Israeli progressive metal outfit, Subterranean Masquerade, presents a special acoustic performance featuring music from their fourth LP, Mountain Fever, out now on Sensory Records.


Subterranean Masquerade released Mountain Fever through American prog powerhouse Sensory Records in May of 2021, the album boasting ten new songs which continue to push the balance between pioneering experimentalism to their own take on modern pop culture and its manifestation in the Middle East. With nearly an hour of engaging music, revealing an album composed of African and Balkan brass sections, Arabic violins, extended vocal techniques, and several special guest appearances, the band explores radio friendly hooks that emerge out of heavy riffs and polychromatic arrangements.


Mountain Fever was recorded in Golan Heights, Israel with engineer David Castillo, after which it was sent to Fascination Street in Örebro, Sweden (Leprous, Katatonia, Opeth) where it was mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren, then completed with artwork and layout by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight 13 Media. The record features several notable guest contributions, including drums from Matan Shmuely (Orphaned Land), bouzouki and lead guitars on "Mångata" by Idan Amsalem (Orphaned Land), and vocals on "Somewhere I Sadly Belong" by Melechesh Ashmedi (Melechesh) and Jackie Hole (The Super Things).




The new Metal Unplugged session was recorded at Jerusalem’s iconic Yellow Submarine venue and showcases Subterranean Masquerade performing three songs from Mountain Fever in an intimate, acoustic setting.


Vocalist Davidavi (Vidi) Dolev reveals, “We've created this special set in cooperation with Jerusalem's Yellow Submarine venue, which hosts Israel's biggest music showcases. We happily sold out all three premiere concerts in the holy land and now we want to share some of it with our audience all over the world. Winter's coming, it gets colder, so get cozy and enjoy selected tracks from our latest album Mountain Fever in an intimate form. My favorite one is 'The Stilnox Oratory,’ which we played live for the first time ever. Live dates for this seated show abroad are coming soon too; we're coming to get you.”





Subterranean Masquerade has officially signed with Berlin Based Booking Agency Laetitium Kunstler & Kulturmanagement for all German Speaking countries, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The company consists only of women, specialized in importing international bands into the German market. German festival dates for 2023 are coming soon.


Dolev writes, “It seems that after supporting Deep Purple last May, a lot of doors are finally being opened, and we were privilege to find the right booking agency for us in the German markets. We've seen all kind of contracts and I can honestly say Laetitium has made us feel safe and trustworthy by far more than any other agency. Things are already cooking, there is a sense of collaboration and lots of love in the air; it's only the beginning.”





Tracklisting:


“Snake Charmer”
“Diaspora, My Love”
“Mountain Fever”
“Inwards”
“Somewhere I Sadly Belong”
“The Stillnox Oratory”
“Ascend”
“Ya Shema Evyonecha”
“For The Leader, With Strings Music”
“Mångata”


"Somewhere I Sadly Belong":





“Ascend” video:

Japanese heavy metallers Risingfall have premiered the new track "Master Of The Metal". The song is the third to be revealed from the band's highly anticipated debut album, Rise Or Fall, set for international release on November 18th via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Risingfall's "Master of the Metal" in its entirety below.





Based in Tokyo, Japan’s Risingfall formed in 2014. From the beginning, the band’s foundation has been power-leaning heavy metal with an emphasis on vocal melodies. Stirred into their magickal cauldron are strong doses of NWOBHM, hard rock, and US power metal from the olden days.




Risingfall made their recorded debut in 2017 with the Prologue demo. That same year, the Tokyo Metal Fire live EP and “Far Britannia” were both released on Bandcamp. In 2018 came the Cry for the Steel EP, and a year the Arise From The Ashes (蘇る灰) EP. In 2020, at last would all these short-lengths be compiled onto CD format. And while a number of lineup changes occurred, but by 2019 did Risingfall finalize the lineup of founding guitarists Yoshiki and Kono, bassist Gyokusai Ishii, drummer Yuki, and erstwhile Military Shadow vocalist George Itoh. While performing live, work begins on the first Risingfall album.


At last, it is here, bearing the title Rise Or Fall, but it comes not without tragedy: while recording was completed in spring 2021, Yoshiki was hospitalized after suffering from a chronic illness; later, in February 2022, he passes away. Thus, Rise Or Fall is a tribute to this fiery six-stringer, and what a monument he leaves behind. Bristling with an energy that draws together the various likes of Saxon, Rainbow, Savage Grace, and especially Vicious Rumors and Michael Jackson-era Satan, Risingfall exude high drama and dazzling dynamics steeped in the rich tradition of hard rock and early heavy metal of the ‘70s bursting into the next decade with boundless possibilities. The scythe-sharp production makes Rise Or Fall feel tastefully modern, but the band’s highly refined set of influences all gel together into something timeless. Plus, the variety of songcraft across these eight tracks makes each one a stunner on its own while rendering Rise Or Fall an album-length experience: each one is undeniably Risingfall, but they truly can do it all.


Due to the wishes of Yoshiki and his family, Risingfall will continue to perform, and Oyatata from the thrash band Mud Tiger has joined as second guitarist. Rest in power, Yoshiki: Rise Or Fall will echo your metalized memory for time eternal!





Tracklist:


"Kamikaze"
"English Motor Biker"
"Dancing In The Fire"
"Rock Fantasy"
"Risingfall"
"Never Surrender"
"Arise In The Ashes"
"Master Of The Metal"


"Kamikaze"





"English Motor Biker"

Sorrow & The Spire is the self-titled debut EP from solo artist Navid Rashid, featuring six tracks of undeniable melodic hard rock, with song after song of passionate vocals, winning choruses, high energy guitar riffs, and lyrics that avoid cliche in favour of the thoughtful and catchy. Sorrow & The Spire will be released digitally via Crusader Records on November 4th. Pre-save your copy now at this location.


Navid's years of songwriting experience in various projects converge to create a collection of songs that seamlessly bring together elements of modern active rock and '80s hard rock anthems, and with huge and dynamic production by Steve Brown (Trixter, Def Leppard, Tokyo Motor Fist), Sorrow & The Spire delivers a focused vision that leaps out of the speakers and doesn't let go.







Tracklisting:


"My Misery Calling"
"Castles In The Air"
"In The City Tonight"
"One Million Reasons"
"I Still Believe"
"Under The Gun"


"My Misery Calling" video:





"Castles In The Air" video:





"In The City Tonight" video:





 

Saasta, based in Kotka, Finland bring down slabs of slow and steady blackened death/doom with their debut full length album, Crucial To None. Although not a concept album, the pit of despair that is their sound does share common themes, such as the inner struggles of a world gone mad and suffering through violence. The execution is extreme in a rugged, almost painful way, but the songs are as powerful as they are honest. 





Saasta was vomited forth from the depths when guitarist/vocalist Topias Jokipii (Sunken, Saattovaki, Of Spite) came together with long time collaborator, and drummer, Jimi Lahtinen. The band is rounded out by bassist Janne Hietanen (Solamnia, 2Wolves, Of Spite) and recently added vocalist Leevi Kärsämä, who will appear on later releases.




Watch a video for "The Rift" below, and stay tuned for further updates.





Lineup:


Topias Jokipii - Vocals, Guitar
Jimi Lahtinen - Drums
Janne Hietanen - Bass

Seen as one of Denmark’s biggest musical talents in recent years, Nicklas Sonne, best known as the lead singer, songwriter and producer for the progressive metal band Defecto, takes his listeners through big symphonic arrangements, equilibristic bombastic choruses, in a grand, yet traditional heavy metal style. Today he presents the single, "Spit Out Your Pride", from his upcoming debut solo album, Resonance.


“My past is still reverberating in my mind. Through depression, low self-esteem, bullying and torn families, I’ve always felt like I was balancing on a thin line over a burning abyss. Always barely clinging on to the desire to exist. This upcoming album takes the listener through a variety of these very moments and feelings I’ve never shared before”, Nicklas explains. "The track 'Spit Out Your Pride' is about when you’ve had enough of everyone’s bullshit, and you just want to bury yourself in the cold ground, if it means to be free from people’s negligence, ignorance, lack of empathy and general bad attitude”, he adds.


Also known to perform with groups such as Malrun, Theory and Hank Sherman, now this talented multi-instrumentalist and producer expresses himself on his own terms. On his new album Resonance, which will be releasing on November 11 through Prime Collective, we’ll see 10 tracks all written, arranged, produced, and recorded by himself. The project he dreamt of doing for many years, is finally ready!




