Tarja has released the official video for "Victim Of Ritual", from her just released Rocking Heels: Live At Hellfest, available via earMUSIC. Watch below:





On June 19, 2016, Tarja delivered a captivating performance at Hellfest, one of Europe's largest and most prestigious metal festivals held in Clisson, France. Her powerful blend of operatic vocals and heavy metal instrumentation enthralled the audience, making her performance one of the festival's highlights. The setlist featured a carefully curated mix of her solo work and iconic Nightwish songs.




Opening with “No Bitter End” from her 2016 album, The Shadow Self, Tarja set the tone for an evening of intensity and emotion. Her dynamic stage presence and dramatic musical arrangements created an unforgettable experience, solidifying her status as one of metal's greatest female singers.


Experience the raw energy and powerful emotion of Tarja Turunen's unforgettable performance at Hellfest 2016. Rocking Heels: Live At Hellfest is available as a Ltd. 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Edition, CD Digipak in LP-replica design and on Digital. Order here.

Canadian rockers NICKELBACK have released the Andy Brown-directed music video for the song "Horizon". The track is taken from the band's first album in five years, "Get Rollin'", which was released in November 2022 via BMG and debuted at No. 2 across the Current Rock, Alternative, Hard Music and Digital Album charts. The record also landed on the ARIA album chart at No. 3 and in the Top 10 in the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia and Austria. Additionally, "Get Rollin'" debuted at No. 1 in Switzerland, a career first for the band.

NICKELBACK released a new live album, "Live From Nashville", on November 15 via BMG. The LP was recorded at the band's August 2023 show at Nashville, Tennessee's s Bridgestone Arena as part of NICKELBACK's "Get Rollin'" tour and features special guest appearances from Ernest ("Flower Shops"),Josh Ross and Brantley Gilbert (for a cover of Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road"),Chris Daughtry ("Savin' Me"),Bailey Zimmerman ("Rockstar") and Hardy ("Sold Out").

"Hate To Love: Nickelback", a feature-length documentary film about one of Canada's most iconic and globally celebrated rock bands, premiered in September 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film tells the authentic story of the band from their humble beginnings in Hanna Alberta to their explosive global success in 2001 and the highs and lows that followed. Directed by Leigh Brooks and produced by Ben Jones, the film celebrates the loyalty of NICKELBACK fans and delves into the years of online vitriol while exposing the personal impact it had on each of the band members. The film also unveils the rock group's decision to return after a five-year break with a new record and a hugely successful sold-out tour, finding themselves riding a sudden wave of online love that has introduced their music to an army of new fans and audiences worldwide.

2023 Canadian Music Hall Of Fame recipients, and diamond-certified selling group NICKELBACK were named the "most successful rock band of the decade" by Billboard in 2009. Globally celebrated for their career defining and award-winning hits "How You Remind Me", "Photograph", "Far Away", "Rockstar" and more, the four-piece comprised of Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair is one of the most commercially viable and important acts of the past two decades. Their success includes worldwide sales of more than 50 million units, solidifying their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time and the second best-selling foreign act in the U.S., in the 2000s decade, behind only THE BEATLES. Their inescapable and irresistible smash "How You Remind Me" was named Billboard's "Top Rock Song Of The Decade" and was the No. 1 most played song on U.S. radio (any format) in the 2000s according to Nielsen Soundscan, with over 1.2 million spins.

Amongst all of these accolades, they've also been named Billboard's "Top Rock Group Of The Decade" and received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award, twelve JUNO Awards, seven MuchMusic Video Awards, and have been inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame (2007) and the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2023). With more than 23 chart-topping singles and fans spanning the globe, NICKELBACK boasts more than twelve consecutive sold-out world tours, playing to well over 10 million diehard and adoring fans.

Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet has checked-in with a statement about the title track for the upcoming Here Be Dragons album. Sammet says the title track features former Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate and will be the longest song of the album.





Writes Sammet, Track by Track: ‘Here Be Dragons’ is the longest song on the album and features a great duet with my good friend and one of my vocal heroes since his early days in Queensrÿche, Mr. Geoff Tate, who’s outdone himself on the track. It’s a groovy mid-tempo song with enchanting melodies, orchestral elements, big keyboard passages and a powerful guitar riffing driving the main parts of the song. Even though you can hear some classic Dio, Queensrÿche and even Marillion elements in there, it’s a typical Avantasia song and a very unqiue one. It has two different choruses and a very emotional and big sounding mid-section. The song wasn’t meant to be that long, but there isn’t a single note I would change or leave out if I listen to the final result now.”




Rock and metal flagship, Avantasia, will release their 10th studio album and Napalm Records debut, Here Be Dragons, on February 28. They recently unleashed the energizing first new single, “Creepshow”.


