The deadly duo of Canada's Greber is a harsh hardcore concoction that has a solid new LP Fright Without coming out this year. Since getting together way back in 2006, they have come out with an impressive array of albums including four full-lengths and six splits with a myriad of crushing bands. Thus far, they have put out two singles and are now following them up with a third in order to get fans stoked on the new release. The single “Tree Carving” is the shortest track on the album, at just a minute and a half, but it delivers a full barrage of grindy low end, backed by aggressive drums. 


They explain the single further:


“As Robert MeKee proclaimed in Charlie Kaufman’s ‘Adaptation’ - “Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit.” Well, hopefully, the listener is wowed with this short rager of a song and this record is a SMASH HIT. Lyrically it’s a trifecta of three paths with four souls hosting many regrets and no foreseeable way to undo it all.”




Greber is the powerhouse duo of Steve Vargas (drums/vocals) (The Great Sabatini, BIIPIIGWAN) and Marc Bourgon (bass, vocals) (ex-F*ck The Facts, Cancelled) who deliver a full sonic assault of grind and hardcore, leveraging the small member count to allow for more flexibility in their writing process. Bourgon, who writes the skeletal structures for the songs, always starts with lyrics - sometimes even just a title. He carries a journal around with him and the fleeting observations that make it in there, are what inspires most of his conceptual content. He says that “we all have this beautiful gift of seeing the world very differently than the next person and I’ve found that capturing those nuanced differences to be both liberating and maddening.”


Bands that are hard to pigeonhole, are the kind of bands that the guys in Greber enjoy and they love that they can do something different and not completely cause anyone to retch. Or CAUSE them to retch in a good way. They are recommended listening for fans of Cult Leader, Primitive Man, and Black Sheep Wall.


Fright Without is slated for September 9, 2022, and will be available from the following labels: Ancient Temple and Nofuneral for Vinyl, CD, and Cassette in Canada, Hibernation Release for Vinyl in the USA, and 7 Degrees and Fresh Outbreak for Vinyl in Europe. Preorder on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“Form”
“Aging Debt”
“Fabricated Purpose”
“Into Silence”
“Bush Cord Of Entrails”
“Larkinitis”
“Dark Corners”
“Rats Of Subversion”
“Nosebleed”
“Tree Carving”


"Tree Carving":





"Fabricated Purpose":





“Into Silence”:





(Photo – Austin Gibson / Editing – Youth and Rust)

Danish death metallers, Livløs, have released a guitar playthrough video for "Pallbearer", from their new full-length album, And Then There Were None, available via Napalm Records. Watch below:





And Then There Were None is available as a digipak CD and digital album, as well as 1LP gatefold black vinyl and an exclusive transparent red 1LP gatefold (limited to 200). Order here.







Tracklisting:


"And Then There Were None"
"Serpentine Supremacy"
"Mortal Severance"
"Pallbearer"
"Kistefjael"
"Drenched in Turmoil"
"Seize the Night"
"Gallows"
"The Purest Black"


Album stream:





“Seize The Night” video:





"And Then There Were None" video:





Livløs are:


Niklas Lykke - vocals
Franz Aleksander Posch - guitar
Kenneth Breinbjerg - guitar
Thomas Dannemand Jensen - drums
Søren Frambo - bass

German metal legends Blind Guardian performed at Summer Breeze 2022 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany on August 20th. Pro-shot livestream footage of the band's entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Into the Storm"
"Welcome to Dying"
"Nightfall"
"Time What Is Time"
"Journey Through the Dark"
"Black Chamber"
"Theatre of Pain"
"The Quest for Tanelorn"
"Ashes to Ashes"
"The Bard's Song - In the Forest"
"The Bard's Song - The Hobbit"
"The Piper's Calling"
"Somewhere Far Beyond"
"Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Valhalla"







The God Machine, due to be released on September 2nd, marks another pinnacle in Blind Guardian’s impressive discography by not attempting to pretend it is still the nineties yet instead successfully relying on the muscle memory of this period. It is a gripping, addictive, and brilliantly arranged album in the tradition of records with which Blind Guardian reached for the stars in the 90s; yet, by no means, is it a throwback. The God Machine represents the heart and soul of Blind Guardian’s timeless metal in the here and now, unifying the bards’ past, present, and future secrets in one consistent, well-thought-out masterpiece.





Pre-order the album here.





Tracklisting:


“Deliver Us From Evil”
“Damnation”
“Secrets Of The American Gods”
“Violent Shadows”
“Life Beyond The Spheres”
“Architects Of Doom”
“Let It Be No More”
“Blood Of The Elves”
“Destiny”


“Blood Of The Elves” video:





“Secrets Of The American Gods” video:

Crossfaith are coming back to North America next month for their first North American tour since 2015. 


The upcoming headline tour, which features support from Crossfaith's UNFD label mates Limbs, kicks off on September 8 in Berkeley, California, and runs through October 9 in Seattle. The band will also appear at several key festivals during the run, including Furnace Fest and Aftershock.


To celebrate their return to North American stages, and to hype up the Crossfaith-ful, the band has shared the live video for "Gimme Danger."







"This music video is made from footage of our first-ever headlining show on a major Japanese outdoor festival," the band exclaims, referencing their appearance at the 2022 Satanic Carnival Festival. "You can feel our raw energy throughout of this video. Go check it out so you can be ready for our headlining world tour that is going to be start next month! BRING THE MAYHEM!"


Find tickets at bnds.us.





Dates:


September
8 - Berkeley, CA
9 - Los Angeles, CA
10 - Santa Cruz, CA
11 - San Diego, CA
13 - Phoenix, AZ
15 - Austin, TX
16 - Houston, TX
17 - Dallas, TX
18 - Memphis, TN
20 - Virginia Beach, VA
21 - Durham, NC
23 - Furnace Fest @ Birmingham, AL
24 - Atlanta, GA
25 - Baltimore, MD
27 - Philadelphia, PA
28 - New York, NY
30 - Boston, MA


October
1 - Montreal, QC
2 - Toronto, ON
3 - Chicago, IL
7 - Aftershock Festival @ Sacramento, CA *
8 - Portland, OR**
9 - Seattle, WA**
* Crossfaith only


(Photo - Idan Barazani)

Angel Nation, the melodic metal band founded by the classically trained Finnish singer Elina Siirala (also in Leaves' Eyes) will reissue their debut album, Tears Of Lust, on CD and digital on October 7 via Inner Wound Recordings.


The album was originally released under the band name EnkElination in 2014 before the band changed their name to Angel Nation in 2016.


Angel Nation comments: "We're excited to announce a brand new re-release of our first album Tears Of Lust on 7th October 2022 via Inner Wound Recordings. The idea that originated from the fans has materialized! The new pressing will include a full history of the album written by Elina, new pictures and of course the album cover with the new band name! Also included are three bonus tracks: 'Do It Anyway', 'Devil's Voice Inside' (remixed and remastered) and 'Fly Away'."







Tears Of Lust (2022 Reissue) tracklisting:


"Tears Of Lust"
"Higher Ground"
"Never Ending"
"Lullaby"
"Insane"
"What Have You Become"
"Reborn"
"Chimeras"
"Changeling"
"Abyss"
"Last Time Together"
"Do It Anyway" (Bonus Track)
"Devil's Voice Inside" (Bonus Track)
"Fly Away" (Bonus Track)


Upcoming Angel Nation shows:


October
13 - Underworld - London, UK
14 - Whittles Oldham - Oldham, UK
15 - Scruffy Murphy's - Birmingham, UK
16 - Bannerman's Bar - Edinburgh, UK

Whitesnake revisit its multi-platinum career as it remixes some of its biggest hits for the new collection that spotlights updated versions of classic tracks like “Still Of The Night,” “Here I Go Again,” and “Is This Love.”


Whitesnake's Greatest Hits is available now on digital and streaming services, on CD, 2LP, and fans are invited to order the collection by going here.


The band have released this remastered video for "Crying In The Rain":







In another clip, David Coverdale looks back on "Crying In The Rain":





David Coverdale had 16 tracks remixed and remastered for this collection. He explains: “We’ve definitely expanded on the original Greatest Hits, took them all out of the sonic time capsule of the ’80s and ’90s, and brought them up to date, sound-wise … as always, we have the original albums for those who consider them holy relics.”


Keyboardist Derek Sherinian, who also appeared on Whitesnake’s recent Red, White and Blues trilogy, adds Hammond organ to more than half the songs on the collection. His scorching contributions can be heard on the #1 smash “Here I Go Again,” “Fool For Your Loving,” “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again,” and more. New performances by former Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg can also be heard on “The Deeper The Love” and “Judgement Day” from the 1989 album, Slip Of The Tongue.


Along with those new additions, Coverdale also went back to the vault to unearth vintage performances by guitarist John Sykes that didn’t appear on the original recordings, including a solo on “Slide It In” and rhythm guitar on “Give Me All Your Love.”


Whitesnake Greatest Hits focuses extensively on three blockbuster albums the band released during the 1980s: 1984’s Slide It In (2x platinum), 1987’s Whitesnake (8x platinum), and 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue (platinum). But the collection goes deeper with songs like “Sweet Lady Luck,” a b-side on the 12” single for “The Deeper The Love,” and “Forevermore,” the title track from the band’s 2011 album.


