During an appearance on the latest episode of "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello was asked if he would agree with the assertion that BLACK SABBATH singlehandedly and unintentionally invented heavy metal with the release of its 1970 self-titled debut album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Look, you're asking a SABBATH fan. Of course. For me, it's right there. Listen to 'Black Sabbath'. For me, yeah, I grew up on that, so I have to say yes to that. And they still stand up — those songs still stand up. So, yeah, for me, yes. Sure, everybody else can say a bunch of other bands; it's all very personal. For me, yeah. That was the first heavy guitar that I heard like that — Tony Iommi's guitar. Geezer [Butler], the way he plays with a kind of distorted bass and just these great jazz bass lines, that was all a great time. It was a great mixture of heavy. There was great stuff, heaviness, coming in. So, for me, yes."

Bello's ANTHRAX bandmate Scott Ian has previously gone on record as saying that SABBATH was the first heavy metal group.

"People can argue this, and I do get into this nerd arguments with my friends sometimes when we're drinking, but, for me, it's BLACK SABBATH," Scott said during a 2016 appearance on the SiriusXM show "Sway's Universe". "It all started with them. You had these guys who lived in Birmingham, England, in a really depressed, post-World War II manufacturing town, and it just made sense that the music they started making just had this really dark, heavy sound. And for me, the first three or four BLACK SABBATH records are kind of the blueprint for heavy metal. Tony Iommi wrote every riff there was to write, and everything that came after was just a derivative of it in some way, shape or form. But, for me, it all started with BLACK SABBATH."

In 2018, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante picked BLACK SABBATH's "Vol. 4" (1972) as one of the records that changed his life.

"My next-door neighbor would play it outside constantly," he told Classic Rock magazine. "'Vol. 4' was always played — all the time. I swear, I knew those songs like the back of my hand. Coming from a Catholic upbringing, there was a record store about 15 minutes away from us, and me and my friends used to always go to this place — called Records And Stuff. And they used to sell these iron-on shirts. I remember coming home with this BLACK SABBATH shirt that had '666' on it, and my mom freaked out and made me take it back. She would not have it in the house."

In a 2010 interview with U.K.'s The Times, BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward reflected on the fact that it wasn't until the mid-1970s that the term "heavy metal" emerged for the music that he and his bandmates played, although they initially had no affection for it. "We said, 'This ain't heavy metal, we're a hard rock band,'" he recalled. "To some extent we still consider ourselves a hard-rock band. But that first album, when our lyrics changed, that is heavy metal. Was it the first heavy metal album, in every sense of the word? Yes, it was. It was the beginning of a new era."

A little over a decade ago, Iommi told the BBC that he "wasn't familiar" with the term "heavy metal" for quite a few years after SABBATH's formation. "I mean, I always looked at what we did as heavy rock," he said. "And when that term was first mentioned to me, somebody said, 'Oh, you play heavy metal.' And I said, 'What? What's that?' And this was a journalist from a well-known magazine. He said, 'Well, that's what you play; it's heavy metal.' And I'd been in America for quite awhile, so when I came back and I heard this term, I'd never heard it. And, of course, ever since that, that's been non-stop. I still think we're heavy rock, but you are put into a bag, and I'm quite proud of it now."

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD will release its eighth studio album, "Hotel Kalifornia", on August 12 via Dove & Grenade Media/BMG. According to a press release, the LP represents "a juxtaposition between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', highlighting the ongoing homelessness and cost of living crisis that is affecting the band's home state of California." The record features recent singles "Wild In These Streets" and "CHAOS", as well as "City Of The Dead", the official music video for which can be seen below.

The clip, directed by frequent collaborator Brian Cox (BRING ME THE HORIZON, THE USED),is set in the band's interpretation of the "City Of The Dead", in which the five bandmates mind their days in a "Beetlejuice"-inspired, twisted world where all things dead have another life.

The song, which has amassed two million streams across platforms and enjoyed priority placements on genre playlists such as Spotify's Rock Hard, Hard Rock and Rock rotation as well as Apple Music's Breaking Hard Rock and New In Rock, is also currently in the Top 40 and rising at U.S. rock and active rock radio. No doubt that the band will be performing this song on this summer's "Rockzilla" tour with PAPA ROACH, FALLING IN REVERSE and BAD WOLVES.

Due to overwhelming support for the new song, the band has also announced that they will be releasing a additional track, "Trap God", this Friday, July 8. The thunderous track takes listeners back to the band's precarious beginnings — recounting financial struggles and doing what was necessary to survive.

Johnny 3 Tears shares: "'Trap God' details the band's early days pre-record label fighting financial set-backs while growing weed in a dirty North Hollywood garage just to make ends meet."

Not long after the turn of the century, a collective of friends congregated around a common vision bred in the gutters and back alleys of Hollywood, California. Under the influence of everything from gritty Nineties hip-hop to industrial metal (not to mention cheap booze),they climbed out of similar experiences in poverty and hardship and vaulted to the forefront of 21st century rock music on their own terms.

To this day, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD hinges on the bond of five individuals who relay such raw experiences into relatable anthems. However, the platinum-certified quintet — Johnny 3 Tears, J-Dog, Funny Man, Charlie Scene and Danny — tell their story like never before on "Hotel Kalifornia".

"We were in a world of shit," states Johnny 3 Tears. "The opportunities for failure were far more prevalent than the opportunities for success. We were hanging out with gangbangers and drug dealers. The chances of overcoming were very slim. We made something special together because of the heartbreak and heartache that came from all our experiences."

"'Hotel Kalifornia' brings me back to a time when all that mattered was music," adds J-Dog. "The only thing I gave a shit about was going to shows. That was it."

Throughout 2021, the boys recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with producers Erik Ron (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE),Andrew Migliore (SUECO, PAPA ROACH) and Drew Fulk (Lil Wayne, Lil Peep). Working face to face, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD rekindled the unbridled intensity of their formative material, yet with refinement only possible through years of grinding on the road.

"When you listen to 'Hotel Kalifornia', I hope you see how far we've come," Johnny 3 Tears leaves off. "J-Dog and Charlie Scene are completely different songwriters than they were 15 years ago. I'm so impressed by everyone in the band. The only thing we give a fuck about is the audience and trying to get better on each record."

"After all of these years, people on the outside really have a hard time believing we're still best friends," J-Dog adds. "We've stayed this close even with all of the shit we've been through. Usually bands break up friendships, but we're best friends — and we always will be."

"Hotel Kalifornia" track listing:

01. CHAOS
02. World War Me
03. Ruin My Life
04. Hourglass
05. Go To War
06. Alone At The Top
07. Wild In These Streets
08. Dangerous
09. Lion Eyes
10. Trap God
11. Happy When I Die
12. Reclaim
13. City Of The Dead
14. Alright

New England extreme metal unit Escuela Grind will release its new LP, Memory Theater, on September 30. Produced by Kurt Ballou, the album -- the band's first for MNRK Heavy (High On Fire, Crowbar) -- features nine tracks of sharp, scorching underground music that rages and rips in equal measure. Escuela Grind's Memory Theater is available for pre-order now at this location. 


Get a sneak peek at what the new Escuela Grind album promises right now as the band releases a video for its rampaging new track, "Cliffhanger", which adroitly showcases the kinetic energy of the group's much talked about live performances.







“'Cliffhanger' is us branching out and including all of our influences into a heavy, danceable song. It’s a perfect representation of all the new things to expect from Escuela Grind," says vocalist Katerina Economou. "The lyrics are about the people that try to play both sides of the fence, play devil's advocate and drag you down with them. It’s about fighting crab mentality. This is just a taste of all the killer stuff coming on Memory Theater!”





Tracklisting:


"Endowed With Windows"
"My Heart, My Hands"
"Cliffhanger" 
"Strange Creature"
"Faulty Blueprints"
"All Is Forgiven"
"Forced Collective Introspection"
"The Feed"
"Memory Theater"


The music might be terrifying, but the overwhelming spirit behind Escuela Grind is a message of empowerment. As it destroys musical boundaries, the quartet attacks the idea of “gatekeeping” with equal ferocity. Anytime Katerina Economou (vocals), Jesse Fuentes (drums), Kris Morash (guitar), and Tom Sifuentes (bass) convene, an aural apocalypse will ensue. Escuela Grind stitches together a new metallic hardcore monster from the rotten corpses of grind and power violence with gleefully unhinged blasts of percussive bombast and chaos.


