King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they perform a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's hit "Crazy Train". Watch below.





A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:




























 

Dutch symphonic metallers, Epica, performed at the Wacken Open Air 2022 in Germany on Wednesday, August 3rd. Check out pro-shot video of "Sancta Terra" below (the video is titled incorrectly).





Epica recently announced their 20th anniversary livestream event, scheduled for September 3. Watch a video trailer below, and tickets and limited edition merchandise here.







Says the band: "While we’d love to see all your faces in the crowd on our 20th-anniversary show on September 3rd, we are aware that not every one of you is able to attend the SOLD-OUT party live in Tilburg. Therefore, we’re happy to offer you the chance to be part of the celebrations and join us right from your living room through an exclusive pro-shot live stream of the entire show that will contain plenty of surprises, several guests and spectacular stage effects!


"In addition, you will also get to witness the return of a band that has disappeared from the face of the earth for 20 years and will finally be back for a one-off live performance as opening act on this special night: Sahara Dust. Don’t miss their show, because although you might have never heard of them, their history is heavily interwoven with Epica’s inception, and you will surely be able to sing along to a few of their songs…


"Starting live at 19:30 CEST, the shows will remain online for 72 hours to re-watch in your account at any time within that period.


"Early bird tickets are available until August 12th, and you can also get bundles with exclusive anniversary show merchandise that will only be available with the stream and at the show in Tilburg, so don’t miss out!"

The international hard rock outfit Steel Rhino has shared a new lyric video for “Lovin’ Easy”, a song taken from the eponymous debut album, released last year via GMR Music Group.





“Lovin' Easy” is the song that started the Steel Rhino saga. A cheesy track that became a love song that's heavily influenced by 80's rock. 1980’s old school rock 'n' roll with big guitars and bass lines, as well as a heavy drum sound, all topped off with a really smooth vocal.




With an attitude, heavy groves and insane vocals, Steel Rhino is here to take the world by storm. This new hard rock project started with an idea, a heavy drum track, a catchy guitar riff, and a heavy bass line to fill up the cracks. The only thing that was missing was a killer vocalist to match the intensity of the music. The search for the perfect vocalist ended when the insanely talented Herbie Langhans (Firewind, Avantasia, SinBreed, Radiant) agreed to lend his vocals to be featured on the album. His range and power provided the missing piece Steel Rhino needed to get the sound they wanted.





When founder Mikael Rosengren (Dirty Passion, Revolverlution, Bai Bang) decided to start Steel Rhino as a solo project, the whole concept was to create and play a heavier rock ‘n’ roll sound leaning into metal with the attitude in the music that makes people bang their heads, put their hands in the air, and just let loose to have a great time. With influences from European and American hard rock and metal bands, Rosengren found his own sound that mixes the great hard rock sound from the past with the present.


Order the album at gmrmusic.se.

German dark rockers Scarlet Dorn have shared their new single ''Born To Suffer'' along with a music video. It's the third single from their upcoming studio album Queen Of Broken Dreams out September 30, 2022 via SPV Recordings. The album, containing 12 new songs, will be released as a Limited LP of red vinyl and digipak CD, as well as be available for Stream and Download.


Pre-order Queen Of Broken Dreams and stream the latest single "Born To Suffer" here.


Scarlet Dorn combines the elegance of darkness with the catchiness of pop. Free of genre boundaries, Scarlet sings herself directly into the heart of the listener. With industrial sounds, rock ballads, and electronic beats, the band takes the listener on a journey through complex human abysses, the world of hope and sorrow, but also directly into the arms of life in all its glory. With her captivating voice, singer Scarlet Dorn exudes a variety of emotions ranging from gentle and tender to menacing and somber.







Tracklisting:


"Falling"
"Born To Suffer"
"Queen Of Broken Dreams"
"Your Highness" 
"A Light That Blinds The Truth" 
"Meteor"
"Unstill Life" 
"When You See Me Again" 
"Love Wasn’t Made For Me"
"What Are We To Do"
"Tonight" 
"A Million Miles Away"


"Born To Suffer" video:





"Unstill Life" video:





"Falling":





Scarlet Dorn was founded in 2016 by the producers Chris Harms and Benjamin Lawrenz, together with the singer Scarlet Dorn. Not only through the release of the albums Lack Of Light and Blood Red Bouquet, but also through tireless touring with Within Temptation, Joachim Witt, Letzte Instanz, and Lord Of The Lost among others, the band inevitably appeared again and again on the schedule of the dark music scene over the past several years.





Dates supporting Lord Of The Lost:


October
6 - Nuremberg, Germany - Hirsch
7 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA-Longhorn
8 - Cologne, Germany - Essigfabrik
12 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
14 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
15 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
20 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
21 - Leipzig, Germany - Täubchenthal
22 - Hanover, Germany - Pavillon
27 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theater
28 - Prague, Czech Republic - Club Storm
29 - Warsaw, Poland - Hydrozagadka


November
2 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche
3 - Paris, France - Petit Bain
4 - Lyon, France - CCO
5 - Barcelona, Spain - Salamandra
6 - Madrid, Spain - Mon
9 - Milan, Italy - Legend Club
10 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
11 - Kaiserslautern, Germany - Kammgarn
12 - Herford, Germany - X


(Photo: Jan Season)


 

Sunflower Dead has released music video for “Damn My Eyes”, taken from their new album March Of The Leper, out now. The video was directed by Lord Zane’s Matt Zane. Order March Of The Leper at sunflowerdead.com.





“Getting March Of The Leper released has been a back and forth nightmare behind the scenes for us over the past year and a half. Now that all that bullshit is done, we are happy to get it out for our Evil Seeds. This album is us at our most unaffected by anything else going on in the music world which led to us to a very honest look into who we are. The result is nine tracks of Fuck It, If You Don’t Care then We Don’t Care and We’ll Just Do What We Do. Cheers to all the Outcasts!”







After three albums, constant touring and steady upward success at Active Rock Radio, Sunflower Dead releases their fourth and most ambitiously dialed-in album to date, March Of The Leper (8/5/2022, via Bloody Bat Records). During the long uneasy months of the Covid-inflicted 2020, the main men of SFD, Michael and Jaboo, took a long hard look at themselves, what they have accomplished and where they stood in the grand scheme and realized that not only are they outcasts in the rock world but that they’re happy to accept this role as their own. The result is nine new tracks that come from a place of “Fuck It, If You Don’t Care then We Don’t Care and We’ll Just Do What We Do” for the Unwanted, the Uninvited, the Left Out, the Forgotten, the Outcasts and the Damned.


Sunflower Dead is: 


Michael - Vocals, Accordion, Piano
Jaboo - Guitar
Kevin Vickers - Bass
Sam Hutchinson - Guitar
Jimmy Schultz – Drums


(Photo – Stephanie Tovar)

Ether Coven has released their new album The Relationship Between The Hammer And The Nail out today on Good Fight Music. Dark, bleak and pissed, the seven songs on the record stagger in sound between doom metal, sludge, and post-hardcore. The album was written amidst vocalist Peter Kowlasky’s on-going battle with colon cancer and is filled with an overwhelming vulnerability centered on despair, loved ones, and the state of the world. This is strewn throughout the album’s closer “Consequences Of Self (Let The Nails Carve Our Names In Rust)” which features guest vocals from Howard Jones (Light the Torch / Blood Has Been Shed / ex- Killswitch Engage), as well as Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) and Anthony Crupi (Pain Ritual),  and the band shares a video for it today.





Kowlasky expands on the track:




"This turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the record. We had a good starting point and when we were in the studio it really got dialed in with extra guitar melodies and vocal harmonies... As unlikely as it may seem, The Weeknd was a huge inspiration for the vocal harmonies, which Andy at Bricktop helped hone in. This song is about the consequences of our actions and what we do with our intentions; whether we are trying to build or destroy, living the repercussions of our choices, what we do to move forward, and how foolish to believe we are above consequence. Howard Jones helped us on some lines on this one. Blood Has Been Shed has been a keystone of my musical pallet and influence since the first time I heard them and his voice has always been so fucking big."


Produced by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Studios, the band set out to get The Relationship Between The Hammer And The Nail sounding as close to their live performance as possible. Using actual pedals instead of plug-ins and the majority of vocal cuts being first takes, the recording process was able to be completed in just one week. 