Whitesnake have embarked upon a farewell tour with special guest, Europe. Coverdale said: “I pray every day we can all make this happen & once again, share unforgettable evenings together & celebrate the amazing journey we have been on for almost 50 years!!!”





CD/Blu-ray tracklisting:


“Still Of The Night”
“Here I Go Again”
“Is This Love”
“Give Me All Your Love”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Slide It In”
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Guilty Of Love”
“Fool For Your Loving”
“Judgment Day”
“The Deeper The Love”
“Now You’re Gone”
“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again”
“Sweet Lady Luck”
“Crying In The Rain”
“Forevermore”


"Sweet Lady Luck" remastered video:





"You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" remastered video:





"The Deeper The Love" remastered video::





"Judgement Day" remastered video:





"Fool For Your Loving" remastered video:





"Guilty Of Love" remastered video:





"Slow An' Easy" remastered video:





"Slide It In" remastered video:





"Love Ain't No Stranger" remastered video:





"Give Me All Your Love" remastered video:





"Is This Love" remastered video:





“Here I Go Again” remastered video:





"Still Of The Night" remastered video:

The official trailer for the first-ever career-spanning documentary on the life and times of legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio is available below. Executive-produced by Dio's widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio and fully authorized by the artist's estate, "Dio: Dreamers Never Die" delves deep into the singer's incredible rise from a '50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in ELF and Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH, and finally cementing his rock star status with his own band, DIO. The film incorporates never-before-seen footage and personal photos, as well as offering intimate scenes with his closest peers, family, and friends, among them Wendy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk and Jack Black, as they bring viewers inside the life of one of rock and roll's true heroes and one of the most beloved figures in rock.

Tickets for "Dio: Dreamers Never Die" go on sale today (Wednesday, August 24) at www.diodreamersneverdie.com. The film will be presented in more than 500 cinemas worldwide by Trafalgar Releasing and BMG for two days only on Wednesday, September 28 and Sunday, October 2.

In addition to the feature-length film, this special cinema event will also include a hand-picked selection of outtakes from the cutting room floor, creating an experience that is exclusive only to fans in attendance.

"We are excited to be partnering with BMG and Wendy Dio to present 'Dio: Dreamers Never Die' in cinemas worldwide," said Kymberli Frueh, SVP for programming and content acquisitions for Trafalgar Releasing. "Ronnie James Dio has and continues to influence the heavy metal movement. This cinema event will take fans on a big screen journey into the creative and personal life of this notable frontman."

Ronnie James Dio, who died of gastric cancer in 2010, reigns as one of the most influential rock artists of all time and one of the greatest vocalists ever. With an illustrious recording career spanning from the 1950's through to the 2000s, the documentary follows his trajectory from sideman into singer, songwriter and frontman of not one, but three of rock's internationally renowned, multi-platinum-selling arena attractions: RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO. Famous for popularizing the 'devil horns' hand gesture that is now synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal music, Dio was known for not wavering in his pursuit of his rock and roll dreams and continues to influence a new generation of music artists. His fans the world over remember him not only for his massive talent, but for his kindness, resulting in millions of dollars raised for cancer research in his memory.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die" was financed solely by BMG and was directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton ("Framing John DeLorean", "Believer", "Last Days Here"),produced by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce for 9.14 Pictures, and executive-produced by Wendy Dio for Niji Productions and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG.

Argott and Fenton said: "People who have conviction, talent and heart like Ronnie James Dio are in short supply these days. It is refreshing to share his inspiring story of believing in yourself and chasing your dreams. As lifelong Dio fans, it is incredibly humbling to bring Ronnie's journey to the screen and we can't wait to share it with audiences."

Rhino/WMG will release the soundtrack from "Dio: Dreamers Never Die" in the fall.

Ronnie James Dio's wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio spoke to Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the status of "Dio: Dreamers Never Die", the career-spanning documentary on the life and times of the legendary rock icon, which received its world premiere this past March at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. She said: "We did a lot of different film festivals. You go to film festivals to get a buyer for the film. And we have secured a buyer. And it will come out at the end of summer in theaters; it'll be in theaters the end of summer."

At this year's SXSW Film Festival, several music personalities who were involved in the making of the film — Wendy, Butler and Bach — took part in a panel, "Dreamers Never Die: The Enduring Power Of Metal" panel, hosted by SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk at Austin Convention Center. Video of the discussion is available below.

Wendy recently told Argentinian journalist Lucas Gordon about "Dio: Dreamers Never Die": "I saw the first cut of it. It was very emotional. It's very different from [Dio's autobiography]. 'Cause the book finishes in 1986, with Ronnie playing Madison Square Garden. But the documentary goes all the way through his life till the end. And it was very emotional. I was watching it with my publicist and a person from BMG, who are funding the documentary. And we all cried. It was very emotional. But it's really interesting and really good. Rob Halford is great in it, talking about stories. Lita Ford [and] Jack Black [are also in it]. Eddie Trunk and Mick Wall [author of Dio's autobiography] both kind of narrated it and everything. I'm very pleased with it."

In August 2021, Wendy told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about what fans can expect to see in the documentary: "There's a bunch of stuff from [old] Super 8 [tapes] and some other stuff. There's fantastic interviews with all kinds of different people about when they were working with Ronnie or what they were doing at the time, maybe supporting Ronnie. It's totally different to the [recently released Dio] book."

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Dio's autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press.

Cathartic black metal titans, Gaerea, will release their new album, Mirage, on September 23 via Season Of Mist. Pre-order the album here, and watch a video for the single, "Mirage", below.


Behind black shrouds of obscurity and desolation, the men of Gaerea deliver their odes in cascading maelstroms of aggression and beauty with full-length number three, Mirage.


Emerging from the age of pandemic to whatever awaits humanity next, the Portuguese horde remains on the frontlines of the next generation of extreme metal. The beauty of Gaerea lies in the directness and simplicity found within their florid tapestry of extremity and aggression.
With talons dipped in the inky blood of black metal and scraped across the flesh of human suffering, Gaerea is leading a charge into the future of darkness, and all those who find beauty and power in the dark side of existence would do well to take heed.




Cover by Saros Collective.





Tracklisting:


"Memoir"
"Salve"
"Deluge"
"Arson"
"Ebb"
"Mirage"
"Mantle"
"Laude"
"Dormant" (Deluxe media book bonus track)


"Mirage" video:





"Mantle" video:





"Salve" video:

On October 7, Grammy-nominated metal titans, Lamb Of God, will release their new album, Omens, via Epic Records. Watch a playthrough video for the title track below:





Watch the official “Omens” music video:







Go behind the scenes of the “Omens” music video:





Omens is a furious entry in the Lamb Of God catalog, perhaps their angriest album yet. "The world is crazy and keeps changing. Omens is a reaction to the state of the world,” explains vocalist D. Randall Blythe. "It’s a very pissed-off record.” He pauses for emphasis. “It is extremely pissed-off.”


The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal architects tracked Omens at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from The Doors, The Ramones, and Soundgarden, among others. "The inner workings of the band have never been better,” explains guitarist Mark Morton. “You can hear it in Omens. You can see it in our performances, and if you're around us for five minutes, you can feel it."


The Omens album pre-order is live now, boasting several exclusive items, including a signed colored vinyl variant, shirt, hoodie, and signed CDs with an alternate color cover. All physical CD and Vinyl releases will include a free access code to watch the livestream viewing of "The Making of Omens" documentary, which will premiere the week of album release.


Omens artwork and tracklisting:





"Nevermore"
"Vanishing"
"To The Grave"
"Ditch"
"Omens"
"Gomorrah"
"Ill Designs"
"Grayscale"
"Denial Mechanism"
"September Song"


"Omens" lyric video:





"Nevermore" video:





(Photo - Travis Shinn)

Coming on the heels of the announcement of their seventh studio album "Blood Money Part Zer0" being released on February 24, 2023, New York City electro metal pioneers DOPE have unveiled their first music video for the track "Believe" (featuring Drama Club). The clip, which was directed by Edsel Dope and Matt Zane, stars Fivel Stewart, who is best known for her work in the acclaimed series "Atypical" and recently in the Sam Raimi-produced, Sandra Oh-starring horror film "Umma". The video co-stars Johnnie Guilbert, a solo acoustic artist who has amassed over a million followers on multiple platforms.

The "Believe" video follows Fivel and Johnnie on a psychedelic journey into the desert and beyond, while the band powers through their performance during a snowstorm. The energy of the song is very dark, but ultimately, it resolves to help the listener to find peace. Edsel delivers the lyrics of: "We live and learn, die and burn, so in the end. I believe in love, cause that's where it all begins."

The song "Believe" was originally a demo from Edsel's previously anonymous side project titled DRAMA CLUB, which exploded on to the scene in 2014. DRAMA CLUB toured the world with BLACK VEIL BRIDES, FALLING IN REVERSE and also appeared on the entire Warped Tour of 2015. The video for the track also features some of the final creative efforts of Amie Harwick a.k.a. Amie Nichole, who worked as both choreographer and a dancer in the video. Amie was a long-time friend of the band and tragically passed away after the filming commenced.

