Finland's Without Warning have released their fouth single, "R.P.B.P" (short for Red Pill / Blue Pill) via Inverse Records. Taking a different intensive and eerie approach, this is single really stands out from the previous releases.


"R.P.B.P" emphasizes a mind game like surrounding where humanity is possessed by an aggressive creator. Are you up to challenge your suppressor to get out alive? Or is this fight to live only happening in your darkest mind?


Even if the lyrics strongly suggest that the theme is a fictional and dangerous game setup, there is a metaphoric hidden message. Reflecting the anger and will to control people through various evil world leaders and using people as puppets for their dirty deeds.







With the new single, Without Warning also presents their new fifth member, or disciple as they say – Aleksi Rintala. He is the talented composer behind "R.P.B.P" and will be adding his talent to the guitars and music production.


Rintala: “When the band asked me to join as a guitarist, I was also happy to take responsibilities in the songwriting department. I started digging through my archives for a fitting demo for the new band, and I came across this unusual, 'nu-metalish' demo that I decided to present to the band. The band was excited about it the minute they heard it, and in a short period of time we produced an amazing new song for Without Warning. I believe the rest of the band is excited as I am of this new release!” 


The new single is accompanied by a music video which brings the intensive story visually alive, produced by no other than Guilty Visuals. The video also includes an acting feature with Inka Inkinen, the amazing vocalist for Noira.


The single is available on digital platforms here. Check out the video below. 





Line-up:
Vocals: Michaela Tuomenoksa
Guitars: Juuso Javanainen
Guitars: Aleksi Rintala 
Bass: Joakim Keuru
Drums: Lauri Tuomenoksa


Photo by Michaela Tuomenoksa

Wake Arkane's new single "Puppets Know The Tears" brings back their unique sound made of theatrical death metal filled with pathos.





Inspired by a short story written by the singer Mike Lunacy (former leader of the historical death metal band Dark Lunacy) this is the second song released of the brand new album of the band Awakenings.




"Puppets Know The Tears" is an energetic track full of pathos, drama and refined melodies.





The band will soon release a music video for this song. It will be followed by several other singles in the next few months.


The full-length album Awakenings was mastered by the Swedish musician and record producer Dan Swanö and will be released by the year 2023.


In the coming months and after an eight years hiatus, the band will start performing live again.

The Flyer Vault has dug up footage of Alice Cooper performing on the roof of Toronto, Canada's HMV Superstore in 1991. The nearly 8-minute clip can be seen below, as well as the original video, uploaded to YouTube in 2014 by nextgenerationfans.


The Flyer Vault captioned the Instagram post: July 5, 1991: What was supposed to be an autograph session turned into a full-blown rock circus as @alicecooper performed an impromptu concert on the HMV rooftop to promote his “Hey Stoopid” album. According to eyewitness reports, fans got on their knees during the performance and chanted “We’re not worthy!” 🤘🏻


Paul Alofs, who was the President of HMV Canada at the time, added the following to the post: "I was the President of HMV and opened the 333 Yonge St. HMV store and gave the 2 thumbs up on Alice Cooper's roof top show. Described in the 1st chapter of my book "Passion Capital". Haven't seen this video before and it put a giant smile on my face."






 

 
 

 


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A post shared by The Flyer Vault (@theflyervault)










 

In February 2022, Van der Graaf Generator embarked on a UK tour which had been rescheduled several times due to the Covid pandemic. The final show on these dates took place at The Forum in Bath on March 1 and the event was captured by a film and recording crew.


The Bath Forum Concert is the first live CD and film fully controlled by the band and it captures Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and Guy Evans at their finest performing vintage tracks such as “Masks”, “Childlike Faith In Childhood's End”, “La Rossa”, “Man Erg” and “House With No Door” along with newer pieces such as “Interference Patterns”, “Every Bloody Emperor”, “Go”, “Alfa Berlina” and “Room 1210”.


This release features the entire concert, mixed by Stephen W Tayler, and includes two CDs and a region free High-Definition Blu Ray video with 5.1 Surround Sound and an NTSC / Region Free DVD of this stunning concert film.







Includes:


-A clamshell boxed set of the Van Der Graaf Generator concert in bath forum on March 1.
-Featuring two CDs and one Blu-ray HD video disc (region free) and one DVD video (NTSC / REGION FREE).
-Illustrated booklet.


Preorder at cherryred.co.uk..

The third LP of the German death metal band Disminded will be called The Vision and will see the light of day on March 3 via Black Sunset/MDD. 





The new album was recorded in summer 2022 at Tim Schlichting's Flashback Recording Studios, while scene icon Harris Johns was responsible for mixing and mastering. The result is a no-frills ode to the melodic old school death metal of the Nineties. 10 songs full of fervor and devotion with dragging, almost everything rolling down melodies, blast speed parts, pleading and cursing growls and screams - and all that in a contemporary garb, without pandering to "modern" genre expressions. 




The Vision is a musical statement performed without compromise, which will make fans of the genre click their tongues. More info and first samples soon, stay tuned.

Opening the doors to 2023, the band from Sao Paulo, Adellaide, who perform a contemporary hybrid of hard rock, AOR and melodic rock and with strong inspirations and references from bands like Journey, Survivor, Kansas and Asia, have released their new music video "Fell From The Sky", the fourth single taken from their latest studio album Deja Vu, officially released on July 29 through the Danish label, Lions Pride Music.


The video was directed and produced by Rafael Agostino with special thanks to Alexandre Romani: 







All three of the first singles from "Deja Vu", "Girl From Syria", "Falling Petals" and "Without You" continue to achieve very impressive numbers of views, "Girl From Syria" having over 103,000 and "Without You" with over 29,000 views, majestically confirming the incredible quality of Adellaide's work. Now, with "Fell From The Sky", this will be no different, as its melody, harmony and the story behind the lyrics play hand in hand in a garden of good musical taste and competence in hooking the listener.


"Fell From The Sky" talks about regrets for the loss of opportunities in love and past affective relationships due to the maturity that human beings develop over time. The famous inner voices spring up in thoughts of wisdom and, at the same time, sadness for missing the opportunity today to be living a great love.


For the music video two child actors were used, representing the love of a childhood, Roberto Albuquerque Brunhara - godson of Leandro Freitas (keyboard) and the same actor who participated in the music video of "Lean To Live" from 2017, and Mariana Rauber - vocalist Daniel Vargas’ student, and we also have the participation of singer Juliana Rossi, from the band Silent Cry on lead vocals along with Daniel Vargas.


Deja Vu is available for listening on the main digital platforms and also in physical imported CD format, released by Lions Pride Music, available for sale at Die Hard store, in Galeria do Rock/SP or through Adellaide's official website.

