SLIPKNOT bassist Alessandro "VMan" Venturella spoke to Sophie K of Knotfest about the band's upcoming album, "The End, So Far". Due on September 30 via Roadrunner, the LP was produced by SLIPKNOT and Joe Barresi and includes the band's 2021 surprise single "The Chapeltown Rag" as well as the recently released singles "The Dying Song (Time To Sing)" and "Yen".

"It's a journey," Venturella said. "I wouldn't say we're stuck with one bit and it's just heavy.

"Sometimes you listen to an album and it's just like heavy, heavy, heavy for five songs and there's stuff at the end and it doesn't kind of make sense.

"There is really heavy stuff, but also there's a story behind it. And I think the way that the album we put together and pieced together… It tells a story. It takes you places — places I would think that the band haven't been before — and it pops out the other end. And you're in this, like, zen state."

"The End, So Far" follows SLIPKNOT's widely celebrated 2019 album "We Are Not Your Kind", which marked the band's third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The release made a massive global impact with No. 1 debuts in the official album charts of twelve countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Canada and Mexico, with Top 5 debuts in an additional twelve countries including Germany, France and Sweden.

"The Dying Song (Time To Sing)" arrived last month accompanied by an official music video directed by SLIPKNOT's own M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan. The track garnered widespread acclaim upon its arrival with The Fader declaring "It absolutely rips," and Rolling Stone praising it as a "punishing new elegy."

Venturella began working with SLIPKNOT during the recording of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter" album, contributing bass tracks along with guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson and former touring bassist Donnie Steele. He made his live debut with the band in 2014 at the first annual Knotfest.

In 2019, Alessandro told Bass Guitar Magazine that he landed in SLIPKNOT after getting a phone call from Root while working with MASTODON as guitarist Brent Hinds's tech.

"Me and Jim became friends while I was teching," Venturella said. "He was asking if I knew any bass players. When I found out what for, I put my hand up right away. He pointed out, 'But you don't play bass?' and I said something to the effect that I could do whatever he needed from me. Then I just had to make sure it was true."

According to Venturella, his role early on in SLIPKNOT was to "fill a great man's shoes and do him justice," referring to original bassist Paul Gray, who passed away in 2010. "My approach isn't the same as Paul's. I can't be him and never will be; every player is ultimately born different. That said, if you listen to Paul's note choices on 'Vermilion', he was all over the shop and it sounded great. I wanted to try things like that.

"After listening to his stems, I honestly looked at bass in a different light and understood how to support everything as the backbone," he continued. "Take the bass out of the mix and everything will fall flat on its arse — and equally, if you mix too bass-heavy, you're not going to get your point across either. Lead guitarists, on the other hand, always need to cut through because that's what the job entails. As the rhythm section, we're there to hold the fort."

Gray passed away from an accidental overdose of drugs.

DIO's classic debut album, 1983's "Holy Diver", was reissued last month as "Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition" via Rhino. The four-CD boxed set comes with two versions of "Holy Diver". The first is a new mix of the album made by Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SLIPKNOT). He used the original analog tapes to remix all nine tracks on the album. The second is a newly remastered version of the original 1983 mix. The Super Deluxe Edition also features unreleased live performances and outtakes, along with a selection of rarities from the era.

In a recent interview with 98.9 WMMO's Joe Rock, Ronnie's wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio said that there are plans for DIO's second album, 1984's "The Last In Line" to be given the same kind of "Super Deluxe" treatment at some point in the not-too-distant future.

"Rhino has more plans to do the same thing with 'The Last In Line' — somewhere down the line; not right away, obviously," she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "But somewhere down the line, they wanna do 'The Last In Line'. And I'm talking to other producers to do a remix of that. So we'll see what happens.

"I wanna keep things fresh and going," she explained. "And my [goal] in life is to keep Ronnie's music and his legend alive, and that's what I try to do. There's things in the vault that have been sitting there just getting dusty, and I'm thinking, 'The fans should be able to hear this stuff.' Before, I was a bit closed about it: 'Would Ronnie want this out? Would Ronnie want that out?' But I think he would."

Following the well-deserved success of "Holy Diver", Ronnie James Dio did not mess with that winning formula when he released the follow-up effort, "The Last In Line". The album is full of heavy and hard rocking songs that draw upon the fantasy lyrics for which the band is known, lots of guitar solos and, of course, Ronnie James Dio's distinctive and unique voice. The 1984 release was the first DIO album to be certified platinum. The lineup on the album is the same as that on "Holy Diver" — Dio, Vivian Campbell, Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice, plus the addition of keyboard player Claude Schnell.

Campbell discussed the decision to remix "Holy Diver" during an appearance on the August 3 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked if he has heard the new version of "Holy Diver" and what he thought about it, Vivian said: "I have not. And I find it a little bit unsettling that I ended up being talked into doing an interview a couple of months ago about it, not having heard the record. And I've gotta say I haven't heard good reports. [Laughs] That was a little weird. I just spoke to some journalist at length about this, but I haven't actually even heard the product."

He added: "I've heard that they've put out outtakes of tracks from 'Holy Diver' and solos that didn't make the cut. And I'm wondering why… There's a reason why stuff didn't make a record in the first place. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to be putting it out there."

Appice admitted to "The Rock Is George" podcast that it was "risky" remixing "Holy Diver" nearly 40 years after the LP's original release. "When you mess with something that is a classic, you're taking a chance that, is this gonna be better or is this gonna be different?" he said. "The remastered [version of the album], I heard some of that, and that sounds pretty good. I heard a little bit of the remix… I'm almost afraid to listen to it because the sounds on there sound great — the drums sound great. And I think it might sound a little bit drier, maybe a slightly different sound to the album.

"You're used to hearing an album like 'Led Zeppelin I'," he continued. "There's a sound to that record. And the drums are recorded great on that; [Jimmy] Page's guitars and the mix — fantastic. The mix is incredible on those albums — all the ZEPPELIN albums. So when you're gonna take up that task of trying to remix something like that, that's risky. I think even Joe was nervous with touching this classic thing. And the problem with the remix, too, is when we mixed that album, there were not really any computers in the studio. There was outboard gear brought in. There was some red thing we had — I forgot what it was called — we put on the drums, an EMT thing. And that was on, and it gave the drums some ambience. And so everything was live. So when we mixed it, it was Ronnie [James Dio, vocals], Angelo [Arcuri, engineer], me or Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] or whoever was in the studio. We went over how we're mixing this. 'Okay, you pull those faders down a little bit when this part comes up.' 'Angelo, you put the guitar solo up.' 'Ronnie, you do the keyboard' — whatever was in there. So we mixed it like that. We didn't put it on an auto-mix and the computer remembered the mix and then you can just keep mix to that. That was the way we mixed it. So even Joe mentioned that he couldn't really get some of the… Like that EMT, they don't use it anymore. [They have] plug-ins now, but it still sounds different. So that's the way we mixed it, and now you bring it up to the new technology and things are done differently. So he had quite a task ahead of him. I mean, it sounds good, but if you're used to the other sound, it sounds a little different."