"Blood Money Part Zer0" is DOPE's first release in seven years and is the follow-up to 2016's "Blood Money Part 1", which debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200, selling over 15,000 units in its first week.

DOPE has sold more than a million combined albums and has amassed an audience of nearly two million monthly listeners on Spotify while racking up more than 100 million plays on its cult classic "Die MF Die".

In a move to demonstrate the bands sincere appreciation to their loyal fanbase for more than two decades, DOPE is giving away "Blood Money Part Zer0" for free digitally. Longtime fans, curious listeners and people that enjoy gratis music can sign up to download the album for free on the band's web site. A physical pre-order will also be available on the band's web site for fans that want to purchase the new album in various physical formats.

DOPE recently released an introspective infomercial which doubles as a behind-the-scenes look into the real life of Edsel, his private life, and his many ventures outside of DOPE. A very private person, virtually inactive on social media, Edsel is intentionally secretive about what he does with his time between records and tours. This video serves as a direct message to the fans, inviting them to see behind the curtain of the mysterious man, whose creativity they have supported for years. In the end, the video is ultimately an introduction to "Blood Money Part Zer0" and will feature teaser clips from the music videos for "Believe" and "No Respect", but is also so much more.

DOPE will hit the road in 2023 in support of "Blood Money Part Zer0" as part of the "Rise Of The Machine" tour with STATIC-X and FEAR FACTORY. The 42-date trek kicks off February 25, 2023 in San Francisco, California and wraps up April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

During his time away from performing with DOPE, Edsel has become a successful creative director, project manager and entrepreneur. As part of a three-year stint with Omnicom's GMR Marketing, Edsel headed up music programs for the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, WWE, UFC and many others while also lending his creative marketing talents to brands such as Indian Motorcycle, Nissan and "American Horror Story", to name a few. Edsel, who now resides in Los Angeles, is a father, has a family and is also the owner operator of the3D/4D capture stage to the stars. Ecco Studios is a company specializes in the technical art of 3D and 4D scanning, which is the foundation for creating the most unbelievably realistic digital humans imaginable. Ecco is skyrocketing at the moment and through this venture, Edsel recently worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Snoop Dog, Terry Crews, Sylvester Stallone, while also working on titles such as "Spiderman", "Terminator: Dark Fate", "Love Death Robot", as well as several volumes of the EA Madden franchise.

KINGDOM COME drummer James Kottak says that he won't play with his bandmates at their upcoming concerts in Texas.

In the early hours of Sunday morning (August 21),Kottak took to his Twitter to write: "I will not be at the Kingdom Come Plano or San Antonio shows so don't waste your time thanks jams k [sic]".

The San Antonio gig will take place on September 24 at the Tierra Segrada Rockfest at Tech Port Arena. Also appearing on the bill will be LEGS DIAMOND (headliner),MOXY, LITA FORD, JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE and JESSIKILL. The Plano show is scheduled for September 23 at Legacy Hall, with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE and BULLETBOYS also on the bill.

Two months ago, Kottak denied that alcohol played a role in KINGDOM COME's disastrous performance at a Swedish festival.

The band's June 10 appearance at Sweden Rock Festival was described by the popular Swedish site Rocknytt as the event's "biggest fuckup." Writer Peter Johansson criticized the band for the inclusion of "several lengthy, uninspired, uninteresting and completely meaningless solos on both guitar and bass", saying that the musicians "completely massacred" one of their most popular songs, "Do You Like It". He also singled out Kottak, writing that the drummer played "really badly, sluggishly" and at times failed to keep the tempo "worryingly throughout the concert". At the end of the show, Kottak "stumbled to the edge of the stage to bow with his bandmates," according to Rocknytt.

Also critical of KINGDOM COME's performance was renowned Swedish music journalist and guitar player Janne Stark, who took to his Facebook page to share a photo of the gig and he wrote in an accompanying caption: "I've never seen a drummer fall asleep on stage before but James Kottak is pretty damn close. Drunk? He slows down every song to half tempo. KINGDOM COME, sorry guys but this is SHIT!"

Kottak publicly discussed KINGDOM COME's performance at Sweden Rock for the first time in an interview with "This That & The Other With Troy Patrick Farrell" conducted just days after the concert. Regarding what caused the show to fall short of expectations, James said: "I wanna say about eight or nine days ago, maybe 10 days ago, in the middle of the night, like four o'clock in the morning, I was in a dead sleep and I just rolled off the bed and I cracked three ribs on my left side. And I went to my chiropractor guy and he says, 'Oh, you have hairline fractures.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, great.' And dude, it's just been non-stop pain. It's not just my ribs; it's head to toe. That's why things were a little bit slower. 'Cause I took ibuprofen and the usual, Aleve or whatever, but, man, it was an uphill battle from the time we started. And it was just — I mean, not pain; I'm talking pain-pain, big-time stuff. That's no excuse, because the show must go on. But, yeah, I was a little slower than usual. But also we [usually] have a click track, of course, 'cause we might have a little bit of playback. Something was up with that, so we were flying solo… And [when] you don't have it, you go, 'Oh-oh. Okay. We'll do this.' It was just an off day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

According to James, there was "definitely no drinking" involved prior to the KINGDOM COME mishap at Sweden Rock. "Because that with the medication, it doesn't go good together," he explained. "And it was just an off day, man. I did everything to [make it better] — tons of tea, this and that, and all the usual things that I do — but, man, it was just too soon after falling that we went to play this gig. But it's Sweden Rock, and you don't wanna bail out on that."

Asked if alcohol contributed to him falling out of bed prior to the Sweden Rock performance, Kottak said: "I always sleep on the left side of the bed, and I just somehow, in my sleep, rolled off the bed and landed on my left side. I mean, that's really it. I wasn't drinking — nothing like that. Yeah, I have a few white wines here and there, but nothing like that. I just rolled off the bed. And that's the first time in my life that's ever happened where I actually fell off. I woke up and saw stars. It took me 15 minutes to get off the floor. These things happen sometimes, and there's nothing you can do. With SCORPIONS, going up my riser to get to my drums, there were, like, 14 steps, and I fell down those stairs at least five times, if not six times. Because I was like a dummy — I was always spitting this water. And I'd finish a song and I'd come down not thinking, and, just, 'Whoop', right on my ass."

James also denied that his battle with alcoholism was the primary reason he was fired from the SCORPIONS in 2016. He has since been replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee.

"I hate to say it, but Blabbermouth's kind of been the worst James basher," Kottak said. "They always say — any article about SCORPIONS, they say, 'Yeah, ever since James Kottak was released for alcohol abuse.' So I e-mailed them one day and said, 'Man, stop saying that.' We parted ways. It wasn't just from alcohol, dude. We went through five years of negotiations, 'cause the manager and tour manager both died within six months of each other. Then the band decided to self-manage, which is cool. But I'll tell you what, man — that's when it was a super-bumpy road and we were just not on the same page anymore. And that happens with bands."

Four years ago, SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs said that he and his bandmates "had to make" the decision to fire Kottak, explaining that they gave the drummer "all the chances" to get better. During an appearance on "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon", the guitarist said: "James was a real good friend — and he still is — but we couldn't continue with him. We gave him all the chances, and 10 more. And it was something that developed over the years — the drinking habit. It came in waves — sometimes it was good for four weeks, and then [there] was drama, and if you know him, you know what that's like. Then if it affects the show, you have to go, 'Hmmm…' Because our drum riser goes up 21 feet, or 24 feet sometimes, if the venue allows it, and the production manager, or stage manager, goes, 'I can't have him go up there. It's too risky.' If you can't really walk down the stairs straight, you can't have that. So that affects your intro of the show, and that's not good — it's not professional."

He continued: "We were helping him — we were sending him to [the island of] Antigua [to Eric Clapton's Crossroads drug and alcohol treatment center], and we paid for it, and we did everything we could, because we are extremely loyal. It's always hard if you work with somebody for almost 20 years to say, 'Okay, you've gotta go.' We'd rather do the opposite and try to keep him and help him. But we reached the point — or he reached the point — where it was just not worth it. After three months or four months even — they gave him an extra month in Antigua, the rehab — he'd come home, we'd start again, and you can't even talk to him. So we had to make that decision. We had Mikkey on the road, so [James] didn't notice. So I rehearsed with [Mikkey] and Paweł [Mąciwoda, bass] in the afternoon, just a backup; that was the original plan. But then there was no way we could continue with James, so we started with Mikkey."

Two years ago, Kottak, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996, told the SCORPIONS official fan club Crazyscorps about the circumstances that led to his departure from the legendary German hard rock band: "I always liked a drink here and there. And then I always also take a pain medication called Aleve. It's what all the baseball players take, all the footballers, and it works like a charm. You take those of those and you don't feel anything. But on top of that, I'm a rock drummer in a rock band, and you've got the green light to drink.

"From 2008 to 2011, I didn't drink," he explained. "I just woke up one day and said, 'I just don't wanna drink anymore.' I didn't go to rehab; I didn't do any of that stuff. I just didn't wanna drink anymore.

