Bobby Blotzer says that he and the other members of RATT's classic lineup "owe it" to the fans to reunite one more time.

On Friday (September 2),Blotzer took to his Facebook page to share a poster for RATT's performance opening for the SCORPIONS at the Day On The Green festival in 1985, and he wrote in the comments section: "You guys want a RATT OG TOUR, email Warren [DeMartini, guitar] he's locked in his rose garden. Juan [Croucier, bass] is locked in his house somewhere but him and Stephen [Pearcy, vocals], whew not good. Stephen and I great and ready to friggin RATT N Roll."

After a number of his followers chimed in, asking him to "make a reunion happen," Blotzer posted once again, writing: "I really believe and I've said this to the band , We owe this to them. You guys were the ones who fuels the RATT tank from the get go."

As for how he has been spending his time, Bobby wrote: "I'm cool , Sort of in retirement lol just been playing golf working on my Suntan, my swimming pool helping raise my girlfriends two kids raising my dogs and cats I'm bored at the same time lol I want to play."

Blotzer later elaborated on why he thinks a classic RATT reunion hasn't happened. "Everybody lives very comfortably and doesn't really have to go on tour," he wrote. "Some of us are just tired of the way things get run and not having the power to change it. When you have five seasonal Indians running around that's what happens. For me I don't want to hear about any old stuff why do you do this why did he do that etc. all I wanna do is rehearse for the tour and get on the road and entertain you guys. That doesn't mean we can't be friendly to each other I just don't wanna at this point fight about anything."

He continued: "We have one of the best catalogs in arguably at least a big part of rock history and it's a shame that we're not out playing it. But it still sells like crazy and brings a hell of a lot of money and so people are still enjoying it and buying it planet download it and all that other kind of stuff. If you can read between the lines are I think you understand what's in certain peoples minds".

Pearcy is the only member of RATT's classic lineup who has been actively touring, performing many of the RATT's hits with his solo band.

In April 2021, Pearcy was joined by Blotzer during the RATT singer's livestream concert from the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.

Pearcy and Croucier were the sole remaining original members in RATT's most recent lineup, which made its live debut in July 2018 in Mulvane, Kansas. Joining them in the band were drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE, RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER) and guitarists Jordan Ziff (Marty Friedman) and Frankie Lindia (David Lee Roth).

RATT — featuring Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini — played a number of shows in 2017 after reforming a year earlier in the midst of a highly publicized legal battle with Blotzer over the rights to the RATT name. They were joined at the gigs by guitarist Carlos Cavazo, who played on 2010's "Infestation" album, and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who previously played with Y&T, WHITE LION and MEGADETH, among others.

During an appearance on the August 29 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Pearcy spoke about his decision to focus on his solo career instead of trying to keep RATT alive with him and Croucier as the only members from the band's classic lineup.

"I'd rather [play with my solo band] than the brand, the cover band, so to speak," he said. "[I am] not [trying to be] disrespectful, but look, no Warren [DeMartini, RATT guitarist]; he chooses to kick back, and that's all great. And Bob [RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer] — everybody's pretty much laid back except for me. So I'm just taking care of business."

Asked what the relationship is like between him and the other members of RATT's classic lineup, Pearcy said: "It's all business, pretty much. There's no business in the RATT, unfortunately, camp, and that's unfortunate. But that's why I do my thing. I talk to Bob every now and then. That's about it. Warren, I guess, chooses to just be laid back, from what I gather. And that's all cool."

Pearcy acknowledged that "it would be great if we all pulled together" and reunited all the surviving members of RATT's classic lineup, but he admitted that "it's not gonna happen. You're dealing with a lot of ego," he said. "Who knows? I don't know. I don't give a shit, actually. This is where it starts and this is where it's gonna end, and that's with me. And I'm out there just doing what I do."

Pressed about whether he has given up on the idea of a reunion of RATT's classic lineup, Stephen said: "Look, I'd rather be out there [with my solo band] than having the [RATT] band out there with just me and the bass player in RATT. That's not what RATT was. RATT was [Robbin] Crosby [guitar], Pearcy, DeMartini, Bobby and Juan. And so be it. And I'd rather give a bit of integrity to the band, 'cause it was a great rock band, and just continue doing what I do. You can't beat a dead horse or try to bullshit people."

He continued: "Look, like I said, no disrespect — we've had a lot of great players come and go. That's where the problem is — we've had people coming and going, and coming and going. RATT is not all these different people. RATT was these five guys. And no disrespect. People wanna lay back, great. I don't. And that's where it is."

Asked if he regrets having done shows under the RATT name with just him and Juan from the band's classic lineup, Stephen said: "Yeah, actually. Yeah. Because it's not the same. I don't like to bullshit. Look, you wanna hear the songs? I wrote 'em. Come see me play 'em. I sang 'em. Maybe somebody else helped rearrange 'em or added some lyrics. I don't know. It's all the same."

Three months ago, Pearcy told Atlantic City Weekly that RATT was supposed to do "a big summer tour this year. I initiated doing something if the [surviving] guys [from the classic lineup] would get together," he revealed. "But there is no reason for them to do it or a need for them to do it, so I decided to just go out solo. And I am better off. Some of these guys [in my solo band] have been with me 18, 20 years. So if you want to Ratt & Roll, come see my shows."

Hard to compute this ,
37 years ago a few days ago in 1985
We played 3 shows with scorpions,
This one and 2 nights at...

Posted by Bobby Blotzer on Friday, September 2, 2022

Belgian extreme heavy metal frontrunners, Evil Invaders, performed at the  Alcatraz Metal Festival 2022 in Kortrijk, Belgium on August 13th. Pro-shot video of their full show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Hissing in Crescendo"
"Mental Penitentiary"
"As Life Slowly Fades"
"In Deepest Black"
"Sledgehammer Justice"
"Tortured By The Beast"
"Broken Dreams In Isolation"
"Feed Me Violence"
"Die For Me"
"Raising Hell"







Evil Invaders dropped another bomb earlier this year by delivering their epic anthem and third single, "Die For Me" - the last harbinger of cutthroat energy released before the band unleashes their latest album, Shattering Reflection.


Evil Invaders on “Die For Me”: "'Die For Me' was the first video script I actually wrote out before we recorded the video. Working with a crew that executed the visual aspect of it exactly as I had it in mind was just killer! The song itself has a strong rock'n'roll vibe with a lot of anger and insanity mixed into it. I opened some dark and wicked doors in my mind while writing this song... Now tell me what you're gonna do...”





Shattering Reflection is a monster of an album that indisputably proves that, within in a new generation of metal bands, Evil Invaders have developed and matured record after record, just like classic metal bands of yore. Fans will instantly clamor to hear Shattering Reflection in full, and see these sinister tracks performed live on stage.


Joe (vocalist & guitarist) on Shattering Reflection: "I’m very satisfied with what we achieved on Shattering Reflection. We’ve created a very versatile and surprising album. Because it had been so long since we’ve released anything new, we had a lot of demo material to choose from and I think that’s what made this record so interesting. We had the time to experiment with the songwriting, arrangements and vocal lines. Also the collaboration with Francesco Paoli as a producer was really cool. We managed to truly give the songs a unique vibe. It feels like we’re at the start of a new chapter for the band and I’m excited to hear people’s reactions to the new stuff. It was a long and heavy process but it was totally worth it."





