For those who stray from convention, look outside the box or color outside the lines, Heaven And Hell Records presents you with Luftwaffe.


The band would be unheard of by most people unless you were one of the people who got the chance to see this enigmatic band on the Upstate New York club circuit around Utica. Between the years 1982 to ‘85 the live performances of Luftwaffe are said to have been a chaotic spectacle of destruction, burlesque and rock n’ roll.


Around the end of 1981, songwriter and guitarist Bob Acquaviva was looking to start a new band. Acquaviva had unusual ideas for this new venture, but he needed to find like-minded people to realize his vision for the project. Acquaviva would call upon his old friend Tim Gilles to see if he would be interested in a new endeavour. Gilles was an incredible drummer and all-around musician. He was also a fan and influenced by progressive rock artists such as Gentle Giant, Gong and Henry Cow; this would prove beneficial to the fledgling band.




Acquaviva already had a bass player in mind named Paul St James who could do the job required. Within a couple of weeks after the three would first get together, they would begin to audition singers. Many notable local singers would try out for the position, but none were quite right. Eventually, Acquaviva came across a young guitarist who he felt had a voice and could be just what the band was looking for. Dave Wolfgang Von Slife would become the eccentric and idiosyncratic frontman of the band. The band was now complete.


Now, the band would need a moniker. But not just any name, but something powerful, something grandiose. The band wanted to make an impression and take over the Upstate New York scene. After a few, over-the-top suggestions, were made, they would settle upon Luftwaffe. The word meaning 'air force' seemed large and strong. The name would be inspired by all the members' fandom of German heavy metal and hard rock bands such as Accept, Scorpions and MSG.


Both Acquaviva and Giles were keeping an eye on the growing popularity of heavy metal. They decided to take the band in that direction. They would also bring in their shared influences of progressive rock and jazz. What they would create would be a unique and somewhat hard-to-describe hard rock band. Several names such as; Budgie, UFO, Scorpions and Tank would sometimes be suggested in an attempt to try and describe Luftwaffe. Yet those names would barely scratch the surface. The band’s weird themes, sometimes Zappa-esque lyrics and odd time signatures would only complement the bizarre live shows.


Luftwaffe would gain a reputation over the few-year course of the band and build something of a cult following in the area. By 1985 the band decided to record the album's worth of songs they had written while they had the chance to do so. What resulted was an 8-song full-length album that would be shelved for the next 37 years.


Luftwaffe would end in 1985 not long after the recording sessions. The band would perform their biggest concert and that night while onstage simply made the flash decision to go in a different direction with the band,. And just like that Luftwaffe was no more.


After many years Luftwaffe’s 1985 album, The Cardinal Sin Sweep, will finally be released for the first time as a limited edition CD. All songs have been remastered from the original recordings by Bob Acquaviva. Artwork created by Steve Cobb. The release is scheduled for November 2022.





The Cardinal Sin Sweep tracklisting:


"Freefall"
"Ringmaster"
"Luftwaffe"
"The Chair"
"Motel"
"Blasphemy (Spit)"
"On Time"
"Epitaph"

Johnny Gioeli, a career vocalist whose credits include Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell, and Crush 40, recently announced the formation of a new band, Enemy Eyes.


Enemy Eyes is a fulfillment of a vision of Johnny's to create a new band that combines his fondness for classic hard rock and European metal. The band's debut album, History's Hand, will be released on November 18 via Frontiers Music Srl.


Today, the band has released a new single and video for the title track. Watch below, and pre-order the album on CD/LP/Digital here.




Of note, this will be Gioeli's 100th official release as a recording artist after decades of multi-platinum, gold, and critically acclaimed albums. A true landmark recording in his discography and also the beginning of a new chapter.


"Enemy Eyes is the final product of a vision I've had for many years of combining old school rock with a European metal feel. At the end of the day, I can sing many styles of music, but my heart and soul is metal. It is known to my fans as I wring the sweat out of my shirt each night on stage. I want to feel what I sing. I grew up with the music of DIO, Rainbow, [Black] Sabbath, [Iron] Maiden, and more. I needed to fulfill what I feel is a missing piece in my musical puzzle, so Enemy Eyes has been born. It’s not just a project, it’s my music life’s work moving forward," says Gioeli.


Johnny Gioeli first came to prominence with Hardline, a melodic hard rock band that he formed with his brother Joey and which famously featured Journey guitarist Neal Schon on the band's debut album, Double Eclipse.


Johnny has continued to front Hardline since the release of their debut album in 1992, including their most recent release, 2021's Heart, Mind and Soul. In addition to Hardline, Johnny has been fronting both German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's solo band and Japanese-American band Crush 40 since 1998. He also released his first solo album, One Voice in 2018.


Needless to say, Johnny brings Enemy Eyes to life with a wealth of experience and a clear-eyed vision of where he is going with the band. "This is completely different from Hardline, ARP, and Crush 40. Completely different. It is a definitive new music entrée on the menu of my career and one I've been hungering for," says Gioeli. "The influences are many. From the metal music I grew up with to more modern bands like Breaking Benjamin, Volbeat, Architects, and on and on. This combined with my love for melodic and Euro metal, to me, helps Enemy Eyes become a fresh world of metal," he adds.


As he has done with his other acts, Gioeli plans to bring Enemy Eyes to the stage to bring the message and power of the music directly to fans. A seasoned musician who is now in his fourth decade of touring the globe, he doesn't know any other way.


Asked about the meaning of the album's title track, Gioeli explains, "'History’s Hand' is a very special song. The chorus' finishing line ‘born a child, feared as a man’ sums up my vision of awareness, innocence to evil, and how we become what our history dictates. Sort of the “history repeats itself” thought process. Recognizing that all things come full circle in time, and we should be reminded of this regularly…sometimes with a good fucking slap. Feel the hit of History’s hand. We are the architects of our history. Don’t fuck it up. It felt right to make this the album title."





Tracklisting:


“Here We Are”
“History’s Hand”
“Peace And The Glory”
“The Chase”
“Preying On Your Weakness”
“What You Say”
“What I Believe”
“The Dream Is Gone”
“The Miracle In You”
“Broken”
“The Rat Race”


“History’s Hand” video:





“Peace And The Glory”:





“Here We Are”:





Lineup:
Johnny Gioeli - Vocals
Marcos Rodriguez - Guitar
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Bass, keyboards
Fabio Alessandrini - Drums

Rising Steel's new album, Beyond The Gates Of Hell, will be released on November 18 via Frontiers Music Srl. Their third full-length album overall sees the French metallers playing as ferociously as ever and evolving forward from their last release, the well received Fight Them All.


