Self-described as "Death Western", SpiritWorld have released their new single, "Moonlit Torture", featuring Dwid Hellion of Integrity. Stream the single here, and watch a video for the track below.


A message from Stu Folsom states: "Crazy story. Many moons ago, my older brother Nick and my twin brother Beez and I went to a record store to buy Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire the day it came out. The record store had these listening stations set up with headphones and a set of selector buttons to switch between CDs. I saw the Pushead cover artwork to Integrity's Humanity Is The Devil, hit play, heard 'Vocal Test' for the first time and bought that motherfucker immediately! Hands down the most aggressive, insane shit I had ever heard. 🤯


At the time I had hand me down cassette copies of 7 Seconds "The Crew", Black Flag, Misfits, etc, etc. But I had yet to realize that hardcore punk was it's own thing.Turns out that was the first album, the gateway drug if you will, from a real hardcore band I ever bought with my own money.




I'm sitting in the Czech Republic as I'm typing this, my band is playing Brutal Assault today with At The Gates, Clutch, etc. And we got Dwid singing on our new song... Sometimes this little underground thing is straight up, unfuckwithable magic! Jam that shit and let me know what you think. Dwid comes in Haaaaaard at like 3:26ish.


Thank you to Dwid, Mike Gitter, my dude Thomas Pridgen for beatin 'the fuck out of the drums, Sam Pura and my Panda Studios fam for producing, mixing, engineering and Alberto for the excellent mastering job.


We play Birmingham tomorrow at Knotfest Pulse of the Maggots with Sylosis. I think we'll open with this. First person to rip a stage dive during it can get a free shirt. Come holler at me."





(Photo - Sean Jorg)

On September 9, progressive death metal outfit REVOCATION will release its eighth full-length, "Netherheaven", via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the album, the new single, "Re-Crucified", featuring Trevor Strnad (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) and George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (CANNIBAL CORPSE),can be streamed below.

REVOCATION songwriter/frontman Dave Davidson comments: "Normally we tend to close our albums with a more epic style of song, but with this record, I wanted to go in the opposite direction and end with a complete ripper. Inspired by 'Dante's Inferno', this song is meant to feel like a journey through hell, and due to the story-like nature of the lyrics, I enlisted the vocal talents of Trevor Strnad and George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher to aid in our journey into the abyss. Tragically, I received word of Trevor's passing immediately after we had finished filming the music videos for 'Netherheaven', and I was completely devastated by the news. Trevor was a close, personal friend of mine, and his passing was a terrible loss, not only for myself, but for the entire metal community. I'm proud that I could be a part of Trevor's immense and storied legacy in some small way. His performance along with George's are two of the highlights of the record for me. Rest in power, Trevor. You will be sorely missed but your legacy will never die."

Four years in the making, "Netherheaven" finds REVOCATION — Davidson (vocals/guitars),Ash Pearson (drums),and Brett Bamberger (bass) — meticulously exploring the allegorical and literal aspects of Hell as they dig deeper into the darker, more diabolical side of death metal. In short, where the previous album, "The Outer Ones" (2018),jettisoned REVOCATION into the horrific maw of the cosmos, "Netherheaven" bores deftly through the nine rings of Hell to directly confront Lucifer and his multitudinous faces.

"We're definitely in more of a death metal mindset than on earlier albums in our catalog," asserts Davidson. "We're focusing on how we can write the best death metal-centric album that we possibly can while still pushing our boundaries. The new songs on 'Netherheaven' are evil and sinister but also have a progressive element to them to keep things interesting. It's got our stamp on it, no question."

"Netherheaven" was written during downtime after the album cycle for "The Outer Ones" was complete. The album's nine tracks were written solely by Davidson, who spent his time between genuflecting at the altars of Luc Lemay (GORGUTS),Chuck Schuldiner (DEATH),Marty Friedman (MEGADETH),and celebrated jazz guitarists Wes Montgomery and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Between writing killer riffs and absolutely wild solos, the seven-stringer also practiced (technique),studied (theory),and taught guitar. REVOCATION truly changed gears when Davidson picked up audio engineering (with Apple's Logic Pro) to use the pandemic-era lockdowns effectively. It made perfect sense for him to helm the engineer and producer's chair at his newly built HeatWave Studios for "Netherheaven". REVOCATION then sourced Swedish studio ace Jens Bogren (OPETH, KREATOR) to mix and master at Fascination Street Studios.

"We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the album," says Davidson. "We want people to be inspired. It's brutal. We brought our A-game on 'Netherheaven'."

"Netherheaven" track listing:

01. Diabolical Majesty
02. Lessons In Occult Theft
03. Nihilistic Violence
04. Strange And Eternal
05. Galleries Of Morbid Artistry
06. The 9th Chasm
07. Godforsaken
08. The Intervening Abyss Of Untold Aeons
09. Re-Crucified (feat. Trevor Strnad and George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher)

Upon record release, REVOCATION will kick off a North American headlining tour with KRISIUN, ALLUVIAL and INOCULATION as support, before heading to Europe for another headliner in early 2023, this time featuring special guests GOATWHORE, ALLUVIAL and CREEPING DEATH.

Thrash metal masters, Sylosis, have returned with their first new music of 2022. The band, who are set to headline the inaugural Knotfest Presents Pulse Of The Maggots festival and play the main stage at Bloodstock this week, have released a new single, titled "Heavy Is The Crown". The track ebbs and flows as the band's signature, thunderous grooves give way to a masterfully crafted chorus.





Maestro Josh Middleton comments: "'Heavy Is The Crown' is the first of a trilogy of singles we’re releasing this year – these songs were developed during the writing of the next Sylosis record and although weren’t right for the album, are perfect for some standalone bangers. 'Heavy Is The Crown' is a song that all our fans can get into and also highlights some of the progression in the band's sound."




Stream "Heavy Is The Crown" here, and watch the video below:





Lineup:


Josh Middleton - Vocals, Guitar
Alex Bailey - Guitar
Conor Marshall - Bass
Ali Richardson - Drums

Cult Japanese black metal legends, Sigh, recently announced details of their new album, Shiki, to be released on August 26 on Peaceville. Today, the band premiers the music video for the song, "Satsui", which can be viewed below:





Shiki, an opus of dark & eclectic blackened heavy metal, shrouded in traditional eastern influences, marks the latest chapter in the Sigh legacy and includes some of the band’s heaviest and darkest material for some years; a fine hybrid of at times primitive black metal akin to early influences such as Celtic Frost amid more epic melodic heavy metal riffing and solos. It will take you on a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career. Highlighting that Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots.




The word "Shiki" itself has various meanings in Japanese such as four seasons, time to die, conducting an orchestra, ceremony, motivation, colour. The two primary themes for the album are "four seasons" and "time to die". The concept and artwork is based around a traditional Japanese poem, and on Shiki Mirai explores how at this stage of life he himself is going through autumn, with winter coming soon, and so empathizes with the contrasting sentimental feelings from watching cherry blossoms (a symbol of spring) in full bloom.


Joining Mirai and Dr Mikannibal for this release are Frédéric Leclercq of Kreator, plus US drummer extraordinaire, Mike Heller of Fear Factory and Raven, along with an appearance by longtime member Satoshi Fujinami on bass. Shiki was recorded across multiple studios, and mixed and mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD studios in Germany. The album utilises a whole host of instruments to give further texture and dynamics to the compositions and eerie atmosphere, incorporating traditional oriental instruments such as the Shakuhachi & Sinobue flutes.


Sigh, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki formed in 1989/90 and following their initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought in, and Sigh set about recording the masterpiece debut Scorn Defeat for Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions, going on to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports.


Shiki will be released on August 26 on CD / black vinyl LP / limited edition green vinyl LP and digital. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


“Kuroi Inori”
“Kuroi Kage”
“Shoujahitsumetsu”
“Shikabane”
“Satsui – Geshi No Ato”
“Fuyu Ga Kuru”
“Shouku”
“Kuroi Kagami”
“Mayonaka No Kaii”
“Touji No Asa”


“Mayonaka No Kaii”:

The New Roses are back with their fifth studio album, Sweet Poison, to be released on October 21 via Napalm Records. After their previous record, Nothing But Wild, hit the Top 10 on the German album charts, the quartet went on to share stages with rock legends like the Scorpions, Saxon and Accept. This summer, they even had the chance to tour with genre giants KISS and were the first German band invited to KISS Kruise. Sweet Poison bottles this potent energy on record, convincing with authentic hard rock and enormous hit density. The New Roses are on the way to the top of rock.


Get a taste of Sweet Poison with the first single, “The Usual Suspects”, straight off the new album. Let the catchy chorus take you on an unforgettable ride on the highway of rock, while frontman Timmy Rough’s voice catapults you to new spheres. The amazing live performance shown in the official music video is just a glimpse of their latest touring experience - convince yourself and dive into the world of The New Roses.


The New Roses on the new single: “’The Usual Suspects’ was one of the first songs we recorded for Sweet Poison and kind of paved the way for all the songs that came after that. We all realized that we don’t wanna write about the disappointments and struggles we had to deal with during all these lockdowns and being banned from the stage. No, ‘The Usual Suspects’ made us look ahead, It helped not to forget what and who we are: A damn Rock'n'Roll band. The title says it all: We’re the usual suspects and our fans are the usual suspects. We haven’t changed, we’re not bitter. We’ll be back on the road and we keep on rocking right where we had to stop…“




Watch the video for “The Usual Suspects” below.