Memory Theater, Escuela Grind's sophomore album, is seven minutes shorter than Slayer’s Reign In Blood, but with a few songs running past the three-minute mark, it’s downright epic by grindcore norms.


The album title references a specific historical concept, constructing a “space” from one’s internal ideas, knowledge, and perception. An architect by trade, Economou explores philosophy, politics, and experiential experimentation, building a kind of structure amidst the band's musical cacophony.


(Photo: Matt Viel)


 

Watch drummer Nick Menza play Megadeth's "Tornado Of Souls" two years before his death, featuring David Ellefson's original 1990 isolated bass track, which originally appeared on the band's classic fourth album, Rust In Peace. Released in September 1990 via Capitol Records, it was Megadeth's first LP with guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza following the departures of Jeff Young and Chuck Behler.


The HD video, shot in a two-camera-angle mix, was filmed in March 2014 at Uberbeatz Studios in Seattle, Washington. The audio was mixed by Richard Easterling / KRM Studios and is believed to be some of the final studio drum recordings of Menza before he passed away two years later.


The footage was supposed to be used for the late drummer's first-ever instructional DVD, Intense Mega Drumming, with tons of tips and tricks from Menza's arsenal to help teach anybody out there how to become a better player. The DVD, which was produced and directed by Kari Pearson and edited by Menza's manager, Robert Bolger, has since been shelved.







The previously unreleased video footage from the session will be a featured highlight in the recently announced official Menza documentary film, This Was My Life - The Story Of Nick Menza. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family."


David Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late Megadeth drummer's life. Ellefson added: "The making of the Nick Menza documentary has been such a joy for all of us, like a sort of Mega family reunion where we share stories, laughs and even a few tears around Nick and what he meant to so many of us. I think this film and Soundtrack will touch the hearts of the fans and viewers in the same way, as we remember his larger-than-life character behind the drum kit, but also his lovable charm and warmth that made him the beloved one of a treasured musical legacy."


The Menza family said: "We are excited for the fans to see the life Nick lived before, during, and after Megadeth, it was quite the journey. Stay tuned for an epic documentary. As Nick would say, 'It's gonna be RAD.'"


Menza's longtime personal manager Robert Bolger said: "Nick loved his fans and always said without the fans none this would be possible. I really think Nick's fans will enjoy this journey through his life. Thank you everyone for the continued support in keeping Nick's legacy alive."





This Was My Life will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life Including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic Rust In Peace lineup.


This Was My Life will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.


The soundtrack will feature a very diverse posthumous album worth of heavy music that will consist of 8-9 tracks from Nick's un-earthed / un-released drum riffs late drummer recorded for a project he started working on between 2013 / 2015. David Ellefson will play bass on a few of the tracks and will also helm the position as executive producer.


The cover photo for the film was shot by Los Angeles music photographer Alex Solca and designed by Brazilian artwork designer Alcides Burn of Burn Artworks.


Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at the Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.


Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during Megadeth's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio in 1991 before more than 100,000 people.








 

Ted Nugent has once again criticized GREEN DAY frontman Billie Joe Armstrong for recently stating that he was renouncing his American citizenship.

On June 24, Armstrong told fans at a GREEN DAY concert in London that he intends to renounce his United States citizenship following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

During a performance as part of the band's "Hella Mega" tour at the London Stadium, Armstrong expressed his frustration as he told the crowd: "Fuck America. I'm fucking renouncing my citizenship. I'm fucking coming here."

He went on to say there's "too much fucking stupid in the world to go back to that miserable fucking excuse for a country," before urging fans to be prepared, saying: "You're going to get a lot more of me in the coming days."

Nugent addressed Billie's comments during a recent edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which the outspoken conservative rocker offers his take on the news of our world. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I saw what Billie Armstrong of GREEN DAY [said the other night at a concert in London]. [They're] just an incredible band — just unbelievable musicians. They started out as just a punk [group] and a garage band, but, boy, they can really play. But when you just go berserk to kill babies and to ban guns and to open the borders and support a government that imports fentanyl chemical warfare against American citizens… And even [pop superstar] Pink [who recently went on a Twitter rampage and told supporters of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade to 'never listen to my music again'] — again, just a great, great talented artist. And their work ethic should be applauded. But how they end up… And I'm not accusing anybody of abusing substances, but you have to have abused a lot of substances to be that stupid and to be that disconnected from good over evil instead of supporting evil over good.

"So I've always had the greatest audiences," Ted continued. "Maybe there's a lot of people in my audiences that don't agree with my politics, because my politics are pretty simple: the U.S. Constitution. 'Hey, Ted, I love your political ideas.' The Constitution isn't ideas; the Constitution is self-evident truth. So thank you, everybody, supporting me.

"And you know what? If somebody plays killer music that you don't agree with their politics, enjoy the killer music anyway."

Last week, Ted said that the U.S. Supreme Court "did a good job" by ruling that Americans no longer have a constitutional right to abortion.

The conservative-leaning Supreme Court's ruling came in a case involving Mississippi's request to overturn Roe v. Wade — the court's 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States — and uphold a state law that bars the procedure 15 weeks after conception.

Roe v. Wade affirmed the right to receive an abortion under the 14th Amendment, ruling that abortions were constitutionally protected up until about 23 weeks when a fetus can typically live outside the womb.

The June 24 decision overturned what was previously a federal legalization of abortion and has returned the issue to individual states to decide the matter for themselves.

As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, terminating a pregnancy is expected to be banned or significantly curtailed in roughly half of all states in the nation — including nearly every state in the Midwest.

Nugent said in part: "When the left keeps saying that, 'We lost our constitutional right to an abortion,' share that phrase in the Constitution with me where it gives you the right to kill the unborn… My point being, it isn't mentioned in the Constitution, so I'm gonna repeat once again, 'Any rights herein not enumerated are left up to the States.'

"Clearly, the abortion issue, like any other issue, idea or hunch that is not enumerated in the Constitution or the Bill Of Rights clearly is up to the states," he continued. "Even a guitar player doesn't need any translator for that one. So once again, it is the hysteria…

"And I've gotta tell ya, the word 'cruelty' from the left… I've witnessed some artists out there, like Billie Armstrong of GREEN DAY — he's incredibly talented, but he's just lost his soul — and Pink, an incredibly talented, work-ethic artist, who just scream and just attack people who choose not to have an abortion.

"By the way, as you and I speak right now, if anybody wants an abortion in America, guess what — they can get one," Nugent added. "It's not the banning of abortions; it's bringing it back to constitutionality and common sense.

"And again, there are medical concerns… Can you imagine, trying to make the decision where you have a choice to save the mother or the baby? Well, that is a spiritual moment between you and God and your health professional and the husband and the wife or at least the mother and the father.

"So, I am, and my family believes in, abortion should be legal, it should be safe and it should be rare," Ted said. "But don't send me the bill because I don't subscribe to murdering this innocent baby who the science has proven that it feels the pain when you kill it in the womb.

"This issue is just volatile. So the Supreme Court did a good job."

Despite Nugent's claim to the contrary, scientific research does not prove a 20-week-old fetus can feel pain.

According to FactCheck.org, scientific research on pain in the fetus is extremely complicated, primarily because pain is a subjective experience and a fetus cannot indicate if something hurts.

According to Bloomberg, at least 22 U.S. states have laws on the books that will now outlaw abortion in all or most cases, and four others have indicated they will likely move in a similar direction. People living in those places will have to travel an average of 276 miles each way to access the procedure in parts of the country where abortion remains legal, according to Bloomberg News calculations based on data from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health researcher.

According to a CBS News/YouGov poll, a 59% majority of U.S. adults disapprove of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, with 41% approving. About half (52%) call the decision a step backward for America, with 31% calling it a step forward and 17% saying it's neither. Among women, two-thirds (67%) disapprove of the ruling, with just 33% approving. A 56% majority of women say that the decision will make the lives of most American women worse.

According to a Forbes, Americans largely oppose harsh abortion laws, with 75% against policies that make it a criminal offense to perform an abortion, 69% opposing policies that ban abortion six to eight weeks into a pregnancy, 80% opposing laws that allow private citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets an abortion and 63% supporting "safe haven laws" in Democratic-led states that would protect people who travel in from other states to get an abortion.

Erik Larson (Alabama Thunderpussy, Thunderchief, Omen Stones) is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter from Richmond, VA that pulls from a wide variety of influences ranging from quiet acoustic moments to blistering metal, crust punk, sludge, as well as anthemic rock and roll.