The SiriusXM YouTube channel has uploaded a video from MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine's September 2022 appearance on Liquid Metal where he discussed the musical impact of the early recordings from New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends DIAMOND HEAD. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[DIAMOND HEAD was] probably one of the most influential bands in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, if only for the fact that they were in the right place at the right time. I thought they had a great singer, and I thought the guitar riffs were amazing. And the press had gone as far as to say that they were the heir apparent to LED ZEPPELIN. That was a massive compliment for DIAMOND HEAD. So at the time, when I first heard them, it had come through my last band, METALLICA, from the drummer, Lars [Ulrich], who was evidently touring with DIAMOND HEAD; he would be a fanboy and follow them. I got to meet them on a little different level; I met them as equals, or as myself, as an established musician. So I got a chance to kind of really, eyeball to eyeball, meet this guy Brian Tatler, the guitar player from DIAMOND HEAD. And just a sweet man — a tremendous talent on guitar.

"The DIAMOND HEAD that I know and love was the DIAMOND HEAD in the beginning," Mustaine explained. "And I'll tell you, there were so many of those songs that we played in METALLICA: 'Helpless', 'The Prince', 'Am I Evil?' And a lot of people think those are original songs in METALLICA. They're not; they're DIAMOND HEAD songs."

Mustaine has been very vocal about what a "massive influence" DIAMOND HEAD and Tatler were on him and the music he wrote for both MEGADETH and METALLICA.

Tatler, for his part, has repeatedly expressed his gratitude over the years to METALLICA, who have covered four DIAMOND HEAD songs and kept the band in the spotlight.

Three and a half years ago, Tatler spoke to "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" about a collaboration project he began with Mustaine but never finished. Asked how the idea for the project came about and what became of it, Tatler said: "You remember [Mustaine] did an album called MD.45 [in 1996]? So he did that, and then maybe a year later, we got in touch with each other. And he said about that album, he said, 'I'd like to do another album like that, with yourself,' and he named a couple of other players. And I thought, 'That sounds fantastic. I'm up for that.' So I started writing material, and I would send stuff over, and he'd say, 'Yup. I like that. And I don't like that. And I like this.' And on it went for maybe a year or so. And every now and again, he'd apologize and say, 'I'm ever so busy. I'm doing the MEGADETH album,' and this, that and the other, and it seemed to drag on a little. And eventually, he said, 'I'm not gonna be able to do it.'"

Tatler continued: "Do you remember [Dave] hurt his arm [in 2002]? He went to sleep on his arm. And so he couldn't play guitar anymore. He sold his gear. MEGADETH stopped playing. That was the end of it. So he couldn't do our project either. So I just thought, 'Oh, okay. That's life.' One good thing: it forced me to write some songs, so I had about 30-odd song ideas that I wouldn't have otherwise, had I not had this opportunity. I had a fantastic reason to get my fingers out and start writing. And so some of these songs I've used on various albums that I've done since. That's the good thing that I took from that, negative. And we stayed friends, and MEGADETH offered us a support tour in 2005 — we did 22 dates all across Europe, opening for MEGADETH. So they did us a favor in the end — a return favor. And that went really well. It's all good."

It was announced in December 2017 that DIAMOND HEAD had inked a management deal with Thrashville Management, the company founded by Dave and his son Justis Mustaine. Several months later, the affiliation came to a sudden and unexpected end, with DIAMOND HEAD switching over to Siren Artist Management, which also handles SAXON, EUROPE, URIAH HEEP and THIN LIZZY.

In 2019, DIAMOND HEAD bassist Dean Ashton said "it was an awesome experience getting to work with Dave." As for the failed partnership, DIAMOND HEAD vocalist Rasmus Bom Anderson admitted: "It was a big blow to all of us, as there was so much great stuff happening in the wings, and it all fell to pieces. I have nothing but great respect to Dave Mustaine and Justis Mustaine. They were super friendly and supportive, and I believe [they] wanted this to work out as much as we did, but sadly it didn't."

Lysis is a melodic metalcore band based in Falun, Sweden. Their sound draws a lot of inspiration from the signature Gothenburg Sound, mixed with influences from other sub genres like symphonic metal, which makes Lysis' sound unique and modern.


The name Lysis takes inspiration from the process when the outer parts of a cell are breaking down due to internal or external factors which exposes the cell. This process reflects the topics and themes Lysis presents in their music. Identifying and ventilating thoughts and feelings that might feel destructive at first, but by working on them you come out stronger on the other side.


Their new single "Handprints" is mixed and produced by Isak Olsson, and comes with an updated sound but still retains its roots in the Gothenburg Sound in combination with Isabell Hag's unique voice.










For further details, follow Lysis on Facebook.


 

Jacksonville, FL based rock band Fortune Child has revealed the official music video for their newest single, "All I Wanna Know". Imbued with classic guitar licks and an infectious groove, "All I Wanna Know" was mixed / engineered by Ben McLeod (All Them Witches).





“'All I Wanna Know' is the next step towards what we feel is becoming our new sound. It holds true to our rock roots, but there’s also a bit of a sonic expedition in the mid section, and the visual that goes along with the video hints at that as well. We’ve got a lot of genre-bending in our future and we feel like this is our first real leap in that direction as a trio." - Fortune Child







Over the course of one year, Christian Powers (lead vocalist / drummer), Buddy Crump (guitarist,) and Jon Ward (bassist) have begun to redefine the rock genre while still holding true to their roots. Boasting powerful leads, long jams, and a genre-bending sound, the band is carving a path of its own with the guidance and experience of engineer Ben McLeod and legendary producer / engineer Kevin Elson (Journey / Mr. Big / Lynyrd Skynyrd).


In the short time that they've been together, Fortune Child has already taken to the stage with the likes of Cedric Burnside, All Them Witches, The Georgia Thunderbolts, Blacktop Mojo, Classless Act and many more to come. Along with their on-stage accomplishments, the group has done just as much off stage. Fortune Child won the 2022 Great Atlantic Southern Rock Revival spotlight presented by iHeart Radio and Planet Radio, landing them a slot on the southeast's newest rock festival of the year. 


 

In a new interview with The Rockman Power Hour, Shannon Larkin spoke about the fact that GODSMACK's new album, "Lighting Up The Sky", which is due in February, will probably mark the band's final full-length collection of all-new original material. The drummer said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The whole cycle touring is we're gonna quit making records and cycle touring. But we're gonna stay together as a band and we're gonna play shows. So it's gonna be the same old song and dance except for we won't be a slave to a product that we have to sell; we don't need to do that anymore. We're all in our mid-50s and older. I like to get that out of the way right away, that we're not breaking up."

