant un parterre de fans. C'est officiel, la place située en face de Namur Expo s'appelle désormais "l'esplanade AC/DC".

Posted by L'Avenir Namur on Sunday, April 16, 2023

A new statue of Brian Johnson was unveiled in Namur Belgium today. This is where AC/DC played their first show with Brian.
Cheers 🍻

Posted by The AC/DC Family! on Sunday, April 16, 2023

🇧🇪⚡️The Brian Johnson Statue⚡️🇧🇪
-
Today in the city of Namur, Belgium - a Statue of Brian has been unveiled on "AC/DC...

Posted by AC/DC Scotland on Sunday, April 16, 2023

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐫 : 𝐋'𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐂/𝐃𝐂

🇧🇪 Aujourd'hui est enfin dévoilée la statue de Brian Johnson à Namur, aboutissement de l'...

Posted by Highway To ACDC on Sunday, April 16, 2023

🎸Fan un jour, fan toujours
🎶 Ambiance Rock and roll ce midi à Namur
🎼 Inauguration de l'esplanade AC/Dc et de chaises en...

Posted by Dorothée Klein on Sunday, April 16, 2023

super mâtiné et début d'après midi en famille à Namur pour Brian Johnson 🤩👍🍾🥂

Posted by Aline Weckmans Debruyne on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Ce dimanche, notre équipe était à Namur pour l'inauguration de la statue de Brian Johnson du groupe AC/DC. Des fans...

Posted by TV Lux on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Oggi.. 16 Aprile 2023,
A Namur, Belgio..
È stata inaugurata finalmente una statua dedicata a Brian Johnson! Esattamente...

Posted by ON-OFF on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Inauguration de la statue de Brian Johnson à Namur with Charlotte Nagant de Deuxchaisnes et Cathy Van Osselt et Classic 21 - RTBF of course 😊😎🤘

Posted by Régis Redjje Valere-Gille on Sunday, April 16, 2023

29 juin 1980, avec près de 3 heures de retard, AC/DC entame sa première tournée avec Brian Johnson au chant à Namur.
15...

Posted by Phil Bomber on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Onthulling van het Brian Johnson standbeeld in Namen 🤘⚡️

Posted by Stijn Gerits on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Namur • 16 avril 2023
Inauguration de la statue de Brian Johnson sur l'esplanade AC/DC

Posted by Marc Antoine on Sunday, April 16, 2023

Inauguration de la statue of Brian Johnson à Namur. 1980-06-29, I was there.

Posted by Vincent Deschoenmaeker on Sunday, April 16, 2023

BRIAN JOHNSON STATUE IN BELGIUM
[English version below]

"Ein neuer Platz mit AC/DC-Atmosphäre ist geboren":
Am 16....

Posted by Internationales AC/DC-Fantreffen on Wednesday, April 12, 2023

[ Evénement 📣]

C'est ce dimanche 16 avril que la statue en l'honneur de Brian Johnson sera enfin inaugurée sur l'...

Posted by Cogeaf Group on Friday, April 14, 2023

Inauguration de la statue de Brian Johnson à l’esplanade AC/DC à Namur! 🤟🤟🤟

Posted by Arnaud Guyot on Sunday, April 16, 2023

California thrash metal pioneers DARK ANGEL, who have been touring intermittently since reforming a decade ago, are performing their legendary album "Darkness Descends" in its entirety at three special concerts this weekend at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles, California. The band will do the same on June 2 at Irving Plaza in New York City.

Fan-filmed video of the first two Teragram Ballroom shows, which took place on Friday (April 14) and Saturday (April 15),can be seen below.

Last month, DARK ANGEL paid tribute to the band's founding guitarist Jim Durkin, who died on March 8 at the age of 58.

On March 30, DARK ANGEL's surviving members issued the following statement: "On Thursday March 9, everyone in the DARK ANGEL family was notified of Jimmy Durkin's passing on Wednesday morning, March 8. Jim Durkin was the founder of DARK ANGEL, a major contributor to the music and was one of the founding fathers of thrash. He was known as the master of the riff with some of the most memorable and evil thrash riffs ever. Jim Durkin was family to all of the DARK ANGEL camp and will be deeply missed.