Larson has just released a new solo album, Red Lines. Minnesota Pete Campbell (Pentagram / Sixty Watt Shaman) recorded and played drums on it at Layla's Lair in St. Cloud, MN. Mark Miley (Alabama Thunderpussy, Kilara, Avail) handled the mix at the Ghetto Mansion in Richmond, VA. Red Lines was produced by Erik Larson, Mark Miley and Pete Campbell.


The cover art for Red Lines, which can be seen below, was created by former Alabama Thunderpussy guitarist Asechiah Bogdan. with design by Chris Boarts Larson.







Tracklisting:


"Nomen Est Omen" 
"Strike The Never" 
"Spilling Over"
"Halo" 
"Dangerously"
"You're Welcome" 
"The Jeff Song" 
"Walkaround Blade" 
"Yea, Well Fuck You Too" 


Stream / purchase Red Lines at this location. It can also be enjoyed via the audio player below. 


All words and music written by Erik Larson, except words to "The Jeff Song" written by a very young Stigandr Larson.


"It's a mixed bag of songs that all make sense together... at least to me," says Erik. 


Red Lines by Erik Larson


 

THE PRETTY RECKLESS has canceled three shows this weekend after singer Taylor Momsen tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement came just one day before the band was set to kick off its co-headlining tour with HALESTORM.

On Thursday (July 7),the band released the following statement via social media: "Despite our best efforts, COVID finally bit. We could not wait to get back on the road with our friends in HALESTORM, but wait we will have to.

We're following CDC guidelines and we'll be missing this weekend's shows in Detroit, Milwaukee and Kansas City.

"We hope to feel better soon and will make it out to the very first venue we can, so stay tuned for real time updates here."

Momsen also shared a photo of her positive test on Instagram and captioned the image: "Yup…FML".

Affected shows:

Jul. 08 - Detroit, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Jul. 09 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
Jul. 10 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre

In July 2020, in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, Momsen told the 95.5 KLOS radio station that she was "nervous" about the prospect of playing live shows in states where concerts were allowed. "I'm a hypochondriac and a freak about this stuff anyway. I wear masks on airplanes regardless. I think it stems from being a singer and touring and just desperately trying to not get sick on tour. When you're sick on tour, it's awful. There's no time to recover, and you kind of never get better; you just kind of suffer through the rest of that leg. You're never 100 percent again until the tour is over. So my paranoia of the Purell [hand sanitizer] and the masks and everything, it's not too different now that I don't leave the house."

THE PRETTY RECKLESS's latest album, "Death By Rock And Roll", was made available in February 2021 via Fearless Records in the U.S. and Century Media Records in the rest of the world.

Upon release, "Death By Rock And Roll" topped multiple sales charts — including Billboard's Top Albums, Rock, Hard Music, and Digital charts. The record also yielded three back-to-back No. 1 singles — "Death By Rock And Roll", "And So It Went" (featuring Tom Morello of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE) and "Only Love Can Save Me Now" (featuring Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of SOUNDGARDEN). The band has tallied seven No. 1 singles at the rock format throughout its career.

"Death By Rock And Roll" is THE PRETTY RECKLESS's first album to be made without longtime producer Kato Khandwala, who died in April 2018 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

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Reactivated Brooklyn alternative metal powerhouse, Pist.On, present “Ruin Your Day”, the new emphasis track/video from their forthcoming release, Cold World+.


“’Ruin Your Day' is the small satisfaction you may achieve to make someone’s day miserable,” explains frontman/guitarist Henry Font. “Be it with words or actions... the satisfaction you may receive by making someone miserable. I’m sure we’ve all had this feeling."







Set for release through M-Theory Audio on July 29, Cold World+ will be a specially expanded album length CD edition of the band’s recent digital Cold World EP - their first new music in over 20 years. Additional bonus tracks will include the self-released 2001 EP Saves, four previously unreleased demo tracks from 1999 and 2021, and “Exhume Her,” the band's contribution to Metal Blade's 1995 compilation, Metal Massacre XII. The jewel case CD features a full-color booklet containing lyrics and liner notes.


"It's been a long road to get some new music out and everybody is excited with the CD release,” claims guitarist Jeff McManus. “Great that it's going to get heard by more people out there."


The mix of old and new material on Cold World+ is a re-introduction to the band following their lengthy hiatus. The re-energized sound of the recent Cold World EP sits comfortably alongside the intensity of the 2001 Saves EP, while 1995’s Exhume Her and the demo tracks add a suitable element of rawness. Together, all combine to show how the Pist.On sound has evolved but still retains its uniqueness.


The Cold World EP re-ignited interest in the band, leading Sentinel Daily Australia to remark, that it’s “an unapologetic strike straight at the heart of what made the band worth taking note of in the first place”.  


The EP was recorded at Flatline Audio, Denver, CO and produced, mixed and mastered by Dave Otero (Allegaeon, Cattle Decapitation, Khemmis).


Frontman and guitarist Henry Font previously stated that, “We’re extremely happy with the work Dave Otero has done. He’s modernised our sound and brought a fresh dimension to the band. This feels like where we would have ended up had we continued writing and recording over the years. We’ve moved on from being gloomy miserable to being happy miserable“.


Pist.On is built around the core line up who recorded 1999’s ‘$ell Out’ album, with Henry Font (vocals/guitar), Burton Gans (guitar) and Jeff McManus (drums) together with new bass guitarist Jack Hanley.


The CD version of Cold War+ is available for pre-order now at this location.





Tracklisting:


"Cold World" (Cold World EP)
"Ruin Your Day" (Cold World EP)
"Icicles" (Cold World EP)
"Vamp 69" (Saves EP)
"Opera" (Saves EP)
"I Don't" (Saves EP)
"Exhume Her"
"Ice Bath" (Demo 2000)
"Another Day" (Demo 2021)
"Light" (Demo 2021)
"Pain" (Demo 2021)

Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by vocalist, guitarist & producer John Mitchell, will release their fifth studio album, A Model Life, on August 26. Today, sees the launch of the official lyric video for the album's first single, "Recalibrating". Watch below.


John comments: “A post apocalyptic breakup...the world you once knew has burned to the ground like Nero’s Rome. The only thing for it is to move forward and reset your mind. To ‘recalibrate’ if you will.”


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




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


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





Tracklisting:


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


"Recalibrating" lyric video:





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


(Photo – Tom Barnes)

In a recent interview with the "Mike Nelson Show", the members of BASTARDANE, the new band featuring drummer Castor Hetfield, son of METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, were asked for their take on Gene Simmons's 2014 assessment that "rock is dead." Guitarist Ethan Sirotzki said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He's lying. It's bullshit. I think it will come back but be much different. I don't think a revival is going to be, 'Oh, the '80s and '90s are happening again.' I think people will draw from that and create something new that will be really big and exciting."

Added Castor: "I think there's a lot of people that all the shows that they've seen live is just some guy with a microphone in front of a computer. I mean, I'm not gonna hate on the music but the live aspect of it — what are you gonna watch?

"There's quite a few people who, I feel like, have come to one of our shows and been, 'Wow. This is the first real instrument show I've seen and it's more of a spectacle,'" the 22-year-old drummer continued. "And I think people are realizing that it's a real thing and I feel like there's a lot of appreciation towards it, especially now that there's a lot of those computer music guys out there. I just think it's cooler to watch live — more going on — and it just feels more intense. You can mess up — playing guitar, you can mess up. The computer is not gonna mess up."

BASTARDANE recently released its debut album, "Is This Rage?"

In addition to Castor and Ethan, the Savannah-based hard rock trio includes Jake Dallas on vocals/bass. The group formed in 2019 from a collection of college students who met through jamming in basements, backyards, and anywhere that was available. Their brand of entertainment fuses fast high-gain riffs and power chord grooves with heavy feedback and clean, dissonant chord progressions.

"We grew up in different places and we all grew up listening to different kinds of music, so we have our own voices, which is cool and they come together in an interesting way," Castor told Savannah Morning News. "We've even been trying to pin it down, name the genre of our music and it's hard to do. I don't think it's necessary, but for publicity stuff, people want to know what genre this is, but we don't know."

Castor, who lists bands like CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, OPETH and TOOL as major influences, added that he isn't overly concerned about having his father's name brought up in every article about BASTARDANE.

"All of us are our father's sons, mine just happens to be very successful in the industry that we're in," Castor said. "It's not bothersome, but it is a little annoying when people try to compare us, because obviously we're our own people and he's his own person. We're making our own kind of music. Online, when you search our band, my dad's face is all over the Internet and it's a little strange for me. We are our own people and want to cut our own path. We're not trying to ride off of anybody else's success here."