Tracklisting:


"Hissing In Crescendo"
"Die For Me"
"In Deepest Black"
"Sledgehammer Justice"
"Forgotten Memories"
"Realm of Shadows"
"Eternal Darkness"
"My World"
"Aeon"
"The Circle"


"Sledgehammer Justice" video:





"In Deepest Black" video:





Lineup:


Joe - Vocals & Guitars
Senne Jacobs - Drums
Max - Guitars
Joeri - Bass

With defiant determination rarely found in a metal band, Therion has always and exclusively done what they deemed right. Never did they stick to a successful formula, never did they release the same album twice, never did they give in to fickle friends like expectations, commercial aspects, or trends. Which makes it all the more astounding that now, 35 years deep into their storied career, they actually do something every fan had hoped but never actually thought possible.


Enter Leviathan, enter a trilogy focusing on all the trademark elements Therion is beloved by countless metal fans around the globe. After the first part set hearts a flame in 2021, evoking goosebumps galore and reminiscing the glory days of the nineties, the symphonic metal grand-seigneurs continue their surprisingly fan-friendly path with their epic odyssey Leviathan II.


“We wanted to give fans what they want this time,” musical professor Christofer Johnsson informs us from his sunny new home in Gozo, Malta.




“We have been doing what we wanted for so long that we just thought it fair to turn the tables just this once.” Turning 50, you might misinterpret a move like this with a certain mellowing of age. You couldn’t be more wrong, of course: Johnsson is still the musical frontiersman, looking for new challenges and hero’s journey under every stone he turns. However, after having finished the insanely sophisticated, elaborate triple album rock musical Beloved Antichrist, even Christofer Johnsson felt he had reached a certain frontier here. “After Beloved Antichrist I was lacking direction because I had done everything I ever wanted to do or achieve.” He sat down with lead vocalist Thomas Vikström to ponder their next move when it quickly dawned on them: “The only thing we never did was give the fans exactly what they wanted,” he grins drily.


The tracklist for Leviathan II has now been revealed. Check it out below.





Tracklist:


"Aeon of Maat"
"Litany of the Fallen"
"Alchemy of the Soul"
"Lunar Coloured Fields"
"Lucifuge Rofocale"
"Marijin Min Nar"
"Hades and Elysium"
"Midnight Star"
"Cavern Cold as Ice"
"Codex Gigas"
"Pazuzu"


With over 100+ million streams and a tremendously successful album released just a year ago, symphonic metal titans, Therion, have not been idle and continue their epic Leviathan trilogy with striking new single, "Pazuzu". Listen here, and watch a music video below.


Christofer comments: "'Pazuzu' is a song originally written for another artist, but in lack of a positive answer on acceptance of the song, we decided to rewrite it for Therion  instead. So style-wise it’s almost like a cover song on another artist - but still written by Therion. The song contains some powerful guest vocals from Eclipse singer Erik Mårtensson, in my mind the 'Blackie Lawless of AOR', definitely one of my fave singers from the last decade of new bands."





Pre-order the Leviathan II album here.

On September 3rd, Dream Theater performed at Rock In Rio 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pro-shot video of their entire set is available below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"The Alien"
"6:00"
"Endless Sacrifice"
"Bridges in the Sky"
"Invisible Monster"
"The Count of Tuscany"
"Pull Me Under"







For over three decades, Grammy Award winning guitarist, John Petrucci, has been known for his work in the ground-breaking and influential prog-metal band, Dream Theater. Now, John is adding another career milestone to his resume as he is embarking on his first headlining solo tour performing material from his recently released solo album, Terminal Velocity, as well as songs from his widely acclaimed debut release, Suspended Animation.


Terminal Velocity marked the first time that John and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy recorded together since Mike left the band in 2010. Now, John will take his instrumental trio on the road performing live with Mike Portnoy, and legendary bassist Dave LaRue in an on-stage reunion that has been 12 years in the making.


The historic tour will run through October and November and promises to be an unforgettable night of live musicianship. A new batch of dates have been announced, and you can find the updated schedule below.


The recently reunited all-female Meanstreak (pictured below) will be the special guest openers for the tour. Meanstreak is comprised of guitarists Marlene Portnoy and Rena Sands, vocalist Bettina France, bassist Martens Myung and drummer Yael.


Says Petrucci: "I'm thrilled to reveal more of my solo tour dates for later this year! These are going to be unbelievable nights of music with my incredible band featuring Mike Portnoy and Dave LaRue, as well as our very special guests, Meanstreak. See you there!"


For more information on all shows and to purchase tickets, fans can head here.





Confirmed dates:


October
5 - The Strand Ballroom & Theatre - Providence, RI
6 - The Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
7 - Berklee Performance Center - Boston, MA
12 - Count Basie Center for the Arts - Red Bank, NJ
13 - The Town Hall - New York, NY
14 - Keswick Theatre - Glenside, PA
15 - Lincoln Theatre - Washington, DC
17 - The National - Richmond, VA
19 - Buckhead Theatre - Atlanta, GA
20 - The CMA Theater - Nashville, TN
21 - Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC
22 - Capitol Theatre - Clearwater, FL
23 - Hard Rock Live Orlando - Orlando, FL
26 - House of Blues New Orleans - New Orleans, LA
27 - Charline McCombs Empire Theatre - San Antonio, TX
28 - Stafford Centre - Stafford, TX
29 - Tower Theatre - Oklahoma City, OK
29 - Tower Theatre - Oklahoma City, OK
30 - The Factory In Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX


November
2 - Celebrity Theatre - Phoenix, AZ
3 - The Magnolia - El Cajon, CA
4 - Ace Hotel - Los Angeles, CA
5 - House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim, CA
7 - Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre - San Francisco, CA
12 - Pantages Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
13 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
13 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
14 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
16 - House of Blues Cleveland - Cleveland, OH
17 - The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, ON

After the success of their sophomore album Firebride in 2020, Finnish sludge metal quartet Black Royal emerged as one of the Scandinavian underground’s most talked about bands.


Formed in 2013 in Tampere, Finland, Black Royal has drawn hordes of followers with their creed crushing choruses and beguiling riffs, pitched perfectly between the dramaturgy of Ghost and brutality of Behemoth.


This October, Black Royal will make an almighty return to the fold with Earthbound, their third full-length album and first on M-Theory Audio. Following the release of the title track in June, you can experience the fire and fury of new single, "13th Moon" now, with a video created by Rafael Ortega (Ayreon, Subterranean Masquerade). 







“It started as a rehearsal room jam between Toni and I,” explains bassist, Pete. “I had the main riff, and we were excited to do a more of an up-tempo rocker that would be fun to play live and get some heads moshing!”


Written and recorded at Studio Watercastle last August, mixed by Oskari Hakala Rahko (Lordi, Blind Guardian) and mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde (Convulse, Oranssi Pazuzu), Earthbound will deliver Black Royal’s heaviest collection of lurching sludge and groove-laden death metal songs yet. Filled with thunderous guitars and drums that trade blows at the gates of Valhalla, all deftly balanced on a psychedelic knife-edge, Earthbound will be released on October 21, 2022 on limited-edition “Phoenix Ascending” coloured vinyl and on Digipak CD. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.





Tracklisting:


"Earthbound"
"Ghosts Of The Dead"
"Conjuration"
"Law Of Nature"
"13th Moon"
"Phoenix Ascending"
"Bleed Your Soul"
"Queen Of The Underworld"
"Bear Cult"
"Barren Land"
"Rite Of Passage" 





For further details, visit Black Royal on Facebook.


 


 

Finnish melodic death/black metal band Arctora has signed a licensing deal with Wormholedeath for their album The Storm Is Over, due for release on September 30, 2022.


