English industrial metal pioneers GODFLESH will release their first new material in six years, "Purge", on June 9. The follow-up to 2017's critically acclaimed "Post Self" sees GODFLESH revisiting and updating the concepts of "Pure" (1992),as well as bringing a whole host of new dirges and laments. Among the many layers of dirt, "Purge" mangles 1990s hip-hop grooves and puts them through the GODFLESH filter to create something futuristic in style — and utterly unique.

Both minimal and maximal, GODFLESH delivers alien grooves that swing while also retaining the psychedelic, bad trip edge with layer upon layer of filth and heaviness that the band has always been known for. This is, and always has been, feel-bad music.

The title alone — "Purge" — references directly how songwriter and creator Justin K. Broadrick utilizes GODFLESH's music as a temporary relief from his diagnosed autism and PTSD. It's the next stage in a journey he has been on since he began creating music, feeling alone and like an outsider in any scene or group, from childhood through to adulthood. The music of GODFLESH gives Broadrick the means to express a lifetime of feeling misunderstood and overwhelmed by hyper-sensitivity. The band is the vehicle to provide some sense of catharsis and transcendence; a way of communicating overload, as well as the constant disenchantment at the human condition, and man's abuse of power and the systems that chain us. "Purge" references the cycle of horror that man always has and always will put us through; those in positions of power revel in the infliction of pain and horror upon individuals — in the name of their religion, their power, their money, their flags…

"Purge" track listing:

01. Nero
02. Land Lord
03. Army Of Non
04. Lazarus Leper
05. Permission
06. The Father
07. Mythology Of Self
08. You Are The Judge, The Jury, And The Executioner

A digital-only single of the opening song "Nero", coupled with three remixes, will be released on April 3, 2023.

GODFLESH — consisting of Broadrick and Ben Green — augmented by Machines, is seen as a pivotal entity in the world of "heavy" music, impacting entire subcultures within the scene since the band's inception in 1988.

GODFLESH has been credited as being one of the first bands to cross old British industrial music with down-tuned, primitive and minimal metal, accidentally pioneering the "industrial metal" sound — yet reaches far beyond the confines of the genre. The band is widely regarded as a cultural icon, and its impact can be felt across generations of heavy music, both mainstream and underground.

GODFLESH will perform at select shows worldwide and key festivals, including headlining Birmingham's Supersonic Festival and Austin, Texas's Oblivion Fest around the release date of the album.

Image courtesy of Obscene Extreme Fest
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Ex-MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman spoke to Consequence about his reunion with his former band during the Dave Mustaine-fronted outfit's first-ever gig at Tokyo, Japan's famed Budokan. Friedman came up on stage for three songs toward the end of the main set on Monday, February 27: "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction".

Regarding the experience of sharing the stage with Mustaine again, Friedman said: "It was just like a perfect exclamation point on everything that we had done together up until this point. You couldn't have written a better way for the whole thing to play out. It was just perfect timing, just a very natural and organic way to do it."

On the topic of his current relationship with Mustaine, Friedman said: "Oh, it's great. It's always been great. I think if anything, if there was ever any kind of weirdness, it was probably in the minds of the people who are fans or just people who are reading media things. We chat every once in a while and it's always very nice. We have no … maybe at the time when I left the band there might have been some weird feelings between us, but I think at the time, Dave understood why I left. And at the time I understood why I put the band in a possibly rough situation. But that's such a long time ago. And since then, there's really been nothing but friendly, normal contact — and occasionally, we'll talk about a thing that we might need the other to comment on. But absolutely nothing but complete friendliness."

Asked if he would be open to playing with MEGADETH again, either onstage or in the studio, Marty said: "Yeah, man, the door's open. I think the door has always been open. It's really just a matter of doing something that has meaning to it. Meaning for them and meaning for me. So, Budokan is sort of a no-brainer. But if something were to come up that would be a good thing for them and a good thing for me, and add value to it, then I'm all for it. As far as I'm concerned, their band is just kicking so much ass right now, I can't imagine them needing me for anything. [Laughs] But Budokan was wonderful. There's other things in the future. My door's open and we're on great terms, and I love all the guys in the band. It's very casual."

Three years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and drummer Nick Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

San Diego, California hard rock / metal band Seventrain have released a lyric video for the song "So Far" from their new 2023 self-titled EP which is out today independently.





