Frontiers Music Srl will release JOURNEY's July 31, 2021 performance at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, Illinois. "Live In Concert At Lollapalooza" will arrive on December 9, 2022.

The stunning set, which will be released on CD/DVD, Blu-ray, and vinyl, serves as a testament not only to the band's enduring legacy, but their relevance to a whole new generation of rock 'n roll fans.

"Live In Concert At Lollapalooza" track listing:

01. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
02. Only The Young
03. Guitar Interlude
04. Stone In Love
05. Be Good To Yourself
06. Just The Same Way
07. Lights
08. Still They Ride
09. Escape
10. La Do Da
11. Piano Interlude
12. Who's Crying Now
13. Guitar Interlude
14. Wheel In The Sky
15. Ask The Lonely
16. Open Arms
17. Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'
18. Faithfully
19. Any Way You Want It
20. Don't Stop Believin'

JOURNEY Lollapalooza 2021 lineup:

Neal Schon - Guitars
Jonathan Cain - Keyboards
Arnel Pineda - Vocals
Deen Castronovo - Drums
Narada Michael Walden - Drums
Marco Mendoza - Bass
Jason Derlatka - Keyboards, Vocals

Earlier this month, JOURNEY announced the continuation of its highly successful tour with the 50th-anniversary celebration "Freedom Tour 2023" featuring very special guest TOTO. JOURNEY, diamond-selling Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers, will take the stage in 38 cities across North America with their catalog of global chart-topping hits, including "Don't Stop Believin'", "Any Way You Want It", "Faithfully" and "Lights".

Presented by AEG Presents, JOURNEY "Freedom Tour 2023" begins February 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, making stops in Austin, Montreal, Memphis and more before wrapping April 25 at the brand new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California. The 2023 run includes rescheduled dates in Washington D.C., Hartford, Toronto and Quebec that were postponed earlier this year due to COVID-19.

JOURNEY's 2022 lineup features Schon, Cain, Pineda, Derlatka, Castronovo and Todd Jensen (bass).

JOURNEY and TOTO previously joined forces for an early 2022 U.S. arena tour.

JOURNEY is continuing to promote its latest album, "Freedom", which was released in July via BMG. The LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Rock chart.

The members of JOURNEY celebrated the album's release by kicking off a residency featuring special symphony orchestra performances at the new, state-of-the-art Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas.

As JOURNEY's legend continues to grow larger and their touring gets bigger, "Freedom" is the band's first album of new material to be released in eleven years, since 2011's "Eclipse", and in addition to Schon, along with longtime keyboard player and primary lyricist Cain and Pineda, one more member was recruited for the LP — bassist extraordinaire Randy Jackson, who had played on JOURNEY's 1986 album "Raised On Radio".

Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, JOURNEY has 25 gold and platinum albums, with total sales adding up to over 100 million albums worldwide, earning the band two Diamond Awards with a third on the way for the "Frontiers" album. JOURNEY has also surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.

French sleaze rockers BlackRain will release their new album, Untamed, through SPV / Steamhammer on November 25th. They have released an official video for the title track. Check it out below.


Untamed was produced by Kissin' Dynamire frontman, Hannes Braun.







Tracklist:


"Untamed"
"Kiss The Sky"
"Dawn Of Hell"
"All The Darkness"
"Demon"
"Summer Jesus"
"Set The World On Fire"
"Neon Drift"
"Blade Of Love"
"Raise Your Glass"
"Shut Down"
"The End"

The progressively dark quartet Scattered Storm hailing from El Paso, Texas, is releasing their second EP In This Dying Sun set for November 11. The EP pivots from its overall sound carving out a much darker, and more progressive tone. Drummer Jay Arriaga and guitarist Kevin Armstrong have been much of the driving force for the songwriting drawing inspiration from bands like Psycroptic and Cephalic Carnage, whom they have also performed live with. 


The band explains the premise of the single:


“This pretty much talks about our dying planet. Or even a dying galaxy. Which resonates deeply with what we have been doing to our planet for so long and the consequences of that. Death, decay, nothing good coming out of it really. In the absence of light, there is only darkness. The song is fast and precise almost Fear Factoryish-like, but it simulates a fast and imploding galaxy.”




According to the band, they have never lost track of the bigness, especially with Tue Madsen mixing this record. In their talks with him, it was really emphasized that even though songs are faster, they still want them to sound huge. In turn, Madsen delivered a monster of an album, a melodic wall of sound with plenty of intriguing layers to keep listeners on their toes. Madsen also featured “In This Dying Sun” for his drum sample pack through Drum Forge because he really dug the song.


“In This Dying Sun” takes off from where last year’s “Oblivion” left off, bringing in darker melodies and proggy riffs. It still has the hooks but the vocals have evolved more and the synths took a back step for more guitar work. Some of the songs are faster-paced as well giving it a more driving force.


Scattered Storm takes a good blend of the sludge from Meshuggah, the ambiance of Tesseract, and the epicness of Devin Townsend, but is also influenced by bands like Fear Factory and Mnemic.


In This Dying Sun comes out on November 11, 2022, via Bloodblast Distribution (powered by Nuclear Blast and Believe Digital).





Tracklisting:


“Bloody Love”
“The Process”
“Hollow”
“In This Dying Sun”
“Seen”


“In This Dying Sun” video:

Emerging blackened death metal quartet, Black Lava, will release their debut full-length album, Soul Furnace, on November 25 via Season Of Mist.


Watch drummer Dan Presland tear up the kit in this playthrough for the single, "Eye Of The Moon":







Pre-orders for Soul Furnace are now live here, and can be saved on all digital streaming services at this location.


The cover artwork for Soul Furnace was painted by Paolo Girardi, and can be found below along, with the tracklisting.





"Origins"
"Aurora"
"Black Blizzard"
"Baptised In Ice"
"Eye Of The Moon"
"Northern Dawn"
"Necrocatacomb"
"Nightshade"
"Soul Furnace"


"Northern Dawn" video:





"Eye Of The Moon" video:





"Soul Furnace" video:





(Photo - Joe Ritson)

One of the most groundbreaking metal bands to emerge from the region, South Africa's Vulvodynia is back with their first new track since the release of 2021's Praenuntius Infiniti LP. The self-proclaimed Kings of African Metal have unleashed their most earth-shaking salvo yet with "Artificial Divinity" - the introductory offering from their yet-to-be-announced sixth studio album.





Speaking about the narrative concept behind the song, the band shares:




“‘Artificial Divinity’ is about the eventual evolution of humanity by means of A.I. The idea of the extinction of all biological matter, as A.I. becomes sentient and runs afoul of all of humanity’s perversions. We decided to use A.I. generated artwork to fully round off the theme!


They go on to add, "We had been planning out what we thought the perfect single would consist of for a while. Combining elements from our old material, as well as giving the fans something they’ve never heard or experienced from us before, all while staying true to who we are as Vulvodynia. This song is a special one and we can't wait to hear what you think!”

ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo has confirmed to The Aquarian Weekly that he and his bandmates are "already writing a new album. [We're] working on it as we speak," he said.

"Writing is one of those things I like being under pressure to do it. Right now we're going at it slowly, going back and forth. We're working on a few new songs. Once we come off the road here in November, we'll start hitting it hard. Then we'll go back out in January."

Tornillo, who joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider, added: "Just the opportunity to do this again is amazing. Before ACCEPT I was, for all intents and purposes, retired as a musician. I played with the EDGAR CAYSE BAND for a while. T.T. QUICK would do a reunion show once in a while, but that was it. I'm just grateful to be able to do this on this level at this age.