"I wrote the album by myself during difficult times, both personally and globally. I do hope the songs bring joy to someone else who is struggling," says guitarist/vocalist Joel Notkonen. "We are extremely proud to be taken in by Wormholedeath to aid us in our journey. May the storm soon be over."


The Storm Is Over artwork and tracklisting:







"Hearts Ever Restless"
"Arbiter Of Fate"
"The Last Winter"
"I Am Human"
"A Pale Image Of What You See"
"Wings Of Wax"
"The Storm Is Over"
"Haaksi"


An album teaser is available to view below.





For further details, visit Arctora on Facebook.


 

Italian proggers Onelegman are sharing their second single to "Radiate" your day. The track is off the band's forthcoming album Event Horizon due out on October 21, 2022, via Rockshots Records. “Radiate” moves from a strange acoustic intro with Indian influences to an orchestral and melodic rock song. The lyrics are inspired by Passengers, an American science fiction movie, directed by Morten Tyldum in 2016. In the movie, a couple of space travelers are forced to live their whole existence in complete solitude, dedicating themselves to building their relationship and safeguarding the supreme good of life.


The video for "Radiate" is solely done by handmade drawings of Simone Ferarein Ferrarini and edited in stop motion with the intention to give a fluid, continuative, and always morphing vision of the emotions that grow between a couple of children becoming adults while loving each other.


The third full length from the trio, Event Horizon is Onelegman’s most peculiar release to follow a new concept for each one of its tracks; to create a mosaic with sounds, lyrics, and graphics in order to show to the listener the direction of their journey. The band explains in further detail:




"We've always meant for our music to give listeners an odyssey and this intention was never stronger than on this third album. We have aimed high, but not necessarily far, we focus on the intimacy of humanity, sometimes on the unconscious, and to explore the universe to the limit of possible knowledge and consciousness. We titled the album Event Horizon because it is precisely that, an Event Horizon. This album is an auditory exploration of new worlds, the chaos theory, the last days of a star's life, the direction of time, entropy, the fourth dimension that is gravity, love as an elementary form of existence, existence as a mere force of attraction and repulsion between electrons, existence as creatures of God or as sons of physics and chemistry."


It is not the band's intention to translate the works of scientists such as Greene, Rovelli, Bertone, Hawking, Jim Al-Khalili, and Primo Levi into music, but to take inspiration from their treatises, terminologies, and thoughts to build cosmic and quantum images where they search for the true human essence, perhaps where life is born.


Preorder at the Rockshots Records webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Chaos Theory”
“Magnetar”
“Event Horizon”
“The Line”
“Radiate”
“Steric Hindrance”
“Black Holes Have No Hairs”
“The Order Of Time”
“Cosmos”
“Slaps Two By Two Until They Become Odd”


“Radiate”:

Finnish heavy metal band Thy Row will celebrate the one-year anniversary of their debut album Unchained with the release of a limited edition vinyl along with a brand new digital single entitled "Blue Blood", a cover of one of the biggest hits by the biggest Japanese metal band of all time X Japan.


The band comments:


"We were so proud of how our debut album turned out, that we knew that it deserved a vinyl release with a bonus track as well as a brand new vinyl master. The bonus track which was initially released only in Japan is a cover of the country's biggest ever metal band X Japan. We've had a ton of fun performing the song ‘Blue Blood’ live multiple times, and while recording Unchained we decided to record that one as well! The result is energetic and heavy, just as the speed metal classic should be! Join us and our wonderful label Rockshots Records who were open to realizing these wishes in celebrating the one-year anniversary of our first album, and we hope you enjoy what we have to offer with these releases!" 







The vinyl was mastered by Svante Forsbäck (Rammstein, Volbeat) at Chartmakers Studios, and will be released together with the digital single “Blue Blood (X Japan Cover)” on October 7, 2022.


Recommended for fans of Scorpions, Megadeth, and Queen, Thy Row's vinyl of Unchained is available for preorder at the Rockshots Records webshop.


Founded in 2017, Thy Row made their first entry on the Finnish scene with their 2019 independently released self-titled EP. The record's lead single "The Round" reached over 110K streams on Spotify and added to the EP's overall praise that gave the group the opportunity to tour Japan in 2019 with Beast In Black and Swallow The Sun.


Following the success of that EP, Thy Row's offered up their first full-length, a fresh mix of the finest heavy metal with modern hard rock that every metalhead can bang their heads to. With ten tracks, there are lots of great melodies spiced up with shakin’ riffs that are sure to encourage fans to turn up their stereo knobs all the way to eleven and enjoy.


Unchained features guest artists Ben Varon (Oceanhoarse, ex-Amoral), Ilja Jalkanen (Raskasta Joulua, Kiuas), and Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun, Smackbound) plus was mixed by Jussi Kraft (Starkraft Studio) and partly by Nino Laurenne (Sonic Pump Studios).

Melbourne, Australia-based progressive metal band Teramaze have released the second single and music video “The Thieves Are Out” created by Wayne Joyner who has done amazing work with Dream Theater, Alter Bridge, Devin Townsend and many more.


Lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Dean Wells commented on the single by saying: 


“When we started demoing some ideas for our 10th album (Flight Of The Wounded), I wanted to try something different that had a different vibe from anything we’d done on the last few albums. We ended up jamming out this riff, that sounded like something The Police/Andy Summers would do, but it ended up being in kind of a weird time signature. 15/8 or something?




“I knew I didn’t want to write a long winded “soft song” per se, so we “heavied up” the riff and developed the song into something that sounded more honest to the Teramaze sound. It really fits in with the vibe and sound we were going for, for the album as a whole.


“As usual, fans and new listeners can expect a mixture of progressive metal, rock and our unapologetic love of pop music. I always try to get as many great hooks into a song as possible. Chris and I also took it as an opportunity to have a nice duelling solo shred off in the middle of song, cause why not?”


Flight Of The Wounded will be released independently in early October 2022, via Wells Music.


“The Thieves Are Out” was mixed by Dean Wells at Wells Productions and mastered by Tony “Jack The Bear” Mantz.


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Flight Of The Wounded"
"Gold"
"The Thieves Are Out"
"Until The Lights"
"Ticket To The Next Apocalypse"
"For The Thrill"
"Dangerous Me"
"Battle"
"In The Ruins Of Angels"


"The Thieves Are Out" video:





"Gold" lyric video:





Teramaze’s lineup is as follows:


Dean Wells (Vocals & Guitar)
Chris Zoupa (Guitar)
Andrew Cameron (Bass)
Nick Ross (Drums)

Vlad In Tears has released the official video for "Running Up That Hill." The song is the second single from the gothic metallers' upcoming studio album, Porpora, which will be released on September 19 via Metalville Records. 


With their gothic rock version of the Kate Bush classic, Vlad in Tears present probably the most exciting cover song of the year so far. Due to the use of the song in the Netflix series Stranger Things, "Running Up That Hill" unexpectedly reached the top of the charts 37 years after its original release.


Vlad In Tears was virtually reborn after decades when the three brothers Kris (vocals & piano), Lex (guitar), and Dario (bass) decided to move from old and sunny Italy to Germany in 2013. The brothers immediately showed their great musical skills and their ability to be fantastic live performers. This rapid development led to a steadily growing fanbase to this day.




Tireless and insatiable, Vlad In Tears are always looking for new sounds and arrangements to perfectly blend their melodies with very dark sounds, ranging from '80s wave to the hardest and most modern rock sound. The strongest part of the band is the voice of singer Kris, which seems to know no limits.