"If you have any knowledge of A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] or any type of program or rehab, it only lasts so long and then you have what we call in recovery a relapse. I would go through these phases of a year or maybe two years of no drinking, and then you gradually…

"SCORPIONS, we play our show, we go back to the hotel, [and] 45 minutes later, we're all downstairs having dinner," he continued. "And everything's just the right price — free. All these flights back and forth from Europe, from L.A. — I was just flying constantly. Which I'm not complaining about, but it's always business or first class, and once again, all the booze is at the right price. I'm going, 'I've got the next two days off. I might as well have a drink.' And that's what triggered me to start drinking again sometimes.

"It's a typical alcoholic way of thinking: 'Well, I may as well have a drink. Why not?' And that's typical alcoholic disease thinking. 'Cause it is a disease."
I will not be at the Kingdom Come Plano or San Antonio shows so don’t waste your time thanks jams k

— James Kottak (@JKottak) August 21, 2022


pic.twitter.com/LsOhrArN16

— James Kottak Fan Club (@fan_kottak) August 21, 2022



San Antonio are you ready to rock 🎸? 📣 JUST ANNOUNCED 📣 | TIERRA SAGRADA ROCKFEST featuring the legendary Legs Diamond +...

Posted by Tech Port Center + Arena on Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by vocalist, guitarist & producer John Mitchell, will release their fifth studio album, A Model Life, on August 26. A new video for the track "Digital God Machine" can be viewed below.


Says Mitchell: "I'm old enough to remember a time before the internet as I suspect a few of you guys are as well. I also suspect (at the risk of sounding positively wistful and nostalgic) that it was a possibly a kinder and simpler time to be a musician in many ways. I was a huge fan of the band It Bites, and I was a member of their appreciation society and used to regularly send letters to Maggie who ran the group. Turbo fan indeed! If I don't particularly like a band I can't say I feel any great need to go on their Facebook page or YT channel and tell them how rubbish I think they are, I just don't listen to their music. As my dear old mum (and indeed Roger Moore) used to say... if you have nothing nice to say about something, just say nothing. So with that in mind, here's a video about that very subject... which again is NOT to be taken too seriously."







An album that brims with frustration at the state of things, while tugging remorselessly at the heart strings, A Model Life is plainly the most honest and vulnerable Lonely Robot record to date. From opener Recalibrating, which muses on the aftermath of a broken relationship, and Digital God Machine – a sardonic tribute to keyboard warriors everywhere, to the boys-don’t-cry pathos of Rain Kings and the absurdly moving, adoption-themed Duty Of Care, these new songs provide a scattershot but profoundly emotional soundtrack to a restless and uncertain world.


John comments: “Making A Model Life was very much a lifeline and indeed wake up call at the end of a particularly personally challenging couple of years. Creating it made me realise that ultimately, life is impermanent and the one true thing that gives me a focus and anchor is and has always been music. Long may that be the case.”


The album will be available as Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP+CD & as Digital Album. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Recalibrating"
"Digital God Machine"
"Species In Transition"
"Starlit Stardust"
"The Island Of Misfit Toys"
"A Model Life"
"Mandalay"
"Rain Kings"
"Duty Of Care"
"In Memoriam"


"The Island Of Misfit Toys" video:





"Recalibrating" lyric video:





Interview series:


Part 1:





Part 2:





A lone soldier on the frontlines of creativity, John Mitchell has been at the forefront of forward-thinking and progressive rock for decades now. As a member of such revered prog ensembles as It Bites, Arena, Frost* and his own projects Kino and The Urbane, he has become a uniquely vital contributor to the modern scene, while his credentials as a producer for countless contemporary rock acts are unquestionable. But since 2015, John has been operating under name Lonely Robot: a solo project in all but name, it has enabled him to fully express his own musical vision, via some of the most vivid and fascinating music of his career to date.


(Photo – Tom Barnes)

STRYPER has postponed most of its previously announced shows in September to next year for "economic" and "other reasons."

The veteran Christian rockers announced the postponement in a statement on social media earlier today (Monday, August 22). The band wrote: "It is with a heavy heart that we are postponing most of our September tour dates to the Spring / Summer of 2023. Refunds will be automatically issued. If you have purchased a meet and greet through STRYPER's Etix page, those will be refunded as well. New dates for next year are being rescheduled now. We will be able to keep several of the 2022 tour dates as scheduled, including the Texas dates, the International and destination dates. (Details in the Tour section of Stryper.com)

"Unfortunately there were some economic cards stacked against us. Anyone in the music business will tell you about the Tour Bus and Labor shortage out there. We're feeling it first hand. The Tour Bus business is like the housing market right now with 10 times more bands trying to rent buses than are available. And you've seen the cost of gas lately. When you're putting 10,000+ miles on a bus, as we were planning to do, gas prices absolutely matter for a tour like ours. There are some other issues at hand as well that played a part in our decision to postpone the tour.

"As you all can imagine, we're very disappointed to have to make this decision. At the same time, we're excited about what's to come.

"We have a new album being released in October. We'd like the opportunity to play several songs from that album, and give it a proper tour to support it. So Spring of next year makes more sense to do that. You will have had more time to consume the album and let us know which songs from it you'd like to hear live.

"We can tour MORE markets in the Spring. Due to the oversaturation of the touring industry right now, we honestly had a tough time hitting some of the cities we wanted to play this year. But by moving this to the Spring it will allow us to play MORE cities.

"We could go down the line with half-a-dozen other reasons that played into this decision. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and make the best decisions you can given the information at hand. And that's what we've done.

"We didn't come to this decision lightly, but we are positive that moving this tour to the Spring and early Summer of 2023 will make for a better experience for everyone. Thank you all for sticking by us.

"(Tour dates starting 9/27/22 and through the rest of the year will remain as scheduled. The dates that are moving are from 9/8/22 to 9/25/22). We will be live-streaming our show in Dallas TX on 9/29. Stay tuned for details on that.

"God Bless you all. Much love, Michael, Robert, Oz, and Perry".

STRYPER's new studio album, "The Final Battle", is due in October via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2020's "Even The Devil Believes" was produced by vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet and was once again recorded at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Formed 39 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil" and the band's latest effort, the aforementioned "Even The Devil Believes".

Michael is joined in STRYPER by his brother Robert Sweet (drums),Oz Fox (guitar) and Perry Richardson (bass).

Special announcement from the band: Most September tour dates postponed - see images below and our website for details.

Posted by Stryper on Monday, August 22, 2022

Internationally acclaimed ‘80s-influenced hard rockers, Santa Cruz, have unleashed the music video for “Disarm Me”, featured on the group's upcoming new album, The Return Of The Kings, out Friday, August 26. Watch the clip below.


The 2022 lineup of Santa Cruz sees Finnish frontman/guitarist and founding member Archie Cruz now joined by the Los Angeles-based trio of guitarist Jerry Jade (Bad Gvy), bassist Tommy Bradley (Revelry Gang), and drummer Randy McDemian (Abrahadabra Clothing).


Archie Cruz recorded The Return Of The Kings - the follow-up to 2019's Katharsis - as a one-man studio project throughout 2020 and 2021 in his native Finland, but to fully enact the vision for the new record in the live setting he has turned to the modern Los Angeles hard rock revival. The new quartet of Cruz, Jade, Bradley, and McDemian pay tribute to the old-school Sunset Strip influences while also reinforcing the updated take on the sound that has allowed Santa Cruz to win over audiences worldwide.







Tracklisting:


"Here Comes The Revolution"
"Take Me To America"
"Under The Gun"
"Disarm Me"
"Standing My Ground"
"10 Shots"
"Another Round"
"Gunshot"
"1000 Cigarettes"
"Would You Believe It"
"Stay"


 "Disarm Me" video:





"Under The Gun" video:





Santa Cruz have announced a retooled live show that will be unveiled to the concert-going masses with a performance scheduled at the Whisky A Go-Go on August 25th.

The White Buffalo will return this fall with his eighth studio album titled Year Of The Dark Horse.


The Oregon-born, Southern California-bred artist has completed the record with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Fidlar) at his Neon Cross studio in Nashville. For The White Buffalo, aka singer-songwriter-guitarist Jake Smith it was time to take the less-traveled path and embark on a voyage of discovery.


“You think we’re a country band? A folk band? Americana? Rock? What the fuck are you gonna say now?!” says Smith. “With this album, I wanted something outside of what I’ve ever done. I wanted to open up. Do something dangerous. I’m hard to put into a singular genre as it is, but now I really wanted to take away any kind of preconception or pigeon-holing.”




Smith adds, “And don’t ask me, cos I don’t know what it is! It’s a genre-bending thing--there’s elements and influences from ELO, Daniel Lanois, Tom Waits, The Boss, circus, pirate music, yacht rock, and I’m driving and pushing some of these numbers in a way I’ve never done before.”


Roughly based around the shifting of the seasons paralleled with the shifting of a relationship, on Year Of The Dark Horse, Smith continues his evocative storytelling through emotionally weighted songs that allow the imagination of the listener to play an important part throughout; the music builds on a tale of debauchery (of the drunken variety) and blame, of love and loss, a life lived against the odds, the whole thing set in one lunar year, following our anti-hero through the highs and lows of the seasons.