On the album, the band also brought in a heavy line-up of guests and friends to feature. On opener and lead single “Psalm Of Cancer” the band is joined by Integrity vocalist Dwid Hellion and Pain Ritual’s Anthony Crupi (who makes several vocal contributions on the album). Listening through the rest of the tracks you’ll find appearances from Daniel Weyandt (Zao), Tarek Ahmed (Intercourse) and Shane Post (Bird of Ill Omen). With The Relationship Between The Hammer And The Nail, Ether Coven have created a stand-out record embracing their truest form as a band.


Ether Coven is Peter Kowalsky (vocals/guitars), Devin Estep (guitar/vocals) Justin Gianoutsos (drums), and Shane Nerenberg (bass).


Order here.





Tracklisting:


“Psalm Of Cancer” feat. Dwid Hellion and Anthony Crupi)
“Afraid & Suffering” feat. Dan Weyandt)
“god Hates Flags” feat. Tarek Ahmed and Anthony Crupi)
“Of Might & Failure” feat. Shane Post
“The Warmth Of Your Bathwater” feat. Anthony Crupi)
“Temple Of Wu”
“Consequences Of Self (Let The Nails Carve Our Names In Rust)” feat. Howard Jones


“Psalm Of Cancer”:





(Photo – Karen Jerzyk)

Frontiers Music Srl announces the upcoming release of Swedish melodic rockers Wildness' new album, Resurrection, on October 14. The album, produced, mixed, and mastered by band founder, main songwriter, and drummer Erik Modin, contains 11 melodic rock masterpieces with one foot in the '80s and the other in the here and now.


A new single and music video from the album, "Tragedy" is out today. Watch the music video below, and pre-order/save Resurrection on CD/LP/Digital, here.


Wildness spent the bulk of 2021 planning and writing "Resurrection", the follow-up to their sophomore album Ultimate Demise. After the band signed a multi-album deal with Italian label Frontiers Music Srl in October 2021, the recording of Resurrection commenced with great enthusiasm. The band had spent plenty of time fine tuning the songs and were ready to nail them down in the studio. As an added treat on top of the already overflowing melodic rock goodness contained on Resurrection, the album sees guest appearances by from vocalists Danny Rexon (Crazy Lixx), Hank Erix (Houston), Ludvig Turner (Reach), and Dani Hart on backing vocals.




Wildness was formed in 2014 by drummer and songwriter Erik Modin, guitar players Adam Holmström and Pontus Sköld, and lead singer Gabriel Lindmark. The band performed live and released a few demos during the first two years of their existence before releasing their first two albums on the German label AOR Heaven. Prior to the release of their self-titled debut album in late 2017, bassist Marcus Sjösund stepped in as a full-time member of the band during the recording of the album. The debut album immediately became a great international success among fans of the melodic hard rock scene.


In 2018, the band performed at a number of different international festivals and shared stages with Dokken, H.E.A.T, Dee Snider, Crashdïet, Dragonforce, Arch Enemy, Warrant, Vixen, and more and also had the honor of opening for legendary Danish hard rockers Pretty Maids. In 2019, singer Gabriel Lindmark left Wildness and Erik Forsberg (ex-Blazon Stone) became their new frontman in the spring of 2020. The second album, Ultimate  Demise, was released later in 2020 and produced by drummer Erik Modin. The song “Cold Words” caught on for the band and brought them to the attention of even more fans in the melodic rock  community.


With Resurrection, Wildness is armed with 11 undeniable tracks to take them to the next level. If you love melodic rock, then Resurrection needs to be on your 'must listen' list.





Resurrection tracklisting:


"Nightmare"
"Release The Beast"
"Tragedy"
"Love Resurrection"
"Best Of Me"
"The Final Fantasy"
"Lonely Girl"
"The One And Only"
"Fading Sun"
"Dawn Of Forever"
"Eternity Will Never Fall"


"Tragedy" video:





LIneup:


Erik Forsberg - Lead vocals
Marcus Sjösund - Bass
Adam Holmström - Guitars
Pontus Sköld - Guitars
Erik Modin - Drums

US thrashers, Toxik, have released their new album, Dis Morta. In celebration, the band have released a lyric video for the title track, which can be found below.


Dis Morta was mixed by Martin Furia, and mastered by Maor Appelbaum / Appelbaum Mastering. The album's cover artwork was designed by Alcides Burn / Burn Artworks.







Dis Morta tracklisting:


"Dis Morta"
"Feeding Frenzy"
"The Radical"
"Power"
"Hyper Reality"
"Creating The Abyss"
"Straight Razor"
"Chasing Mercury"
"Devil In The Mirror"
"Judas"


"Dis Morta" lyric video:





"Creating The Abyss" lyric video:





"Power" lyric video:





(Photo - Henk Brouwer)

VENOM frontman Conrad "Cronos" Lant has confirmed that the band is putting the finishing touches on a new studio album. Speaking at this weekend's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had a bit of a hassle because of the pandemic; we couldn't meet in the studio and all that sort of shit. So that knocked everything all to hell. If that hadn't happened, the album would be out by now. But we're just doing the fine tuning, really, and working on individual shows for now.

"VENOM have never been a big touring type of band," he explained. "We like to just pop up and blow the place to hell."

VENOM formed in 1979 in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, VENOM's first two albums — "Welcome To Hell" (1981) and "Black Metal" (1982) — are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general. VENOM's second album proved influential enough that its title was used as the name of the extreme metal sub-genre of black metal. The band classic lineup trio of Cronos, Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray recorded two further studio albums, "At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985),and live album "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (1986). Often cited by bands such as METALLICA, BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation. VENOM are still fronted by original singer/bassist Cronos and headline festivals all over the globe and continue to release new music.

In a 2018 interview with Consequence Of Sound, Cronos stated about his band's influence on subsequent extreme metal groups: "I really like to think of VENOM as a catalyst rather than inventors. Influence would probably be more like it. I've always been — from being young — a fan of what you'd call 'rock music.' From THE BEATLES to THE [ROLLING] STONES to THE WHO, through [LED] ZEPPELIN and [DEEP] PURPLE and everybody. So, I've always liked the idea of drums, guitar, this, that, and the other. My mum's brother used to play guitar in a country-western band, so I've always been around instruments and music. I've never really gotten into any of the electronic stuff when it came along in the '80s. I didn't really see how that was working for me in any way — I just like a drum kit and a guitar."

He continued: "When people used to ask back in the day, 'How do you describe VENOM?' I would say, 'It's all the best bits of the bands that I love.' So, if JUDAS PRIEST wear leather jackets, then I'm going to wear a leather jacket and a pair of leather pants! And if KISS have three flashpots on the front of the stage, I'm going to have ten! And if Ozzy Osbourne is going to sing about the devil walking down the street, then I'm going to be the devil walking down the street! It was taking all of the great things that I loved, and all the crazy frontmen, like Gene Simmons, Ian Anderson, Rob Halford, and encompassing all of these ideas into a new thing. And then, adding that dash of punk. That's why I always used to wear the big Doc Martens — that was my punk heritage.

"And just putting some aggression back into the music," Cronos added. "I mean, heavy metal has always been 'the devil's music.' They always say the devil has the best tunes, and I was bit frustrated at leaving school and being told that rock music was dead, and it had its day and everybody was finished with it. I had to absolutely disagree. So, when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal started in England — which became IRON MAIDEN, SAXON, SAMSON, and all these bands — I wanted to create something different from that. I appreciated that they were very heavily influenced by the ZEPPELINs, the PURPLEs, and the [BLACK] SABBATHs, and were trying to keep a hold of this '70s vibe. I get all of that, but I wanted something that was kind of a cross between SABBATH and MOTÖRHEAD. Something more aggressive — with a bit of SEX PISTOLS in there, to get nasty."

VENOM's 15th full-length studio album, "Storm The Gates", was released in December 2018 through Spinefarm Records.

VENOM is not to be confused with VENOM INC., the band featuring Mantas alongside ex-VENOM bassist/vocalist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan.

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),have launched of "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.

With the entire production of all five concert films supervised by AEROSMITH, the series continues with a livestream of "Live From The Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989". Filmed in Landover, Maryland on December 17, 1989, AEROSMITH closes out the 1980s in top form with this dynamic performance at Capital Centre. "Live From The Capital Centre" features classic tracks such as "Walk This Way" and "Rats In The Cellar", as well as "Rag Doll", "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Permanent Vacation". Highlight clips from this show to be added to AEROSMITH's YouTube channel on August 6 will be "Walk This Way", "Permanent Vacation" and "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)".