The new single, "Spit Out Your Pride" is available on all streaming services. Watch the video below:

FOZZY's Chris Jericho has weighed in on the news that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Jericho discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in a new interview with Oran O'Beirne of Ireland's Overdrive. He said: "I think it's great. I'm amazing. I was very good friends with Vinnie and I think that, in retrospect, both Vinnie and Dime would be very happy about this. I think that a world with PANTERA music in it, is better than a world with no PANTERA music in it. I think they got the right guys to help out, with Charlie and Zakk, and when it comes to a whole generation of kids that never got to see those songs being performed live, this is their chance, and it's gonna be amazing.

"At the end of the day, it's about music and sharing the experience of great music amongst people," the wrestling superstar explained. "I don't believe that those songs should be locked away and not performed in a grand setting. It's time for everybody to experience some kind of connection with that music again, be it for the very first time or perhaps just one more time. Either way, it's gonna be amazing."

PANTERA will play its first shows in over 20 years in December 2022, starting with a co-headlining slot at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest and at Mexico's Monterrey Metal Fest, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America. There will also be a one-off show with JUDAS PRIEST in São Paulo, Brazil.

Confirmed PANTERA shows so far:

Dec. 02 - Toluca, Mexico - Hell & Heaven Metal Fest
Dec. 06 - Monterrey, Mexico – Monterrey Metal Fest
Dec. 09 - Bogotá, Colombia – Knotfest Colombia
Dec. 11 - Santiago, Chile – Knotfest Chile
Dec. 15 - São Paulo, Brazil – Vibra São Paulo (with JUDAS PRIEST)
Dec. 18 - São Paulo, Brazil – Knotfest Brazil

While he was alive, Vinnie Paul had repeatedly dismissed talks of a PANTERA reunion, telling Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: "People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."

He continued: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."

He repeated those same sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: "Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [PANTERA] reunion. And that's all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it's over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that's all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it's not, you know… It's selfish of the fans to want something that they can't have. And they don't ever understand that, and I get it. There's things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they're not gonna get it. So… Anyways, I'm glad that the people who have decided to follow me in HELLYEAH do, and hopefully more of them will. And the ones that wanna live in the past are gonna live in the past."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Philip to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag.

Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Haney told the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has weighed in on the news that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Ellefson discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in a new interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast". "Look, I just went and did KINGS OF THRASH," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET),referencing his project with fellow ex-MEGADETH members Jeff Young and Chris Poland. "We played early [MEGADETH] songs that people haven't heard in many years and may not ever hear again if someone like us doesn't go play 'em. People love 'em. They love 'em. There are some original members in the organization, so they love it.

"Look, there's no replacing Dime and Vinnie. I mean, on one level, PANTERA as PANTERA, with the brothers, that's set in stone, never to be replicated again. And can't.

"Charlie is one of the best in the business and a great dude," David continued. "He keeps his head down, keeps his mouth shut. He's a man on a mission. I can't say enough great about the guy. And I think Zakk — you could almost see it coming. There's no heir to the throne, if you will, for Dimebag, 'cause it's a throne uniquely his own, but if there was ever anyone who could go out and do that justice, it would be Zakk. And I think that's kind of a 'thumbs up' from everybody on that one.

"Look, people wanna hear the songs. At the end of the day, they wanna hear the songs. And the voice is still there. Rex, he's an original member, so… Why not? Try it. [Laughs]"

Ellefson also spoke in more general terms about bands sometimes reuniting or carrying on with only one or two original members

"I think as a fan, for me, I don't wanna just see a corporate cash grab," he said. "I wanna hear and feel it be authentic. I want to see it be authentic. 'Cause let's face it — people listen with their eyes too. I was using an example, CHEAP TRICK. When I go see CHEAP TRICK, I wanna see Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen. And for me, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos, that's no longer. But as much as you can, I wanna see some original guys up there. Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley of KISS]. To me, it's a good start. I wish all four of 'em were there, but the reality isn't that. I'm a fan too, so I probably have the same opinion as other people."

When Dimebag was murdered in 2004, Ellefson issued a statement in which he recalled that he first met the PANTERA guitarist in 1987 while in a Dallas, Texas "watering hole." He added: "Dime was a regional guitar hero who went under the name 'Diamond Darrell' and his band was making some big waves in Texas. That night Darrell raved to me about how MEGADETH's 'Peace Sells But Who's Buying' album forever changed his life. The next night PANTERA played a nearby club and they invited me on stage to jam 'Peace Sells' with them, which was kick-ass! They certainly knew their metal, alright. A bond was formed between me and the band which as the years passed was always like seeing good friends again. In fact, I remember calling Darrell years ago asking him if he would join MEGADETH as we were regrouping before 'Rust In Peace'. However, as cool of a musical fit as that might have been, there was no way anyone could split up the brotherly onslaught of him and Vinnie Paul, nor would you want to!

"Years later PANTERA played often with MEGADETH but I specifically remember a funny incident when we did a show together in Hamburg, Germany in the red light district known as the Reeperbahn. Dime's tour tradition was to get a tattoo in honor of his favorite bands he toured with. Right before the show, he walked into the club and showed us his brand new black-and-white tattoo on his lower leg of a black tooth grin. We were like, 'No fucking way, that's insane!' to which he replied, 'Yeah dad, Black Tooth Grin, just like in 'Sweating Bullets'.' Funny thing is I've seen other people get that same tattoo over the years, all in honor of Dime, and it always brings a grin to my face remembering how nuts he was to go out and get a tattoo in that part of town in our honor.

"In closing, Dime truly lived, breathed and played metal like no other guitar slinger out there."

PANTERA will play its first shows in over 20 years in December 2022, starting with a co-headlining slot at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest and Monterrey Metal Fest, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America. There will also be a one-off show with JUDAS PRIEST in São Paulo, Brazil.

Confirmed PANTERA shows so far:

Dec. 02 - Toluca, Mexico - Hell & Heaven Metal Fest
Dec. 06 - Monterrey, Mexico – Monterrey Metal Fest
Dec. 09 - Bogotá, Colombia – Knotfest Colombia
Dec. 11 - Santiago, Chile – Knotfest Chile
Dec. 15 - São Paulo, Brazil – Vibra São Paulo (with JUDAS PRIEST)
Dec. 18 - São Paulo, Brazil – Knotfest Brazil

Talk about a possible PANTERA "reunion" intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA's song "I'm Broken" during DOWN's 2014 stint on the "Revolver Golden Gods Tour". That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

PANTERA is managed by Scott McGhee of 1 Degree Music Entertainment. The band's legal representative is Nick Ferrara And Associates. PANTERA is booked internationally by Rod MacSween at ITB. Artist Group International will book PANTERA's North American dates, with Dennis Arfa and Peter Pappalardo as the responsible agents.

According to Variety, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars will no longer tour with the band, although he will continue as a member.

A statement from Mick's representative reads as follows: "Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band MÖTLEY CRÜE for the past 41 years, has announced today that due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.),he will no longer be able to tour with the band. Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road. A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine."

A replacement guitarist has not yet been named, although John 5 has been rumored to step in for Mars.

Back in 2013, CRÜE singer Vince Neil said that Mars's ongoing battle with Ankylosing spondylitis, a painful form of chronic arthritis that causes vertebrae in the spine to fuse together, as well as the band's desire to "go out on top" were the primary reasons for CRÜE's decision to call it quits after 2015. "It's just time," Neil said nearly a decade ago. "Mick's health is not that good, and touring is tough on him. I'm sure in five, 10 years' time, we'll probably do something together again, but it's not gonna be like a KISS farewell to the farewell to the farewell tour. We're not gonna be like that."

CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee echoed Vince's comments at the time, telling Canadian progressive-house music producer and performer Deadmau5 in a video: "Our guitar player, Mick, he has a spinal disease that's slowly fusing his vertebrae together. It's one of those things that's treatable, but not curable. So it's just progressively getting really worse and it's painful for him, so he doesn't wanna tour much longer. I can't say I blame him… The last thing we ever wanna do is go out running on two cylinders with some hired guy playing guitar; that's just wack. So we wanna go out with one big hurrah with the original guys and be done with it."

However, in an October 2013 tweet, Mars painted a different picture, claiming that his medical condition had never affected his playing. "Once again, any rumors regarding a farewell tour due to 'my poor health is BS," he wrote. "I am doing fine, my AS has never kept me from touring." He added: "Thank all of you for knowing the truth… When I'm done touring, you'll hear it from me."

The 71-year-old Mars has struggled with Ankylosing spondylitis since his late teens and spoke about his first experiences with it in CRÜE's 2001 biography "The Dirt".

"My hips started hurting so bad every time I turned my body that it felt like someone was igniting fireworks in my bones," he said. "I didn't have enough money to see a doctor, so I just kept hoping that I could do what I usually do: will it away, through the power of my mind. But it kept getting worse. Then, one afternoon while doing my laundry. I started having trouble breathing. At first, it felt like someone had plunged a knife into my back. But as the weeks passed, the pain kept moving around my back. Next, my stomach started burning, and I worried that my whole body was about to fall apart. I thought that there was a hole in my stomach, and acids were leaking out and destroying my bones and organs. I'd grab hold of doorknobs, anchor my legs into the ground, and pull with my hands to stretch my back and ease the pressure out."