From highlights “Kingdom For A Fool,” “52 Card Pickup,” and “Donna,” Year Of The Dark Horse offers an invigorating and wonderfully unpredictable listen. A collection of 12 musical vignettes individual yet constant in flow, it’s The White Buffalo’s most ambitious and well-rounded work to date, with the full scope of Smith’s songwriting craft is on view.





The White Buffalo - now with seven albums plus various EPs in its locker - is rounded out by touring/recording compadres Christopher Hoffee, bassist/keyboards/guitars, and drummer Matt Lynott.


Year Of The Dark Horse is the follow-up to The White Buffalo’s last album, On The Widow’s Walk (Snakefarm, 2020) which was released one week after the entire world stopped during the global pandemic.


A powerful and prolific storyteller through his songcraft, Smith's body of work includes prominent song and soundtrack placements in the worlds of TV and film including the shows Sons Of Anarchy, This Is Us, Californication, The Punisher, The Terminal List, and the films Shelter, Safe Haven and West of Memphis. The White Buffalo’s dark blues and light Americana-roots-tinged folk provided a soundtrack of tunes for the entire seven season run of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, which included 11 songs overall. The last song in the series finale for SOA “Come Join The Murder,” earned The White Buffalo his first-ever Emmy Award Nomination.


The White Buffalo will launch a string of Canadian dates in early September and on Friday, September 16, The White Buffalo will perform their first festival appearance this year at Beachlife Festival in Redondo Beach. Expect the group to announce a full fall tour run soon.

A-Z, the new band formed by Fates Warning icons Ray Alder and Mark Zonder, have released their self-titled debut album via Metal Blade Records. An official album sampler can be found below.


In early 2020, famed former drummer for Fates Warning and Warlord, Mark Zonder, began working on new material with the vision of beginning a new, full-time band that would offer something different from his current catalog. The mission was to deliver straightforward, no-frills hard rock that speaks to a broader audience. The end result, which sees Zonder reunite with Fates Warning lead vocalist Ray Alder, along with bassist Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai, Warlord), guitarist Joop Wolters, and keyboardist Vivien Lalu, is A-Z.


Order the album here.







A-Z tracklisting:


"Trial By Fire"
"The Far Side Of The Horizon"
"The Machine Gunner"
"Rise Again"
"Window Panes"
"Run Away"
"Stranded"
"At The Waters Edge"
"Borrowed Time"
"Sometimes"
"The Silence Broken" (Bonus Track)


Album sampler:





"Stranded" video:





"Trial By Fire" video:





"The Machine Gunner" video:





When Mark Zonder, famed former Fates Warning and Warlord drummer, started working on material in early 2020 he had a very clear vision for the band he wanted to put together. "I was thinking beer commercials, car commercials, and Cobra Kai. I wanted to have a very accessible band that would appeal to the masses and would lead to the ability to tour larger venues and build a second and third record off the success of the first. I did not want to hear things like, 'I don't hear a single, it is too proggy, I just don't get it, let me listen to it a few more times'. I knew from myself and the others that I would recruit, it would have some sophisticated music parts but the big hook was the main priority." The result was A-Z, and while Zonder is adamant it is not a supergroup that is doing a 'one and done' record it has a stellar lineup, reuniting him with Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder, Warlord/Steve Vai/Ring of Fire bassist Philip Bynoe, guitarist Joop Wolters and keyboardist Vivien Lalu, the combination of these players stirring up a very specific kind of magic that could not be replicated.


Things came together smoothly from the start, Zonder sending drum patterns and grooves to first recruit Lalu, and he would write songs using guitar sounds so between the two of them they had basic song structures pretty quickly. Zonder knew Bynoe would jump on board as they have a long history and mutual respect and Lalu had worked with Wolters for years, recruiting him for the band. Both Wolters and Lalu brought in great musical ideas that were turned into songs. The goal was always the same: shorter songs and getting right to the chorus, no twelve-minute songs, and everyone found it easy working to this remit. With everything else coming together nicely, finding the right singer was the hardest aspect of the whole process.


"I had sent out a basic song to over 20 different singers, some popular named singers and some unknown, but completely struck out," says Zonder. "Then I just decided to call Ray as I was not sure what he was up to. I figured it could not hurt to get in touch. I do remember speaking with him back in the day and him talking about how he loved this kind of music. I sent him a track or two and he just killed it." Adds Alder, "I found this a chance to do something completely different than what I am used to, being in a prog metal band for 30 years. I find the blend of the 80s, 90s and a touch of 70s style of music very cool, and it is great to work with Mark after all of these years." Thrilled to have him on board, Zonder did not have a list of demands. "My only words to him were 'do whatever you want.' I was not going to tell him what to do. Same for all of the others guys. Yes, there has to be some editing and making decisions, but when it came to the music I just wanted everyone to do what they do best." The results are undeniable, from the high octane stomper "The Machine Gunner", to the gorgeous sway of "Rise Again" or the towering "Stranded", every track an anthem that sounds like only the biggest venues could contain them.


The band's name came courtesy of Alder - A-Z = Alder thru Zonder - and it fit straight away. "What I liked is that it did not limit what someone would think of the band. If we named the band Scary Serpent it would give a certain direction and I did not want people to prejudge the band and record," Zonder says. Likewise, self-titling the record made sense. "I did not want to give a direction idea to the audience. If we named the album Far Side of the Horizon, people would probably think 'prog band'. But if you named it The Machine Gunner, it would give a totally different direction for thought." For artwork, wanting to again get the best possible contributor, they turned to the famed Hugh Syme (Rush, Fates Warning), who delivered the vivid image of a zebra eating an apple, encompassing the band name in a sly way. "Again, hire the best people you can find and just let them do what they do. The artwork is absolutely fantastic and really fits the whole concept. He is truly the best. Just a great guy to work with."





A-Z lineup:


Ray Alder - Lead and Backing Vocals
Philip Bynoe - Bass Guitar
Vivien Lalu - Keyboards
Joop Wolters - Guitars
Mark Zonder - Drums

Former ALICE COOPER guitarist Nita Strauss is featured in the "official live performance" video for Demi Lovato's latest single, "29". The song is taken from Lovato's new album, "Holy Fvck", out now via Island Records.

Last week, Lovato and Strauss performed twice on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". They played Demi's recently released singles "29" and "Substance". The "Fallon" performances were part of Demi's three-night takeover on the show, which included an appearance as co-host on Wednesday (August 17),taking part in the monologue and guest interviews.

Nita played her first full live show with Demi on August 13 at the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois.

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

Nita's new gig was first reported as a rumor on July 11 on the Metal Sludge web site.

The follow-up to last year's "Dancing With The Devil…The Art Of Starting Over", "Holy Fvck" is reportedly a departure from Lovato's typical pop aesthetic and features a more punk-rock-flavored sound.

Lovato implied that "Holy Fvck" would usher in a new era for her after she posted a photo in January along with the caption, "A funeral for my pop music." She later told Rolling Stone that fans can expect to hear some "heaviness" in her new sound.

"It's a new era reminiscent of my first era," she said. "I'm ever-evolving, ever-changing. I'd like to put the rest of my music behind me and start fresh in this new era for this next album — but I do that every album cycle."

Demi will bring the album to fans across South America and North America this fall on the "Holy Fvck" tour. Fans can expect to hear new songs from the album as well as reimagined rock versions of Lovato's hits, including "Sorry Not Sorry", "Cool For The Summer" and more.

Produced by Live Nation, the 32-date tour kicked off this past Saturday at the Illinois State Fair. The tour will continue to South America with stops in Belo Horizonte, Bogotá, and more before hitting North America on Thursday, September 22 in Wheatland, California at the Hard Rock Live Sacramento. The North American leg includes stops in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville and more before wrapping up in Irving, Texas at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on Sunday, November 6. ROYAL & THE SERPENT and DEAD SARA will serve as special guests on select North American dates.

On July 11, Nita announced that she would sit out Cooper's fall 2022 tour. She has also scrapped the festival dates her solo band had planned for the rest of the year. The 35-year-old said in a statement that her "touring year" was "still VERY full" and revealed that she was "on a flight straight into the next adventure," adding cryptically that she would "be on stage again much sooner than you think."

A couple of Nita's Cooper bandmates commented on her post, with guitarist Ryan Roxie writing: "No words — just notes... and lord knows we harmonized a lot of them over the years... nothing but love and respect." Drummer Glen Sobel added: "You're super pro and prepared no matter what the situation. We're gonna miss you but we're also proud to be associated with Hurricane."

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.

Last October, Nita shared "Dead Inside", her first new solo music since the release of her debut album, 2018's "Controlled Chaos". The track is her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED.

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.

EVANESCENCE's breakthrough 2003 hit "Bring Me To Life" is experiencing a resurgence 19 years after its original release. The song, which initially reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was EVANESCENCE's first U.K. No. 1 single, is currently No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes chart.

EVANESCENCE commented on the single's return to the charts in a social media post Monday night (August 22). The band wrote: "19 years and still going strong! Bring Me To Life is #1 on iTunes. Thank you for the love!"