Tracklisting:




“So Far”
“Rollercoaster”
“One More Reason”
“Save My Soul” 


“So Far” lyric video:





“Save My Soul”:





Lineup:


Eric Koonze - Vocals
Dave Odegaard - Guitars
Eric Horton - Guitars (Ex-Cage)
Greg Rupp - Bass
Calvin Lakin - Drums

Oakland thrashers, Vio-lence, performed on the Ronnie James Dio stage at Bloodstock Open Air 2022. Professionally-filmed video footage of the set opener, "Eternal Nightmare", can be viewed below. Previously posted clips of the band performing "Upon Their Cross" and "World In A World" are also available.


Setlist:


"Eternal Nightmare"
"Serial Killer"
"Calling In The Coroner"
"Officer Nice"
"Kill On Command"
"Upon Their Cross"
"Phobophobia"
"World In A World"

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford joined SABBATH for two gigs to support Ozzy Osbourne on his last shows for the "No More Tours" tour in November 1992 in Costa Mesa, California after SABBATH's singer at the time, Ronnie James Dio, refused to take the stage. Rob also performed with SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward on August 26, 2004 at the Camden, New Jersey stop of Ozzfest after Ozzy came down with an "attack of bronchitis" and was unable to take part in the concert.

Halford reflected on his appearances with SABBATH in a new interview with SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard host Mark Strigl. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The first time was in Costa Mesa, in California. I can't remember when. I do know there's an amazing video of the whole show on YouTube somewhere, which sounds good and looks good. That's a great memory.

"How that happened was… You know, when Ronnie — God bless you, Ronnie — was working with SABBATH, and there was an opportunity for the band to do a little bit of a reunion at that show in Costa Mesa with Ozzy, Ronnie said, 'I'm just gonna step aside for personal reasons.' So he did," Rob explained. "And then I get a call from Tony, 'Can you come and help us out?' 'Yeah, what do you want me to do?' Blah blah blah. We talked about the setlist. We put a couple of songs in there that SABBATH hadn't done forever, 'cause they were my favorites and I thought the fans would love 'em. And then the next minute we're doing two shows. We have a bit of a blast in the studio here in Phoenix, bang out the set, and the next day we're playing two sold-out shows in Costa Mesa. So that was amazing.

"And then you go forward. And this is just what we do for each other in bands. Ozzy wasn't feeling too well with his throat, and I get a phone call from Sharon [Ozzy's wife and manager]… And the same deal. 'He's got this bronchitis thing. Can you step in for the show? 'Yeah, sure. Which one?' 'Tonight.' I'm, like, 'Tonight?' 'Yeah. Can you do the show tonight?' So I did. I did the PRIEST set, had a shower, got changed, ran out and did the Ozzy thing with SABBATH. So that's happened two or three times.

"That's what we do, man. We love each other.

"PRIEST and SABBATH go back forever," Halford added. "And so we still have this beautiful friendship and relationship that's endured within and without the music. PRIEST and SABBATH, we started it all."

In a 2005 interview with Revolver, Iommi stated about Rob's performance with SABBATH at the 2004 Ozzfest: "At first we were worried, because people expect Ozzy, but if Rob hadn't helped us out, there wouldn't have been a show at all. When our manager told me Ozzy had bronchitis and couldn't sing, he asked me what I thought about Rob doing it. I said, 'I think it's a good idea as long as you tell everybody beforehand so they know.' Of course, they told the audience right before we went onstage, so I thought, 'Oh, no.' But the crowd received him really well."

Dio replaced Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

Ronnie passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Former VENOM and VENOM INC. drummer Abaddon (real name: Anthony Bray) says that he is "doing all right" in his battle with lymphoma.

The 62-year-old musician, who revived his ABADDON project in 2018, discussed his health in a new video in which he answers fan-submitted questions.

Regarding where he stands in his fight against the blood cancer, Bray said: "The treatments and whatever I've gone through have all been pretty well successful so far. I've got a final scan — well, I hope it's a final scan — coming up soon, and we'll find out if we have to take it any further or if that's it.

"The type of cancer it is, it's likely to come back because it's blood related. But I know what I'm facing now," he explained. "So bollocks to it, basically."

"There are a lot of people in a lot worse positions, so I'm doing all right. I've gotta get back to where I build the strength back with a bit of exercising. But I'm very happy with it," he said. "I couldn't have better support and help from everybody, to be fair, as well as, obviously, the doctors and nurses and whatnot, but everybody who's been online and sent me messages and this sort of thing. It couldn't be better."