"God, I'm 68 years old. It's insane. It's a gift from God."

Tornillo can be heard on ACCEPT's last five studio albums: "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017) and "Too Mean To Die" (2021).

In a 2018 interview with Metal Shock Finland, Tornillo stated about what it was like to first join ACCEPT: "It was frightening. When we first announced what was going to happen, there was really not many people on board with it. Online, there was a lot of naysayers, a lot of badmouthing. It was very disheartening. We all sat down and said, 'Look, we have to make an amazing record, or else we're gonna die here. This is going to be a swansong. We have to make an amazing record.' And that's what we did. We spent a lot of time writing 'Blood Of The Nations' and a lot of time recording it, and I think in retrospect, it paid off. If that album wasn't what it was, we wouldn't be here."

Asked about fans who have yet to "accept" him, Mark said: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I'm a purist too with certain things. I get it. But I think we've moved on. We're almost a different band at this point. We really are a different band at this point. We still pay tribute to the old ACCEPT by playing the old songs — I mean, we have the two people that wrote most of the songs, [so] we have to. That's always going to be part of ACCEPT's history. You can't change it. All we can change is the future. But everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I get it. I wish them all well, and I wish Udo well, and his band, you know. No hard feelings on my part, that's for sure."

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, who has just published his long-awaited autobiography, "The Lives Of Brian", has told ABC News in a new interview that it was his manager who first suggested a memoir. Although Johnson was initially resistant to the idea — "Every week there's a book out by some old actor or musician," he said. "And I've always gone, 'No, not another one.'" — he eventually put pen to paper and wrote the book, which goes chronologically through his ups and downs growing up near Newcastle, ending with him joining AC/DC and recording the band's seminal "Back In Black" album.

Johnson has dedicated "The Lives Of Brian" to his great-great-great- grandchildren, explaining to ABC News that he thought it was "a shame" and "a pity" that his father couldn't tell him what his grandfather was like on their way to his funeral.

"Nobody knows anybody just a couple of generations later," Brian said. "So that's why I wrote it for my grandchildren. I hope the words in this book help to get to know me just a little more. And I hope there's a little bit of me in you, and I hope you have a long and lovely life."

"The Lives Of Brian" was published in the U.K. by Penguin Michael Joseph, a division of Penguin Random House, by publishing director Rowland White. It was published simultaneously in the U.S. by Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins.

Johnson joined AC/DC in 1980 after the death of previous lead singer Bon Scott.

His first album with the band, "Back In Black", went on to become the biggest-selling rock album of all time.

After a quarter century of platinum albums and record-breaking tours, he was forced to quit the band in 2016 after being diagnosed with hearing loss, but made a triumphant return in 2020 with the release of "Power Up", which went to No.1 in 21 countries. A successful competitive vintage racing car driver, Johnson has more recently enjoyed acclaim as the charismatic presenter of television shows "Cars That Rock With Brian Johnson" and "Brian Johnson: A Life Of The Road".

Johnson was born to a steelworker and WWII veteran father and an Italian mother, growing up in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, a working-class town. He was musically inclined and sang with the church choir. By the early '70s, he performed with the glam rock band GEORDIE, and they had a couple hits, but it was tough going. So tough that by 1976, they disbanded and Brian turned to a blue-collar life.

Then 1980 changed everything. Scott died at the age of 33. AC/DC auditioned singers, among them Johnson, whom Scott himself had seen perform and raved about. Within days, Johnson was in a studio with the band, working with founding members Angus and Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd, along with producer Mutt Lange.

When the album, "Back In Black", was released in July 1980 — a mere three months after Johnson had joined the band — it exploded, going on to sell 50 million copies worldwide, and triggering a years-long worldwide tour. It has been declared "the biggest-selling hard rock album ever made" and "the best-selling heavy-metal album in history."

Ultimate Guitar's David Slavković recently caught up with guitar legend Zakk Wylde, who discussed various topics, including the much-talked-about Pantera reunion, his guitar playing, and his guitar course called Zakk Wylde Berzerker Guitar Camp. Following is an excerpt from the interview.


UG: Since this was kind of a surprise that the (Pantera reunion) tour was announced this year, and on the other hand, this is an idea that was kind of in the making for years — for how long have you been discussing this? Or did this just happen? Did you ever discuss this with Vinnie Paul while he was still alive? How did this come to be?


Zakk: "The fellas… there was always word about that going around. And I just always said, 'That's up to the guys.' It's almost kind of like, the way I always viewed it, if Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding called up Eric Clapton because Eric and Jimi, they're all friends. And they're just like, 'Eric, we're gonna get together, and we're gonna go honor Jimi. Would you sing and play Jimi's stuff?' Of course Eric would do it. I mean, that's his buddy. Of course, I would do it.




It's like, 'Zakk, would you ever do it?' It's like, 'Well, of course I'm going to do it. Why would I not?' I'm going to do best job I can, obviously, but that's not my decision, that's the guys. Back in the day with Vinnie, there were discussions, and then, after Vinnie passed away, I didn't think anything would ever happen. I remember Phil (Anselmo) called me one night, and was like, 'Zakk, me and Rex would really love it if you would honor Dime.' And I was like, 'Of course, guys, I would always be here to honor Dime and all your achievements.' The way I looked at it - it's just a bunch of friends getting together, honoring their buddies."


Read more here.


Pantera has invited fans to join them in Sao Paulo, Brazil on December 15, 2022 for a co-headlining show with Judas Priest.


The recently reformed Pantera is now comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, along with new additions / old friends Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne) on guitar, and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) on drums, replacing the late, great Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul.





Pantera's 2022 tour itinerary is listed below. Currently, the band has not revealed plans to play any shows in The United States or Canada.


December
2 - Hell & Heaven Metal Fest - Toluca, Mexico
6 - Monterey Metal Fest - Monterey, Mexico
9 - Knotfest - Bogota, Colombia
11 - Knotfest - Santiago, Chile
15 - Vibra - Sao Paulo, Brazil 
18 - Knotfest - Sao Paulo, Brazil





(Photo - Dustin Jack)

Fan-filmed video of former SEPULTURA members Max Cavalera and Igor "Iggor" Cavalera performing several of the band's classic songs on October 22 at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida can be seen below.

Featured tracks:

01. Desperate Cry
02. Escape To The Void
03. Arise / Beneath The Remains

The fall 2022 leg of Max and Igor's "Return Beneath Arise" U.S. tour sees them performing select tracks from SEPULTURA's seminal "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" albums.

The trek kicked off on September 28 in Pomona, California and will end on October 29 in Santa Ana, California.

Max and Igor launched a tour celebrating "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" back in 2018. Earlier this year, they completed a U.S. leg of the tour featuring Mike Leon of SOULFLY on bass and Daniel Gonzalez of POSSESSED on guitar.

"We started this celebrating and revisiting old records for a few years now, starting with SEPULTURA's 'Roots'," Max told Phoenix New Times. "It was awesome — the fans loved it. We decided to do a different one, and focus on another era, so we came up with the idea to do 'Beneath The Remains' and 'Arise' together, and we did that in Europe and South America. We were getting ready to book it in America, and then COVID hit, so it set us back a bit. Then I was touring with SOULFLY. I'm glad we are making it happen now."