Mick told Metal Sludge in 2008 that his condition had worsened in the later decades and that he stopped playing guitar for almost two years. "Nowadays, it's not so bad, but back then when I was high on all that stuff and MÖTLEY were having a break, I knew if I didn't stop, I was gonna die. In the end, I had to go to a neuro-psychiatrist to straighten me up, and he said to me, 'Just hold the guitar for an hour a day — don't play it, just hold it.' It was pretty bizarre but I got through it, and in the end, I think I'm actually a better player because of it."

Speculation about John 5's involvement with CRÜE gained strength after the longtime ROB ZOMBIE guitarist failed to appear with the shock rocker at this year's Aftershock festival in Sacramento. Rob was instead joined on stage by returning guitarist Mike Riggs for the first time since 2006.

John 5 has reportedly already dismissed the rumor of him touring with CRÜE. After a fan commented on an old photo of Mars and John 5 on the latter's Instagram, and asked whether the 52-year-old guitarist was indeed joining CRÜE on the road, John 5 replied in a since-deleted comment: "No, just a rumor."

John 5 spoke about his close friendship with MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx in a 2019 interview with Outburn. At the time he said: "Nikki, he's my best friend. We love each other. He has inspired me and taught me so much about life in general. He's a phenomenal songwriter, lyricist, author, everything. He's always telling me to listen to this audio book or see this movie. He has a happy marriage, a happy life, a successful band he started from the ground up. He's one of the most inspiring people. He'll text me all the time to read something or try something. It's wonderful. He's a phenomenal photographer as well. I remember him telling me that he’s going to take bass lessons again and get into playing with his fingers. He was so dedicated. We worked on 'The Dirt' soundtrack together. When we went into the studio, he did it all with his fingers. [MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] Tommy Lee was like, 'Look at you.' He's just such a dedicated person. I loved ['The Dirt'] movie; it was killer."

Last week, it was announced that MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD will go global in 2023 with their co-headline "The World Tour". Produced by Live Nation, the trek will kick off on February 18, 2023 at Foro Sol in Mexico City and include stops throughout Latin America before heading to Europe in May 2023.

Re-charged Orange County, CA-based metal mavens, Leatherwolf, have released a video for the title track of their forthcoming new studio album, Kill The Hunted, set for release November 11 via N.I.L.8 and Rock Of Angels in North America and Europe, respectively, November 14 through Hellion Records in South America, and November 17 on Rubicon Music in Japan. The video can be viewed below.


Showcasing the band's innate ability to create hard driving anthemic metal, "Kill The Hunted" was conceived in 2008 by drummer/producer, Dean Roberts, but not revisited and completed until some ten years later after the band fractured in the wake of a short European tour.


"I starting writing the lyrics in 2018, prompted by what led to the split with our old singer. So the song is very personal to me but it could apply to anybody in a simliar situation," reflects Roberts. "The lyrics are really about self-discovery - discovery about all the negative stuff that was around me. And that I had to do something about it and make a change. The second verse, "I can feel the darkness that surrounds me / killing everything that I create / wasteland's rule by death and the forsaken / bind and tie the blood that runs within" speaks to those feelings. In the final verse, the song conveys a more positive, self-empowering tone though. I gotta give props to Rob (Math) and Keith (Adamiak) who helped finish the song in the studio and helped me telling that story to myself. It really made me realize that I needed to move on."




Kill The Hunted, which was mixed by legendary producer/engineer, Randy Burns (Megadeth, Kreator, Helstar) and mastered by Tom Baker (Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Pantera), introduces powerful new vocalist, Keith Adamiak, alongside long-time guitarist, Rob Math, young shredder Luke Man who first joined the fold in 2017 as a touring member, founding member, Dean Roberts, veteran bassist, Barry Sparks (MSG, Dokken, Yngwie Malmsteen), and guitarist/keyboardist, Wayne Findlay (MSG, Slavior, Vinnie Moore), to complete the vaunted Triple Axe Attack. The current live lineup, which had its baptism of fire earlier this year at the M3 Festival, also features bassist Brice Snyder, on loan from OC thrashers Art of Shock.


The "Kill The Hunted" single is now available on all major digital platforms.





Kill The Hunted will be released on November 11 in Europe (N.I.L.8 Records in conjunction with Rock of Angels Records/Soulfood Music) and North America (N.I.L.8 Records), November 14 in South America (Hellion Records) and November 17 in Japan (Rubicon Music). It’s available for pre-order now as a limited CD & T-Shirt bundle through Rock of Angels in Europe and Indie Merch in North America.


Pre-order now in North America, Europe.





Tracklisting:


"Hit The Dirt"
"Nobody"
"Kill The Hunted"
"Only The Wicked"
"Madhouse"
"Medusa"
"The Henchman"
"(Evil) Empires Fall"
"Road Rage"
"Lights Out Again"
"Enslaved"


"The Henchman" lyric video:





"Hit The Dirt" lyric video:





Album lineup:


Keith Adamiak - lead vocals
Rob Math - guitars
Luke Man - guitars
Wayne Findlay - guitars, keys (MSG, MS' Temple of Rock, Slavior, Vinnie Moore)
Dean Roberts - drums
Barry Sparks - bass (MSG, Dokken, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ted Nugent)


Special Guest: Joel Hoekstra - guitar (Whitesnake, TSO)


(Photo - Adam Grim)

Former SLAYER and current TESTAMENT drummer Dave Lombardo has weighed in on the news that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Lombardo discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in a new interview with Consequence. He said: "I'm happy that they're doing what they want to do. The vocalist and the bass player want to get the band together, I think that's great. I have absolutely no opinion on it, nothing against what they're doing. Charlie is an amazing addition to the reunion, as well as Zakk Wylde. I think it's great all the way around."

PANTERA will play its first shows in over 20 years in December 2022, starting with a co-headlining slot at Mexico's Hell & Heaven Metal Fest and Monterrey Metal Fest, followed by appearances at three Knotfest festivals in South America. There will also be a one-off show with JUDAS PRIEST in São Paulo, Brazil.

Confirmed PANTERA shows so far:

Dec. 02 - Toluca, Mexico - Hell & Heaven Metal Fest
Dec. 06 - Monterrey, Mexico – Monterrey Metal Fest
Dec. 09 - Bogotá, Colombia – Knotfest Colombia
Dec. 11 - Santiago, Chile – Knotfest Chile
Dec. 15 - São Paulo, Brazil – Vibra São Paulo (with JUDAS PRIEST)
Dec. 18 - São Paulo, Brazil – Knotfest Brazil

Talk about a possible PANTERA "reunion" intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA's song "I'm Broken" during DOWN's 2014 stint on the "Revolver Golden Gods Tour". That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

PANTERA is managed by Scott McGhee of 1 Degree Music Entertainment. The band's legal representative is Nick Ferrara And Associates. PANTERA is booked internationally by Rod MacSween at ITB. Artist Group International will book PANTERA's North American dates, with Dennis Arfa and Peter Pappalardo as the responsible agents.

During an appearance earlier today (Tuesday, October 25) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm was once again asked what he thinks of the band's current frontman, Kelly Hansen, who has been in the group for nearly two decades. "I think he's a good singer," Lou said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And he sings those songs okay; he sings them good. But he mimics my style right down to the ad-libs, and I'm offended by that… I just think that if he's gonna sing the songs, he could sing the melodies that are familiar, but when it comes to the ad-libs and all the little things that set me aside as a vocalist when I sing them, he should make his own up. He should have his own ad-libs that are his own; he doesn't have to mimic me."

Gramm's latest comments echo those he made a little over two months ago when he told John Beaudin of RockHistoryMusic.com about Hansen: "Kelly is all right. He's a good singer. But I think Mick [Jones, FOREIGNER's founding guitarist and leader] really told Kelly, when he first got in the band, that he had to study me, because he sings those songs with the same musical innuendos and vocal licks and ad-libs as I have. He's mimicking me. His voice doesn't sound like me, but he's singing the songs the way I would sing them.

"Some people say, 'Well, take it as a compliment, Lou.' I don't take it as a compliment," Gramm continued. "You're a singer with a big band like that — use your voice and your style. Don't hang your coat on my hook.

"I don't think he should sing the songs verbatim like me," Lou added. "Maybe sing a couple of parts. But let his own influences show — show the fans that he's the new singer now, not me."