James Hetfield isn't the only member of METALLICA whose offspring has followed in his footsteps. Two of drummer Lars Ulrich's sons play together in TAIPEI HOUSTON, while bassist Robert Trujillo's son Tye plays bass for OTTTO.

Last December, BASTARDANE, TAIPEI HOUSTON and OTTTO performed as part of METALLICA's "San Francisco Takeover", a four-day citywide celebration of the band's 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.

BASTARDANE recently teamed up with OTTTO for a co-headlining West Coast U.S. tour.

Castor's mother is James's wife Francesca, whom he married in 1997. She is from Argentina and used to do wardrobe for METALLICA.

James and Francesca have two other kids: Cali, born in 1998; and Marcella, born in 2002.

LEFT TO DIE, the new band featuring classic DEATH members Terry Butler (also formerly of MASSACRE and currently in OBITUARY) and Rick Rozz (ex-MASSACRE) paired with GRUESOME founders Matt Harvey (EXHUMED) and Gus Rios (ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION),kicked off a summer U.S. tour last night at The Haven in Orlando, Florida. LEFT TO DIE performed DEATH's classic "Leprosy" album in its entirety, along with cuts from "Scream Bloody Gore". Support on the "Reborn Dead" trek is coming from SKELETAL REMAINS and MORTUOUS.

When the tour was first announced in March, Butler commented: "It's such an honor to be playing 'Leprosy' after all these years. It's been 30-plus years since Rick and myself have rocked these tunes together and Matt and Gus are the perfect dudes to join us on this journey — huge DEATH fans and killer musicians." Rozz added: "Old-school DEATH fans — prepare yourselves for total brutality! Thanks to Terry, Matt and Gus for making this happen."

Remaining tour dates:

July 08 - Miami, FL - Gramps
July 09 - Tampa, FL - The Brass Mug
July 10 - Atlanta, GA - Boggs
July 13 - Boston, MA - Middle East downstairs
July 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
July 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Market Hotel
July 16 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
July 17 - Cleveland, OH - No Class
July 19 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
July 20 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary
July 21 - Cincinnati, OH - Legends
July 22 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
July 23 - Madison, WI - The Crucible
July 24 - Des Moines, IA - Leftys
July 25 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge
July 27 - Dallas, TX - Amplified (inside)
July 28 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
July 29 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
July 30 - San Antonio, TX - Rock Box
July 31 - Laredo, TX - The Cold Brew

Butler previously stated about how LEFT TO DIE came together: "After the recent Chuck [Schuldiner] tribute shows that Matt, Gus, and myself did, Rick posed the question, 'Would anyone want to see some 'Leprosy' shows?' With a resounding 'yes!', the masses had spoken. Matt and Gus threw their hats in immediately and, in my opinion, they were the only real choice to bring this thing to life. LEFT TO DIE coming your way soon!!"

Rozz added: "It's going to be an absolute honor and pleasure to play these 34-plus-year-old songs on stage with Terry after all these years, along with the talents of Matt and Gus. It's gonna be brutal!"

Harvey and Rios were both very excited about the project coming together. Harvey reflected: "When Gus and I started GRUESOME as a DEATH tribute, we never thought that it would lead to us playing some of our favorite songs alongside the guys that recorded them, but here we are — and I couldn't be more stoked." Rios added: "When Rick contacted me about his idea, I was immediately on board, since 'Leprosy' is not only my favorite DEATH album, but my favorite death metal album of all time! I'm very grateful and stoked that Terry and Matt were also on board. The metal will flow this summer."

LEFT TO DIE is:

Terry Butler - bass guitar
Rick Rozz - guitar
Matt Harvey - guitar, vocals
Gus Rios - drums

On December 11-12, 2021, several former DEATH members — including Butler — played two shows commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of the band's mastermind Chuck Schuldiner at Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Butler, James Murphy (guitar),Harvey and Rios performed DEATH's classic third album, "Spiritual Healing" (1990),in its entirety under the LIVING MONSTROSITY banner, while Steve DiGiorgio (bass),Bobby Koelble (guitar) and Kelly Conlon (bass) joined forces as SYMBOLIC to play songs from "Human" (1991),"Individual Thought Patterns" (1993),"Symbolic" (1995) and "The Sound Of Perseverance" (1998

Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

In recent years, DEATH's storied catalog has undergone a meticulous reissue campaign via Relapse Records.

Relapse released the first-ever fully authorized DEATH tab book, featuring 21 classic songs tabbed out for guitar from the band's entire discography. The book, which includes traditional notation as well as tablature, also comes with a digital download of all tracks.

On September 9, rock icons KISS will release the next installment of their popular "Off The Soundboard" official live bootleg series with "Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977", recorded during the "Alive II" tour at Veteran's Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa on November 29, 1977.

This is the latest in a series of live releases by the band and will be available to stream and download, with a 17-song two-LP standard black vinyl set, single CD, and a limited-edition two-LP set pressed on 180-gram purple vinyl available exclusively through the official KISS online store. All configurations of "Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977" are available to pre-order.

"Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977" was recorded during the landmark and extravagantly-produced "KISS Alive II" tour, and the 17-song set features a raw and powerful performance of classic KISS concert staples such as "Let Me Go Rock 'N' Roll", which can be streamed below, "Love Gun", "Rock And Roll All Nite" (No. 12 Billboard),"Shout It Out Loud", and "Beth" (No. 7 Billboard chart hit and the 1977 People's Choice Award winner in the "Best Song" category) performed by the lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. "Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977" captures a monumental moment in KISStory and is a celebration of the legendary band giving rock 'n' roll fans the ultimate live KISS experience.

KISS is globally recognized as one of the greatest live bands of all time and is the creator of what are universally considered two of the best live albums ever, 1975's gold-certified and No. 9 Billboard-charting "Alive!" and 1977's double platinum-certified No. 7 Billboard-charting "Alive II". The "Off The Soundboard" series continues their storied legacy of groundbreaking live albums with a document of the spectacular, larger-than-life extravaganza that is a KISS concert.

Known for their trademark performances, KISS has proven for decades why they are hands down the most iconic live show in rock and roll. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and are America's No. 1 gold-record-award-winning rock group of all time. Peerless as a live act, the band's illustrious legacy has been marked by record breaking global tours during a remarkable 49-year career.

"Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977" track listing:

01. I Stole Your Love
02. King Of The Night Time World
03. Ladies Room
04. Firehouse
05. Love Gun
06. Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
07. Makin' Love
08. Christine Sixteen
09. Shock Me
10. I Want You
11. Calling Dr. Love
12. Shout It Out Loud
13. God Of Thunder
14. Rock And Roll All Nite
15. Detroit Rock City
16. Beth
17. Black Diamond

STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has once again attacked American politicians and the national news media, telling his fans at a recent concert that "they've been dumbing us down for generations."

The 50-year-old Lewis, an outspoken conservative rocker who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade, voiced his views on what he is seeing and hearing from the politicians and the media before performing his controversial single called "Am I The Only One" during his July 2 show at The Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio.

He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's one thing I will say, 'cause it's been completely lost sight of in the grand scheme of things in this country with us, because they've been dumbing us down for generations. They don't teach us the Constitution anymore; they don't teach us civics anymore; they don't tell us how the government works anymore; they don't want us to know.

"So, I was explaining this to somebody the other day, and they were, like, 'Wow. That's a really good way of putting that.' So everybody here realizes that the Constitution is the fucking rulebook for the government. You understand that, right? It gives us all the power, is what it does. That's why they're always trying to change it; that's why they're always trying to fucking do little things that dig away at it — because it's their fucking rulebook.

"The Bill Of Rights is ours," he continued. "The Constitution is the rulebook of the government, and they are not supposed to operate outside that fucking rulebook in any way, shape or form, or they're breaking the rules that they have to follow. And when they do that, when they break their own rules that they have to follow, we the people have every right to fucking remove them. Because they're breaking the rules.

"This country has rules. The government has rules that they have to operate on. Our founding fathers were so fucking smart. The only thing they fucked up on, really, was term limits. It is absolutely insane that we allow people to stay as politicians for a lifetime. That's fucking crazy, people. How can you expect that person to not be bought and paid for.

"It's up to us," he added. "We are the people. This is our fucking country. They're running this country into the fucking ground on purpose. What the fuck are we going to do about it? Are we gonna sit in our fucking happy little spaces and wait for fucking Superman to come and save us? Because this country is gonna be gone — gone."