Tracklisting:


“Wasted Lives”
“Down”
“Sorry”
“Blood”
“Be Save Now”
“Closer”
“Hope”
“One Last Chance”
“No Candles For The Ride”
“Let Me Be The One”
“Right Now”
“Running Up That Hill” (Kate Bush cover)


“Running Up That Hill” video:

Italian power metallers Frozen Crown have checked in with the following update:


"New album finished! Yay!!!


We're happy and excited beyond words to announce we just completed the vocal recordings of our fourth upcoming album!




To our producer Andrea Fusini's delight, this is the album containing the greatest amount of guitar parts and, most importantly, vocal tracks. We've been working on this album since the Winterbane recordings ended, so we had all the time to focus on songs and arrangements with no rush, refining every single part, ending up with a bunch of songs that truly represent our creativity's best and 100% reflect the Frozen Crown sound. Needless to say we're already so proud of it, and we can't wait to hear the final result!"





In late 2021, Frozen Crown released a video for "The Water Dancer", the fourth single from their latest album, Winterbane.


"The song is conceptually inspired by the classic series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire and the hit TV show Game Of Thrones, more specifically, by the ultrabrave and fierce Arya Stark character."


Also, for the first time, Frozen Crown joined forces with an element external to the band: Damien Von Dunkenwald and his Northern Wolfdogs Pack appear in the stunning videoclip alongside Jade, Sheena, Federico, Francesco and Niso.


Check out the video below.





Tracklist:


"Embrace The Night"
"Towards The Sun"
"Far Beyond"
"The Lone Stranger"
"Crown Eternal"
"The Water Dancer"
"Angels In Disguise" (feat Federica Lanna)
"Night Crawler" (Judas Priest cover)
"Tales Of The Forest"
"Blood On The Snow"


"Far Beyond"





"The Water Dancer"





Winterbane was released on April 23rd 2021 on Scarlet Records and Marquee/Avalon (Japan).


Frozen Crown is:


Giada "Jade" Etro - Lead Vocals
Fabiola "Sheena" Bellomo - Lead Guitar
Federico Mondelli - Vocals and Lead Guitar
Francesco Zof - Bass
Niso Tomasini - Drums

According to Rolling Stone, a judge has dismissed the third version of the lawsuit against NIRVANA filed by the man who claims he was the baby featured on the cover of the band's "Nevermind" album.

In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said Spencer Elden waited too long to claim the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and arguing child sexual exploitation. Elden also claimed the image on the cover was taken and used without his consent. Olguin's dismissal prevents Elden from filing a fourth version of his complaint.

"In short, because it is undisputed that [Elden] did not file his complaint within ten years after he discovered a violation… the court concludes that his claim is untimely," Olguin wrote in the eight-page ruling.

The judge continued: "Because plaintiff had an opportunity to address the deficiencies in his complaint regarding the statute of limitations, the court is persuaded that it would be futile to afford plaintiff a fourth opportunity to file an amended complaint."

In a December 2021 motion to dismiss, NIRVANA, as well as Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, had asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, saying Elden's claim that the photograph on the "Nevermind" cover is child pornography is "not serious" and insisting that his claim is "barred by the applicable statute of limitations." Federal child pornography law has a 10-year statute of limitations, beginning when a victim "reasonably discovers" the violation itself or the harm caused by it.

On January 3, 2022, Judge Fernando M. Olguin, who was presiding over the case at the U.S. District Court in Central California, dismissed the case after Elden missed his December 30 deadline to file an opposition to the defendants' motion to dismiss. However, Elden had the option to refile an amended lawsuit by January 13, which he did.

In the amended lawsuit, Elden claimed that NIRVANA "intentionally commercially marketed the child pornography depicting Spencer and leveraged the lascivious nature of his image to promote the 'Nevermind' album, the band, and NIRVANA's music, while earning, at a minimum, tens of millions of dollars in the aggregate." However, the second amended complaint dropped a claim related to sex trafficking. Elden's prior suit alleged that the defendants did "knowingly benefit from participation in what they know or should know is a sex trafficking venture."

In their motion to dismiss, NIRVANA said: "Elden has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed 'Nirvana Baby'. He has reenacted the photograph in exchange for a fee, many times; he has had the album title 'Nevermind' tattooed across his chest; he has appeared on a talk show wearing a self-parodying, nude-colored onesie; he has autographed copies of the album cover for sale on eBay; and he has used the connection to try to pick up women."

The motion added: "Elden's claim that the photograph on the 'Nevermind' album cover is 'child pornography' is, on its face, not serious. A brief examination of the photograph, or Elden's own conduct (not to mention the photograph's presence in the homes of millions of Americans who, on Elden's theory, are guilty of felony possession of child pornography) makes that clear.

"The 'Nevermind' cover photograph was taken in 1991. It was world-famous by no later than 1992. Long before 2011, as Elden has pled, Elden knew about the photograph, and knew that he (and not someone else) was the baby in the photograph. He has been fully aware of the facts of both the supposed 'violation' and 'injury' for decades.”

The motion went on to say: "In addition to his child pornography claim, Elden has alleged that the creation of the photograph for the album cover art entailed the sex trafficking of Elden when he was a baby. Setting aside that this premise is absurd, the statute Elden invokes to cover conduct in 1991, became effective on December 19, 2003 and has no retroactive application to conduct by a defendant that pre-dates its effective date."

Late last year, Elden amended his lawsuit against NIRVANA to include the allegation that the photographer hired to take the photo, Kirk Weddle, also shot images of Elden styled to look like Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The new filing also drops former NIRVANA drummer Chad Channing as a defendant in the case.

According to Rolling Stone, Elden's first updated complaint cited personal journal entries from late NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain, which were published by Riverhead Books in 2002, in an apparent attempt to prove the claim that the photographer intended the cover image to be sexual in nature.

"Undated journals written by Cobain sketch the album cover in a sexual manner, with semen all over it," the document stated. "In several instances, the journals describe Cobain's twisted vision for the 'Nevermind' album cover, along with his emotional struggles: 'I like to make incisions into the belly of infants then fuck the incision until the child dies.'"

The documents also repeated the claim that Weddle intended to "trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer" by activating "Spencer's 'gag reflex' before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer's exposed genitals." The documents add: "Weddle soon after produced photographs of Spencer dressed up and depicted as Hugh Hefner."

When Elden first filed his lawsuit against the surviving members of NIRVANA as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain in August 2021, he alleged the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and argued child sexual exploitation.

A month after filing his lawsuit, Elden requested his genitalia be removed from "all future album covers" on the 30th anniversary of the project.

"Today, like each year on this date, our client Spencer Elden has had to brace himself for renewed unwanted attention from the media and fans alike throughout the world," his attorneys told USA Today. "This is a choice that he has never had."

The attorneys said that they planned on continuing the legal proceedings in order to "bring long-awaited privacy and dignity back to our client."

"We implore the NIRVANA defendants to right the wrongs of their past, by acknowledging the harm they have perpetrated and redacting the image of Mr. Elden's genitalia from further reproductions of 'Nevermind' because behind every cover is a person pleading for their privacy back," they added.

A deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue of "Nevermind", featuring its original cover artwork, was made available last November.

In Elden's complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, he claimed that his "identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day."

According to the suit, the defendants "knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so. … Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking."

Elden claimed that his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of the photos, which were taken in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990. He alleged that the band promised to cover his genitals with a sticker, which was never incorporated into the album art.

The suit further alleged the defendants "used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews."

Elden sought damages of either $150,000 from each of the defendants or unspecified damages to be determined at trial, attorney fees, an injunction to prohibit all parties "from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein," and a trial by jury.