Bray previously said that his cancer journey began after he noticed a mass growing on the side of his neck in July 2022.

"I thought it was maybe an insect bite as I live near the sea and it was a hot month here," he shared in a Facebook post. "The mass grew bigger and, urged by my wife Rachel, I went to see my [general practicioner] who reassured me that it was most likely not cancer because cancerous lumps don't come up over night usually, rather they take a longer time to grow."

Although Bray's doctor was initially not too concerned, he still referred the drummer to see a specialist.

"He did some tests then sent me straight away for a biopsy, I had three samples taken and then went back to see my specialist who said that sadly it was lymphoma a cancer of the blood," Bray wrote. "He sent me immediately for a CT scan and an MRI scan which showed that I also had cancer in my bowel and lower intestinal tract."

Abaddon was part of VENOM's classic lineup from 1978 to 1992. He then returned to the band in 1995 and stayed with them for four years before joining VENOM INC. alongside fellow former VENOM members Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan. VENOM INC. released its debut album, "Avé", in August 2017. A year later, VENOM INC. revealed that it was recruiting Jeramie Kling of the Tampa-based melodic death metal band THE ABSENCE to fill in for Bray on a European tour while Abaddon stayed home to spend time with his newborn daughter. VENOM INC. has since completed several tours with Kling and released a second album, "There's Only Black", without making any announcements about Bray's possible return to the group.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released three albums as VENOM between 1989 and 1992 — "Prime Evil" (1989),"Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Conrad "Cronos" Lant-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

ABADDON released its latest EP, "All That Remains", in May 2022.

Any Given Sin and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group present a second recording in front of the band’s debut studio album release coming later this year. Screen the music video for “Calm Before The Storm” below.


Produced by Chris Dawson, keyboards augment the verses with cinematic scope as guitars power up an undeniable chant, “I’m making no apologies.”  “It’s a song about perseverance,” says the front man Victor Ritchie. “You’re standing up to whatever’s in front of you.” Guitarist Mike Conner adds, “You’re not just surviving a traumatic experience though - You’re also becoming stronger because of it.”







The first reveal, “Still Sinking”, has been streamed more than 3.5 million times since its premiere in July, 2022. The video has been viewed over 108,000 times and can be viewed below:





Inner struggle incites outward expression. Any Given Sin transfigure conflict into caustic and catchy hard rock punctuated by metallic intensity and alternative intimacy. The Maryland quartet - Victor Ritchie [vocals], Mike Conner [guitar], Rich Stevenson [bass], and Mike Showalter [drums] - encase these unrestrained emotions inside arena-size anthems with bold hooks and bludgeoning riffs. Amassing nearly 20 million streams to date, buzzing at radio, and building a devout fan base, the group perfect this pummelling and powerful style on their forthcoming Mascot Records debut coming later in 2023.


Over the years, the band’s grind yielded major traction as they tirelessly wrote, recorded, and honed a signature sound. In 2021, “Another Life” generated north of 5.2 million Spotify streams followed by “Dynamite” with 4.5 million Spotify streams. “Dynamite” and “Insidious” both cracked the Top 40 at Active Rock radio in addition to catapulting to #1 on SiriusXM, overtaking the fan-powered “Big ‘Uns Countdown.” By sharing their trials, tribulations, and triumphs, Any Given Sin ultimately offer a communal catharsis for fans to partake in. “When you listen to us, we hope you feel like you’re not alone,” Ritchie leaves off. “No matter what you’re dealing with, the music shows is a reminder that someone hears you.”  “A lot of it may sound dark and depressing, but there’s a positive message,” Conner concludes. “Keep going.”


Any Given Sin will appear on the Spring Mayhem Tour with Saliva and Through Fire from March 17 through April 5. Confirmed appearances are listed below.


March
17 - Amelia Island, FL - Saddler Ranch
18 - Orlando, FL - The Beacham Theatre
20 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl
21 - Pittsburgh, PA - Jergel’s
23 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Piere's
24 - Wyandotte, MI - District 142
25 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
26 - McHenry, IL - The Vixen
27 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly’s
29 - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunshine Studios
30 - Fort Collins, CO - The Coast
31 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl


April
2 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
5 - Oklahoma City, OK - Beer City Music Hall