For "50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults", producer Steve Berkowitz, along with longtime AEROSMITH employees Tommy Higgins and 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.

As part of the continued celebration around their 50th anniversary, AEROSMITH will 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.

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.

Upcoming livestream premieres include:

** "Live From The Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993" (Premieres August 12)

Throughout the 1990s, AEROSMITH continued to be an unstoppable force in rock, delivering a high energy set at Coca-Cola Star Amphitheater on July 2, 1993, with all the same swagger and attitude they had from day one. The tightly knit band belts out now classics such as "Eat The Rich", "Janie's Got A Gun", "Livin' On The Edge" and "Cryin'". Older favorites include "Last Child", "Walk This Way" and "Back In The Saddle".

Highlights from this show to be added to AEROSMITH's YouTube channel on August 13 will be "Cryin'", "Janie's Got A Gun" and "Livin' On The Edge".

** "Live From Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003" (Premieres August 19)

"Mama Kin" kicks things into high gear as AEROSMITH storm through Michigan on September 7, 2003, at Comerica Park during their "Rocksimus Maximus" tour. Included are classics such as "Same Old Song And Dance" and "Walk This Way", as well as "Jaded", "Love In An Elevator" and the Grammy Award-winning single "Pink". AEROSMITH brings the incredible night to a close in a cloud of confetti and a frenetic version of "Toys In The Attic".

Highlights from this show to be added to AEROSMITH's YouTube channel on August 20 will be "Toys In The Attic", "Same Old Song And Dance" and "Love In An Elevator".

** "Live From Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016" (Premieres August 26)

Captured at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City on October 27, 2016, this show was enhanced with the discovery of the original multi-tracks that were added and mixed by AEROSMITH's long-time soundboard engineer John Ship. The band wastes no time getting into their groove as Steven Tyler swaggers through classics such as "Draw The Line" and "Rats In The Cellar", as well as "Crazy" and their hit ballad "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing". Teasing the crowd with a "You See Me Crying" and "Home Tonight" medley, Tyler breaks into a powerfully moving rendition of "Dream On" before bringing the show to an explosive end with "Sweet Emotion".

Highlights from this show to be added to AEROSMITH's YouTube channel on August 27 will be "Crazy", "Dream On" and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing".

In addition, "Aerosmith - 1971: The Road Starts Hear" (UMe) is now available globally on CD and vinyl LP and can now be streamed. This rare recording from 1971 was recently discovered in AEROSMITH's Vindaloo Vaults and was originally only available as a limited-edition cassette and vinyl release for Record Store Day in 2021. The heavily sought-after RSD release quickly sold out and debuted on the Billboard 200, hitting No. 2 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, No. 12 on the Top Rock Albums chart, No. 13 on the Vinyl Albums chart, and No. 19 on the Top Album Sales chart. In addition, the band's official online store now features a new 1971 collection of exclusive merchandise.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees AEROSMITH have sold more than 150 million albums around the world, produced genre-defining music videos such as "Amazing", "Crazy", "Janie's Got A Gun", "Livin' On The Edge" and "Love In An Elevator", and launched extravagant record-shattering global tours, most recently with their smash hit Las Vegas residency. The band has broken numerous boundaries, including becoming the first rock band with a massive commercially successful hip-hop collaboration with RUN DMC on "Walk This Way" and the first hard rock band to appear during a Super Bowl halftime show with their 2001 performance, and in 1999, AEROSMITH became the first band to have their own themed attraction at Disney World in Florida and later Paris with the launch of the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.

Video of THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT, the musical meeting of minds between Grammy-nominated STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand and PARALANDRA vocalist/guitarist Casandra Carson, performing a cover of MEGADETH's "Symphony Of Destruction" during its concert Thursday night (August 4) at xBk Live in Des Moines, Iowa can be seen below. Also available is a pre-show audio interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines radio station Lazer 103.3.

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT will support ALICE IN CHAINS, BREAKING BENJAMIN and BUSH on around a dozen U.S. dates later this month.

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT made its live debut on April 30 at The Riff in Springfield, Missouri. Joining Rand and Carson at the gig were keyboardist/backing vocalist Diana Weishaar, bassist Jaron Gulino and drummer Celestino Ramirez.

Several days prior to the show, Carson commented on social media: "It's crazy to think that Josh and I started writing songs together 2 YEARS ago and we're finally taking taking it to the stage! I couldn't be happier with the people we've chosen to join us on this journey. Absolutely incredible musicians and all around great human beings (one of which I might be a little biased towards)."

In a recent interview with HardDrive Radio's Lou Brutus, Rand stated about THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT: "In a sense, it was just something that I started doing a couple of years ago, just writing music myself. And then I just decided I wanted to get a female vocalist, basically, to work on these songs and sing on them. And I found Casandra through a mutual friend — actually, STONE SOUR's A&R person, Dave Rath — and we hit it off. And then we've just been working on stuff for the last two years kind of just here and there. Obviously, with COVID and all that stuff going on in the world, it really restricted going out, so there's really not been a desire to do that up until recently. So now we're gonna end up being a full band and actually play our first show, which I'm really excited about finally getting back out there. 'Cause for me, it's been a bit, I guess — like, three years — since I've been on a stage.

"So, that's really what it's about," he continued. "It's just me musically trying different stuff, but also getting back to where I originally came from, as far as my musical journey. So it's kind of getting back to my roots and just having fun with it. That's what THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT is for me — it's a different vehicle to express myself, I guess, artistically with truly no boundaries, but leaning more towards, musically, I think, coming at it as an educated teenager. What I mean by that is it's the fire of that teenager — that drive, that style of music that I was playing 30 years ago — but now doing it with the experience, the knowledge and all that. So it's kind of like revisiting the past, in a way, or going home in some ways."

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT released a new four-song EP, titled "Big F.O.U.R.", in March via Bloodblast. The collection features a clutch of cover versions, one each from heavy music's pioneering icons METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX.

Rand previously stated about the EP: "Recording a 'Big F.O.U.R.' cover EP is something that I have wanted to do for a very very long time, and last fall I decided to finally do it with THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT.

"Without these four bands (METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER),my musical career wouldn't be where it is today. In some ways, you could say this project is paying homage to them or, how I see it, a return to where it all started in my parents' house as a teenager trying to learn just a piece of the music.

"Each of the four songs that I picked were pivotal in my development as a musician, whether it was learning the intro to 'One' on guitar, drums on 'Symphony [Of Destruction]' or bass lines in 'Caught In A Mosh'.

"This EP was a true love and passion project for myself. I feel I captured the vibe and the spirit of the original but with THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT sound. Hopefully you hear it too!"

Stylistically, THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT is a fluid combination of classic metal sensibility and Rand's penchant for pushing the boundaries of contemporary heavy.

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT's debut self-titled EP came out in the summer of 2021 and is available exclusively through the band's webstore or via the Nuclear Blast store.

Josh and Casandra's debut single, "The Nothingness", was featured on several major playlists across streaming platforms, including Rock Hard on Spotify, Breaking Metal on Apple Music, Break Through Rock on Amazon and Metal Radar on Deezer. "The Nothingness" was also included on SiriusXM Octane's "Test Drive" show on release.

Swedish melodic death metallers AMON AMARTH played a surprise set at this year's Wacken Open Air festival on Thursday, August 4 in Wacken, Germany.

After the performance, the band took to its social media to share a short video of the concert, along with the following message: "Heathens! Thank you for joining us today on the glorious battle ground of @Wacken
for a surprise set. Until next time!"

Earlier this week, AMON AMARTH teased the show as an appearance from a band called GUARDIANS OF ASGAARD, which, they said, would make "a brief appearance at Wacken on Thursday to play some of your favorite AMON AMARTH hits."

Wacken Open Air takes place annually in the village of Wacken, which has a population of just about 2,000.

Up to 85,000 people attend the event, which is 32 years old.

200 bands are scheduled to perform at this year's Wacken Open Air, including headliners SLIPKNOT, POWERWOLF and JUDAS PRIEST.

Wacken Open Air was forced to take a break for two years due to coronavirus restrictions.