"Jim had been sitting out DARK ANGEL shows due to personal matters since 2020. Jim requested Laura Christine as his replacement, and she has joined us at the more recent DARK ANGEL appearances, as he'd requested that we keep it in the family.

"DARK ANGEL will continue to perform and record in Jim's memory and preserve his legacy, as he requested before his passing."

DARK ANGEL drummer Gene Hoglan said: "I miss you so much, my Brother. I never quite know how to grieve anymore. Had I known that our last few times together would be our last times together, I would have cherished them more. And you even more, Jim. You were my original guitar hero, my biggest influence, a truly inspirational legend to me and so many others. Had I, or any of us, only known that you'd be taken from us so suddenly, we would not have let you leave us…So suddenly. On tour, in my bunk, tears. Onstage, behind my kit, tears. Backstage, the thousand-yard stare. Tears. Realizing we'll never share the stage in this physical plane again…the greatest void. You chose The Unicorn yourself to fill that void. Only now am I beginning to grasp the complexity and graciousness of your monumental gift. My love for you gives me strength to get through this. And you are so beloved by everyone who knows you, Jim. Everyone. I sure hope you feel this. Your spirit will eternally live on, Brother. Onstage, with us, your wings will always be right where they belong, on stage right. In life, you'll always be in our hearts, right where you belong. At the front. Annie, Ron, Eric, Michael, Laura, Rob, and all of your friends and family love and miss you so much, Jimmy. I love you, Brother."

DARK ANGEL singer Ron Rinehart said: "Jimmy D was the very first person that I met in DARK ANGEL. Right from the start he was busting my balls! When I first spoke to Jimmy, we were talking about the band that I had just left. Jimmy said, 'We saw your band. They suck but we loved you!' I laughed. Another great memory I have was at a METALLICA and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES show. Someone told Jimmy, 'I don't like you when you're drunk,' and without skipping a beat, Jimmy answers, 'I don't like you when I'm sober.' I almost swallowed my tongue. I can't count the times where I would end up spitting something out of my nose!!! Jimmy would just laugh! He had the best sense of humor. From day one… we were Brothers… Yesterday, today and forever Jimmy will always be my Brother!!! Until we meet again!! I Love you."

DARK ANGEL guitarist Eric Meyer stated: "Way back in '84, I placed an ad in the Recycler newspaper: 'Guitarist seeking established band'. Jim Durkin called me, DARK ANGEL was his band. We instantly connected, and I will never forget that first phone call, the beginning of a friendship that would last 39 years. A lifetime of memories were created, and I'm devastated that we won't be making more. Forever in my heart, my stage right brother."

DARK ANGEL bassist Michael Gonzalez said: "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy. You and I go way back. I remember when I first joined DA and you would come over to my house to teach me songs. We'd sit out in the garage and run through the 'Darkness Descends' set. I was with you the very first time you met Annie and fell in love with her from the moment you saw her. I was there when you married her. We have shared so many moments together that are just indescribable. I will miss you forever my friend, my brother, my family. Until we meet again, you will always be such a huge part of my life. Good bye… for now."

Laura Christine, who is married to Hoglan, said: "At the California Death Fest in 2018, Jim Durkin took me aside and said that he would be stepping down from playing live, and that he wanted me to take over his live duties for DARK ANGEL. Coming from one of my guitar heroes, this was a major shock, followed by a mixed array of emotions. I felt honored yet greatly concerned for my hero. Nobody wants to see their guitar hero step down, let alone leave this earth. It's a very heavy thing for me to digest.

"I love and greatly respect Jimmy and his playing so much, and it is a tremendous, immense honor to be chosen and encouraged by him to fill his spot. I will do my best to honor Jim and help preserve not only my friend's memory, but also the DARK ANGEL legacy."

Jim's wife Annie Durkin has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with Jim's medical expenses and memorial.

An original member of DARK ANGEL, Durkin played on the band's first three albums — 1985's "We Have Arrived", 1986's "Darkness Descends" and 1989's "Leave Scars" — before departing the group in 1989. He was part of DARK ANGEL's lineup when the band reformed in 2013, and had been playing with them ever since.

For much of the last few years, Durkin and his bandmates had been working on material for a new studio album.

