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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Crank it up and enjoy!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIREWIND 2023 is:

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

Photo: Tim Tronckoe

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

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

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

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

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

The tour dates are as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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





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




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


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


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


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





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


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


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


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

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


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


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




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


Watch the video for "Fade" below.





Rebuilding The Mountain tracklisting:


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


"Fade" video:





"The Knife" video:





Royal Thunder are:


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

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


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


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




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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

"Live In Rio" track listing:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Canadian sci-fi metal innovators VOIVOD will celebrate 40 eventful years of existence in 2023 with a special anniversary studio album titled "Morgöth Tales", to be released on July 21 via Century Media Records.

Once more recorded and mixed by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, "Morgöth Tales" includes fresh studio re-recordings by the band's current lineup of nine especially selected, not-so-obvious picks from the band's hyper-classy and extremely diverse back catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) as well as a brand-new song and the album's title track, "Morgöth Tales".

VOIVOD drummer Michel "Away" Langevin comments: "'Morgöth Tales' covers 40 years of space exploration.

"It was really exciting for us to revisit a more obscure part of the VOIVOD catalogue, from thrash-punk to prog-metal.

"The title track is a new song, which we started writing on the tour bus and hotels during the OPETH European tour in November/December 2022. It has the vibe of the experimental music we are doing nowadays, with a new twist I think. We also had the great thrill of getting Eric [Forrest] and Jason [Newsted] involved on this album.

"I hope you'll dig it. Chewy, Rocky, Snake and I certainly had a blast recording it. All aboard and ready for take off!"

"Morgöth Tales" track listing:

01. Condemned To The Gallows (2023 Version) [originally on "Metal Massacre V" compilation, 1984]
02. Thrashing Rage (2023 Version) [originally on "Rrröööaaarrr", 1986]
03. Killing Technology (2023 Version) [originally on "Killing Technology", 1987]
04. Macrosolutions To Megaproblems (2023 Version) [originally on "Dimension Hatröss", 1988]
05. Pre-Ignition (2023 Version) [originally on "Nothingface", 1989]
06. Nuage Fractal (2023 Version) [originally on "Angel Rat", 1991]
07. Fix My Heart (2023 Version) [originally on "The Outer Limits", 1993]
08. Rise (2023 Version, feat. Eric Forrest) [originally on "Phobos", 1997]
09. Rebel Robot (2023 Version, feat. Jason Newsted) [originally on "Voivod", 2003]
10. Morgöth Tales [New Song]

VOIVOD vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger spoke about "Morgöth Tales" in a recent interview with Agoraphobic News. He said: "It was a really fun thing to do. It was like a time capsule, going back in time [to] revisit these old songs, especially one in particular, which was first song we ever recorded ['Condemned To The Gallows']; that was for 'Metal Massacre V' [1984] on Metal Blade Records back in the day, before our first album. And the funny thing about it was there was no lyric sheet in the compilation itself. It was us, including many other bands. And the way it was recorded, it was really hard to figure out the lyrics; I couldn't remember what I was singing. So we're looking everywhere on the Internet, if someone has it or whatever. And it was nowhere [to be] found. And then I said to myself, 'Maybe mom has it in the attic somewhere.' And then I called my sister: 'Can you check at mom's place? Maybe she put it somewhere.' And she went, and my mom classified — everything is in order with mom. And she was, like, 'Yeah, yeah, I have it. File number six.' And then she pulls out the only copy of the lyrics in the world of that song.' And we were, like, 'Yeah!' 'Cause [music for] the song was already recorded. And we were, like, 'Oh my God. What are we gonna do?'"

Circling back to the upcoming 40th-anniversary album, Snake said that it will contain a song "not [from] every album, but mostly the period from 'Rrröööaaarrr', 'Killing Technology', 'Dimension Hatröss', 'Nothingface'; we revisit one song from each [album]. And it's in a chronological [order]. So it's very fun. It was fun to do."

He added: "It was really — like I said — like a time capsule, going back. And I'm trying to sing these songs like I used to."

As previously reported, VOIVOD will return to the USA with a run of shows this spring. Featuring IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT as support, this trek will be part one of VOIVOD's "40 Years Of Morgöth Tales" tour.

Before "40 Years Of Morgöth Tales" part one, VOIVOD will make select appearances across the U.K. and Netherlands in April; then, the group will return to Europe in May for a tour with TESTAMENT and EXODUS, with festivals to follow in the summer.

VOIVOD is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s. Starting out as a speed metal band, VOIVOD have added a mix of progressive metal and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and are credited as one of the "big four" Canadian thrash metal bands, along with SACRIFICE, RAZOR and ANNIHILATOR. They are considered by many as one of the most influential metal bands from the '80s, influencing and gaining praise from multiple bands and across numerous genres.