AMON AMARTH has just released its twelfth studio album, "The Great Heathen Army", via Metal Blade Records. The LP was recorded with acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap, who previously worked with the band on 2013's "Deceiver Of The Gods" and 2016's "Jomsviking" albums.

This past February, AMON AMARTH released a standalone single, "Put Your Back Into The Oar", an ode to the epic Viking row. The track was recorded and mixed in January 2021 at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden with producer Jens Bogren and was made available via the band's own label Victorious Music.

The "Put Your Back Into The Oar" video was shot in England over three days in October 2021. The atmospheric, cinematic clip was produced by Twin V and directed by Ryan MackFall at Crashburn Media.

AMON AMARTH will team up with MACHINE HEAD for the "Vikings And Lionhearts" co-headlining European arena tour in September and October. A North American tour with CARCASS, OBITUARY and CATTLE DECAPITATION will follow in November and December.

AMON AMARTH stands tall and unassailable: 30 years into a career that has seen them evolve from humble origins in the dark, dank rehearsal rooms of their native Tumba to their current status as explosive festival headliners and one of the metal world's most widely adored bands.

Formed in 1992, AMON AMARTH became modern metal greats the hard way. Ruthlessly dedicated to creating new music and taking it out on the road, the Swedes steadily built a formidable reputation as a ferocious live band and, as the years passed, were increasingly recognized for their recorded achievements too. Since the dawn of the millennium, AMON AMARTH has been unstoppable.

Breakthrough releases like 2006's "With Oden On Our Side" and its now-legendary follow-up, 2008's "Twilight Of The Thunder God" further cemented their popularity throughout the metal world, while the band's stage show evolved with each successive tour, transforming into one of modern metal's truly great spectacles. "Berserker" brought with it an epic, history-making trek across North America with fellow Swedes ARCH ENEMY, AT THE GATES and GRAND MAGUS and saw multiple sell-outs.
Heathens! Thank you for joining us today on the glorious battle ground of @Wacken for a surprise set. Until next time! - Amon Amarth (Guardians of Asgaard) ⚔️🛡 pic.twitter.com/paLw4dC1ib

— Amon Amarth (@AmonAmarthBand) August 5, 2022


Our raid on Wacken Open Air was a success! Thank you for helping us celebrate the release of ‘The Great Heathen Army’. Stream our latest album now at https://t.co/cVsJAelZMv ⚔️🛡 pic.twitter.com/vraeQr8lyg

— Amon Amarth (@AmonAmarthBand) August 5, 2022

Fan-filmed video of DEEP PURPLE's July 28 performance in Tampere, Finland can be seen below.

Last month, DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse officially left the band to care for his wife, Janine, who is battling cancer.

Morse's announcement came four months after the guitarist said that he would be taking a hiatus from the band, in the hope of rejoining his bandmates once his wife's health improved. He was then replaced on the road by Irish blues-rock guitarist Simon McBride.

Morse effectively took over Ritchie Blackmore's DEEP PURPLE slot in 1994 and had since been in the group longer than Ritchie.

Morse's solo career has encompassed rock, country, funk, jazz, classical and fusion. Having started playing guitar around the age of 11, he later on attended University of Miami's School of Music, where he studied classical guitar and jazz. A "guitarist's guitarist", he was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in the Guitar Player Readers' Poll for five consecutive years, before being removed from eligibility to open the award to other musicians, and being inducted into their Gallery Of Greats. His work has received seven Grammy Award nominations, and he has appeared on over 200 albums.

McBride, who is guitar player, singer, songwriter and a band leader all in one, hails from Belfast in Northern Ireland —a place that resonates of the best music traditions like Gary Moore and Rory Gallagher, as well as bands such as THIN LIZZY, STIFF LITTLE FINGERS and obviously U2. His biography tells many stories — from his band touring with no sound engineer, driver, or roadie, playing 30 shows in 35 days, to him regularly sharing stages with DEEP PURPLE's Ian Gillan and Don Airey.

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Turning To Crime", came out in November via earMUSIC. The LP contains DEEP PURPLE's versions of great rock classics and musical jewels — including songs originally recorded by Bob Dylan, FLEETWOOD MAC, Bob Seger, CREAM and THE YARDBIRDS — carefully chosen by each member of the band.

WHITESNAKE has pulled out of its previously announced North American tour with the SCORPIONS due to singer David Coverdale's "continued treatment for a persistent upper respiratory infection."

SCORPIONS will still play all the shows on the trek, featuring support from the Swedish THUNDERMOTHER, beginning on August 21 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and ending on October 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Earlier today (Friday, August 5), Coverdale released the following statement: "It is with profound disappointment and a heavy heart that I must announce that WHITESNAKE will no longer be able to join the SCORPIONS on their US and Canadian tour due to my continued treatment for a persistent upper respiratory infection that affects my ability to perform. This includes the cancellation of our own headlining shows as well.

"While WHITESNAKE will no longer be on the tour, the SCORPIONS will be continuing on. We Wish Our Good Friends, the SCORPIONS Every Success!!!

"We Wish You Well".

SCORPIONS issued a separate statement confirming WHITESNAKE's cancelation. They wrote: "We wanted to let you know that WHITESNAKE will no longer be joining us on our U.S. and Canadian Rock Believer tour.

"Nothing is more important than our fans and it was important to us that we keep the shows as scheduled.

"We wish WHITESNAKE all the best and look very much forward to seeing you and rocking with you all on tour along with THUNDERMOTHER."

On June 28, WHITESNAKE scrapped three shows on its spring/summer European tour due to Coverdale's infection of the sinus and trachea. Three days later, the rest of the trek was also called off. At the time, David blamed the decision on "continuing health challenges, doctor's orders, and our concern for everyone's health and safety."

David was not the first member of WHITESNAKE to fall ill during the group's latest European tour. Guitarist Reb Beach missed several shows on the trek in June after being "under the weather." On June 25, WHITESNAKE canceled its show at the Rock Imperium festival in Spain due to the fact that drummer Tommy Aldridge "went down" and "was bad enough at the time to have missed the first show ever in his career," according to Coverdale.

WHITESNAKE launched its farewell tour on May 10 at Dublin, Ireland's 3Arena. The band's 14-song set, which was part of a European tour with special guests EUROPE and co-headliners FOREIGNER, marked WHITESNAKE's inaugural performance with the group's two latest two additions, keyboardist, guitarist and backing vocalist Dino Jelusick, and Irish bassist Tanya O'Callaghan.

Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

Prior to the pandemic, WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Attention Rock Believers! pic.twitter.com/h67CEwWStl

— Scorpions (@scorpions) August 5, 2022

Australian progressive metal band, Teramaze, will release their new album, Flight Of The Wounded, on October 6 worldwide via Wells Music. Early bird collector bundles available for pre-order here.





The last few years has seen Teramaze go into a prolific writing frenzy, boasting an amazing feat of releasing three full-length albums, in a 12 month period. The band is showing no signs of slowing down creatively, with frontman and head songwriter, Dean Wells announcing the band has finished their 10th album.




Wells goes on to say: “Flight Of The Wounded is our 10th album and is quite possibly our strongest body of work date. From start to finish, from track to track, there really is no filler.


Like everything we’ve ever released, on this album we have poured our everything into every song and left no stone unturned. I’ve always been meticulous about getting the mixes perfect and finding the right guitar and synth sounds. As a band, we always strive to make every song sound as good as it possibly can.


This album will also be my 4th where I am the band’s lead vocalist. I am always trying to 1 up myself from one album to the next. I definitely tried a few new approaches to writing and singing that I hadn’t on previous albums. I tried making my lyric deliveries as strong or as vulnerable as possible, as well as  experimenting with the more gravely tones in my voice. I really pushed myself as vocalist and I think the fans will not be disappointed.


This album is like nothing we’ve release before. It’s going to be a really challenging album to sing live, but we can’t wait to actually tour this album, nationally and hopefully worldwide.”


Further details to follow.

Lethbridge, Canada's Tyrants Of Chaos have been pillaging across Alberta with their old-school classic heavy metal and are now amping up the ante with 10 new bangers on their third studio album, Relentless Thirst For Power, set to be unleashed on August 19.


Back in July, they shared their first single, "T.O.C.", and are ready to share their second track off the record. Entitled "Slay The Hostages", Tyrants Of Chaos present a Judas Priest-style, ear piercing, balls-out metal assault. Lyrically similar to "T.O.C.", "Slay The Hostages" sounds like a song about committing crimes and sacrifices, but it is simply about playing metal shows and entertaining the crowd as can be witnessed in the music video for the single.