When somebody in the audience started chanting "USA! USA!", Lewis countered: "Chanting 'USA' ain't gonna do a fucking thing. It's time to do something, before this country that has been put in our hands… This is our country now. The old people are about to die. The young people don't know what the fuck is going on. It's our country. We are responsible for what happens from here forward. That's how it works. This country gets handed from generation to generation so that we are now the stewards for our children and for our grandchildren and so on and so forth, and if we sit here and allow them to destroy the best country that has ever existed on the face of the earth, in the history of mankind, then we deserve to go down with the ship.

"I'll tell you what: I ain't going down like that. I ain't. I will run my fucking mouth until the day I die. 'Cause it's the truth. And facts matter. And facts have become disinformation sometimes," Lewis added somewhat ironically considering the fact that he has repeatedly spread COVID-19 conspiracy theories and pushed the false story that Ukraine was developing biological weapons with the assistance of the U.S. government. "And we sit there and we let it happen. But we do — we do. You're gonna go home to your fucking happy lives and your dogs and your kids, and tomorrow it's gonna be the same thing — you're gonna allow this country to slip just a little bit further out of our hands. Until we fucking stand up and do something, we're doing nothing. Because I promise you the Democrats are behind the doors going, 'Ooooh. What the fuck can we do now to fuck this country?' I promise you. 'Cause that's the ultimate goal. They're so bought and paid for by worldwide money, if we don't stand up, we're fucked.

"So, this is my part. This is my little — it's my gift to… something. I don't fucking know. This is for the cause," Lewis said before launching into "Am I The Only One", which takes aim at liberals and touches on American flags burning and statues that have been removed in the country.

The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, including the first 10 amendments adopted four years later as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution has changed over time to account for the changes that needed to happen in the U.S., particularly as it relates to slavery, discrimination, segregation and sexism, among other issues. For decades, the Supreme Court set precedent and made changes to the Constitution through its decisions in order to protect citizens from unjust harm and imposition on their rights.

Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government.

More a concise statement of national principles than a detailed plan of governmental operation, the Constitution has evolved to meet the changing needs of a modern society profoundly different from the eighteenth-century world in which its creators lived.

Last November, Lewis claimed that he beat COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a drug with no evidence of being a safe or effective treatment for the novel coronavirus. He said he also used Z-Pak, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.

Lewis made headlines last September when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.

Aaron told the Anchorage Press in a January 2020 interview that he considered the first Donald Trump impeachment by the House Of Representatives as the clearest representation of what's wrong with America these days.

Lewis was a staunch critic of President Barack Obama, telling a crowd at one of his solo concerts in 2016: "Barack Obama should have been impeached a long fucking time ago. Every fucking decision he makes is against the Constitution, it's against what's good for our fucking country, and he is truly the worst fucking president that we have ever had in the history of this fucking country."

That same year, Lewis told Billboard that he would support Trump in the U.S. presidential race, even though he was "disappointed" by the real estate mogul "with the bickering and the name-calling." Lewis added that he voted for Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's closest competitor in the Republican nomination race, in the Massachusetts primary.

Czech Republic-based band, Heiden, have released the song, "Nevěřím těm očím", from their upcoming new album. With the new single release, Heiden expands the perspectives of their audience base through dark, elegant and atmospherically authentic music.





After two experimental rock albums, they return to the dark-metal expression and take it to the next level. Enigmatic progressive black metal set in the beauty of the White Carpathians, offer an insight into the souls of the local people, sharing the soil, blood, healing and knowledge passed down through generations.




Heiden started up in 2003 as Pagan black metal project. Along with the development of the lineup, the band's musical intention developed, and a gradual shift from black metal to post metal and post rock can be traced across the recordings.


Completely different than most of the bands in the genres, Heiden solitary wanders across the genres and inspirations. The dark period in the history of the band is mainly represented by albums Obsidian and Dolores, this is also followed by the popular album A kdybys už nebyla vymyslím si tě, where there is post rock and atmospheric metal even stronger.


In 2015, the band released Na svůj příběh jsme sam“ and 2019 Země beze mě, which tends to be most alternative rock in band's discography.





Band members:


Einsk - drums
Kverd - vocals, guitars, lyrics
Tom - guitars
Welinga  - keys

During an appearance on today's (Wednesday, July 6) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry was once again asked about the possibility of a follow-up to to the band's "Music From Another Dimension!" album, which came out a decade ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For a long while after that record came out, I thought… 'Cause we put everything on that — every riff that we had lying around. Then I was thinking, 'Why bother?' We've got all this other material that we need to release that the fans, I think, would love to hear — different versions of 'Dream On', studio quality. But you never know. I mean, Steven [Tyler, vocals], our villas are, like side by side, in Vegas [during AEROSMITH's Vegas residency]. So you never know. If you've got some inspiration, it doesn't take long to write a song. Whether it's great or not, you don't know. But all I can say is you never know. I would hate to think that was the last one. But we've got so much stuff out there, it's hard to think about trying to do something new. But what the hell? You never know."

"Music From Another Dimension!" was released when AEROSMITH's label, Columbia Records, was reportedly going through a leadership change, and it ended up becoming a commercial disappointment.

The lackluster response to the disc later caused two bandmembers — Perry and drummer Joey Kramer — to publicly question whether there's any point in AEROSMITH making future albums.

A little over a month ago, AEROSMITH announced that Tyler had entered a treatment program following a recent relapse, prompting the band to put their Las Vegas residency on a temporary hold.

Sources close to Steven told TMZ last week that he checked out of a facility at the end of June, and actually stayed longer than the 30 days he was originally supposed to. The tabloid site reported that the singer is "totally clean and sober, and looks good physically too — he's at a healthy weight and his skin looks great."

When AEROSMITH announced Tyler's return to rehab in late May, the band said in a statement that the 74-year-old underwent foot surgery in preparation for the group's return to the stage, and in managing his pain, suffered a relapse.

AEROSMITH said at the time it was canceling the June and July dates of the "Deuces Are Wild" residency, which was slated to begin at Dolby Live at Park MGM on June 17.

Kramer's wife Linda Gail Kramer died on June 22 at the age of 55. No cause of death has been revealed.

This past March, Joey announced that he would sit out AEROSMITH's concerts in 2022 so he can "focus his full attention on his family during these uncertain times," according to a statement from the legendary rockers. While Kramer "takes a temporary leave of absence" from AEROSMITH, he will once again be replaced by his drum tech, John Douglas. "[Kramer] and the band look forward to his future performances with AEROSMITH," the statement added.

British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON have resumed the next chapter of their hugely successful journey with the release of a new single titled "Strangers", out today via Columbia. The track is the latest single to be released from their critically acclaimed "Post Human" series.

BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oli Sykes explains: "The song came out of a long writing trip in L.A., and as soon as the lyric 'we're just a room full of strangers' came, it took on such a deeper double meaning. How it would feel to be performing it live as that's what it is — all strangers connecting on this mad level, and that it was like rehab.

"Coming out of lockdown and the pandemic, everyone is recovering from something and I'm so aware that so many people struggle daily with differing traumas, and just wanted to stress that they're not in this alone… and we're a community here to help each other."

BRING ME THE HORIZON wanted to share these very personal mental health journeys to help and inspire others and asked fans if they would like to anonymously contribute and play a part in this very special process. The response was overwhelming and these stories formed the narrative behind the official video and some very unique short form clips, which have been revealed across the band’s socials this past week. These shorts formed the haunting and cinematic mini film that accompanies "Strangers", which gives a surreal glimpse into this very personal world.

This fall, BRING ME THE HORIZON will return to North America for a headlining tour, produced by Live Nation, with shows kicking off late September through October, including arena shows at Brooklyn's Barclays Center (September 24) and Los Angeles’s Kia Forum (October 6). Support for the dates includes KNOCKED LOOSE, GRANDSON and SIIICKBRAIN. The band will also make appearances at Louisville's Louder Than Life festival, Emo Nite New Orleans Vacation, Sacramento's Aftershock festival and Las Vegas's When We Were Young festival.