Two months ago, Wendy told Rob Rush Radio about the reasoning behind "Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition": "We were just — Rhino and myself — were thinking that it would be nice to re-release it with a newly remixed version. And I went through lots of different producers and thinking who would make a good job of it for Ronnie and bring it a bit more modern. So we picked Joe Barresi, who's done lots of stuff with TOOL and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and so on. And he was quite reluctant in the beginning to do it because he said, 'Oh, I can't improve on what Ronnie did.' And I said, 'Well, it's not really to improve on it. It's just to make it a little bit different and to bring it up to today's standards.' And so he did it, and I'm very pleased. I think he did an absolutely amazing job with it. And [next month] being Ronnie's 80th birthday, we wanted to bring something out to celebrate it. So it's a two-LP set and there's a vinyl with it and lots of outtakes that nobody's ever heard of before. We went into the vault and found lots of outtakes, and Joe said, 'What about these?' And I said, 'Fine. Let's do that too.' And there's also, on the deluxe version, a show that Wyn Davis, a longtime engineer and friend of Ronnie's, he remastered that one. And so that one's coming out as well on there. It was done in 1983 on the 'Holy Diver' tour at the Selland Arena in Fresno. So he mixed it — it was a concert, a live recording, so he mixed it. And that's on there as well. It's gonna be a wonderful deluxe version and a super celebration of Ronnie's life."

Barresi's new mix of "Holy Diver" was released the same day as a two-LP set on 180-gram vinyl ($34.98). It includes the original nine tracks, plus the 1983 B-side version of "Evil Eyes" as a bonus track. Side four is decorated with an etching of the legendary demon Murry that graces the album's iconic cover. The vinyl is kept in a gatefold sleeve that shows off newly commissioned artwork by longtime DIO artist Marc Sasso. The same artwork is also used for the four-CD Super Deluxe Edition.

Behemoth performed at the  Alcatraz Metal Festival 2022 in Kortrijk, Belgium on August, 13th. Pro-shot video of their full show can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer"
"Wolves ov Siberia"
"Ov Fire and the Void"
"The Deathless Sun"
"Conquer All"
"Off to War!"
"Ov My Herculean Exile"
"Christians to the Lions"
"Bartzabel"
"Decade of Therion"
"Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel"
"Slaves Shall Serve"
"Chant for Eschaton 2000"
"O Father O Satan O Sun!"

New DELAIN singer Diana Leah has answered a few fan-submitted questions via the band's YouTube channel, including how she joined the long-running Dutch metal act. She said: "It's really simple, actually. I knew they were looking for a singer so I just left a comment on their Instagram page. So a couple of days later I received an e-mail from Martijn [Westerholt, DELAIN keyboardist, founder and main songwriter], and we talked a bit about how I could audition and he sent me some material that I could sing on. And the rest is history."

Asked how she decided to sing in a metal band, the 32-year-old Diana said: "Well, I've always wanted to sing in a metal band. It was really my desire to do it. In fact, I did sing in a couple of rock bands, but it wasn't really heavy music, which I loved at the time. It was really hard to find the right people to form a band with and also to get along together and all that. But I've always wanted to be in a metal band. Always."

Leah also talked a bit about her background, saying: "I was born in Romania, in a city called Alba Iulia. It's in the middle of Transylvania. And then I moved to Italy when I was 15, and I lived in Italy for, I think, 10 years or something. And then I moved to Canada, in Ottawa, and I lived there for five years. And then I came back to Italy. And now I currently live in Italy, near Torino, so up north."

Joining Diana and Martijn in DELAIN's current lineup are original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer, along with bassist Ludovico Cioffi.

Earlier in the month, DELAIN released a new single, "The Quest And The Curse", featuring the band's trademark bombastic riffs, lush orchestrations, elements from film music, metal, pop, electronic, and much more mark an amalgamation of the old and new, and build the next chapter of DELAIN's history.

Westerholt stated: "The future of DELAIN looks bright!"

DELAIN is:

Martijn Westerholt - keyboards
Diana Leah - vocals
Ronald Landa - guitars and backing vocals
Ludovico Cioffi - bass and backing vocals
Sander Zoer - drums

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors.

"I am very sad our cooperation has come to end, but at the same time I am very grateful for all the years we were able to work together. Together we toured the world, shared highs and lows, and met with many successes as well as times that pushed us to learn and grow. We all enjoyed meeting our fans and making new friends all over the globe."

Singer Charlotte Wessels said about her departure: "I know that you might have questions about the 'why' in all of this. I fully understand and respect that. Simply put, it is the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built up grievances. Part of me feels like I'm letting all of you down, I'd like you to know that this decision was not taken lightly and I apologise to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together live on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well."

DELAIN's sixth full-length album, the Westerholt-produced "Apocalypse & Chill", was released in February 2020 via Napalm Records.

With a high pace and aggressive attitude, Danish industrial metalcore quintet The Interbeing, are back with their huge, futuristic and eclectic universe. Gearing up for the release of their third full-length album, Icon Of The Hopeless, they now present the new dystopian and melancholic single "Eternal Eclipse" - a display of technical superiority with sinister breakdowns and pulsating industrial elements. 

“'Eternal Eclipse' is the final chapter on this album and we really wanted to symbolize the eclipse in the graphics of the video, which begins and ends with an eclipse. The song is about the ultimate annihilation, but also the need to revolt the eclipse and to overcome it. 'I pray for no one' is a repeating phrase which shows a rebellion against the religious perspective on life. We love the dystopian and melancholic vibes in the chorus and it is an epic resolution to close the upcoming album Icon Of The Hopeless,”, vocalist Dara Corcoran explains. 





The Interbeing established a name for themselves on the industrial metal scene back in 2011,  with their award-winning debut album Edge Of The Obscure, followed by their sophomore album Among The Amorphous in 2017. After touring Europe and Japan with acts such as Twelve Foot Ninja, Parkway Drive, Meshuggah, and playing shows at festivals such as Copenhell, Hokuo Music Week, SXSW and Euroblast, the band began to focus on finishing their upcoming album. Icon Of The Hopeless unveils the great conclusion to the conceptual story of a ‘being’ that struggles with its creators in a dystopian parallel world, a story which listeners have followed since the debut album in 2011. The third full-length album has been mixed and mastered by star producer Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Volbeat) and is set to be released on November 18 through Prime Collective.