Their latest effort, Sweet Poison, opens with the guitar-driven anthem "My Kinda Crazy," which kicks off the album in a worthy manner. In addition to rousing anthems, Sweet Poison features authentically rocking Americana tracks like "Playing With Fire" and "Sweet Gloria." "Warpaint" is undoubtedly a massive track in which the band unleashes its intangible energy with hard guitar riffs and powerful drums, while "The Usual Suspects" and "1st Time For Everything" impress with their catchy choruses. Tracks like "Dead Of Night" build on a distinct melody and develop into strong stadium rock anthems. With songs like "All I Ever Needed", The New Roses also show their softer side. The strong mid-tempo rock ballad revives the atmosphere of Guns N' Roses' moving ballads, while front man Timmy Rough passionately presents the full range of his voice, which can also be heard impressively on the touching acoustic track "True Love".


Sweet Poison is an outstanding rock album with an impressive hit density, seeing the band outdo themselves again and again, reviving true 80s rock. Hold on tight, because The New Roses shift up a gear and take you on a journey to the horizon of American rock grandeur.


Timmy Rough on the new album: “When we recorded Sweet Poison, we took all the bad vibes, all our struggle and disappointments of the last two years and turned them into this incredibly positive, high energy Rock n' Roll album. We don’t bitch at all, we wanna move forward and take our audience along with us. We stayed on our musical path, in fact I’d say we even went back closer to our roots and added some more of our Blues and Southern spirit while still keeping the catchy melodies of our last records. But hey, talk is cheap, so turn it up and have some fun.“





Sweet Poison is available to pre-order in the following formats:


- 1 LP Gatefold Black Vinyl
- 1 LP Gatefold Marbled Red Black (limited to 300 copies)
- CD Digipak + Wristband
- CD Digipak
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"My Kinda Crazy"
"Playing With Fire"
"All I Ever Needed"
"The Usual Suspects"
"Warpaint"
"Dead Of Night"
"True Love"
"1st Time For Everything"
"Sweet Gloria"
"The Lion In You"
"Veins Of This Town"
 
"The Usual Suspects" video:





Lineup:


Timmy Rough - vocals, guitar
Dizzy Daniels - guitar
Hardy - bass
Urban Berz - drums


(Photo - Vera Friederich)

Former EXODUS singer Rob Dukes performed the band's classic song "Toxic Waltz" on August 2 at the Empire Concert Club And Bar in Akron, Ohio. He was backed by members of his current group GENERATION KILL as well as musicians from DEAD BY WEDNESDAY, which is providing support on the "Generation Dead" tour. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

Two months ago, Dukes once again said that it took him "about a year to not be angry about" dismissal from EXODUS.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal legends in June 2014 announced the departure of Dukes and the return of his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Dukes addressed his current relationship with EXODUS in an interview with Scott Penfold of the "Loaded Radio" podcast. He said: "When EXODUS fired me, it took me about a year to not be angry about it. It was unexpected — I didn't see it coming — and it was a hard time in life. I'd just moved; I'd just gotten married. It was a heavy burden. And it took me a while. And about a year later, after Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] called me and we spoke, they flew me up to San Francisco and I sat down with them. And we laid it out on the table. And it made it better — just to clear the wreckage of that. And I moved on with my life, and they moved on with their life. I did one show with them — I did a few songs up in San Francisco — and then I just started living my life."

Dukes went on to say that he no longer dwells on the negative circumstances surrounding his departure from EXODUS.

"[EXODUS] was definitely a part of my life, but I don't rely on it," he said. "So I just move forward. But our friendship is good, man. I went up there to see… After Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer] got sick [with cancer in early 2021], we were talking the entire time and I was aware of his situation. And then when the time was right, after he had done some chemo sessions and was feeling a little better, I flew up and spent a couple of days with Tom. And I saw Gary, and I went and had lunch with Lee [Altus, EXODUS guitarist].

"Look, man, we lived together for 10 years. That bond is very difficult to break," Rob explained. "Especially when the reason I got fired, it wasn't personal; it was business. I took it personally in the beginning. But this is a harsh business, man, and there's a lot of fucking snakes out there and there's a lot of weird people who want their little piece. And it's kind of what happened. It was just business. Looking back on it, it was all for the best."

Three years after he was fired from EXODUS, Dukes performed with the band during a July 2017 concert in San Francisco, California. He sang several songs with the group on the second of EXODUS's two-night stint at The Chapel in what marked the band's first headlining Bay Area club shows since late 2013.

Dukes joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

Rob previously discussed his split with EXODUS during a December 2020 pay-per-view video conversation with Souza, recorded earlier that month at Zetro's studio in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of Souza's "Zetro's Toxic Vault" YouTube interview series. At the time, Dukes said that the seed for his exit from EXODUS was planted during the songwriting and pre-production sessions for the band's 2014 album "Blood In Blood Out". "One night, before a show, me, Lee, Tom and Jack [Gibson, drums] were sitting, and we said, 'You know, we should do this [album] different. We should do this one where we actually rehearse together and we go through the songs like a band would do 'em in the old days' — go through 'em and maybe pick apart parts, maybe make 'em better, do it that way," he said. "[I thought it was] a great plan; I agreed. I come home, fly back out a couple of weeks later and everything is done. They're doing the drums, but Jack is doing the engineering, and [longtime British producer] Andy [Sneap] is not doing the vocals. And at that time, nothing against Jack — I love Jack — but the difference was, working with Andy, I didn't have to sing the whole line all the way through over and over again. Jack wasn't able to, at this time, edit in a word if I fucked up; I had to start all over. And the dissent had started with me. I felt a lot of the songs were very repetitious.

"Now, I could have just kept my mouth shut and just went along with it if I wanted to keep my job, even though it wouldn't have mattered, because the business decisions, I think, were being made behind the scenes with Metal Maria and Chuck [Billy, TESTAMENT singer]. I, actually, in front of everyone, challenged Chuck. 'Cause Chuck was now managing the band. We're halfway through the record, and they said, 'Well, Chuck's gonna manage the band.' I go, 'You don't see that as a conflict of interest — a little bit?' And I said this to Chuck, to his face. I said, 'You're telling me, if you get an opportunity, you're not gonna have TESTAMENT [take the gig]; you're gonna give EXODUS the gig? Get the fuck outta here, dude! I wouldn't do that, so I know you're not gonna do that.' He's, like, 'I wouldn't do that.' I go, 'You're not being honest with me. You're not being honest with yourself.' And it caused, like, a thing. And everyone was mad at me, 'cause the boys don't like confrontation. And it wasn't the songs. The songs were the songs. I thought 'BTK' was killer. Dude, you did 'BTK' awesome," he said, complimenting Zetro. "There were certain things about it. I don't wanna shit on it, but some of it just seemed regurgitated. I was, like, 'This song sounds like that song,' and, 'This song sounds like this song,' and it started to weigh on me. Like I said, I could have just kept my mouth shut and just played the game and not rocked the boat, but it wasn't my nature. My nature was, 'No, man. We're better than this. We need to top ourselves over the last thing we did,' and I didn't feel like it was doing that — I felt like it was actually declining a little bit, in my eyes, from my position. But it didn't mean that I didn't give everything I had — I gave everything I had on vocals — but Jack was beating me up, because I was constantly not able to… Especially with some of the timing stuff — you've never done it before, and now you're expected to do it forever. This is the CD, man — this is forever."

Explaining why he was angry for such a long time about his dismissal from EXODUS, Dukes said: "Look, man, [I was] 47 years old [at the time]. I got married five days before. And you fucking fire me. If I was by myself, if I was just me, I would have been okay with it. I was responsible for another human being. I just moved my entire life from my comfortable New York upbringing to a place [in Arizona] where I know one person, and I don't even know him that well; I know him from touring and watching him when I was a kid. I knew Roger Miret from AGNOSTIC FRONT; it's the only guy I knew [in Arizona].

"I remember telling my wife, 'We're gonna be okay. It's fine. We're fine. I'll sell my car. And that'll get us, like, a year rent, and we'll be okay. I'll figure it out. We'll be okay.' But in my head, I was fucking terrified," he admitted. "And I felt like [the EXODUS guys] took something from me that I earned, that I deserved. But I was looking at it wrong. I didn't deserve anything. I didn't earn anything. I was grateful to be there. And I tried to do the right thing. I remember writing a statement and putting it out there. I was grateful — I was grateful for going to over a hundred countries in my lifetime, playing in front of the millions of people that I got to play over 10 years. I was grateful for every opportunity that was given to me; I was honestly grateful. But also, I was angry, and I had every right to be angry. But I wasn't able to see it for what it was until a year later — it took me a year."

Dukes said that he wishes he had been more vocal in the earlier stages of the making of "Blood In Blood Out", particularly as it relates to EXODUS's choice of producer for the sessions.