Larkin went on to say that it was the idea of GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna, whom Shannon calls "the genius," to discontinue making albums.

"The beautiful thing about it is after we've done this record and we do this cycle tour, which means we have something to sell, we have something to support, we'd let people down if it doesn't sell. So we will go on tour for two years and work our ass off and sell this record," Larkin explained. "But after that, he's, like, 'We'll do what we always do. We'll take a year off. But instead of me calling and saying, 'All right, guys. Let's get together and write and record a new record and then [do] a two-year tour,' I'll call and say, 'All right, guys. How long do you all wanna go out for? A couple of weeks?' We'll go out for a couple of weeks and do festivals in the summer. We'll come to Canada and play for a week up there or something.

"These are the kind of things that make me excited, because here it is, man. I'm 55," Shannon added. "And I'm not that old guy. In fact, I don't expect to grow old or look old. But it's life, man, so it's gonna happen."

"Lighting Up The Sky" will arrive on February 24 via BMG. The LP was co-produced by Erna and Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).

In a recent interview with Pablo of the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X, Erna spoke about the fact that "Lighting Up The Sky" will likely be GODSMACK's final collection of original material. He explained: "It's the most important record, I think, we've ever written and recorded.

"I've never been that artist who says, 'Oh, this record is our newest record. It's our best work ever.' You can read any interview you want over my whole career, and you've never heard me say it," he continued. "I've always loved our records [and] I always knew there would be some good singles on it and hoped it did well, but I was never the guy that said, 'This is our best fucking work ever.' And I'm telling you right now this is our best fucking work ever. And it's because it's emotional, man. This is the last record we're ever gonna do. This is the last run around the mill for us. We put every single ounce of energy and emotion into this album. Especially for me, when I wrote a lot of these songs, it was about my life journey. That's really what the sequence of this album becomes about. Not that it was planned that way, but this really kind of mystical thing happened where I felt like the universe wrote this record.

"We went in there with no plan, no ideas — very minimal ideas, just jamming. And, 'what's gonna be the topic? What am I gonna talk about now? How many times can I talk about a broken relationship?' Blah blah blah. And then it just started happening where song after song that was written, as I'm sequencing it and putting it in the order that I would like people to hear it in… We're still old school and we like an album to have a flow from front to back. I love vinyl — I want people to listen to side A and side B. And this one really told a story. And when I started to realize that, I'm, like, Okay. Let me shuffle these around a little bit more.'"

Erna went on to clarify that GODSMACK does not intend to stop playing live shows anytime soon. "I wanna make sure people are clear about what we're saying here," he said. "I'm not saying that the band may be breaking up. What I'm saying is I think this may be the last body of work you get musically from the band. And it's because we're in this place in our lives right now where we've done a lot of work over the last three decades. Without sounding egotistical, which we're not trying to do, we're at 27 Top 10 singles, 11 Number Ones. We could literally do back-to-back nights in an arena and play 15 songs a night and never play the same single twice, let alone the 'B' cuts. And we started thinking, when we were in that thought process, why are we in here grinding all the time and doing this new music when we wanna just also know that we've never stopped in the 25 years we've been touring. We'd like to be able to enjoy our lives, our family, our houses, the things that we've earned over the years that we've sacrificed. So I think the balance for that, the happy medium, is to be able to just go out there now and continue to do live shows and put the greatest-hits show together.

"I don't know what we're gonna do after this record," he explained. "And it doesn't make sense to continue to do music. It really feels complete in a good way, in a positive way. We feel like we've honored our career, our relationships with our fans, and we're always gonna be there for them; we're gonna do shows. But as far as to continue this, after this [album], unless we just decide one day, 'Yeah, one more for the road,' I think this could be it for us with new music."

According to Erna, GODSMACK plans to hit the road after the release of "Lighting Up The Sky" and never stop. "That's forever now. It's forever now," he said. "From the point we start touring, we will always tour. We may take some breaks here and there, but we're now gonna start setting up the greatest-hits show, because we feel like we're able to do that. We can now play the best of the best that the fans have identified as what they've enjoyed the most over the years and why these songs became hit singles."

Sully said that the decision to stop releasing new albums was influenced by the fact that too many people these days don't care about new music from bands who have been around as long as GODSMACK.

"As a music lover and a fan of live shows and bands in general, that when you go see your favorite bands, there's a certain point in their career where you just go, 'I don't really give a shit about a new record anymore. I'm sorry, but I wanna hear 'Dream On' and 'Train Kept A Rollin'' and 'Same Old Song And Dance'. I don't wanna hear any of this new shit. I don't know it and I don't care. But these other songs have lived with me for two, three, four decades,'", he said. "And I just feel like we're getting to that place where… If we get out there and we don't play 'I Stand Alone' or 'Keep Away' or 'Voodoo' or whatever these songs have been for these people over the years, they ream us for it. So we know we're stuck with that. We're always gonna play the hits. But we have so many singles now that it's time, I think, to try to pull as many as we can off this record, add it to that list and then go out there and play the best of the best. And then maybe throw a few surprises every show, whether it's the drum battle or some fun cover."

Erna concluded by saying that "Lighting Up The Sky" does not represent "an ending" but is rather "a new beginning. This is a new beginning of an era — it's the beginning of our sunset years," he explained. "And in our sunset years we wanna create something really special for the fans live where we can take every cool moment that we've ever done in every album cycle — the 'Awake' album had certain things we featured in the live show; the 'Faceless' record had certain things we featured from the live show; and so on — now we can create a montage of all those special things in each tour and just do a 'holy crap' show. That's what I wanna create. We're gonna try to make it big and special and important, filled with all special moments that people have enjoyed over the years. And I think that's gonna be really satisfying to us as well, 'cause it takes a lot of pressure off of us to know now we can just go out and enjoy what we do. Playing music is what we love the most — live. And it gives us more time to connect with the fans, connect with the live show and just enjoy the best part of why we do this for a living."

Last September, GODSMACK released the first single from "Lighting Up The Sky", a song called "Surrender". The track marked the first release from the band in four years, following their globally acclaimed and gold-certified 2018 album "When Legends Rise", which earned the Erna-fronted outfit a No. 1 spot across U.S. Hard Rock, Rock, and Alternative album charts.

In September 2021, GODSMACK's latest album, "When Legends Rise", was certified gold on by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies. In addition, two more of the LP's singles (the title track and "Under Your Scars") were also officially certified gold by the RIAA. The album's first single "Bulletproof" earned a platinum digital single award in September 2020 and was previously certified gold in the U.S.