The new single "Eternal Eclipse" is available now on all streaming services. Check out the artwork and tracklisting for Icon Of The Hopeless:  





"Revive"
"Perplexion"
"Black Halo" 
"Lies Of Descent"
"Synthetic Bloodline"
"Lifeless Decoy"
"Ruin"
"Depressor"
"Eternal Eclipse" 
"Icon Of The Hopeless"





For further details, visit The Interbeing on Facebook.


 


 


 

On June 4th, legendary Dutch death doom elite Asphyx petrformed at the Rock Hard Festival 2022 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Pro-shot video of the band's entite set can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Botox Implosion"
"The Nameless Elite"
"Death The Brutal Way"
"Asphyx (Forgotten War)"
"Deathhammer"
"Molten Black Earth"
"Wasteland Of Terror"
"Scorbutics"
"Knights Templar Stand"
"Forerunners Of The Apocalypse"
"Death: The Only Immortal"
"Necroceros"
"The Rack"
"Last One On Earth"







Line-up:


Martin van Drunen - vocals
Paul Baayens - guitar
Alwin Zuur - bass
Stefan Hüskens - drums

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his Disney rendition of Sabaton's epic "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom". Check it out below.


Johansson: "We're back again with the mix between Sabaton and Disney with the lyrics from the Sabaton song 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' to the music from the great musical number from Aladdin, 'Prince Ali'.


The original version of "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom" is taken from Sabaton's 2019 album, The Great War.










Sabaton recently released an animated story video for "The Red Baron", featured on The Great War. Watch below.


Says the band: "We’ve joined forces with our friends at Yarnhub to bring you this animated story video for our song, ‘The Red Baron’. Manfred von Richthofen, a fighter pilot for the German Air Force, was considered the ace-of-aces and is a symbol of World War I. Watch the video now and find out more about the story behind our song."

A band that continues to tread extremely diverse waters, Dopesick’s latest single finds the LA troupe at their heaviest yet as they bring in Skinlab frontman, Steev Esquivel, to provide added might and muscle. Dominated by a pulsating and metallic lead riff, a thrash-tinged drum section and a grinding bass chug adds even greater depth as "I’m So High I See Stars" allows Esquivel to deliver the effortlessly piercing scream vocals he has now been known for since first announcing himself with Skinlab almost three decades ago.





A rousing chorus offers some brief respite, the clean vocals performed by Dopesick’s brainchild, Adam Albright, who linked back up with Esquivel for the first time since the guitarist himself was part of Skinlab in 1998; on a song written to celebrate his sobriety. "I’ve been sober from alcohol for one year now and the song is about that," says Albright, before continuing, "The chorus line of ‘Sober now, but I’m so high I see stars’ is kind of the yin yang of ‘I’m sober, so I’m high on life.'"




Refusing to stick to one formula as they continually push to evolve, "I’m So High…" is a straight up metal song which also takes elements of early Noughties Nu Metal - on the one hand a brash and vicious number, while also offering an air of accessibility through a triumphant chorus.





Dopesick rose to prominence on the back of their 2016 debut EP, The Love and Terror Cult, before they released their impressive debut full-length album, A Violent Happy Place, in 2019. The following year saw Dopesick team up with H.R. from punk rock legends Bad Brains, who guested on the sumptuous single, "Summertime," while a triumphant cover of the INXS classic, "Never Tear Us Apart," and another original anthem, "Day Eraser," have preceded the bold statement that is "I’m So High I See Stars."


(Photo – Anabel Deflux)

New SKID ROW singer Erik Grönwall went from auditioning for the competition show "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" to now fronting the band.

Erik, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, reflected on his journey in a new interview with 80's Metal Recycle Bin. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I wouldn't call myself a religious man [laughs], but I would call myself… After all of this, I'm way more spiritual. I'm, like, 'Okay, who planned this?' I was on my way to a completely different life [before my diagnosis], but it was kind of like someone just nudged me.

"I was scrolling on Instagram a couple of days ago and I just saw a post, and it was a text saying, 'I'm sorry I had to make you uncomfortable, but I had to make you move. God.' And I was, like, 'Oh, fuck, man.' [Laughs] That's what it feels like.

"I'm not sure if everything happens for a reason, but that's the only way I can explain this — getting leukemia, then ending up in my favorite band," he continued.

"When I was on stage in [Las] Vegas [with SKID ROW in March and April], I was interacting with the audience, and I told them that, 'Do you know how amazing it feels to be here singing the song that started your career?' 'Cause '18 And Life' was the song I auditioned with for the 'Idol' show; that's what got me on 'Idol'. And I told them, 'Do you know how it feels to be here on stage with your favorite band of all time singing the song that started your career?' And someone commented on it, and it was, like, 'Did he just quote the 'Rock Star' movie script?' And I was, like, 'Yeah, I didn't even think about that, but it's that movie," he said, referencing the film in which an average kid from Pittsburgh gets tapped to be the new lead singer for his favorite heavy metal band. "So it's kind of like a movie script.

"It's just incredible," Erik added. "I'm still trying to process it. It feels like I've been in the band for two years. It's been four months. We've done, like, 30 shows in four months. We recorded an album. We started working on a new album. We recorded a music video. Everything has been happening so fast. It's overwhelming in so many ways."

Erik also credited his wife with providing him with the emotional strength and support that he needed through his ordeal.

"I wanna say my wife has been incredible this whole journey, especially during the treatments, 'cause when I was ready to give up, she was, like, 'Hey, you're not giving up now. You've got so many people that love you and need you in their lives.' She was tough," he recalled. "And I needed that. So I was, like, 'Yeah, I know.' And I can mention I also have a two-and-a-half-year-old son at home. So that was really, really tough — coming back from the hospital and seeing him. That was my weak spot. She really helped me a lot, and she's very understanding. And obviously, when you have this kind of lifestyle, you need someone who really understands that lifestyle and supports it. And it's kind of a selfish lifestyle in many ways. But she totally gets it, and she's got my back."

Grönwall, who was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. for nearly a decade before exiting the group in October 2020, announced last September that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant one month earlier.

"There's been a lot of tears, and I still get emotional now talking about this," Erik said. "I think I'm done with the crying [laughs] — I think — but somehow I feel grateful that I went through all of this, 'cause it gave me a lot of perspective. I'm 34, and I just feel like I've gotten a lot of perspective on things.