Asked what it was like to share the stage with Hansen and other members of the current and original FOREIGNER lineup in 2017 and 2018 to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, Lou told RockHistoryMusic.com: "It was okay. [Kelly] was bouncing off the walls. He couldn't stand still or sit still. After a song ended, I couldn't even get a word to thank the audience or tell 'em that I was happy to be part of the reunion. At the end of the song, the last song hit, and there wasn't a quarter of a second of space before he was yapping away to the audience… It was, like, 'Jeez, will you quiet down for a minute?'"

Pressed about whether it is "over now" for him and FOREIGNER, Lou said: "I think so, yeah. I don't wanna be a part of it. Well, Ian [McDonald, guitar] has passed away and Ed Gagliardi [bass] passed away, even though he wasn't part of the reunions. Two original members of the six are now gone. And Mick is in very poor health. I think when the new FOREIGNER plays, I've heard that he comes on for one song and then waves and goes offstage. [In the recent past] he would play the whole last half of the set. But then he was in the hospital again for weeks. He had some heart problems and his recovery time was very long and tedious. And I heard that he comes out for one song now — when he comes on. Most of the time FOREIGNER has no original FOREIGNER members in it."

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

The 72-year-old Gramm left FOREIGNER for good in 2002 and has battled health issues in recent years, including the removal of a non-cancerous tumor. He told the Democrat & Chronicle in 2018 that he was planning to retire, but still reunited with FOREIGNER for several shows that year.

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Hansen in 2005. Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012.

Gramm and Jones's June 2013 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Juke Box Hero" at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City marked the first time the pair performed together in a decade after Gramm left FOREIGNER for a second time. Hansen has fronted the group for the past 17 years.

Photo credit: Karsten Staiger

According to Potomac Local News, POISON frontman Bret Michaels played an unannounced set in Virginia this past Saturday (October 22). Bret's performance took place at the Sinistral Brewing Company in Manassas, where Pete Evick, the guitarist of Michaels's solo group, was scheduled to play.

Bret was traveling with Pete, founder of Manassas-based Shining Sol Candle Company, to work on some music projects in Manassas and asked if he could join him for a few songs during his set. Manassas is also home to a few other members of Bret's solo band — Norman Voss, Becci Clark and Kara Davis.

Michaels played a couple of classic POISON songs, including "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Nothing But A Good Time". He also posed for photos with fans.

POISON's long-delayed North American trek with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022. "The Stadium Tour" concluded on September 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bret revealed that POISON fans may have to wait until 2025 to see the band perform again after "The Stadium Tour". Asked by host Eddie Trunk to elaborate on his touring plans for the foreseeable future, Bret said: "For me, next year, I put it off this year, because we didn't know this year… With everything going on in the world, we didn't know if 'The Stadium Tour' was gonna go [ahead in 2022]. I prayed every day — I'm, like, 'I hope this goes. I've been waiting since '20.' First words out of my mouth besides thanking the fans and the bands and the crew, I go, 'I've been waiting two, almost three years for this' [since] we announced 'The Stadium Tour'. But for me, this year we were gonna do the 'Parti-Gras' tour. I put together something incredible, and now we're gonna launch that in '23. And when I tell you what this is and the way we've designed it with everybody, it's an incredible amphitheater tour that's just gonna be — I think it's gonna be insane and gonna be the 'all thriller, no filler' summer party. And you'll know what I mean when it hits the stage. It's really an exciting idea."

Asked if the "Parti-Gras" tour would include his own band or POISON, Bret said: "This would be my own band, in '23. I'm just saying '25 is probably when POISON will put a humongous world tour together and go back out and be incredible. And it'll be awesome. My 'Parti-Gras', this entire amphitheater thing we're doing and festival, as soon as we knew we were doing 'The Stadium Tour', we moved that to '23 and we got to do 'The Stadium Tour', which is incredible."

Regarding which other artists will take part in the "Parti-Gras" tour, Bret said: "We [already] know [who it is]; we just don't wanna say it yet. When you see the concept I wrote up… Like I said, it's all-thriller, no-filler, all-original-singer, nothing but hits that just is gonna roll. Truly when I use the words 'nothing but a good vibe' or 'nothing but a good time', it is gonna be that kind of night. And we're only pick select dates in all the amphitheaters, Live Nation amphitheaters, and then take it out to the festivals and everything along with it."

In 2018, POISON completed the "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour with CHEAP TRICK and POP EVIL.

POISON's last album of new material was 2002's "Hollyweird". An album of covers, "Poison'd", followed in 2007.

Tama Drums Germany has shared a new playthrough video featuring Dimmu Borgir's Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski performing the band's song, "Kings Of The Carnival Creation". Check it out below.


The song is taken from the band's 2001 album, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia.







Dimmu Borgir released the groundbreaking Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia album in 2001. The band celebrated this seminal album back in September by releasing a remixed and remastered version of "Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy". Stream the track here and below, and order Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (Remixed & Remastered) here.





Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (Remixed & Remastered) is available as a 3 LP Box, CD Digipak and digital. Dust Of Cold Memories includes extensive bonus material, which includes the pre-production of Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and instrumental rehearsals.


- 3LP Box
* Black
* Red
* Gold (Sold Out)
- CD Digipak





Tracklisting:


Side A
"Fear And Wonder" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Kings Of The Carnival Creation" (Remixed & Remastered)


Side B
"Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Architecture Of A Genocidal Nature" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Puritania" (Remixed & Remastered)


Side C
"IndoctriNation" (Remixed & Remastered)
"The Maelstrom Mephisto" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Absolute Sole Right" (Remixed & Remastered)


Side D
"Sympozium" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Perfection Or Vanity" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Burn In Hell" (Remixed & Remastered)
"Devil's Path" (Remixed & Remastered)


Side E
"Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy"
"Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny"
"IndoctriNation"
"Architecture Of A Genocidal Nature"
"Absolute Sole Right"


Side F
"Fear And Wonder"
"Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny"
"Kings Of The Carnival Creation"
"Puritania"
"The Maelstrom Mephisto"
"Sympozium"


"Hybrid Stigmata - The Apostasy":





"Puritania":





"Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny":

Spiritworld has revealed another new track with “Relic Of Damnation”, taken from their upcoming 2nd studio album, DeathWestern, set for release via Century Media Records on  November 25.





The single comes accompanied by the final part of a video trilogy directed by Todd Hailstone.  Hailstone crafted the story's two previous videos, for both the album's title track “DeathWestern” and '”he Bringer Of Light” (from Pagan Rhythms 2021, the first part of the story).  He now completes his apocalyptic vision of a deathwestern world with a compelling finale, fitting the seasonal mood for Halloween! 




In August, the Las Vegas band revealed yet another new track, “Moonlit Torture”, featuring a guest slot from Dwid Hellion of Integrity. 


Stu Folsom (Spiritworld's leader and mastermind) comments:


"'Relic Of Damnation’ has been my favourite riff on the record but was the biggest m'fer to finish.  I knew I had a classic that brings back that Metallica, Slayer vibe I love so much, but I never liked the vocals and tried out three or four different rewrites after the demo. The very last night we worked on it, Theresa, Matt and I were fried and about to call it a night when I repurposed a verse from a country song I was writing and put it over the first verse. The vocals were done in one take and is my favorite vocal delivery on the album.  I also love the vocals that trade off at the end between Justin Fornof and I.  'Relic...' is a banger and has been a staple of our live set since our first show!  I'm so excited for people to finally have the studio recording! 


“The video is the finale of our DeathWestern trilogy with director Todd Hailstone. Being able to work with my longtime friend, going all the way back to being high school punk rockers, has been incredible.  He took my vision of gunsmoke, gore and heavy metal and worked up three incredible videos. It was probably a little ambitious to do a film trilogy that spreads across two albums, but I think the performances Todd got from Derek and Voki to finish this bad boy off were amazing!”





The album is available in the following formats:


-Ltd. CD Edition
-Black LP (w/ LP-Booklet & Poster)
          Available at all outlets
-Red LP (w/ LP-Booklet & Poster) - 300 only
          Available at Century Media EU Store
-Yellow LP (w/ LP-Booklet & Poster) - 300 only
          Available via SpiritWorld (band exclusive)
-Transparent tan color LP (w/ LP-Booklet & Poster) - 500 only
          Available at all outlets
-Transparent orange crush LP (w/ LP-Booklet & Poster) - 300 only
          Available at Century Media US Store


The restless Stu Folsom has also announced the release of his book Godlessness, which will also be released on November 25. 


The book is a collection of short stories, inspired in equal parts by the western pulp of Louis L’Amour, the novels of Cormac McCarthy, and the twisted horror of Clive Barker, Godlessness is the fictional companion piece of Spiritworld’s debut Pagan Rhythms (2021) and upcoming follow up, DeathWestern (2022).