BRING ME THE HORIZON has had an exhilarating few years — selling over five million albums globally to date, playing sold-out shows in over 50 countries, including two sold-out nights at London's O2, a night at The Forum in Los Angeles, wowing a traditionally non-rock crowd at Glastonbury Festival in 2016 and 2018 and a headline slot at 2022's Reading and Leeds festivals. They kicked off their "Post Human" era in 2020 with the release of the first of four EPs aptly titled "Post Human: Survival Horror". The critically acclaimed release debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Album chart. 2022 saw them appear at the BRIT Awards where they joined Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran for an electrifying performance of "Bad Habits". The group released its gold-certified sixth studio album, "Amo", in 2019, which debuted at No. 1 in 17 markets and was named "one of the most anticipated albums of 2019" by Billboard, it also garnered the band their second Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Album", after the LP's first single "Mantra" earned them a nod for "Best Rock Song" in 2018. The Sheffield five-piece also received its first BRIT Award nomination for "Best Group" in 2021. They have now also amassed over one billion video views on YouTube and are in the top 500 most streamed artists globally on Spotify.

BRING ME THE HORIZON is Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Mat Nicholls, and keyboardist Jordan Fish.

Video of MERCYFUL FATE's July 1 performance at the Barcelona Rock Fest at the Parc de Can Zam in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, just twenty minutes from the center of Barcelona, Spain, can be seen below. The influential Danish metallers' 11-song set included a brand new track, "The Jackl Of Salzburg", which is expected to appear on MERCYFUL FATE's upcoming studio album, tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade. Lyrically, the song is inspired by one of the last major witch hunts, the Zaubererjackl trials in Salzburg, Austria (1675-90). 139 people were executed as the followers of Wizard Jackl or Magician Jackl or Jäckel, who was himself never found.

Joining frontman King Diamond in MERCYFUL FATE's current lineup are Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera on bass.

Setlist for MERCYFUL FATE's concert at the Barcelona Rock Fest:

01. The Oath
02. The Jackl Of Salzburg
03. A Corpse Without Soul
04. Black Funeral
05. A Dangerous Meeting
06. Melissa
07. Doomed By The Living Dead
08. Curse Of The Pharaohs
09. Evil
10. Come To The Sabbath

Encore:

11. Satan's Fall

In 2019, it was announced that Vera would be replacing original MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen for the band's summer 2020 European festival appearances due to Hansen's cancer diagnosis. Hansen passed away in November 2019 and MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 summer festival appearances were initially rescheduled for 2021 before being moved back to 2022.

In a Twitch livestream from a few days before the June 2 kick-off concert in Hannover, Germany from the MERCYFUL FATE rehearsals, which took place in Glostrup, Denmark, King revealed that he and his bandmates were planning to debut a brand new song at the 2022 shows. "We're trying," he said at the time. "We're still working on a song. I wrote the final lyrics the day of our departure [for rehearsals], I would say, and that's a couple of days ago. So the others have not heard me sing the song at all. We played a few riffs from it yesterday. I didn't sing to it at that time. But it's coming [along] here. The next couple of days we're gonna see where it leads us."

Regarding the musical and lyrical content of the new MERCYFUL FATE song, King said: "It's quite a monster, I would say. It's almost nine minutes long. So it's not just a quick little [tune]. We hope we can play it. We're gonna do everything in our power to play it. It's not recorded yet. So whatever version we might play for you could change before it actually is fully recorded. Some drums have been recorded — that's what I can say. But we will do our damnedest to play it. We put it early in the set even. But that's something to look forward to, definitely. And now we've gotta make it sound correct, 'cause the early demo versions have lots of stuff on that create a certain mood in the whole thing, which we can't do [when we perform it]. The live version will be different. I can't do the backing vocals, naturally, that is intended for the song. But that's also a challenge, to do a version that works live, of course, [with the] vocal lines. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be heavy. The subject is very heavy too. We are back in 1675 till 1690. That's a piece of history that we are describing — a nasty piece of history."

Back in October 2020, Vera told Dead Rhetoric about how he landed the MERCYFUL FATE gig: "I've been friends with King for some time. ARMORED SAINT did a tour with King back in 1988-89; we have been friends and labelmates forever. And so, he came to see me when I was on tour with FATES WARNING supporting QUEENSRŸCHE in Dallas where he lives. He came to see the show. [Metal Blade Records owner] Brian Slagel was in town. King pulled me aside backstage and told me the story of Timi going through chemotherapy and had a summer tour booked and wasn't sure he was going to be well enough to do it. If he wasn't, would I consider stepping in and helping out. Of course, I was flabbergasted and honored, yeah. I didn't have anything else going on — it was supposed to happen this summer. To honor Timi and help them out, thank you for asking me. In the back of my mind, I was thinking Timi would pull through, he would get enough energy to make it. I was sadly mistaken and it was devastating."

Two years ago, Shermann confirmed that he was working on the first new music from MERCYFUL FATE in more than two decades. At the time, he said about the writing process: "First of all, King is living in Texas, in the States. I'm living here north of Copenhagen, in Denmark. The drummer [Bjarne T. Holm] is also here, so I work with him in the rehearsal room shaping the new songs. The other guitar player [Mike Wead] is in Stockholm, Sweden, and our new bass player [Joey Vera] is in Los Angeles. So everything is [being done via] Dropbox or e-mails."

He continued: "I think there's about six or seven [tracks that are] about to be ready. The first song has been sent to King after it's been mixed and all the guys played on the song. So I sent the files to Joey in Los Angeles; he did the bass. And then I sent the same files to Mike in Stockholm; he did his solos. And now King has the first song, evaluating for the vocals to be added. And then we will rearrange certain parts to be twice as long and stuff like that."

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.

Although DEATH is considered to be one of the most important and influential death metal acts of all time, the Florida-based band did not release its debut album, "Scream Bloody Gore", until 1987 — two years after the arrival of "Seven Churches" by California's POSSESSED, whose bassist/vocalist, Jeff Becerra, is credited by some with initially creating the term "death metal" in 1983.

In a new interview with Andrew Daly of VWMusic, Kam Lee, who was a member of an early version of DEATH as well as the pre-DEATH band MANTAS alongside guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and guitarist Rick Rozz, once again weighed in on the never-ending debate on who can lay claim to being the first "true" death metal band: DEATH or POSSESSED. He said: "Look, I'm not going to say that DEATH started the death metal genre. I'm not going to say that they didn't start the death metal genre. I will say we were there at the beginning with a lot of other bands. You can't ignore the facts, and the facts show that guys like Killjoy and NECROPHAGIA were there in 1985. You had Paul Speckmann of MASTER, Tom Warrior of HELLHAMMER, and Jeff of POSSESSED there too. There were so many great people during the early days, and all had essential parts in the creation of it."

Kam was also asked to elaborate on his recent comment during an appearance on "That Metal Interview" podcast that "Chuck ripped off POSSESSED"

"I guess that was actually a bad choice of wording," Kam admitted. "Saying 'ripped off' makes it sound bad. I guess the proper wording should be 'took heavy influence from.' Although you could say that I ripped off HELLHAMMER and Tom G. Warrior, and I'm not going to get butthurt about it. I won't because it's fact. Yet some people don't care about facts. They just want to keep believing the fiction they bought into because it fits the messianic mold their 'hero-worshipping' icons have been fitted for. It disrupts their ideology and topples the tower when they hear their gods might not be as almighty as they once believed. It's that same sunken feeling when a kid for the first time is discovering that just maybe Santa Claus is not real. It hurts their feelings. Worse yet are those others out there manipulating those people who are hurt. Some people are just trying to jump on the pity party bandwagon with that one."

He continued: "I got a lot of hate from that statement, though it wasn't intended to downplay Chuck's influence on music, but rather to end the debate of who came first, DEATH or POSSESSED. Sadly, morons spun it to change the narrative, to fit their agenda, and to further instigate and cause strife."

Lee added: "Do I feel Chuck's influence is overstated? Let me put it this way — for the 'product and commodity,' his legacy became post mortem. In order to keep reselling and repressing albums, it's exactly what it's being marketed as. No, it's actually exactly what one should expect from a product sales pitch. I mean, you've got to make sure that your product is the people's choice, right? It's Coca-Cola vs Pepsi. McDonald's vs Burger King. Starbucks vs Dunkin Donuts. In the end, the company with the better commercial is always going to win over the masses."