Regarding what fans can expect from the show, Max said: "It's all about the music. These records were created around the songs' pure power and raw aggression. To me, special effects would take away from that. It's just us jamming, no gimmicks. We play a little different night to night, but we give it all at every show, and I like feeling completely exhausted at the end of the night."

Max also expressed his joy at once again making music with his brother.

"We had a hard patch and didn't speak for 10 years, but it is so good to be back with him, hanging out and playing music," he said. "There's a magical genetic thing that happens when we play together. We create raw, primitive music that we get to experience with the audience."

In a 2018 interview with Wall Of Sound, Max stated about revisiting the "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" material: "I had to learn those riffs again for the tour, and I had to rediscover the albums again. It was a really fun process, learning the lyrics again. I kind of fell in love with the albums again. I don't have a favorite — I like both together, and I think they're meant to be together. For some reason, they just feel right when you play them together. I was very young when I made them, so it made me very aware of my state of mind at the time. I feel like I'm pretty much the same guy. I'm [52] now, but I'm still a metalhead in the heart. I still have the teenage spirit. I'm a huge metal fan, [a] huge supporter of metal. That's just how it was when those albums were done. It's a blessing that I get to do that with my brother, especially after all we went through together and we didn't speak for 10 years. Now, it's good — we are in a good place, and our brotherhood is really good, and we're just having fun with this music... There's an energy and a real anger and real passion in those songs that translates into people losing their minds when they hear it. I don't even have to tell them, 'Circle pit' — they will do it themselves. It's just the power of music."

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).

The current SEPULTURA lineup — featuring guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. alongside Derrick Green on vocals and Eloy Casagrande on drums — released its latest studio album, "Quadra", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast.

Matt Sorum, the Grammy-winning drummer of GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER, recently signed with AFM Records for his first-ever album with his all-star musical collective KINGS OF CHAOS.

The first single and video from KINGS OF CHAOS, "Judgement Day", is a scorching rocker that was performed and co-written by Sorum and his VELVET REVOLVER bandmates Slash, Dave Kushner and Duff McKagan, and features the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer on drums, as well as lead vocals.

Sorum said about the "Judgment Day" video: "Drawing inspiration from the 1971 film 'Vanishing Point' morphed with imagery inspired by 'Natural Born Killers', director Brian Cox (BRING ME THE HORIZON, CYPRESS HILL, MISFITS) and I conceptualized a man running from his demons on a wild ride to find redemption guided by The Reverend Willy G (portrayed by Billy F Gibbons),an Angel (portrayed by Matt's fashion designer, choreographer wife Ace Harper) on a motorcycle and his inner child. A Wayward Wanderer searching for the light."

From the Sunset Strip to South Africa, Argentina and Brazil, KINGS OF CHAOS have enthralled fans around the world with their ever-changing lineup of Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers and multi-platinum artists. If you've been lucky enough to score a ticket to a KINGS OF CHAOS show, you might have caught Billy Idol, Steven Tyler from AEROSMITH or Ann Wilson from HEART fronting the band — or even Corey Taylor from SLIPKNOT, or the late Chester Bennington from LINKIN PARK. And yes, that was Slash on lead guitar — or Brian May from QUEEN, or Billy F Gibbons from ZZ TOP. It's a party on stage, and everyone's invited.

"It's a celebration with your bucket list artists you've always wanted to play with," Sorum says.

The debut album from KINGS OF CHAOS is set for release in autumn/winter 2023. Expect original music and guest collaborations with some of rock's biggest names — including some of today's most talented and iconic female artists.

"KINGS OF CHAOS, to me, is the reason I started playing music in the first place — for the sheer fun of it," says Sorum. "I'm so pleased to be partnering with the team at AFM. Working with them on the creative vision for the album has been a great experience."

"Matt Sorum is such an acclaimed rock icon. His clear vision and passion for KINGS OF CHAOS really impressed us," adds Nils Wasko, label manager, AFM Records. "KINGS OF CHAOS will now come to life with an illustrious list of rock royalty joining Matt, and we can't wait to be part of the journey."

Originally formed in 2012 as ROCK 'N' ROLL ALL STARS, KINGS OF CHAOS features a core lineup of members as well as a rotating cast of guest musicians.

KINGS OF CHAOS has recorded just one song so far: a cover of DEEP PURPLE's "Never Before" for the 2012 tribute album "Re-Machined: A Tribute To Deep Purple's 'Machine Head'".

During an appearance on the "2 Hours With Matt Pinfield" podcast, Sorum talked about the project's formation. He said: "The music business is more difficult to navigate than ever, especially for a guy that's been around a while," he said. "I've had an illustrious career, but it's always been, like, super-high, super-low, like riding the wildest roller coaster ever known to man. [Laughs] Emotionally, it's been challenging. When VELVET REVOLVER broke up, for me, it was like, 'Oh my god, I can't believe I pulled off another band.' So it kind of knocked the wind out of me, and I didn't really want to jump back into doing another band or project right away.

"When I started doing KINGS OF CHAOS, it became strictly about fun," he continued. "I decided, 'I'm going to pull a bucket list, [and] I'm going to call guys that I never had the balls to call, and have no fear. There's one or two answers that you can get — yes or no. And you've got to be able to accept no. Don't take it personal. I called Keith Richards. I called Jimmy Page. I called [Robert] Plant. I didn't care. I was just, like, finding them and calling them. And some of them said yes — not Robert Plant, dammit [laughs] — but Steven Tyler, Robin Zander, Billy Gibbons, Joe Elliott, Slash, the DeLeo brothers. I go and play with my friends, and it's a blast."

Sorum is not involved with GN'R's hugely successful reunion, which features singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan alongside drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

The 61-year-old musician, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Matt was among the GUNS N' ROSES members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012. He, Adler, Slash and McKagan attended the ceremony, while Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.

Photo by Michael Segal

New GREAT WHITE singer Brett Carlisle, who landed the gig after the departure of GREAT WHITE's vocalist of only four months, Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE),was asked in a new interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast" if there has been any talk of him working on new music with the band. He responded: "Mark [Kendall, GREAT WHITE guitarist] has [talked about it]. He said that he's been writing like a madman. So that's really cool. And if they want me to be the guy to record on it, then I'm here for it. Let's go."

The 25-year-old Carlisle also spoke about the response to his new gig from his bandmates in ALL OR NOTHING (AON),a hard rock band out of Birmingham, Alabama which he has fronted since he was a teenager. "They're totally cool," he said. "They're excited for me. They're supportive of everything going on. We hung out a few days ago and it was all smiles and laughs from the time we got together till we finally said 'good night.' It's a team effort. Everybody's happy about everything going on."

As for his approach to singing the classic GREAT WHITE songs, Carlisle told AL.com in a separate interview: "I just want to do the songs justice, because that's what people expect to hear. They want to go to the shows and hear the songs the way they remember them, the way they know them. It's not about me and how many high notes I can hit or anything like that. I just want to do the give the people, and the band, what they want."

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

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

Carlisle made his live debut with GREAT WHITE on September 24 at the Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also performed with the group on October 14 in Waterloo, New York.

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

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

Kendall spoke about Brett's addition to GREAT WHITE earlier in the month in an interview with Tulsa Music Stream. He said: "As much as we love Andrew and respect him — and I still do respect him — he's just loyal to his band [LAST IN LINE]. And with our brand, we can't really have a singer that's in multiple bands; it just doesn't work. It's not really good for our brand. It makes it hard to schedule things when somebody else is busy doing something else. So we're more into somebody that sings great, is totally dedicated, loyal to us, loves to be in the band.