Dedicated to the memory of, and edited in part by, Power Trip’s Riley Gale, who died unexpectedly in 2020, Godlessness was initially released as a limited-edition paperback.  The book will be available to pre-order through Rare Bird Lit who also have collectable formats.

On Friday, October 21, the new album Dread The Dawn from doom/stoners Cassius King is in stores. 


The band, featuring well known Dan Lorenzo (ex-Hades, Non Fiction, Patriarchs In Black), exceptional singer Jason McMaster (Watchtower, Dangerous Toys), who is currently filling in for Mark Tornillo on some dates of the Accept US-your, Ron Lipnicki (ex-Overkill, Hades) and Jimmy Schulman (Hades/Dreams of Venus), offers an emotional rollercoaster ride of poignant, catchy melodies on these ten songs, highlighted by the distinctive vocals of Jason McMaster, which give the overall sound an authentic depth.


Check out video for album opener “Abandon Paradise” below:







The album will be released on MDD Records (USA: Nomad Eel Records) and available as CD in stores. Order at mdd-shop.de .

Philadelphia hardcore punk legends, R.A.M.B.O., return with Defy Extinction, out November 4 via Relapse. Defy Extinction is R.A.M.B.O.’s first full-length album since 2006. Third single, "New World Vultures" is streaming below.


R.A.M.B.O. vocalist Tony Croasdale: "R.A.M.B.O. is stoked to announce that our new album will be released, excuse me, UNLEASHED, on Relapse records on Nov 4th. With a local connection and global reach, Relapse makes perfect sense R.A.M.B.O.. We have known folks at Relapse for a long time, starting when Bull and Tony put on Brutal Truth shows in West Philly warehouses 25 years ago and it continues with our friends on staff and in active bands in the label now. Defy Extinction is a love letter to people and wildlife. The beauty of humanity and nature is worth fighting for."


Physical Defy Extinction LP/CD/CS pre-orders are available via relapse.com. Digital Downloads/Streaming/Pre-Save available at orcd.co.




To say that R.A.M.B.O. occupies a singular space in punk history is an understatement. During their initial run from 1999 to 2007 the Philadelphia band took influences from thrash, anarcho-punk, d-beat, crust, and hardcore and combined that with intelligent but very fun – and at times downright ridiculous – lyrics to create what was very much a DIY powerhouse. In those eight years they released two albums, 7" splits with Crucial Unit and Caustic Christ, and played thousands of gigs across the country and across the world. They might have gone out at the top of their game but now, 15 years later, R.A.M.B.O. is back with their aptly titled new album, Defy Extinction.





Tracklisting:


“River Of Birds”
“Who Let The Sheepdogs Out?”
“Authorities > Authority”
“The End Is Nye”
“Imperialist Pigs In Space”
“Cattle Tyrant”
“Q: And Children A: Real Children”
“Love And Science 1”
“Judas Goat”
“Defy Extinction”
“Outlive The Bastard”
“Ch@d”
“Blizzard Brigade”
“Love And Science 2”
“New World Vultures”
“Biomass”
“YouTube Disaster”


"New World Vultures":





“The End Is Nye” video:





“Defy Extinction” video:

In a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton was asked if he and bassist Eddie Jackson, who are the sole remaining original members of the band, have ever thought about calling it quits after all the lineup changes and moving on to other projects. He responded: "We've been doing this so long, Eddie and I — it's, like, 40 years now or something. But it's more that QUEENSRŸCHE is the entity, and we're just the moving parts in it. The QUEENSRŸCHE entity is bigger than any one individual; it's the combination of all the individuals. And you just want the best possible outcome of the bandmembers that we have.

"Over the years, people change; they wanna go in different directions and do different things in their lives, and that's all part of it. That's kind of all the behind-the-music business stuff that we have to deal with. It's more about just having the strongest version that you can to produce what you're doing."

QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Digital Noise Alliance", was released on October 7 via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE last year, contributed guitar solos to the band's new studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past five and a half years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for QUEENSRŸCHE's original drummer Scott Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit.

QUEENSRŸCHE kicked off its fall 2022 U.S. tour as the support act for JUDAS PRIEST on October 13 at Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Reformed Danish metal legends MERCYFUL FATE kicked off their first North American headlining tour in over two decades last night (Tuesday, October 25) at The Factory in Dallas, Texas.

Stepping in on bass for MERCYFUL FATE at these shows is Becky Baldwin, a British musician who has previously played with FURY, TRIAXIS and CONTROL THE STORM. She is filling in for MERCYFUL FATE's regular bassist Joey Vera, who is unable to make the trek due to a scheduling conflict with his longtime band ARMORED SAINT.

In 2019, it was announced Vera would be replacing original MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen for the band's summer 2020 European festival appearances due to Hansen's cancer diagnosis. Hansen passed away in November 2019 and MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 summer festival appearances were rescheduled for 2021, and then to 2022.

MERCYFUL FATE's North American tour, which features support from by KREATOR and MIDNIGHT, will weave its way through 13 more cities, closing on November 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour follows MERCYFUL FATE's stunning headlining performance at this year's edition of Psycho Las Vegas.

Remaining MERCYFUL FATE tour dates with KREATOR and MIDNIGHT:

Oct. 27 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
Oct. 29 - Inglewood, CA - Youtube Theater
Oct. 30 - Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live Sacramento
Nov. 01 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
Nov. 03 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
Nov. 04 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J. Brady Music Center
Nov. 05 - Detroit, MI - Masonic
Nov. 08 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
Nov. 10 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theater
Nov. 11 - Laval, QC - Place Bell
Nov. 13 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall At Fenway
Nov. 14 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia
Nov. 16 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle

MERCYFUL FATE is currently working on a new album and recently gave fans a taste of the new material when they debuted a song called "The Jackal Of Salzburg" in Germany this past June as well as at Psycho Las Vegas. The band's current lineup is King Diamond on vocals, Hank Shermann and Mike Wead on guitars, Bjarne T. Holm on drums and Vera on bass.

MERCYFUL FATE was formed in early 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. They were later joined by guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen, and soon thereafter drummer Kim Ruzz would join to complete the band lineup. The band recorded two demos in 1981 and later signed with Rave On Records in Holland for the recording of their successful self-titled EP, released in November of 1982. The "Mercyful Fate" EP was soon in heavy rotation around core metal radio stations, launching a new breed of heavy metal with their unique sound.

The band joined Roadrunner Records in 1983 and their debut full-length, "Melissa", was recorded and released that same year. The following year, MERCYFUL FATE returned to the studio to record their now legendary "Don't Break The Oath" full-length, released in September of 1984.

MERCYFUL FATE embarked upon a two-month U.S. tour in support of the record, which took them across the States several times sharing the stage with the likes of MOTÖRHEAD and EXCITER. The shows had created a brush fire within the metal community. The band reaped recognition globally, closing the year with a five-date tour in Germany with MOTÖRHEAD, GIRLSCHOOL, HELIX and TALON.

MERCYFUL FATE's first concert of 1985 was in their hometown of Copenhagen at an old movie theater with a large capacity. The show sold out and their stage show exhibited a new level of distinction. The night was a huge victory and a new highlight for the band. By April of 1985, however, MERCYFUL FATE decided to part ways for each to pursue new challenges. The KING DIAMOND band was born and reaped critical acclaim the following years with five studio albums on Roadrunner Records. KING DIAMOND has since signed with Metal Blade Records and is going stronger than ever before.

In the summer of 1992, MERCYFUL FATE decided to reunite and penned a new deal with Brian Slagel and his label, Metal Blade Records. "In The Shadows" was released in 1993 and was an instant triumph furthered by a sold-out U.S. tour.

MERCYFUL FATE has gone on to release another five studio albums and have toured Europe, the U.S. and South America multiple times. The highlight of 1999 was their critically acclaimed album "9" which was followed by a European tour with METALLICA, where King Diamond and Hank Shermann joined the band onstage several times for the medley "Mercyful Fate" which METALLICA had recorded on their "Garage Inc." double tribute album the year prior. Tours in the U.S. and in South America followed, marking the band's last live performances for over a decade. MERCYFUL FATE then went on hiatus, but made a brief appearance when members joined METALLICA onstage in 2011 for their 30th-anniversary show in San Francisco, California.

In a new interview with Greg Prato of Guitar World, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan was asked if there are any plans for him and his bandmates to work on the follow-up to 2018's "No Cross No Crown" album. He responded: "Yes. We're doing this next [U.S.] tour [in November], and then we're going to start putting the pieces together and get our heads in 'studio land', and just focus on that."

As for whether the next CORROSION OF CONFORMITY LP will be released in 2023, Pepper said: "Maybe. We take our time doing these things. The Covid thing put everything in a kibosh and we lost a lot of time and energy.