In a recent interview with the "The Haunting Chapel" podcast, Becerra, who was shot in a robbery in 1989, leaving him partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound, weighed in on the "DEATH vs. POSSESSED" debate. He said in part: "We [POSSESSED] were selling ourselves as a death metal band, and that was what we went with. And to this day, it's both a blessing and a curse because it's highly debated and contested. And we literally, after I got shot, certain revisionists tried to block me out of history. The POSSESSED Wiki is the most vandalized page of Wikipedia. There was a certain person — he recently passed away — that was just relentlessly retitling our YouTube, moving our dates forward, messing with the timeline. It was like a battle. When I left, we were the death metal guys. When I came back, it was no more. So I had to fight for my own history back, which was weird. 'Cause there's no cool way to do that, because it sounds like you're tooting your own horn.

"I'm not saying I created death metal; I'm saying POSSESSED was the first death metal band," Jeff explained. "And it's a bone of contention with many DEATH fans. And because of the way that their management spun it and the way that the magazines spun it… Remember, me and Chuck [Schuldiner, DEATH guitarist/vocalist] were friends. He literally was like my protégé. He moved out to Antioch [California from Orlando]; he lived at the [house of the then-]POSSESSED fan club [president Krystal Mahoney]. He was pen paling for a while and tape trading. And he very much modeled himself after me. I was so honored because, remember, I'm just a young teenager. But he was the first person to really get what we were doing, what I was doing, and he was the first person that really understood what it was about. And he was so smart that way because it was undefined and so hard to explain what it is, without putting rules on it, because the last thing you wanna do is put rules on anything and stifle it. But he would just grasp it; he loved it. He said, 'Listen, Jeff. I sound just like you.' And he was proud of that. And I was proud of him. And there was a bromance going there. It was a respect.

"I've never been jealous of another band," Becerra clarified. "I've never claimed anything that wasn't mine. And it's just so obscure to see people trying to claim what they know they wouldn't do in front of me. They know what they didn't do; I was fucking there. And I'm not hating on anybody, but it's a very coveted position.

"What makes me mad is when the magazines spin this 'DEATH or POSSESSED, DEATH versus POSSESSED.' And it even tainted the relationship between DEATH and POSSESSED, and that pisses me off, because we were friends.

"I realize that metal is supposed to be fun," Jeff added. "But there's also something very valid about true history and not revising stuff — not just with POSSESSED but any band. And the way it's spun is, like, bands will exaggerate what they did and the writers will be eager to impress who they're writing about, because the last thing a writer wants is for the band to go, 'This is fucking fucked up.'

"In the old days, it was very truthful. People did their research. They didn't have clickbait. There was no 'POSSESSED versus DEATH.' I hate that shit. Because if Chuck was alive today, I'd like [us to] collaborate. And I don't like it fucking with my remembrance of what it really was. I like the history. Maybe I'm being weird about it, but I think that the truth is so much better than the tale."

Becerra told Antihero in 2017 that Schuldiner cited POSSESSED as a "primary influence" in "countless" magazine interviews. But even though DEATH was inspired by POSSESSED, "they ran with it and went in their own direction and created their own vibe," Jeff said. "To go a step further: Chuck used ['80s death/thrash producer] Randy Burns, who did 'Seven Churches' to do 'Scream Bloody Gore', his first album. He also did a cover of [POSSESSED's] 'The Exorcist'."

Schuldiner died in December 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

POSSESSED originally split in 1987, leaving behind a short but highly influential legacy, most notably "Seven Churches". Internal tensions after the release of 1987's "The Eyes Of Horror" EP led to the band's dissolution, with guitarist Larry Lalonde joining Bay Area tech-thrashers BLIND ILLUSION, then PRIMUS, while Becerra, guitarist Mike Torrao and drummer Mike Sus each going separate directions.

Two years after POSSESSED's split, Becerra was the victim of the aforementioned failed armed robbery attempt, sending him into a spiral of drug and alcohol abuse. POSSESSED was reactivated by Torrao in 1990 with a completely different lineup, but only released two demos before dissolving in 1993. Becerra then reformed POSSESSED in 2007 with his own lineup, which released its first studio album in 33 years, "Revelations Of Oblivion", in 2019.

The Costin Chioreanu-created animated music video for the SOULFLY song "Filth Upon Filth" can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's twelfth album, "Totem", which will be released on August 5 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by mainman Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.

Max comments: "'Filth Upon Filth' was the first track unleashed to the Tribe last year. Costin has created an amazing, savage rendition of the song! This is a song made by a headbanger for headbangers!"

"Filth Upon Filth" is the follow-up to SOULFLY's previous single, "Scouring The Vile", which was made available last month. Max told The Bogcast about that track: "We lost so many good people [to] cancer. I remember when I was writing the record, L.G. [Petrov] from ENTOMBED passed away, and Chuck [Schuldiner] from DEATH [died 20 years ago], and also family members that succumbed to cancer. And so I was, like, 'I wanna write a song against cancer' — a 'fuck you, cancer'-type letter, like a letter to cancer: 'Fuck you. You're not gonna bring all of us down. We're gonna fight you.' That's one of the heaviest songs on the record."

Regarding the other lyrical themes covered on "Totem", Max said: "The [first single] 'Superstition' was inspired by Superstition Mountains. I ended up doing a lot of reading about it and the whole Lost Dutchman. A lot of people died there. It's a really mysterious, mystic place, so I kind of made the lyrics kind of connected to that, which was pretty cool. In the actual chorus, it says, 'Superstition is harder than stone.' I'm referring to the mountain itself. That's a hard mountain. It's been there forever and probably will be there till the end of times.

"The whole record is inspired by nature," he continued. "That's why it's called 'Totem'. I don't know if you guys saw the cover, but we've got this totem pole with a bunch of different animals in it. Supposedly it's kind of like our spirit animals a little bit and our signs. There's almost like a lion mixed with a warthog and there's a goat with the horns. And there's an owl, eagle on top of it. And it's in the forest.

"So, yeah, the record was inspired by nature — the spirits in nature," Cavalera added. "I find that fascinating. I love that. I think the desert is very spiritual and very mysterious. And also the forest. We tour a lot, so we go to Iceland and Norway, and we all see those beautiful forests and stuff.

"So a lot of the record was inspired by, I guess you'd call it the worshipping of nature, almost as a god. A lot of natives have that belief — that nature is like a god that you worship. So I think that became the kind of focus point for the record. There's definitely songs that deal with different topics on it. Also there's one that's kind of a little bit about society in general, and it's called 'Filth Upon Filth'. It's very, very 'Reign In Blood' influenced; I was listening to a lot of 'Reign In Blood' when I wrote that song. The tempo of it is a very killer SLAYER kind of groove. There is one song called 'The Damage Done'. It's about all the deforestation. I was reading a lot about the Amazon, how they're just raping and pillaging and destroying and that's like the lungs of the world. It's kind of up to us at least to talk about some of these topics, so I think it was kind of cool to give it a shot."

According to Max, "Totem" closes with a 10-minute track called "Spirit Animal". "It's a bit like an epic kind of song," he said. "It's really inspired by old heavy metal tracks, like closers of BLACK SABBATH albums that were really long, like eight [or] nine minutes long, like 'Heaven And Hell'-type shit. I wanted to write something like that. So it's got a lot of parts — tons of riffs. It's a riff fest. [Laughs] And it's great, 'cause it's also got… Richie from INCITE sings on it, my [step]son. And we've got Chris from POWER TRIP doing the solos on it. He's also in MAMMOTH GRINDER. He's a great musician. So he did the solos on 'Spirit Animal', and it came out sick."

"Totem" track listing:

01. Superstition
02. Scouring The Vile
03. Filth Upon Filth
04. Rot In Pain
05. The Damage Done
06. Totem
07. Ancestors
08. Ecstasy Of Gold
09. Soulfly XII
10. Spirit Animal

In a recent interview with the "Rez Metal" podcast, Max stated about "Totem": "It was created a little bit different. The majority was just me and my son Zyon playing together, so we kind of wrote the bulk of the material. And then I had a great producer friend, Arthur Rizk; he worked with POWER TRIP and CODE ORANGE. Arthur is great, man. And I was curious how Arthur would make a SOULFLY record sound if he was in charge [of] it. And we created something that, to me, feels kind of like… It's almost like a biography of Max music. We cover everything from the early days all the way… So there's some black metal things, there's some death and thrash, there's some groove metal — there's everything. So the record really goes deep into all different areas of metal. So because of that, the album feels very diverse. At the end of the day, I just wanted to make a solid, full-on attitude record that just says, 'We're here to fuck shit up.' This is what we do. This is why I love playing metal, because of the energy it gives me.