The new album Relentless Thirst For Power covers a lot of topics lyrically, listeners will also be able to dive into the classic Teutonic power metal track “Indoctri-Nation” that focuses on mental health issues; the “No Lives Matter” ballad that forces one to confront their mortality; and the classic “Lucky Dog” that is reminiscent of the ‘80s sounds of the Big 4.


Formed in 2013 for the love and passion of music by guitarist Curtiss Vaselenak and to fill a gap in the local scene, the band originally started as a fun hard rock and metal cover band. After some shuffling, he is now joined by guitarist Arik Wagner, bassist Sean Simpson, drummer Ryan Dyck, and vocalist Phil Sirias who complete the current lineup. With many years of experience between them, they bring professionalism and solid musicianship to both the stage and the studio.


Tyrants Of Chaos already have two albums under their belts, The Calm Before The Storm (2016) and Into Oblivion (2019), and this new offering consists of ten fist-pumping, head-banging tracks that were written specifically for this album. It is just scratching the surface of what the band has in store, they don't intend to slow down anytime soon.


Heavy and loud, Tyrants Of Chaos delivers a solid pummeling of pure heavy metal. No gimmicks, no gags, just passion, and honesty. They are recommended listening for fans of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth.


Relentless Thirst For Power can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“T.O.C.”
“The Black Gap”
“Mourning Sickness”
“Skull Crusher”
“Slay The Hostages”
“Red Rage”
“Nightmare Machine”
“Indocri-Nation”
“No Lives Matter”
“Lucky Dog”


“T.O.C.” video:

Mötley Crüe have released a remastered version of the music video for their debut single, "Live Wire", lifted from their 1981 debut album, Too Fast for Love. Check it out below:





This summer, Mötley Crüe are co-headlining the massive 36-city The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, joined by special guests Poison and Joan Jett. Remaining dates are listed below.







August
5 - Fenway Park - Boston, MA
6 - Fenway Park - Boston, MA
8 - Rogers Centre - Toronto, ON
10 - The Stadium Tour - Orchard Park, NY
12 - PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA
14 - US Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, MN
16 - Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
19 - Minute Made Park - Houston, TX
21 - Alamodome - San Antonio, TX
22 - Globe Life Park in Arlington - Arlington, TX
25 - State Farm Stadium - Phoenix, AZ
27 - SoFi Stadium - Inglewood, CA
28 - Petco Park - San Diego, CA
31 - T-Mobile Park - Seattle, WA


September
2 - BC Place - Vancouver, BC
4 - Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton, AB
7 - Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
9 - Allegiant Stadium - Las Vegas, NV

By way of explanation: New York City was often referred to as ‘Fear City’ in the early 1980s. At that time, illegal prostitution, protection rackets and drug trafficking thrived in the city which was notorious for its high crime and violence rates. For international power metal band Them, this made the perfect setting for the continuation of their trilogy surrounding main protagonist KK Fossor.


What was set in the 19th century on their first three album releases, Sweet Hollow (2016), Manor Of The Se7en Gables (2018) and Return To Hemmersmoor (2020), is continued on Fear City, albeit with a 120-year time shift featuring descendants of the original characters.


“In a nutshell: KK Fossor is trying to find the descendant of the Witchhunter, who works as a televangelist under the name of Mister Thompson in 1981 New York,” explains Markus Ullrich, the band’s German guitarist and creative mastermind.




Fear City will be released October 28 via Steamhammer/SPV, preceded by two lead singles: August 19 will see the arrival of '‘Welcome To Fear City'’, supported by an amazing video clip. "Retro 54" is set to follow six weeks later on September 30.


This exciting mélange of horror and fantasy story is flanked by the usual dynamic songs mixing a hybrid of raw metal riffs, complex and frequently fast-paced grooves and surprisingly catchy chorus parts.


Markus Ullrich: “This is a special feature with Them. We play hard, technically accomplished guitar parts, combined with a solid basic toughness, yet we don’t just bark out the chorus, but sing it very melodically. Some songs on ‘Fear City’ are even heavier than expected, you could say: They really let rip! But our singer is fantastic and our songs make purposeful forays into a wide range of different stylistic directions.”


As usual, Fear City succeeds in transporting its listeners to a different, fictional world, in this case, the year 1981. “We’ve deliberately included keyboard sounds, little radio play snippets and cross-references to the 1980s,” explains Ullrich, who has first-rate musicians by his side, namely: vocalist KK Fossor, guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), bassist Alexander Palma and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe), and only had to enlist a new drummer in Steve Bolognese (ex-Witherfall, Into Eternity) due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic. As on the previous albums, American sound mastermind Dave Otero was in charge of the mix and drum recordings at his Flatline Audio studio in Denver, Colorado.


Fear City will be released as a CD DigiPak version, LP green vinyl version, CD/LP bundle with shirt (exclusively at the Steamhammer shop), Download and stream. Pre-order here.





Fear City tracklisting:


"Excito"
"Flight Of The Concorde"
"Fear City"
"Retro 54"
"An Ear For the Action"
"Graffiti Park"
"191st Street"
"Home Stretch"
"The Crossing Of Hellgate Bridge"
"Death On The Downtown Metro"
"Stay Tuned…"
"A Most Violent Year"
"The Deconsecrated House Of Sin"
"In The 11th Hour"

The organizers of the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany have issued the following announcement, proving that heavy metal is truly alive and flourishing!


"Metalheads! We absolutely cannnot believe what just happened: The Wacken Open Air 2023 is completely sold out after a record time of 5 hours - all 80,000 tickets are sold out! Thanks for your incredible loyalty, support and the trust you give us!"







WOA organizers commented further: "You are the best fans in the world! So we can't wait to celebrate another superlative metal party with you next year. Look forward to many more great bands and a festival with which we will take you back to the age of the Vikings - officially on four days instead of three!"


"We ask you not to buy tickets from third parties. Our waiting list is already available. As always, we will raffle all tickets from canceled orders. You can find the waiting list here. Registration is of course free of charge and without obligation."


"A sold out festival in that amount of time – unbelievable," says promoter Thomas Jensen. "And especially in these times, the backing of the community is enormously important. We are still knocking off the dust of this year's Open Air and now, thanks to the trust of our fans, we can continue to fully concentrate on the program in 2023 under the motto 'Vikings', which will have one or two highlights in the bag in addition to the great Iron Maiden!"


"This is an enormous proof of confidence from our fans and we appreciate it very much," adds promoter Holger Hübner. "This allows us to push Wacken Open Air forward and develop various projects and themes alongside the billing, which we will announce during the year."


The gates of hell were about to open at Wacken Open Air 2022 when a bold company of vikings charged the forces of evil. Watch an epic battle and the first 12 bands of Wacken Open Air 2023 being announced to the huge crowd in front of the festival's main stages. Music by Masters of Ceremony.





The 2023 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival will run from August 2nd - 5th in the small German town of Wacken.


Bands confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2023: Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Dropkick Murphys, Wardruna, Beartooth, Ensiferum, Pentagram (50th Anniversary Show), Jinjer, Nervosa, Deicide (Special Legion Show), Burning Witches, Two Steps From Hell (exclusive Wacken Show)


Headlining the event will be the mighty Iron Maiden: There is not a single metalhead that doesn’t know them. And it’s hard to think of a band that has defined classic heavy metal as much as they have. So consequently, there might very well be no band that is a better fit for the 'Holy ground of metal.' So in 2023, Iron Maiden will return to headline at the Wacken Open Air for the fourth time! So get ready for impressive production, a passionate performance, amazing music and of course Eddie! It has been seven long years since those iconic words have been heard: 'Scream for me, Wacken!'


 

During an appearance on this past Wednesday's (August 3) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell spoke about the band's upcoming EP, "A Day In The Life", which will arrive on November 11 via earMUSIC. The effort is numbered and limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.

To kick things off, the title track, which is described in a press release as "one of the heaviest versions" of THE BEATLES classic "ever recorded," was made available late last month digitally. The silver colored 12-inch vinyl also includes two live tracks and a recently recorded new track, which gives us a first hint of how LAST IN LINE's third album will sound like.

