Finnish heavy metal act, Oceanhoarse, have unleashed their brand new single, "Heads Will Roll", onto the world. The single comes along with a music video, that you can watch below. Stream the track here.





Ben Varon comments: "We've been working on 'Heads Will Roll' for a few years, as it took a while for us to find the right groove for it. But we've believed in the song's potential from the beginning, so we kept at it. Finally, with the help of producer Kari Huikuri, we managed to capture the song as we feel it should be, while playing it live in the studio. No click tracks, just four musicians locking in and going for it. I think that energy shows through the end result!"




He continues: "Lyrically, the song is another take on one of my 'favorite' subjects, which is corruption, tyranny and overall inhuman behaviour. Unfortunately, this song feels more relevant than ever right now..."





Having released their debut studio album Dead Reckoning in 2021 via Noble Demon, followed by multiple single releases, Oceanhoarse like to stay busy and might be one of the most remarkable and hard working newcomers out there right now. The band's explosive mix of crushing riffs as well as intense and groovy arrangements not only brought the band on tour with Swedish progressive metal masters Soon recently, but also praise from fans and press alike.


(Photo - Arto Lindén)

Vegas blackened deathcore band, Ov Sulfur, announce their signing to Century Media Records.


“We’re beyond excited to join forces with Century Media, whose stellar roster speaks for itself. They’ve been at the forefront of every scene, regularly picking up the best each subgenre has to offer right before it really explodes. That they saw promise in us was truly affirming and invigorating, especially after only a year-and-a-bit as a band,” states the band about signing to Century Media.


Additionally, Ov Sulfur are gearing up to release their new track, “Wide Open”, on June 8. Stay tuned for more details on that release.




In the meantime, the band have launched a contest for their Century Media debut track. Fans can pre-save/pre-add the single starting today, here, and one lucky winner will win Ricky’s custom made “Wide Open” shirt seen in the band’s previous music video for “Behind The Hand Of God” and during all their live shows.


“We’ve been teasing ‘Wide Open’ since our first music video, where Ricky wore a custom-made shirt that quickly became his stage gear. We’re happy that this liminal song will serve as our first release on Century Media, closing the last chapter and ushering in a new one.”


“Fans have been asking about where to get that shirt for AGES, and as of now you can - well one person can. One person who pre-saves/pre-adds the single will win Ricky’s original shirt. (Don’t worry, we’ll wash it first.) We’ve also got a revamped version playing off the single art for sale on our Indie Merch store.”


Someone should have warned God to keep his enemies close because Ricky Hoover’s been biding his time and sharpening his blades. The former Suffokate vocalist swapped his mic for a straight razor, tour life for family life and, yes, those huge stretched ears for comparably large muscles. In short, Hoover is ready for war.


Last August’s Oblivion EP was just the first volley, one planned over a decade away from music. With Century Media on board, it’s about to get goddamn apocalyptic on forthcoming single “Wide Open” and beyond. “Wide Open” finds their blackened deathcore reaching bleaker depths, with Hoover’s growls plumbing the abyssic depths and summoning lesser demons’ screeching. Guitarists Chase Wilson and Matt Janz build the perfect brutal backdrop complete with three breakdowns - plus a dueling solo for good measure - while mononymously named rhythm section (bassist Ding and drummer Leviathvn) provide a solid yet frenetic base.


A band born from the pandemic, it’s been less than a year since the debut release and just over one since debut single “Behind the Hand of God,” yet the growth is palpable. The band sold out their first show, which doubled as a record release, following it with two weekends of solid headliners before hitting the road with the likes of Carnifex, Impending Doom, Signs of the Swarm, Bury Your Dead, Enterprise Earth, Worm Shepherd and more. Up next is a run supporting As I Lay Dying, Whitechapel and Shadow of Intent.

Los Angeles-based rock outfit, Budderside, beg to find the truth of life and its meaning with their new single, “The Truth”, out today across all digital streaming platforms. Stream/download it here.


Vocalist, songwriter and founding member Patrick Stone seeks out these answers in the song’s music video filmed at a valley in Santa Barbara nearby where his Mother used to live. Watch “The Truth” music video, directed by Vicente Codero, below.


Stone elaborated on the inspiration for “The Truth” stating: “My mother’s home use to sit at the top of the valley where we filmed the video in Santa Barbara. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful flowers and sunsets in my life there and had always thought it would be an amazing place to shoot. I remember sitting on her porch, it was like a theatre to watch God paint every day and night. It’s the exact opposite of where you’d expect to see this song explained. The truth is-- no pun intended--that this song is so dark it’s dangerous to focus on its lesson. Hopefully, sharing it this way will allow listeners to lean into the grove and dual guitar solo more than its honest lyrics. For once, I’m actually happy to avoid explaining and more devoted to distracting with the visuals. It had to be daunting somehow, though, and I got fixated on the rapture and how insane that would be to see. Religious beliefs are not our brand, but what lies beyond the stars and the secrets we keep played out well into this story.”







Read a Q&A below with Stone on new music, how the band’s name was formed and on how other rock bands keep borrowing the band’s musicians.


Q: Can you share how Budderside’s new album compares to past releases? What inspired or led to those artistic/style changes and why?


Stone: “It’s finally the music I’ve always wanted Budderside to be. Not that my heart and soul isn’t in everything that came before, but the whole band being as talented as they are really makes a difference in the writing, the music and the vibe. I also blame our entertainment lawyer and close friend, Eric German. He had the balls to tell us what wasn’t working and wasn’t afraid to be completely blunt. I’ve always respected Eric and the artists he works with and instead of letting his advice break me, it set me on fire.”


Q: You worked with producer Matt Good on the new album who’s worked with a lot of mainstream radio rock acts including Asking Alexandria and Hollywood Undead. Can you share how he may have added to developing Budderside’s overall sound on the album? What did he bring to the table that you felt differed from past producers?