The new track is one of the catchiest songs of Avantasia’s career so far, and it arrives with an exciting, cinematic music video. The guaranteed future hit rings in a new era of Avantasia and will be an integral part of Avantasia’s spectacular live shows.


In their 25 years of existence, Avantasia has become one of the biggest leading forces in metal, boasting nine successful previous albums (such as the #1 charting Moonglow), worldwide sold-out arena tours and headline shows at all of the most important metal festivals. Here Be Dragons is sure to exceed all expectations as the most powerful Avantasia album so far.


Tobias Sammet on the single and video: "'Creepshow' is a perfect single. It’s short and catchy, and it emphasizes a facet of my work that has taken a backseat in my music in recent years. It’s light-hearted and the opposite of melancholic. And it's fresh, boisterous and unabashed - a straightforward kick-ass anthem. Also, even though it may seem like a reminiscence of my earlier writing, I think we managed to turn the whole thing into a trademark Avantasia tune, as we accentuated with the music video. We rented a haunted castle in North England and celebrated a night in the world of spectres and undead creatures. This is the most vibrant and eccentric music video I’ve ever shot in my entire career, not dead-serious, but certainly of serious quality! I can’t wait to play 'Creepshow' live on our tour next year, I can already see the whole venue jumping up and down and screaming along!”


Watch the official music video for “Creepshow”:





Featuring absolute Avantasia essentials such as spellbinding choirs and theatrical symphonic metal elements, multitalented mastermind and frontman Tobias Sammet also surprises fans old and new with plenty of intriguing fresh soundscapes. Here Be Dragons gives the celebrated Avantasia sound that has been carefully crafted over a quarter of a century an exciting and powerful spin. The new album is the most consistent and concise piece of art that the band has ever crafted.


Avantasia is not showing any signs of slowing down - soon after the release of Here Be Dragons, the band will head out on an extensive arena tour across Europe, promising to deliver fans an immersive experience with their biggest and most epic production ever.


In grand Avantasia tradition, the new full-length is rich in vivid storytelling and cinematic atmospheres, not to mention the highest level of musicianship. Opening track “Creepshow” is without a doubt one of the catchiest songs in their career. The energizing future hit truly welcomes the listener into the new era of Avantasia and will be an integral part of the band’s spectacular live shows. In contrast, the incredible title track “Here Be Dragons” is a classic Avantasia song, and at almost nine minutes, is by far the longest on the album. The cinematic dark soundscapes of “The Witch” captivate and support the song’s storyline perfectly. Emotional, multifaceted vocal performances mesmerize on “Avalon”, while the heavy metal number “Against The Wind” serves as further proof of the versatility of Avantasia’s sound. Remaining well-balanced and cohesive, Here Be Dragons is undeniably Avantasia’s most powerful album so far.


The 10-track offering was written and composed in its entirety by Tobias Sammet himself, produced and recorded by Tobias Sammet together with Sascha Paeth, mixed by Sascha Paeth and mastered by Michael Rodenberg. The stunning cover art was once again created by acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Here Be Dragons marks another masterpiece in the Avantasia catalog, leaving both fans and critics speechless and proving the band’s standing as a main force in the world of rock and metal!


Here Be Dragons is now available for pre-order in several exciting physical editions, with bonus albums included in select limited formats, like a 3CD hardcover artbook with 96 pages, over 160 pictures, drawings of Rodney Matthews and extensive stories to accompany the music and pictures. 





Here Be Dragons will be available in the following formats:


- 3CD-Artbook – large format, hardcover book incl. 96 pages, over 160 pictures and extensive stories and liner notes
- 3LP Vinyl Box incl 72 Pages 12" Booklet – strictly limited to 500 copies
- 1LP Glow in the Dark Vinyl incl 12'' Booklet – strictly limited to 300 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive
- 1LP Yellow/Orange Marbled Vinyl incl 12'' Booklet – strictly limited to 300 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive
- 1LP Blue/White Splattered Vinyl incl 12" Booklet + Poster + Slipmat – strictly limited to 500 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive ROW
- 1LP Orange incl 12'' Booklet     
- 1LP Black incl 12'' Booklet         
- Tape – strictly limited to 100 copies – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive           
- 2CD Mediabook              
- 1CD Digipak                     
- Di

Legendary singer Paul Rodgers has announced his plans to release an autobiography.

Earlier today (Tuesday, December 170, the iconic vocalist, best known for his work as the frontman of FREE, which had a Top 5 hit with "All Right Now" in 1970, as well as the frontman of the supergroup BAD COMPANY, took to his social media to write: "Hey everyone, Paul Rodgers here. Today, December 17 is my 75th birthday, that is approximately 27,375 days on this earth!