"The truth was that my part in it, had I been honest from the beginning and I had said — 'cause there were times when I didn't wanna rock the boat — 'We are making fucking mistakes. And if you guys all wanna go to this next level that you all talk about, then let's put our fucking money where our mouth is and change it the way we're doing it,'" he said. "You've done it this way all this time and you've always gotten what you got. But if you change the game… Nothing against Andy, but if we bring in Colin Richardson, bring in fucking Zeuss [Chris Harris], bring in somebody [from] outside the game who had his own ideas of looking at things and maybe corral some of the chaotic stuff that was going on. And maybe go, 'You know what? The song does sound like that song. Maybe we should fucking take this riff…' Let producers do what they do… I thought it would have been awesome for somebody like Colin Richardson or Zeuss to come in and take Gary Holt [EXODUS guitarist and main songwriter] and sit him down and go, 'This is awesome. But we can make this better. Let's try this and try that.' And that's what the plan originally was."

Looking back on how his split with EXODUS went down, Rob said during the "Zetro's Toxic Vault" chat that he was "glad that everything worked out the way it did. And I was glad that Gary called me a year later and I spoke with him," he said. "And he was legitimately sorry; I knew he was. And he said, 'I want you to come to San Francisco.' And then I was, like, 'Well, how does Zet feel?' And he goes, 'It was Zet's idea.'"

Dukes also addressed the speculation that his substandard vocals on an early version of "Blood In Blood Out" were proof that he wasn't sufficiently inspired to deliver the goods on the album. "That assumption has been said to me a bunch of times," he said. "Even Lee has said, he goes, 'Your heart wasn't in it.' And my ego, which I don't have a big ego — it's not like I'm an egotistical dick — but I can tell you that when I was on the microphone, I was giving my best, I was giving all I had. What I felt inside was that the songs weren't as good. To me, they felt rushed. I felt some of the lyrics felt rushed.

"Me and Gary look at music very differently, and I think that's why we kind of worked," he continued. "Gary will write the lyrics before he writes the music, and he fits it in, where I write the music, write the melody and then fill in the words to the melody.

"It's hard to say it without sounding like a dick, but it was very… I remember singing one song and going, 'Dude, this is that other song.' And then, hearing the lead, going, 'That's the lead from that other song.' And I think that alone, trying to take my ego out of it, maybe my heart wasn't it. I wish that it was.

"At the moment, I knew I was giving all I could, but the factors against me was I didn't think the material was as strong as what we had already done," Dukes added. "I wanted it to be better. It's like setting bar for yourself and then not giving at least that measure. And then I thought that, as much as I love Jack, he wasn't Andy Sneap. And working with Andy, there was something to working with Andy that pulls it out of me.

"I remember talking to [Rob] Halford about it, 'cause [Andy recorded] Halford with PRIEST. He made me do fucking 10 fucking takes of each line. When you do 10 takes of each line, and then he fucking pieces them together. And then you get back something and you're, like, 'Wow, that's the way I sang that, huh? Cool.' No, it wasn't. It was the way Andy put it together. And then, all of a sudden, now you have a template. 'Well, now I'm gonna do that live, 'cause that's better.' 'Cause Andy knew what the fuck he was doing. But now you're just leaving it to me raw. And I thought not having Andy there for the vocals made me mad — not mad; it just made me a little disheartened, I guess. Because working for two albums with Andy, I knew what to expect. No matter what template I was given, I knew that Andy was gonna make me do it the right way. And when we were doing it, it wasn't that."

Dukes still resides in Arizona, where he works as a mechanic specializing in car restoration.

During their concert at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas, Texas on August 8, Hatebreed performed the Exodus classic, "Bonded By Blood". Watch fan-filmed video below:





Hatebreed's seminal classic, Perseverance, turned 20 years old this year. It remains one of the most important and impactful albums of the new millennium. Of course the Grammy-nominated, Connecticut hardcore crew is going back on the road to celebrate with the most brutal breakdowns and anthemic singalongs the scene has ever known.




"I can't believe it's been 20 years since the Perseverance album hit," says singer Jamey Jasta. "We're overdue for a headline tour so these shows will be ones for the ages. Show up early and support the great line up of sick bands!"


The "20 Years Of Perseverance" Tour kicks off on October 27 in Virginia Beach and runs through November 20 in San Diego. Gatecreeper will appear from October 27 through November 15, while Bleeding Through will support from November 17 through November 20. Bodysnatcher and Dying Wish will open all dates.


Get tickets here.





Dates:


October
27 - Virginia Beach, VA - Elevation 27*
30 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre*


November
4 - Sauget, IL - Pop’s*
5 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom*
7 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall*
9 - Lubbock, TX - Jakes Sports Café*
10 - Albuquerque, NM - El Rey Theater*
12 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater*
14 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater*
15 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox*
17 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom**
19 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues**
20 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues**


* no Bleeding Through
** no Gatecreeper


Lineup:


Jamey Jasta - Vocals
Chris Beattie - Bass
Wayne Lozinak - Guitar
Frank Novinec - Guitar
Matt Byrne - Drums

Vancouver, Canada's Iron Kingdom is returning in 2022 with their fifth studio album, The Blood Of Creation, to follow 2019's On The Hunt, which took the band to new heights with tours across Canada, the US, and Europe along with topping the Canadian loud radio charts at #5 (Earshot).


The Blood Of Creation continues the reign of classic heavy metal that Iron Kingdom has been presenting over the years to music lovers of the style along with keeping the flame burning for a new generation.


"We wanted to create music in a style of metal that seemed to have been forgotten when we were kids. Since no one else seemed to be doing it, we decided to play metal the way it used to be played in the 70s and 80s. That was the reason for forming Iron Kingdom. Essentially, we wanted to give people an exciting show like an early Iron Maiden, Scorpions, or Saxon show from the 1980s." recalls guitarist/vocalist Chris Osterman on the beginnings of the band.




Iron Kingdom has come a long way since their 2011 debut Curse Of The Voodoo Queen and their next offering is a potent full force of classic shredding heavy metal thunder and will take fans into some unique fantastic worlds they may or may not have experienced, but will also show a dark side of storytelling.


"I think we started as a bit more of a hard rock band on the first record, taking a progressive metal dive for Gates Of Eternity and Ride For Glory, then for On The Hunt, I’d say we went fully classic metal, leading into this new record being a pretty solid mix of all those styles combined. We also came out of the pandemic, which brought some darker emotions some people may have never experienced previously that I think this album may parallel. In the end though, we want people to get the chance to escape this world for a time and find solace in the music," adds Osterman.


The new album also sees new drummer Max Friesen (ex-Ophelia Falling) making his recording debut with the band to add another angle to their songwriting for this release. The album was self-produced by Iron Kingdom with mixing done by Andy Boldt and mastering by Greg Reely (Overkill, Fear Factory, 3 Inches of Blood).


Recommended for fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween, and Saxon, Iron Kingdom is sharing their teaser for The Blood Of Creation that can be found below.


The album tracklisting, artwork, and singles will be revealed in the coming weeks, and you can currently pre-order the album via Iron-Kingdom.com, and/or Bandcamp.





In additional news, Iron Kingdom have announced their album launch show for November 4 in Vancouver, BC, at the Wise Hall. For more info, head here.





(Photo - Caitlin Delaplace)

In a new interview with "Real Music With Gary Stuckey", former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson reflected on the ups and downs of his four-decade music career, including his latest departure from the influential Dave Mustaine-fronted metal band.

"You find out who your friends are and you find out who your friends aren't pretty fucking quick when the shit hits the fan," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "'Cause everybody wants to be around you when you're picking up your Grammy.

"Look, life is… You're never on top all the time," he reasoned. "Your life ebbs and flows, your career ebbs and flows — all of that. I've been fortunate enough to be a career musician and I've had to go with the ebbs and flows of the good, the bad and the otherwise, sometimes from within, sometimes from without.

"In the early '90s, just when we thought everything was going awesome, Seattle music showed up," Ellefson added. "No one saw that coming. So there's all kinds of internal and external forces at work, and I think the trick is to be galvanized to be able to withstand the storms and come out the other side and still keep rocking."

Speaking about the importance of getting along with the musicians he is playing with, Ellefson said: "I've been in situations with people that were just impossible, and somehow you just learn to make it work. Sometimes the success becomes the golden handcuffs, so you just have to make it work. And unfortunately, in those situations what happens is you often start to compromise your own morality, your own beliefs, your own integrity, because you just go, 'Well, if we can just get to the other side of the ocean before we sink, we'll be okay.' And then you get to the other side and the phone rings and they say, 'Hey, we've got one more ocean for you to cross,' so you decide to do it again. [Laughs]

"The truth of it is sometimes the reward of the music and being on stage and the success and being able to be comfortable and the livelihood, those are all factors," he admitted. "You can't just base it on any one or two things, especially when you're in the music 'business.' If it were just always about having fun, well, there'd be a lot of people working day jobs while having fun. But when you're in it to win it and make music your business, you also have to put your big-boy pants on and realize it isn't all gonna go your way. And I think that's the hardest thing — is learning how to compromise and learning which battles are the ones that you wanna win and which hill it is that you're willing to die on. And oftentimes most of 'em, they seem like mountains but they're really just mole hills [laughs]; they're really not that big of a deal. And maybe that's just my upbringing in the Midwest as I learned to just kind of maybe be a little more 'go with the flow' with that stuff."