DARK ANGEL's first CD since 1991's "Time Does Not Heal" was supposed to feature the lineup that has performed sporadic live shows since reuniting in 2013: Hoglan, Durkin, Eric Meyer (guitar),Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass).

In February 2022, Hoglan said during a Twitch livestream from his home that he and his DARK ANGEL bandmates were "in the process" of making a new album. "I have a lot of work ahead of me, and so does Jim Durkin," Gene said. "He's been sending over songs, riffs, stuff like that, [which has been] super exciting. We're all of the same mindset of making this just the most absolutely kick-ass DARK ANGEL record that we can."

DARK ANGEL released two albums with Don Doty on vocals — the aforementioned "We Have Arrived" and "Darkness Descends" — before he exited the group and was replaced by Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987). The band issued two more studio LPs — "Leave Scars" and "Time Does Not Heal" — before calling it quits in 1992.

DARK ANGEL is:

Gene Hoglan - Drums
Ron Rinehart - Vocals
Eric Meyer - Guitar
Michael Gonzalez - Bass
Laura Christine - Guitar

BLINK-182 played its first reunion concert with Tom DeLonge Friday (April 14) at the Coachella festival in Indio, California. The 50-minute performance marked the first time DeLonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus have shared the stage together publicly since 2014.

BLINK-182 appearance at Coachella was a last-minute addition to the event, having been announced by DeLonge a day earlier (April 13).

The pop-punk outfit performed in the Sahara Tent, which usually hosts EDM music.

BLINK-182 was scheduled to launch its reunion tour in Mexico and South America in March but had to postpone the dates after Barker injured his finger in rehearsals.

BLINK-182 kicked off its Coachella set with "Family Reunion" and played other classics like "Anthem Pt. 2", "Feeling This", "What's My Age Again?", "The Rock Show", "I Miss You" and "All The Small Things". The band also performed its recent single "Edging" live for the first time.

The North American leg of BLINK-182's reunion tour will launch in May and run through July, with TURNSTILE providing support.

Since their humble beginnings nearly thirty years ago, when they started playing in a San Diego garage, BLINK-182 have sold over fifty-million albums worldwide and rocked audiences from Adelaide to Zurich, having become one of the defining rock bands of their generation. According to The New York Times, "No punk band of the 1990s has been more influential than BLINK-182."

DeLonge was a member of BLINK-182 from its 1995 debut album, "Cheshire Cat" through 2003's "Untitled", before leaving in 2005. He then rejoined the band in 2011 for the "Neighborhoods" LP, prior to departing again in 2015.

BLINK-182's two most recent albums — 2016's "California" and 2019's "Nine" — featured ALKALINE TRIO's Matt Skiba.

Tom has spent the last few years focusing on ANGELS & AIRWAVES before reconnecting with Mark after the latter beat cancer in 2021. Travis has collaborated with countless musicians and married Kourtney Kardashian.

The world tour is currently scheduled to resume in May, including a May 19 concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

blink's reunion tour hits the NYC-area on May 19 at Madison Square Garden, May 20 at UBS Arena, May 24 at Barclays Center, and Atlantic City's new Adjacent Festival, with Turnstile opening all North American dates. Tickets here.

TESTAMENT's Eric Peterson says that drummer Chris Dovas's (SEVEN SPIRES) addition to the band has turned out to be "a blessing in disguise" after Dave Lombardo's "short-lived return".

Last week, Lombardo revealed in an interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET that he would sit out the remainder of TESTAMENT's 2023 shows, with no guarantee that he will return to the band.

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

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

Earlier today, Petersonshared a video of Dovas performing with TESTAMENT and he wrote in an accompanying message: "What can I say? Things sometimes just happen for a reason, I mean just when everything seems to go ok BAM! Nope! but then something opens up… @chrisdovas happened.

"Chris replaced Dave on our last North American run cause of over booked scheduled from Dave, but it was a blessing in disguise. Chris has turned out to be totally unbelievably amazing and a very kind and awesome brilliant drummer."

The guitarist continued: "We are more than thrilled for our fans to experience his more than meets the eye capabilities with our South American and European tours coming up, also in this last minute situation we've connected on a killer spree, working on new ideas this last week has become more than promising, I am stoked to say it's gonna be KILLER peeps!