"The way C.O.C. does it, if it ain't right, it's wrong," he explained. "We put our energy into it and try to create something that is up to our standards and try to push things as hard as we can in our world."

Keenan went on to say that he still loves "No Cross No Crown". "It was a really fun experience to do and the last thing we did with Reed [Mullin, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's late drummer], unfortunately. So, it holds a special place in my heart. We're very happy with it."

Mullin died in January 2020 at the age of 53. The drummer, who co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside guitarist Woody Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean, had missed a number of shows in the preceding four years due to a variety of health issues, including an alcohol-related seizure he suffered back in June 2016.

Asked how Reed's passing affected him and the rest of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, Pepper told Guitar World: "We lost our left arm. It was very hard to find a drummer. We have John Green, who is fantastic, but you just can't replace people like that. Other people have gone through it, too — but it's not easy. You spend decades with a person writing, and you don't even have to look at them; it just comes out. This was the first time we had to regroup in a long time and try to do it with a different drummer. We've got that figured out, so now we're getting ready to focus on that."

In 2014, after nearly a straight decade traversing the globe as a guitarist with New Orleans supergroup DOWN, Pepper reconnected with the core CORROSION OF CONFORMITY trio of Weatherman, Dean and Mullin to hit the road hard. "Reed called me and mentioned maybe playing a couple shows," Keenan recalled back in 2017. "I said, 'Let's just go to Europe and see if it works.' So we went to Europe and then ended up going back four times in one year... We toured for a year and then started tracking."

Recording in North Carolina with longtime producer John Custer, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY cut "No Cross No Crown" in about forty days over the course of a year. "We took our time and didn't put any pressure on ourselves," Keenan said. "I'd go up from New Orleans and we'd do four or five days at a time, just hacking away at it. It was fun because we did it like a demo, but in a studio. We were writing and putting it on tape at the same time. We took what parts we thought were great from the old days and weren't scared to go backwards. It kinda wrote itself that way."

The album's title came from a tour stop in England. "We were playing this old church from like the 1500s that had been turned into a performing arts center," Keenan recalled. "The dressing room had stained glass windows and one of them showed this poor fella being persecuted. Underneath it said, 'no cross no crown.' So I just took that idea. We're not trying to be on a soapbox, but we used it as a catalyst to write songs around."

RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson took part in the Medlock-Krieger all-star benefit show this past Monday, October 24 at Bogie's at the Westlake Village Inn in Westlake Village, California. The exclusive golf classic and concert benefited The Medlock-Krieger Foundation and was held in memory of Scott Medlock, who passed away in 2021.

Video of Lifeson and former THE DOORS guitarist Robby Krieger performing SANTANA's "Evil Ways" with vocalist Andy Vargas at this year's Medlock-Krieger benefit show can be seen below.

In 2007, Medlock, a renowned sports artist, and Krieger started a charity golf tournament. After raising money for the Tillman Foundation during the first three years, Medlock and Krieger made St. Jude Children's Hospital the main beneficiary after Medlock was paired with St. Jude CEO Richard Shadyac at another golf tournament.

Lifeson made his mark on the music industry over 50 years ago, redefining the boundaries of progressive rock guitar. His signature riffing, copious use of effects processing and unorthodox chord structures befitted him the title by his RUSH bandmates as "The Musical Scientist." While the bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with RUSH, he has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as a guitarist, producer and with the release of his 1996 solo album "Victor", a solo artist. Lifeson ranks third overall in the Guitar World readers' poll of "100 Greatest Guitarists" and is also included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time."

TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider was a surprise guest on the Canadian TV show "En Direct De L'Univers" this past weekend. Dee performed the TWISTED SISTER classics "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" in honor of French-Canadian pop singer Isabelle Boulay, who counts Snider as her favorite vocalist.

On Monday (October 24),Dee took to his Twitter to write: "So I was a surprise guest on a French Canadian TV show called 'En direct de l'univers' last night that honored a major French speaking recording artist Isabelle Boulay. Though her musical style is nothing like mine it turns out I am her favorite singer!"

The top-rated "En Direct De L'Univers" welcomes personalities from all walks of life who see the songs that have marked their lives performed by their favorite artists.

Described by many as "much-watch Saturday night television", "En Direct De L'Univers" is notable for the way it showcases music and creators, as well as the authenticity it conveys through the magic of live performance.

"We're Not Gonna Take It" and "Stay Hungry" were the biggest hit single and album, respectively, in TWISTED SISTER's career.

"We're Not Gonna Take It" has been used in commercials for hotel chain Extended Stay America, Claritin, Walmart, Stanley Steamer and Yaz birth control.

The song's lyrics say in part "Oh you're so condescending/Your gall is never ending/We don't want nothin'/Not a thing from you."

"We're Not Gonna Take It" was first released as a single (with B-side song "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll") on April 27, 1984. The "Stay Hungry" album was released two weeks later, on May 10, 1984. The single made No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it TWISTED SISTER's only Top 40 single, and the song was ranked No. 47 on VH1's "100 Greatest '80s Songs".

"We're Not Gonna Take It" was written solely by Snider. As influences for the song, he previously cited the glam rock band SLADE, the punk band SEX PISTOLS, and the Christmas carol "O Come, All Ye Faithful".

TWISTED SISTER called it quits in 2016 after completing a farewell 40th-anniversary tour. The band's last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of TWISTED's longtime drummer A.J. Pero.

Dee Snider du groupe « Twisted Sister » surprend Isabelle Boulay | En direct de l'univers sur ICI Télé

Connaissiez-vous la passion d'Isabelle Boulay | Officiel pour le Heavy metal? Dee Snider des Twisted Sister est venu la surprendre avec son succès « We’re Not Gonna Take It » ! 🎸🤘

Posted by En direct de l'univers on Saturday, October 22, 2022

Dee Snider et Isabelle Boulay

Posted by En direct de l'univers on Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Dee Snider et Isabelle Boulay

Posted by En direct de l'univers on Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Posted by En direct de l'univers on Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Swedish melancholic metallers KATATONIA will release a new studio album, "Sky Void of Stars", on January 20, 2023 via Napalm Records.

Founded in 1991, KATATONIA has continually embraced the dark and the light alike and, living through genre evolutions beyond compare, ripened its own particular form of expression. From doom and death metal to soul-gripping post rock, they've explored endless spheres of the genre, accumulating only the very best aspects. After signing with Napalm Records, the entity around founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström is ready to showcase its brilliance and illuminate the void in the scene once more with "Sky Void Of Stars".

With the first single "Atrium", KATATONIA hits with highly energetic atmosphere, holding a gloomy ambience with epic sounds and poetic lyrics to get lost in. The heartfelt piece of sound goes in line with a gripping music video, underlining the exceptional atmosphere the five-piece is creating with every single note. "Atrium" is now available via all digital service providers worldwide.

KATATONIA comments on "Sky Void Of Stars": "Our 12th album, 'Sky Void Of Stars' is a dynamic journey through vibrant darkness. Born out of yearning for what was lost and not found, the very peripheries of the unreachable, but composed and condensed into human form and presented as sounds and words true to the KATATONIA signum. No stars here, just violent rain."

Emerging from the gloom, KATATONIA is a beacon of light — breathing their unique, never stagnant, atmospheric sound through this new 11-track offering, all written and composed by vocalist Jonas Renkse. Album opener "Austerity" provides a courting introduction to the album. Crashing through the dark, it convinces with memorable, mind-bending rhythms as it shifts with elaborate guitar riffs that perfectly showcase the musical expertise and experience of the band. Topped off by the dark, conjuring voice of Renkse and mesmerizing lyricism, the gloomy mood for the album is set. Songs like down-tempo "Opaline" and moody "Drab Moon" fully embrace their melancholic sound while fragile "Impermanence" is accented by the original doom metal roots of KATATONIA. Like a dark star, these pieces relume the dreariness, creating an ambient auditory experience with memorable hooks while still inducing the crashing sounds of hard guitar riffs and pounding drums. The experimental mastery of the quintet and their atmospheric approach is purely vivid, making this album a thrilling sensation. With "Birds", the artists show off their explosive potential with a quick and energetic sound, proving their genre-defying style.

"Sky Void Of Stars" track listing:

01. Austerity
02. Colossal Shade
03. Opaline
04. Birds
05. Drab Moon
06. Author
07. Impermanence (feat. Joel Ekelöf)
08. Sclera
09. Atrium
10. No Beacon To Illuminate Our Fall
11. Absconder (bonus track)

Photo credit: Mathias Blom

Vis Mystica will release a Jedi-themed power metal EP, Celestial Wisdom, in December.