"As I celebrate this milestone, I want to share some news with you. I've started working on my memoir which will be a heartfelt gift from me to you. I'll open up about my early beginnings starting with FREE, BAD COMPANY, THE FIRM, Solo, QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, plus before and beyond. I will also touch on my recovery from some serious life changing health challenges.

"To make it even more powerful, I'm reaching out to the fans, my friends, family, and fellow musicians to help contribute to the story from their perspective and that's where you come in. You may remember I've always loved and encouraged audience participation!

"I want to have your input, as you've all been a big part of this minstrel gypsy's journey. Please share your pictures and memories that relate to me to my website and we'll go through it and who knows, you just might find yourself in the pages of the book.

"Let's make this a collaborative project! Visit PaulRodgers.com for details on how you can be a part of this…

"With Love, Paul".

Rodgers's latest album, "Midnight Rose", came out in September 2023 via Sun Records. This was Paul's first solo LP of new music in nearly 25 years.

The now-75-year-old Rodgers suffered 11 minor strokes and two major strokes — one in 2016 and another in October 2019 — several years ago, leaving him unable to talk. Rodgers eventually underwent an endarterectomy, a procedure to remove plaque clogging a carotid artery, which posed a considerable risk to his vocal cords. It took Rodgers six months after the surgery to return to playing the guitar and singing and considerably longer than that to regain his full singing voice. Paul eventually returned to the studio in Vancouver and began recording "Midnight Rose".

The founding member of English supergroup BAD COMPANY along with guitarist Mick Ralphs, Rodgers has sold more than 125 million records worldwide in his 55-year career. In addition to BAD COMPANY, Rodgers formed and led two other legendary English bands to international success — FREE with guitarist Paul Kossoff, and THE FIRM with LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page.

"Working with Paul gave me the opportunity to appreciate what an extraordinary vocalist and songwriter this man really is," Page said.

Rodgers was also instrumental in resurrecting QUEEN under the banner of QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, which saw the group release an original album "The Cosmos Rocks", which marked the first time Rodgers released new, original music since his 1999 solo album "Electric". They also released several live DVDs including songs from both of their respective catalogs. He fronted the band for four years from 2004 to 2008 before leaving to return to his solo career and BAD COMPANY.

"[He's] simply the greatest blues/rock singer alive. Having now had the privilege to work with Paul, it is even more clear to me that Paul Rodgers is the rock/blues voice they all look up to," said Brian May, lead guitarist of QUEEN.

He added: "FREE's 'Fire & Water' album was our bible when we were starting out. I remember we were in the studio recording and Freddie [Mercury] was doing the vocal track. I made some suggestions and he said, 'I'm not Paul Rodgers. I can't do that!'"

LED ZEPPELIN's Robert Plant calls him "the voice of all British voices" and Rolling Stone magazine ranked him as "one of the greatest singers of all time." Some hit songs include "All Right Now", "Bad Company", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Can't Get Enough", "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Radioactive".

Respected rock journalist Mick Wall, author of biographies on rock stars including Ozzy Osbourne, Jon Bon Jovi and Axl Rose, with bylines in publications such as Louder, Classic Rock and Kerrang!, believes "everyone knows that Paul Rodgers is one of the greatest singers in the world. What they are only waking up to is that there may never be another like him."

Hey everyone, Paul Rodgers here.

Today, December 17 is my 75th birthday, that is approximately 27,375 days on this...

Posted by Paul Rodgers Official on Tuesday, December 17, 2024

In a new interview with "The Allison Hagendorf Show", Courtney LaPlante, the frontwoman of the two-time Grammy-nominated progressive metal band SPIRITBOX, was asked how she thinks metal and hard rock have changed in the last decade and a half. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that one thing that when I first got to start becoming a professional musician, and I guess maybe you would consider that where you understand the behind-the-scenes stuff — publicists and managers and production people — that was cool. I felt ignorant to the fact that there's a lot of women behind the scenes now compared to when I first started out and went on Warped Tour in 2012 [as the frontwoman of IWRESTLEDABEARONCE]. And that was really interesting to me, because sometimes I just feel like it's really hard for people to empathize outside of the in group that they're in or rather they've never been taught that they have to do that, whereas women, to adapt we have to be able to empathize with the default 'cause we're not the default, which is so odd because we're 50 percent of the population. But we're not the default, so having more women start to become part of the rock industry — other industries now have a lot more women in it. I mean, you look at the pop world; [it]'s always dominated by women. And now the rap world is dominated by women, which is really cool. That's something that has changed a lot. And I think just having people that are more likely to be able to empathize with you, therefore they're more likely to be able to advocate for you. I surround myself with incredible men too, but there is something like a nod of understanding between the two of you even before you meet that you've both probably had similar experiences."