"I don't wanna describe the record too much — I'd rather have people hear it and see what they think — but to me, it feels like this is just a really, really energetic SOULFLY record," Cavalera added. "It's kind of cool to have that kind of… After so many records, if you can still put an energetic record out, it says something about your career; you're not slowing down — you're going, actually, the opposite way. So I'm more in the trenches than ever with this one. It feels like [I've been] rejuvenated; I feel like a young kid again playing metal. Those are great elements to have. Especially when you're getting older, a lot of people go more mild and slow down. I'm not one of those people. I wanna just get even more wild, get heavier. But always with the SOULFLY groove, 'cause I think that's a key element of SOULFLY; it's always been the groove. So we pay really close attention to the… We actually added a lot of percussion to it, so it kind of goes back to records like 'Primitive'; some of the grooves go back to songs like 'Primitive' and 'Boom', but some of the other stuff is super aggressive and it's like a lot of the current extreme metal that I listen to right now from a lot of other bands."

SOULFLY performed "Superstition" and "Filth Upon Filth" on its recent U.S. tour.

In April 2021, Max told Chris Enriquez of Saint Vitus Presents: Age Of Quarantine that Rizk took the new SOULFLY project "super seriously. He said, 'Hey, Max, I don't wanna do just another SOULFLY record. I wanna do the bestSOULFLY record,'" he recalled. 'I was, like, 'All right. I take the challenge. Let's do it, man.'"

In December 2020, Max told the "Sappenin' Podcast With Sean Smith" about the songwriting process for the new SOULFLY album: "The cool thing about Zyon, the way he plays drums, is he's a bit like a wild animal — he has no restraint, man, and he just unleashes on the drum kit. Pure, pure brutality power drumming, and I love that. So that takes me back to a lot of the early records that I like — a lot of the old ENTOMBED stuff and CARCASS and NAPALM DEATH; out-of-control shit. So I think we have that kind of spirit going on on a lot of the new tracks."

In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. A permanent replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the summer 2021 U.S. tour and once again handled second-guitar duties on the band's most recent run of shows.

In June 2020, SOULFLY released a new digital EP, "Live Ritual NYC MMXIX". The effort was recorded at The Gramercy in New York City on February 11, 2019 while SOULFLY was on tour in support of its most recent full-length album, "Ritual". The audio for the EP was mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) from Tastemaker Audio. Cover artwork was comprised of live photos taken by Rodrigo Fredes.

"Ritual" was released in October 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015's "Archangel" was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (KILLER BE KILLED, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA).

Recently reformed Swedish death metal pioneers DISMEMBER have once again partnered with Nuclear Blast Records, the label that released the band's 1990 demo, "Reborn In Blasphemy", their 1991 debut album, "Like An Everflowing Stream", as well as the four records that would follow. In celebration of this announcement, a fully remastered version of "Like An Everflowing Stream" has been made available on streaming services worldwide today after it had been absent for quite some time.

"Like An Everflowing Stream" — hailed by many as one of the best death metal albums of all time — is the first entry in a reissue campaign of the entire DISMEMBER back catalog, which is currently being remastered from the original albums. Stay tuned for more info on proper LP and CD reissues that are in the works for late 2022.

DISMEMBER drummer Fred Estby comments: "After reuniting the original lineup and performing sold-out shows in 2019, the axe-chopping business needed a solid partner to get the festering complete back catalogue back on the streets. The unholy alliance of 1990 is reconfirmed; DISMEMBER and Nuclear Blast Records are once again a perfect kill team!"

Jens Prüter, head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Europe, adds: "It's a pleasure to bring back one of the Nuclear Blast bands of the early days. The 1991 debut album 'Like An Ever Flowing Stream' quickly became a death metal classic and they haven't released a weak album until they officially split up 20 years later in 2011. I still remember one of their last shows, in 2008 at the Party.San Metal Open Air, where they played with their buddies GRAVE and UNLEASHED — only ENTOMBED was missing to complete the 'Big Four' of Stockholm death metal. And it was a pleasure to see them again on their first reunion show in 2019 at the Scandinavian Death Fest in their hometown. Only a few seconds in it was clear that they were back in full force. Welcome back!"

Between 1988 and 2011, DISMEMBER earned a notorious reputation as the "MOTÖRHEAD of death metal", through eight classic albums and furious live shows around the globe. The band was formed by Robert Sennebäck, David Blomqvist and Fred Estby in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1988 and has long since been regarded as one of the originators of the trademark Swedish death metal sound, next to other pioneering bands such as ENTOMBED, GRAVE and UNLEASHED. DISMEMBER recorded a couple of independently released demos before their 1990 demo cassette, "Reborn In Blasphemy", with Matti Kärki on vocals and ENTOMBED's Nicke Andersson taking over most lead guitar parts, got picked up for a wider release by Nuclear Blast Records. In 1991, "Like An Everflowing Stream" saw the light of day, which was recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at the now-legendary Sunlight Studios, and featured Richard Cabeza (UNANIMATED) on bass. DISMEMBER released its acclaimed sophomore album, "Indecent & Obscene", in 1993, which to this day remains their most successful output. Three more albums would follow on Nuclear Blast, "Massive Kiling Capacity" (1995),"Death Metal" (1997) and "Hate Campaign" (2000),until the band decided to switch labels. They released two more albums, "Where Ironcrosses Grow" (2004, Karmageddon Records) and "The God That Never Was" (2005, Regain) before Estby announced his departure for family reasons in 2007. Their last album, "Dismember", followed in 2008 and the band officially broke up in 2011. After an eight-year hiatus, the band's original lineup reunited for a 30th-anniversary gig at Scandinavia Death Fest in October 2019, performing together for the first time in over 20 years.

DISMEMBER is:

Fred Estby (Drums)
David Blomqvist (Guitars)
Robert Sennebäck (Guitars)
Matti Karki (Vocals)
Richard Cabeza (Bass)

DISMEMBER has a three European festival appearances scheduled for this summer, to be followed by a performance at Mexico Metal Fest in Monterrey, Mexico in late September.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Shannon

On June 28, 2022, Guns N' Roses performed at Marlay Park in Dublin, Ireland. The band has just shared professionally filmed video of "Sweet Child O' Mine" from that show:





GN'R's setlist in Dublin consisted of 26 songs:




"It's So Easy"
"Mr. Brownstone"
"Welcome To The Jungle"
"Better"
"Back In Black" (AC/DC cover)
"Slither" (Velvet Revolver cover)
"Chinese Democracy"
"Double Talkin' Jive"
"Estranged"
"Live And Let Die" (Wings cover)
"Reckless Life"
"Rocket Queen"
"You Could Be Mine"
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" (The Stooges cover - Duff on lead vocals)
"Absurd"
"Hard Skool"
"Civil War"
Slash Guitar Solo
"Sweet Child O' Mine"
"November Rain"
"Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb cover)
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover) 
"Nightrain"
"Coma"
"Patience"
"You're Crazy"
"Paradise City"





The next Guns N' Roses show is Friday, July 8 at Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Find the band's tour itinerary here.


 

THE MARS VOLTA has released a new single and short film for "Graveyard Love" out now. The song follows the announcement of the band's return after a decade-long hiatus and the release of "Blacklight Shine".

"They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands, because if they can't have you, no one can," explains Cedric Bixler-Zavala on the lyrics of the new song. "Graveyard Love", much like "Blacklight Shine", invites the listener to hear the bigger picture. Swarming synths envelope the song like vines, diving deeper into the story THE MARS VOLTA continues to tell.

THE MARS VOLTA recently announced an online version of "L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion", an online version of the #Voltacube that mysteriously appeared in Los Angeles's Grand Park. Inside of "L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion" visitors were taken on a full, immersive journey to outer space, and where "Blacklight Shine" was heard for the first time by the public. The experience inside was intended to provoke self-reflection, with the single guiding fans on a journey through endless galaxies and back down to earth, to oneself. The experience, which includes a virtual scavenger hunt for hidden treasures in your city, can be found at this link.

Last month, THE MARS VOLTA announced its first live shows in ten years. Dates have been added to select cities due to overwhelming demand. Today, the band has added a new date on October 9 at The Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tickets for that date will go on sale today at noon local time.

Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, THE MARS VOLTA rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands AT THE DRIVE-IN in 2001. On a mission to "honor our roots and honor our dead," THE MARS VOLTA made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodríguez-López was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum beat for their return.

Now — a year after "La Realidad De Los Sueños", a luxurious 18-LP box-set compiling their back catalog, sold out its 5,000-print run in under 24 hours — THE MARS VOLTA is back.

Photo credit: Fat Bob