"Anyway rest assure Chris will push the envelope so to speak and make TESTAMENT heavier and more precise than before! More to come!!!!! W00t!

"I have to add it was a pleasure and a great time to have Dave back in his short lived return again".

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

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

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

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

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

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Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted will perform with his NEWSTED project for the first time in nearly a decade on May 20 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Newsted, who plays bass and sings in the project, will be joined at the gig by original NEWSTED members Jesus Mendez Jr. (UNDERLORD) on drums and Jessie Farnsworth (UNDERLORD) on guitar, along with new guitarist Humberto Perez.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 21 at 10 a.m.

Back in February 2014, Newsted canceled an appearance at Australia's Soundwave festival with NEWSTED, citing "private and personal circumstances." The cancelation followed more than a year of intense touring and promotional activity surrounding the release of NEWSTED's "Metal" EP and follow-up album, "Heavy Metal Music", both of which were positively received by the critics and fans alike.

STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok, who joined NEWSTED in March 2013 and played on "Heavy Metal Music", told "The Jasta Show" in a 2019 interview that Jason ultimately pulled the plug on the band because it wasn't financially viable for him to continue playing.

"I think he was happy with it [creatively]," Mike said. "I think the touring thing was hard. I don't think it was exactly what he expected it was going to be. But listen, it was fun. I really enjoyed him. I really enjoyed our time together and playing. We're still friends; we still communicate… We were playing smaller places, but the shows were always good; they were always fun. I just think it cost him a ton. 'Cause he was footing the bill for everything. So I think that at the end of the day, he's, like, 'I'm doing this 'cause of my passion for it and what I love, but I'm bleeding here.' We had this European tour that I think cost him a bunch."

Explaining that he is "really thankful" for the "great experience" of playing with Jason, Mike praised his former bandmate, saying: "Jason is a hard worker, man. We would practice 10 hours, he'd record the whole thing, and when we were done, he wouldn't walk out of the control — he'd sit there and listen to it. I'm, like, 'Dude! Come on, man.' I mean, there's a hard work — I'm a hard worker, but this guy was next level."

In a 2017 interview with Ultimate Guitar, Jason said that it was "too much of a load" having to "wear all the hats and doing the writing, singing, playing and paying for everything" while NEWSTED was alive.

Jason explained: "It cost me an awful lot of money — hundreds of thousands of dollars to take the NEWSTED band around to the 22 countries we played. But it was worth it for the lessons I learned and the respect that was shown to us and the camaraderie of the band. But I couldn't continue because the business is such a harsh thing now and so different than what I had known."

"Heavy Metal Music" sold nearly 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available in August 2013 in North America via Chophouse Records/Collective Sounds and in Europe through Spinefarm Records.

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001 but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.

This past February, Newsted told the Gator 98.7 FM radio station that he "spent six months of last year putting together THE CHOPHOUSE BAND 'Volume 1'" with his long-running project. He added: "THE CHOPHOUSE BAND has been together [and] making music since 1992. So it was our first album after 30 years. I spent a lot of time on that. And then, once I got that under my belt, I'm kind of stepping back into the heavy now. So the last couple of weeks I've been auditioning guitar players for a heavy project. I'm back on bass and singing with a metal drummer — double bass, you know; getting' loud again. So I've got a couple of irons in the fire. I'm putting two new projects together right now — but loud."

Dissonant death metal practitioners Nightmarer present “Brutalist Imperator,” the fourth single from their impending second LP, Deformity Adrift, nearing release on Total Dissonance Worship and Vendetta Records.


Forged in 2014, the international collective known as Nightmarer set out to derive only the most extreme elements of their previous musical endeavours and take them to much more miserable and punishing levels. Two years later, the band hit the extreme metal underground with their debut EP Chasm. The furious whirlwind of low-end dissonance and pulverizing heaviness immediately took the scene by storm and paved the path to a record contract with Season Of Mist.


Nightmarer’s following full-length Cacophony Of Terror (2018) and their appearance on the 2019 edition of the Devastation On The Nation Tour, earned the band a strong, diehard following, while the addition of guitarist Keith Merrow (Merrow, Conquering Dystopia) in the same year, only further cemented their reputation as a band to watch closely.