VOIVOD found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album, "Nothingface" (1989),which is the band's only album to enter The Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 114.

VOIVOD released a new EP, "Ultraman", last November via Century Media Records. The effort features a highly original tribute to the "Ultraman" TV series theme as well as previously unreleased bonus live cuts, available both as a 12-inch vinyl EP or as a digital EP.

VOIVOD's 15th studio album, "Synchro Anarchy", was released in February 2022 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2018's "The Wake" was produced by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio and features cover artwork created by drummer Michel Langevin (a.k.a. Away).

Photo credit: Francis Perron

Ahead of the release of their album "Atum" and North American "The World Is A Vampire" tour, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS have shared the official music video for "Empires". Watch it below.

The video comes as "Empires" continues to make waves at radio, being the No. 1 most added song to Active Rock. "Spellbinding" is also currently the No. 1 most added to Alternative Rock.

"Atum" is set for release on May 5 and is the sequel to 1995's "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" and 2000's "Machina/Machine Of God". Featuring 33 tracks in three acts, "Atum" was written and produced by frontman Billy Corgan over the past over years. 22 tracks have been released to date, with "Beguiled" continuing to climb at both Active Rock (peaked at No. 6) and Alternative Radio Charts (No. 12). Act 3 will come with a special edition boxset featuring all 33 album tracks plus 10 additional previously unreleased songs.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS recently announced their 26-date North American "The World Is A Vampire" tour. Produced by Live Nation, the tour is set to start on Friday, July 28 at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. It will feature special guests INTERPOL, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and RIVAL SONS as support on various dates, as well as some of the world’s biggest champions from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA),who will be competing in most cities. "The World Is A Vampire" has already sold out 30,000-plus-capacity shows in Mexico City this year, as well in cities across Australia this spring, and is set to expand to more countries in the future.

Corgan said: "I grew up in a world where I needed to know bands like SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES and THE CURE existed, it meant there was a place for people like me to hang out and belong. That's what 'The World Is A Vampire' is about. Bringing back that sense of community. If you don't fit in, you belong here. It's about having a shared experience and respecting others, but ultimately having fun. A true alternative festival, where all the self-proclaimed weirdos and outsiders of the world can get together and have a party."

This week, Disney+ revealed special guests for the upcoming mockumentary series "The Muppets Mayhem", which includes Corgan. The entire first season will be available to stream on Wednesday, May 10.

In other news, Corgan's popular podcast series "Thirty-Three With William Patrick Corgan" continues to quench the thirst of dedicated PUMPKINS fans all over the world, offering listeners the chance to hear never-before-released "Atum" tracks, as well as diving into various aspects of the band’s illustrious history. "Thirty-Three With William Patrick Corgan" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and available on iHeartRadio and everywhere podcasts are heard.

Photo credit: Paul Elledge

THE TROOPS OF DOOM, the Brazilian band featuring former SEPULTURA guitarist Jairo "Tormentor" Guedz, will release "Prelude To Blasphemy" on May 12.

Upon completing three years of existence last March, THE TROOPS OF DOOM had the idea of recording two new songs to celebrate this important milestone in the history of the band formed by Alex Kafer (vocals and bass),Guedz, Marcelo Vasco (guitar) and Alexandre Oliveira (drums).

"Prelude To Blasphemy" will feature two brand new tracks and the first two EPs, "The Rise Of Heresy" (2020) and "The Absence Of Light" (2021),as a bonus. The material will be released on CD digipack through Alma Mater Records, on CD slipcase via Voice Music in Brazil, while digital distribution will be handled by Blood Blast, the digital subsidiary of the German label Nuclear Blast. The cover art was painted by Maramgoni.

"The amazing Maramgoni did a fantastic job! He was also the author of the cover art of our EP 'The Absence Of Light'," says Vasco.

Mixing and mastering were handled by Leonardo Pagani.

"Pagani did an incredible job, bringing a lot of quality to the sound, but without losing that old-school tone and the Low-fi touch that we're always looking for in our productions", comments Kafer.

About one of the unpublished tracks, "1666", Guedz explains that the theme deals with the great fire of London. "The track '1666' was inspired by the great fire of London, one of the greatest England's catastrophes, which caused deaths, thousands of people homeless, countless public buildings destroyed and almost 90 churches burned," he says. "There were dark times since in this period was happening the last bubonic plague epidemic in England. The cover art portrays a bit of all of that and, obviously, we still maintained that aesthetic connection with my era with SEPULTURA".