Stone: “Eric German introduced us to Matt and Budderside quickly became his band, too. He demands greatness and constantly challenged us with styles and sounds we were uncomfortable with. It was exactly what we needed. Going in, I was completely hopeful a metamorphosis would happen, and it did. He’s hands-on about every detail and we don’t move forward until we all agree it’s perfect. We landed in a very unique and radical space with the new sound.


“His style is what makes him stand out from the rest. Matt is producing what hasn’t been done before. He’s the leader in his genre if you ask me. I love the bands he’s worked with, and you can tell the difference in the songs they’ve recorded with him and those without. He brings that special energy. Something about me changed and you can hear it in the new music. My preconceived notions about vocals dissolved from technique to truth. I was like a guitar being plugged into an amp for the first time. Everything was on 11. Putting Matt Good’s name on ours is one of our proudest achievements.”


Q: What inspired you to write “The Truth”?


Stone: “The truth. Pun intended this time. What the f*ck does this life mean? What are we doing here? What happens next? I’m suffering. Life seems to be one struggle on top of another and I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m constantly afraid the next thing is going to push me over the edge. Have I lost sight of who I am? My bandmates believe in me and writing this song together helped me see I’m not alone. We all want to know. Give me the truth! Killing ourselves to mean something to someone, for something.”


Q: If you had the chance to be abducted by a UFO, would you take the plunge? Why or why not? If so, what truths would you expect to find from such an experience?


Stone: “Definitely. I’d expect to find exactly that, ‘the truth.’ To know the truth and to unlock the great mystery would be extremely exciting and yet bring abundant peace.”


Q: This has got to be your most asked question but you’ve shared different answers in previous interviews—for once and for all, will you tell us what the name ‘Budderside’ means and why you chose it for the band?


Stone: “There is no exact answer. What does life mean? Answer that and you’ve described its definition. How about the “F” word? Use Budderside like you use that word and you get it. If you can explain it, you ain’t got it! Narrow minded people don’t get it. Lemmy got it and that was good enough for me. The people that understand me and accept me for who I am are behind the name. To challenge that is a fight you will lose. You could say Gandhi or Einstein are strange rolling off the tongue, but not once you understand what they stood for. Once you understand us, you’ll see it and say it differently, like we do. It’s the name of a very meaningful rock band.”


Q: When people see/hear the name Budderside, what do you think they think the band sounds like? What do you want them to think?


Stone: “I would expect them to be very curious. When they hear it, I want them to be totally blown away.”


Q: Knowing that you handpicked the members of the band, how does it feel now that other large rock bands have been ‘borrowing’ them for tours, etc?


Stone: “Dorothy thanked me backstage last night for letting her ‘borrow Sam’ for her recent tour. I’m sure she knows she didn’t have to say that, but she did anyways and made me feel really good about it. I love her talent and her songs, and she deserves the very best. She knows that’s exactly what Sam is. I’m really proud to be a part of Budderside. Budderside is Sam’s band just as Budderside is Logan’s band, who’s opening for Shinedown in arenas every night with Diamante currently… and that’s where we belong. Five fingers of a hand clawing its way into the life we deserve, together.”


“The Truth” is one of the many highlights on the band’s upcoming and as-yet-untitled album. Due this fall via oneRPM, it was recorded with producer Matt Good (Asking Alexandria, Hollywood Undead). “The Truth” follows the devilish single “Never Worth It”. Previously released singles include the mental health awareness oriented “Too Far,” the self-questioning “Ghostlighting” (and its Scooby Doo-inspired music video) and the album’s debut anthemic track “Voices”.








Budderside is:


Patrick Stone – Vocals
Gabe Maska – Bass
Jeff Dewbray – Drums
Sam Koltun – Guitars
Logan Nikolic – Guitars


(Photo - Mathias Fau)

Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE played their second show with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) last night (Sunday, May 29) at the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

Nordberg made his live debut with DEICIDE a week earlier, on May 21, at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Three months ago, Nordberg spoke about how he landed the DEICIDE gig in an interview with "The Zach Moonshine Show". He said: "In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE in the U.S. And we got to know the guys and got along really well. And I actually found out that Glen [Benton, DEICIDE frontman] lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, where we live. So Jeramie and Glen became good buddies and they ride bikes all the times. It's a funny little thing, thinking about that. But long story short, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I believe he's the head of A&R at Dean Guitars so he's focusing on that for right now. I heard that they needed a guitar player, so I learned a couple of songs, made a couple of videos, and Glen saw 'em and liked what he saw. So we had a couple of practices, and bing bang boom, here we are."

Cannella amicably left DEICIDE in January after a three-year run.

When Benton first announced Nordberg's addition to DEICIDE, he said in a statement: "We are pleased to announce and welcome Taylor Nordberg to the DEICIDE family! An amazing and accomplished guitarist who takes our sound to the next level and brings a profound level of professionalism that completes and compliments the DEICIDE machine!"

Cannella said in a separate statement: "Yes, it is true. I am no longer in DEICIDE. There is no drama and we all kept it quiet as to not lead into drama or speculation.

"I have all the love and respect for Glen, Steve and Kevin. I had so many great times over the last three years I cherish for a lifetime, especially the friendship.

"Cheers to all and thanks for all the love and support. I'm excited for what's to come."

Cannella joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

In February, Nordberg was asked in an interview with the "Brews N Tunes" podcast if he and his new bandmates have commenced work on the follow-up to 2018's "Overtures Of Blasphemy" album. He responded: "They had started most of the new album before I joined, but since announcing [that we are going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of DEICIDE's sophomore album] 'Legion' [by performing the LP in its entirety], we've kind of shifted gears and we're trying to lock that in and get a set prepped just in the event that a show pops up. But they have most of the new album prepped, and then we're hammering out, ironing out some details with the last couple songs. So hopefully that will be out this year. I don't know any concrete plans on when we're gonna start pre-production or recording or any of that. But hopefully this year. That would be awesome. But the material is sounding killer. It sounds like DEICIDE."