Ellefson left Jackson, Minnesota in the early '80s to move to Los Angeles, where he met former METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the pair co-founded multi-platinum, Grammy-winning hard rock act MEGADETH, going on to become one of the "Big Four" of thrash metal. Ellefson's smalltown Jackson roots have been immortalized in MEGADETH lore as the subject of classic songs including the smash hit "Foreclosure Of A Dream" and the underground classic "Mary Jane".

Ellefson, who has lived in Scottsdale, Arizona since 1994, was fired from MEGADETH in May 2021, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.)

David, a Christian who launched the Mega Life Ministries worship group in 2007, studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis a decade ago.

Last October, Ellefson told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that there is a perception that people of faith must set a higher standard of how they live with and treat others. "It's almost like you're this entity that's floating up toward the heavens: 'Oh, he's such a wonderful man. He's a man of faith. He's got his family. And then this happens.' It's, like, 'What the hell is this?'" he said.

"I mean, look, admittedly I've sort of trained the public to think that I'm one of the more well-behaved rock stars out there, and for the most part I have been," he continued. "But at the same time, and this isn't to claim anything other than just, oops, shit happens. That is what it is."

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

DEEP PURPLE's new touring guitarist Simon McBride recently spoke to the "Scars And Guitars" podcast about what it has been like for me him to step into the shoes previously filled by Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, Joe Satriani and Steve Morse. Regarding his approach to playing DEEP PURPLE's classic songs, Simon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "At the end of the day, for me, with this gig, there's been lots of people saying, or asking me will I play like Ritchie or will I play like Steve or will I do this like Tommy or Satriani or whatever. So that thing initially kind of confused me a little bit; I didn't know what to do. It was only when I was talking to [DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] Don Airey about it, and he just said, 'Forget about it all. Just be you. Play your own thing.' That's it. Which I did. And I kind of started to relax a little bit and just be myself.

"When you start to think about who else has been in the band, you get a little bit confused what to play or when to play or what to do or 'should I play this like Ritchie?' or 'should I play it like Steve?'" he continued.

"Everybody has their own opinion on the guitar players in DEEP PURPLE and which ones worked better or whatnot. I [am] respectful to everybody who's played there, because they're all good players — every single one of 'em — so whether it's Ritchie or Tommy or Steve, I just kind of [am] respectful to what they've done in the past, and I just do my own thing most of the time.

"There's certain things you have to play. Like 'Highway Star', for example, I'm not gonna play anything different to what's there in the original, because why the hell would I? [Laughs] That's my attitude. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

McBride, who had previously toured with both PURPLE singer Ian Gillan and Airey, among others, added: "I learned a lot from Don Airey over the years, playing with him, because when he plays some of the Jon Lord parts, he's, like, 'Well, have you heard the keyboard solo?' I was, like, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'Well, why in the hell would you change it?'

"Some people can be, like, 'Oh, I need to do my own thing.' And I go, 'Well, I'm sorry. But these guys spent a lot of time in the studio, or wherever it is, creating these pieces of music that fit the song. So why would I be so arrogant to say, 'I'm gonna change that just because I wanna play my own thing'? 'Cause I know, really, I wouldn't come up with anything better.

"It's case of just… I just go on and do my thing and I don't really think about it too much, what people say. People will either like me or hate me. I don't know."

As for the response he has gotten from the DEEP PURPLE fans, the Irish blues-rock guitarist said: "To be honest, everybody's been so nice and so cool and so kind, especially on the social media stuff where it's all been very positive. You get the odd negative one, but I don't read a lot of it anyway. But it's really cool that people accept me, because it is a legacy band and they've been around a long time. I really appreciate that people are digging what I do, and I feel it every night onstage. Some of the shows we've done, some of the audience reaction has been incredible.

"We played a show in Macedonia. We came off. We did an encore and stuff. And then 20 minutes later, the audience are still shouting," he recalled. "I'd never heard this my entire life — 15, 20 minutes of 10 thousand people shouting for more, just constantly, and they wouldn't leave. Even Don Airey and Roger Glover were standing there in shock, going, 'We haven't heard this in a long, long time.' I'm not saying that's all for me; I'm just saying that's just for the band.

"I'm very [happy] that people like what I'm doing because it is always hard stepping into a band where you've had [laughs] Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani and Tommy Bolin. They're not small names by any means, so it's always very… I think if you just play and have fun, that comes across and people respect that and people will really see.

"I'm 43, so I kind of grew up in that old-school playing method anyway. 'Cause I grew up in the '80s and '90s, so I guess I'm still part of that older generation, if you wanna call it. So the way that I play would still fit very well, whereas maybe some of the new, modern players wouldn't fit. I don't know.

"Yeah, the response has been brilliant. I can't complain at all. And I thank every single person that has said a nice thing about me."

Last month, Morse officially left PURPLE 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 McBride.

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

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 Gillan and 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.

Texas death unit, I Am, will release their Eternal Steel full-length September 9 via MNRK Heavy. The band have released a video for the track, “Surrender To The Blade”, which can be found below.


Brandishing a unique blend of furious thrash and death metal like a weapon of mass destruction, I Am is purely no-nonsense in their patented “Texas Death” assault.


Across three full-length slabs of bludgeoning intensity and snarling rage, I Am puts a Southern stamp and revitalized swagger into deathcore, a subgenre rarely as raw, energized, and diverse as this band. In the spirit of fellow Southern icons Pantera and newer Texan heroes Power Trip, I AM channels discontent and anger into empowering anthems, as likely to inspire a grueling workout as to incite the pit. Reminiscent of the combination of death metal heaviness and thrash metal speed found in the early catalog of Sepultura, I Am mines the heaviness of Morbid Angel and the dexterity of the Big 4 to create something groundbreaking of their own. Vocalist Andrew Hileman -- who started the band in 2011 -- guitarists Tom Reyes and Chris Burgess, bassist Erik Rodriguez, and drummer Ian Scott deliver their Texas Death in clubs, theaters, and festivals, with bands like The Acacia Strain and Kublai Khan.




Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Randy Leboeuf (Kublai Khan, Sentinels, The Acacia Strain), Eternal Steel, the quintet’s debut for MNRK Heavy, combines the onslaught of the band’s well-received Hard 2 Kill (2018) with the primal bite of Life Through Torment (2017) into a singular statement of intent.


“We took what we did well on Hard 2 Kill to new extremes on Eternal Steel,” notes Reyes. “It’s faster than the last album, it’s heavier than the last album, and it expands on every other aspect of our sound. ‘Heavy’ doesn’t always have to mean ‘slow.’ Frequently for us, the faster parts are equally as heavy.”


Eternal Steel will be released on CD, LP, cassette, and digitally. Preorder at iam-eternalsteel.com.





Tracklisting:


“The Primal Wave”
“Surrender To The Blade”
“The Iron Gate”
“Eternal Steel”
“Vicious Instinct”
“Infernal Panther”
“Queen Incarnate”
“Heaven On Earth”
“Price Of Pain”
“Eye Candy”
“Manic Cure”


“Surrender To The Blade” video:





“The Iron Gate” video:





(Photo – Kevyn Reece)

Cerulean Cathedral is the third release by Cymbalic Encounters, a concept by drummer/songwriter Mark Murdock, formerly of Peter Banks Empire and recently with Fernando Perdomo’s Out To Sea Band on Cruise To The Edge.


Cerulean Cathedral features former Brand X members John Goodsall (R.I.P.) and Percy Jones, who also  contributed tracks on two previous releases; Exploration Of The Southern Constellation and Mark Murdock Cymbalic Encounters, respectively.


The album will be released on CD/digital on September 16. A vinyl release will follow on October 21. Available on all digital platforms and Bandcamp. Watch a promotional video below.







Tracklisting:


Cerulean Cathedral
The Fallout Shelter at St. Peter’s Sq.
Flight to Catharsis
The Endless Film at the Endless Theater
The Unwelcome Doormat  
Lost Shadows
Man with the Changing Face
Polarity
Falling Velocity


Promo video:





Featuring:


Mark Murdock - drums, percussion and keyboards
John Goodsall - guitar
Percy Jones - fretless bass


Additional “Cymbalic” contributors:


Hiroyuki Namba - piano and synthesizers on songs 1,2,3,4 & 9
Tim Pepper - vocal on songs 4,6 & 9
Joe Berger - lead guitar on songs 2 & 8
Jimmy Hisafumi Maeda - fretless bass on songs 5 & 8
Preston Murdock - lead guitar on songs 5 & 9
Katsumi Yoneda - guitar on songs 6 & 9
Ken Hall - electric 12 string on song 6

Christian F. Lawrence, known as “Opus”, the drummer and back bone of Dead By Wednesday, who also plays & tours with David Ellefson, Hail The Horns, and Earth, has released an autobiography about his crazy life. The book talks about touring, recording, hanging with celebrities, being a reality TV actor, and even a stint on MTV.


Read about all this, plus learn about some taboo branches on his family tree, as well as some unbelievable twists and turns life has thrown at him, in his first book, Break When I'm Dead.


The title Break When I'm Dead was taken from a DBW song off their DOA album. The book was co-written by Doug Esper who worked with Chuck Mosley of Faith No More. It features interviews and intakes by Bumblefoot (ex-Guns n’ Roses), David Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth), Brian Fair of Shadows Fall, Eric AK from Flotsam And Jetsam and many more metal giants in the rock n roll industry. The cover photo was shot courtesy of music icon Michael Alago and then designed by Melody Myers.