"When Legends Rise" was the seventh studio album from GODSMACK. Produced by Erik Ron and Erna, it was the band's first release in four years and was recorded at their now-former headquarters (GSHQ) in Derry, New Hampshire. The album went on to garner a multitude of career milestones for the group: four No. 1 rock tracks (an accomplishment that makes GODSMACK one of only four rock acts to achieve this),and a record 11 No. 1 singles in the band's career with the album's fourth single, "Unforgettable". "When Legends Rise" entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart in the top ten (No. 8),with four No. 1 placements on other charts: Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Music Albums, Top Independent Albums and Top Alternative Albums.

Photo by Kamal Asar

Movie metal highflyers Curse Of Cain have returned with an epic Live On Earth version of their latest single “Alive” - check out the new video below:





Swedish modern sci-fi metal outfit Curse Of Cain recently joined the Atomic Fire Records roster. Forged in 2000 by ex-Follow The Cipher and ex-Ad Infinitum forward-thinking bassist Jonas Asplind, Curse Of Cain focuses on both musical and visual elements to create a futuristic dystopian world while simultaneously unfolding fascinating stories about strong characters such as Cain himself.




Comments the band, "We are beyond excited and really looking forward to this collaboration. Atomic Fire Records is the perfect partner for us, and we are happy to take this huge next step together with them.”


Adds Atomic Fire Records CEO Markus Wosgien, "We were all completely impressed by what Curse Of Cain presented to us with their debut album: a coherent, exciting concept and a multi-faceted album with numerous catchy tunes. In short, everything is right here and fantastic musicians come together who have created something unique. I've had a close friendship with Jonas Asplind since his time in Follow The Cipher, so I'm all the more pleased to be able to further promote his musical career and to be able to walk with him. Curse Of Cain is one of the most exciting newcomers of the hour. Look forward to something very special!"


Check out the studio version of “Alive”.





"'Alive' is the natural song for us to start of with,” the band notes. “It’s catchy but dark at the same time; it really captures the movie metal feeling that is our signature.”


The video for “Alive” was produced and directed by George Grigoriadis and Jonas Asplind and filmed and edited by Grigoriadis. The story is by Grigoriadis and Victor Ganebrant.


The band’s debut album, Curse Of Cain, will see release in May 2023. Further details on the concept and the ordeal of Cain and his band of misfits will be revealed soon!


Curse Of Cain is:


Soulkeeper - vocals
Rainbow - vocals, percussion
The Pirate - bass, vocals
Timekeeper - guitars
Mechanic - drums

Canadian blackened death metal band Tribe Of Pazuzu have released a new track off their debut studio album. In addition, the cataclysmic outfit dropped a lyric video for "Blasphemous Prophecies", which is the title track for the new LP.


The upcoming album hits digital and streaming platforms on March 6, 2023, with the physical release to follow on March 24. Preorder on Bandcamp.


Speaking about the impetus behind their vile creation, vocalist and bass player Nick Sagias says: “I wanted to create something a little darker musically and lyrically this time around than what I had done previously. The composition of this album was very focused, in an effort to create a truly dark atmosphere, without much rest or letting up on the relentless style. The lyric writing was also very focused to stay within the themes of evil and darkness - specifically the darkness hidden within key historical beings throughout time.”




The album contains eight unrelenting tracks of pure, old-school death metal, and features guest appearances by Luc Lemay (Gorguts - guest vocals on “Invocation Of The Ancients”), Jorgen Sandstrom (ex-Grave, ex-Entombed - guest vocals on the "The Trial And Prosecution Of The Scorned Prophet"), and Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy - guest solo on "The Trial And Prosecution Of The Scorned Prophet" and "Pazuzu Incarnate").


The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson in Montreal, Quebec.





Tracklisting:


“We Serve Under No God”
“Blasphemous Prophecies”
“Countess Of Blood”
“Invocation Of The Ancients”
“The Trial And The Prosecution Of The Scorned Prophet”
“Pazuzu Incarnate”
“Born Of A Jackal”
“Towards Oppressors” 


“Blasphemous Prophecies”:

Rockpalast has shared the 40 minute set from triumphant power metallers Warkings from 2022.. 





Escaping the underworld once more, the mighty Warkings rejoin on the battlefield with an unforeseen new ally - none other than legendary sorceress Morgana Le Fay. The sister of Arthur and mistress of the lost has joined the ancient royalty to accompany them in all of their upcoming battles! So, beware for the fourth chapter of the Warkings saga, Morgana,out now via  Napalm Records.




With their third single, "Hellfire", the evil sorceress raises her haunting voice shortly before the album release to reveal the toxic history of her love-hate relationship with King Arthur. Surrounded by slaves, the heroic king sits on his throne in the video. In the demonic depths, the Lady of Lost Souls meets her brother, who challenges her to battle. “Hellfire” will be unleashed on the biggest battlefield in the bands’ career at the upcoming tour with Powerwolf and Dragonforce.


The dark sorceress Morgana on “Hellfire”: “Walk with me in hell... let us become fire and conquer the underworld. I am reborn.”


The mighty Crusader adds on the tour: “Wolfsnächte are coming... join us on our holy European crusade. We will meet on the battlefield.”





Forging their musical steel in the tradition of Powerwolf, Sabaton, HammerFall and Running Wild, the Warkings burst onto the battlefields in 2018. They gathered their Warriors around the world and entered the Official German Album Charts 2021 at #13 with Revolution. Gathered in the golden halls of Valhalla, the four ancient kings - a roman Tribune, a wild Viking, a noble Crusader and a martial Spartan - are now back with Morgana, having already escaped from the underworld, fought the Monarchs of the dusk and called for Revolution.


Warkings on Morgana: “A voice so dark and evil... a tale so twisted and mysterious. We created epic songs to tell the story of the dark sorceress. Welcome to the hellfire... the burning world of Morgana le Fay.”





Morgana is available in the following formats:


- Wooden Deluxe Box (incl.  1CD Digisleeve, medallion of the dark sorceress, full dice-game, consisting of: valvet bag with Warkings logo, 5 glow in the dark dice, 5 playing cards, game instructions (front)/ Warkings poster (back) A4 - strictly limited to 500 worldwide
- 1 LP Vinyl Glow In The Dark - strictly limited to 300 worldwide
- 1 LP Vinyl Black
- 1 CD Digisleeve
- Music Cassette - strictly limited to 100 worldwide
- Digital Album


Order here.





“To The King” lyric video:



 
"Monsters" video:





Back in the realms of the dead after their Revolution, the Warkings were captivated by the eerie and extraordinary chanting voice of “evil” sorceress Morgana La Fey. Obsessed with the idea of telling humanity her own version of her story, the witch inspired the Warkings to include her in their circle as they fought their next battles - a covenant made for eternity.