This past February, EVANESCENCE's music video for "Bring Me To Life" has surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Philipp Stölzl-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2009, was filmed in Romania in January 2003. It features singer Amy Lee in a night gown and barefoot, in her room, inside a tall building in the city at night. The rest of the band is playing on a higher floor of the building.

The album version of "Bring Me to Life" — which featured guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 STONES — was included on the soundtrack of superhero film "Daredevil".

Stölzl previously stated about the video: "On the one hand, it brings out the most catchy part of the song, the bridge, the duet with the male and female vocals. On the other hand, it reflects the ['Daredevil'] soundtrack background of the song. I did not know if I would have to use a stunt double for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul's arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong."

Last year, Amy spoke to Germany's Sonic Seducer about the lyrical inspiration for "Bring Me To Life".

"I remember what I wrote 'Bring Me To Life' about, because I wrote it about my current husband before we were married," she said. "There was this moment — I was in a tough place and in a bad relationship. And my husband now, Josh, at the time was just a friend and a person that I barely knew; it was maybe the third or fourth time we'd ever met. And we went in to go grab a seat at a restaurant while our friends parked the car. And we sat across from each other, and he looked at me and he just said, 'So, are you happy?' And it took me so off guard, and I just felt like it pierced my heart, because I felt like I had been pretending really well, and it was, like, somebody could see through me. And then that whole first verse came out of it: 'How can you see into my eyes, like open doors.' It really made me feel and recognize the sense of yearning that I had to get to a better place. And it really kind of set me out on a journey. And it's amazing that that became the song, the first song that broke us on to the scene and made everyone hear of us, because it was about something — I don't know — something so personal that I was recognizing in my life."

In March 2021, Lee told Alternative Press that EVANESCENCE's original record label Wind Up threatened not to release the group's debut album, "Fallen", if she and her bandmates didn't add a male voice to lead single "Bring Me To Life" to make it more palatable for radio.

"Fallen" sold 17 million copies and won two Grammys, including "Best Rock Performance" for "Bring Me To Life".

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", arrived in March 2021 via BMG. It was EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in ten years.

19 years and still going strong! Bring Me To Life is #1 on iTunes 💥🤘
Thank you for the love!

Posted by Evanescence on Monday, August 22, 2022

In a new interview with Germany's Rock Antenne, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the band's new album, "AfterLife". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think in every record, if you listen to it from stage one, from 'The Way Of The Fist' [2007], you can even hear the differences and the similarities in my voice — progression, ways that I've grown. Each album is a signature of where I was in time. You can find me all through 'The Wrong Side [Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell]' [2013], '[American] Capitalist' [2011], 'Got Your Six' [2015].

"This album is such a staple for where I've come," he continued. "You've gotta remember this is only the second record I've made since 'War Is The Answer' [2009] that I was clean of liquor, so it was a big deal to me to reconnect with my music, man. It's just such a special album for me, man.

"There's a lot of compromise when you're in a band — when you're in anything… It's just the food chain; there's a pecking order in life. And in a band, you will always give and take; there's always win and lose; the better part of a song wins. But sometimes I didn't feel like it was the better part of the song. And I was quoted as saying the last two albums I didn't think were that great, and I meant 'Got Your Six' and 'And Justice [For None]' [2018]. I thought 'F8' was one of our best albums ever. But 'And Justice' and 'Got Your Six', it felt monotonous, like we were doing the same thing, running through the same motions. And that's what I wanted to get away from.

"I have to love what I do, man," Moody added. "And 'AfterLife' is exactly that. It's after everything we've done in the past. It's a prelude to a kiss. Most people didn't think that we were supposed to make two albums, much less nine. So all these times they wished us to die, we made sure that they knew that the underdogs don't go away that easy. And that was another chance — this was another chance for us to prove, 'You wanted us dead? Well, there you go. Here's the afterlife.'"

When the interviewer noted that the word "afterlife" in the title is written a one word with the letter "L" capitalized, Ivan said: "You noticed that. You're the first one to notice that — no, you are. It's because when I originally wrote it, I meant is as two separate words. But when you combine them together, obviously they mean the one — the angelic, the afterlife. So I wanted it to be noted that after your life was really the intention. After what you do on a daily basis — after your job, after the grind, after going and seeing your friends — who are you at the end of the day? When you're laying by yourself in bed and you've got one candle lit and you're listening to your favorite song and you're thinking with no interference, that is after your life. And so I wanted it to be apparent to people that that's what I intended. It's supposed to have the double meaning. It's not tongue in cheek; it's a double edge. So I'm glad you caught that, man. And sincerely, you're the first person to catch it. So, bravo."

The "Afterlife" title track, which was released as a single in April, recently gave FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH the most consecutive No. 1s on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The song was the band's 13th total No. 1 and eighth entry on the chart in a row.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's follow-up to 2020's "F8" was once again recorded at the Hideout Recording Studio, the Las Vegas, Nevada facility owned and operated by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has worked on all of FIVE FINGER's albums beginning with the band's sophomore release, 2009's "War Is The Answer".

"AfterLife" is FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first album with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook in 2020. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out in the fall of 2020.

Since FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", came out in 2007, the band has released six consecutive albums that were certified gold or platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well as two chart-topping greatest-hits albums. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has earned numerous national and international awards and honors over the last decade, such as the prestigious Soldier Appreciation Award by the Association Of The United States Army, an honor bestowed upon only one other recording artist before them: Elvis Presley.

"F8" debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the USA, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. It produced four No. 1 hit singles with "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off", "Living The Dream" and "Darkness Settles In". The band has amassed over eight billion streams and three billion video views to date and has sold over one million tickets between 2018 and 2020 alone.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has just launched a U.S. headlining tour presented by Live Nation. Kicking off in Ridgefield, Washington on August 19, the trek will span over 30 dates, closing out on October 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band is joined on tour by rock icons MEGADETH, with additional support from THE HU and FIRE FROM THE GODS.

Nearly two years after his death, CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho finally got a gravestone. The one-and-a-half-meter-by-50-centimeter monument was unveiled earlier this month at the Malmi Cemetery, a large cemetery located in the Malmi district in Helsinki, Finland, where the 41-year-old musician's ashes were buried late last year.

A photo of the gravestone, which features a line from the CHILDREN OF BODOM song "Kissing The Shadows" ("So together in peace we shall be"),is available below. In addition, the lower right edge of the stone is decorated with Laiho's signature. Behind the stone is a metal cross sunk into the ground, the center of which is decorated with Laiho's V-model signature guitar. Find more pictures at Ilta-Sanomat.

Prior to the gravestone being installed, social media posts of Alexi's grave showed a candle sitting on top of his burial spot.

Australian-born music publicist Kelli Wright, who says she married the musician three years before his death, announced Alexi's burial in a social media post last December. She wrote: "Finally, with extremely mixed emotions, I can announce MY late, unconditionally and forever loved husband's ashes were buried yesterday on our 4 th Wedding Anniversary. The family Laiho plot is where he was buried. Alexi and Kelli 2005 – eternity".

At the time of his death, Alexi was still legally married to his former SINERGY bandmate Kimberly Goss. In January 2021, Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported that Laiho tied the knot with Goss in February 2002, and the couple never officially divorced. Although Laiho filed for divorce in November 2002, he quickly withdrew the petition and never filed another.

According to Finnish law, Laiho and Wright would not have been able to legally wed, as Laiho and Goss had never terminated their marriage.

In March 2021, Alexi's sister Anna accused Kimberly of holding up the burial process, writing in a social media post that Goss was using "her legal rights as a widow, preventing grie[v]ing mother and father [from] bury[ing] their own son. Her selfish and narcissistic explanation is that she wanted to take part in the funeral and still wants to be present when the ashes are buried," she wrote. "But our family does not want this monster anywhere near us."

For her part, Goss, who lives in Chicago, Illinois, denied allegations that was "a 'gold-digger' who Alexi 'hated'," explaining that "this can be easily disproven through the beautiful text and video messages he sent me daily, right until the last day of his life. Messages so sweet, yet so heartbreaking at the same time. Heartbreaking because you can see how ill he was. I tried everything I could to help him. I often messaged people in Helsinki to check in on him because I was so worried."

Last December, Anna told Ilta-Sanomat that "the protracted dispute" over her brother's ashes was "over" and that she and the rest of her family welcomed the opportunity to focus on grieving her brother "in a new way."

Alexi passed away on December 29, 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. He died of alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Alexi and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

Earlier this year, former CHILDREN OF BODOM members Jaska Raatikainen (drums),Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) discussed publicly for the first time the circumstances that led to the band's split and ultimately Laiho's death. In an interview with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat, the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM said the real reason for the band's breakup was not that they wanted to stop touring in order to spend more time with their families, which is how Laiho explained it to Helsingin Sanomat in November 2019. Instead, what caused the group to split was Laiho's substance abuse, and that is also what eventually killed him a year after they went their separate ways.

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Alexi Laiho sai viimein hautakiven – hauta täyttyi useista persoonallisista esineistä https://t.co/lL12JsAnbO

— Ilta-Sanomat (@iltasanomat) August 20, 2022

SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo says that it was "a really difficult decision" to part ways with singer ZP Theart and replace him with ex-H.E.A.T. frontman Erik Grönwall.