The trippy visuals in the accompanying music video are by artist Matt Mahurin — a big fan of LAST IN LINE and a four-decade filmmaker for rock and metal greats like METALLICA, U2, R.E.M. and DEF LEPPARD.

Regarding how LAST IN LINE's cover of "A Day In The Life" came together, Vivian said: "Going back to spring of 2020 when everything shut down, we talked about doing a cover song prior to that and we'd already started cutting the first six tracks for what will be the third album, which will come out early next year.

"LAST IN LINE always cuts tracks live and we look at each other in the studio while we do it; we have that push-pull dynamic going on," he continued. "Well, 'A Day In The Life' is the one exception to that; that's the one song that we didn't do that way. We kind of did it the DEF LEPPARD way by building on a track and reverse-engineering it. That was just out of necessity, 'cause this was in March, April, May of 2020 and we couldn't travel; we couldn't be together. So we basically built up the track that way and did it remotely. And that was an interesting thing for us, because, like I said, that's never anything we've done before or done since."

Asked if he was a fan of THE BEATLES growing up, Campbell said: "THE BEATLES were huge for all of us. The first song I ever actually learned how to play on guitar was 'She Loves You'. I remember working out the chords when I was a kid on holiday one summer. And I was well chuffed with myself 'cause I had actually figured that out.

"['A Day In The Life'] was a pretty ambitious song to take on," he admitted. "To be honest, I don't know how we really ended up on that one. We were discussing what would an appropriate and interesting cover for us to do. We didn't wanna do something from the genre, so it wasn't like we were gonna try and do an AC/DC song or something from the hard rock world. We decided we wanted to tackle something that would be a little left field. I've gotta say probably it was [bassist] Phil Soussan who came up with the idea for 'A Day In The Life', but we were certainly not in need of coaxing 'cause, like I said, we're all massive, massive BEATLES fans. And it is such an ambitious song to take on, with time changes and key changes and whatnot, especially to do it in the way that we had to do it — in this remote sort of fashion. But it was good in as much as it actually gave us some impetus to do something and to keep moving forward. Like I said, this was spring of 2020 and all of a sudden all plans were on hold. So it was a good thing for us to keep inching the band forward and keep making that progression."

"A Day In The Life" EP track listing:

01. A Day In The Life
02. Hurricane Orlagh
03. Devil In Me (Live)
04. Give Up The Ghost (Live)

Last month, LAST IN LINE drummer Vinny Appice told Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules that the band had just completed work on its third studio album. He said: "Chris Collier, who mixes a lot of KORN stuff, he did our albums. He just finished the mix. And it sounds fantastic."

The news of LAST IN LINE's partnership with earMUSIC was shared six months ago by Appice during a appearance on "Waste Some Time With Jason Green". Vinny also revealed that LAST IN LINE completed recording six more new songs in late January at Danny "Count" Koker's Desert Moon studios in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Formed in 2012 by Appice, Campbell and bassist Jimmy Bain — Ronnie James Dio's co-conspirators and co-writers on the "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart" albums — LAST IN LINE's initial intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

LAST IN LINE's debut album, "Heavy Crown", was released in February 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl, landing at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Initially, the release had been preceded by tragedy when Bain unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on January 23, 2016. LAST IN LINE, honoring what they knew would be Bain's wish to keep the band moving, brought in Soussan and committed to sustained touring in support of the album before beginning work on the follow-up release, 2019's "II", which was also made available through Frontiers Music Srl.

In February 2021, Appice told Metal From The Inside that former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson, who produced both "II" and "Heavy Crown", is not involved with the upcoming LAST IN LINE album. "We made a change," he said. "Actually, the guy who mixed the last record, Chris Collier — he's great; he's working with KORN — he recorded this record. And we're kind of producing it ourselves, between all of us.

"Jeff is great — Jeff's a great producer, and [he has] great ideas and stuff, but we just felt that we could probably do what we wanna do now that we're a band, we've been on the road, and we know what we wanna hear," he explained. "But it's coming out great. The stuff sounds fantastic."

Also in February 2021, Soussan told the "Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged" podcast about the musical direction of the new LAST IN LINE material: "The songs are another progression from the last album — the difference between 'Heavy Crown' and 'II', and now 'II' and whatever this next album is gonna be called; we don't know yet, by the way. But it's definitely evolved even more; it's gone into even more of an evolution, but we are always trying to keep the characteristics of LAST IN LINE there. I mean, you can't shake those things — you can't shake Vinny's drumming, you can't shake Vivian's playing. And I'd like to say the same thing about myself, and, of course, [singer] Andrew [Freeman]."

Some of the early recording sessions for LAST IN LINE's third album took place in January 2020 at Steakhouse studio in North Hollywood, California.

WOLFSBANE guitarist Jason "Jase" Edwards has thanked fans for their "love and support" after it was announced that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer.

The long-running British hard rockers broke the news of Jason's diagnosis in a social media post on Monday (August 1). They wrote: "It is with deep regret we have to inform you that Jase has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. This is a bone marrow cancer that there is currently no cure for. It is however treatable. He started his first cycle of chemotherapy within 2 weeks of the tour ending and will hopefully go on to have a stem cell transplant in around 4 months' time."

Earlier today (August 4),Edwards took to the band's Facebook to share the following message: "I have been overwhelmed by all the love and support I've received over the last few days about my cancer diagnosis. It really has lifted me immensely to feel all the well wishes from everyone on my personal post and the WOLFSBANE Facebook.

"To feel that level of good feeling towards me and concern has helped me to move forwards with more confidence and purpose. Also hearing people's stories of going through similar experiences, offers of help, advice and support have been inspirational and practically useful as well.

"I know there are people out there, of course, with worse versions of this horrible disease and my heart goes out to them, to people who truly have very little time left.

"I'd like to thank you all for your kind words and lovely messages. I'll be taking all the good advice. Staying positive and doing everything I can to get the best possible outcome from my treatment. I'll stay in my happy place in the studio, where I'll be in a minute mixing an album for an excellent band called ELECTRIC CAKE SALAD.

"I'm Inspired and humbled by all the support! Thank you all again and I'll post from time to time as an update on my condition. In the meantime, I'm still the same person I was before, a music-loving audio professional and fun-loving twat who is now even more determined to enjoy each day as it comes.

"Love to you all

"Jase. Xxx".

WOLFSBANE's first album in a decade, "Genius", was released in June. The artwork for the LP was designed by Simon "Mackie" Piasecki, who also created the covers for WOLFSBANE's 1990 EP "All Hell's Breaking Loose Down At Little Kathy Wilson's Place" and 1991's album "Down Fall The Good Guys".

WOLFSBANE's current lineup consists of Edwards, ex-IRON MAIDEN vocalist Blaze Bayley, bassist Jeff Hateley and drummer Steve Danger.

WOLFSBANE burst out of the Midlands in the mid-1980s, signed to Rick Rubin's Def American label in 1989, built up a massive following of (self-titled) "howling mad shitheads" (HMS) and released three raucous albums before imploding in 1994, when Bayley joined IRON MAIDEN.

WOLFSBANE reformed in 2011 to record its first studio album for 17 years, "Wolfsbane Save The World", released in January 2012 to huge acclaim.

I have been overwhelmed by all the love and support I've received over the last few days about my cancer diagnosis. It...

Posted by Wolfsbane on Thursday, August 4, 2022

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.

Speaking to "The Rock Is George" podcast about the decision to remix "Holy Diver", original DIO drummer Vinny Appice said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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? 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, Ronnie's wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio 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 the "Holy Diver" title track is available digitally as a preview to the new album mix. Check it out below.

In addition, 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.

Critically acclaimed and a commercial success, "Holy Diver" contributed two timeless classics to the heavy metal canon — "Rainbow In The Dark" and its title track. The album also ranks No. 16 on Rolling Stone's current list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time."

After departing BLACK SABBATH in early 1982, Dio began composing songs that would eventually appear on the album. After writing both "Holy Diver" and "Don't Talk To Strangers", Dio then assembled an amazing group of musicians, two familiar faces and one fresh recruit, with drummer Vinny Appice (Dio's BLACK SABBATH bandmate),bassist/keyboardist Jimmy Bain (Dio's RAINBOW bandmate) and guitarist Vivian Campbell joining him to record the "Holy Diver" album.

In the illustrated liner notes that accompany the Super Deluxe Edition, music journalist Mick Wall shares the album's creation story, including the making of its crown jewel, "Rainbow In The Dark".