"Overtures Of Blasphemy" was released in September 2018 via Century Media.



Deicide at Maryland Deathfest XVIII 🤘🏻

Posted by Metall Research on Sunday, May 29, 2022



Deicide @ Maryland Deathfest 2022

Posted by Carlos Gómez on Sunday, May 29, 2022



Deicide!

Posted by William Muñoz on Sunday, May 29, 2022



My favorite band of Death metal loseng this 3 days of madness!!!! 😈🔥 Deicide

Posted by Majo Pazmino on Sunday, May 29, 2022



Deicide

Posted by Kevin Ashley on Sunday, May 29, 2022

Lacrimosa have been at the forefront of their genre for over 30 years. As one of the first bands to combine gothic sounds with metal, rock and symphonic elements, they have been reinventing themselves with each of their albums since the mid-'90s and have repeatedly crossed all genre boundaries. From Peru over China or Romania to Taiwan, they've performed shows all over the world and have thus became icons of dark German poetry.


With their current album Leidenschaft, which was celebrated by fans and critics alike as one of the strongest of their career, they set another milestone, and for the first time since its original release on Christmas 2021, the album is now also available on vinyl. The red-white-black marbled double LP includes a 20-page booklet.


On August 12, the Leidenschaft 2LP will be released in gatefold via Atomic Fire Records under exclusive license from Hall Of Sermon, and you can now pre-order the album here.




"Lacrimosa's first album wasn't a CD, but deliberately an LP," recalls mastermind Tilo Wolff. "I have to admit, I didn't believe in the future of CDs back then. The covers were way too small and the overall feel just couldn't be compared to the feeling of pulling an LP out of its case. I've mourned the beautiful LPs for thirty years, but those times are over now: Vinyl is back!"





Tracklisting:


Side A:
"Liebe über Leben"
"Führ mich nochmal in den Sturm"


Side B:
"Kulturasche"
"The Daughter Of Coldness"
"Raubtier"


Side C:
"Die Antwort ist Schweigen"
"Celebrate The Darkness"
"Augenschein"


Side D:
"Die Liebenden"
"Exodus"





(Photo - Schokopixel)

L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns has announced the addition of drummer Shawn Duncan to the group's ranks. Duncan joins L.A. GUNS as the replacement for Shane Fitzgibbon, who had played with the band from 2016 to 2019 and again from 2021 until his latest departure.

Duncan has recorded with and/or appeared on stage with a number of notable hard rock musicians over the years, including Dizzy Reed (GUNS N' ROSES),Jack Russell and Mark Kendall (GREAT WHITE),Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES),Frank Hannon (TESLA) and Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT).

Last November, Coogan, a veteran session drummer who has also played with Ace Frehley, LYNCH MOB and Lita Ford, accused L.A. GUNS singer Phil Lewis of "conjuring up" a reason for his exit from the group. Specifically, he denied Lewis's assertion that Coogan quit L.A. GUNS because he "didn't have a studio" where he could lay down the drum tracks for the band's latest album, "Checkered Past", resulting in L.A. GUNS' decision to enlist longtime engineer Adam Hamilton to play on the record instead.

As for the real reason he left L.A. GUNS, Coogan said: "To be honest, the reason I made that decision is because I have moved on. I enjoy playing with Tiffany and Stephen Pearcy. And there was confusion about these dates that came up with L.A. GUNS. Because I was told we weren't gonna tour until New Year's. And so I had dates planned. And then they said, 'Oh, you have to do these shows.' And I said, 'I can't.' So there was all that. And then the way that that was handled — I'm not gonna say any names or anything, but the way it was handled, I just got a real bad taste in my mouth. And I said, 'You know what, guys? I'm gonna bow out and do what I'm doing now,' which is the Tiffany band and Stephen Pearcy. And I'm very happy — I'm very healthy and happy doing those two gigs right now. And I didn't want to go back and have things be weird with L.A. GUNS. So I just decided to quit."

L.A. GUNS recently announced a 40-date U.S. tour for this spring, summer and winter. The trek will kick off on June 1 in Liverpool, New York and will run through New Year's Eve in West Hollywood, California.

"Checkered Past" was released last November via Frontiers Music Srl. The effort marked L.A. GUNS' third album since the 2016 reunion of the band's core members Lewis and Guns. It follows 2017's "The Missing Peace" and 2019's "The Devil You Know".

In April 2021, a settlement was reached between drummer Steve Riley and Guns and Lewis over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Guns and Lewis continue to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS will now operate under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS.

L.A. GUNS was formed in 1983 and have sold over six million records, including 1988's "L.A. Guns" and 1990's "Cocked And Loaded", both of which were certified gold. "Cocked And Loaded" contained the hit single "The Ballad Of Jayne" that went to No. 33 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. From the mid-'90s to the mid 2000s, L.A. GUNS continued to tour and release new music. Following their successful performance at SiriusXM's Hair Nation festival in September 2016, L.A. GUNS went into the studio to record the critically acclaimed "The Missing Peace", which was the highest-selling release for Frontiers Music Srl in 2017. Their 12th album, "The Devil You Know", was released in 2019 to the same critical acclaim. Since reuniting, Tracii and Phil continue to tour around the world with L.A. GUNS, which currently includes Johnny Martin (bass) and Ace Von Johnson (guitar).

[email protected] to personally welcome @shawnduncan007 into the @laguns family ❤️

Posted by TRACII GUNS on Thursday, May 26, 2022

Looking forward to this! Hope to see some of you out there! #LAGUNS #SonicSlam

Posted by Shawn Duncan on Thursday, May 26, 2022

In 2020, FOZZY singer Chris Jericho joined forces with TRIXTER/FOZZY bassist P.J. Farley, guitarist Joe McGinness and drummer Kent Slucher to form a 1980s KISS cover band called KUARANTINE. The band's latest single, a version of "Silver Spoon", which originally appeared on KISS's 1989 album "Hot In The Shade", can be streamed below. The new track, available via Madison Records with distribution by The Orchard, was the second most added song this week on the Billboard Rock Indicator chart and marks the fourth release from KUARANTINE, which has been entertaining fans with its versions of KISS rarities and some good ol' fashioned rock music.