In early 2020, Nightmarer parted ways with Season Of Mist to launch their own label, Total Dissonance Worship. Under that banner, the band released the single “Primordial Grit” and 2021 EP Monolith Of Corrosion to critical acclaim from both fans and critics alike.


By 2021, most of the band relocated to Portland, Oregon to finish the production of their long-awaited, second full-length: this year’s Deformity Adrift.


Inarguably the band’s most diverse work to date, Deformity Adrift ventures far beyond the conventions of the already unconventional genre of dissonant death metal, without surrendering an ounce of viciousness. A thirty-two-minute sonic behemoth, the record is at once confounding and ravaging. Strong nuances of industrial and doom metal can be heard throughout, the record’s nine tracks concluding fittingly with a suffocating wall of sound that leaves its listeners bruised, battered, and shaken.


Guitars on Deformity Adrift were recorded by Simon Hawemann at Sludge Studios, vocals and additional guitars were recorded by Keith Merrow at Merrowsound, all bass was recorded by Brendan Sloan at Overland, and drums were recorded by Marc Wüstenhagen at Dailyhero Recordings. The record was mixed and mastered by Raphaël Bovey at MyRoom Studio and comes adorned in the cover art of Jeanne Comateuse.


Nightmarer’s Deformity Adrift will be released by Total Dissonance Worship in the US and Vendetta Records in Europe on CD, vinyl, cassette, digital, and streaming formats on May 5. Find pre-orders here.





Deformity Adrift tracklisting:


"Brutalist Imperator"
"Baptismal Tomb"
"Throe Of Illicit Withdrawal"
"Tooms"
"Suffering Beyond Death"
"Taufbefehl"
"Hammer Of Desolation"
"Endstadium"
"Obliterated Shrine"


"Brutalist Imperator":





"Hammer Of Desolation" video:





"Taufbefehl" video:





"Throe Of Illicit Withdrawal":





Nightmarer lineup:


John Collett - vocals
Simon Hawemann - guitars
Keith Merrow - guitars
Brendan Sloan - bass
Paul Seidel – drums


Additional musicians:


Christian Kolf and Jan Buckard (Valborg) - guest vocals on “Taufbefehl”
Eeli Helin - soundscapes and noise on “Taufbefehl”
Jesse Zuretti and Robert Bruckmayer - orchestration, soundscapes, samples on “Obliterated Shrine”


(Photo - Peter Voigtmann)

Finnish symphonic black metallers Shade Empire have announced their sixth studio album, Sunholy, will be released on September 15 via Candlelight Records.


Ahead of the release the band have unveiled their captivating new video for first single, "In Amongst The Woods".







Formed in Kuopio, Finland in 1999, Shade Empire have developed their own genre, an unholy fusion of symphonic melody interwoven with black and death metal overtones, emotionally rich vocals and tight orchestral instrumentation. 


New album, Sunholy, features nine towering tracks of atmospheric beauty, barbed with unspeakably brutal guitar patterns, multi-layered beautiful synth walls, devastating drum parts, complex bass assaults and unique vocals that are delivered straight from the jaws of hell. Fans of Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Septicflesh and Dark Tranquility will find something here.


Comments the band: "Six years after the release of Poetry Of The Ill-Minded, we are pleased to present you with our new album 'Sunholy'. We are very excited to let our fans hear what we have been up to. The record is brutality and beauty in perfect harmony."


Mixed by Chris Edrich (Devin Townsend, Leprous, Alcest) and mastered by Pierrick Noël (Klone), with Fleshgod Apocalypse's Francesco Ferrini responsible for the orchestrations and Andy Reich at Collapse Of Art completing the artwork, Sunholy is a long-aged piece of art and labour of love. Embodying the most comprehensive Shade Empire effort to date, the lyrics are thematically inspired by the Jonestown tragedy, a mass murder-suicide of the Peoples Temple cult, but there's also a fuller contemplation and exploration of the current state of the world.





After a long-endured absence, Shade Empire have returned as grandiose experts in their craft, with an astounding soundtrack to Hell's gates' opening and a band relishing being at the top of their game.


Shade Empire are:
Henry Hämäläinen – vocals
Juha Sirkkiä – guitars and keys
Eero Mantere – bass guitar
Erno Räsänen – drums
Aapeli Kivimäki – guitars


(Photo: Oliver König)