Watch a video for the track "Skullcrusher" below, and pre-order/save Beyond The Gates Of Hell here.


Rising Steel is a heavy metal band from Grenoble, France. The quintet delivers a “not so” classical heavy metal sound with their influences coming mainly from the 80’s NWOBHM, hard rock, and thrash metal scenes. Solid and powerful metal music, the band is inspired by the legacies of legends like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and is recommended for fans with diverse metal palates who like bands ranging from early Metallica, Accept, Saxon, Grand Magus, Nevermore, Slayer, and beyond.







Tracklisting:


"Beyond The Gates Of Hell"
"From Darkness"
"Life Awaits"
"Death Of A Vampire"
"Run For Your Life"
"Infinite Pain"
"Skullcrusher"
"My Burning Time"   
"Beast"
"We Are Free"


"Skullcrusher" video:





"Run For Your Life" video:





Lineup:


Emmanuelson - Vocals
Tony Steel - Guitars
Steff Leadmaster - Guitars
Stone Warrior - Bass
Steel Zard - Drums

German/American heavy metal legends ACCEPT have recruited Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER) to sing for the band at tonight's (Thursday, October 20) concert at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. He will be filling in for ACCEPT's longtime frontman Mark Tornillo, who is unable to make the gig because he is recovering from a "virus infection".

Earlier today, ACCEPT released the following statement via social media: "As Mark is still on the road to recovery, he has been advised to rest a little more before hitting the stage for the remainder of the current US tour. (We've sent him all the soup on earth.) However, ACCEPT's friend and outrageously brilliant Metal/ Rock singer, Jason McMaster, has been awesome enough to step in until Mark is back….for what will now be a one of a kind, unique ACCEPT show! History in the making!!

"Jason is extremely familiar with ACCEPT's vintage material, is a world class lead singer with spectacular stage presence and the guys are totally fired up to give you a sensational performance!

"See you there!! It's gonna be a unique and thrilling show!

"We thank you again for all the kind wishes regarding Mark's health. He is very grateful and says they help tremendously!"

Two days ago, ACCEPT canceled its concert in Vineland, New Jersey due to Tornillo's illness. The decision to call off the show came two days after ACCEPT performed without Tornillo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

It was announced prior to the Toronto concert that the 68-year-old Tornillo, who joined ACCEPT in 2009, would be unable to play the gig because he was having vocal issues and could have risked losing his voice had he gone ahead with the performance.

ACCEPT played an hour-long set in Toronto, with drummer Christopher Williams, bassist Martin Motnik and some of the other members handling the vocal parts.

On Monday (October 17),Williams shared a statement below The Metal Voice's Facebook post regarding the Toronto gig, writing: "Look: we could have cancelled the show, then there would have been nothing. That's it, good night, go home. Rather than that, we wanted to at least do SOMETHING for the fans, especially since it's been so long since the band has performed in Canada.

"I don't sing the ACCEPT songs, I play drums and sing backing vocals. During a show I'm not thinking about the lyrics for the full song, I'm performing. Same with Motnik.

"We tried to do something for the people that were there. We could have bailed out and done nothing. The situation was a major bummer but we did what we could.

"I can say this 1000% on record: Replacing Mark isn't an easy task. We still play in the original album key, tuned to standard. We don't drop tune like a lot of vocalists prefer which makes it 'easier' to hit the notes. We don't use backing tracks, it's all live. It's not like Mark can change a set of strings or sticks… We took a shitty situation and did what we could.

"Mark will be back up there in no time kicking ass like he always does."

Tornillo joined ACCEPT as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He 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).

ACCEPT's North American tour, featuring support from NARCOTIC WASTELAND, kicked off on September 29 in Nashville, Tennessee and is scheduled to conclude on October 29 in Columbus, Ohio.

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."

Asked about ACCEPT's overall approach since he came into the group, Tornillo told "That Jamieson Show": "Basically, [we went] back to what we did in the '80s — what everybody did back in the day. The whole thing was, when I joined the band, Wolf [Hoffmann, guitar] did not want the band to rest on its laurels and only go out and play the classics. He wanted a real band. So we've been album-tour, album-tour — like it always was."

Mark also talked about his musical personal chemistry with Hoffmann, who is the sole remaining member from ACCEPT's classic lineup.

"It's grown quite a bit, actually," he said. "We've got a great mutual respect for each other and for our talents. This album ['Too Mean To Die'] was a total collaboration. This is the first ACCEPT album without Peter, so that was a big gap to fill. But everybody stepped up. Our [new] bass player Martin Motnik contributed quite a bit to this album."

Update for Accept show in Penns Peak 20th October

Accept announce Jason McMaster from Dangerous Toys and Watch Tower,...

Posted by ACCEPT on Thursday, October 20, 2022

Tomorrow we'll play in Jim Thorpe, PA at Penns Peak. Ticket links (incl. Meet & Greet) available at...

Posted by ACCEPT on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Sabaton have released the new tour vlog below, stating: "Check out Episode 4 of our tour vlog and watch us interact with nature while being out of our natural habitat (the stage) and IN a natural habitat for a day of wildlife photography. UTAH! DENVER! DALLAS! Thank you for a great time."





Sabaton recently made an exciting announcement:




With their fascination for the stories of World War I and two dedicated studio albums filled to the brim with stories from this conflict, the band from Falun have decided to dive even deeper into this topic with their newest release: The EP trilogy entitled Echoes Of The Great War.


This new EP trilogy features new songs specifically about World War I, coupled with topically related catalogue music. You read that right; Sabaton has been busy in the studio recording some new music for their fans. With this WWI collection, the band aims to present this music in a different way, enabling the listener to familiarise themselves with these incredible war stories, while simultaneously quenching the thirst for metal music.


Commenting on the new project, Pär Sundström states:


“This trilogy complements our two studio albums The Great War and The War To End All Wars. We were definitely not ready to close our World War I chapter. We wanted to continue the journey and let it echo a little longer in the hearts and minds of our fans."


The first in the series, Weapons Of The Modern Age, is out now. In times of conflict, science is very much linked to the war system. The First World War witnessed some of the biggest leaps in scientific evolution, weaponizing land, sea and skies in ways never witnessed before. This EP sheds light on the powerful and devastating tactics used to fight the war, and kicking off this release is SABATON's new track, "Father".