"We did a show with Brett, and it was world news," Mark continued. "And I didn't even wanna do the show. We auditioned, like, three singers, just to do one show. So it's extra work; you've gotta see if somebody can pull it off. And he sounded the best. A friend of ours turned us on to him. He's in a band called ALL OR NOTHING [out of Birmingham, Alabama]; I think they do maybe covers. I don't know a lot about it. But anyways, so I didn't even wanna do the show. They talked me into it. I heard his voice. He sang on a couple of our songs, put vocals on a tape. And I go, 'Well, he sounds closer than anybody so far. So, okay.' So we went and rehearsed in Las Vegas. And I was real nervous about doing the show; I [thought], 'This could be career ending.' And sure enough, it was completely the opposite. It was world news. There was press in Italy, the U.K., Germany, the U.S.A. A lot of the online magazines that normally are just dirt-seeking and they just want to pull dirt out of everything and just kind of bag on everybody, really, even they had good things to say. So he just nailed our songs. People loved him at the gig itself; not just the press. And he's a wonderful guy. He's 25 years old, so quite a bit younger than us. But he's very humble. He really loves the idea of being in the band, and he really throws down on stage. I was really surprised about that. And he asked a lot of questions. He's just a good guy."

Kendall also addressed Freeman's recent Facebook comment that the singer "wouldn't give a fuck if" GREAT WHITE threatened to fire him over his touring commitments with LAST IN LINE. Mark said: "That's okay. I still have respect for him because of his loyalty to his band. There's gotta be something to say about that. If he made a comment that was kind of rude, I'm sure it was just to kind of save face or something. He's a great guy, and man, he can sing too. He was a joy to be around. I was really sad that he did multiple projects.

"If we were a different situation that we were used to just having random singers every gig… It's just too much work to do that, because when somebody has to cancel a show, then we've gotta audition people," Kendall added. "And we don't wanna go out there with a different singer every time. But I thought Andrew was really gonna work out, and then, all of a sudden [LAST IN LINE] get this tour. And then I don't know what's gonna happen in the future. We were really in a tough spot. And we're really happy that things worked out with Brett, 'cause he's dynamite, man."

Asked about GREAT WHITE's approach when making changes in the singer department, Mark said: "I'd like to say that we always kind of settled. People would just get the songs close, and we'd go, 'It's probably not gonna get better than that.' Then there was… I won't go into any details because I have nothing bad to say about any of [the singers we've worked with in the past], but there were some other issues, like things that today, to me, are… We're so past any kind of ego trips or whatever; we're just happy to wake up in the morning and start a new day and say, 'Woah. Everything's great.' That's good enough for us. And try to make the best music we can. But when there's some kind of a — I don't know if it's insecurity or ego or what, when there's anything drama-related, it just turns me off personally. So I'd rather just concentrate on the music, make that the most important thing, and just have fun and enjoy ourselves. And Brett really seems like he's that type; he's very enjoyable to be around. He's just at ease. He loves singing. And he sings our songs perfect; it's quite incredible. And his range is from A to Z. This guy has a full voice in every note. So it's pretty incredible to find somebody like that; they don't grow on trees."

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

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

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

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

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, which features Russell alongside Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar, Dan McNay on bass, Tony Montana on guitar and Dicki Fliszar on drums.

📸 Nitainnashville Photography

Exciting Great White News to Share 📢

You might have noticed a new face and a new voice…

Posted by Great White [Band] on Thursday, October 20, 2022

Posted by Great White [Band] on Thursday, October 20, 2022

KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque spoke to Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited new album. Titled "The Institute", KING DIAMOND's first studio LP in 16 years is tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade. It will be made available as a two-LP horror concept story, with the second part arriving at a later date. Andy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, all I can say is that we're definitely working on it. Let me put it like this. In January, I sent a bunch of songs to [KING DIAMOND frontman and namesake] King, actually, that were kind of ready to start recording. They were like a really good demo — eight tracks with rhythm guitars, keyboards, drum machine and demo bass and all that. But the structure of the songs were kind of finished. But then we, of course, had to rearrange a few things and move around things. And we actually started doing that this spring until King got busy with MERCYFUL FATE and they were doing this summer tour and now this U.S. tour. So we started working on it, and then we just had to take a break from it too, until he's done with that. But we've got a lot of songs, and also he's gonna come up with some songs too, of course, obviously. And he will do that as soon as they're done with the MERCYFUL FATE touring stuff. So it's in the loop, definitely."

Asked if KING DIAMOND songs usually get written by Andy presenting King with the music first and King then writing the lyrics to the music that Andy sends him, the guitarist said: "Yeah, something like that. That's usually how we do it. That's the only way we have done it, actually. But, of course, he's got some ideas — long ago, he's got some ideas for this 'Institute' thing. And then we just try to match up the songs in the storyline, so they fit into the right mood and all that. But, of course, it's quite different and difficult to do it that way too, because you've really got to hit that right mood into the songs. And it's gotta fit with the lyrics and everything. So that takes a while, of course. But that's usually how we do it. I send him a bunch of songs. He sends me some songs that he thinks would fit into the story of the album. And we talk about it. If there's any parts that need to be changed, we just do it and send things to each other until we're done. That's how we're gonna do it now too."

At this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, King spoke to Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne about his plans for "The Institute". "Something with KING DIAMOND, we have a very special thing [planned] for that album," King said. "It's gonna be a two-album story. The release will be next year. And touring in the summer is the plan. But KING DIAMOND, we are building something that you will never have seen on a stage before — not that way. And with the light guy, he's never done it that way either. … It's very different, very sick. You will not have seen musicians standing on stage in that type of light. It's gonna be very dark. They have to learn to play in dark areas. It's crazy. I know that our light guy, he can't wait for us to do it. I showed him some pictures that have the kind of feelings I want, the kind of backdrops I want, stuff like that. … This is gonna blow people's minds when they see it, I am a hundred percent sure."

Back in November 2019, KING DIAMOND released its first new song in 12 years, "Masquerade Of Madness". A month later, La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."

La Rocque, whose real name is Anders Allhage, discussed his vision for the new KING DIAMOND album with The Metal Voice, saying that it will be filled with great "melodies, of course. Super important. Without melodies, there is no music," he explained. "I'm also envisioning a more organic sound of the album. If you look back to the older albums, when Mikkey [Dee] played [drums for the band], for example, it's, like, a little bit up and down in tempo, and that makes it dynamic and also organic. So that's one thing that I would like to hear on the next album, for sure. But building up a dynamic, kind of organic feel, the drummer is a really important thing here, of course. And I know that Matt Thompson [current KING DIAMOND drummer] is the right guy to do this, for sure."

In March 2019, King told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show that the next album from his namesake band will be "absolutely gruesome" with a story set in a 1920s mental institution. "I chose that because I think it's a very creepy scenario," he explained. "And some of the things that go on that we're gonna show onstage is also things that certainly was going on back then, when medicine was beginning to take a beneficial turn in history and actually being able to help human beings live longer. But there was some experimentation going on, too, that was absolutely gruesome. Some of that is involved in the story, but it's something totally different. Once you get to the second part of the story, you will begin to suddenly understand that, 'What the hell is going on here? What is this really about?' 'Cause there's a whole different story that will not come to you till second part. But in the first part, you're gonna get to know a lot people at a certain place… Some of it takes place here, this world, and some of it takes place in a parallel world. And there's a correlation between what happened to me and what happens to some people in this place and where they suddenly appear. And you will find out why they are there, how they appear there and the places down the road. I won't say too much right now, but it's gonna be very creepy."

KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".

"Give Me Your Soul … Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captures 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances feature KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Thompson.

SAINT ASONIA, the band featuring former THREE DAYS GRACE frontman Adam Gontier and STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok, will release its second EP of 2022, "Extrovert", on November 18 via Spinefarm.

The official visualizer for the new EP's first single, "Wolf", can be seen below.

"Wolf" is a bit of a battle cry and an anthem of survival. It's also a riff-driven, melodically memorable banger, as the band has become known for.

"This song was inspired by the chaos, the darkness, and the violence that so many people have to live with in this world," says Gontier. "So often we have to fight, scratch, and crawl our way out of unbearably difficult times, making our way to the surface for a moment, just to be thrown back in. It kinda feels like we're always under attack. 'Wolf' is about being backed into a corner and fighting just to stay alive."

"Extrovert" EP track listing:

01. Devastate
02. Break The Mold
03. Over It
04. Wolf
05. Better Now
06. Chasing The Light

"Extrovert" follows the "Introvert" EP, which dropped this past summer and featured seven new tracks, including a Weeknd cover.

Both EPs will be released physically as "Introvert/Extrovert" with bonus tracks on December 9.

SAINT ASONIA — rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums) — has perfected a fusion of gut-punching grooves, intricate fretwork, airtight songwriting, and soaring choruses.

For as much as Gontier and Mushok had achieved in multiplatinum rock acts THREE DAYS GRACE and STAIND, respectively, the musicians also architected the framework for a singular legacy together in SAINT ASONIA. 2015's self-titled "Saint Asonia" kicked open the door as Loudwire crowned them "Best New Artist" at the Loudwire Music Awards. The 2019 follow-up, "Flawed Design", only ingratiated a growing fan base. Lead single "The Hunted", featuring Sully Erna of GODSMACK, racked up 13 million Spotify streams, bringing their cumulative streams near the 100-million mark. New Noise awarded it 4.5 out of 5 stars and urged, "Any fan of hard rock (whether they've listened in recently or not) should give SAINT ASONIA a spin." Meanwhile, Loudwire named it among "The 50 Best Rock Albums Of the Year." Along the way, they hit the road with the likes of DISTURBED, BREAKING BENJAMIN, SEETHER, ALTER BRIDGE and MÖTLEY CRÜE.

ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna will relaunch his JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS (formerly JOEY BELLADONNA'S BEYOND THE BAND and JOURNEY BEYOND) with three East Coast shows in December. The dates are as follows:

Dec. 28 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium
Dec. 29 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
Dec. 30 - Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally's

A year and a half ago, Belladonna spoke to "The Johnny Dare Morning Show" about his JOURNEY tribute, which also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward.

"We're working on some recordings so we can be like a normal band and put stuff up on the site — maybe do a video," Joey said. "We've got interest in playing shows. We're just trying to figure out when and how, that kind of thing. The band's still together. We record at home. Everybody's all in different places at the moment. We only did one show, so we can't wait to do it again, 'cause it's gonna be fun."

Belladonna also touched upon his reasons for launching a JOURNEY tribute band, saying: "People ask why the hell I do it. I just like the songs. I've liked the band forever. And I just wanted to do it because I think it's a cool challenge and it's just fun music. I can't think of many bands that I'd like to do a whole evening of without trying to dress up and do everything they do. We just wanna be a band that plays that music. I don't care about the whole lookalike-type stuff. It's just about music. That's really all it is."

In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.

When he is not busy touring and recording with ANTHRAX, Belladonna has been spending time playing drums and singing for a classic-rock covers band called CHIEF BIG WAY. The upstate New York-based group, which also features Dave Mickelson on bass, Joe Precourt on guitar and John Goodwin on keyboards, plays versions of songs from JOURNEY, AC/DC, ZZ TOP, BOSTON, CHEAP TRICK, FOREIGNER, PINK FLOYD, VAN HALEN, COLLECTIVE SOUL, THE WHO, THE DOORS, SHINEDOWN and BON JOVI, among others.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.
Announcing the debut of Beyond Frontiers! An evening of Journey’s music, featuring Joey Belladonna.

Upcoming east coast shows:

Dec 28 – Worcester, MA@PalladiumShows

Dec 29 – Poughkeepsie, NY@TheChanceComplx

Dec 30 – Hampton Beach, NH#WallysNHpic.twitter.com/MNJD3MtqOI

— Joey Belladonna (@jbelladonna) October 26, 2022



JUST ANNOUNCED!! December 29, 2022, The debut of Beyond Frontiers! An evening of Journey’s music featuring Joey Belladonna!! Tickets on sale this Friday at Ticketweb.com or The Chance box office 845-471-1966 😎

Posted by The Chance Theater on Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the signing of Nevena Dordevic - an absolutely astounding Serbian singer - to the label for the release of her self-titled debut album under the moniker Nevena, on December 9.


For this album, Nevena partnered with producer Mike Palace to craft songs and have him put his magic touch on the production of this album which showcases excellent melodic rock/AOR with a more contemporary edge.


Watch a video for the song "Too Late" below, and pre-order/save Nevena here.




Nevena was first introduced to Frontiers by The Big Deal mastermind Srdjan Brankovic, who, as a fan of Nevena's vocals, thought she might be a good fit for the label. Thrilled at the prospect of working with this talented singer, the label started thinking of who might be a good producer for her to partner with. Mike Palace came to mind immediately and upon viewing videos of her vocal performances, he instantly loved her talent. Introductions were made and Nevena and Mike took it from there. Now, that fateful introduction has given life to Nevena's stunning new album.


Nevena Dordevic is a vocalist, songwriter, pianist, and educator well known in her home country for her diversity in musical styles including musical theater, jazz, pop, and rock. Born and raised in Serbia, Nevena started her musical education at the age of nine with piano and music theory lessons. As her childhood continued, she performed and won various music competitions. While still in high school, Nevena rose to fame as a performer and finalist on the first season of "First Voice of Serbia". Since then, she’s been performing in front of tens of thousands of people all over Serbia and Europe.


Despite her growth and success in Serbia, Nevena wanted to bring her musicianship and career to the next level and broaden her horizons. She enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston to continue her studies that she had started in her youth. Soon after her arrival to Berklee, Nevena became very active at various concerts and venues, taking the role of lead vocal performer and joining productions with internationally recognized artists such as Tigran Hamasyan, Sheila Jordan, Theresa Thomason, Paul Winter, and many others.


Now, Nevena has partnered with Frontiers Music Srl for the release of her debut album as Nevena and could not be more thrilled to introduce herself to melodic rock fans around the globe.





Tracklisting:


"Bulletproof"
"Bad Sun Rising"
"Straight Into Madness"
"Too Late"
"Writer's Block"
"Miracles"
"You Two"
"Fire In Me"
"Brand New Heart"
"Veil On The Mirror"
"Outrageous"


"Too Late" video:





"Bad Sun Rising" video:





"Miracles":

NIGHTWISH's Floor Jansen has undergone surgery to have a tumor removed after recently being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Earlier today, the 41-year-old Dutch-born singer shared the following update via her social media: "The tumor removal surgery went well without any surprises. I'm recovering well and should be up and about soon. It will take a few weeks to know what the findings are regarding the tumor and lymph node that will be tested.