Earlier in the month, SPIRITBOX announced the "Tsunami Sea" North American tour. Kicking off April 3 in Dallas, Texas, produced by Live Nation, the 24-date tour will hit cities across the U.S. and Canada with LOATHE, DYING WISH and GEL as support.

The announcement followed SPIRITBOX's second consecutive Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" ("Cellar Door") which no woman has ever won this sole category. The tour announcement also followed the reveal of SPIRITBOX's sophomore album, "Tsunami Sea", slated for release on March 7 via Pale Chord / Rise Records. The album's first two singles, the heavy hitter "Soft Spine" and melodic "Perfect Soul", showcase the band's dynamic range and their ability to seamlessly fuse diverse sonic influences, offering a glimpse into the depth and ambition of the forthcoming record.

In addition to SPIRITBOX's headline U.S. and European tours in 2025, the band will jump on select dates of LINKIN PARK's world tour, joining the rock icons for performances in Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K.

Formed in 2017 in the picturesque-yet-isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, by Laplante and guitarist Mike Stringer, SPIRITBOX became a household name in rock circles in the summer of 2020 with the release of their blistering breakout single "Holy Roller", along with a host of other captivating singles shortly after, resulting in a media firestorm of hype.

With new and existing fans eagerly watching their next move, SPIRITBOX exceeded every expectation imaginable in 2021 with the release of their genre-defining debut studio album "Eternal Blue" via Pale Chord/Rise Records. "Eternal Blue", which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, kicked open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewrote the genre's playbook with 12 stunning tracks that incorporated everything from djent and post-metal to infectious synth-laden pop sensibilities and cinematic arrangements, brought fully to life by the inimitable Laplante's ethereal and commanding vocal performances.

The album cycle for "Eternal Blue" saw SPIRITBOX not only grace the covers of esteemed music publications such as Revolver, Alternative Press, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, among many others but would also solidify the band as one of the most in-demand groups in live music today with their one-hundred percent sold out, first-ever headlining tour in support of the album which saw ticket sales over 40,000. The band would also share the stage with seasoned metal veterans such as LIMP BIZKIT and GHOST and win "Best International Breakthrough Band" at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards.

In 2022, SPIRITBOX secured highly coveted spots at numerous major U.S. rock and metal festivals and were nominated for two Juno awards, respectively. SPIRITBOX would also round out their current lineup with the inclusion of drummer Zev Rose and bassist Josh Gilbert in addition to releasing their sonically experimental EP "Rotoscope" in June of that year as well as a cross-genre collaboration with dubstep artist Illenium for the track "Shivering".

During another whirlwind year for the band, including a U.S. tour with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH, SPIRITBOX wrote and recorded their critically acclaimed EP "The Fear Of Fear", released in November 2023. The EP features the single "Jaded", which was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, the band would make another genre-bending splash with a high-profile collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of her song "Cobra".

During a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before W.A.S.P.'s December 13 concert at The Warfield in San Francisco, California, W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless spoke about how he thinks the technology will evolve in the next few years in terms of the way people consume music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In my business, in show business, it reinvents itself about every 20 years. We go back and we look at, let's say, vaudeville in the 1900s. Vaudeville was king — I mean, it was absolute king — because people didn't have any other means of entertainment. So fast forward a little bit, radio comes out [and it] puts a dent in vaudeville. Then silent movies come out a few years after that, [and it] puts a bigger dent in vaudeville. Talkies comes out seven years later, [and it] destroys vaudeville. If you're in vaudeville and you cannot make the transition to talkies, your career is over. Fast forward to television. Television does the same thing that talkies have done to vaudeville 20 years before that.

"So, fast forward to where we are now," he continued. "The digital revolution destroyed music as we know it. Because most people, and I would assume it's the same where you were when you grew up, but everybody in this room here pretty much experienced the same thing. If you wanted a record when you were a kid, you had to save your lunch money or go cut somebody's grass, you had to do whatever to get enough money to go to a record store and buy that record you wanted. But the problem is, once you got there, there were 10 records you wanted, but you could only afford one. Now, today, for 10 dollars, a kid can get an unlimited supply of music. It's like going to a water faucet and turning the water on. There's no end to it. There's no inherent value to the music to them anymore. For us, when we were doing it growing up, we traded our sweat equity for the artist's sweat equity. That doesn't exist now. So they're never gonna understand the joy. You get that record for the first time, you take it home and you put it on. You study every word, every photo while you're listening to it. They don't do that now. They've been robbed of that. And I feel really sorry for them. Because they're never going to get to experience what everybody in this room knows what I'm talking about right now. So that's a really, really sad thing.