"I'm pleasantly surprised as to how much attention and buzz KUARANTINE has achieved since we released our first song only a few years ago," shares Jericho. "Record companies…and groupies…have been sliding into our DMs daily with requests, offers, endorsements, and the question, 'What's the next track gonna be?'. Well, the time has come to unleash 'Silver Spoon' and turn the rock 'n' roll world into a damn zoo. Let us see all the animals!"

KUARANTINE's version of "Silver Spoon" has even drawn praise from KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who said: "My favorite song on 'Hot In The Shade' by far. Sounds great… well done!"

KUARANTINE first debuted in May 2020 with the release of "No No No", which reached No. 25 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The band has since issued its versions of "Heart Of Chrome", featuring former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, and "Love's A Deadly Weapon", amassing nearly half a million total views on their videos on YouTube and close to 200,000 total streams across DSPs.

Later today (Saturday, May 28),KUARANTINE — Jericho, Slucher, McGinness, Farley and second guitarist Carlos "Charlie Parra" Enrique Parra Del Riego Campoverde — will perform at Creatures Fest in Nashville, a three-day music festival that will see all four living former KISS members — Ace Frehley, Bruce Kulick, Peter Criss and Vinnie Vincent — play at the same event for the first time. KUARANTINE is also set to perform on Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager At Sea: Four Leaf Clover, a four-night cruise from Miami to the Bahamas taking place February 2-6, 2023.

Jericho has surrounded himself with a group of top-notch touring musicians for KUARANTINE. Slucher has been the powerhouse behind the kit for country music sensation Luke Bryan for the past 14 years, from small clubs to headlining stadiums and amphitheaters. McGinness is a rising country singer/guitarist, who has shared the stage with artists such as OLD DOMINION, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE and Granger Smith, and is also a member of KLASSIK '78, a digital tribute to '70s KISS. Farley rose to fame in the New Jersey-based gold-selling rock band TRIXTER, which toured with KISS, POISON and SCORPIONS, before writing and recording two solo albums and eventually joining FOZZY in 2020. Newest bandmember Parra, who hails from Lima, Peru, is a global rock guitar YouTube sensation, amassing close to a million followers and over 176 million views on his channel.

In addition to his world-renowned wrestling career, first with World Wrestling Entertainment and now with All Elite Wrestling (AEW),Jericho is the lead singer of FOZZY, which released its eighth full-length album, "Boombox", earlier this month. "Boombox" is highlighted by the band's current Top 20 single "I Still Burn" as well as the Top 10 hits "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane". FOZZY's previous album, 2017's "Judas", elevated the band to new levels courtesy of their gold-certified breakout hit and Top 5 rock single "Judas", heard weekly on TBS Network's "AEW Dynamite" program as Jericho's entrance theme. The pop culture icon is also the host of the widely popular "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, a four-time New York Times best-selling author, and actor, who also runs the entertainment news site Web Is Jericho. For the past three decades, Jericho has established himself as a multi-faceted talent with tens of millions of fans worldwide.

Former ANTHRAX singer Neil Turbin has released his acoustic cover version of "Hurt", a song originally written and recorded in 1994 by the American industrial rock band NINE INCH NAILS. The music video for Turbin's version of the track was recorded and filmed on April 12 at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in Redondo Beach, California.

Neil commented: "I was familiar with NINE INCH NAILS' 'The Downward Spiral' and eventually the Johnny Cash [version of 'Hurt'] around a decade later which helped shed new focus on Johnny Cash and his brilliant song and video performance.

"My reason for covering the song is having something in common with Trent Reznor besides being a singer songwriter and that is that I have been at the former house of his on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon. The feeling and energy I felt while there made the hair on my arms stand on end and gave me chills. I'm not saying that for effect. I just felt some very strong feelings that were not something I normally feel or hardly ever feel. With that being said, I went home that night and started to look up the address since intuitively I felt compelled to try to figure out why I was feeling what I felt. Once I researched it and found out the unbelievable history, I re-discovered this song after some time reviewing related songs. I felt very connected to this brilliant song."

Turbin performed and recorded with ANTHRAX on the original demo recordings and the band's debut album, 1984's "Fistful Of Metal". He wrote the lyrics to all songs on that LP with exception of the cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen", and also has writing credits on five of the seven songs on the band's "Armed And Dangerous" EP (1985),as well as two songs on sophomore album "Spreading The Disease" (1985).

ANTHRAX has had a number of vocalists — including Turbin, Joey Belladonna, Dan Nelson and John Bush — over the last four decades, with guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante remaining the sole bandmembers who have appeared on every one of the group's studio albums.

Turbin sang on "Fistful Of Metal" before getting booted and being replaced by Belladonna. Belladonna performed on four ANTHRAX albums, including the fan favorite "Among The Living" (1987) before he himself was fired over creative and stylistic differences. Bush fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when the band reunited with Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.

DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno joined GOJIRA on stage last night (Saturday, May 28) during the two bands' joint concert at the Amory in Minneapolis, Minnesota to perform a cover of SEPULTURA's "Territory". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier spoke about SEPULTURA's influence on his band's music in an April 2021 interview with Cuartel Del Metal. At the time, he said: "SEPULTURA is massive in the history of our band, for some reason. I discovered 'Arise' first, and I was pretty blown away — it was so dark and so fast and so technical. It was right after I discovered the band DEATH and MORBID ANGEL, and then SEPULTURA. And I was absolutely blown away by their craft. And then, I had a few bands in high school, and I started to get together with my brother. We were playing at home, sometimes after school, and then we decided to form our own band. We dropped our other bands, got together, and 'Chaos A.D.' came along. And we were absolutely blown away — absolutely blown away. And [it was] easy to play too — it's simple riffs. They stripped down everything to the core… I mean, oh my God. They said it all with this album."