He writes: "Lyrically, it was Ronnie James Dio at his poetic best… Musically, 'Rainbow In The Dark' was also the band's first truly collaborative endeavor. The inspiration for the monster guitar riff came from something Viv had written when he was 16. Vinny added his distinctive battle-cry beat, and Jimmy added the final touch with the infectiously simple keyboard motif." The song was finished in 10 minutes, he adds.

"Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition" goes beyond the original album with a previously unreleased recording of the quartet performing live in 1983 at Selland Arena in Fresno, California during the "Holy Diver" tour. Wyn Davis mixed the concert recording, which spotlights live versions of songs from "Holy Diver" ("Stand Up And Shout" and "Rainbow In The Dark"),RAINBOW classics ("Man On The Silver Mountain" and "Starstruck"),and SABBATH staples ("Children Of The Sea" and "Heaven And Hell").

The Super Deluxe Edition also revisits the "Holy Diver" recording sessions to uncover unreleased outtakes for several album cuts, including unheard takes for "Invisible", "Straight Through The Heart" and a version of "Rainbow In The Dark" that boasts an alternative guitar solo. There's also an early version of "Evil Eyes", a song that would resurface on DIO's 1984 follow-up album, "The Last In Line". A selection of rarities rounds out the new collection with mono and stereo 7" single edits for "Rainbow In The Dark" and a version of "Evil Eyes" that was released in 1983 as the B-side to "Holy Diver".

"Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition" CD track listing:

CD1: Holy Diver (2022 Joe Barresi Mix) *

CD2: Holy Diver (2022 Remaster)

01. Stand Up And Shout
02. Holy Diver
03. Gypsy
04. Caught In The Middle
05. Don't Talk To Strangers
06. Straight Through The Heart
07. Invisible
08. Rainbow In The Dark
09. Shame On The Night

CD3: Live at Selland Arena, Fresno, CA, 1983

01. Intro *
02. Stand Up And Shout *
03. Straight Through The Heart *
04. Shame On The Night *
05. Children Of The Sea *
06. Holy Diver *
07. Heaven And Hell – including guitar solo *
08. Rainbow In The Dark *
09. Man On The Silver Mountain *
10. Starstuck *
11. Man On The Silver Mountain – reprise *
12. Don't Talk To Strangers *

CD4: Outtakes, Singles & B-Sides

Tracks 1-7 unreleased

01. Evil Eyes – Wyn Davis remix *
02. Don't Talk To Strangers – Take 1 (Joe Barresi mix) *
03. Invisible – Take 1 (Joe Barresi mix) *
04. Invisible – Take 3 (Joe Barresi mix) *
05. Rainbow In The Dark – Alternative Guitar Solo Version (Joe Barresi mix) *
06. Straight Through The Heart – Take 2 (Joe Barresi mix) *
07. Straight Through The Heart – Take 3 (Joe Barresi mix)*
08. Rainbow In The Dark – 7" Mono Edit
09. Evil Eyes – 1983 Version. B-Side of "Holy Diver"
10. Rainbow In The Dark – 7" Stereo Edit

* previously unreleased

"Holy Diver: 2022 Joe Barresi Mix" 2-LP clear vinyl track listing:

LP1: Side One

01. Stand Up And Shout
02. Holy Diver
03. Gypsy
04. Caught In The Middle

LP1: Side Two

01. Don't Talk To Strangers
02. Straight Through The Heart
03. Invisible

LP2: Side One

01. Rainbow In The Dark
02. Shame On The Night

Bonus Track

03. Evil Eyes – 1983 Version. B-Side of "Holy Diver"

LP2: Side Two

Etching

In a brand new interview with Yes! You CAN Play Guitar!, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked if the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — were ever expanded to a "Big Five," who would get the extra slot. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think if you opened that gate at all, it'd have to be 'Big Six', because you'd let in EXODUS and then you'd probably let in OVERKILL. 'Cause you'd have to get a West Coast [band] and an East Coast [act], 'cause I think it starts to go like that.

"If there was a 'Big Five', it would be EXODUS, for sure, because, look, from them came [METALLICA guitarist] Kirk Hammett. They were staples of the scene up there. I remember [SLAYER guitarist] Kerry King telling me, '[EXODUS drummer] Tom Hunting's the shit, man. Tom Hunting's the guy.'

"It's my opinion that after Kerry played with [MEGADETH in 1984], he met the EXODUS guys, he saw EXODUS play, he learned how Tom Hunting played, he went home and made [SLAYER drummer] Dave Lombardo play like Tom Hunting. [Laughs] That's why SLAYER got so fast. Those five shows Kerry did with us that brought us to the Bay Area opened his eyes to, like, 'Wow. This is how it's done.' And then he went back to L.A. and he carried on away from MEGADETH and he carried on with SLAYER. But he whipped SLAYER into shape, 'cause he had seen… 'Thine eyes had seen the glory' of what thrash metal really was from the Bay Area, and that helped SLAYER become SLAYER."

Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal, the band's classic 1985 debut, "Bonded By Blood", inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

EXODUS vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza discussed his band's exclusion from the "Big Four" during a 2014 interview with the Argentinian radio station Rock & Pop 95.9 FM. At the time, he said: "Personally, I don't pay attention to that necessarily. I was in the Bay Area in the beginning, before I was even a member of EXODUS, so I remember who was the forefathers of thrash. I mean, Tom invented that drum beat. That [guitar] picking style was from Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] — that's where the genesis of that came from.

"I think what [the media] did [when they came up with the 'Big Four'] was they took the four bands who were probably the most successful in the initial period of thrash metal — from, say, '85 or '84 to '90," he continued. "If you were to go off popularity, if you were gonna go off record sales, you would have to say ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, METALLICA and SLAYER.

"Now, when you ask me that question, this is what I say: it's 'The Big One And The Other Three.' Sorry. Neither one of those bands — and I love every single one of them… But METALLICA sits on their own. So, to say the 'Big Four'? I don't know if you can say that. You have to say 'The Big One And The Other Three.'"

"And again, I was the singer for LEGACY, which turned into TESTAMENT, so I hired everybody in that band — even Chuck Billy. So my influence, as a writer and musician starting a band, was tapered after EXODUS and METALLICA. I didn't even know, really, that SLAYER or MEGADETH or OVERKILL or ANTHRAX existed. I lived in the Bay Area, so then that band which you all known now as TESTAMENT, the genesis of that band was because of EXODUS, so…"

In 2013, MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine spoke to Radio.com about which band should have been included if the "Big Four" were expanded and considered the "Big Five". He said: "You know, people will say there's a whole another generation, like the 'Medium Four' [laughs], and I think there's a lot of great bands that fit that bill, too. But I think probably EXODUS, because there was nobody else at the time that had that kind of pull or that kind of importance in the metal community. Granted, it was with [late EXODUS singer Paul] Baloff, and Baloff had a voice that you had to have an acquired taste for, but you know, I liked him."

In a 2010 interview with Metal Asylum, Holt was asked if he feels the "Big Four" should have been expanded and considered the "Big Seven", including EXODUS, TESTAMENT and OVERKILL. "Well, I think it should be the 'Big Five' with EXODUS, because we were there at the start of thrash metal with METALLICA in the real early '80s," he said. "Same thing with MEGADETH because Mustaine was a part of METALLICA's birth and he also created MEGADETH. And SLAYER are SLAYER. ANTHRAX are also great and old friends, but if you listen to those first few records, they have definitely changed. TESTAMENT has every right to be part of the thrash metal legends, but it just came down to timing because they came later. And OVERKILL have been their since the beginning also. But I don't get hung up on that shit, because I know how it all started and I know where I was when the shit got created. We [EXODUS] certainly deserve to be part of the founding fathers, but you know who often gets excluded are the Germans — KREATOR, DESTRUCTION and SODOM. Everybody looks to America and forgets those guys. KREATOR, DESTRUCTION and SODOM all released records in the early '80s."