"If technology is able to reinvent itself and the people who are doing it now can adapt and move into that next phase, they'll survive. Those that don't, won't. Common expression, you've gotta build a better mousetrap to survive.

"Can I give you an answer [as to where the technology will go from here]? No, I can't. Because I don't see any technology that will do the things that we're talking about that would then reintroduce that younger generation to a love of music. Because what we're talking about is there's a number of things that have to happen for them to experience what we experienced. Like I said, if we had to work, if we had to save money, if we had to do all of those things, those they don't have to do.

"When you trade money or services or whatever, when you trade something, you put a value on it," Blackie added. "When there is no value on it, it's like oxygen; it doesn't mean anything. So, unless something is developed that reinvents the business, I think you're seeing the last thing. I hope I'm wrong, but as a student of show business history, I think the answer is right in front of us, that that technology does not yet exist.

"A rock band can do right now what it took a hundred-piece orchestra to do two hundred years ago, volume-wise. We don't need two hundred guys on stage to make the volume. We can do it with three or four guys. So the big band era got wiped out when the electric guitar was invented. So, like I said, every time a technology like that happens, it totally rewrites the showbiz history as we know it. And when it comes to other industry, I don't know what to tell you. I mean, I know what I know, but I don't know a whole lot about… But that being said, my experience is that most businesses work the same — the theories and foundations of how they succeed, they're pretty much the same. So, it doesn't matter whether you're making computers or tires for cars or whatever, the theory of how you make a business work is pretty much the same in everything. But, like I said, specifically to ours, I see us in a kind of a no man's land right now, and I don't know where it's going. 'Cause I don't see a technology that will give us the joy of what we used to have. Because the Internet giveth, the Internet taketh away."

As previously reported, W.A.S.P. will perform its classic debut album in its entirety on the spring/summer 2025 European tour, dubbed "Album ONE Alive".

1984 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of W.A.S.P.'s first LP. To celebrate this milestone, W.A.S.P. will, for the first time in 40 years, play the entire album from top to bottom at headline shows across Europe. In addition, W.A.S.P. will appear at a number of European festivals, performing its greatest hits.

W.A.S.P. kicked off the North American leg of the "Album ONE Alive" tour on October 26 at Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California. The 39-city run made stops across North America in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and more before wrapping up on Saturday, December 14 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.

Along with bassist Mike Duda and lead guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band are 29 and 26 years respectively, W.A.S.P. is joined by longtime drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

Because of the extensive back injuries Lawless suffered during the European leg of W.A.S.P.'s 40th-anniversary tour, the band's previously announced 2023 U.S. tour was canceled.

W.A.S.P.'s massive European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour wrapped on May 18, 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria at Universidada Sports Hall.

W.A.S.P. wrapped up its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October 2022. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

American hard rockers, Lo-Pan, have set their signatures on a multi-album contract with Magnetic Eye Records. The long-running Columbus, Ohio foursome will release their fifth full-length via the label in 2025.


"It's an honor to be a part of the Magnetic Eye Records roster", drummer Jesse Bartz writes on behalf of the band. "We are very excited about the plans that we have for 2025 and beyond. Watch this space for more news coming soon!"


Jadd Shickler adds: "I love breaking new talent, but this label is also a home for iconic heavy bands, and that's exactly what Lo-Pan are", the Magnetic Eye director explains. "These guys have been intertwined with the riff-rock, doom, and stoner scene going back over a decade, but they're something else entirely. They deliver classic rock that's somehow modern, heavy as hell and at the highest possible level since they started. I can barely express the pride and pleasure it gives me to welcome Lo-Pan to Magnetic Eye! It's been far too long since we heard new music from them, and we can't wait to be the ones bringing it to the world!"




Lo-Pan are an American hard rock band hailing from Columbus, Ohio, well-known for their powerful blend of driving rhythms, melodic vocals, and immersive sonic landscapes.


Formed in 2005, Lo-Pan have laboured hard to earn a reputation as one of the most consistent and compelling acts in the modern heavy scene with their blue-collar work ethic with singular artistic vision.


Lo-Pan came together in the vibrant underground Columbus music scene out of a shared love of vintage rock, stoner metal, and modern heaviness. This united four musicians with a passion for pushing boundaries. It was no accident that they took their name from the sorcerous villain in the cult film "Big Trouble in Little China" as the band set out to blend cinematic drama with larger-than-life energy.


From their earliest days, Lo-Pan distinguished themselves with an intense live presence and a sound that combined classic rock grit with the crushing weight of stoner and doom influences. What further set them apart was an uncanny combination of weighty power and soaring melodies. Their approach pays homage to the lineage of bands like Clutch and Corrosion Of Conformity while carving out their own sonic identity.