As for what he thinks when people compare GOJIRA's song "Amazonia" to SEPULTURA, Joseph said: "I go, 'Yup.' And it's a compliment, and there is no shame here. And we ripped them off, but we didn't do it on purpose. But we realized it right after. We were, like, 'Oh, that sounds like SEPULTURA. Ahhh, whatever.' It's a tribute to SEPULTURA — how about that? It's about Brazil. It's about the Amazon. It's tribal."

"Amazonia" is taken from GOJIRA's latest album, "Fortitude", which came out in April 2021 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2016's "Magma" was recorded and produced by Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE).

Chino and his DEFTONES bandmates were indirectly responsible for the name of Max Cavalera's post-SEPULTURA project. Fresh off his December 1996 split with SEPULTURA, Max spent the better part of 1997 trying to assemble a new group while guesting on DEFTONES' song "Headup", which appeared on the Sacramento alt-metallers "Around The Fur" studio album. Cavalera was struggling to find a name for his new act, going as far as to consult with the leader of the Brazilian Xavantes tribe, who played an integral role in shaping SEPULTURA's "Roots" album. Remembering the made-up word "soulfly" from "Headup", Cavalera found the right name for his post-SEPULTURA band, subsequently revealing it in a surprise announcement on live French television in 1997.



Chino from Deftones on Gojira last song

Posted by Herman Smith on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Thrash metal pioneers EXHORDER recruited former CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist Pat O'Brien for their performance Sunday night (May 29) at the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland. The gig took place three months after guitarist Marzi Montazeri left EXHORDER, explaining at the time in a statement that he "decided to no longer be a part of it."

O'Brien made headlines more than three years ago when he was arrested for burglary and assaulting a police officer while his Florida home was in flames. At the time of the arrest, deputies said he burglarized a house and charged at a deputy with a knife.

O'Brien, who was born in Northern Kentucky, allegedly broke into a Northdale, Florida home and shouted that "the rapture is coming" before pushing a woman to the ground. He ran toward a responding deputy with a knife and was subdued with a stun gun.

Less than half a mile from where O'Brien was arrested, a fire broke out at the house he was renting, sending flames billowing into the night sky from the roof.

The owner of the home where O'Brien was arrested wouldn't go on camera but told ABC Action News he thought the guitarist was hallucinating when he spoke to him and claimed "someone was after him." The homeowner added O'Brien seemed scared and at one point even hid in his closet.

Fire marshals found a large cache of weapon, locked safes and potential explosive devices inside O'Brien's home, including 50 shotguns, 20 semiautomatic rifles, two Uzi-style firearms, 20 handguns and two flamethrowers. Authorities also discovered thousands of rounds as well as additional weapons.

O'Brien, who had been a member of CANNIBAL CORPSE for more than two decades, was released from Hillsborough County jail on December 14, 2018 after posting a $50,000 surety bond. Several days earlier, at a hearing, a judge told the now-57-year-old musician, clad in an anti-suicide vest with his hands and ankles chained together, that he would first have to pass a drug test before he would be allowed to post bail and leave jail.

In March 2021, O'Brien was sentenced to time served and five years of probation and ordered to pay $23,793.45 in restitution. He was also ordered to get drug and alcohol evaluations and render 150 hours of community service. In addition, O'Brien was ordered to abstain from using alcohol and controlled substances and to be subject to random testing.

During an appearance on a June 2019 episode of "The Jasta Show", the podcast hosted by HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta, CANNIBAL CORPSE frontman George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher expressed his shock over O'Brien's arrest, saying: "I don't wanna speculate about what could have happened that night, but it could have been way worse — for him.

"When people were seeing [TV reports about] it — I think on the Tampa news, they were pretty good with him," he continued. "They just said he was one of the best guitar players in death metal in America, and in the world, and he's highly respected. And they didn't really trash him at all. And they showed him on TV."

Fisher went on to say that most of the CANNIBAL fans were very supportive of Pat while he was dealing with his ordeal. "In the metal world, I think in general, 95 percent [of the people], everyone was, like, 'Get well soon,'" he told "The Jasta Show". "I didn't spend too much time reading stuff online, because that's when you get people who just wanna say nasty stuff just to be nasty."

At the time, Fisher said that he and his bandmates were looking forward to O'Brien's return to CANNIBAL CORPSE. "We love him," he told "The Jasta Show". "We want him back. But when I saw him in the court with the vest, dude, I cried. Because we just got home from tour… We wish the best for him, and we're just waiting to see [what happens]. He's got a road ahead of him still with legal issues, and that's out of our hands. We support him 100 percent; we're behind him 100 percent."

In early 2021, it was announced that O'Brien had been replaced in CANNIBAL CORPSE by Erik Rutan, one of the death metal's most acclaimed guitarists who is known for his time as part of MORBID ANGEL throughout the '90s and early 2000s, as well as handling vocals/guitars for HATE ETERNAL.

Shortly after the Houston-based Montazeri announced his departure from EXHORDER, the remaining members of the band — EXHORDER vocalist Kyle Thomas, bassist Jason VieBrooks and drummer Sasha Horn — said that they and Marzi had been "moving in different directions" and assured fans that they would "continue to thrive"

In the 1990s, Marzi hooked up with SUPERJOINT RITUAL, with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo as lead vocalist, and appeared on the band's first two demos. By March of 2010, Marzi rejoined forces with Anselmo to work on what became Philip's first solo project since PANTERA, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS. Marzi recorded THE ILLEGALS' debut album, "Walk Through Exits Only", and toured with the band before exiting the group in November 2015. Two years later, Marzi joined EXHORDER, which released its first album in 27 years, "Mourn The Southern Skies", in September 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Thomas is now the sole remaining founding member of EXHORDER, which released its debut album, "Slaughter In The Vatican", way back in 1990. In February 2020, EXHORDER parted ways with its original guitarist Vinnie LaBella, who wrote much of the material on "Mourn The Southern Skies". The remaining members of the group later issued a statement saying that they would fulfill their "touring and recording obligations for 2020 and beyond."