He continued: "Really, the "Big Four" is solely based on sales and the ones who sold the most. But if you compare records, I will put EXODUS' last few albums up against anybody's shit. SLAYER is always awesome; the last TESTAMENT album [at the time of the interview], 'The Formation of Damnation', was great; the new MEGADETH [2009's 'Endgame'] is one of their best; METALLICA are still finding their feet again, and their last album, 'Death Magnetic', was a step in the right direction. The new OVERKILL, 'Ironbound', is one of their best records ever; it's so good. And KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, and SODOM still make great new music. What I think it boils down to is the bands who've been doing this the longest still can do it the best. METALLICA are still a mighty force live, but they lost their way for quite a while. But then again I've never had to deal with the horrible problem of having millions of dollars. [Laughs] Maybe if I had that kind of money, it would distract my hunger for doing this kind of shit, too. But, unfortunately for me, I have to keep kickin' people in the teeth, I don't have the funds to go art-shopping. My version of fine art is a new edition of Hustler magazine. [Laughs]"

Also in 2014, Hammett was asked by U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine if it's strange to him how much METALLICA has eclipsed the other "Big Four" bands in terms of commercial popularity. "I try not to spend too much time thinking about stuff like that because whatever I think of is still not going to be a satisfying enough explanation," he replied. "It's just the way things are and how the chips fell.

"EXODUS in the '80s had some bona fide problems, but I think their first album ['Bonded By Blood'] is just as good as [METALLICA's debut] 'Kill 'Em All'. We were just playing the music we wanted to hear because no one else was playing it and it wasn't being played on the radio. It was only a small group of people who knew about it and it was almost elitist in that 'No posers allowed!' thing."

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello has weighed in on the news that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) will unite with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, will headline a number of major festivals across North America and Europe and stage some of their own headline concerts.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who last year said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Bello discussed his views on the PANTERA comeback in a new interview with "Cutter's RockCast". Asked what he thinks about Anselmo and Brown touring again under the PANTERA name, Bello said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can't wait for that, because they've got the two right guys to do it. Charlie and Zakk, those are the two right guys [for the job].

"Look, we're [ANTHRAX] family with PANTERA. You've gotta understand — we've toured with them quite a lot. We're very much a family. These are our brothers. So to pay tribute to Dime and Vinnie, Charlie and Zakk are the right guys. And I'll be the first one in line to see that. I'm excited for it.

"I think it's great for metal, and I think it's great for everybody," Frank, who is Benante's nephew as well as his bandmate, added. "It'll be a great tribute to them, and it'll be done right… I'm excited for them — I really am — and for metal. I think it's great."

Last month, Benante told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about how he plans to approach the PANTERA gig: "I can't go do this as the drummer from ANTHRAX because it would be a different sound completely. So the way I'm gonna do that is if you close your eyes, it's gonna sound like it's Vinnie, basically. And that's how it's gonna be. The sound is gonna sound exactly like him."

Wylde said that he had a similar mindset. "You approach it the same way as you do when I'm playing with Ozzy," he said. "Obviously I've gotta learn [Randy] Rhoads's stuff and I've gotta learn Jake's [E. Lee] stuff, and when I was doing the [BLACK] SABBATH stuff, you learn it and do it as faithful as you can. Charlie's gotta learn all of Vinnie's parts. You approach it as if you're in a cover band. When we do the ZAKK SABBATH stuff," referring to his BLACK SABBATH cover band, "I don't start changing lyrics midway through 'War Pigs'. You learn the songs — so that's what you do."

Talk about a possible PANTERA "reunion" intensified when Anselmo regularly joined Wylde's BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to perform PANTERA's song "I'm Broken" during DOWN's 2014 stint on the "Revolver Golden Gods Tour". That buzz only got stronger after Brown joined the jam on May 23, 2014 when the tour swung through Texas.

Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.
Listen to "Rockcast 290 – Attack of the Killer Bassists!" on Spreaker.

King Diamond has commented on guitarist Michael Denner's exclusion from MERCYFUL FATE's current "reunion."

When it was announced in 2019 that the influential Danish heavy metal act would reunite for an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, it was revealed that MERCYFUL FATE's lineup for the shows would consist of King on vocals, Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING) on bass.

Asked in a new interview with Creem magazine why Denner isn't involved in the MERCYFUL FATE reunion, King said: "There are reasons Michael Denner and [drummer] Kim Ruzz are simply not here. I know that Michael Denner did an interview recently, and I'm not going to get into it, but he said a lot of things that are absolutely not true. I could go into a lot of details about the reasons that this is not a lineup with him in it, or Kim Ruzz in it. I don't want to say anything bad about anybody, but you can't say, 'Hey, I should have played there.' Why? Should I throw out a band member that is absolutely perfect for the band, that goes all out for the band all the time, no matter what? And his skill is beyond anything I played with on that spot in the band? There's no way that he's going to get fired because someone else is suddenly interested in the band. That's completely wrong. There's no way I would ever treat anyone like that."

King went on to say that it has been "very cool and a lot of fun" to play with MERCYFUL FATE again, but he clarified: "People have misunderstood what we are doing now. This is not a reunion. We are just picking it up again because the stars are aligned correctly now. And that's been the thing all the time. Before when people asked, 'Do you think you're going to play with MERCY again?' I would never say never. But it's got to be completely right. I don't want to go out there and try to milk a cow and do a show with the backdrop and then collect and say, 'That was that.' That's not right. And Hank has the same philosophy. Either we do it 200 precent, or we don't do it."

Last month, Denner said that it was "heartbreaking" for him to be excluded from MERCYFUL FATE's current reunion. Denner, who was a member of MERCYFUL FATE's classic lineup, addressed his absence from the band's reunion in an interview with Finland's Chaoszine. The guitarist said: "I [feel like] this is not my band anymore. I'm not part of it, because they didn't tell me; they didn't invite me. We didn't even have a discussion about it. So, of course, it took some time for me to digest it. It was quite painful, because I miss my friends from the '80s — I miss them. But not the people who [are] in the band today. I wish them the best. I mean, the better they play, the more records we can sell and the more money I will get in the end. Of course it's heartbreaking. And also to see and hear — they play my signature stuff. Most of the songs they play now is things I've done — I mean, my signature solos, my themes, my arrangements, my stuff. And it's another guy who plays. But then again, Mike Wead is a great guitarist, and he's still a good friend of mine. So if anyone should do the job, I'm glad it's him who did it, really. He can do the shit. That's some sort of comfort in all this agony and disappointment — that it's Mike Wead who plays. And that makes me feel good."

Regarding his relationship with King, Michael said: "The thing is me and King, we had a discussion some years ago. It was about a cover of a DENNER/SHERMANN album. Because the artist who did the artwork for the cover is [Swedish artist] Thomas Holm who did [MERCYFUL FATE's] 'Melissa' and 'Don't Break The Oath'. And, of course, his way of painting and stuff, it was a bit more than a bit similar to 'Melissa' and 'Don't Break The Oath', and King got upset and tried to stop the album. He did manage to stop — as I recall it — the merchandise side; t-shirt design and so on. I'm not a hundred percent sure [about] that, but that could be the story.

"Me and King are quite alike," he explained. "We don't turn the other cheek. I mean, two old assholes who don't wanna stretch the hand out and say, 'Okay, let bygones be bygones. Let's try to do this.' So we keep the disagreements and the enemy side of it. That's just sad. But with Hank, it was a different story because it came out of nowhere. We had a good teamwork going with DENNER/SHERMANN. And one of the last things Hank told me was, 'If we do a MERCYFUL FATE reunion, it should be with you and me. No question about it.' But of course, King, he has some strong will and some power behind it — Metal Blade Records and money; big salaries. So Hank chose to go that way and just leave me out in the cold. And [Hank and I] haven't spoken since, more or less. And that's a few years now. But then again, we've been a guitar team since the late '70s — that's a long, long time — and the friendship. And it's like telepathy. You know exactly which guy should play what parts and we know each other like it's in the pocket. But he chose to go that way, and I couldn't live with that. So we don't talk anymore. But I wish him the best — I wish him just the best of luck in the future. But his future will be without me."

Asked if he thinks there is still a chance that he will one day reconnect with Hank, Michael said: "Not in a million years. That will never happen — never. It's just the end of it, because I could never trust this guy again. He broke my heart and he stabbed me in the back. But still, I miss my old friend; I miss my guitar partner. But I will never take a chance again, trusting this guy, when he could do the thing he did. I will never be safe. So I feel sorry for me and I feel sorry for him. It's a loss. That's the way life goes. You have to carry on."

MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.

MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse Of The Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into The Coven" and "Evil".

Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return Of The Vampire" on the "In The Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

Original MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen died in November 2019 after a battle with cancer.