"Being in this business, you see a lot of comments, and you've gotta be tough in many ways," he explained. "And back in the H.E.A.T. days, negative comments could really get to me. Now I'm just, like, 'Dude, I don't care.'

"I'm so happy to wake up every day above ground. It's, like, 'Shit, I get another day? What am I gonna do with this day?'

"I was happy before SKID ROW," Erik added. "I am very happy in SKID ROW. Everything is temporary. I will be happy after SKID ROW. I'm just happy. I've got perspective, and I'm just happy to be alive. And I'm gonna keep singing until this voice can't sing anymore."

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).

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.

This past January, Grönwall told Headbangers Lifestyle about beating cancer: "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life. 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."

Grönwall joined SKID ROW this past January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in SKID ROW for more than six years. Theart played his final gig with SKID ROW in February before being officially given the boot.

In late March, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

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 bassist Rachel Bolan recently 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.'"

Following the release of their last album on Snakefarm Records (Pressure) in 2020, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown decided it was time to return to their independent roots. This change in course was inspired both by urgency and an enduring sense of commitment to their audience. Their hope ultimately being that having a greater degree of ownership over the recording, promotion, and release of their music will strengthen the conviction of the band, while tearing down any barriers that could prevent fans from hearing their most earnest work.


The decision was made, Rattle Shake Records was born.


The first single Shakedown fans can look forward to is “Ain’t None Watered Down” which will appear on the label's forthcoming inaugural full-length, Shake Your Roots. 




Says Bryant, about the new single penned by Rebecca Lovell and himself: “When Caleb, Graham, and I started talking about what we wanted to do next, we kept kicking around the idea of getting back to our initial roots as a band. So much of that was steeped in low down blues and rock and roll. One morning I was kicking around a little song idea with my wife and ‘Ain’t None Watered Down’ was born. Everything fell into place so naturally. Once the Shakedown got hold of it, it served as a road map of sorts for the new album."


Although the band has shared the stage with artists such as AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Aerosmith & Jeff Beck, to name a few, one doesn’t get the sense that any of these guys are above driving all day, pushing their own cases, and leaving it all on the stage when given the chance. This is a band that has something to prove and will go to great lengths to do so.


Pre-orders for Shake The Roots will be available soon.


Shake The Roots is the bands fifth full length album. It encompasses the energy of their live show and is a testament to the unwavering spirit of the Shakedown. The edges are not sanded down, but the attention to detail isn't lacking one bit. It sounds as if they approached the writing and recording of this record with the same intention they approach their live performances with. It is evident that the band means it and wants it to mean even more to their fans.


“We spend so much time writing and recording, it’s time we start spending more time sharing our art with the people who care. We’ve seen how the soup gets made and are confident that any ingredients we are missing will be obtained. That’s the spirit of this band and has been since day one. We’ve built our fan base in such a grass roots way that it only makes sense. They want to support us and OUR collective cause. When I say “our,” I’m including the fans. They are the reason we feel confident enough to make this leap. This is the next logical step in our trajectory as a band and we are thrilled to offer up 'Shake the Roots' as the first release from Rattle Shake Records.” 


Tyler puts this pivot in their business model simply, “We want to release MORE music and we want our fans to know that their support is what is fueling it.”


It’s one thing to choose to become the master of your own destiny, but it’s an entirely different animal to identify the adversity that may come your way in the process. Bryant has grown into the type of person who no longer sees that as a red stop sign. For him, it’s often a useful indicator to keep pushing forward. “I’ve dealt with a lot of anxiety over the years and there are certain techniques that you use to manage it. You learn how to breathe properly. That’s sort of what the Shakedown is doing right now. We’re learning these techniques that will allow us to breathe and thrive as a band. Sure, there’s some insecurity in what we’re doing, but that insecurity is fuel. If you know what you’ve gotta do in your heart, you’ve just gotta do it.”


Bryant remains grateful for the journey thus far and is brimming with excitement for what lies ahead. In his mind, he, Caleb Crosby, & Graham Whitford are neither too far removed from the early days of the band playing clubs overseas, nor an enduring ‘DIY’ mentality for what lies ahead.





Tracklisting:


“Bare Bones”
“Ain’t None Watered Down”
“Ghostrider”
“Roots”
“Hard Learned”
“Shackles”
“Off The Rails”
“Good Things”
“Sell Yourself”
“Tennessee”
“Sunday No Show”
“Midnight Oil”


“Ain’t None Watered Down” video:

Fan-filmed video of DIMMU BORGIR's August 13 performance at this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom can be seen below.

Two years ago, DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Sven Atle Kopperud (a.k.a. Silenoz) spoke to the "Vox&Hops" podcast about how his band has changed the way it approaches touring. He said: "We obviously have gotten older. Most of us have kids now. It's not like it was in the early days when we could go on tour seemingly on short notice and plug in and play. We've never really been a plug-in-and-play band anyway, but now a lot of planning [goes] into it. And we have set the limit for two or three weeks at a time and concentrate on doing quality shows. Especially when we tour South America, have a day between each show, because you travel and you get offstage at two in the morning, and then lobby call at five in the morning is not gonna work — not unless we're gonna do a proper show. And I think that's what the fans deserve. We deserve to be at our best, and you need to be rested.'

He continued: "Flying a lot during a short period of time can really wear you out. It's not the playing on stage that wears you out; it's all the waiting and all the stuff around it… There's a financial aspect to it as well, which is something that we, when you do touring like that, you know that, okay, you can come home with a better paycheck if you do things in a row and you don't have days off. But at the same time, it's important to keep the health as well, especially in this day and age. It didn't use to be like that. And we learned from the past — I hope."

In October 2020, Silenoz confirmed to Australia's "Everblack" podcast that DIMMU BORGIR was hard at work on material for the follow-up to 2018's "Eonian" LP. Speaking about the musical direction of the new DIMMU songs, he said: "It's obviously always strange to talk about it that early in the songwriting process, but I feel like it might be a little more stripped down. And that's probably not saying too much, because we have so much of everything. But I feel like we're looking at maybe toning it down a little bit, especially on the orchestral side. So people shouldn't be too surprised if they get a bit more stripped-down version of DIMMU on the next album."

In January 2020, Silenoz told Extreme Metal Festival News that DIMMU BORGIR would likely "take a more aggressive turn" with the upcoming effort. "Now with [bassist] Victor [Brandt] in the band, with him also being a guitarist, there will be four of us writing guitar riffs," he said. "It would surprise me if the album will be more guitar-orientated, which I don't mind."