Last December, Thomas confirmed to the "Brutally Delicious" podcast that he and his bandmates had spent much of the coronavirus downtime working on material for the follow-up to "Mourn The Southern Skies".

In February 2021, Thomas told "The Dan Chan Show" that it wasn't strange for him to be the only remaining founding member of EXHORDER. "At this point, I've jammed with so many people over the years — so many different lineups for this and that, fill-ins and all this stuff. To me, it doesn't really matter as much who's there, as long as the material that's being played is being played within the spirit of that band in particular," he said. "And the stuff that we're writing now, it's amazing. I play it for a lot of people that are my confidants, people love the band, and they're gonna shoot me straight. And the new stuff that we're working on, everybody's, like, 'Wow. It sounds like EXHORDER to me.'"

EXHORDER released two albums in the early 1990s through the Roadrunner label — the aforementioned "Slaughter In The Vatican" and 1992's "The Law" — before breaking up, with Kyle going on to form FLOODGATE and also briefly appearing live as the vocalist for TROUBLE, which he later joined on a full-time basis (and is still a member of).

EXHORDER, which is cited by many as the originator of the riff-heavy power-groove approach popularized by PANTERA, completed a U.S. headlining tour in late 2021 during which it performed "Slaughter In The Vatican" in its entirety.



Exhorder at Maryland Deathfest XVIII 🤘🏻

Posted by Metall Research on Sunday, May 29, 2022



Exhorder with Pat O' Brien 🤘🏻Maryland Deathfest

Posted by Juan Fallas Jiménez on Sunday, May 29, 2022

La sorpresa de la Noche y el Cierre del Maryland Deathfest ! El Regreso de Pat O'Brien a las presentaciones en Vivo! Ya...

Posted by Juan Fallas Jiménez on Sunday, May 29, 2022

Former KISS guitarists Vinnie Vincent, Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick performed together for the first time ever at this year's Creatures Fest, which is taking place this weekend at Nashville's Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel.

Vincent started his set Saturday night (May 28) with around 15 minutes of guitar shredding before he played the KISS classic "I Love It Loud" accompanied by a backing track. Kulick then joined him for "War Machine" before Frehley also stepped in for "Deuce" and "Cold Gin".

According to fans attending the event, "phones/video/audio" during Vinnie's set were prohibited, so most of the footage that has been posted online captures only a portion of the performance.

Vincent — who was a member of KISS when the band publicly "unmasked" in 1983 — made several public appearances in 2018 after spending the past two decades out of the public eye.

In 1983, KISS wrote and released "Lick It Up" — their first album without makeup — a recording on which Vincent co-wrote eight of 10 songs, including the title track, which remains a staple of the group's live performances to this day.

Despite the album's success, Vincent was fired by KISS after the "Lick It Up" touring cycle came to an end, allegedly due to a dispute over both the terms of his employment contract with the band and royalties. From there, Vincent founded VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, which recorded two albums.

In 1992, Vincent re-teamed with Simmons and Stanley to write three songs for their acclaimed album "Revenge", including the record's first two singles, "Unholy" and "I Just Wanna". Their relationship quickly soured once again, however. Four years later, Vincent released a solo EP, the aforementioned "Euphoria", which featured vocals by former VVI singer Fleischman and included material from sessions recorded around 1990. Soon after that, Vincent vanished from the public eye and remained off the grid for more than two decades.

In April 2018, Vincent joined Gene Simmons at the KISS bassist/vocalist's "Vault" event in Nashville, Tennessee. He later said in an interview that he felt that got "a cold reception" and was "treated very indifferently" by Gene at the event.

Frehley first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of their first "farewell tour."

Bruce joined KISS in 1984 and accompanied the band on the "Animalize" tour and continued with them until the reunion tour. Bruce is heavily featured on "Kissology - Vol. 2" and "Vol. 3", the band's DVDs spanning their historic four-decade-plus career.

Frehley and original KISS drummer Peter Criss reunited on stage Friday night (May 27) at Creatures Fest. The two legendary rockers performed two early KISS classics during Frehley's set, "Hard Luck Woman" and "Strange Ways", both featuring Criss on lead vocals.



VINNIE VINCENT LIVE

Secret footage (leaked)

1) +/- 15 minutes shredding
2) I Love It Loud (backing track)
3) War Machine (with Bruce Kulick)
4) Deuce (with Bruce Kulick and Ace Frehley)
5) Cold Gin (with Bruce Kulick and Ace Frehley)

Posted by KISScast Brasil on Saturday, May 28, 2022



Vinnie Vincent

Posted by Marcum Stewart on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Creatures Fest
Vinnie Vincent show with Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick. It just ended, and I'm back upstairs. True, you...

Posted by Dave Bacon Laetare on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Here’s something we may never see again… Vinnie Vincent and Ace Frehley … oh and Bruce Kulick on the same stage!! Here’s to the naysayers 🖕🏼 #creaturesfest #kisskruisekittykats

Posted by Candy Hendricks Brundage on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, and Bruce Kulick jamming together for the first time ever 5.28.22.

Posted by Ponch Steve on Saturday, May 28, 2022

Influential Danish metallers MERCYFUL FATE will embark on a European tour this spring and summer. The trek will kick off on June 2 in Hannover, Germany and will include shows in Poland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Norway, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. A one-off appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas, Nevada will follow in late August.