Sharing his insight on the track, Joakim Broden declares:


“Our new song, 'Father', is a dark track about a very controversial person. Fritz Haber, the man who weaponized lethal gas, is responsible for about 4 billion people being alive today thanks to the Haber-Bosch process that he won a Nobel Prize for. It takes some serious thought to wrap your head around his story. Things aren’t always easy to understand or simply black and white, but rather all shades of grey. 'Father' really forces you to think a bit more than the average song you hear on the radio."


Weapons Of The Modern Age is available at all streaming platforms found here. Watch the "Father" lyric video below.





Tracklist:


"Father"
"The Red Baron"
"Dreadnought"
"The Attack of the Dead Men"
"The Future of Warfare"
"Stormtroopers"

In a new interview with the "Heavy Demons" radio show, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton spoke about the band's decision to cover Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" as a bonus track on QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Digital Noise Alliance". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "With the record company, we have to have 10 or 11 songs [on an album]; that's what you're contracted for. And then they like extra songs, bonus tracks or whatever. So this time instead of giving a bonus track that's a live recording of one of our songs, we said, 'Let's do something different.' So we came up with the idea of doing a cover. Originally we were gonna do a CULT song, 'She Sells Sanctuary'. But Todd [La Torre, QUEENSRŸCHE frontman] didn't feel comfortable singing that. So he brought up the idea of doing the Billy Idol song. And it was really cool. We put a little spin of QUEENSRŸCHE in the song, but it's very reminiscent of the original. And Todd killed it on the vocals; it's awesome. So who knows? Maybe we might play that live; I don't know. But it's something that I think people are gonna be very surprised. They're gonna go, 'What?' They're gonna scratch their heads and then as they listen to it, they're gonna go, 'This is badass!'"

"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 the band's fellow original members Wilton and bassist Eddie 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.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, country-pop superstar Carrie Underwood was asked how she got Axl Rose "out of hiding" to make a guest appearance with her at the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio, California for performances of "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City". She responded: "It was many years in the making. I've been covering GUNS N' ROSES my whole life, pretty much, and definitely onstage for the past 15 years at least. I had asked before if he would ever come sing, or if I could come to him somewhere. We had a couple almost maybes, where it almost maybe would have happened but for various reasons it wasn't the right time. But [for Stagecoach] I asked. I sent him an e-mail and said, 'We're so close to you,' and explained the why and what he meant to me. The way I learned how to sing was I would pick really hard vocalists to try to emulate, and his voice always mesmerized me. I was, like, 'How is he doing the things that he's doing?' So I told him all that… and he came! We had rehearsals and everything went very smoothly. It was easy for all of us to be around each other. Hopefully he had a good time."

When Rose performed with Underwood at Stagecoach, Carrie called the collaboration "the greatest night of my life."

A little over three months ago, Underwood joined GUNS N' ROSES on stage during the band's concert at London, England's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Underwood made a surprise appearance toward the end of GUNS N' ROSES' main set, performing "Sweet Child O' Mine" with Axl and his bandmates. She later returned to the stage during the encore to sing "Paradise City".

More recently, Underwood performed a cover version of "Welcome To The Jungle" at the kick-off show of her "Denim & Rhinestones" tour on Saturday night (October 15) in Greenville, South Carolina.

Back in 2015, Underwood told E! in an interview with she really wanted to sing with Rose at some point in her life. She said: "I've covered enough GUNS N' ROSES stuff, and it was people like him who taught me how to sing."

"I look at people like him and Freddie Mercury, those people who were doing all these crazy runs. It was so different," Underwood added.

In 2013, Underwood delivered a faithful cover of "Paradise City" at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville.

Two years ago, while promoting her book "Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, And Get Strong With The Fit 52 Life", Underwood appeared on an episode of "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" and talked about flying to Las Vegas to see her favorite band GUNS N' ROSES and called it "one of the best nights" of her life.

"We were nowhere near Las Vegas, so naturally I said, 'Let's go to Las Vegas with the band and go see GN'R play,'" Underwood shared with Fallon. "It's kind of a life-long dream of mine I never thought would happen. Couldn't waste that opportunity, so I abandoned my husband, abandoned my children, went to Vegas, and saw GUNS N' ROSES. Amazing."

She continued: "Usually, when I go to concerts, I'm like, in a box on the side, which is great — it has its perks, there's usually a bathroom in there, it's kind of awesome,' she explained. "But you miss the energy of the crowd. Because we were in Vegas, we were just in there with everyone else, it was absolutely incredible. You could feel everybody, everybody was screamin', I was screamin' — I was, like, 'I'm never gonna see none of these people ever again, I'm gonna act like a fool!. It was amazing."

Following that show, Underwood actually met Rose backstage. "It's hard to meet your heroes, because I do consider him someone who taught me how to sing," she said. "But he was super cool and great and nice and we talked. We're best friends."

At last month's Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale was asked by Heavy Consequence if she is ever concerned about alienating a portion of the band's fans when she takes a stand that doesn't match their current political views. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I feel like my mission statement always is 'search for those fundamental truths' and those unwritten 'oh, duh,' like, 'Hey, let's be kind to each other.'

"A long time ago, I [was], like, 'Look, if I ever get to the point where people are listening — for better or worse, 'cause I'm not a therapist; I'm not a doctor; I'm not a politician — I'm gonna put out that positive energy and stand up for the things that I believe in.'

"I don't really worry about alienating people because I feel like if you can't love somebody as you do yourself, if you can't just be happy for somebody that's chasing after their own happiness and if you are that type of person that would hate somebody just because of their political views or who they like to kiss or because of their gender, then I don't care whether you like our music or you like me," she continued.

"The wonderful thing that comes with speaking up, and it's up to the individual — this is just me personally — I feel like I'm in a position that I can give somebody some hope, and if they can see themselves reflected in what I say or what I do, that's just such a wonderful thing. I get so many letters and individuals coming up to me at shows and just crying on my shoulder about how they found something. Or maybe by me putting that out there makes them a little braver to be their truest self. So, yeah, [I've] gotta put it out there," Lzzy added.

Back in October 2020, Lzzy urged her fans to vote for Joe Biden in that year's U.S. presidential election, saying it's time to "vote against idiocracy." She was apparently referring to director and co-writer Mike Judge's 2006 science-fiction satire "Idiocracy", which depicts two time travelers who arrive in a future U.S. where everyone has become stupid and anti-intellectual, corporations own the government, and the president is a foul-mouthed populist.

About a month before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Lzzy said that she was "into equality" and insisted that she couldn't "out of good conscience" vote for anybody who built his or her empire on "division and hate and inequality."