Lo-Pan's 2009 debut album Sasquanaut was an immediate breakout, earning praise for its infectious hooks and monumental grooves, and established the band as a force to be reckoned with in the heavy underground. Sophomore full-length Salvador (2011) solidifi

Defeated Sanity have released a guitar playthrough video for "Extrinsically Enraged", featured on their new album, Chronicles Of Lunacy, available via Season Of Mist. Order / save your copy here, and watch the new clip below:





Defeated Sanity have pushed the boundaries of extreme metal for 30 odd years. The band execute jazz-infused chaos with mind-bending precision, while also slamming together so many memorable breakdowns that they cracked the Billboard charts. Their upcoming seventh album still hits from every odd angle, but on Chronicles Of Lunacy, these technical maniacs return to sheer brutality.




“The last few DS albums leaned heavily on the proggier side of our sound,” says the band's drummer and founding member Lille Gruber. “We still like to experiment, but on our new album, we wanted to get back to the raw slamming that our fans love about Psalms Of The Moribund or Chapters Of Repugnance.”


To dig back into the brutal mindset that long-time fans have come to crave, in January 2024, Defeated Sanity returned to Thousand Cave Studios. The underground New York City hotspot was also the excavation site for The Sanguinary Impetus, which dumped a fresh layer of dirt on the more "polished" production of Passages Into Deformity. Except this time around, the band encouraged producer Colin Marston to really get his hands dirty.

During an appearance on the December 16 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", former WHITESNAKE and DIO and current THE DEAD DAISIES guitarist Doug Aldrich has offered an update on his health, three months after he underwent a "very successful" surgery following a throat cancer diagnosis. Regarding how he got diagnosed with throat cancer, Doug said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I never thought I would get cancer. It just never occurred to me. I've always been super healthy and — knock on wood — I never had a major anything. And one day, I think it was in May, I was about to go on tour with THE DAISIES and I was shaving and I saw a little lump on my neck. And I was, like, 'Well, that looks when you're sick, you've got swollen glands or something.' It was on one side. And I thought, 'That doesn't hurt at all. My throat doesn't [hurt]. Nothing hurts.' And I went on tour, and I said, 'Hey, something like that could be a viral thing. Let it roll for a couple weeks, and if it doesn't change, then make an appointment to see your doctor.' And so I went and did the dates — it was, like, three weeks of dates or something in the U.S., I believe. And I got home and got an appointment. It took a little time. As you know, to get a doctor's appointment it takes a minute. So it was another few weeks before I got in. And immediately they looked at it in order for me to get a CT scan, [and] after reading that they were concerned there was something in there. It wasn't a major concern. Then I did a little MRI of the neck, and that's when they could measure the bump, and they realized that this was really concerning. [And they told me] I should go see an ear, nose and throat doctor. And my doctor was, like, 'Hey, it could be cancer. It could be cancerous, but it could be benign. It could be whatever. Don't worry about it yet.' But already my mind was starting to get a little bit nervous. So I go to the ear, nose and throat doctor, and he goes, 'I see it. It's on your tonsil. And if you don't mind, I'm gonna grab a piece of it with the tweezers and I'll send it in for a biopsy,' which, actually, just for those people that care about this stuff, you could go get a biopsy and it would cost you thousands of dollars or insurance or whatever. The way this guy did it was old school — he just ripped a chunk off my tonsil and sent it in and it saved me a ton of money to do that. So it came back positive for HPV 16 throat cancer. Definitely not good. So, right then you start freaking out, like, 'Oh, man. Okay, what stage is it?', whatever. And it's very difficult to get definitive answers on stuff, 'cause nobody really knows until you do all these tests and all this stuff. So there's probably three or four weeks before you find out what stage it is or whatever."

Doug continued: "So that's how it started. And then I went and started going through the process. By that time, I was doing a lot of tests and stuff. I have insurance for me and my family, and I maxed out my deductible. So that was good. But insurance is a whole another thing. Doctors' bills — you get bills; every day there's bills from this and that, and you don't know what to pay and what not to pay. It's very confusing. But anyway, that's how it started. That's how it was diagnosed. And I immediately got in with… My wife got me into a doctor at UCLA Medical Center, which is close in L.A. And then my sister's boyfriend is a plastic surgeon, and he got me in with a doctor for a second opinion from Cedar Sinai in L.A. And that's the guy I went with, a guy called Dr. Ho."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk to clarify that he "had no symptoms" beyond this little bump and that he wasn't "in pain or anything", Doug said: "Nothing. Sometimes people lose weight. I had no symptoms — nothing. It was just a bump, and it was not super noticeable, but then, of course, once you see it, you can't unsee it. And another thing that's important for people [to know] is that the most important thing you can do to protect yourself is get checked. Well, this particular cancer, it usually gets discovered by a dentist. But I don't have many problems with my teeth, and a dentist is expensive. So I would be, like, 'Look, my kids, I wanna make sure they're checked, and [they have] braces and whatever they need to do. That's what I'm gonna spend my money on.' I was, like, 'I don't need to go to the dentist. I just brush my teeth and floss. That's it.' But had I gone to the dentist, he would have seen this before it… It's called metastasizing when it switches from the actual tumor to a lymph node, and that's what my neck bump was; it was a lymph node that had gotten swollen. So a dentist would have seen that thing on my tonsil a lot sooner and it would have been much easier to deal with, or my treatment would have been much easier to deal with. But it got discovered when it was already metastasized in the lymph node and then the question was, what stage is it? How big is it? How far did it go?"