"Eonian" was released right in time for the band's 25th anniversary in 2018, about eight years after its predecessor, "Abrahadabra". Since then, the infernal core trio consisting of Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder has played various tours all around the world, including shows at leading metal festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Hellfest.

On December 23rd, 2021 Scardust performed a Nightwish tribute show in Tel Aviv, Israel at Haezor. They have shared pro-shot video of their "Ghost Love Score" performance, which includes The Hellscore Choir. Check it out below.


The Scardust setlist on the night was as follows:


"Wishmaster"
"Noise"
"Amaranth"
"Wish I Had an Angel"
"Nemo"
"Angels Fall First"
"The Islander"
"Storytime"
"Ghost Love Score"
"Sleeping Sun"

As three-time Grammy-nominated hard rock quartet Nothing More gear up to hit the road later this month alongside In This Moment, the band have shared a fourth new track, “You Don’t Know What Love Means,” from their upcoming album Spirits -  out October 14 and available for pre-order now. The impassioned song examines what happens when one tries to make a one-sided relationship work with all-too-real lyrics— “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, there’s no rest, there’s no peace”—which leads into frontman Jonny Hawkins’ fervently belting out its chorus, “You don’t know what love means, and it's killing me.”


“We’re glad this song is finally getting out there so we can dig into the emotional and intimate side of the album,” says Hawkins. “The lyrics and tone of this one feels like it hits in a similar way that ‘Go To War’ and ‘Jenny’ did. It’s going to feel huge playing this next one on tour.”


“You Don’t Know What Love Means” follows previously released album tracks “Spirits” and “Turn It Up Like.” The lead-off track “Tired Of Winning” is currently #6 on Billboard’s Active Rock chart, and the extended version, “Tired Of Winning / Ships In The Night”, is also included on The Retaliatiors Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for Better Noise Film’s upcoming horror-thriller The Retaliators.




Spirits combines Nothing More’s unapologetically massive anthems, catchy hooks, and progressive music with introspective, philosophical lyrics and thought-provoking emotionalism. Its eleven tracks were co-written by all band members--Hawkins [vocals], Mark Vollelunga [guitar], Daniel Oliver [bass], and Ben Anderson [drums]--and their longtime manager and co-producer Will Hoffman. The album documents the tumultuous time the world experienced over the past two years capturing the desperation and isolation of lockdown, the spiral of substance abuse, the pain of broken relationships, and survival in self-reliance while summarizing the overall story and mission of Nothing More.


Nothing More have also partnered with Z2 Comics (The Doors, Machine Gun Kelly, The Grateful Dead) to release their first-ever graphic novel “Spirits Vol.1” authored by Dan Watters (Cowboy Bebop, Arkham City: The Order of The World) and illustrated by Christian Rosado. The graphic novel will be released in Spring 2023 and be available in a standard edition hardcover, a deluxe edition oversized hardcover, a limited deluxe edition oversized hardcover hand-signed by band (999 copies total) and a special tour-only softcover only available for purchase in-person at Nothing More shows or directly via their website.


The band recently unveiled their own meta-personality test, “Spirits Test,” developed by frontman Jonny Hawkins, which features 25 psychometric questions then determines your “Spirit Type.” Each Spirit Type has its own character and personality descriptions which are further explored in the upcoming graphic novel. Deluxe edition bundles for “Spirits Vol. 1” will highlight the Spirit Types with bundles including Spirits art prints, cards, an Eight-Sided Nothing More Spirits Octahedron, Spirits enamel pin, an exclusive color variant Spirits vinyl and more.


Throughout 25 questions, the Spirits Test measures psychometrics of your dominant modes and perceptions to determine your “Spirit Type”. Each Spirit Type has its own personality description with correlating elements, paths and perceptions as well as symbolic characters which the band have revealed across recent releases. The Spirits Test artwork (as seen below) was illustrated by Micah Ulrich (Lacuna Coil, Chelsea Grin, Post Malone).





Watch the below video for an introduction to the Spirits Test from Hawkins. Take the Spirits Test here, and share your results online with the band by using the hashtag #SpiritsTest.





Hawkins explains more on the “Spirits Test” and “Spirit Types”:


“The comic book focuses on four of the Spirit Types. As we were making the album, I came up with the concept for the Spirits Test. Imagine if the zodiac had a baby with the Meyers Briggs personality test, and that baby came out with a fascination with cryptic iconography and metal music… that is this test. Each of us has a Spirit Type and this comic book is an artistic expression of how those Spirit Types come to life in a world very much like our own.


Guitarist Mark Vollelunga shares how the idea for a graphic novel developed:


“I set forth on this collaboration with Z2 comics, and our manager, Will Hoffman, with the idea to expand the Nothing More world and allow the reader to dive deeper down the rabbit hole and elaborate on what these Spirit Types mean; where they came from and why they exist. We wanted to write stories that invoke a compelling sense of empathy and wonder while maintaining a very personal connection to Nothing More songs. Dan Watters was the perfect dude for the job. He’s such a brilliant, captivating writer. Both of us shared inspiration from shows like The OA and Sense 8 and we wanted to accentuate the differences all people have when something in your life wrecks you…and that even though these differences may seem polarizing, we all still need each other. It’s because of these differences that you learn to survive and grow. This story shows that great strength and mutual respect come to those who learn how to embrace one another despite such differences.”





Preorder “Spirits Vol. 1” at z2comics.com.


Out worldwide on October 14 via Better Noise Music, Spirits’ 13 tracks consist of the band’s most focused, adventurous, and intense music, uniting introspective philosophical lyrics with unapologetically massive anthems. Preorder here.





Tracklisting:


“Turn It Up Like (Stand In The Fire)”
“Tired Of Winning”
“Ships In The Night”
“You Don’t Know What Love Means”
“Don’t Look Back”
“The Other F Word”
“Face It”
“Best Times”
“Déjà vu”
“Dream With Me”
“Neverland”
“Valhalla (Too Young To See)”
“Spirits”


"You Don't Know What Love Means" video:





“Tired Of Winning” / “Ships In The Night” video:





“Turn It Up Like (Stand In The Fire)”:





“Spirits”:








Tour dates:


August
26 - Evansville, IN - Old National Events Plaza
27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
28 - Clive, IA - Horizon Events Center
30 - Albuerque, NM - The Sunshine Theater*