According to Oliveira, "God's Orphanage" and "1666" are not leftovers from the studio, but had already been worked on by the band for some time. "Both are songs that we already had the riffs and a basic song structure at the time of the first EPs, in 2020 and 2021," he explains. "However, they ended up not being finished on time and that's why they weren't recorded. When we made 'Antichrist Reborn' we kind forgot about them and now, finally, these songs had their purpose. They both are heavy, with a lot of energy and synthesize what THE TROOPS OF DOOM is about very well."

SEPULTURA was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais. Jairo joined the group the following year and played on the band's first two releases, 1985's "Bestial Devastation" EP and their 1986 full-length debut, "Morbid Visions". He also participated in the early songwriting sessions for 1987's "Schizophrenia".

In early 1987, Jairo quit SEPULTURA and was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser.

On April 12, 2018, Austin City Council and Mayor Steve Adler officially proclaimed April 12 to be “Black Heart Saints Day!” What better day to release their latest single "Human Xstacy" to radio.


In addition, the band has released the “Human Xstacy” lyric video that can be seen below.


Black Heart Saints, consisting of Josh LeBlanc (Vocals), Mark Sean (Guitar), Nathan Flores (Drums), and Ian C.G. (Bass), announced the release of their new single "Human Xstacy" on January 20th with legendary label Cleopatra Records. The song was produced by Geno Lenardo (Filter, Device) and mixed/mastered by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns 'N Roses, Sons of Apollo, Asia).







Black Heart Saints exploded onto the scene with a distinct groove steeped in classic rock and a modern intensity, and a bravado that is clearly backed by talent. With endorsements by some of the most respected rock personalities and critics such as Eddie Trunk, Lou Brutus, and Jose Mangin from SiriusXM Octane, Black Heart Saints stands atop the "new wave of classic rock" pantheon and is destined for a bright future. In recent years, the studio singles “Reach The End”, “Lines”, and “Misery” topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Radio Charts, paving the way for appearances at SXSW Festival, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and serving as the support act for national artists such as Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, Ace Frehley, Sevendust, Steel Panther, Pop Evil, Buckcherry, Dirty Honey, and more.


“We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Cleopatra Records and welcome them to our all-star team. 2023 is the year that Black Heart Saints becomes a household name,” says guitarist, Mark Sean.

In a new interview with Joe Rock of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB radio station, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry was asked if there are any plans for him and his bandmates to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think that… I don't know if I'm not supposed to announce it or not, but we are gonna announce the tour, and it's gonna start in September and will go into next year. And being one of the guys who votes on this kind of thing, it looks like we're gonna do it. [Laughs]"

As for the possibility of the upcoming tour featuring the return of drummer Joey Kramer, who announced in March 2022 that he would sit out AEROSMITH's concerts last year so he could "focus his full attention on his family during these uncertain times," Perry said: "That's probably one of the hardest things. I've gotta say drumming is probably one of the most athletic parts of playing in a band. So it's really hard. It's been mostly because he just physically [has been] just beating himself up over the last 50 years. So I don't know. I mean, he's still officially a member of the band, but I don't think he's gonna be sitting behind the drums, at least for this next run. Other than that, I really can't say."

Elsewhere in the chat, Joe talked about the likelihood of new music from AEROSMITH. The legendary Boston rockers haven't released a new studio album since 2012's "Music From Another Dimension!" That effort was released when AEROSMITH's label, Columbia Records, was reportedly going through a leadership change, and it ended up becoming a commercial disappointment.

"At this point, I can't say," Joe said about the prospect of a new AEROSMITH song or album. "I really don't know. But I know that we have a pile of material that hasn't been released. So I think we're focusing on that right now. But the main thing is just getting this tour up and running."

For the past year, AEROSMITH's longtime drum tech John Douglas has been filling in on drums for Kramer, whose wife, Linda Gail Kramer, died last June at the age of 55. No cause of death has been revealed.

AEROSMITH played its first concert in more than two and a half years on September 4, 2022 in Bangor, Maine.

Prior to the show at Maine Savings Amphitheater, the band's last live performance took place in February 2020 in Las Vegas as part of AEROSMITH's "Deuces Are Wild" residency.

In May 2022, AEROSMITH announced that singer Steven Tyler had entered a treatment program following a relapse, prompting the band to put their Las Vegas residency on a temporary hold.

Tyler had been struggling with drug and alcohol addiction since the mid-1980s. Over the course of the last four decades, he had relapsed several times, including in the early 2000s and 2009.

Joey has had his own health difficulties in recent years. Kramer suffered a health scare back in 2014, which was initially reported to be "heart-related complications".