"I'll keep you posted.

"I want to use this opportunity to thank the medical staff that took care of me. All done with so much care, empathy, and professionalism! I felt completely safe in your capable hands! You all are troopers, and not just in the hospital I went to, but worldwide. Thank you!!"

In his just-released memoir, "The Lives Of Brian", AC/DC singer Brian Johnson shoots down theories that the band's late frontman Bon Scott wrote some of the words for the "Back In Black" album prior to his untimely death in early 1980. Asked in a new interview with Rolling Stone why he felt he had to do that, Brian said: "There was one particular journalist — a writer in Australia — who just wouldn't let go of this thing. And of course, [AC/DC's founding guitarists] Malcolm and Angus [Young] were, like, 'What a fucking load of bullshit.' And I said, 'I wish you would tell him.' And their attitude was always, 'Just leave it. Just let them talk himself into a fuckin' early grave.' And of course, it became more and more obvious by the day that Bon hadn't, because the riffs weren't written then. The boys were still doing it. So we didn't say anything because otherwise it would have given him more fame."

He continued: "It wasn't something that stuck in me craw a lot, but every now and again, a fan would come up and say, 'This guy's saying this.' And factually, it wasn't true. There wasn't an Internet then; it didn't really get further than Australia. But I thought it was awful I had to explain meself and that's why in the book, I went, once and for all, I want to put this baby to bed."

Pressed about why he stopped writing AC/DC's lyrics in the mid-Eighties, Brian said: "I think that was a management decision. It wasn't anything to do with me. 'Listen, Brian. I think the boys are going to write all the lyrics now.' I said, 'It'll give me a little bit of rest not having to worry about coming up with something every now and again.' I never thought of it that much. I just said, 'Okay, let the guys go ahead and do it.' And I must admit I miss some of my lyrics. There was some lovely tongue-in-cheek ones, you know, 'Have a Drink on Me.' And in 'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'She always kept her motor clean.' We all know what I meant, but it's the double-entendres I miss. I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me at all."

A year and a half ago, Angus also shot down the rumor that Bon was involved in the songwriting process of several of the "Back In Black" tracks. "Bon never really got the chance," the guitarist told Paste magazine. "At the time, me and Malcolm were writing songs, which became the songs for 'Back In Black'. We were in London in a rehearsal room, and Bon had come down, too. And what used to happen was, me and Malcolm would get together and get a drum kit, and Malcolm would get behind the drums sometimes, and I'd get on the guitar and just tap out a riff. Or other times, Malcolm would get on the guitar and he'd get me to just knock out a simple beat on the drums. Anyhow, we were working away, and it was on an intro which was actually what became the intro for 'Hells Bells'. So Bon showed up, and Malcolm said, 'Oh, great, Bon. You can get behind the kit.' Because originally Bon started as a drummer. So Bon got behind the drum kit so we could try and work out this intro, how we wanted to do it. So we sorted that out how we wanted. And the other one was 'Have A Drink On Me', a riff Malcolm was playing around with. So we worked out the intro on that and how the song was gonna go. So he had Bon tapped to do a demo for that. So that was it, really. If you were looking up what Bon had done, it was really just to help us with those demos on the drums. And he even said to us, as we were knocking off in the night time, 'Look, we'll hook up next week.' He'd been working on some lyrics, and said, 'We'll hook up next week and maybe the three of us can just start going through stuff.' But unfortunately, he passed before that."

Angus continued: "It's kind of strange, in a way, when I think back, because when Bon first joined us as a band, that was the first thing he wanted to do — he took me and Malcolm and said, Come on!' And we went to a friend's place who had a studio, and when we got there, Bon got behind the drum kit and said, 'All right, come on you guys. Start playing.' And Malcolm said, 'Look, Bon — we've got a real good drummer. We don't need another drummer. What we need is a really good rock 'n' roll singer.' But with Bon, what you saw was what you got. He had his own approach to this, and he lived that character. I mean, sometimes you'd be doing a gig somewhere, and he'd show up with some people, and then he'd be gone for a few days. And he'd have been out with some guys drinking moonshine up in the hills. He'd just met them, but they were all like his long-lost friends, ya know?"

"Back In Black" was the first album AC/DC released after Johnson replaced Scott, and it went on to become the third-biggest-selling LP of all time.

Scott was invited to join AC/DC by Malcolm and Angus Young in 1974, and achieved international stardom before his death at the age of 33 from alcohol poisoning.

He sang on AC/DC's first six studio albums, including "High Voltage", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Let There Be Rock" and "Highway To Hell".

Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with Malcolm and Angus Young where they began working on music for what became the "Back In Black" album.

According to the AC/DC FAQ web site, Bon and the friend, a musician named Alisdair Kinnear, had been drinking the evening of February 19, 1980 and Bon apparently fell asleep during the ride home. Kinnear could not wake Bon, so he left him in the car to sleep. Kinnear awoke early in the evening on February 20, checked on Bon, and found him unconscious in the car. Bon could not be revived, and was pronounced dead.

Formed in 2018 by Nick Sagias on bass and vocals (Tribe of Pazuzu, Soulstorm, Overthrow, ex-Pestilence) and his brother John Sagias on drums (Soulstorm, Abyss) along with guitarists Ethan Bolduc (Jaww, Abyss), and Rick Kowalski (Soulstorm, Bound By Defiance), Toronto's Nihilist Death Cult will be unleashing their debut album entitled Death To All Tyrants this coming December.


The album features nine quick strikes to the jugular of hardcore death punk recorded and mixed by Scott Middleton (ex-Cancer Bats). It's short and sweet with a running time of just under 15 minutes, but it delivers a full dose of whiplash and speedy licks.


Earlier this summer, the band unveiled the album's title track, a song about the underdog stepping up to the tyrant and winning.




"Scott was excellent to work with and helped us a lot with hearing things we didn’t hear before, that’s what a good producer does and it was a great experience working with him. After we heard the final mixes, there was the daunting task of picking the first track we would use for the lyric video and be the first thing anyone heard of us as a ‘new’ band. We eventually settled on 'Death To All Tyrants' because it felt like it set the tone for both the sound and lyrical message we were trying to get across with NDC. We are not trying to be political or force our opinions, but we still feel we are responsible for some substance in our lyrics and I feel the messages in the lyrics are universal ideas that affect all of us in many types of situations and cultures," adds Nick Sagias.


Nihilist Death Cult was born after the ending of Toronto underground legends Soulstorm, of which Nick Sagias was a founding member.


"I felt it in my heart that I needed to get back to the roots, the fast styles I grew up on, punk, thrash, death metal after I ended Soulstorm in 2016, so I started writing in the style of death metal for what I was going to eventually call my other band Tribe of Pazuzu. During the writing phase in 2017/2018, I came up with the name Nihilist Death Cult first for this other new death metal project, after letting that sit for a month or two I realized it was a more punk-sounding name and I already had a handful of riffs in the hardcore punk style that I ended up arranging and being the first 5 songs for NDC. I sent them to my brother John and he liked it right away and was down to make it happen, which was awesome because I always loved his dbeat style and feel of drumming."


Relentless savage hardcore death punk grind, Nihilist Death Cult should appeal to most fans of band members' previous and current endeavours, whether it be Jaww, Abyss, Overthrow, Soulstorm, Tribe of Pazuzu (ft. Flo Mounier (drums -Cryptopsy), John McEntee - guitar, Incantation - first two EPs). Death To All Tyrants is meant to bring back the anger, the fire, and the brooding fast music meant to be in punk and metal.