Doug added: "So the bottom line is you've gotta get diagnosed of where you're at, and you need to go to an oncologist. And I would recommend [for you to] go to a big hospital in your area and make an appointment, start making appointments with whoever you can. And that's what my wife did. She reached out to UCLA because we've used them before for kids and stuff. And so she got me that one. And the guy, he had been there a long time, had a great record, and UCLA is great and everything, but he said, 'We don't really do stages anymore. It's kind of an old thing that they did with cancer. They call it stage 1 through 4, whatever.' Basically, he goes, 'I don't know what yours is exactly. It could be 2, it could be 3, it could be 1 and a half, whatever. But you're gonna need surgery.'

"When it's in your throat, you've got all these things that are connected in there. So they're looking down your nose, looking in your throat, looking at X-rays and scans and all this stuff. And by the way, around that time too, the doctor ordered a PET scan, which is a full-on body [scan] to see if the cancer has spread to like your lungs or your liver or kidneys or whatever, and that's scary. When you start thinking, like, 'When is my appointment? Oh, it's in two weeks. It could be right now growing anywhere.' And you don't know, so you've gotta get this PET scan. But, fortunately, so far and at that time, I was all clear everywhere except for that spot. So he said, 'You've gotta operate,' and he goes, 'The good thing is I'm a great surgeon. I can do the outside part on your lymph nodes, but I can't do the inside, which is gonna be a robotic surgery. I need somebody else to do that.' And then when I met with Dr. Ho at Cedar Sinai, he was younger. He had probably had more up-to-date kind of training in terms of robotics. And he goes, 'I'm gonna do both surgeries myself.' And he was very confident."

According to Aldrich, another issue had come up during that time which affected the way he went about his surgery. He explained: "There's a nerve in your neck that connects your shoulder that's involved in this area. And when they do the surgery, if they clip that nerve, then you're have a real hard time lifting your arm, which wouldn't affect my guitar playing, but I wouldn't be able to lift my arm up very well. And I'm thinking not just about playing guitar, but I'm thinking about, like, shooting a basketball with my kids or something. So I asked him about it, and he goes, 'We'll do our best. I think we can save that nerve.' And he did. So first thing [they did was the] surgery, and then after surgery, they decide what kind of treatments, whether they got it all and you don't need to do anything, or if you have to have radiation, or chemo, or both. And I had to get radiation."

Asked if he is now done with all the radiation, Doug said: "They told me that I needed radiation just to clear it up, because it had gone to the lymph nodes on my neck and it looked like it was pretty contained, but there might be a little piece or some fragments that would come off, so they need to zap them with radiation just to make sure. And I started reading about what radiation was gonna be like, and my wife did, and it's not fun any way you do it. It's basically frying certain parts of your body, and there's a lot of side effects that happen from that, so I wasn't looking forward to it. And I thought maybe because the surgeon did a good job, and I've got a lot of friends that have gone through [similar] stuff … I was hoping I could get a little bit of a less radiation than what I got. I got six weeks. But they said, 'Hey, you are eligible for a clinical trial where you could get three weeks radiation, but you've gotta get three doses of chemo as well. And it works out really well.' And I was excited about that, and I qualified for it, but the problem with the chemo when you're dealing with head and neck is it makes your ears ring and you can lose hearing. And I already got one ear that's ringing really bad with tinnitus or whatever you call it. So I wasn't a good candidate for that. So I went for the six weeks of radiation, which is five days a week. It takes 15 minutes under the microwave thing or whatever, the laser, whatever, that proton thing, and you do it five days a week. Then they need to give you two days to rest for six weeks. So I just wrapped up."