Warkings are:
Tribune - Vocals
Crusader - Guitars
Spartan - Drums
Viking - Bass
Morgana le Fay - Unholy evocations


(Photo - Matthias Schwaighofer / Schwaighofer-Art)

In a new interview with Czech Republic's Backstage TV, DEATH ANGEL singer Mark Osegueda spoke about his appreciation for British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "JUDAS PRIEST is my favorite heavy metal band of all time. When you say heavy metal, they are the inventors of heavy metal. I love, love JUDAS PRIEST. I love all eras of PRIEST. Just a wonderful band that has inspired me, especially Rob Halford. If one's seen DEATH ANGEL, you can see the two people I rip off more than anyone are Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford. And why wouldn't you? If you don't, you're doing it wrong. He's the biggest inspiration to me. Sonically beautiful — he just gets everything. Just over the years, how he's maintained that voice is incredible. And I know people far younger than even that have blown their voices out. And to see someone like Rob get up there and do what he does night after night and album after album, it's absolutely incredible. He's my biggest inspiration. Their dual-guitar attack is just incredible and has been forever. Their songs are wonderful. It's timeless, and it's timeless for a reason, 'cause they're the greatest."

Last year, DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar confirmed that he and his bandmates were working on material for the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated "Humanicide" album.

DEATH ANGEL released a new live album titled "The Bastard Tracks" in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast. Recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in their hometown of San Francisco on May 22, 2021, and streamed live soon after, "The Bastard Tracks" was described in a press release as "a deep-cuts collection of rarely and never performed songs from the band's catalog" that was released digitally and on CD, vinyl and Blu-ray.

In October 2020, DEATH ANGEL released a four-song EP, "Under Pressure". The effort included a cover of QUEEN + David Bowie's "Under Pressure", followed by a new track titled "Faded Remains", plus acoustic versions of "Act III"'s classic "A Room With A View" and "Humanicide"'s "Revelation Song". The EP was mixed by Max Norman (OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, BAD COMPANY) and mastered by Ted Jensen (LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, HALESTORM).

Released in May 2019 via Nuclear Blast, "Humanicide" saw DEATH ANGEL returning to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.

In March 2020, DEATH ANGEL drummer Will Carroll spent almost two weeks on a ventilator in an intensive care unit at a Northern California hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. He first got sick when he and the rest of DEATH ANGEL spent more than a month on the road in Europe with TESTAMENT and EXODUS as part of "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" tour.

DEATH ANGEL was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the "Humanicide" title track. It was the group's first Grammy nomination.

Carroll joined DEATH ANGEL in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original drummer, Andy Galeon.

Will can be heard on the last four DEATH ANGEL studio albums: "Relentless Retribution" (2010),"The Dream Calls for Blood" (2013),"The Evil Divide" (2016) and the aforementioned "Humanicide".

Norwegian hard rock band TNT, which recently reunited with American singer Tony Harnell, has scheduled the following dates this spring and summer:

Jun 07 - Sweden Rock Festival - Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 22 - Steinkjer Festivalen - Steinkjer, Norway
Jun. 23 - Tons Of Rock - Oslo, Norway
Jul. 12 - Tysnesfest - Våge, Norway

Said Harnell in an online post: "We've seen all of your requests for shows in the U.S. and other territories outside Scandinavia and though it may take some time, they will come!

"2023 will be the year we get the train back on the tracks…and hopefully get some new songs out there for you all! Just know we want to get to as many places as we can to play our music for you. This is just the beginning of a new beginning!"

Last November, the 60-year-old Harnell, who was born in San Diego, grew up in California and moved to New York when he was 16, announced that will rejoin forces with guitarist Ronni LeTekrø and drummer Morten "Diesel" Dahl on stage in 2023 for select live appearances.

In March 2022, Le Tekrø confirmed to the "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" that he had been in touch with Harnell about a renewed collaboration. Speaking about the group's status, Ronni said: "I've started writing new material, and I'm currently having good talks with Tony and the whole band. We have very much communication. And it's been 40 years [since TNT's formation]. But we're trying to bring the band back together and hopefully make one last tour of Europe and maybe America… I think we might wanna end the TNT chapter with dignity and do one last tour."

In April 2021, Harnell, who has been in and out of TNT several times throughout its four-decade existence, told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he didn't rule out returning to the band. "Ronni and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said. "Ronni's not a big technology guy, but he really loves FaceTime video. And it's kind of annoying, because I love him, but he'll call me early in the morning, 'cause he's overseas, so he'll call me early in the morning [for a] video chat, and I'm, like, in bed. But I love the guy. Whatever happens, we'll be on a beach someplace when we're in our 70s, laughing and hanging out.

"Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related," he continued. "I'll just leave it at that.

"'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his latest collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

In a 2019 interview with "80's Glam Metalcast", Le Tekrø said that he was still on good terms with Harnell. "Definitely," he said. "We talk regularly and we're even discussing making a kind of Page/Plant album, a Harnell/Le Tekrø album, which could maybe lead into something in the future. But I think me and Tony Harnell — I'm speaking not on behalf of him, but on behalf of myself — we need a different playground to do more extensive hard rock with other ideas, whereas TNT is more limited to a [specific] sound. You see what I mean? So, we're definitely buddies, and that will last forever. We don't hate each other, and we never did. That was never the [case]."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.

Photo credit: Ronny Danielsen

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QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Todd La Torre says that he is putting together ideas for the upcoming follow-up to his debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", which was released in February 2021 via Rat Pak Records.

Late Monday night (January 9),Todd took to his Facebook page to share a video of him playing guitar at what appears to be his home studio, and he included the following message: "Working on ideas for my next record. I'm looking to do something with more open chords, a more classic distortion sound, and a little less palm muted riffs. Open chords and space always allow for a more diverse vocal to be created, and without a good vocal melody, you don't have anything memorable or worth a damn. Less is more in many cases.

"While I love 'Rejoice In The Suffering', I am not exactly wanting to do another record just like that. I believe Craig [Blackwell, longtime friend, guitarist and collaborator] and I can do something even better, and much more musical (the word that comes to mind). The best songs were never with overplaying or too complex. I just want to write great songs, whatever that ends up being. Maybe this idea will turn into a great chorus idk, but it doesn't hurt to at least capture the ideas."

The idea for a debut solo album was always in the cards for Todd. With QUEENSRŸCHE tour dates postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world events offered Todd the opportunity to explore his ideas for the effort. Todd teamed up with Blackwell, alongside producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris, to create a diverse heavy metal album that draws influence from different styles. These styles surprised fans who only know La Torre from his previous work with QUEENSRŸCHE or CRIMSON GLORY.