"The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter," the lawsuit stated.

Elden's parents were reportedly paid only $200 for the photos, and the shoot lasted around 15 seconds.

In a 2016 interview with Time magazine, Elden said: "It's a trip. Everyone involved in the album has tons and tons of money. I feel like I'm the last little bit of grunge rock. I'm living in my mom's house and driving a Honda Civic.

"It's hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was involved," Elden added. "I go to a baseball game and think about it: 'Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis,' I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked."

"Nevermind" has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was certified diamond by the RIAA for sales in excess of 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Professionally filmed video of IRON MAIDEN's September 2 concert at the Rock In Rio festival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil can be seen below.

As has been the case on all the shows of the 2022 leg of MAIDEN's "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour so far, the band opened the set with "Senjutsu", the title track of its latest studio album, and followed it up with two more songs from the same LP, "Stratego" and "The Writing On The Wall".

Other tracks aired during MAIDEN's performance included "Revelations", "Blood Brothers", "Sign Of The Cross", "Flight Of Icarus", "Fear Of The Dark", "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "The Number Of The Beast" and "Iron Maiden".

MAIDEN also played two encores, consisting of "The Trooper", "The Clansman", "Run To The Hills" and the closing track of the night, "Aces High".

The full setlist was as follows:

01. Senjutsu
02. Stratego
03. The Writing On The Wall
04. Revelations
05. Blood Brothers
06. Sign Of The Cross
07. Flight Of Icarus
08. Fear Of The Dark
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name
10. The Number Of The Beast
11. Iron Maiden

Encore:

12. The Trooper
13. The Clansman
14. Run To The Hills

Encore 2:

15. Aces High

Prior to the "Legacy Of The Beast" kick-off concert on May 22 in Zagreb, Croatia, IRON MAIDEN hadn't performed live in two and a half years — since the completion of its South American tour in October 2019.

Earlier this year, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson confirmed that the band is planning to stage a tour where it will perform its new album, "Senjutsu", in its entirety. The 64-year-old singer told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast: "The plan we've got — it's not really a secret; I think everybody else has chatted about it — we will, I hope, we've talked about doing the entire ['Senjutsu'] album start to finish, but not this time around. And we all appreciate that that is something that really diehard fans will probably love and other people will go, 'Hmmm, I'm not gonna go see that.' So the answer is you play smaller venues so that they sell out with just your diehard fans. 'Cause it's a musical thing to do — it's a musical thing."

Dickinson went on to clarify that the 2022 leg of MAIDEN's "Legacy Of The Beast" tour, which is scheduled to hit North America in September and October, will once again focus primarily on a decades-spanning setlist of fan favorites.

"The 'Legacy Of The Beast' tour, people have all paid their money to see the 'Legacy Of The Beast' show, with Spitfires and flamethrowers and Icarus and everything that goes with," he said. "So they're gonna get all that. But the first three tracks are probably gonna be the first three tracks on the ['Senjutsu'] album. 'The Writing On The Wall' they already know, so everybody should know the first three tracks. And I just think [the] 'Senjutsu' [title track] is just such a great opening song — so dramatic. And then once you've done that — and we'll have a stage set to go with it — once you've done that, you're back to the kind of 'Legacy' world at that point. But I think 'The Writing On The Wall' is gonna be a great song — I mean, a crowd singalong song. You can imagine that. It'll be fantastic."

Addressing the fact that MAIDEN infuriated some fans by forcing them to sit through the band's then-new, 75-minute "A Matter Of Life And Death" album on tour in 2006, denying the crowd the greatest hits they'd come for, Bruce said: "Nobody has to buy a ticket. If you don't wanna go [see us play an entire new album live], you don't buy a ticket. It's gonna be plain as the nose on your face. This is gonna be what they're gonna do. So given that, don't complain that they did what they said they were gonna do."

Clocking in at a hefty 82 minutes, "Senjutsu" came out in September. It marks MAIDEN's second consecutive double album behind 2015's "The Book Of Souls" which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.

IRON MAIDEN's first album in six years, "Senjutsu" was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.

For "Senjutsu" — loosely translated as "tactics and strategy" — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.

"Senjutsu" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band's early classics like "Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast". Nearly 90 percent of the LP's 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", which both peaked at No. 4.

"Senjutsu" was MAIDEN's 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.

According to Billboard, "Senjutsu" logged the second-largest week of 2021 for a hard rock album in both equivalent album units earned and in traditional album sales.

"Senjutsu" topped the charts in several European countries upon its release, including in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.

The renowned Tennessee-based legendary independent record label Sun Records will release a six-song covers EP from rock 'n' roll legend Suzi Quatro. "Uncovered" boasts cameos from famed two-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper (BOOKER T. & THE MGS, SAM AND DAVE, OTIS REDDING, THE BLUES BROTHERS) on two iconic tracks he co-wrote, Wilson Pickett's "Midnight Hour" and Otis Redding's "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay". Digital and vinyl pre-orders go live today and will coincide with an instant advance single of Suzi digging into the CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL classic "Bad Moon Rising". "Uncovered" will be a global release for Sun Records which for decades had largely only focused on its catalog.

Comprising six incendiary renditions of popular 1960s and 1970s rock 'n' roll and soul classics filtered through Suzi's distinctive musicality — showcasing her honey and whiskey rasp — "Uncovered" features nuanced and grooving musicianship that keeps each song's timeless intentions aflame, while the musicians also punch the jams up to match Suzi's hard-rocking energy. Completing the impressive track list are Suzi-fied versions of Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move", James Brown's "The Boss" and Rufus Thomas's "Walking The Dog".

"Since I first picked up a bass guitar and started playing and singing in my first band in 1964, many artists helped show the way," says Quatro. "I honor them here with this eclectic choice of songs. Every one of them is here for a reason. Thank you all for your inspiration."

Quatro is the trailblazing Queen Of Rock' N' Roll. Not only a global legend who has sold over 55 million records worldwide, she is also a record producer, actress ("Happy Days", "Minder", "Absolutely Fabulous", "Dempsey And Makepeace", "Rock School"),poet, author and radio presenter (BBC Radio 2).

Detroit-born Suzi grew up in a musical family, forming her first band THE PLEASURE SEEKERS aged just 14 with her sisters, they recorded three singles. In 1971, Suzi moved to England to work with celebrated producer Mickie Most. She first came to the attention of the British public as a support act alongside THIN LIZZY on SLADE's first nationwide tour of the U.K. Then in 1972 she released her first single as a solo artist, "Rolling Stone". A string of hits followed, including two Number 1 songs, "Can The Can" and "Devil Gate Drive". In 1999 Suzi began her radio career with a series of weekly programs and notable documentaries on BBC Radio 2. In 2006, Suzi was nominated for "Music Broadcaster Of The Year" at the Sony Music Awards. She is the recipient of the "Woman Of Valor" award from the organization Musicians For Equal Opportunities For Women. Suzi was inducted into the Michigan Rock And Roll Legends Hall Of Fame (2013) and, in the same year, received the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award at the Detroit Music Awards.

Quatro continues to perform live, playing over a hundred shows worldwide each year.

Photo credit: JV Publicity

Former Alice Cooper and current Demi Lovato guitarist Nita Strauss will release her next single from her upcoming sophomore solo album on Tuesday, August 30. "Summer Storm" is the follow-up to last year's "Dead Inside", which was her first new music since the release of her debut solo LP, 2018's "Controlled Chaos". The track was her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED.