Asked if he has been given the "all clear" now, Doug said: "The biggest issue from the radiation was I'd get nauseated and major fatigue, and then little by little your neck on the outside starts to fry and my neck now is like baby skin. It's all brand new skin. And so I was lucky. I'm feeling great. I got done with it. I'm starting to think about getting to the gym. And I probably lost 10 pounds, which some people lose 40 or 50 or 100… So I just try to eat healthy and eat protein, and they just said, 'Keep your calories up.' And I've been really lucky, man, but there's a lot of side effects. There's a lot of stuff that's a pain in the ass. I still can't open my mouth to take a nice big bite of a hamburger, and then my jaw gets really tired, because… So I've got this fibrosis — it's like called TMJ or whatever — so I can't really eat; it's hard to eat, it's hard to chew. That's one thing. And then I've got no taste, because that radiation basically fries your taste buds. So that hopefully will come back. Because that's one of the things that's crazy, man, is without taste… When I got COVID a couple years ago, I didn't lose my taste, so I never knew what it was like."

"So to answer your earlier question [about whether I have been given the 'all clear'], I'm basically done with the treatment and the surgery and all that stuff," he continued. "Now I've gotta wait three months and they're gonna do a PET scan again and see if there's anything left. Chances are they got it all. If not, then I'll just deal with it, whatever it is. And you start getting freaked out about it, but there's so many people that go through various stages and things of cancer and they're still around and they're still fighting and kicking ass. And they really are warriors. The key is just to try and catch it early, if you can."

In late September, Doug's wife Daniela "Danni" Aldrich said that his surgery, which she described as "five long hours of multiple steps", "went incredibly well", adding that "Doug pushed through like the fighter he is. Even the nurse called him a superhero for his strength and determination right after!" she wrote. "He is the strongest person I know."

As a result of Doug's surgery, he was not able to take part in THE DEAD DAISIES' recent European tour and was temporarily replaced by Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER).

Aldrich played with DIO for a short period between 2002 and 2006. He was also a member of WHITESNAKE from 2002 to 2014 before leaving to spend more time with his family. The guitarist played on two WHITESNAKE studio albums, 2008's "Good To Be Bad" and 2011's "Forevermore", and appeared on several live releases, including 2013's "Made In Japan" and "Made In Britain/The World Records".

Aldrich left WHITESNAKE 10 years ago, saying in a statement that he "had several recording and live commitments," so he "needed a more flexible schedule to conclude these before going full force as normal." He added: "Unfortunately, my schedule was not workable."

Having also played with LION, HOUSE OF LORDS, BAD MOON RISING, HURRICANE and Glenn Hughes, Aldrich joined THE DEAD DAISIES in 2016 and can be heard on that band's last five albums, 2016's "Make Some Noise", 2018's "Burn It Down", 2021's "Holy Ground", 2022's "Radiance" and 2024's "Light 'Em Up".

Brazilian melodic rockers, Landfall, are pleased to share "No Tomorrow", their new single and video, taken from their upcoming new album, Wide Open Sky, set for release on January 17 via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the new clip below, and pre-order the album here.


Guitarist Marcelo Gelbcke says: "'No Tomorrow' is another song that has a very strong fingerprint of what Landfall is all about. Melodies, choirs, rich harmonies and rhythmic changes. We wanted to navigate to a more AOR vibe on this one. It was also inspired by the passing of the great actor Carl Weathers, paying homage to his most remarkable character: Apollo Creed. There’s a line on Rocky III that Apollo says to an unmotivated Rocky: “There is no tomorrow!”. We thought it would be nice to write a song about this theme - Doing everything we can do today and not leaving anything for tomorrow. A song about motivation, goals and determination.”


"'No Tomorrow' is one of my favorite songs on the album. I believe it was a great choice for a single ‘cause at the same time it is powerful it is also a very catchy song”, adds vocalist Gui Oliver.







Landfall, the hard rockers from Curitiba, Brazil, features singer Gui Oliver (ex-Auras), guitarist Marcelo Gelbcke, bassist Luis Rocha, and drummer Felipe Souzza, are back with an almighty bang.


The band’s delightful melodic rock/AOR sound can best be described as falling somewhere between classic melodic rock, a là Journey, and slightly heavier influences, such as classic era Dokken, White Lion, and Extreme. With phenomenal musical and songwriting abilities and the golden voice of Oliver, Landfall is truly a welcome addition to the melodic rock genre.


The new album delivers a solid band and the new songs are stronger, able to capture the best of each band member, melodic rock has never sounded better.


Landfall was originally formed by drummer Felipe Souzza and guitarist Marcelo Gelbcke, childhood friends who have been playing together since they were about 15 years old. Some years later, bassist Thiago Forbeci joined up with them and added new musical input and influences, at which point the band decided to go in a new direction.


During this period, they released three independent albums under the name Wild Child, performing several concerts around Brazil, including opening for acts such as Glenn Hughes and Mike Vescera; until 2017 when the former Auras singer Gui Oliver, joined the ba