Although she initially said that she was a Bernie Sanders supporter, Lzzy later expressed concern that he would "die the first year in office" if he got into the White House. Hale went on to say that she would "definitely not" vote for Donald Trump, explaining that she had "just never been a fan."

HALESTORM is continuing to tour in support of its fifth studio album album, "Back From The Dead", which was released in May via Atlantic. The follow-up to 2018's "Vicious" was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, MASTODON, ALICE IN CHAINS) with co-production by Scott Stevens (SHINEDOWN, DAUGHTRY, NEW YEARS DAY).

Lzzy and her brother Arejay (drums) formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)".

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions are set to release the new album from Chicago, Illinois' blackened death metal beasts Blood Of The Wolf. IV: The Declaration Of War is up now for pre-order and will be released November 18 on CD and Digital formats. 


Blood Of The Wolf continue their reign of terror, unleashing nine new blistering offerings of blackened death metal fury. IV: The Declaration Of War Eternal showcases the bands strongest material to date full of savage riffs, incessant blast beats, dark melodies and intense vocals, executed with cruel martial precision.


Preorder on Bandcamp.







Tracklisting:


“With Lightning For Vengeance”
“Father War Enthroned”
“Domination Decree”
“The Sword Everlasting”
“Their Blood Is Our Warpaint”
“From Kingdom To Collapse”
“Ritual Overkill”
“I Am The Blade Of Eradication”
“The Declaration Of War Eternal”


“Father War Enthroned”:

Italy’s The Modern Age Slavery are in the final steps of completing their work on their fourth studio album, called 1901 | The First Mother, which will be released on the new founded label Fireflash Records (Holy Moses, Mystic Circle. Mezzrow). 


On 1901 | The First Mother the five-piece lies somewhere on a vast spectrum of blackened deathcore and aggressive metal. Coming equipped with grinding blast beats, merciless brutal vocals and slaughtering rapid-fire double bass patterns their sound developed and became increasingly unique over time.


“We couldn’t be more excited to announce our signing to Fireflash Records! Since my first meeting with Markus Wosgien back in July, I felt a sincere sense of familiarity and mutual respect. I truly admire the amazing work he has done in the past with Nuclear Blast and for what he is doing with Atomic Fire Records. So, I do believe that signing with his new Fireflash record label is, first of all, a great great honor for us and it will allow to push The Modern Age Slavery to a whole new level. We truly can’t wait to let you listen to our brand-new album due out in May,” comments Giovanni Berselli, vocalist of The Modern Age Slavery.




“I met Giovanni this summer, along with a mutual friend, and heard about his band, his ambitions and their history. Afterwards I listened to this monster of a new album, which was full of darkness, aggression and deep emotions. The band is super tight and their development into a more black direction completely mesmerized me. I felt this is the perfect mix of current Behemoth and the dark side of Thy Art Is Murder – but totally unique and strong”, says Markus Wosgien of Fireflash Records.

Seattle and Los Angeles-based heavy metal four-piece RivetSkull’s re-imagined full-length album is now available on all digital music services. Trail Of Souls: Samsara is a complete re-recording of the band’s self-published 2020 album Trail Of Souls. After self-recording and releasing their debut album during the global pandemic, RivetSkull revisited their songs with professional production that captures the massive sound that fans have come to expect from their live shows. In support of their album's release, the band drops their next music video for the single, “Forever”.





The band shares their thoughts on the upcoming release:




“We originally wrote ‘Forever’ in 2019 when the world was, once again, in a strange place and the US was experiencing a significant political and religious divide. Two years later, the world would be forever changed by Covid. Then again, in 2022 with more war in Ukraine, inflation, and political and religious agendas driving even more distance between us. ‘Forever’ is about the repeating cycle of life’s ups and downs and changes that must forever face and come to terms with.”


Trail Of Souls: Samsara has an epic, yet nostalgic feel. Lyrically, vocalist Chad McMurray writes from the heart about things people can relate to, nothing is contrived. RivetSkull isn’t trying to write a certain kind of song and they’re not trying to portray a certain image. They’re not trying to be a tough, brutal band. They’re just normal guys who like metal, much like it was in the 70s - 80s. “I don’t know, maybe we need to bring cod pieces back?” jokes McMurray.


Recorded at London Bridge Studio (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Queensrÿche) and produced by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Deftones, Seether), Trail Of Souls: Samsara promises much more than a sonic retouch of the original. The reworked collection features new cover artwork and a previously unreleased recording of a cover of Aerosmith’s “King And Queens.”





RivetSkull keeps is classic, and is recommended for fans of Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and Armored Saint.


Stream the album on digital platforms here.


(Photo – Niffer Calderwood)

Whiteabbey present their second full-length album, Volume Two, featuring nine new slabs of female-fronted metal. As with the previous album, it draws on a wide spectrum of influences, ranging from power and symphonic metal, to more traditional metal sources. It will be released on all platforms worldwide on November 4.


Whiteabbey is the brainchild of Northern Irish guitarist and producer Steve Moore (pictured above; Stormzone, Fireland), and features the very special talents of Tamara Bouwhuis (Dim Crimson) from The Netherlands on vocals, Stevie McLaughlin (Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens’, Sandstone) on lead guitar and vocals, and Ruddiger Spree (Fireland) on drums.







Tracklisting:


"Swan"
"Guardian"
"Angels"
"Wish"
"Shadows"
"Wicked"
"Heaven"
"You"
"Rule The World"


Says the band about the songs:


"'Swan' recounts the tale of a failed relationship and the ensuing aftermath. Tragic and uplifting in equal measure, it was inspired by the story of an actual swan named Stephen that came to an unfortunate end in a Belfast park, after a series of even more unfortunate events. The parallels with the aforementioned relationship weren’t exactly, well, parallel, but the direction of travel was roughly similar. At least there’s a happy ending… right?


Who will defend the vulnerable and the weak against those that try to do them harm? Hear her name, for it is 'Guardian'.


It’s a freezing winter night, outside there’s a blizzard that’s making everything look like a black and white movie. Sounds pretty bad already, right? Now, imagine there’s hordes of vampires trying to kill you as well! And not the awesome Lost Boys vampires, we’re talking about those pale hairless ones with the black eyes. 'Angels' paints a bleak picture of being overrun by something terrible.


There’s a theme running through a few tracks on the album, perhaps a consequence of the circumstances under which the songs came together. The power ballad on the album, 'Wish', tries to express the feeling that although you don’t want to go back, you still want to feel like you tried and at best, aren’t the only one to blame. Two sides of the same story, poles apart but identical nonetheless.