Theart, a former member of DRAGONFORCE, who hooked up with SKID ROW in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER),was abruptly fired from SKID ROW in February and replaced by Grönwall.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency. SKID ROW's nine-song set included its new single, "The Gang's All Here", which was made available on March 25. The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

Sabo addressed Theart's exit from SKID ROW in a brand new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice. Calling the move "really difficult", the guitarist explained: "That decision wasn't difficult from a standpoint of [Erik's] talent, because that absolutely speaks for itself. It was just we had gotten to a crossroads where we were done with most of the [new SKID ROW] record. I think we had maybe three vocal tracks on the record, but most of the music was done, if not all. And we just realized that we needed to make a change. And it was a harsh realization. There was no arguments or anything like that with ZP; there was no animosity. I think that we both — and when I say 'we', I mean ZP over here and myself, Rachel [Bolan, bass], Scotti [Hill, guitar] and Rob [Hammersmith, drums] over here — we kind of just knew that the two sides were going in separate directions, to be quite honest."

Snake went on to say that "it was hard" dismissing Theart from SKID ROW "'cause he's a really good guy. I had a lot of fun with him," he explained. "[He's a] great singer, but we were going in two different directions and it was inevitable. We were recording the record, like I said, and we just felt like, 'If we're gonna make a change, we have to do it now.' And it was not the most opportune time to make a change, being that we were in the middle of this record and we had this SCORPIONS residency coming up in Las Vegas. So it was really difficult. And we only had one person in mind, and it was Erik. So when we figured out and made the decision and informed ZP that we're gonna go our separate ways, like I said, I think everyone was well aware that we were traveling in opposite directions, or different directions."

Pressed about whether these "different directions" were of a musical or a personal nature, Sabo said: "I think it was everything. I think that we were just, as musicians, as artists, as people, we were starting to go down two different paths. Like I said, there was no blowout argument or anything like that; there was nothing that anybody did that was salacious or disrespectful. Nothing like that."

SKID ROW recorded "The Gang's All Here" in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Sabo previously talked about SKID ROW's latest singer change in an interview in April with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3. He said: "We were very, very aware of Erik. Erik [and H.E.A.T.] had opened up for us in 2019 on a European tour that we did, so we were aware of how talented he was. And also we were made aware of his audition tape that he did for 'Swedish Idol', the Swedish version of 'American Idol'. And his audition tape was doing '18 And Life' and he did an amazing job. Obviously, it got all of our attention. And so he recently did another one, a newer version of '18 And Life', which caught our attention again. So when things came to pass, that we knew that we needed to make a change, he was the first and only person that we spoke with. We started getting him music immediately, and he started cutting vocals immediately."

Sabo added: "It happened extremely fast — so fast that we were able to put out the single just in time for this residency that we're doing with the SCORPIONS right now in Las Vegas. And we were able to keep all our timelines and everything intact. And, really, the stars could not have aligned any better for us to be able to pull it off the way that it has occurred."

Bolan told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about Grönwall's addition to the band: "Just the way he does things and his work ethic is one I've never seen other than the four of us that are already in the band. He just doesn't stop until he gets things absolutely right. Whether it's his version, what he thinks is right, or what we think is right, he works hard — he works hard. And you can see why he had the success he did overseas because he's a really, really hard-working singer that takes care of his instrument and that takes pride in his craft."

Rachel also reflected on SKID ROW's first live performance with Grönwall, saying: "Honestly, dude, from the minute he opened his mouth… His timing is impeccable. We knew it was gonna be cool. And each show has gotten even better, 'cause we're learning each other's rhythm on stage. When I walked away from that show, I said to Erik, I go, 'This was show one. I cannot wait for show one hundred. It's gonna be amazing.'"

Bolan previously talked about how Erik came to join SKID ROW during an appearance on the latest episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation L.A. Invasion", recorded just hours before SKID ROW's first performance with the Swedish singer. "We toured together. H.E.A.T. was on tour with SKID ROW. What year was that? '18? And we'd hear him every night from the dressing room," he said. "And a couple of times, I was, like, 'Man, listen to this guy sing. He's phenomenal.' And then, I forget who told me, someone that was with us, 'Yeah, he won 'Idol' in Sweden.' And I was, like, 'Man, he's got pipes.' And I was listening. Then I went behind the monitor board a couple of times. And in my head, I'm, like, 'Wow! When SKID ROW has some downtime, I'm gonna get in touch with this dude and start a side project with him.' And obviously, that never happened. But as time went on and we got to the point to where we were with ZP and stuff, Erik was our first… I told Snake, I go, 'We've gotta check this guy out.' And along with Snake and the rest of the guys, and Nick, our producer, Nick Raskulinecz, were, like, 'He's the guy, man. Send him some songs.' So we sent him some songs that we were recording, just with a guide vocal on it, and it came back about 24 hours later, and we were, like, 'All right. He's the guy. Get him on a plane. Let's do this.'"

Grönwall sang on H.E.A.T.'s last four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

Grönwall was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. Six months later, he announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant in August. "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life," he told Headbangers Lifestyle in January. "Sometimes I can just get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's so beautiful that one person who is not connected to me in any way wanted to do that for me. He/she doesn't know that the blood cells were for me. It's completely anonymous."

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Front-row fan-filmed video of Rob Zombie's August 14 performance at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California can be seen below. The show was part of Rob's co-headlining U.S. tour with MUDVAYNE, dubbed "Freaks On Parade".

Produced by Live Nation, the 21-city "Freaks On Parade" tour kicked off on July 20 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, making stops across the U.S. in Tampa, Holmdel, Tinley Park, and more before wrapping up in The Woodlands at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on August 21. Support on the trek is coming from STATIC-X and POWERMAN 5000.

Rob is continuing to tour in support of his latest album, "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy", which was his first No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart. The follow-up to 2016's "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" is a classic Zombie album to its core, with high-energy rages like "The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man" and "Get Loose" to heavy-groove thumpers like "Shadow Of The Cemetery Man" and "Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass". The new album is produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris. The multiplatinum singer and filmmaker's first LP with Nuclear Blast cracked the top 10 in several countries, including Germany, Canada, Scotland, and Australia. In the United States, it's Rob's seventh consecutive Top 10 album since his first solo outing in 1998.

Regarding the "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy" album title, Rob said: "I like to try to think of an album title that you've never heard before — even though it's probably one that you cannot remember. 'Cause nothing bothers me more than when I see the same title on multiple records. I'm, like, 'C'mon, man. There's a lot of words out there.' And I don't just string crazy stuff together, even though it sounds like it… I spend a long time on the title, and it changes constantly. When I first start the record, I don't know what anything is gonna be called, I don't know what it's gonna sound like. And then as the record starts forming, I start coming up with multiple titles, or ideas for titles. And then, by the time the record's done, I usually have what I think might be the title. And everyone's, like, 'What's the title? What's the title?' And I'm, like, 'Ehhh… I don't know yet,' even though I do know. And then I start messing around with the artwork, and then I'll change the title again, because I'm, like, 'Oh, now that doesn't look like that. It doesn't fit.' So, as random as it may all seem, I spent a lot of time trying to [find the right title for the record]. And hopefully, when you're done listening to the record, what may sound like nonsense before you hear the music, after you've heard all the music, you can think to yourself, 'Well, of course, the only thing this album could have been called is 'The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy'."

As a rock icon and filmmaker with a unique vision, Rob has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of both music and film. He has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of eight feature films with a worldwide gross totaling more than $150 million. Each of Zombie's seven solo studio albums has debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, including "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse", in 2021. Zombie is an eight-time Grammy nominee, with his most recent nomination up for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2022 awards. Zombie's ninth feature film, "The Munsters", is due later this year.

In a new interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast", KING'S X frontman Doug "Dug" Pinnick was asked what he thought about MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee posting a nude photo on social media last week. Doug responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, you know, I wish I had the balls of Tommy Lee. He just did it. I mean, come on. He puts it out there and says 'oops' on the top of it. It's obvious he did it on purpose, just to see what would happen. And he got what he wanted — he got everybody talking. Purpose. That's important. People, don't you get it? Publicity stunt. You're talking."

The 71-year-old Pinnick, who came out as gay 1998 during an interview for a Christian magazine, continued: "Whatever it is, he got the attention that he needed, and I'm jealous because I wish I had balls to do that. And you would too, if you looked at the world like he did. And at the end of the day, they're gonna take it down anyway. So what's he gonna do? And even if he goes to jail for it, he'll get out the same day. He's got lawyers that'll beat this — no problem. Tommy does what he wants to — as long as I've known Tommy, Tommy does what he wants to.

"A friend of mine texted me, 'I can't believe Tommy did that.' And I go, 'What do you mean 'he did that'? We all saw him fuck Pamela — all of us did,'" Pinnick added, referring to the private sex tape of Lee and his former wife, "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson, which was stolen and sold to the public in 1996. "And he looked up and said, 'Yeah. We did.' I'm going, 'And that was a hundred years ago.' I said, 'So why is everybody going, 'Oh my God'?' Get out of here. But, hey, everybody's talking. I thought it was cute."