September
1 - Lubbock, TX - Lonestar Events Center
2 - Dallas, TX - Southside Ballroom
3 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
6 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
8 - Alton, VA - Blue Ridge Rock Festival
9 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore
10 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
12 - Knoxville, TN - The Concourse*
13 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE - outdoor stage
15 - Wallingford, CT - Oakdale Theatre
17 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
18 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
20 - Columbus, OH - Kemba Live
21 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora
23 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival
24 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Center
25 - Grand Rapids, MI - 20 Monroe Live (no Nothing More)
27 - Maplewood, MN - Myth Live
28 - Grand Forks, ND - Alerus Center
30 - Great Falls, MT - Centene Stadium


October
1 - Spokane, WA - The Podium
3 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
4 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schinitzer Concert Hall
5 - Reno, NV - Grand Theatre
7 - Garden City, ID - Revolution Concert House and Event Center
8 - Central Point, OR - Bi-Mart Amphitheater
11 - San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park
12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
14 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
16 - Billings, MT - Pub Station*
18 - Omaha, NE - The Admiral
19 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
21 - Chicago, IL - Radius
22 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom


*Nothing More headlining


(Photo - Jody Domingue)

Salt Lake City's Chelsea Grin have teamed up with OneRPM and will release a career-altering double-LP: Suffer In Hell and Suffer In Heaven.


Suffer In Hell will be released globally on November 11, 2022, while Suffer In Heaven will arrive on March 17, 2023. Preorder here. Preorder bundles include limited edition vinyl variants (only 500 produced) and a new merch line. 


"Origin Of Sin," the first single from Suffer In Hell, is a true flame thrower. Watch the video below.







"It is written that human life has crawled forth from the darkest points of our existence, it is said life even when set ablaze returns a new like a phoenix from ash," says singer Tom Barber. "Many men have proclaimed to see, understand, and sometimes claim to have a gift from the gods. This is our creation for you, each song a representation of the trials and tribulations of life, each word chosen to represent an emotion, there is no greater story than the unknown and we believe this record will paint a picture only your mind can see."


He finishes, "We talk about self-doubt, overcoming inner demons, triumph of good over evil, and living neutrally amongst the darkness. Also, I can't really think about a reason for a double record other than it's fucking bad ass."





Suffer In Hell tracklisting:


“Origin Of Sin”
“Forever Bloom” (feat. Trevor Strnad)
“Deathbed Companion”
“Crystal Casket”
“Flood Lungs”
“The Isnis”
“Mourning Hymn”
“Suffer In Hell, Suffer In Heaven”





Suffer In Heaven tracklisting:


“Leave With Us”
“Orc March”
“Fathomless Maw”
“Soul Slave”
“The Mind Of God”
“Yhorm The Giant”
“Sing To The Grave”
“The Path Of Suffering”


Chelsea Grin on tour with Kaonashi and Filth:


September
9 — Jacksonville, NC — Hooligans 
10 — Alton, VA ­­— Blue Ridge Rock Fest 
11 — Louisville, KY — Headliners Music Hall
13 — Grand Rapids, MI — Stache
14 ­— Indianapolis, IN — Emerson Theater
15 — Nashville, TN —The End
16 — Spartanburg, SC — Ground Zero
17 — Orlando, FL — Central Florida Metal Fest

In continued celebration of their 50th anniversary, the four-time Grammy Award-winning and Diamond-certified rock legends Aerosmith, (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer), recently launched 50 Years Live!: From The Aerosmith Vaults, the band’s new “official bootleg” streaming concert series featuring five deep, archival, and unreleased multi-camera live shows from Aerosmith’s vast personal vaults.


Available now is Live From Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA (1993). Filmed live at The Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre on July 2, 1993 during the Get A Grip Tour, Aerosmith continues to be an unstoppable force rock, delivering a high energy set with all the same swagger and attitude they had from day one. The tightly knit band belts out classics such as “Eat The Rich,” “Janie’s Got A Gun,” “Livin' On The Edge” and “Cryin'.” Unearthed from Aerosmith’s legendary archive for the very first time and remastered in HD from the original master tapes.







For 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults, producer Steve Berkowitz, along with long-time Aerosmith employees Tommy Higgins & John Bionelli, combed through the band’s vast Vindaloo Vaults, unearthing a treasure trove of filmed concerts recorded in the original formats of the day, covering the band’s history throughout the decades. With the help of Director and Producer Jennifer LeBeau (Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon), this footage was carefully transferred and converted to digital to help preserve these historic recorded documents. Produced by Steve Berkowitz and Dennis Wolfe, the video and audio restoration was skillfully conducted by Vanderquest UK and Formosa Sound, giving these performances the highest possible visual and sonic quality.


For five consecutive weeks, Aerosmith’s official website and YouTube channel will premiere a different concert every week from each decade. With each show, the band’s official online store will also feature a new collection of exclusive merchandise capsules celebrating each decade. Head here.





Aerosmith are set to return to Las Vegas to bring their critically acclaimed residency, Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild to the Dolby Live at Park MGM.  Kicking off September 14 - with shows running through December 11 - the residency is the first live concert experience presented in Dolby Atmos® at Dolby Live. Dolby Live is one of the world’s most technologically advanced performance venues for enjoying live music in Dolby Atmos. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com/aerosmith.  


In addition to their upcoming dates in Las Vegas, Aerosmith is set to perform at Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor, Maine on September 4 before they head to Boston for a show at the historic Fenway Park on September 8.  For ticket information, visit Aerosmith.com.

Peaceville Records will release a new Mayhem boxset, Pure Fucking Armageddon, on September 19.


The Pure Fucking Armageddon boxset contains 6 LPs, including the cult 1986 Pure Fucking Armageddon demo itself, plus also the final complete Pure Fucking Armageddon rehearsal, spanning 90 minutes and featured here across 2 LPs (including talking between songs and multiple takes of tracks - nothing has been cut). In addition to these essential pieces of metal history, Mayhem’s classic April 1985 gig live in Ski is also included (LP and DVD), where they performed a selection of cover tracks.


The boxset concludes with an 80-page book with Necrobutcher’s recollections and unique pictures from the very first Mayhem photo sessions, along with interviews, and other rarities from the mid-80s. The set also contains a classic early era band poster.




And finally finally - with the box set you'll receive a cassette tape of Mayhem's PFA demos.


Pre-order the set here, and watch a video trailer below.