"This album is about how the corporate sponsored news media feeds you the stories and ideas they are paid to push… it’s about the victims standing up to the tyrants… it’s about choosing your own path and not blindly following norms if they don’t suit you." says Nick Sagias.


Live, fans can expect seasoned veterans to go up on stage and put on a show to match the energy of their extreme music that's ferocious and devastating.


Recommended for fans of Poison Idea, early DRI, early Bad Brains, Nails, Terrorizer and CroMags, Nihilist Death Cult's album Death To All Tyrants is due out on December 2, 2022.


Preorder on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“Follow The Money”
“Hunting For Prey”
“Obey & Consume”
“Wake Up!”
“Death To All Tyrants”
“Ready For War”
“Imperium”
“Is This Progress?”
“You Get What You Deserve”


“Death To All Tyrants”:





(Photo – Ron Sumners)

DISTURBED will release its eighth full-length album, "Divisive", on November 18 via Reprise. The official lyric video for the LP's third single, the title track, can be seen below.

Lead singer David Draiman says of the song: "The title track and the title itself are indicative of the incredibly fucked up state of things we are living in. It's about how hyper-polarity has influenced everything people do in life.

"People are addicted to outrage. They're addicted to finding the next thing that will piss them off so they can rave about it on social media. Everything negative was given a shot of steroids."

Guitarist Dan Donegan adds: "David was in the room listening to me play the riff, and he fell in love with it instantly. It was one of the early musical ideas.

"It's fun to be face-to-face, because we can feed off of each other and we see the level of excitement."

"Divisive" pulls no punches as a precise, pummeling, and powerful hard rock opus. Over the last year, the quartet cut these ten tracks with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee. After Donegan shared initial ideas with the rest of the group, they locked in like never before with the groove as the backbone. Drummer Mike Wengren bolted down some of the strongest and boldest rhythms of their career punctuated by John Moyer's punchy bass. Together, the musicians collectively conjured the focus and fire of their seminal early output augmented by airtight songcraft and a heightened level of musical chemistry that could only be forged by years of writing and touring together.

As a result, "Divisive" finds DISTURBED at their most dynamic, defiant, and dangerous. Breaking ground, it also notably marks the first time the band included a guest feature on an album, boasting the epic emotionally charged duet "Don't Tell Me" with HEART's Ann Wilson. Meanwhile, the likes of "Bad Man" and "Divisive" rank amongst the band's heaviest material. At the same time, they infuse the likes of "Won't Back Down" with uplifting melodies.

About the "Divisive" album, Draiman noted: "Partisan tribal warfare has become a part of our regular existence nowadays. It's one big battle of the cliques. The whole idea of the record is to be a wakeup call for everyone. Our society has become addicted to outrage. Music is the best cure for what ails us though. If only everyone reached out and used it. There's no better environment to forget about all of this shit than live music. We can be together and realize we have more in common than not. Recognize what's happening and let's make a change for the better."

Donegan added: "Whatever it takes, we've got to pull it together. We've always tried to take negative topics and spin them in a positive light. From touring around the world, we've seen the power of music as the universal language to bring everyone together from all walks of life. We can still play songs to unite people, and it's a pretty powerful feeling."

DISTURBED initially set the stage for the record with "Hey You", which came out in July. The song spread like wildfire across airwaves, emerging as their 15th No. 1 single at rock radio. At the same time, it has already gathered 10 million-plus streams and counting, only increasing anticipation for "Divisive".

"Divisive" track listing:

01. Hey You
02. Bad Man
03. Divisive
04. Unstoppable
05. Love To Hate
06. Feeding The Fire
07. Don't Tell Me (feat. Ann Wilson)
08. Take Back Your Life
09. Part Of Me
10. Won't Back Down

The DISTURBED members subconsciously rallied around a shared vision for what would become "Divisive". After a period of dormancy in the midst of the global pandemic, the group finally congregated in early 2022. Dealing with the same frustrations for nearly two years, the guys followed a collective muse without question.

"We wanted to get heavy again," exclaimed Dan. "We'll always be melodic, but there's more attitude now. We're showcasing David's animalistic side again. It touches on our early days with modern elements."

David added: "After 25 years, we've begun to anticipate each other's direction. We were all hankering to get back to chunky goodness," he laughed.

In order to do so, the band tapped Fulk as producer. With members based around the country, they chose Nashville to record, cutting ten tracks in spring 2022.

"Once we finally did get in a room together, it felt so good," Dan recalled. "It was nice to get the ball rolling and have that outlet in the studio again. Throughout our lives, music has been our therapy — as it is for most people."

Fittingly, the group kicked off this phase with the opener "Hey You". Powered by menacing electronics, a bone-crushing riff, and undeniable chorus, it marked their 15th No. 1 hit at radio, completing their quickest rise to the top and setting the tone for what was to come.

"It's the quintessential rallying cry," noted David. "It's like, 'Hey you, do you realize what you're doing? Do you see you're your own worst enemy? How are we making mountains out of mole hills everywhere we go and looking for enemies where there are none?' It was the perfect way to start."

Then, there's "Bad Man". Ominous string orchestration echoes around a jagged riff as the verses snake into an incisively infectious chant. Pressing down on the whammy pedal, Dan rips a screeching cinematic guitar lead rife with razor-sharp shredding.

"From a lyrical perspective, says David. "There's no shortage of evil maniacs on the planet who take advantage of their positions of power and have unchecked narcissism and egomania that fuels their decisions though. There was damn sure plenty of inspiration in current world events."

On "Don't Tell Me", DISTURBED joins forces with none other than Wilson for an epic duet. In two decades, it breaks ground as the first-ever guest collaboration on a DISTURBED record. Clean guitar soundtracks the story of a long-term relationship in the middle of its last gasp. David and Ann engage in a call-and-response before locking into a skyscraping harmony as the solo reaches for the heavens.

"It was very personal to me," admitted Dan. "I was going through my divorce, and I wanted to touch on the fact I was in a very long marriage to a wonderful woman. She's a great mother to my kids. We were together for 18 years. Even though the marriage was in a tough spot, it was hard to leg go, because we'd invested so much into each other. I felt like listeners could relate to it."

"In my humble opinion, I think Ann is probably the greatest female rock voice of all time," David stated. "She's untouchable. We had connected on Twitter, and I sent her the song. She agreed to jump on it, and it was humbling to work with her. She was totally pro. Her vocals are mind-blowing. It was a gift. Out of ten tracks, we needed to take at least one left turn," he smiled.

The album reaches its cathartic conclusion with a final knockout blow on "Won't Back Down". As the guitars toss and turn, the chorus assures, "I won't back down from this fight."

They've never backed down though. Instead, DISTURBED has dominated hard rock on its own terms. Thus far, they have notched five consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200, occupying rarified air alongside METALLICA — the only other hard rock group to accomplish this feat. Since their influential five-times-platinum debut "The Sickness" in 2000, they have built a bulletproof catalog highlighted by a procession of smashes, including the platinum "Stupify", "Inside The Fire" and "Land Of Confusion", two-times-platinum "Stricken", six-times-platinum "Down With The Sickness" and seven-times-platinum "The Sound Of Silence", to name a few. The latter notably received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of "Best Rock Performance" as the band earned "Best Rock Artist" at the 2017 iHeartRadioMusic Awards.