Speaking to Revolver about her new single, Nita said: "The first single came out way too long ago. That was 'Dead Inside' with David Draiman. And we made a really good splash with that. We got to Number One at rock radio, which was unbelievable — so cool. 'Summer Storm', I felt it was important to release that one next because it's a return to my roots. The album is gonna be half instrumental, half with guest vocalists, so I felt like it was important to have an instrumental song come out next to make sure that the world knows that I'm not completely abandoning my style. I think 'Summer Storm' is one of those songs that really encapsulates me as a writer and as a guitar player. And then, after ['Summer Storm'], I'm sure — actually, a hundred percent sure, 'cause we already shot the music video [laughs] — the next single will be a vocal one. And then after that hopefully the album."

Nita made her live debut with Demi on July 14 with a performance of Lovato's new single, "Substance" on ABC's Emmy Award-winning late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Strauss had been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

Back in February, Nita told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about her upcoming LP: "It's gonna be half and half — six tracks with vocalists and six tracks of instrumental [music]. We've been doing ['Dead Inside'] live on the solo tour and it's been getting a super-good reaction from our crowds. So I think the next [single] will be instrumental — kind of go back to the roots — and then another radio single after that."

Asked if she could talk about some of the other guests that appear on her new solo album, Nita said: "Not just yet. I will say that we've got a really, really cool blend of some legacy people as well as some new singers that I'm really excited about, and some amazing male vocalists and some incredible female vocalists as well."

In early December, Nita told "The Mistress Carrie Podcast" about her decision to make the upcoming LP half vocal songs and half instrumental: "I did feel, and the label and everybody agreed, it's still important for me to keep my identity as a guitar player and not just branch off too much and go, 'Okay, well, now it's just guests.' Let me still have a little of what makes me me, which is the instrumental shred stuff. And the instrumental pieces that I've written on this record are, I think, better than anything I did on the first one — definitely more… I don't know if it could be more emotional but they're very emotional pieces of music and I think a little better crafted this time around. So I think all the songs in general are more well thought out, better put together this time around. And I do have some of my absolute favorite [singers guesting on it]. I have three amazing powerhouse female vocalists on this album so far."

Nita released "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths".

As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS.

In April 2020, Nita launched "Rock Guitar Fundamentals" — a three-module online guitar teaching program suitable for learners of all levels. The course is available at www.iwanttoplayguitar.com.

Nita's solo live show is mostly instrumental in nature, combining originals with covers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐍 𝐈 𝐓 𝐀 𝐒 𝐓 𝐑 𝐀 𝐔 𝐒 𝐒 (@hurricanenita)

During an appearance on yesterday's (Monday, August 29) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", RATT singer Stephen Pearcy spoke about his decision to focus on his solo career instead of trying to keep RATT alive with him and bassist Juan Croucier as the only members from the band's classic lineup.

"I'd rather [play with my solo band] than the brand, the cover band, so to speak," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "[I am] not [trying to be] disrespectful, but look, no Warren [DeMartini, RATT guitarist]; he chooses to kick back, and that's all great. And Bob [RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer] — everybody's pretty much laid back except for me. So I'm just taking care of business."

Asked what the relationship is like between him and the other members of RATT's classic lineup, Pearcy said: "It's all business, pretty much. There's no business in the RATT, unfortunately, camp, and that's unfortunate. But that's why I do my thing. I talk to Bob every now and then. That's about it. Warren, I guess, chooses to just be laid back, from what I gather. And that's all cool."

Pearcy acknowledged that "it would be great if we all pulled together" and reunited all the surviving members of RATT's classic lineup, but he admitted that "it's not gonna happen. You're dealing with a lot of ego," he said. "Who knows? I don't know. I don't give a shit, actually. This is where it starts and this is where it's gonna end, and that's with me. And I'm out there just doing what I do."

Pressed about whether he has given up on the idea of a reunion of RATT's classic lineup, Stephen said: "Look, I'd rather be out there [with my solo band] than having the [RATT] band out there with just me and the bass player in RATT. That's not what RATT was. RATT was [Robbin] Crosby [guitar], Pearcy, DeMartini, Bobby and Juan. And so be it. And I'd rather give a bit of integrity to the band, 'cause it was a great rock band, and just continue doing what I do. You can't beat a dead horse or try to bullshit people."

He continued: "Look, like I said, no disrespect — we've had a lot of great players come and go. That's where the problem is — we've had people coming and going, and coming and going. RATT is not all these different people. RATT was these five guys. And no disrespect. People wanna lay back, great. I don't. And that's where it is."

Asked if he regrets having done shows under the RATT name with just him and Juan from the band's classic lineup, Stephen said: "Yeah, actually. Yeah. Because it's not the same. I don't like to bullshit. Look, you wanna hear the songs? I wrote 'em. Come see me play 'em. I sang 'em. Maybe somebody else helped rearrange 'em or added some lyrics. I don't know. It's all the same."

Two months ago, Pearcy told Atlantic City Weekly that RATT was supposed to do "a big summer tour this year. I initiated doing something if the [surviving] guys [from the classic lineup] would get together," he revealed. "But there is no reason for them to do it or a need for them to do it, so I decided to just go out solo. And I am better off. Some of these guys [in my solo band] have been with me 18, 20 years. So if you want to Ratt & Roll, come see my shows."

In April 2021, Pearcy was joined by Blotzer during the RATT singer's livestream concert from the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.

Pearcy and Croucier were the sole remaining original members in RATT's most recent lineup, which made its live debut in July 2018 in Mulvane, Kansas. Joining them in the band were drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE, RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER) and guitarists Jordan Ziff (Marty Friedman) and Frankie Lindia (David Lee Roth).

RATT — featuring Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini — played a number of shows in 2017 after reforming a year earlier in the midst of a highly publicized legal battle with Blotzer over the rights to the RATT name. They were joined at the gigs by guitarist Carlos Cavazo, who played on 2010's "Infestation" album, and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who previously played with Y&T, WHITE LION and MEGADETH, among others.

With Shatter Messiah, ex-Nevermore / ex-Annihilator guitarist Curran Murphy set out in spring 2005 to follow in the musical footsteps of his two predecessor bands and continue under his own banner. Stylistically, Shatter Messiah perfectly combines both aforementioned bands into a symbiosis that is capable of sending every lover of the genre into raptures. Unfortunately, fate did not favour the band, because although this third album of the band, Hail The New Cross, officially bears the release date of 2013, it does not appear at all in many official sources, archives and discographies. 


What happened? 


The album was supposed to see the light of day in spring 2013 - and somehow it did, because there is indeed a pressed edition, as well as some reviews. Unfortunately, a further distribution or a comprehensive promotion by the label (Mausoleum) did not take place. Already in July 2013, the label's domain was "suspended", from then on there was no sign of life and Hail The New Cros" disappeared in a status between "somehow released but forgotten". 




 


MDD Records decided it is high time to drag this gem out of the shadows into the light and finally - and for many for the first time - make it accessible to a broad public with a remastered sound. A re-release that was originally planned by Murphy for 2020 finally surfaced on August 26th, 2022. It is available here.





Tracklist:


"Disconnecting"
"Future Fails"
"Memory Flames"
"How Deep The Scar"
"Loyal Betrayer"
"Gods Of Divinity"
"Mercenary Machine"
"The Addiction"

In an interview with Tinnitus Metal Radio at last month's Alcatraz festival in Belgium, guitarist Bill Steer of British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS was asked how he and his bandmates dealt with the downtime during the coronavirus pandemic. He responded: "I think for once we all agreed on this. It was quite nice when it started, like a really welcome break. 'Cause it was really hard to draw a line, like when does the 'Surgical [Steel]' touring campaign stop and then the new album and that campaign starts? So this forced us to have a break. … But we were sort of grateful for that; it drew a little bit of a line in the sand for us. And then, of course, later on, I can't remember when, but it started to become more existential and dark and whatever. But the initial few weeks, I was one of the lucky ones; it didn't really affect me in a bad way. So I was quite happy about it, strangely."