Our future is shaped by our past actions, so if someone knows the things we’ve done, can they predict what we’re going to do? 'Shadows' takes that idea and puts it in a fairground fortune teller setting. A frightening idea in more ways than one.


Everyone has encountered the type of person that is described in 'Wicked' - everything is a problem, effort is minimal, promises are always broken, punctuality is terrible... You’re probably picturing someone right now. Well, this song is for them.


How amazing would it be to believe that you’ll see everyone again in the next life? It may be wishful thinking, but in these topsy-turvy times, it’s nice to dream. Maybe 'Heaven' is where your mind is at in your final moments, a glorious instant that lasts forever in an infinity of firing synapses.


Some people never really get over the trauma of a broken relationship, and who is the only one to blame? 'You'. Well, not you who is reading this. Although maybe it is…


Take That released the absolutely stunning track 'Rule The World' in 2007 and right then, we knew it needed a power metal cover version. It has been a long time in the making, but finally, here it is."


LIneup:


Tamara Bouwhuis - vocals
Stevie McLaughlin - vocals, lead guitar
Steve Moore - guitars, bass

Japanese pop-metal band BABYMETAL has released "Divine Attack", the first single from its upcoming concept album, "The Other One", due on March 23. The song is accompanied by an official visualizer, available to watch below.

Last year BABYMETAL was "sealed" from the world after a successful 10-year journey. In April 2022, "The Other One" restoration project began to recover the BABYMETAL we never knew existed within a virtual world called the Metalverse. A total of 10 songs have been discovered within "The Other One" restoration project, with each song representing a unique theme based on 10 separate parallel worlds that they have discovered.

One of the discovered 10 parallel worlds is "Cavalry", and "Divine Attack" centers around this theme. As if this song is a hint into the future, alluding to a cavalry preparing for their next battle, we can feel a new sense of power from not only the sound but also the lyrics that have been written by Su-Metal for the first time. In addition, the official visualizer includes never-before-seen cuts of the members from "The Other One" — Black Box — and conveys the power and dynamism of the song. Five pre-release digital singles will be available worldwide for download and streaming, each respectively scheduled to release in October, November, January, February, and March.

After BABYMETAL makes its official return on January 28 and January 29 of next year at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall, they will also be joining Swedish metal band SABATON on their Europe tour in April 2023.

BABYMETAL was formed in 2010. Their mission was to unify the world through heavy metal by creating a fusion of heavy metal and the Japanese pop genre. Their music contains a stunning mix of electronic pop, a pinch of alternative and industrial rock, and is leveled up by fast-driven heavy metal. Their live shows are ground-breaking and epic visual as well as sound performances. BABYMETAL continued to travel the path of metal with the international release of their three albums, telling the story of the mighty Fox God and his brave metal warriors.

A book about the first ten years of BABYMETAL, "Bessatsu Kadokawa Souryoku Tokushuu", was released in Japan in October 2020. It contains a long interview with Su-metal and Moametal as well as never-before-heard stories from band producer Kobametal from BABYMETAL's decade-long history, photos taken from live shows, a discussion between Demon Kakka and Kobametal, and much more.

BABYMETAL's third studio album, "Metal Galaxy", came out in October 2019 via earMUSIC/Edel. The follow-up to 2016's "Metal Resistance" was based on the concept of "The Odyssey Of Metal Galaxy".

In 2018, BABYMETAL announced the departure of Yuimetal, who was formerly one of the members of the Japanese group's core trio. She exited the band, explaining in a statement that she would go on to pursue a solo career as Mizuno Yu.

MEGADETH has released the official music video for the song "Life In Hell", taken from the band's latest studio album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" Titled "Life In Hell: Chapter IV", the video is the fourth and latest instalment of the band's epic multi-part short film revealing the origins of the band's iconic mascot Vic Rattlehead.

The rapid-fire onslaught of MEGADETH's "Life In Hell" is one of the heavy-hitting thrash songs on "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" This quintessential MEGADETH track showcases the band's tight musical precision and songwriting prowess — co-written by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, and enhanced with Kiko Loureiro's stylistic six-string flourishes, "Life In Hell" features seamless tempo and time signature shifts as MEGADETH continues to set the bar for modern and classic metal alike.

Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine about "Life In Hell": "'Life In Hell' is about someone who believes he's this James Bond-like motherfucker who can live this life of espionage. He's ultra-cool. No matter what, he thinks that he's going to get out of it. He's someone with a nihilistic — maybe fatalistic is a better word — outlook towards things. It's about that self-obsessed, self-absorbed person, and how they eventually get caught.

"I like to have a moral, or a payoff, to my lyrics. I think the middle-eight here really does that: 'Only a fool would do what you've done / You lie, you steal and you cheat everyone / When you're caught in your most despicable deed / You plead the court for diplomatic immunity…' That could have been any of those people over the last four or five years who [were called out for] their terrible, predatory behavior in Hollywood. 'Life In Hell' is ultimately about that person who's so into himself that nothing else matters to him, except him."

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" consolidates a furious return to form that began with the Grammy-winning "Dystopia", while pushing forward musically and marking Mustaine's recent triumph over throat cancer. Reuniting Dave with co-producer Chris Rakestraw (DANZIG, PARKWAY DRIVE),who together helmed 2016's "Dystopia", the album was recorded at Mustaine's home studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with Loureiro and Verbeuren. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio temporarily stepped in to record the album. With the kick-off of MEGADETH's recent tour, MEGADETH alumnus James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family as permanent bass player.

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS have released a new single, "Dandelions", via Pure Noise Records. This is the band's first new music since the release of its 2021 album "The Rain Just Follows Me".

Speaking about the new single, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS frontman JT Woodruff said: "During the summer, I was walking through the most desperate and desolate place I've ever been, which is Bombay Beach, located in the Salton Sea area of California. It is a perfect example of how we are quite literally ruining the world we live in, for our own temporary amusement. This place was once a vacation destination for Hollywood celebrities in the golden age of America, and we ruined it because of over fertilization and chemical runoff. Now it is basically a cautionary tale of paradise being turned to dust. It made me realize how temporary we are, and how we must fight to protect the most beautiful parts of our world, and ourselves. I felt like it was a perfect metaphor for how we are all using the internet to ruin ourselves, and how the last few years have turned us against the ones we've loved, and turned us into something we never wanted to be. But hope is out there, and as we all work to rebuild and repair, we can't help but feel like insignificant dandelion pods blowing in the breeze."