In the end, DISTURBED still wields the power to unite.

"We have a lot left in us," concluded Dan. "I know for certain I'm not done. We're always going to need an outlet for our personal sanity. I feel inspired every time we do a record. We bring the best out of one another. I'm just excited for what the future holds."

David left off: "When audiences hear the album, I hope the reaction is, 'After the last three years, this is exactly what I wanted to get out the frustration, anger, and addiction to outrage'. There are better ways. I hope you use it as an outlet and a means of exorcising the demons once again."

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Last week, Atlantic Records announced an exclusive partnership with Gold Tooth Records, founded by Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum producer Andrew Watt. In addition, the one and only Iggy Pop is the first artist signed to this joint venture. The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree and godfather of punk is now making his label debut with "Frenzy", the first single off Iggy's forthcoming album.

Three solid minutes of unadulterated primal rock fury, "Frenzy" signals a return to the raw powered aggro of earlier Iggy vintages — a sharp 180-degree turn from Iggy's most recent album, 2019's "Free". Where "Free"'s somber and contemplative meditations on mortality and the human condition saw a vulnerable Iggy taking a deep look inward, "Frenzy" lashes out with the unmistakable and unequaled intensity that earned Iggy the Godfather of Punk sobriquet — fueled by a band consisting of producer Watt (guitar/background vocals),Duff McKagan (bass) and Chad Smith (drums).

"I'm the guy with no shirt who rocks," says Pop. "Andrew and Gold Tooth get that, and we made a record together the old-fashioned way. The players are guys I've known since they were kids and the music will beat the shit out of you. Have a great day."

Adds Watt: "Iggy Pop is a fucking icon. A true original. The guy invented the stage dive. I still can't believe he let me make a record with him. I am honored. It doesn't get cooler. This album was created to be played as loud as your stereo will go. Turn it up and hold on."

Craig Kallman, chairman and CEO, Atlantic Records, says: "We're incredibly excited to welcome Andrew and Gold Tooth into the Atlantic family. As a brilliant producer and stellar musician, Andrew has the gift of elevating every project into a work of art. And, of course, we're over the moon to have the legendary and phenomenal Iggy Pop as our first joint signing. Iggy's groundbreaking work forever changed the rock landscape, and he continues to make boundary-crashing music. This also marks his return to the Warner family, more than 50 years after he made his recording debut with THE STOOGES on our sister label Elektra. Iggy's never stopped evolving, and he's made a fantastic album that we can't wait for the world to hear."

Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential artists and dynamic live performers of all time, Pop is a singer, songwriter, musician, author, record producer, DJ, and actor whose epic body of work has earned him both worldwide critical acclaim and fanatic cult success. Beginning in 1967 with his era-defining group THE STOOGES, Pop merged primal rock, blues, and free jazz into something altogether dangerous and new, paving the way for punk, post-punk, hard rock, and grunge. His landmark solo career — which kicked off with 1977's David Bowie-produced "The Idiot" and "Lust For Life" — has seen Pop traverse a stunning span of musical genres, inspiring generation after generation of rock 'n rollers with his iconoclastic songcraft, uncompromising performance style, and one-of-a-kind charisma. Perhaps the greatest living embodiment of rock and roll, Pop has never slowed down, pushing the art form forward for more than half a century, including his most recent full-length recording, 2019's contemplative, critically acclaimed "Free".

Watt's diverse array of credits includes work with Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Ozzy Osbourne and more. In 2021 he was honored with the Grammy Award for "Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical", and recently produced Osbourne's Billboard chart-topping album "Patient Number 9", as well as the single "Hold Me Closer", the highly anticipated hit collaboration by Britney Spears and Elton John. At the top of 2022, Watt produced the entirety of Eddie Vedder's critically acclaimed solo release "Earthling", and in February, he landed two genre-bending hits on the Hot 100 in The Kid LAROI's "Thousand Miles" and Ed Sheeran and Lil Baby's "2step". Beyond his producing and songwriting, Watt had the honor of joining Vedder on tour as part of his all-star side project THE EARTHLINGS.

Photo by Danny Clinch

Swedish metallers AVATAR will release their ninth album, "Dance Devil Dance", on February 17 via Thirty Tigers.

The NSFW and sanguine video for the LP's title track can be seen below. The clip was directed by AVATAR's longtime director Johan Carlèn.

"I woke up to the truth one day," says vocalist Johannes Eckerström. "With my heart pounding, and a heavy breath, I knew for sure. I am Satan. The snake and forbidden fruit with a longing for knowledge, freedom and agency. My feet were moving. I thought I was running, but I was dancing. A celebration. Yes, I am the Devil, and I believe that one day you can be the Devil too. It is my hope and ambition that this song will help you find your way there. As such, it's a celebration of love, lust and democracy."

"Dance Devil Dance" was recorded in the Swedish wilderness, far away from all the perceived glamor of the big city and modern studios. Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, MR. BUNGLE, CROBOT, STONE SOUR, AMON AMARTH, URIAH HEEP) returned as producer. He first worked with AVATAR when he mixed "Hail The Apocalypse", a role he reprised on "Feathers & Flesh" before taking the wheel as producer on "Avatar Country" and "Hunter Gatherer".

AVATAR says: "You always hear bands say, 'This is our best album yet.' This is our best album yet. It is AVATAR at our most laser focused, at our most razor sharp. There's no B.S., no extra fat. Every track is a weapon and has a purpose. It's all in the title, as this album is our angriest, horniest and most spiritual release, all at once. It's a must-hear."

Last year, AVATAR announced its signing to Thirty Tigers and the launch of its own Black Waltz Records imprint. In addition, Eckerström and his bandmates unleashed four new songs which, according to the group, represented a taste of things to come.

This past August, Eckerström told TotalRock about AVATAR's upcoming LP: "My best thing to liken it to is [JUDAS PRIEST's] 'British Steel' in the sense of that… JUDAS PRIEST were always great, and before 'British Steel' you had 'Killing Machine', you had 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' and all this, but they were a great heavy metal band, a great rock and roll band, a great prog band at times and kind of eclectic. And then with 'British Steel' I find they really got laser focused, cut off the fat. And we're focused on what we feel right now metal needs — this very pompous but yet…

"Honestly, I feel like we have to save heavy metal," he continued. "Because either people are lost in the past… They did it better than we will ever do what they do. Don't do that. What's next? What's next for us? And do that without disappearing up your own asses completely.

"When people end up doing metal that is best enjoyed while sitting down and shutting up, you miss the point," Johannes added. "Metal is the music that you move to — in the pit, banging your head, dancing around, whatever, lifting weights, drinking too much, getting pregnant, impregnating someone, doing things. It's music to move with. You have drums in the band; why would you have drums if you don't move?

"We look a lot to the masters — that is wisdom from MOTÖRHEAD, from JUDAS PRIEST, from a lot of things — but then just… yeah, that, but not that. They did that. We're now and what's next with that. Where can we try to help bring it? And that is this album."

AVATAR enjoyed quite a productive summer, traipsing North America on a successful headline tour. They next embarked on some of the biggest shows of the career — a trek with IRON MAIDEN, supporting the band in stadiums in Brazil. AVATAR also played arenas supporting SABATON. They secured slots at major festivals globally — Inkcarceration, Summer Breeze and Bloodstock Open Air, among others.

Photo credit: Johan Carlèn