The book was published by Scout Media, which was established in 2013 and is an independent publishing company for aspiring authors and musicians. They have put out books so far for Jesus Jones, Dog Fashion Disco, & more.


"Break When I'm Dead chronicles Opus and his trials and tribulations through touring, recording, and writing music, as well as his stint as a reality show star and the journey of being a father through an uncertain era of politics and a pandemic. Journey along with Opus to discover some of his unusual life and personal events, as well as a shocking family tree," says Brian Paone (Scout Media).


"I’m super stoked on finally releasing my new book and ad author to my list of accomplishments. This has been a long process and in the works for a while so I’m glad it finally came into fruition. Everyone thinks they have an interesting life that should be in a book, well this is not just a stroke my own ego type book at all, I think a lot of people who read can not only relate, especially if you’re a musician but will be very surprised by some of the content. It’s always been a dream of mine to write a book and finally it’s done! I’d like to personally thank everyone involved who helped me make this a reality!" says Opus (drummer of DBW).

Metz, France-based death metal quartet, Catalyst, is preparing to release their decimating second album, A Different Painting For A New World, set for October release through Dutch label Non Serviam Records.


Founded in 2017 by Jules Kicka, Catalyst drags the old-school death metal sound forward to open it up to more contemporary, technical, and progressive shades. The band’s well-received Dawn Of A Dreadful Fate debut EP was released in the band’s first year of existence, followed by the critically acclaimed first album, The Great Purpose Of The Lords, in 2019. Now, 2022 sees Catalyst prepared to unleash their devastating second LP, A Different Painting For A New World.


The original story of The Catalyst, a vital core character of the band’s concept, is here delivered through ten brand new tracks that push Catalyst’s sound to new levels of technical prowess. The hour-long A Different Painting For A New World is a diverse, enigmatic, and epic album which consumes the listener with uncompromising ferocity powerful enough to tear a hole in the sky.




Drums for Catalyst’s A Different Painting For A New World were recorded at Boundless Productions Studio with engineers Flavien Morel and Clément Denys, performed by former drummer Paul Loup who has since been replaced by Stéphane Petit. The rest of the instruments were recorded by the band’s guitarist/vocalist Jules Kicka, bassist/backing vocalist Jefferson Brand, and guitarist/backing vocalist Florian Iochem, after which the tracks were mixed and mastered by HK Krauss at Vamacara Studio (Loudblast, Sinsaneum, Dagoba). The artistic direction of the album’s impressive cover was entrusted to Vincent Fouquet from Above Chaos (Meshuggah, Moonsorrow, Kataklysm), highlighting the battle between The Creator and The Catalyst, illustrating several tracks of the album, with photography from Mathieu Ferrera.


Catalyst collectively declares, "We are beyond excited to finally reveal the result of our hard work for the past three years. This magnum opus is called A Different Painting For A New World and is way more brutal and epic than our previous releases. With this album, we tried to push our own boundaries, to go further to create something unique to our eyes, something that we are proud of. We can't wait to show you the result of those years of work!”


A Different Painting For A New World will be released through Non Serviam Records on October 14 as a limited digipak CD including a 16-page booklet, as a gatefold 2xLP including colored vinyl, and on all major digital platforms.


A Different Painting For A New World can be pre-ordered at the Catalyst Bandcamp here and the Non Serviam Records webshop here.


Watch for multiple official singles and videos to be issued advancing the release of A Different Painting For A New World.





A Different Painting For A New World tracklisting:


"Gathering Of New Forces"
"To Unleash Thy Heinous Fate"
"The Last Warning"
"Worms And Locusts"
"Arise Of The Anathema"
"Paragon Of Devastation"
"Behold Thy Purification"
"Peripeteia"
"The Catalyst's End"
"A Different Painting For A New World"





Lineup:


Jules Kicka – guitar, lead vocals
Jefferson Brand – bass, backing vocals
Florian Iochem – guitar, backing vocals
Stéphane Petit – drums, backing vocals


(Photos - Mathieu Ferrera)

Unhealer was formed in the deep woods of Dalecarlia, Sweden in the pandemic summer of 2020. Founding members Jonas Gryth and Pär Wallman picked up where they left off many years ago, playing a blend of hardcore and metal.


At first, it was all about good old punk rock fun with no particular plan, but hours turned into songs and after about a year they hit the studio. Jonas long-term musical partner Andreas Baier, (also in V, Besvärjelsen, Afgrund), was brought in to put his brutal voice into the songs. The studio session went beyond anything the members had expected and secured an overseas deal with Wormholedeath.


The band's self-titled debut album, Unhealer, will be released on August 28 via Wormholedeath worldwide.




Unhealer speaking of their debut stated: The self-titled debut full length of Unhealer was recorded in two separate sessions 2021-2022. The band signed to Wormholedeath in between the two recording sessions. Musically Unhealer will appeal to people who like some metal with their hardcore or some hardcore with their metal. Melodic progressive riffs, straight-on up-beat moshpit, and fiercely screaming vocals will hit the listener, most likely like a cast iron fist to the chest. Lyrically the album throws a hard punch on totalitarian -ism´s but also tells stories about sociological phenomena, broken friendships, and personal loss."





Tracklisting:


"Stretch This Cold Heart"
"Claimant"
"Sedate Enslave"
"The Stand"
"The Nest"
"Caliphate"
"The Ghost"
"Behavioural Repertoire"
"Stand Trial"


"Claimant" audiostream video:





Lineup:


Jonas Gryth – guitars
Pär Wallman – drums
Andreas Baier – vocals

Ugly Kid Joe are back! With Rad Wings Of Destiny - set for international release on October 21 via Metalville Records - the Californians release their first studio album in seven years.


For the new songs, the band once again worked with producer Mark Dodson, who was already responsible for Ugly Kid Joe's multiplatinum debut album, America's Least Wanted, in 1992, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.


Rad Wings Of Destiny will be released as CD digi, vinyl, and limited fan box. In November, Ugly Kid Joe will return to Europe to present the new songs live to their fans.







Rad Wings of Destiny tracklisting:


"That Ain't Livin'"
"Not Like The Other"
"Everything’s Changing"
"Kill The Pain"
"Lola"
"Dead Friends Play"
"Up in the City"
"Drinkin' And Drivin'"
"Failur"
"Long Road"


"Kill The Pain" video:





"That Ain't Livin'" video:





Lineup:


Whitfield Crane: Vocals
Klaus Eichstadt: Guitar
Dave Fortman: Guitar
Cordell Crockett: Bass
Zac Morris: Drums


+


Shannon Larkin: Drums
Sonny Mayo: Guitar
Chris Catalyst: Guitar

Banger TV has uploaded a video of Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER),Nick Oliveri (STÖNER, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, KYUSS) and Kyle and Kelley Juett (MOTHERSHIP) sharing their MOTÖRHEAD stories and love for the Lemmy-fronted band.

Holt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm convinced, and have been for decades, that there's more than one Lemmy, or at least there was.

"We [in EXODUS] used, back in the day, to squander more money on tours," he continued. "When we did a European tour, we insisted that we had to spend a week in London first — to acclimate to the time change. Basically, it was us partying like fucking animals for five to seven days. This was when Lemmy still lived in England and London. And we'd go out to a bar and there's Lemmy. We'd go up and hang out [with] him, do some drugs or whatever and have some drinks. [We'd tell him] 'We're gonna go to this other place.' 'All right. See you guys later.' And we'd get there and he's already sitting at the bar; I mean, he's been there for an hour. And then we went to another place and he's there ahead of us, and we left him sitting at the bar. And ever since then we're convinced that there's at least three different Lemmys, 'cause he couldn't possibly have done it. But, you know, Lemmyis God, so…"

An official video for a cover of MOTÖRHEAD's "Ace Of Spades" by Philip H. Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA),Holt, Chuck Garric (ALICE COOPER),Sacha Dunable (INTRONAUT),Oliveri (STÖNER, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, KYUSS),Dwid Hellion (INTEGRITY),and Zach Wheeler and Tom Polzine (HOWLING GIANT) can be seen below. The track is taken from the MOTÖRHEAD tribute album, "Löve Me Förever: A Tribute To Motörhead", which was released on June 19 via the new in-house label, Psycho Waxx, created by the founders of Psycho Las Vegas festival.

"Ace Of Spades" is one of rock and roll's most beloved and sacred anthems. Covering the bombastic ode to gamblers everywhere is a heavy crown to bear for any musician up for the task. That's why when Psycho Waxx proposed this sacred rite, it was asked of Psycho Las Vegas's most prestigious alumni and metal heavyweights. Rockers whose cred cannot be questioned were challenged to make this legendary piece of music sound fresh, heavy and ring true to MOTÖRHEAD fans all over the world.

Every rock and roll all-star featured on the song contributes a different offering in worship of Lemmy. Anselmo's jagged molasses vocals bounce off Hellion's demon howls while Holt's signature shredding gives the track an extreme outlaw's metallic edge. If you hear that desert rock vibe with a hardcore kick in it, you got Oliveri to thank for that. Kelley and Kyle Juett from MOTHERSHIP contribute the space rock rhythms that blast this message off through the atmosphere to deliver it straight to Lemmy. Wheeler and Polzine contribute HOWLING GIANT's crushing rock and roll to keep the track grounded close to the Earth, adding that massive, unmistakable groove. Sprinkle in Dunable's awesome virtuosity on guitar and Garric's legendary bass and you have a recipe for one of the greatest covers in rock and metal history.