In a February 2021 interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, Todd said that his solo material and QUEENSRŸCHE are like "apples and oranges. They're totally separate things. I don't write guitars, really, in like a QUEENSRŸCHE way. That's not where I shine in QUEENSRŸCHE. I think my lyric writing and my vocal phrasing and delivery and that sort of thing, that's kind of my asset to the writing process for QUEENSRŸCHE music. I would never try to push this kind of style or sound into QUEENSRŸCHE's music. I don't really write music- I mean, I co-write stuff with them, and I might have a guitar riff idea or something, but they're totally separate things, and I would never, never want to pollute the waters of QUEENSRŸCHE what I'm doing. [Laughs]

He continued: "I think because I've been able to get this first [solo album] out, I think that my eagerness to do things with QUEENSRŸCHE definitely takes a back seat, because I have this other outlet to do those things. So, I feel less inclined to be like, 'Oh, I need to scream here and show people what I can do on this.' I really want to just respect what QUEENSRŸCHE's sound is and not change. I don't want to change the style and sound of what QUEENSRŸCHE is and should be. I very much draw a line in the sand where, you know, I can experiment and try some things that might be fitting for a QUEENSRŸCHE song, but as far as pushing that on to them, I feel, because I got that done, I'm more relaxed doing the QUEENSRŸCHE stuff where I don't feel like I have to try to sneak in something heavier, because nobody's got to hear that from me. Now they get to hear a plethora of styles from me on this record."

La Torre joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, eventually joining as the band's new permanent vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially became the new lead vocalist of QUEENSRŸCHE. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).



Working on ideas for my next record. I'm looking to do something with more open chords, a more classic distortion sound, and a little less palm muted riffs. Open chords and space always allow for a more diverse vocal to be created, and without a good vocal melody, you don't have anything memorable or worth a damn. Less is more in many cases.

While I love Rejoice in the Suffering, I am not exactly wanting to do another record just like that. I believe Craig and I can do something even better, and much more musical (the word that comes to mind). The best songs were never with overplaying or too complex. I just want to write great songs, whatever that ends up being. Maybe this idea will turn into a great chorus idk, but it doesn't hurt to at least capture the ideas.
Recording this with my 1981 Ibanez Destroyer II, Kemper, into ProTools.

Posted by Todd La Torre on Monday, January 9, 2023

Portland-based dark rock duo, Hoaxed, have released the official playthrough video for “High Seas”, from their debut album Two Shadows.


"The 'High Seas' playthrough pulls back the curtain on our process and gives a glimpse into the layers behind the recordings," the band comments. Taking the opportunity to showcase their multi-instrumentalist chops, Kat Keo and Kim Coffel write and perform everything recorded on their albums, including bass and keys."







Comprised of vocalist / guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, Hoaxed's superlative blend of styles - heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of Americana - pave the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own.


Two Shadows is out on LP/CD/CS/Digital. Physical orders are available via Relapse.com. Digital downloads/streaming here.


Two Shadows is as unique as it is memorable and catchy. The record thrusts, retreats, and beguiles across its melody-powered and hook-driven expanse, with earworms “The Call,” “Guilty Ones,” and “The Knowing” serving as the album’s crucial lighthouses.





Tracklisting:


"Two Shadows"
"The Call"
"The Knowing"
"For Love"
"Grand Illusions"
"High Seas"
"Guilty Ones"
"Where Good Won’t Go"
"Forsaken"


Album stream:





"The Knowing" video:





"The Call" video:





"Guilty Ones" video:





(Photo - Shimon Karmel)

Long-running San Diego, California deathgrind outfit CATTLE DECAPITATION will release its tenth studio album, "Terrasite", on May 12 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2019's "Death Atlas" was once again produced by Dave Otero (ALLEGAEON, KHEMMIS, ARCHSPIRE),with artwork by longtime collaborator Wes Benscoter (VADER, KREATOR, BLOODBATH, HYPOCRISY).

Comments vocalist Travis Ryan: "We've all heard the old saying about how the cockroach is so pervasive... so invasive... so insidious... that they could survive a nuclear war... Our previous album, 'Death Atlas', left the world blackened and lifeless.. or so we thought. It turns out that the carbon-encrusted bodies that adorned the album's layout and music video (and that resemble the victims of Pompeii that were frozen in time by the Mt. Vesuvius disaster of 79 A.D.) were actually more of a cocoon stage for something much more vicious to come: Humanity 2.0.

"On the cover we see the terrasite, aka 'earth-eater,' molting from its ootheca. Having lived the tortuous existence of being a human, they have now re-emerged into a new world... saddened... confused... PISSED; rebirthed as a new variant of human disease, now adapted to continue and finish the utter ravaging of its home planet, Earth."

"Terrasite" track listing:

01. Terrasitic Adaptation
02. We Eat Our Young
03. Scourge Of The Offspring
04. The Insignificants
05. The Storm Upstairs
06. …And The World Will Go On Without You
07. A Photic Doom
08. Dead End Residents
09. Solastalgia
10. Just Another Body

CATTLE DECAPITATION is:

Travis Ryan - vocals
Josh Elmore - lead guitar
Belisario Dimuzio - rhythm guitar
Olivier Pinard - bass
David McGraw - drums

"Death Atlas" featured a number of guests: Laure Le Prunenec (IGORRR, RICINN),Riccardo Conforti (VOID OF SILENCE),Dis Pater (MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY),Jon Fishman (PHISH) — plus, brass instrumentalists from Ottone Pesante.

Ryan previously told New Noise about the CATTLE DECAPITATION songwriting process: "It's morphed from one or two people writing most of it to the process including everyone, even myself. I might not write any riffs, but arrangements change big time when I bring lyrics into play, and we've all adapted to writing catchier songs. They keep me in mind when writing choruses, and I keep in mind things I could be doing when they're writing, and it all ends up coming together, mostly in the studio. We're making honest-to-god albums now instead of collections of songs. Not to take anything away from the previous albums; it's just different. We're more experienced now."

According to Mirror, Ozzy Osbourne discussed his health struggles during a recent segment on his SiriusXM channel Ozzy's Boneyard. The legendary BLACK SABBATH singer has been recovering from a fall at home in January 2019, which dislodged rods in his back and neck.

He said: "That was nearly four years ago. It is really awful what is going on. It is a nightmare. Sometimes I forget. I am lying on the couch, go to get up and I cannot do that anymore. My sense of balance is all over the place. I have physical therapy and am trying to do things on my own. Progress is... fucking hell, you have no idea. The thing is my head is alright, my creativity is okay, my singing okay, but I just can’t fucking walk much now. But I am determined to be back on stage even if I am nailed to a board with wheels on it."