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS are about to start a string of headline shows throughout the rest of October and November, including appearances at When We Were Young festival and "Emo's Not Dead" cruise. The band will also be on Heart Support fest in February 2023 and Slam Dunk festival in the U.K. in May 2023.

HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS is composed of JT Woodruff (vocals, guitar),Mark McMillon (guitar, backing vocals),Matt Ridenour (bass, backing vocals) and Chris Popadak (drums).

Throughout its long and storied career as one of the most iconic emo acts of the new millennium, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS has overcome obstacles at every turn — but these roadblocks always seemed to come from external forces, from unscrupulous record labels and the shifting whims of fickle audiences to unimaginable personal tragedy threatening to derail them.

Despite the odds, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS have overcome it all: earning two gold albums (2004's "The Silence In Black And White" and 2006's "If Only You Were Lonely"),penning some of the genre’s most well-known songs ("Ohio Is For Lovers", "Saying Sorry"),and remaining a hard-touring act nearly two decades after forming in Dayton, Ohio.

During an appearance earlier today (Wednesday, October 19) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show, Slash was asked about GUNS N' ROSES' plans for new music in the coming months. He said: "I wanna go in and cut a whole brand new record at some point, probably sooner than later. But other than that, we have stuff that we've still got to come out. So that's gonna be coming out piecemeal over the next — I don't know — over the next few months or something like that. So that's basically it. We have one more tour left to do next summer, and then that'll free us up to be able to go in and work on a new record."

GUNS N' ROSES' most recent release was a four-song EP, "Hard Skool", which came out in February. The effort, which was exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released last year — the title track and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

In September 2021, the guitarist and his bandmates dropped "Hard Skool", which came more than a month after their performance and subsequent official release of "Absurd", a reworking of GUNS N' ROSES previously unreleased "Silkworms".

According to Slash, several other older GUNS N' ROSES tracks have also been reworked during the pandemic. "There's a handful of those songs that we actually fixed up and did when we were in lockdown," he explained to "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "So those have yet to be released. So those are gonna come out. They're really good, too. So I'm excited for those. We're just gonna put out like one or two songs, and another one or two songs. And I think that's gonna be pretty much all of 'em. I'm not sure exactly how many we did in total."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that "Hard Skool" in particular was a strong cut, Slash said: "These other ones, they don't have the same kind of amount of history, 'cause I know 'Hard Skool' seriously has… [it] goes way back. But there's a couple of epic ones coming out, so I'm excited about that."

If and when it happens, the new GUNS N' ROSES studio album will be the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Slash, singer Axl Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Slash previously spoke about "Hard Skool", one of the first two songs he recorded with GUNS N' ROSES in more than 25 years, this past February in an interview with Rolling Stone. At the time he said: "'Hard Skool', in essence, was a completed song when I was first introduced to it. And Duff and I went in and redid the bass and the guitars. It's a simple song, so it didn't take a hell of a lot of thought and analysis. I think it was a lot of fun just because it was part and parcel of a bunch of stuff that we were working on that was all sort of new — at least to Duff and I — so we had a good time."

In October 2021, Slash told Audacy Check In host Remy Maxwell that GUNS N' ROSES had yet to begin writing new material after releasing the two reworked songs from the "Chinese Democracy"-era sessions.

"As far as new GUNS is concerned, we haven't even gotten to that point of really in earnest sitting down and writing," Slash said. "We've been doing a lot of material that's been sort of sitting around for a while. So that will be a whole focused endeavor unto itself."

As for how "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" came about, Slash said: "They both have a lot of history. What happened was Axl has all these songs that he recorded at some point along the way. And so Duff and I went in and re-did them, basically… Like, I wrote my own kind of parts to what else is going on, and [we] just sort of took the drums and re-did everything else."

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

On "Hard Skool", Axl sings: "But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away/Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay/ If that were true, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"Absurd" came out on August 6, 2021, three days after GUNS N' ROSES performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy spoke about how he and his bandmates prepare for the shows on their current U.S. headlining tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We definitely put the time in. I think we prep more than any band that I've heard of. I've got an hour-plus warm-up that's very specific for my vocals, and we do like a 30-to-45-minute band jam as well with this mini set-up. We've got like a V kit [electronic drums] and tiny amps; we learned that from MEGADETH and METALLICA. And we also do a long soundcheck just to make sure we're really dialed in. So when people come out, they really get their money's worth.

"It's funny. We did the MAIDEN run [as the support act on the summer/fall 2022 U.S. tour] and [MAIDEN bassist] Steve Harris came in at the end to thank us for being on the bill," he continued. "We've toured with them before a lot. He looks around and he's, like, 'You guys play a lot, huh?' I was, like, 'Yeah, we just love to make sure we're nice and warm.' And he was, like, 'The only other band I've seen do that is METALLICA.' So the fact that Steve Harris compared us to METALLICA in a small way, it's another one of those amazing, amazing little instances. I'll never forget that."

TRIVIUM opened for METALLICA at the heavy metal giants' "intimate" concert last November at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Speaking to El Cuartel Del Metal about how the Orlando metallers landed the opening slot at the METALLICA gig, Heafy said: "It was Sunday afternoon [four days before the show]. I think we were just about to watch a movie with the kids. And I got an e-mail from our manager. He's, like, 'METALLICA asked if you can be available for this Thursday.' We were, like, 'Yes. Yes, we can. Let's do everything we can.' But we had to keep it quiet 'cause it wasn't fully confirmed yet. It didn't get confirmed until, I think, 30 minutes before we started driving down to South Florida. So we had to get our crew back down to Florida, get our gear back together, rehearse again. Luckily, we all rehearse so much individually, it's not like we're ever sloppy; it's not like we take time off. So we were ready to go. And we made it happen. We got down there. We weren't able to say 'hey' [to the guys METALLICA], but METALLICA left us an amazing handwritten letter and gave us a box of [METALLICA's] Blackened [whiskey]."

He continued: "To be able to see them at a quote[-unquote] small show; I mean, a small show for them is seven thousand people. That's more people than we can do on a big show. So, to be able to watch them that close — I was able to be on the floor and watch them — it was incredible. They're all amazing, but [James] Hetfield's [METALLICA frontman] voice sounds better than ever. I don't know how the hell that happened, but he sounds like a better singer now than he's ever been. And it's just so amazing. The vibe was great."

Heafy added: "They're truly the greatest band in the world and [have] always been the greatest band in the world. And it's awesome that they thought of us. They were, like, 'Hey, let's get TRIVIUM down here.' For METALLICA to have an opening band, that's usually just their decision; it's whatever they wanna do. And the fact that they picked us was really cool."