Last year, Steer's bandmate Jeff Walker told AndrewHaug.com that he "enjoyed" the time off during the pandemic. He said: "We're kind of lucky that we had some reserves in the bank, so we could survive that way. I'm a bit of a squirrel; I always make sure there's money in the bank to see us through hard times. And luckily, it was enough to tide us over for this period.

"As far as me getting by personally, I've just been looking for small joys in life — small things locally or whatever," he continued. "Living a jetsetting life and having exciting times traveling the world and playing gigs, it's one extreme to another. I'm just looking for small things to keep me happy and finding solace in the smallest things. I've been walking and cycling a lot more. There's a lot of local history that I never noticed before — railway tracks and lines and really boring stuff, middle-age stuff like that that I've kind of got interested in.

"I've enjoyed the hiatus, to be honest… We'd been touring for seven years without a break, and it's been healthy to step back and have a break."

CARCASS played its first pandemic-era concert last November at the Damnation Festival in Leeds, U.K.

CARCASS's latest album, "Torn Arteries", was released in September 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Drummer Daniel Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo.

Swedish melodic blackened death / thrash outfit Vittra will unleash their debut full-length, Blasphemy Blues, on November 11th. Ahead of release date, the band has unveiled the record’s artwork, tracklisting, and first video / single "Satmara".





Notes the band of their first single, “Musically, ‘Satmara‘ showcases one of the Vittra trademarks, that being the combination of death / thrash with strong songwriting and catchy hooks. In the veins of Megadeth meets ‘80s Ozzy, it comes with a heavy metal-ish twist to it, having that ‘chugging’ on the A-string, but surprises with an overall upbeat pop feel. This inspired the idea of having a dance performance in the video, replacing the same-old guitar solo closeups with an explosive interpretation of movements, celebrating what connects humankind on the most primeval level: ‘A shared desire / A crime so vile angels wept apocalyptic fire … Do you feel my pounding heart?’”







"Colossal"
"Halls Of Ancients"
"Satmara"
"Lykantropi"
"Feeding Frenzy"
"Self-Loathing"
"Temptation"
"Sommarfödd"
"Undead" (Bonus Track)


For further details, visit Vittra on Facebook.


 

Hundred Headless Horsemen is a psychedelic death metal band hailing from Helsinki, Finland. To commemorate the release of their first full length album 15 moons ago, and to provide supplementary insight into the microcosm presented by the work, the band is releasing an audiobook entitled Apokalepsia / Journal. The audiobook acts as a prequel to the events presented on the concept album Apokalepsia that was released by Inverse Records in 2021.





The band states: "The journal fragments presented in the audiobook were released in textual format in conjunction with the release of the album already in 2021, but we felt that the events that have unfolded since have given particular resonance to these writings. We watch in awe, our hands bound by the chains of extractive capitalism, as our lust for the black blood of the Earth is quite literally fuelling the most unthinkable atrocities to be perpetrated in front of our very eyes. We felt that we now needed to revisit these texts once more and listen to the voices behind the letters. Hence, we set out to reconstruct these voices to an audible form to better highlight their importance in the world of Apokalepsia and also beyond. The soundscape of the audiobook acts as an introduction to the album but also as its own independent sonic work to introduce the listener to new aspects of this formerly unknown universe."




Apokalepsia is a group of symptoms characterized by recurrent seizures. These episodes can vary from brief and nearly undetectable interludes to long periods of vigorous shaking, hyperventilation, suffocating despair and a failure to function in a world defined by its imminent devastation. Apokaleptic seizures have a tendency to recur. Many victims also describe vivid visual and auditory hallucinations during apokaleptic seizures. The journal entries of these formerly unknown cases tell much about the inner struggles of the victims.


One of these cases had written: “The momentum that upholds life comes from death, darkness and decay. No matter how delusional we become, our efforts will never be grand enough to transcend this circular motion. In a stark contrast to nature, the economy was always a fiction. A fiction that nevertheless had very real consequences to our lives, which have led us to the profound misinterpretation of its true form. The system we had built long ago is now eating us alive."


Purchase or stream the Apokalepsia / Journal audiobook here. The Apokalepsia concept album is available here.





Apokalepsia was recorded at Sir Näs Studios in Helsinki, Finland and mastered by Magnus Lindberg Productions in Stockholm, Sweden. Check out the band's official Facebook page here.


"Cataclysm"





"Echoes"

Piledriver founder / mastermind Gord Kirchin, a legend on the Canadian metal scene, has quietly been battling cancer. He is far less quiet in his latest update, which is good news.


Kirchin: "Milestone day!!!! Last round of chemo!!! 


It's been a brutal chemical battle, chemo reeeeally sucks, but we near the end of the war! Three weeks of horrid yuck from its side effects, then in six weeks we scan to see if we got it all. I'm not without my battle scars to carry for the rest of my days; severe scarring in the lungs from the initial infection on top of the scarring from radiation, and it severely reducing my oxygen uptake leaving me gasping after even light exertion, and the radiation damage to my esophagus, windpipe and throat possibly ending my live singing career... so... gonna have to shift gears and purpose. Anyone need mixing / mastering /turd polishing done? I'm your old school man!




But... and... also...


The crux of the biscuit is I'm alive! I'm still here! I'm vertical and mobile! I still got me some great living to do! Let's get past the next 8-10 weeks of recovery and get back to living!!!


Fuuuuuuuuuuuck cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Heartfelt thanks and profound appreciation to and for my hundreds of supporters in this battle, you made it easier to keep my spirits up and positive and surely aided conquest in my battle! Thank you!!! I love you all!"


“If you ain’t a metal head, then you might as well be dead”, proclaimed Canuck thrashers Piledriver in 1984 when they released their legendary debut, Metal Inquisition. In late 2021, Shadow Kingdom Records made the album available again as a digital download, cassette, CD, various vinyl versions, along with new apparel. 


Order the album here.





Metal Inquisition tracklisting:


“Metal Inquisition”
“Sex With Satan”    
“Sodomize The Dead”
“Witch Hunt”
“Pile Driver”
“Human Sacrifice”
“Alien Rape”
“Alien Rape” (Live in Toronto)
“Metal Inquisition” (Live in Toronto)
“Sex With Satan” (Live in Toronto)

On September 2nd, Living Colour performed at Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The band capped off their set with a guest appearance by guitar legend Steve Vai on four songs: "Rock And Roll" (Led Zeppelin), "This Is The Life", "Crosstown Traffic" (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) and "Cult of Personality". Pro-shot video is available below.


The setlist was as follows.


"Middle Man"
"Desperate People"
"Ignorance Is Bliss"
"Wall"
"This Little Pig"
"Type"
"Time's Up"
"Rock and Roll" (Led Zeppelin – with Steve Vai)
"This is the Life" (with Steve Vai)
"Crosstown Traffic" (The Jimi Hendrix Experience – with Steve Vai)
"Cult of Personality" (with Steve Vai)

Guitarist Toby Knapp has issued statements regarding the reactivation of his ex-Century Media act, Onward. 