Last month, Ozzy was spotted leaning on a cane while shopping at the luxury supermarket Erewhon Market in Los Angeles. A female assistant helped him maneuver his shopping cart through the store. The 74-year-old is continuing to deal with health woes, including a serious spinal injury that has left him struggling to walk even six months after another surgery.

But he told SiriusXM: "I still have a lot in the tank. I'm determined to get back on the stage again. I'm still in recovery, and I have a goal. And my goal is to get back on stage. It's the driving force in me. I miss my audience. I miss doing gigs. I miss my crew. I miss my band. I miss the whole thing.

"My family has been so good," he added. "I am the man of the family, but I have never been this laid up in my life."

Three years ago, Ozzy publicly revealed his battle with Parkinson's disease. The singer was first diagnosed with the neurological disorder back in 2003, but he didn't disclose that he was stricken with the disease until a January 2020 appearance on "Good Morning America".

Eighteen years ago, Ozzy said that he had been diagnosed with Parkin syndrome, a genetic condition which has symptoms similar to that of Parkinson's disease, such as body shakes. At the time, he said that he was relieved his debilitating body tremors were from Parkin and not his lifetime of drug abuse.

Ozzy's "No More Tour 2" farewell tour kicked off in 2018 and has been on hold since then, with the next dates set for May 2023.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Former SCORPIONS and current KINGDOM COME drummer James Kottak says that he "really jacked" his left up last fall when he "tripped and fell on the pavement."

The 60-year-old musician, who missed some of KINGDOM COME's shows in September because he was dealing with "health issues", discussed his latest medical setback in a brand new interview with "Rimshots With Sean". Confirming that he was speaking from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was born and lived until 1987, Kottak said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I came over here [to Louisville], actually, at the very end of October [of 2022]. I was just coming to chill out and hang out with my brother and sister. I was gonna stay for a couple of weeks. But I tripped and fell and really jacked my left hip up. I couldn't believe it. I'd never broken anything in my life. So I ended up going to the hospital and I ended up staying at the hospital for five, six days. So after that, I came over here to my sister's house and I've been here since. And I've really been enjoying it. But I've been back to the doctor, like, three or four times, and they're, like, 'You know, it's probably not a good idea to travel.' I'm, like, 'Okay.' So I've just been here and been going back to my appointments. I had one yesterday. And things on the up and up."

Regarding how he is spending his time while recovering from his latest injury, Kottak said: "One of my endless tasks is staying in shape and exercising and that sort of thing. Right now I'm just doing a lot of stretching. And I'm just now able to walk about — probably do about eight hundred steps a day. And that may sound like a lot, but I'm normally used to doing a whole lot more. So I'm here in Louisville, like I said, and I'm just really laying low and enjoying the time over here at my sister's house. And my brother's hanging out. And I've got all kinds of friends here. But like I said, it's been really kind of quiet here. But once I get back to L.A., there's things planned and there's always something popping up… Now we're past the New Year. Somebody will call about this or that. And then we're also planning KINGDOM COME shows and stuff."

He continued: "Man, that COVID thing came, and for the year 2020, KINGDOM COME — we had about 40, 45 shows booked, and everything got wiped out, man, even the European stuff, 'cause we were going to Germany and all over the place, even Japan. Everything, because of that COVID thing, got totally postponed. And a lot of the stuff that was postponed to 2021 and even 2022 never happened, 'cause a lot of places shut down, a lot of promoters went out of business. It really hurt lots of people. So we're just kind of picking up now where we left off and [talking to] our agent and trying to book some shows."

James went on to say that he is "doing great" and is very optimistic about his recovery. "Another two weeks and I'll be almost back to normal," he predicted. "And that's not what they said. They go, 'Look, give it three to six months.' I'm, like, 'No, I'll be good after two months.' … I'll be up and running here in no time. This is probably the worst accident I've ever had. I just tripped and fell on the pavement. And I didn't feel like anything bad happened."

Last month, KINGDOM COME singer Keith St. John, who joined the band in 2018 as the replacement for original frontman Lenny Wolf, told the "Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged" podcast that "James has had some health issues in this last — [it's] going on for about two years, I would say, and creeping up. And now he's on a break for a little while until he gets recouped and recovered from everything. And my good friend who plays in '[Raiding The] Rock Vault' with me out here, Blas Elias, has stepped in — Blas Elias from SLAUGHTER; he stepped in to take over the drums for now."

KINGDOM COME played its first two shows with Elias in September in Texas.

Five months ago, Kottak announced that he wouldn't play with his KINGDOM COME bandmates at their concerts in Texas. In the early hours of August 21, 2022, James took to his Twitter to write: "I will not be at the Kingdom Come Plano or San Antonio shows so don't waste your time thanks jams k [sic]".

Last June, KINGDOM COME's appearance at Sweden Rock Festival was described by the popular Swedish site Rocknytt as the event's "biggest fuckup." Writer Peter Johansson singled out Kottak, saying that the drummer played "really badly, sluggishly" and at times failed to keep the tempo "worryingly throughout the concert". At the end of the show, Kottak "stumbled to the edge of the stage to bow with his bandmates," according to Rocknytt.

Also critical of KINGDOM COME's performance was renowned Swedish music journalist and guitar player Janne Stark, who took to his Facebook page to share a photo of the gig and he wrote in an accompanying caption: "I've never seen a drummer fall asleep on stage before but James Kottak is pretty damn close. Drunk? He slows down every song to half tempo. KINGDOM COME, sorry guys but this is SHIT!"

Kottak publicly discussed KINGDOM COME's performance at Sweden Rock for the first time in an interview with "This That & The Other With Troy Patrick Farrell" conducted just days after the concert. Regarding what caused the show to fall short of expectations, James said: "I wanna say about eight or nine days ago, maybe 10 days ago, in the middle of the night, like four o'clock in the morning, I was in a dead sleep and I just rolled off the bed and I cracked three ribs on my left side. And I went to my chiropractor guy and he says, 'Oh, you have hairline fractures.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, great.' And dude, it's just been non-stop pain. It's not just my ribs; it's head to toe. That's why things were a little bit slower. 'Cause I took ibuprofen and the usual, Aleve or whatever, but, man, it was an uphill battle from the time we started. And it was just — I mean, not pain; I'm talking pain-pain, big-time stuff. That's no excuse, because the show must go on. But, yeah, I was a little slower than usual. But also we [usually] have a click track, of course, 'cause we might have a little bit of playback. Something was up with that, so we were flying solo… And [when] you don't have it, you go, 'Oh-oh. Okay. We'll do this.' It was just an off day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

According to James, there was "definitely no drinking" involved prior to the KINGDOM COME mishap at Sweden Rock. "Because that with the medication, it doesn't go good together," he explained. "And it was just an off day, man. I did everything to [make it better] — tons of tea, this and that, and all the usual things that I do — but, man, it was just too soon after falling that we went to play this gig. But it's Sweden Rock, and you don't wanna bail out on that."