Vis Mystica comes from the mind of Pennsylvania’s Connor McCray, who is a massive fan of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its various lore. So far, all of his lyrics have been his retelling of the Dawn of the Jedi comics from Dark Horse Comics. It’s been a long time coming and now he is ready to unleash the debut EP “Celestial Wisdom” upon the galaxy on December 2nd, 2022 via Dark Star Records. The EP is produced by Chad Anderson (Helion Prime) and so far, three singles have been released to tantalize listeners far and wide.


“Whispering Winds Of Fate” ft. Jonas Heidgert (Dragonland) is the intro song and the shortest song on the EP. It serves as a guide to the main world in which the story takes place - Tython. This song describes the sentient world calling out telepathically to beings spread throughout the galaxy to board ships and come bask in the planet’s knowledge and secrets.




“The Plains Of Silence” takes us back to Tython to the Silent Desert, where all sound is nullified and students can meditate on the power of the world. This was the first song written for the EP and definitely has a much more “happy” feel than many of the other songs McCray has written.


“Lux Et Veritas” is another kind of “happy” song but the lyrics tell a completely different story. This song is based on the prisoner Daegen Lok, who was exiled for prophesying a coming war between the Rakatans and the people of Tython.


“We are trying to provide fans with escapism from everyday life and transportation into a fantastical world of magical powers and epic stories. We expect the EP to be received very well; while we take great influence from other bands we are quite confident that we possess a style that is somewhat unique in the Power Metal landscape,” the band comments.


Vis Mystica is recommended for Star Wars fans and those who like Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, and Iron Maiden. They also have a crowdfunding campaign set up for the EP. Head here.


Pre-order the EP here.





Tracklisting:


"Whispering Winds Of Fate" (feat. Jonas Heidgert - Dragonland)
"Legacy Of The Builders" (feat. David Michael Moote - Operus and Ty Christian - Lords of the Trident)
"The Plains Of Silence"
"Lux Et Veritas" (feat. David Michael Moote - Operus)
"Beyond The Gates Of Fury"


CD Bonus Tracks:


"The Plains Of Silence" (2020 Demo feat. Jesse Isadore)
"Introitus" (2016 Demo)
"Secrets Of The Maps" (2016 Instrumental Demo)











EP Credits:


• All songs performed by: Vis Mystica
• All songs written by: Connor McCray
• Produced by: Chad Anderson
• Mixed by: Chad Anderson
• Mastered by: Chad Anderson
• EP Artwork by: Cody Bucher


EP band lineup:


Connor McCray - Guitar, Bass, Orchestration
Devin Dewyer - Vocals
Dillon Trollope - Drums

After a long seven-year hiatus, Northern Irish rockers The Answer are set to make a spectacular and long-awaited return with a brand-new studio album scheduled for release on St. Patricks day, March 17, 2023.


Titled Sundowners, this latest album has been produced and mixed by rising British rock producer Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow) and will be supported by a run of limited capacity 17 date UK and European album launch shows.


The album was recorded in April 2023 at Middlefarm studios, Devon and was the first time the band had been together in a studio since 2015.







Says lead singer Cormac Neeson, “We’ve been through a lot as a band, toured the world, made six great records we’re all proud of, and always done our best to make honest and timeless music that connects with rock and music fans in general. After six albums and a lot of road miles we felt we needed to step back from it all and reset. Whilst that wasn’t an easy decision, with retrospect it’s possibly the best decision we’ve ever made because after seven years away we all came back fired up and the end result is an album we’ve been waiting to make our whole lives…full of good time rock n roll and positive energy created by four brothers who quite frankly just really missed each other. We’re back and we’re ready to bring our best album ever to you!”


In 2019, long time super fan and international independent hard rock label Golden Robot Records founder, Mark Alexander-Erber, fulfilled a life-long ambition by signing The Answer to his label to secure a brand new 7th studio album, due for release in 2023; a record which, in the words of Alexander-Erber will be The Answer’s “greatest balls out straight ahead rock album ever’, eclipsing the debut of Rise for power, songs and sheer attitude. To say I am excited is an understatement, for me it’s a life-long ambition and privilege to work with these guys.”





The album will be released by Golden Robot Records Pty and by licensee 7Hz Productions (ADA) in the UK & Europe. The release will come in several formats including a Cd Gatefold Digi sleeve, Gatefold 12” 180g black vinyl, 2 x 12” colour vinyl exclusives, a 12” fan collectible Picture Disk, Digital and various limited retail exclusive versions with HMV, Rough Trade, Crash and Assai Records.


The band’s first single off the album, “Blood Brother”, has gone straight on to the Planet Rock Radio A-List in the UK and onto daytime radio on Star FM Berlin and Star FM Nuremburg. Watch the video below:





The Answer’s first comeback live show since 2017 will take place as “special guests” at this year’s Planet Rockstock festival, after which the band will promote their new album release with a run of limited capacity album launch shows, tour dates below.





UK dates:


March
16 - Blackpool, UK - Waterloo Bar
17 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute
19 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
20 - London, UK - 100 Club
21 - Leeds, UK - Key Club
23 - Belfast, Ireland - Limelight 2





European dates:


March
25 - Haarlem, Netherlands - Patronaat
26 - Den Bosch, Netherlands - Willem Twee
28 - Essen, Germany - Turock
29 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
30 - Berlin, Germany - Franz Club
3 - Munich, Germany - Strom


April
1 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad-Sohm
2 - Zurich, Switzerland - Plaza
4 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
5 - Savigny, France - L’Empreinte
6 -  Vorselaar, Belgium - De Dreef

KITTIE played a last-minute free concert at the Sand Dollar Lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada this past Saturday (October 22). The reunited Canadian metallers performed at the venue after their appearance at the When We Were Young music festival in Las Vegas the same day was canceled due to high winds forecast for the area.

Fan-filmed video of the Sand Dollar show can be seen below.

KITTIE played its first concert in five years on September 8 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Joining guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander and her sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, at both gigs were guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

Prior to Blue Ridge, KITTIE had not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".

Morgan and her sister held their first rehearsal together since 2017 in April. A month earlier, Morgan confirmed to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that KITTIE will play more shows beyond the already announced appearances at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival and at the When We Were Young festival in October. "That's it for this year," Morgan said. "But next year, we definitely will. But I think those opportunities will come later on.

"We don't have anything set in stone, but I think it's something that, like I said before, once these doors are open, I think we can expect to feel comfortable doing a few more little things here and there and hopefully we'll be able to do some more one-offs in the States and Europe and that type of thing," she explained. "So the possibilities are endless."

Asked in a recent interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast what led to Vujic returning to KITTIE for the current dates, Lander said: "Ivy played on two of our albums, the last two albums that we did. She left the band right before the very last big tour that we ended up doing; she did the Soundwave Festival [in Australia] with us in 2012, and those were the last shows that we did with her. And she just kind of settled into her life, started a family, got married, and so that's sort of been what she's been up to. But Ivy's a metal girl at heart and she's always been super, super easygoing about stuff. I just sent her a message and I was, like, 'Hey, can we talk?' And we had a really, really great phone call and I just sort of explained the situation, explained what was going on. I asked her if she'd be into doing it, and she was, like, 'Yeah. Sounds great.' … It's very much one of those things where you don't talk that often anymore, you don't see each other that often, but then, when you all get together again, that chemistry and that vibe is always there."

Morgan continued: "I feel like that lineup of KITTIE in particular was always very super pro, super chill — no stress, no drama. Just, like, 'You know what? We're gonna go out there and we're gonna sound amazing.'

"She's an incredible bass player. I don't think that Ivy gets enough credit. She is absolutely incredible. So it's gonna be great."

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".

When We Were Young will be held on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip on October 22, October 23 and October 29.

In January, the original lineup of KITTIE — Morgan, Mercedes, Fallon Bowman (guitar) and Tanya Candler (bass) — reunited for an online chat to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its gold-certified 2000 debut album, "Spit".

Candler left KITTIE after the release of "Spit" in order to finish high school and was replaced by Talena Atfield.

Bowman exited KITTIE in 2001 and started her own industrial/electronic project, AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT.

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for 2011's "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

"I've Failed You" sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Making it happen for you at The Sand Dollar LV🖤🤘🏻 #aboutlastnight #kittie #clubshow #thesanddollarlv

Posted by Kittie on Monday, October 24, 2022



Thanks to Kittie, Max Adler and the Sand Dollar for an epic night!

Posted by Patrick Pulsar Trout on Sunday, October 23, 2022



Kittie played a free show The Sand Dollar LV ah-ma-zing. The kid getting knocked out was something I’ve never seen in my life. He’s gonna be in pain tomorrow

Posted by Meri Stewart on Saturday, October 22, 2022

In a new interview with Rocksverige, AVANTASIA leader and EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet was asked which singer, alive or dead, is his absolute favorite. He responded: "That's a very difficult question. It depends on the phases I go through, but it's probably be Ronnie James Dio [BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO]. But if you ask me again in on hour, I would probably say Lou Gramm [FOREIGNER] and tomorrow morning I would say Steve Perry [JOURNEY]. It's one of those three probably, but Ronnie James Dio is out of this world."