MOTÖRHEAD was a dream headliner for the very first Psycho Las Vegas in 2016, and when the world lost the legendary Lemmy Kilmister, his band became an essential part of Psycho's DNA. In commemoration of Lemmy's legacy, Psycho Waxx is unleashing a double album of MOTÖRHEAD tracks by some of the festival's biggest bombers, being cut during the fest last year (August 20-22, 2021) at National Southwestern Recording in downtown Vegas.

"Löve Me Förever: A Tribute To Motörhead" track listing:

01. KING DUDE - Killed by Death
02. STÖNER - R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
03. HIGH ON FIRE - Iron Fist
04. CEPHALIC CARNAGE - Order / Fade to Black
05. EYEHATEGOD -Motörhead
06. LORD BUFFALO - God Was Never On Your Side
07. HOWLING GIANT w/ Chuck Garric & Calico Cooper - Love Me Like A Reptile
08. MOTHERSHIP - Bomber
09. FOIE GRAS - Born to Lose
10. PSYCHLONA - Iron Horse
11. BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT w/ Matt Pike - Please Don't Touch
12. CREEPING DEATH - In the Name of Tragedy
13. THE BRIDGE CITY SINNERS - Go to Hell
14. EXHORDER - Sacrifice
15. DEATH BY STEREO - Born to Raise Hell
16. MIDNIGHT - Dirty Love
17. RELAXER - America
18. Phil Anselmo / Gary Holt / Kelley Juett / Sacha Dunable / Tom Polzine / Nick Oliveri / Dwid Hellion / Kyle Juett / Chuck Garric / Zach Wheeler - Ace Of Spades

Paul Stanley (KISS),Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW) and Peter Frampton are among the rock musicians who have reacted on social media to the passing of pop icon Olivia Newton-John.

The Grammy Award-winning singer and actress, best known for her role as Sandy in "Grease", died at age 73 following her battle with breast cancer.

Newton-John's husband, John Easterling, confirmed his wife's death Monday via her verified Facebook page, writing that Newton-John "passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends."

"Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," Easterling wrote. "Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer."

Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 43. The cancer returned in 2013 and in May 2019, she revealed that the disease had spread to her back.

Stanley shared a People article about Newton-John's passing and wrote on Twitter: "So Very Sad. She was everyone's sweetheart."

Frampton said: "One of the most genuinely beautiful souls has left us. Olivia Newton-John was an amazing artist in every way. She was a dear friend to me and to all. Olivia is the definition of the phrase 'Down to earth'. I love you Liv".

Bach wrote: "Always get sad when someone has been part of our life forever is no longer here. Can't even explain how much the movie Grease meant to me my dad my family and my wife. I think my favorite Olivia Newton-John song is Magic from Xanadu. I can never get that song out of my head".
So Very Sad. She was everyone’s sweetheart.
Olivia Newton-John Dead at 73: The Star and Grease Icon Dies of Breast Cancer https://t.co/JS1HaHqph0 via @people

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) August 8, 2022


Always get sad when someone has been part of our life forever is no longer here. Can't even explain how much the movie Grease meant to me my dad my family and my wife 🙏 I think my favorite Olivia Newton-John song is Magic from Xanadu 🎶I can never get that song out of my head ✌️ https://t.co/EYrLsY9nk4

— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) August 8, 2022


So sorry to hear about Olivia Newton-John. I was in a band with her 1969/70 called Toomorrow.
RIP Livvy pic.twitter.com/TAtFcNN6Wd

— THE CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE (@SladeTimeline) August 8, 2022


Awful news.https://t.co/KU9sp8pbK1

— Todd La Torre (@ToddLaTorre) August 8, 2022


Fell in love with ONJ watching this performance as a lad. Dearly missed @olivianjhttps://t.co/zV8NmuWQyv

— Todd Dammit Kerns (@todddammitkerns) August 8, 2022


One of the most genuinely beautiful souls has left us. Olivia Newton-John was an amazing artist in every way. She was a dear friend to me and to all. Olivia is the definition of the phrase “Down to earth”. I love you Liv pic.twitter.com/FKyUd7WfRs

— Peter Frampton (@peterframpton) August 8, 2022


R.I.P. Olivia Newton John!!! a.k.a. “Sandy” I had this image of her from grease when I was younger!!! Gone too soon!!! #fuckcancer#Greasepic.twitter.com/wyM8CgrfUJ

— John Corabi (@Crablegs59) August 8, 2022


Olivia Newton-John - Sam - YouTube https://t.co/trfTtKAV48

— Phil Campbell (@MotorheadPhil) August 8, 2022

Canadian thrash metal veterans RAZOR will release "Cycle Of Contempt", on September 23 via Relapse. "Cycle Of Contempt" is a direct, cutthroat record that pulls no punches and takes no prisoners.

The official lyric video for the song "Flames Of Hatred" can be seen below.

RAZOR guitarist Dave Carlo said: "We are so psyched to finally offer this recording to our awesome and patient fanbase! It was our pleasure to make this for you and we sincerely hope you feel it was worth the wait. Play it loud my friends!"

From the catchy, concise riffs and insistent beats of album opener "Flames Of Hatred" to the double-barreled assault, muted power chord chugging and combative gang vocal of album closer "King Shit", "Cycle Of Contempt" is a trenchant reminder of a time when clubs around the world were packed with long-haired bands that played as fast as they could to mosh pits that spun and tumbled like clothes in a short-circuiting dryer.

As energetic and exciting as "Evil Invaders" and as urgent and powerful as RAZOR's 1989 speed-fest "Violent Restitution", "Cycle Of Contempt" showcases a band that never stopped spewing venom.

"I tried to write songs that everybody could listen to and say, 'Yeah, I know a guy who's done that to me or done this, or I know that situation. I can relate to that,'" Carlo said. "And I didn’t want to make everything specifically about me because when you do that, you exclude people. I wanted to include everyone that’s ever felt pissed off about anything."

An unrelenting slab of old-school thrash that showcases RAZOR's encyclopedic knowledge of the past along with Carlo's growth as a songwriter, player, and lyricist, "Cycle Of Contempt" is here to show that RAZOR are as dominating as ever.

"Cycle Of Contempt" track listing:

01. Flames of Hatred
02. Jabroni
03. Off My Meds
04. A Bitter Pill
05. Crossed
06. First Rate Hate
07. Cycle of Contempt
08. Punch Your Face In
09. All Fist Fighting
10. Darkness Falls
11. King Shit

Formed in 1984 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, RAZOR split up in 1992, but reformed in the late 1990s to record another album, titled "Decibels", in 1997. The band dissolved again, and reformed in 2005.

Carlo has been the only permanent member in the band's 38-year history.

W.A.S.P.'s first live performance since December 2019 took place on July 23 at Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden. A week later (July 30),W.A.S.P. also played at Skogsröjet festival in Rejmyre, Sweden.

W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless has issued the following recap of the band's return to the live stage: "It was December 2019, Sao Paulo Brazil, the last time we set foot on any stage of any kind anywhere in the World. Little did any of us know this same 'World' was about to dramatically change… for all of us! At that time we were busy preparing for what was to be the '1984 To Headless' World Tour.

"In late January 2020 James Hetfield [METALLICA] was premiering his Custom Car Collection at the Petersen Car Museum in L.A. and being a vintage 'car guy' myself I was keen on going to check it out. There was a record amount of people attending the show. After taking pic's with a lot of the people there and talking music and cars it all seemed a great time was had by all…. until about a week later. One week later I thought I had come down with the flu and was feeling pretty rotten for about 4-5 days, but then it got worse every day for about 4 more days. Each day seriously worse than the one before. I'd never had anything like this ever happen before. And then I lost all sense of taste and smell for about 10 days. This too had never happened before. So I fought it for about 9 weeks and slowly over the news we start hearing about this strange new illness that nobody really knows what it is. Fast forward a few months and find I'd unknowingly been selected to become a 'Beta Tester' for this horrible new thing that didn't yet even have a name. Well everyone now knows how tragically it all played out all over the World.

"So let's recap the last 2 1/2 years. One global pandemic, One serious worldwide recession with gas prices spinning out of sight, and a monster sitting in the Kremlin deciding now is his time to retake and remake the old Russian Empire.

"Every single persons life was upended and quarantined into mass isolation with literally no where to go but sit and wait. But slowly life, as resilient as it has always been, reared its bloodied head and pushed forward one more time.

"So that brings us to Saturday night, July 23rd in Stockholm, Sweden. It's now been 2 1/2 years since we stood and played in front of an audience. We were seriously concerned about actually getting there. With all the flight cancellations, moving a band and crew and gear is challenging in the best of times. But now there are nightmare scenarios going on out there right now with airlines. But the flight could not have been better and band and crew and gear all arrived safe and ready to make sound.