Asked if alcohol contributed to him falling out of bed prior to the Sweden Rock performance, Kottak said: "I always sleep on the left side of the bed, and I just somehow, in my sleep, rolled off the bed and landed on my left side. I mean, that's really it. I wasn't drinking — nothing like that. Yeah, I have a few white wines here and there, but nothing like that. I just rolled off the bed. And that's the first time in my life that's ever happened where I actually fell off. I woke up and saw stars. It took me 15 minutes to get off the floor. These things happen sometimes, and there's nothing you can do. With SCORPIONS, going up my riser to get to my drums, there were, like, 14 steps, and I fell down those stairs at least five times, if not six times. Because I was like a dummy — I was always spitting this water. And I'd finish a song and I'd come down not thinking, and, just, 'Whoop', right on my ass."

James also denied that his battle with alcoholism was the primary reason he was fired from the SCORPIONS in 2016. He has since been replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee.

"I hate to say it, but Blabbermouth's kind of been the worst James basher," Kottak said. "They always say — any article about SCORPIONS, they say, 'Yeah, ever since James Kottak was released for alcohol abuse.' So I e-mailed them one day and said, 'Man, stop saying that.' We parted ways. It wasn't just from alcohol, dude. We went through five years of negotiations, 'cause the manager and tour manager both died within six months of each other. Then the band decided to self-manage, which is cool. But I'll tell you what, man — that's when it was a super-bumpy road and we were just not on the same page anymore. And that happens with bands."

Five years ago, SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs said that he and his bandmates "had to make" the decision to fire Kottak, explaining that they gave the drummer "all the chances" to get better. During an appearance on "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon", the guitarist said: "James was a real good friend — and he still is — but we couldn't continue with him. We gave him all the chances, and 10 more. And it was something that developed over the years — the drinking habit. It came in waves — sometimes it was good for four weeks, and then [there] was drama, and if you know him, you know what that's like. Then if it affects the show, you have to go, 'Hmmm…' Because our drum riser goes up 21 feet, or 24 feet sometimes, if the venue allows it, and the production manager, or stage manager, goes, 'I can't have him go up there. It's too risky.' If you can't really walk down the stairs straight, you can't have that. So that affects your intro of the show, and that's not good — it's not professional."

He continued: "We were helping him — we were sending him to [the island of] Antigua [to Eric Clapton's Crossroads drug and alcohol treatment center], and we paid for it, and we did everything we could, because we are extremely loyal. It's always hard if you work with somebody for almost 20 years to say, 'Okay, you've gotta go.' We'd rather do the opposite and try to keep him and help him. But we reached the point — or he reached the point — where it was just not worth it. After three months or four months even — they gave him an extra month in Antigua, the rehab — he'd come home, we'd start again, and you can't even talk to him. So we had to make that decision. We had Mikkey on the road, so [James] didn't notice. So I rehearsed with [Mikkey] and Paweł [Mąciwoda, bass] in the afternoon, just a backup; that was the original plan. But then there was no way we could continue with James, so we started with Mikkey."

Three years ago, Kottak, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996, told the SCORPIONS official fan club Crazyscorps about the circumstances that led to his departure from the legendary German hard rock band: "I always liked a drink here and there. And then I always also take a pain medication called Aleve. It's what all the baseball players take, all the footballers, and it works like a charm. You take those of those and you don't feel anything. But on top of that, I'm a rock drummer in a rock band, and you've got the green light to drink.

"From 2008 to 2011, I didn't drink," he explained. "I just woke up one day and said, 'I just don't wanna drink anymore.' I didn't go to rehab; I didn't do any of that stuff. I just didn't wanna drink anymore.

"If you have any knowledge of A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] or any type of program or rehab, it only lasts so long and then you have what we call in recovery a relapse. I would go through these phases of a year or maybe two years of no drinking, and then you gradually…

"SCORPIONS, we play our show, we go back to the hotel, [and] 45 minutes later, we're all downstairs having dinner," he continued. "And everything's just the right price — free. All these flights back and forth from Europe, from L.A. — I was just flying constantly. Which I'm not complaining about, but it's always business or first class, and once again, all the booze is at the right price. I'm going, 'I've got the next two days off. I might as well have a drink.' And that's what triggered me to start drinking again sometimes.

"It's a typical alcoholic way of thinking: 'Well, I may as well have a drink. Why not?' And that's typical alcoholic disease thinking. 'Cause it is a disease."
I’m still in Louisville visiting family. My hip/leg are healing rapidly! Where are you and what’s up? pic.twitter.com/MkJmNXCz7f

— James Kottak (@JKottak) November 29, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville Ky…it is coooold…Wishing you all the best of health and wealth everyday ! pic.twitter.com/muDxCgDTMq

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 1, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville! How is your day? pic.twitter.com/BqTGqElahS

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 16, 2022


Overcast rainy day here in Louisville…we wait for days like this in LA LA. pic.twitter.com/zRn6bVyMwP

— James Kottak (@JKottak) December 29, 2022


Another beautiful day in Louisville! How is your day? pic.twitter.com/c2jUD3lKnl

— James Kottak (@JKottak) January 4, 2023

Sizzling, soulful and bewitching, Witchrot is gearing up for their latest offering Witchrot: Live In The Hammer, due out for its international release March 10, 2023. All sleaze and psych, Live In The Hammer has the fuzz fueled quartet playing in the grease trap of Ontario. Smoky vocals overtop mesmeric psychedelic doom fill the room to the brim. 


Pulling from the lost psychedelic masterpieces with fuzz erupting like a volcano and the ethereal shoegaze music of the late '80s and '90s, Witchrot has carved their own haunting path. The all-consuming wave of divine music that is terrifying by its sheer velocity and force rather than dissonance. 


Simultaneously beautiful and putrid, Live In The Hammer pays homage to the grime of the past, paved over by the glitz of the present. Live In The Hammer was recorded at Boxcar Sound in Hamilton, and mastered by Tony Reed at Heavy Head Recording.




The bubbling cauldron that is Live In The Hammer, serves as a bridge between Hollow and the band’s forthcoming next album, currently in the works. There’s no escaping the strange web of Witchrot. Fall into the chasm and embrace the dark. 





Tracklisting:


"Medley - Druid Smoke Part 1 (The Keeper) / Crypt Reaper / Burn Me Down"    
"Dug Your Grave / Strega"    
"Acedia"    
"Who Scared You"    
"Colder Hands"    
"Million Shattered Swords"