Asked if TRIVIUM has ever gotten feedback from any members of METALLICA about their music, Heafy told El Cuartel Del Metal: "Way back in 2006, we did festivals with them. I remember we'd never met them before. Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] pops his head in the dressing room. We were, like, 'Holy crap.' He starts talking to us. He said how they really liked the 'Master Of Puppets' cover we did for Kerrang! [magazine]. They obviously liked the band 'cause they brought us out. I remember they brought us, AVENGED [SEVENFOLD] and BULLET [FOR MY VALENTINE] out for a couple of off dates and they kind of looked at the three of us as the next generation of metal bands, which was really cool. They've always been complimentary. I've been able to hang out with Kirk [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] a couple of times. Kirk took us out to an incredible sushi dinner on that tour. Kirk has taken us out to an incredible Chinese place in San Francisco years and years and years later. We've always kept good casual contact with them, and they're the kings. They've always been nothing but truly wonderful, welcoming, amazing people."

Back in April 2021, TRIVIUM bassist Paolo Gregoletto reflected on what it was like to meet his heroes in METALLICA. Recalling the night in 2006 when he and his bandmates ended up having dinner with Kirk Hammett in Amsterdam, he told Epic Footnote Productions' "There Goes My Hero" podcast: "It was at the hotel they were staying at. It was in Amsterdam. It was at a really fancy place, and they had a fancy sushi restaurant. Kirk really loved [TRIVIUM's] 'Ascendancy' [album], and he just wanted to come out and hang out with us. So we went to dinner at that place in the hotel and pretty much just ordered everything on the menu — like, every single thing… I don't know how long we were there, but it was quite awhile. It was crazy. And then at the end, he kind of jokingly handed me the bill, like, 'Here you go.'

"It was pretty wild to just hang out with this dude," Paolo continued. "I don't even remember what we talked about; that's the craziest thing. It's almost like one of those experiences [where] you know it happened, but you don't really remember. It was like waking up from a dream and being, like, 'Wow, that was wild. What happened?' You don't remember all the details, but you know something happened."

Asked how old he was when he first discovered METALLICA's music, Paolo said: "I think it was '96 — I'm pretty sure that's when I found METALLICA. So I was probably about 11 or 12 when I discovered them. It was right when I started playing bass. I saw [METALLICA's] 'King Nothing' [video] on MTV, and I was just, like, 'That's the band. That's the coolest thing ever. And these dudes are playing in the snow, and they look cool.' At that point, all I knew was pop-punk and whatever was popular on MTV. So they were very different. And, of course, metal in the '90s — this is before I discovered PANTERA and anything like that — metal is not on MTV anymore at that point; it was starting to slowly filter out. And I wasn't watching 'Headbangers Ball', if it was even around in '96. So that was it. METALLICA was kind of flying the flag in the mainstream world, and thank God I found them, 'cause I don't know if I would've gotten into music the way I did. To me, that was what made me serious about it, like, 'Okay, I wanna play this type of music. I wanna do what these guys are doing.' And pretty much after that, that was my homework after school — was to just watch METALLICA videos and watch [METALLICA's] 'Live Shit: Binge & Purge' [concert videos] and all that stuff, and just try to emulate them with my own local band and trying to figure out how to make it work."

Florida death metal veterans MALEVOLENT CREATION have recruited Deron Miller as their new frontman.

Best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998, Miller also fronts the progressive metal band FOREIGN OBJECTS, the melodic death metal group WORLD UNDER BLOOD and the rock band 96 BITTER BEINGS.

MALEVOLENT CREATION's founding guitarist Philip Fasciana announced Miller's addition to the band in a social media post earlier today (Wednesday, October 18). He wrote: "New front man for MALEVOLENT CREATION is no other then Deron Miller -X CKY, WORLD UNDER BLOOD and after hearing his cover song of 'Alliance Or War' on the WORLD UNDER BLOOD album you will understand!!!! Album is in the works now. Go to plastichead.com for all your MALEVOLENT CREATION merchandise!!!! It's fucking on!!!!"

Two and a half years ago, MALEVOLENT CREATION parted ways with drummer Phil Cancilla and vocalist/guitarist Lee Wollenschlaeger and replaced them with Ronnie Parmer and Ryan Taylor, respectively. It is not clear when Taylor exited MALEVOLENT CREATION.

MALEVOLENT CREATION's latest album, "The 13th Beast", was released in January 2019 via Century Media. It was the band's sole disc to feature Cancilla and Wollenschlaeger.

Former MALEVOLENT CREATION frontman Bret Hoffmann died in July 2018 after a battle with stage 4 colon cancer. He was only 51 years old.

Bret performed on the first three MALEVOLENT CREATION releases until he left the band after 1993's "Stillborn" album. Five years later, he returned and performed on "The Fine Art Of Murder" and "Envenomed" before leaving again and being replaced by Kyle Symons. He rejoined MALEVOLENT again in 2006 and appeared on three more of the group's albums, 2007's "Doomsday X", 2010's "Invidious Dominion" and 2015's "Dead Man's Path". He exited the group once again in 2016 and was replaced by Wollenschlaeger.

New front man for Malevolent Creation is no other then Deron Miller -X CKY ,World Under Blood and after hearing his...

Posted by Philip Fasciana on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Guitarist John Norum has revealed that Europe are planning to enter the studio in early 2023 to record the follow up to 2017’s Walk The Earth. He also revealed that the band hope to work with producer Dave Cobb once more, the producer who helmed both Walk The Earth and 2015’s War Of Kings. Norum made his comments in a brand new interview with eonmusic about new solo release Gone To Stay, which is released on October 28.  


Speaking about what brought him back to the band when they reformed in 2003, the guitarist said; “I got a phone call from Ian Haugland the drummer of Europe, and he said that they were interested to put the band together again and that they were going to have a meeting, and asked me if I was interested to come and hang out and have a chat. So That’s what we did, and we’ve been together ever since. It’s been eighteen years since we reunited."


When asked about whether his re-joining righted the wrongs he felt which led to his departure, he admitted; “I have no idea really. We just have chemistry that is really good. It’s something that just happens. I mean, we met when we were teenagers, very young, and we just have a chemistry. It’s just the energy when we play, and I haven’t felt that for a long time."




Going on to talk about his time away from the band, during which he was briefly a member of Dokken, and recorded a number of solo albums, he said; “Throughout the ‘90s I did a few solo albums, and some other things like guesting on other artists’ albums and things like that, but I never felt that chemistry with any other band. So that was a big part of it, that I thought it was a good idea to get back together again, and I think they felt the same. So there was no big masterplan behind it or anything like that; we just got together and started writing the songs, and took it from there and recorded Start From The Dark [2004]."