"Onward have signed a two album deal with Moribund Records and the vinyl of the forthcoming album Of Epoch And Inferno will be issued by Alone Records. CD's/digital will be released October 28 and the LP's are coming in 2023. Attika vocalist, Robert Van War, joined Onward early in 2021.


“The reception of the new album has been very positive so far. Listeners should realize I can't just go back to 2002 and continue with that sound. It wouldn't be natural. I am still drawing inspiration from 80's heavy metal, this time it's the more aggressive speed metal as opposed to the traditional heavy metal sound. I chose to operate under the Onward moniker because there's plenty of music on this album that has that vibe. This isn't a thrash metal album; elements are certainly there, but lots of melody is present.




“If vocalist Michael Grant and bassist Chris Payette (R.I.P.) were here, they would be in this band. Original Onward drummer Jon Pereau isn't playing anymore, I'm left alone to rebuild the band from the ground up. This is something I want to do as our reemergence might get those early albums back in print and introduce them to a new audience. I think that's a way to preserve the ‘legacy’; to keep moving Onward. 


“I'm tired of operating under different monikers for everything, this time I'm calling it what is. We will keep some fans, lose some fans, and pick up new listeners as well. Our recording budgets with Century Media were several thousand dollars. This album had no budget, just me in a room pushing primitive home recording gear to its limit. I'm very happy with the outcome and on the follow-up to Epoch we will have a budget. Just turn this album up loud!"

Former ACCEPT bassist Peter Baltes will play bass for U.D.O., the band fronted by original ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider, on the group's ongoing European tour starting with the September 9 concert in Berlin, Germany. Baltes will be filling in for U.D.O.'s regular bassist Tilen Hudrap who was hospitalized after the band's show in Munich, Germany on Sunday, September 4.

Earlier today, U.D.O. released the following statement via social media: "Dear Fans, As you may already have heard, last night Tilen Hudrap, our Bass Player & invaluable member of the U.D.O. Family, had to be rushed to Hospital after nearly collapsing on stage. Tilen is a guy who would walk barefoot over burning coals to play a show, but his body, after Months of stress of every kind, just could not take it any longer. He is in excellent hands at a great hospital in Munich, where doctors are continuing to run tests on him to ascertain the quickest way to bring him back to full health. But for right now, the best medicine is rest.

"U.D.O. will continue the Tour without Tilen until he has fully recovered. The next two shows in Pratteln and Stuttgart will be performed without a Bass Player, then Peter Baltes will join us as temporary replacement from Berlin onwards.

"Of course we will all be devastated to not have Tilen on stage with us, but his health comes first, and as soon as he is able, you can be sure he will be up there, Rocking the World, stronger than before.

"We love you Tilen! Get well soon!"

Tilen added in a separate statement: "This is the hardest thing I ever wrote publicly.

"As a public person I feel compelled to write what I will write, especially because I owe it to the fans: the fans of the band, my own fans'n'supporters from all the years of touring and to everyone involved in this touring commitment going on at the moment.

"Yesterday my body gave in on stage.

"In twenty years I never cancelled one single show and in all my professional years I never cancelled a tour or a concert. Not with a broken finger, not with 40C body temperature, not while barely standing, after I haven't slept for 52 hours, not ever.

"At the beginning of the world tour this was the last thing I wanted to do (to cancel ANYTHING, let alone a 3 month tour) so despite my burnout condition that I never talked publicly about and against the advice of my doctors and my family I went on tour to not let down my brothers in the band and the hardworking crew and management/booking agency. I always prided myself in being a road warrior and went through way crazier situations in my career so I thought this would not be a big deal (to do a nice 3 month tour). It turned out it was.

"(Un)Fortunately!!! My body gave in during the last two songs yesterday.
Respiratory alkalosis, total hyperventilation, uncontrollable tremors, momentary collapse of body functions and complete burnout. The doctors in the emergency room in München said I should never went on stage for the last week, let alone during the whole summer. My body was running on fumes. They basically saved me.

"I'm in the hospital now, writing this and thinking about everyone involved.
Sorry to everyone and all the fans, but I need to take some time to get back to 100%.

"Please know I would never not go play if it wasn't serious as it is. Most of this was caused by unreal amounts of no sleep, stress, e. rollercoasters and on top corona period. All this, plus decades of work that took me to where I am, put a price on my body.

"Yes, I remain in the band, the new album is in the works and someone nice will come to replace me indefinitely until I get back in shape for which you always known me for. You know I always gave 200% and always will!

"I will make a few updates in the following days to keep everyone in the loop. Got many worried msgs, I wanna assure everyone that I will be fine and come back stronger than ever. A metal heart is hard to tear apart!

"Last, but not least and most important: indescribable gratitude to my band brothers and crew for their support in the most dire situation yesterday and in general. I love you guys!

"METAL Lives!"

Two years ago, Baltes and former ACCEPT drummer Stefan Kaufmann were part of the songwriting team for U.D.O.'s album called "We Are One", a collaboration with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr, the military band of the German federal armed forces. Speaking to Canada's The Metal Voice about how Baltes came to be involved with the project, Udo said: "This was not planned. [Getting] Stefan Kaufmann [involved] was planned from the beginning on. He was helping us out on the last concerts, on the guitar. And he was sitting also with us together when we were talking about that we maybe wanna do an album. And he said, 'I wanna be the sound engineer. I have some ideas.' And then I said, 'Okay, no problem.' I mean, I never had any problems with Stefan Kaufmann. And then, one day, I was in Germany, and he said, 'Yeah, you have to do some demo vocals in the studio.' Then I said, 'Okay, I'll come then.' Then I came into the studio, but he didn't tell me this before, and Peter Baltes was staying there. Peter was there; he was doing some stuff with Stefan about his projects. Peter, after he left ACCEPT, he's doing so many things. And we were talking a lot of things. Then Peter said, 'You're doing a very interesting project. I have also some ideas, if you don't mind.' I said, 'Hey, Peter, no problem.' I mean, I never had a problem with Peter. Then Stefan and Peter, they came up with really good ideas."

He continued: "I'm not a guy to say, 'No. Nobody can come up with some ideas.' I mean, for this project, the most important thing was that we have really, really good stuff, and for me, it doesn't matter who was writing the songs or whatever. And [Peter] was really happy to do something like this. And also Stefan, I think, was really happy. Stefan did a great job. He was mixing in the end."

Asked how it was to reconnect with Peter and if there is any chance of Baltes joining U.D.O., Udo said: "It was a lot of fun to talk to him. I never had any problems with Peter. It was like we saw each other just yesterday, [meeting up for the first time] after 15 years, and also talking to him after 15 years.

"Peter in the band, to be the bass player in U.D.O.?" he continued. "He's doing so many projects; he's really busy. And we were not really talking about this. 'It would be great to have you now as the bass player in U.D.O.' [We'll] leave it like it is. If he does some stuff and maybe asks me to sing a song on his album — I think I heard he's doing a solo album — no problem, but to play in a band together again, I don't think so."

Udo's son Sven, who plays drums for U.D.O., added: "It would be strange as well, as we formed a very strong five-piece band. This is a very strong team, and everybody's getting along very well. So that would be a bit strange to now just say, 'Hey, but Peter's playing now, because he's Peter.' You would rip apart something we built up. And as you might know, we were looking for the right people for some time now, and now it works perfectly. And everybody's doing an amazing job — everybody's so good on their instruments — and we just found a good band. That would be strange."

Dear Fans,

As you may already have heard, last night Tilen Hudrap, our Bass Player & invaluable member of the U.D.O....

Posted by U.D.O. on Monday, September 5, 2022

Posted by U.D.O. on Tuesday, August 23, 2022