In a Twitch livestream from a couple of days ago from the MERCYFUL FATE rehearsals, which are taking place in Glostrup, Denmark, vocalist King Diamond revealed that he and his bandmates are planning to debut a brand new song at the upcoming shows. "We're trying," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We're still working on a song. I wrote the final lyrics the day of our departure [for rehearsals], I would say, and that's a couple of days ago. So the others have not heard me sing the song at all. We played a few riffs from it yesterday. I didn't sing to it at that time. But it's coming [along] here. The next couple of days we're gonna see where it leads us."

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

Confirmed MERCYFUL FATE dates:

Jun. 02 - Expo Plaza - Hannover, Germany (with VOLBEAT)
Jun. 04 - Mystic Festival - Gdańsk, Poland
Jun. 10 - Sweden Rock - Sölvesborg, Sweden
Jun. 14 - Wuhlheide - Berlin, Germany (with VOLBEAT)
Jun. 16 - Graspop Metal Meeting - Dessel, Belgium
Jun. 18 - Copenhell - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jun. 24 - Rock The Castle - Verona, Italy
Jun. 26 - Hellfest Open Air Festival - Clisson, France
Jul. 01 - Rock Fest Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Jul. 02 - Tuska Open Air - Helsinki, Finland
Jul. 22 - Hills Of Rock - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Jul. 24 - Artmania Festival - Sibiu, Romania
Jul. 28 - Fezen Festival - Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Jul. 29 - Metaldays - Tolmin, Slovenia
Aug. 04 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany
Aug. 06 - Beyond The Gates - Bergen, Norway
Aug. 11 - Brutal Assault - Jaromer, Czech Republic
Aug. 13 - Bloodstock Open Air - Derbyshire, UK
Aug. 21 - Psycho Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sabbath comes to you across EU, UK, and US. Be ready and wait for the sound of the demon bell..

For tickets and information visit: mercyfulfatecoven.com

Posted by MERCYFUL FATE on Tuesday, April 19, 2022

A judge has dismissed a case from Marilyn Manson's former assistant, who accused the embattled musician of sexual assault, battery and harassment, reports USA TODAY.


In an order of dismissal obtained by USA TODAY, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern on Wednesday dismissed Ashley Walters' "entire action" against the musician, which alleged Manson (whose real name is Brian Warner) used "his position of power, celebrity and connections to exploit and victimize (her) during her employment" from August 2010 to October 2011.


In the dismissal, Stern dismissed the case "with prejudice," which means that Walters will not be able to file the same claims in Los Angeles Superior Court again. Stern said Walters had "too few facts" and pleaded "too late," according to reports from CBS News and Deadline.
Marilyn Manson's sexual assault case brought on by his former assistant was dismissed by a judge Wednesday.




"We are deeply disappointed in the court’s decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system," Walters' lawyers told USA TODAY in a statement Thursday, adding that the court "based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley's claims and not the merits."


Walters also sent a statement saying she's "disheartened in the court’s decision" because of "the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines."


Read the full report at USA TODAY.

One of the most endearing character traits of John Cena’s muscle-bound DC comic book superhero Peacemaker, from HBO’s wildly popular series of the same name, is his love of obscure ‘80s glam metal. From The Quireboys to Firehouse, Faster Pussycat to Pretty Boy Floyd, the series’ soundtrack is brimming with some of the best undiscovered gems of Hollywood’s hairspray-soaked melodic metal.


Now, one of the tracks showcased in Episode 7 of Peacemaker is coming to a limited edition pressing of 7” vinyl. Pretty Boy Floyd’s magnificent hard rock anthem, “Rock And Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire)”, was originally released on the band’s 1989 classic album Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz, and later re-cut with a more current line-up of the band in 2004. More recently, producer and guitarist extraordinaire Mark Gemini Thwaite created a new mix of the track that amps up the bombast and energy to 11. The track is featured on the A-side of the 7” while a re-cut version of “Leather Boyz” comes as the B-side.


Order the 7” here, stream the digital here.







Tracklisting:


Side A
"Rock & Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire)"


Side B
"Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz"

In a new interview with SPIN, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke about former U.S. president Donald Trump, on whose "The Celebrity Apprentice" show he was once a contestant. "I know the previous [U.S.] president," he said. "I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."

Simmons went on to say that he and Trump "knew each other" before "The Celebrity Apprentice", "in clubs and all that. You have a different responsibility when you're just a citizen or an entrepreneur," he added. "You don't make policy. It doesn't affect life and death. When you get into a position of power, it does affect lives.

"I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat," Gene said of Trump. "He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker.

"The current president [Joe Biden], I like the ethics and morality — not a charismatic guy, unfortunately. The first word I keep hearing from people, even friends is 'feeble.' I don't think he should run next time. So then who's around? There are no stars and invariably people vote for stars, not even what they believe in. The cult of personality. Americans are star obsessed: 'Kylie's got a new lip gloss? Fuck!'"

Simmons previously touched upon his feelings about the Trump presidency last August while speaking to Yahoo!'s Lyndsey Parker about the negative response he gets from some of his fans every time he shares his pro-vaccine stance on Twitter.

"It's been politicized," he said. "The gentleman who was in office, the former president [Donald Trump], I knew before the political world. It's the same person I knew before; the stripes of a tiger don't change. And the unfortunate thing is that… Look, we all lie to some extent, but what happened the last four years was beyond anything I ever thought imaginable from people who had lots of power — not just him, but the administration, everybody. And unfortunately, that disease — The Big Lie notwithstanding — has really infected a large portion of the population."

Asked to elaborate on his comment that Trump is "the same person" he knew when he was a contestant on Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" series, Gene said: "We were in a restaurant together, and I happened to be with an attractive young lady. And he walked up and said, 'Hey, Gene, you and I, we're exactly the same. We like the hot chicks.' That was a strange thing to say, but yeah, I guess that's true. But I think it's the same person. And maybe that was the appeal and continues to be. People are sick and tired of politically correct language and stuff.