"The longest break between shows I had ever done before in my life was a 3 year gap after touring the Crimson Idol in 92-93 and then to K.F.D. in 1996. But that was by design, this time it was not. But the funny thing was, when we got ready to do the rehearsals for the K.F.D. tour I had not played live or even been a rehearsal room with a band. I remember putting on the guitar for that first day of rehearsal and I thought, 'I have no idea how to do this anymore'. It was like I was in someone else's body with no clue how to play much less try to sing. That whole first day it was like I was walking around bumping into walls and the simplest of things was like I'd never done it before. But the 2nd day I started getting the hang of it again and the muscle memory returned pretty quickly.

"But although I expected it to be much the same as the K.F.D. rehearsals had been this time was totally different. Don't ask me why. This time the first day in rehearsals I put on the guitar and said to the guy's, 'wow, this is the first time I've stood up with a strap on since Sao Paulo'. Meaning all the guitar playing I'd done during the pandemic was sitting down in a studio. But then I ran back in my head what I had just said. I thought. 'I need to seriously rephrase that' and I told them, 'when I said I had not stood up with a strap on', it sounded like I said 'I hadn't stood up with a Strap-on since Sao Paulo'. Or sit down with one either for that matter. Talk about the ultimate Freudian Slip! Everybody in the room fell over laughing and from that moment forward playing all the songs was joy like I had not experienced in many, many years. Even when we got out on stage in Stockholm and being still totally jet lagged it was joy. The thing I'll remember the most was looking at peoples faces in the crowd. It's something I've seen so many times before but this time it was different. I saw happiness I had not seen in a long, long time and I don't think it was just me. What I believe I was seeing was a collective reaction by the everyone there and it was not like people who had been locked away for a long time, it was more of a collective sense of just joy. That's the best way I can describe it, just pure joy!

"I'm sure there's a lot to be said about 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' and I'm sure deep down on some phycological level we all knew it. And when I say 'we' I mean the band and the whole audience. But that's not what it looked like. It was almost like we were all doing it again for the first time and remembering what all those early shows we saw were all about.

"I'll take your faces with me for the rest of my life. And for that priceless gift…. Thank You Stockholm!

"After the first show in Stockholm we felt pretty good. Considering we had not been on stage in 2 1/2 years it all went pretty smooth. I don't care what anybody says, any Band, and I mean any Band, is going to feel that kind of hesitancy and apprehension after that long of a layoff. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel that. But within just a song or two it was like we never left. The reviews were positive and the audience all seemed to dig it so we up and running once again.

"I would like to take a moment to explain that these 2 shows, as well as they were received, were never meant to be a representation of what the upcoming tour is going to be. They were festivals and our intention was to treat them as such. The upcoming 40th Anniversary Tour will look, sound and feel different than anything we've ever done before. That's not hype, THAT'S A FACT !

"We've been working on this presentation for a while now and I give you my word, this will be different than any other Rock Show we've ever done. On that note, I can say it's been a while since I was as excited about the elements of a show like what we're going to do this Fall. For the two Sweden shows we did not want to reveal anything that's going to be in this coming tour. I don't wanna keep you in suspense, but I'm sure you understand and I promise it'll be worth the wait. Personally I can't wait to get into rehearsals for this new show.

"The Skogsrojet Show was great. It was a little cold when we took the stage, but I like that because it's way easier to perform when it's cooler than being in a swampy sauna. It was also good to talk to some of the other Bands on the bill that we had not been able to run into in a long time.

"And then came the trip home. We got off stage at 1 AM in the morning and had to leave for the airport at 5:30 AM. After a 2 hour ride back to the airport in Stockholm and an 11 hour plane ride, from the time we got up the day before and the combined trip, we had gone 37 hours with zero sleep before we got back to L.A.

"It's like Ray Charles used to say, 'I don't get paid for playing, I get paid for traveling!' Truer words have never been spoken.

"So Good Night Sweden - We'll See You Next Year.

"BUT - Look out America - Very Soon….We're Coming to Hurt You!!"

W.A.S.P. recently postponed its European 40th-anniversary tour, originally scheduled for spring of 2022, until the spring of 2023. The new dates will take place in March, April and May of 2023. All tickets previously purchased for the 2022 tour will be valid at the rescheduled 2023 shows.

W.A.S.P. will embark on its first U.S. tour in a decade this fall. The trek will coincide the band's 40th anniversary and will include support from ARMORED SAINT and MICHAEL SCHENKER on select shows.

Lawless has led W.A.S.P. as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold-out shows across the globe for four decades. He is joined in W.A.S.P.'s current lineup by bassist Mike Duda and guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band span 26 and 18 years respectively, along with drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

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.

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

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

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

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

Two months ago, 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 Appice (Dio's BLACK SABBATH bandmate),bassist/keyboardist Jimmy Bain (Dio's RAINBOW bandmate) and 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

Guitarist and vocalist Joel O'Keeffe of Australian hard rockers AIRBOURNE was interviewed by Janne Innanfors of the Rock Klassiker radio station when his band supported IRON MAIDEN on July 22 at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. One of the topics they discussed was that the fact that the pandemic has shuttered many businesses across the world, including live music venues, especially smaller ones.

Joel said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It makes me angry, this whole thing, because the ecosystem of live music… The whole future of rock and roll depends on small clubs. If you don't have the small stages… When you start out as a band, you can't just go walk onto the IRON MAIDEN stage; you've gotta fucking earn your stripes. And you can't do that unless you go play in front of 10 people — at a 'Battle Of The Bands' kind of thing or anything like that. And it fucking pisses me off, because the small venues, if you kill that, then you kill the future of rock and roll, basically, because that's the only play [new bands] have to play."

He continued: "It makes no sense that governments will help football teams, they'll help all the sports, all of the religions, all of this stuff, but they won't help the arts — music. And if they do, it'll be violins and fucking cellos and not rock and roll. So the more people that get educated of the fact that if you build an apartment, a 12-story apartment building, next to a little venue and then it says you've gotta shut the venue down so a bunch of people can live up there and complain about the noise when they were there 30 years after bands like MOTÖRHEAD learned to play in that room. That's just so crap; it makes no sense. It's one of the things that makes me so fucking angry."

Joel added: "What would be great is if the Dave Grohls and the Lars Ulrichs and everyone got together and said, 'We're gonna change this. We're gonna go to the governments. 'Cause they always come to our shows.' There's always the politician that wants the backstage pass. It's, like, 'Well, here's 10 minutes of our time in the backstage area. You do this, you kill this. So while you wanna go to the FOO FIGHTERS gig and the METALLICA gig, the future bands from your city won't be able to have a future 'cause literally the laws that you make and the laws that you govern stop it.'

"So, it's one of those things that just makes me [really angry], because it's just wrong," he reiterated. "And after a two-year pandemic and all this sort of stuff, there's so many kids learning guitars, there's so many kids wanting to play, and if they don't have a stage to play on, where are they gonna play? And you saw the little kids out there tonight. This is a band that's been going for 40 years, and there's kids out there watching Dave Murray, watching Janick [Gers], watching them play, watching Steve Harris play bass, watching Bruce [Dickinson] sing and drummers who wanna be like Nicko [McBrain]. That's still alive. We can still do it. So if we can stop that around the world, that would be great."

AIRBOURNE's latest album, "Boneshaker", was released in October 2019. The cover artwork for the disc was a collaboration between Matt Read of Combustion Ltd., and Sean Tidy of Design House Studio Ltd.

With the creation of "Boneshaker", AIRBOURNE decided to take the bolder path — to align with Nashville producer Dave Cobb, whose credits include both Chris Stapleton and "A Star Is Born" soundtrack.

AIRBOURNE is planning to enter the studio in late 2022 to begin work on a new album for a 2023 release.

Image credit: Marshall

Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing presents "Solid Rock", a new XL-sized coffee table book which will be exclusively available from Always Distinctive via their dedicated online store.

"Solid Rock - The Collector's Edition" is a special pre-release set of limited editions, only available by pre-order, and includes a limited number of Downing-signed and -personalized versions. They are only available at www.metaldefender.co.uk.

A whole host of the greatest rock and metal guitarists ever to plug in an electric guitar are immortalized in "Solid Rock", each stunningly represented across a double-page spread, including a full-page vintage image and original design alongside a unique commentary drawn from "in-conversation" sessions with Downing — Grammy Award-winning guitarist and a founding member of JUDAS PRIEST.

K.K. states: "Join me as I look back over my incredible journey in rock and heavy metal.

"It has certainly been an honor and a privilege to meet and gig with so many of the great players in 'Solid Rock'.

"Without rock and metal, the music we love, our lives would not be what they are today.

"So many millions of fans also shared this wonderful journey throughout the decades with these great artists; this era may one day be gone but will never be forgotten! It will certainly live on inside 'Solid Rock'.

"'The Collector's Edition' is a wonderful illustrative compilation featuring 75 of these icons that not only played and performed but also composed so many legendary and timeless songs. It is the ultimate memoir and celebration of an era that will always be honored and revered by us all, for eternity."

"Solid Rock - The Collector's Edition" is scheduled for release on February 28, 2023.