Going on to talk about new music, and the follow up to Europe’s Walk The Earth, which was released in 2017, John said; “Has it been five years?! Oh wow! That seems like a very long time. Time just flies by, it’s crazy. Well, we’ve been talking about future plans and things like that, so we plan to go in the studio in around April / May [2023], something like that, but we are writing songs at the moment for the next Europe album, and we’re looking for producers."


He also revealed that the band plan to work with Dave Cobb once more, who produced the band’s last two releases, Norum said; “We hope can work with Dave Cobb again because he’s the greatest. He’s so good, he’s amazing, so hopefully we can do it with him if he's not busy, and hope that we can do it in his studio because that would be a lot of fun. He has a studio in Nashville, so that would be fun to go there and record the next album."


Read the entire interview at eonmusic.

AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis has reflected on having solicited murder by hiring a hitman in 2013 to try to kill his now-ex-wife.

The now-41-year-old singer was paroled in 2016 after serving two years of a six-year sentence, which followed his early 2014 guilty plea on a felony murder solicitation charge. He has since completed his parole requirements.

Lambesis looked back on his time behind bars in a new interview with "The Garza Podcast", hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My thinking was so isolated in my own mind and disconnected from my support system that I didn't really even fathom or realize how much I had lost myself and the core of who I really was. It's, like, I was this one person for most of my life, and then for this period of time, I had this very isolated, different type of mindset, and then have since returned to being much of who I was in the earlier part of my life plus, of course, the added perspective of everything I went through.

"I don't really know how to describe it. I lost myself, I lost my way, and I sat there in a cell being, like, 'How did I become this person?'" he continued. "It kind of blew my own mind. And as the mental cloud, the fog went away and I could see clearly, there are so obviously a thousand better ways that I could have gone through a divorce or a thousand better ways that if I wanted to be close with my family or if I felt that burning of a father who felt…

"I can talk about, vaguely speaking, any father who loses his children, there's a burning feeling of just, like, 'I'll do anything to fix this or to make this right or to maintain this relationship.' But just 'cause you feel like you would be willing to do anything to maintain what matters to you the most in the world doesn't mean you show that those are your best options. And I saw clearly sitting there thinking in a cell, 'Wow, I could have handled this a thousand different ways,' and the fact that in my mindset I thought at the time this was the best way to handle the situation, it blew my own mind. It's, like, how did I even think that? It just was shocking. And there's really no defense or no way to take away what I did other than that, thankfully, there was actually no true physical harm of any kind."

Lambesis added: "Knowing that I'm relatively young and I have the rest of my life to demonstrate to myself, beyond other people, that that is a very isolated, dark thought process in my life. And if that is an isolated, dark thought process, over the course of 30. 40, 50 years, you'll see that. But I can't prove that to anybody, coming out of prison, like, 'Hey, guys. I'm changed. I'm good.' They have to say, 'Here's who you were for 32 years. Here's this dark period of your life. And here's who you are for the next 20…' I have at least 20 years till most people in this world are willing to be, like, 'You know what? Maybe he really did change. Maybe incarceration really did…' In one of those rare instances where incarceration actually helped an individual; maybe I'm one of those rare cases. But I have 20 years to prove that. So I'm not in a rush other than to be myself and let people see that slowly over time.

"I hate talking about it in any kind of contextual way because I feel like it might come across like I'm giving excuses. I'm not. I'm just telling people the context under which these things happened. That's it."

Lambesis pleaded guilty in February 2014 to hiring a hitman to kill his wife, after telling two people at a Southern California gym the previous year that he wanted to "get rid of her."

His then-wife Meggan had filed for divorce in 2012, citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple has three children, all of whom were adopted from Ethiopia.

Tim at one time has said he considered himself to be a Christian and acknowledged that he found inspiration for lyrical content from biblical texts.

At the time of the musician's sentencing, Lambesis's attorney said the "gym culture" led to "changes in [the singer's] physiological and mental status," with Tim's bodybuilding obsession causing him to go from 170 to 220 pounds after first taking supplements, then steroids. "[He] was not the same person. He was irritable and lost God."

At the sentencing, Meggan said that Tim had become "dangerous" and that she "felt as fragile as a piece of paper that could float away at any moment." She also explained that the day before Tim's arrest, the musician texted her asking for their three adopted children's social security numbers in a display of "tying up loose ends."

Meggan — who reportedly received an e-mail from her husband several months before she filed for divorce telling her that he no longer loved her or believed in God — even referenced the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Total Recall", where Arnold's character shoots his wife and says, "Consider that a divorce." She went on to describe how she learned that her husband told her in an e-mail that he wanted a divorce. But it never crossed her mind that he would try to hire a hit man to kill her. "I had no idea who I was living with," she said, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Investigators said the undercover cop operation was staged after Lambesis told a man at his gym at Pure Fitness back on April 23, 2013 that he wanted his wife killed. Lambesis was allegedly complaining that she was making life difficult for him, that it was hard for him to see his children and that it was impossible for them to complete their divorce.

"[Lambesis said that] he wasn't allowed to visit his kids, he wasn't allowed to see his kids, he wasn't allowed to take his kids out of the state to go on tour with him, and that angered him," the undercover officer testified. "And the fact that his wife was gonna get a large portion — up to 60 percent — of his income [as part of a divorce settlement]."

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since guitarist Nick Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

AS I LAY DYING recently completed the U.S. and European legs of its 2022 tour. The trek marked the band's first with its new touring lineup, featuring Lambesis and longtime guitarist Phil Sgrosso alongside drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH),bassist/vocalist Ryan Neff (MISS MAY I) and guitarist Ken Susi (UNEARTH).

Emerging blackened death metal quartet, Black Lava, will release their debut full-length album, Soul Furnace, on November 25 via Season Of Mist. The band is now sharing a blistering performance video for the brand new single, "Northern Dawn". The video, which was filmed and edited by Colin Jeffs and produced by Black Lava and Ten of Swords, can be found below.


Drummer Dan Presland comments: "After shooting up in the mountains for two days for the 'Eye Of The Moon' video, we drove straight down to our next location the next morning - to take one extreme, the freezing fucking cold, to the other, hot as fuck! We present to you our final single for our debut record 'Soul Furnace' - we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it!"







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"


"Eye Of The Moon" video:





"Soul Furnace" video:





(Photo by Joe Ritson)