Tracklisting:


Disc 1:


Side A
"Voice Of A Tortured Skull" (PFA demo) [02:29]
"Carnage" (PFA demo) [04:17]
"Ghoul" (PFA demo) [03:32]
"Black Metal" (PFA demo) [02:06]
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA demo) [02:39]


Side B
"Mayhem" (PFA demo) [01:48]
"Ghoul" (PFA demo) [03:43]
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA demo) [02:39]
"Carnage" (PFA demo) [04:23]
Hidden Outro (PFA demo) [03:14]


Disc 2:


Side A
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session A) [03:44]
"Ghoul "(PFA rehearsal session A) [03:56]
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:03]
Intros (PFA rehearsal session A) [07:56]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:19]
"Black Metal" (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:56]


Side B
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA rehearsal session A) [03:02]
"OI" (PFA rehearsal session A) [03:18]
"Witching Hour" (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:11]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session A) [01:20]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:54]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session A) [05:10]
Intro (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:38]
Outro (PFA rehearsal session A) [02:28]


Disc 3:


Side A
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:45]
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:01]
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:53]
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA rehearsal session B) [01:54]
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:41]
"Black Metal" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:24]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:12]
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:40]


Side B
"Carnage" (PFA rehearsal session B) [04:25]
"Ghoul" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:04]
"Black Metal" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:17]
"Pure Fucking Armageddon" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:31]
"Black Metal" (PFA rehearsal session B) [02:49]
"Black Metal" (PFA rehearsal session B) [03:06]


Disc 4:


Side A
"Jagermeister" (Checker Patrol) [02:12]
"Barbeque Of Hell" (Checker Patrol) [01:47]
"Checker Patrol "(Checker Patrol) [02:00]
"Ritze Ratze Rotze" (Checker Patrol) [02:08]


Side B
"Metalion In The Park" (Checker Patrol) [02:22]
"Fuck Off And Die" (Checker Patrol) [01:34]
"Satan Dies In Hell" (Checker Patrol) [00:40]
"Barbeque Of Hell Part 2" (Checker Patrol) [01:16]
"Off Course" (Checker Patrol) [00:22]
"Throwing Glass" (Checker Patrol) [02:00]
"Satan Dies In Hell" (Checker Patrol) [00:37]


Disc 5:


Intro / "Black Metal" (Live In Ski) [04:44]
"Procreation Of The Wicked" (Live In Ski) [03:00]
"Welcome To Hell" (Live In Ski) [05:19]


Disc 6:


Side A
Panic Interview 1985 [23:32]


Side B
Panic Interview 1985 [22:47]


Disc 7:


Intro / "Black Metal" (Live In Ski - video) [04:44]
"Procreation Of The Wicked" (Live In Ski - video) [03:00]
"Welcome To Hell" (Live In Ski - video) [05:19]

ARCH ENEMY has released the official music video for the song "The Watcher". The clip was created by Jens De Vos of Panda Productions and was filmed at the Wacken Open Air festival on August 6.

"The Watcher" is taken from ARCH ENEMY's 11th studio album, "Deceivers", which arrived on August 12 via Century Media Records.

Speaking about ARCH ENEMY's decision to release more singles than usual this time around, singer Alissa White-Gluz told Duke TV: "I actually like singles anyways; I like that idea. As long as there's an album coming up, I like the idea of giving almost every song the time and attention that it needs, because when we're writing the album and recording it, every song gets an equal amount of time and attention. It's not like the two singles get more than the others; we dedicate ourselves fully to every song. So I'm happy to see more songs getting that kind of dedicated attention from the audience as well."

Added guitarist Michael Amott: "It's kind of exciting to release songs one by one with these videos and streaming on the DSPs and stuff. Actually, it's worked out very, very well. And we noticed now when we had our concert tour in North America that… we were playing three of the singles — 'Handshake With Hell', 'House Of Mirrors' and 'Deceiver, Deceiver' — and they went down super well; [they were] very recognized by the fans and people singing along and so forth. So it was really great."

In May, ARCH ENEMY released a new seven-inch single, "Sunset Over The Empire", with the title track also appearing on "Deceivers". The official music video for "Sunset Over The Empire", directed by Grupa13, was made available the same day.

ARCH ENEMY played the first show of "The North American Siege 2022" tour with BEHEMOTH and NAPALM DEATH on April 16 at The Marquee in Tempe, Arizona.

Amott previously stated about "Deceivers": "Having just celebrated our 25th anniversary as a group and now releasing our 11th studio album, one could easily assume that we would be cruising along and going through the motions at this point. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to ARCH ENEMY and our new album, 'Deceivers'.

"It is, without a doubt, always a challenge to raise the bar each time in both the songwriting and production side of things, and it can feel a bit daunting before we get into it. But once we do get started and fully immerse ourselves in the creative process, it's really like there is nothing else in the world and we are very focused. And believe it or not, for the most part, we have a ton of fun making this music! Creating 'Deceivers' was no different. Once again we shut out the outside world and went deep into the artistic zone. I believe we pulled out some really interesting musical and lyrical themes this time, a few things might even raise an eyebrow or two — while retaining all the signature elements of the band. In the end, it's ARCH ENEMY at full speed and power."

ARCH ENEMY is appearing at select summer festivals before embarking on the rescheduled "European Siege 2022" trek (with BEHEMOTH, CARCASS, UNTO OTHERS) in the fall.

Otherwise and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group have presented the second song to be revealed from the band’s upcoming new studio album. Watch “Exit Wound” below:





Singer Adrian Patrick shares, “I'd be lying if I said I've never sat at the end of my bed with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pistol in the other. The toll that life can take on you can be unbearable at times...but the beauty is in pushing through it, persevering so that others can draw strength from you. Your fate may already be written, so live your life like you're gonna die tomorrow... live your life like a fucking Exit Wound."  Lead guitarist Ryan Patrick reflects, “This life can be a complete mind fuck. I've dealt with depression and doubt for many years. ‘Exit Wound,’ to me, represents standing up, dusting the dirt off, and wearing my scars proudly. It is ok to not be ok. It is ok to talk about it. Just don't give up, and turn the volume way up in the meantime."




The Las Vegas quartet—Adrian Patrick [vocals], Ryan Patrick [guitar], Nick Bedrosian [bass], and Joe Conner [drums]—have weathered personal tragedy and trauma, withstood the tides of the industry, and still stand tall. If anything, the boys are stronger than ever with a one-two punch of airtight guitars, stadium-shaking grooves, and hypnotic hard-hitting hooks. Over the past decade, they’ve clawed their way through the rock ‘n’ roll ranks and emerged as an unbreakable force. Their catalog spans fan favorites such as True Love Never Dies [2012], Peace At All Costs [2014], and Sleeping Lions [2017]. 


Signature anthem “Soldiers” has amassed over 66 million Spotify streams and counting.  Meanwhile, 2019’s Defy kickstarted another chapter. “Crossfire” eclipsed 5.1 million Spotify streams followed by “Lifted” with 3.7 million Spotify streams. On this trip, they’ve also ignited the stages of Welcome To Rockville, Rocklahoma, and Shiprocked! as well as supporting Stone Sour, Papa Roach, and more.