Pressed about what it was that Ronnie had that other singers didn't, Tobias said: "Magic! Fire! [Laughs] The way he spat out those lyrics. The whole thing, the whole approach. He had a such a gritty voice with a midrange. He was singing extremely high, but it never felt like it hurt and never really sounded harsh. He had a huge range and he felt those words he was singing.

"Everybody can become a trained singer and you can see it when you see those talent shows. You see all these singers who sound like Mariah Carey in her prime and it's always amazing and they have great technique, but filling a song with character and life, that's a different thing. That's where the true quality comes out. You tell that story to the listener.

"Everybody can sound perfect these days," Sammet continued. "Especially in the studio with the technology. But doing something like Lou Gramm or Steve Perry or David Coverdale [WHITESNAKE] or Geoff Tate [QUEENSRŸCHE]… I think everybody in AVANTASIA have that quality. They don't just sing perfectly; they put soul into it. They make it three-dimensional and they make those words come alive. That's the greatest skill of a singer — to move you, to touch you and I think that is way more important than sounding like Mariah Carey with perfect pitch."

When the interviewer noted that so many of the great rock and heavy metal singers would never make it to the finals in shows like "American Idol" or "America's Got Talent", Sammet said: "Absolutely, and I agree 100%. I don't consider myself the best singer in the world, but I would never get past second round because people would say I sound weird and I have strange frequencies. Many of those singers we love, they are not those million-dollar singers. They have a story to tell and their whole life is a story.

"I was just arguing with somebody about the situation of Paul Stanley's [KISS] voice. I say that Paul Stanley's been in the trenches for 50 years and he's Paul Stanley because there's no other Paul Stanley. He's the best Paul Stanley there is and he's the only Paul Stanley there is.

"I will always prefer to hear Paul struggling with a note than having a pitch-perfect replacement without a story, without the character, without the patina of Paul Stanley. That goes for all my favorite singers. I'd rather hear Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST] struggle a bit and suffer a bit when singing 'Painkiller'. Halford will always be Halford. There is only one, and it's the whole appearance. The story, the magic. And the same with Ronnie James Dio. I saw him during the HEAVEN & HELL tour and you could tell that Ronnie's voice had dropped and everything was a couple of notes lower than the studio versions, but still it was Ronnie James Dio. Fucking Ronnie James Dio!

"There's a profound magic listening to the originals, and that's what I want from music. I want authenticity, I want the soul and the life and the scars and the damage and the road wear. The whole package that makes those legends who they are and that makes them come up with their interesting stories that enchant me."

Read the entire interview at Rocksverige.

AVANTASIA released its ninth album, "A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society", on October 21 via Nuclear Blast. The disc is the follow-up to "Moonglow", which came out in 2019.

Fan-filmed video of KISS performing the song "Two Timer" live on October 24 during this year's Kiss Kruise can be seen below.

Prior to yesterday, KISS last played "Two Timer", a song from the band's third album, 1975's "Dressed To Kill", in 2011, according to Setlist.fm.

Kiss Kruise XI sailed from Los Angeles, California to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico aboard Norwegian Jewel for two weeks of non-stop rock 'n' roll on the high seas set for October 24-29, 2022 (Week 1) and October 29-November 3, 2022 (Week 2). The Kiss Kruise XI marks the iconic adventure's first ever sailing from Los Angeles and the final KISS on-board live performances of the legendary band's one-of-a-kind five-decade career.

Both Kiss Kruise XI adventures will feature very special live shows from KISS, including an unmasked pool deck performance for all members of the Kiss Navy and a masked electric show inside Norwegian Jewel's intimate Stardust Theater. What's more, each week will boast a completely unique line-up of hard rock heroes and heavy metal icons, with Week 1 including performances by DOKKEN (featuring a reunion with guitarist George Lynch),WARRANT, L.A. GUNS, Bruce Kulick, All Hands on Deck Super Jam featuring Lita Ford & Friends, GEORGE LYNCH AND THE ELECTRIC FREEDOM, HEART BY HEART, THE BIG DEAL and BARON. Week 2 will see KISS joined by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, BUCKCHERRY, Bruce Kulick, All Hands on Deck Super Jam Feat. Sebastian Bach & Friends, STRYPER, VIXEN, PLUSH, THE WILD THINGS and Micky James. All Kiss Kruisers will receive signature engraved commemorative gifts and take part in two on-board activities with KISS as well as two on-board activities with each individual member of the band. As if all that weren't enough, the Kiss Kruise XI will include the Kiss Expo (showcasing rare memorabilia),autograph sessions with the supporting artists, theme night costume parties, and much more. Guests who book on both Week 1 and Week 2 sailings will receive an exclusive laminate, a poster signed by KISS, happy hour and group photos with KISS, and an exclusive KISS Kruise XI two-timer t-shirt.

Norwegian Jewel will provide everything needed to make this year's Kiss Kruise XI the best cruise vacation ever, with bars at (almost) every corner, delicious dining options, the Pool Deck (with multiple hot tubs),the Jewel Club Casino, Mandara Spa, Body Waves Fitness Center, Sports Court, the Thermal Suite, and more. The KISS Kruise XI will also feature high adventure shore excursions in Cabo San Lucas (October 26 and 31) and Ensenada, Mexico (October 28 and November 2).

This past February, KISS announced that "Kiss Kruise XI" would be their "last performance onboard".

As has been the case on all the previous cruises, fans will get to see KISS's unmasked acoustic and electric shows and engage in activities with the bandmembers.

Last year's edition of the "Kiss Kruise" required fans to be vaccinated to attend.

In October, KISS frontman Paul Stanley said that the final concert of the band's "End Of The Road" tour would likely happen by early 2023.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but has since been extended to at least early 2023. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

"I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished," Stanley told Ultimate Classic Rock, adding that "it seems only natural [for the final show] to be in New York. That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people," he said. "It seems we should go full circle."

Stanley went on to say that unlike KISS's 2000-2001 tour, which was also supposed to be its last, "End Of The Road" will truly be the last time KISS performs live. "It's a different time than we had pondered [farewell tours] in the past," Stanley explained. "The fact is that, physically, it's incredibly demanding to do what we do. Look, we played [recently] in Austin, an outdoor show, 100 percent humidity. We're running around for two-plus hours, not only with guitars, but I've got 30-plus pounds of gear on. There's a point where you go, 'You know what? This is more challenge than I want.' And I only want to do it as long as I can do it smiling.

"There's really no thought about changing our minds," he continued. "It has nothing to do with personalities in the band or tensions or a difference of opinion or musicality. It's purely practical. You can play beat the clock, but ultimately the clock wins."

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS's first "farewell" tour in 2000 was the last to feature the group's original lineup.

In early 2019, Stanley told Australia's "Sunday Night" that "Rock And Roll All Nite" "has to be" the song that KISS performs as the last encore at the final concert of the "End Of The Road" tour. "That is the rock anthem that connects the world," he explained. "It was the start of other people coming up with anthems. They really didn't exist, per se. So, 'Rock And Roll All Nite And Party Every Day', that's a song that just connects with people on all different levels."

Simmons concurred, telling BUILD Series: "How do you not end with 'Rock And Roll All Nite'? We will have played that song, probably without exception, more than any other song we've ever been involved with. You might say, 'Aren't you sick and tired of hearing that?' But I will tell you the roar of the crowd, the smell of the grease paint, there ain't nothing like it. When you hear everybody getting jazzed about that and you get off the stage... [it's] like the fire in the belly. You're dog-tired; you've just done a big show; and you get up on that stage, when you see the joy in everybody's face... We've seen it all. We've been around for generations, but when you see a little 5-year-old kid in KISS makeup on his dad's shoulders who's wearing KISS makeup, next to his father... we're badass kind of guys — nothing affects us much — but that stuff will put a lump in your throat. You have to turn around for a second. It gets me. Yes, it's music, but it's generational, and it brings families together instead of separates [sic] them."

Thanks! Seems like an awesome party!
Oct 24, 2022 - KISS Kruise XI: Electric Sail Away
(Setlist)
Deuce
Hotter Than...

Posted by Marco Hartmann on Tuesday, October 25, 2022



My fav God of Thunder❤️ Week 1 of KISS KRUISE XI has begun❤️ #genesimmons #lalalovesgene

Posted by LalaandMichael Kleid on Monday, October 24, 2022

Kiss Kruise XI week one. I found Bart Barkac, Can you?

Posted by Rob Parker on Tuesday, October 25, 2022