After Lee shared the full-frontal selfie on July 11, with the caption "Ooooopppsss", Instagram and Facebook took it down within hours for violating nudity rules.

However, the graphic image, which showed the heavily tattooed musician naked while sitting on the edge of a tub, was up for at least four hours, which was described by one Twitter user as "an insane amount of time." This has led to an outcry against social media companies for applying what critics say is a double standard in platform guidelines that favor cisgender men.

According to CNN, one user commented that Lee's penis picture "was on Instagram for 5+ hours before being pulled yet queer artists get banned all the time for art that doesn't even show genitalia."

"Girls can't post photos with cleavage on Instagram without it being taken down but Tommy Lee can post THAT. nah," another wrote.

Another person said: "@instagram literally has the clearest double standard among their community guidelines."

Many of the 59-year-old drummer's 1.5 million Instagram followers called Lee out for sharing the image in the comments of the controversial post.

"Instagram guidelines said idgaf today," one user wrote.

"So we just gon pretend nothing happened huh," added a second user.

"following tommy lee on instagram is interesting enough but i- sigh. that was traumatizing. how is it still up," wrote a Twitter user who posted a meme of a person washing their eyes out with bleach.

"So Tommy Lee can post a picture of his penis on @instagram that's still up three hours later but a picture of my curvy booty in a thong bikini gets taken down? Cool, cool," tweeted journalist Lola Méndez. She also compared seeing Tommy's picture on social media to getting an unsolicited picture of a penis.

Before the photo was removed, Lee's wife, Brittany Furlan, commented on the picture with "OH MY GOD," and the dating app Grindr responded with, "Wrong app, babe".

Instagram explicitly states that it does not allow nude photos.

"This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks," it says on its web site. "It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations or an act of protest are allowed."

Lee and Anderson's leaked sex tape was chronicled earlier this year in Hulu's "Pam & Tommy" miniseries starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan as the titular characters.

Dutch bashers Within Temptation performed at Summer Breeze 2022 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany on April 19th. Pro-shot livestream footage of the band's entire show can be viewed below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"The Reckoning"
"Paradise (What About Us?)"
"In The Middle Of The Night"
"Stand My Ground"
"The Purge"
"Faster"
"Raise Your Banner"
"And We Run"
"Don't Pray For Me"
"Shed My Skin"
"Angels"
"Entertain You"
"What Have You Done"
"Ice Queen"
"Our Solemn Hour"
"Supernova"
"Stairway to the Skies"
"Mother Earth"







Within Temptation recently released their new single, "Don't Pray For Me", an anthem for pursuing one's own destiny. Listen here, and watch an official music video below.





"We live in a world where cultures and beliefs are melting together, while at the same time acts of intolerance and injustice dominate the world," states Within Temptation. "Both societal issues and a rapid increase in sub-beliefs have resulted in fear, fragmentation and disconnect."


Singer Sharon den Adel adds, "'Don't Pray For Me' strives against forcing beliefs and fears onto others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone's own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, in multiples, or frankly, different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny."





After a very busy summer festival season, Within Temptation will embark on an American stadium tour with the legendary Iron Maiden, appearing as their special guests during the second leg of the tour, taking them to the biggest stages across America in October 2022.


Dates supporting Iron Maiden are as follows:


October
3 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford Premier Center
5 - Chicago, IL - United Center
7 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
9 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
11 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Centre
12 - Hamilton, ON - Firstontario Centre
15 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
17 - Worcester, MA - Dcu Center
19 - Belmont Park, NY - Ubs Arena
21 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
23 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena
25 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
27 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena


Within Temptation will also perform a few exclusive North American headline dates on off-dates from the Maiden tour. Dates below:


October
4 - Skyway Theater - Minneapolis, MN
8 - The Agora Theater - Cleveland, OH
13 - M-Telus - Montreal, QC

Finnish thrash metal band Ceaseless Torment signed a licensing deal with Wormholedeath for their new album Victory Or Death, which is due for release on September 30th, 2022.


Formed in Helsinki, Finland, Ceaseless Torment has been thrashing the world with their aggression since 2008. The band takes its influence from the '80s and early '90s thrash metal bands, and from the very beginning, it was clear, that brutal and aggressive thrash metal was the way to go.


As a fierce squad full of hate, Ceaseless Torment has played live in over 15 countries and toured with bands such as Nervosa and Evil Invaders. The group have released two full-length albums, The End They Bring (2014) and Forces Of Evil (2017). Their third album Victory Or Death, was recorded in 2021 and will be released next month. The artwork and tracklisting can be seen below.







"Final Sacrifice" 
"Beyond The Boundaries Of Sanity" 
"All Be Dead" 
"Killing Commands" 
"Funeral Pyre" 
"Only Victory Or Death" 
"Sons Of Sodom" 
"Obsession Possession" 
"Slaves Of Hell"


Check out an album teaser:





 

In celebration of their recent career-defining headline performance at Bloodstock Open Air 2022, Malevolence offers the world a sneak peek into the festivities with a video of set highlight "Karma", featuring live special guest Will Ramos of Lorna Shore. Malevolence laid waste to the attending crowd during their biggest headline show to date, in a packed-to-the-rafters tent inundated with frenzied crowd surfers.


Vocalist Alex Taylor commented: "We knew that we wanted to make Bloodstock a special show, so it only felt right that we invited a few special guests onto the stage with us to make the night even more memorable for the people of Bloodstock. I hit up Lorna Shore and asked if Will would be up for it, and he was on it straight away."







Order the Malicious Intent album here.





Tracklisting:


“Malicious Intent”
“Life Sentence”
“On Broken Glass”
“Still Waters Run Deep”
“Higher Place”
“Karma”
“Above All Else”
“Do Or Die”
“Salvation”
“Armageddon”


"Higher Place" video:





“Still Waters Run Deep” video:





“Life Sentence” video:

Chaos Rising have set October 14 as the release date for their new double album, The Singles.


"Our aim is to showcase women’s talents and fill the gaps in which women are underrepresented in metal. The ambitious model has so far resulted in twenty singles/video releases, spanning metal subgenres, and featuring thirty-five musicians from eighteen countries, including some of the biggest names in metal (eg. Britta Goertz - Critical Mess/Hiraes; Luana Dametto - Crypta/Nervosa; Silvia Pistolesi - Sudden Death). For a long time people had been asking ‘When will the Chaos Rising album be out?’ and we finally decided to release this showcase of all our work so far. The Singles is a double album, with one brutal LP and one melodic LP – this makes it a completely unique concept that demonstrates the evolution of our sound and the richness of metal music. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, we have been able to produce a limited edition double CD digipack which will be available from our Bandcamp page, and the album will of course also be available digitally via all major channels." - Chaos Rising


Formed in 2019 by French multi-instrumentalist Stéphanie Nolf (Unsafe, Syrinx), Chaos Rising is a collaborative international metal music project composed of women from all over the world who play, create, and share new songs in different metal styles. In a collaborative and inclusive spirit, Chaos Rising welcomes, encourages, and invites every female artist interested in metal music to be involved in any kind of aspect of  CR music and project. Women are welcome to join by either playing, recording, designing album art, writing lyrics, working with album production or promotion.




"We publish a new song each month in different metal music styles: thrash, death, heavy, doom, symphonic, hard rock, hard core, brutal death, melodic metal... More than 40 artists already joined us. If you are interested in working with us, don't hesitate to contact us and share our work !!" - Chaos Rising


Pre-save here. Pre-order on Bandcamp.





The Singles tracklisting:


CD1: For The Head


"Silent Dasein"
"Cost Of Inaction"
"Thrive"
"Normalize"
"The Greatness Beyond"
"Lullabies Of Madness"
"The Line"
"Another Storm"
"Hybris"
"Media Control"


CD 2: For The Heart


"Prisoner"
"Hostile Eyes"
"Lost"
"No Weakness"
"Distress"
"Limbo"
"The Sinner"
"Last Breath"
"The Black Silhouette"
"The End Of Ignorance"


Chaos Rising members:


Stéphanie Nolf (France)
Catherine Fearns (Switzerland)
Tina Gruschwitz (Germany)
Mel Most (France)
Haniye Kian (Turkey/Iran)
Behnaz Ghavidel (Iran)
Silvia Pistolesi (Italy)
Francesca Mancini (Italy)
Barbara Teleki (Hungary)
Miss ScarRed (Germany)
Alessia Mercado (Switzerland)
Astrid Anayalation (USA)
Ely Kamyk (France)
Victoria Villareal (USA)
Corinna Kurschatke (Germany)
Siddhi Shah (India/Dubai)
Natalia Rozanova (Russia)
Ksenia Dolgorukova (Russia)
Pitchu Ferraz (Brazil)
Luana Dametto (Brazil)
Janaina Melo (Brazil)
Julia Sergent (Argentina)
Nicole Trinchero (Argentina)
Anika Ov Moseberg (Germany)
Mio Jager (Sweden)
Laura Bethge-Meyer (Germany)
Audrey Gardenat (France)
Keira Kenworthy (Australia)
Renee Cobcroft (Australia)
Elena Dergaus (Russia)
Imke von Helden (Germany)
Lisa Skuld (France)
Alexandra Lioness (Serbia)