“Honestly, we have lived every single note and each fucking lyric we’ve written,” Adrian declares. “We don’t have costumes or a gimmick. We’re just dudes on stage singing about what we’ve gone through.”


Otherwise inspire change in the world at large. Ryan and Adrian lead the 501c3 Life By Music, which supplies music programs with instruments. The guys visit schools, initiated a partnership with Gibson Guitars, and even have created the Guitar Magic coloring book.  “Hopefully, we’re creating an empowering environment where kids get the spark like I remember when music affected my soul,” Ryan goes on. “There’s nothing like seeing that. It’s cooler than anything we’ve done. It brings back the purity.”


August
13 – Springfield, MO – Southbound
14 – Tulsa, OK – Vanguard
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Liquid Joes
18 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater
19 – Cheyenne, WY – The Outlaw Saloon
20 – Greeley, CO – Moxi Theater
22 – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre
23 – La Crosse, WI – La Crosse Queen Riverboat
24 – Antioch, IL – Blarneys Island
26 – Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz
27 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway (with Godsmack)
29 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
30 – Atlantic City, NJ – Bourre
31 – Reading, PA – Reverb


September
2 – Winchester, VA – Blue Fox Billiards
3 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
6 – Horseheads, NY – The L
7 – Lakewood, OH – Winchester Music Tavern
8 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works
9 – Marietta, OH – Adelphia Music Hall
11 – Alton, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2022
30 – Henderson, NV – The Dollar Loan Center (with Godsmack)

In a new interview with "The Chuck Shute Podcast", Michael Sweet of openly Christian hard rockers STRYPER discussed the inspiration for the title and artwork for the band's upcoming studio album, "The Final Battle", which is due in October via Frontiers Music Srl. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The story behind the title and the artwork is the battle of Armageddon, which is ultimately the final battle, biblically speaking. And that's really what we're referring to, for the most part."

Asked if he thinks the battle of Armageddon — which refers to the final war between human governments and God, ultimately bringing human rulership to an end — is something that "coming soon," Sweet said: "Well, I'll tell you, man, if you say that in today's world, boy, you are labeled an instant loon — you're a loon, you're crazy and you need to be committed and you're out of your mind. But yet at the same time, when you go through the Bible, if you were to really dive deep into the Bible and have someone explain the theory of it to you and the stories that are behind the stories — so someone really smart, who isn't me — they could explain to you stuff that would make your chin hit the floor. And all the stuff that the Bible predicted that has already taken place, and really the only thing left is God's return and what follows after that, one of those things being the battle of Armageddon.

"People can laugh and sneer and think Christians are crazy, and that's fine," Michael continued. "I believe in the Bible, I believe what it says, and I think those times are coming. I think we're living in those times — absolutely, for sure. We live in a very interesting world, and I think everyone could at least agree on that — that times have changed dramatically in the past two years."

When asked by host Chuck Shute to clarify whether he truly believes we are "on the cusp" of the battle of Armageddon, Michael said: "Yeah, I do. Those people out there who watch this moment, when I say 'yeah,' who roll their eyes and think I'm crazy, that's fine. You guys can go ahead and keep thinking people like myself are crazy. The only thing I can say to that is when that day comes and it's reality, obviously everyone will know that those who believed weren't crazy, and then at that point it'll be too late for the people who thought those people were crazy."

When Shute noted that the people who are labeled "crazy" are the ones who claim that they know the exact date and circumstances leading up to the big apocalypse, Michael said: "And the Bible is very clear about that too: 'No man will know the hour.' No man knows the hour. You can't sit and [say], 'Okay, according to this timeline, yeah, He's coming on this day.' And that's what people try to do. You can't.

"I think we're definitely living in the end times, but that could be short, that could be relatively soon, in the very near future, or that could be in a relatively distant future," Sweet explained. "I don't think it's gonna be hundreds of thousands of years from now, but I think that it's coming and our time is marked. And look, we may get hit by a giant comet before God comes back. Who knows?

"I think sometimes we think we're invincible — nothing can hurt us — and, obviously, COVID kind of taught us a lesson on that, didn't it?" Michael added ."We are not invincible and anything can happen at any given time unexpectedly that leaves us in awe, saying, 'Oh my gosh. I had no idea. I never even imagined that ever happening.' And it can and will happen. It's just a matter of time."

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, "Even The Devil Believes".

In a 2018 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Michael said that STRYPER was never fully embraced by the heavy metal and hard rock communities, largely because of the band's Christian lyrics.

"We've never been accepted by either side," he said. "The secular side, the mainstream, they've never accepted us to this day. We're probably that band that everyone's going to go to whenever there's a time to mock. We'll be the band used for that in most cases. Now on the Christian side, we've never really had the full support of the Christian side because we don't fit into their little club. We're not wearing suits and ties and going to every church and preaching."

“Openly Christian Loathing Website Posts Yet Another Article About The Metal Band Stryper and As Usual Fails To Post About What Stryper Is Actually Up To, Like They Do With Most Other Metal Bands”🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤣😂

Posted by Michael Sweet on Saturday, August 13, 2022

STRYPER Frontman Says BLABBERMOUTH.NET 'Fails To Post About' What His Band Is 'Actually Up To,' Shares BLABBERMOUTH.NET Article In Which He Talks About Inspiration For His Band's Upcoming Album Title

Posted by Blabbermouth.net on Saturday, August 13, 2022

“The Final Battle”

New Stryper album cover👊

Album coming in October 2022🙌

Posted by Michael Sweet on Saturday, August 13, 2022

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has once again said that he doesn't know exactly when and where the final concert of the band's "End Of The Road" tour will take place.

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

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

Gene discussed KISS's last-ever performance during an appearance on the latest installment of Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We don't know if it's [going to be in] New York. I have good reasons why it should be, but the important thing is when it's the last show, it'll be the last show. KISS the touring band will stop. But the touring band. KISS will continue in other ways. I have no problems with four deserving 20-year-olds sticking the makeup back on and hiding their identity.

"KISS will continue in ways that even I haven't thought of," Gene predicted. "But I can conceive of… You know, the 'Blue Man Group' and 'Phantom Of The Opera' tours around the world with different personnel. There could and should be a KISS show, kind of live on stage with effects and everything else, but also semiautobiographical thing about four knuckleheads off the streets of New York that ends with the last third as a full-blown celebration, a full-on performance. Not with us. Although not a problem stepping in every once in a while."

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

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

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

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