K.K. departed JUDAS PRIEST 11 years ago but looked back on his time with the British metal titans in his autobiography, "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", which came out in September 2018. The book, which was written with collaborator Mark Eglinton, covers all of the behind-the-scenes turbulence that led to Downing's exit from PRIEST, including his strained relationship with Glenn Tipton and his gripes with certain managerial decisions.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties." Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

Downing recently launched a new band called KK'S PRIEST, in which he is joined by former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals), along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK'S PRIEST's debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", was released in October via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

Downing spent four months writing and recording "Sermons Of The Sinner" and, along with new ideas, he even resurrected a few archived riffs from the '80s.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

Official Release - reserve a personalised copy here...

Posted by K.K.Downing's Metal on Sunday, August 7, 2022

In a new interview with Noise11.com, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer was asked why he hasn't yet released a solo album. He laughed and responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I don't know. That's a good question. These days I don't know if people are really interested that much in buying music now, to be honest with you. I mean, KISS isn't doing records, nobody is really doing records, because the business has changed so much. It's all about streaming. And it's hard to sell records these days and people aren't really buying music — sadly, that's just not happening. So it kind of disincentivizes you to spend a lot of time writing [and] recording albums and doing that, even though it's fun and it's cool to go through that creative process. But I don't know if it really makes sense."

Earlier this month, Thayer told Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips that he will continue to play music once KISS completes its ongoing "End Of The Road" farewell tour. "I don't know if I'll ever be in another band and that sort of thing, because how can you stop being in KISS?" he said. "But I'll probably still be involved in music or in the entertainment biz on some level — maybe even with KISS, 'cause KISS is not gonna go away; the touring thing is, but the entity of KISS and the brand and the music, that's not gonna stop. So maybe there's something for me to be involved with that."

He continued: "I've been doing some other things — I've been involved in developing some animation projects, children's animation projects, and maybe some of that will see the light of day. I've also been delving into the wine business a little bit now. I bought some vineyard property up in Oregon, and I've got some wines coming out through my brother's wine label. So there's a lot of things. I'm always pretty busy; I'm quite involved in a lot of things. But as far as bands and things like that, playing in bands, I think this will be it for me as far as that goes."

A month ago, KISS singer and bassist Gene Simmons told Finland's Chaoszine that "End Of The Road" will be extended to hit 100 more cities around the world before he and his bandmates exit the stage for good. Speaking about when he envisions the tour coming to an end, the 72-year-old rocker couldn't say for sure. "We don't know. We've never retired before. This is our first time," he said. "It's like painting a painting or writing a book. When somebody says, 'When is it gonna be finished?' You're in the middle of it; you don't know."

Simmons then spoke about the decision to extend the tour. "The crew is happy. Everybody's happy," he explained. "So we've decided to add another 100 cities before we stop. I don't know how long that's gonna take."

Four years ago, Thayer admitted to Argus Leader in an interview that his addition to KISS in 2003 as the replacement for Ace Frehley was met with some backlash from the band's fans. However, now that he has been in KISS even longer than Frehley's combined years, he said that he has become more comfortable in the lead guitar role.

"I have to be honest, when I first came into the band, there was some pressure," Thayer said. "It was kind of a no-win situation when you're replacing somebody like that. There's a lot of fans who are unhappy with this and I understand. They followed the band for a long time and it's hard to see things like that change sometimes. After a few years went by, I got more confident and more comfortable in the situation, as time goes on, it continues to be a growing experience and something that I get more used to."

Last December, Thayer told Guitar World about what he thinks his legacy with KISS will be: "I don't know if many people realize this, but I've been the lead guitarist in KISS longer than any other KISS guitar player. But I will always be known as 'the new guy' though — no matter what happens. I'm 'the Ronnie Wood' of KISS.

"My legacy will be a guy who came in, worked hard, and was the glue that kept the band together for a long period of time," he continued. "I think the kind of character and personality that I have is that of a team player and somebody who can bring people together and bind things together.

"And I think the reason that we've done so well and so consistently in the last 20 years is because of the personalities, the give and take, and the ability to keep everybody happy… and keep working together on a professional level.

"It works well. I'll probably be that guy that has been in the band longer than anybody else besides Gene and Paul [Stanley], that kept things together, and was the glue that made it work."

Image credit: Gibson

Former SEPULTURA guitarist Jairo Guedz joined Max and Igor "Iggor" Cavalera on stage on August 4 in Curitiba, Brazil and on August 5 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to perform the early SEPULTURA classic "Troops Of Doom", a song that Jairo co-wrote. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Jairo's new band THE TROOPS OF DOOM was the support act at the Curitiba, and Rio De Janeiro shows.

THE TROOPS OF DOOM's debut album, titled "Antichrist Reborn", arrived in April via Alma Mater Records, the Portuguese label run by MOONSPELL's Fernando Ribeiro. It is digitally available via Blood Blast distribution.

SEPULTURA was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais. Jairo joined the group the following year and played on the band's first two releases, 1985's "Bestial Devastation" EP and their 1986 full-length debut, "Morbid Visions". He also participated in the early songwriting sessions for 1987's "Schizophrenia".

In early 1987, Jairo quit SEPULTURA and was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Andreas Kisser.

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006).

After Max exited SEPULTURA, there was a rift between him and Igor, one that was eventually repaired through the redemptive power of music. Some time had passed and Max and Igor were unable to resist the musical pull in their magnetic fields and their musical collaboration was renewed. The duo came back for round two with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, which released its debut album, "Inflikted", in March 2008 and follow-up effort, "Blunt Force Trauma", in March 2011.

Max and Igor played together for the first time in 10 years at the 10th annual D-Low Memorial Festival on August 17, 2006 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona.

Max and Igor kicked off the 2022 "Return Beneath Arise" tour in May in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The trek sees them performing select tracks from SEPULTURA's seminal "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" albums.

Playing lead guitar on tour with Max and Igor in South America is FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares.

Professionally filmed video of HEART singer Ann Wilson performing the band's classic song "Barracuda" earlier today (Saturday, August 6) at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Grammy.com, Ann was asked if she and her sister and HEART bandmate Nancy have any plans for the band to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. She responded: "Yes, we do. I'm not at liberty to say exactly what they are yet because it's such early days, but sure. It will be next year. And we're doing a thing. Definitely. We're still formulating it now."

Ann's latest comments came three months after she denied rumors of a rift with Nancy. In an interview in the 300th issue of Classic Rock, Ann said that she is "not" feuding with her younger sister. "It's a myth," she insisted. "Nancy and I are okay with each other. We just have different ideas for what HEART should be, and we haven’t figured out a compromise yet.

"Fifty years on, I still want it to break barriers and rules, and she's more satisfied to ride the L.A. imaging thing and just do legacy stuff," Ann explained. "So that's a real split between us. Things like this will happen, though, but then they'll get better, and we'll love each other more."

Relations between the two sisters were considered to be at an all-time low after a much-publicized incident when Ann's husband was arrested during a HEART tour in 2016. But in a recent interview with Rock Candy magazine to coincide with the release of her new solo album, "Fierce Bliss", Ann said: "Things happen in families. And that was a really good example of something that happened within a family, and we worked it out. But the part that made it hard was that it happened in the public eye. If it had happened privately, we'd have got the family in a room and sat down and worked it out between us. Instead, the police were called, and this myth was born that Nancy and I were feuding, and we were at each other's throats all the time. And it's really not like that at all."

A proposed HEART tour fell through last year after the two sisters failed to agree on which backing band to use. Ann wanted her guys, Nancy didn't. But Ann now says that another HEART album, which would be the band's first since 2016's "Beautiful Broken", is a definite possibility, especially considering the fact that 2023 marks HEART's 50th anniversary.

"It depends on the songs," she said in her Rock Candy interview. "The songs lead everything. And I'm writing songs again now. I don't know if they'll be for my solo thing or for HEART. But yes, I would like to make another HEART album."

Ann previously said that HEART will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023 "because next year's the 50-year [anniversary] of when we actually got together and got going," she told Liz Barnes of Planet Rock's "My Planet Rocks". "Nancy didn't join until '75, but the band got going in '73. So, yeah, we have a bunch of stuff planned for next year. So I can definitely see HEART doing something."

Six months ago, Nancy spoke to Joe Rock of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB radio station about why HEART has been inactive for most of the past three years.

"HEART had a big offer on the table last year for a bigger tour, but Ann wasn't interested in going out with my lineup of guys that we were out with before," she said. "She has a new lineup of guys that she wanted me to join up with. And I sort of [thought] I don't really know them and don't have loyalty yet for anybody like that."

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after the aforementioned nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

Ann and Nancy had a falling out during HEART's 2016 tour, when Ann's husband Dean Welter was arrested for assaulting Nancy's then-16-year-old twin sons in a backstage altercation at a gig near their hometown of Seattle. He pleaded guilty to two lesser assault charges to avoid jail time.

After completing HEART's 2016 tour, Nancy formed a new band called ROADCASE ROYALE and released an album, "First Things First". ROADCASE ROYALE featured three members of HEART along with Liv Warfield from Prince's NEW POWER GENERATION band and her guitarist Ryan Wilson.

In Nancy's new band NANCY WILSON'S HEART, she is joined in the group by her longtime collaborators, guitarist Ryan Waters, drummer Ben Smith, bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker, along with powerhouse singer Kimberly Nichole.

Nancy's debut solo album, "You And Me", was released in May 2021 via Carry On Music. The LP was recorded primarily in her California home studio, working with bandmembers and special guests remotely.