"In a political dialogue, if somebody spews complete fiction and QAnon stuff, you wanna be able to have somebody who says, 'Are you out of your fucking mind? Did you just shit your diapers and forget to wipe it?'" Simmons added. "We're looking for that politician who just says instead of watching your language. Because the other side will spew garbage and lies and everything."

Back in 2019, Simmons said that Trump had "forever changed" politics. He added that "earth has never been in better shape" than it was in the summer of 2019. "I know — climate change and a polarized political thing — but there are no more world wars," he stated at the time. "I mean, imagine what London looked like 60 years ago. This is the best of times. Unemployment in the United States is the lowest it's been in 50 years — 5-0. When I rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange at their behest, the Dow [Jones Industrial Average] was about 8,000. It's almost 27,000 today. More people are working. More people are making more money. Unions are more powerful."

In the past, Gene had defended Trump's occasional off-color remarks and frequently outrageous statements, saying: "I don't know anybody here who hasn't said stupid things publicly or privately. You've said potty words and so have I. So I'm gonna give the guy who was duly elected a chance to show us what he can do, and then I'll judge his legacy."

Simmons said that he "didn't necessarily vote for Trump or [Hillary] Clinton" in the 2016 presidential election, adding that "it's really nobody's damn business" whom he voted for. "I think you'd be surprised by my choice — but he's President Trump, because even if you don't like the man, you must respect the office of the presidency and the will of the Electoral College," he said.

In 2017, Simmons confirmed that KISS was invited to perform at Trump's inauguration but turned it down because it was "not a good idea."

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi), a company delivering the foremost audio technology and specializing in high-quality reissues, in partnership with Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to announce the reissue of Alan Parsons Project's albums Eye In The Sky and I Robot for their 40th and 45th anniversaries respectively.


Mastered on Mobile Fidelity’s renowned mastering system from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, MoFi will reissue Eye In The Sky as a numbered-edition 180-gram 45RPM 2LP package and 1977’s I Robot as both a limited-edition UltraDisc One-Step 180-gram 45RPM 2LP Box Set and as a limited-edition 33RPM UltraDisc One-Step 180-gram LP Box Set. The latter is a first for MoFi, offering listeners one-flip convenience.







The Eye In The Sky 2LP package is available for pre-order May 23rd at mofi.com and musicdirect.com with shipments to purchasers beginning this month. The I Robot 33RPM Box Set is available for pre-order on May 23rd at mofi.com and musicdirect.com and will ship beginning this August. Additionally, the Eye In The Sky Super Audio CD (SACD) can be ordered now at mofi.com.


“We feel very lucky to be releasing these two masterworks by the Alan Parsons Project,” said John K. Wood, executive vice president of Mobile Fidelity. “Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson’s albums have never sounded so spectacular. The layering in the mixes is just phenomenal and otherworldly. Mastering engineer Krieg Wunderlich brought these two titles to a new level.”


Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Eye In The Sky (originally released in May 1982) features subtle tones, magnificent balance, low-end heft, and see-through transparency that take you into the studio with Parsons and creative partner Eric Woolfson at Abbey Road. This reference version will test the full-range capabilities of the world's finest stereo systems. There's more information, more detail, more texture, more nuance – more of everything to be experienced.


Boasting front-to-back depth, concert-hall-level separation, and bang-on accuracy, Mobile Fidelity's gatefold 2LP edition illustrates the lasting importance of perfectionist-minded engineering and recording techniques. Few albums possess such a blend of realistic presence and commercial acumen. These facets helped earn Eye In The Sky a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – and, more than 35 years after its release, a Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album. Parsons' track record – he sat behind the boards for the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon – speaks for itself. As do the performances throughout Eye In The Sky, which feature Woolfson’s exquisite songwriting and unforgettable lead vocals on the title track.


Zombies great Colin Blunstone ("Old and Wise"), Elmer Gantry ("Psychobabble"), and soul singer Lenny Zakatek ("You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" and "Step by Step") also contribute memorable vocal turns.





Eye In The Sky tracklisting:


"Sirius"
"Eye In The Sky"
"Children Of The Moon"
"Gemini"
"Silence And I"
"You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned"
"Psychobabble"
"Mammagamma"
"Step By Step"
"Old And Wise"


I Robot (originally released in June 1977) reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist. Mobile Fidelity's transcendent UD1S editions invite you to savor reference-grade soundstages, immersive smoothness, sought-after instrumental separation, three-dimensional imaging, and consummate tonal balances. Able to be played back at high volumes without compromise or fatigue, these LPs are demonstration records for the ages—the likes of which are no longer being made.


The beautiful presentation of the numbered, limited-edition UD1S I Robot pressings speak to the music's merit. Housed in deluxe boxes, the reissues feature special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics. Aurally and visually, they are made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything about this conceptual landmark. Parsons' and Woolfson’s most iconic record deserves nothing less.





I Robot tracklisting:


"I Robot"
"I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You"
"Some Other Time"
"Breakdown"
"Don't Let It Show"
"The Voice"
"Nucleus"
"Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)"
"Total Eclipse"
"Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32"


Based in Sebastopol, California, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi) has been the undisputed pioneer and leader in audiophile recordings since the company’s inception in 1977. The company’s ongoing quest is to deliver the best-sounding releases that technological innovation can provide by developing proprietary technology and mastering techniques. Furthermore, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s engineers have the luxury of time which enables them to do whatever it takes to reveal all the sonic nuances of an Original Master Recording. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s unwavering pursuit for music truth continues to this day with new innovations like the Ultradisc One Step LP: a materials, labor, and time intensive product line considered by critics and consumers to be the “ultimate listening experience.” Read more about Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s technologies, including MoFi Ultradisc One-Step, SuperVinyl, GAIN 2™, and more at mofi.com/pages/technologies#one-step.

WHITESNAKE has revisited its multi-platinum career by remixing some of its biggest hits for a new collection, "Greatest Hits", which was made available on May 6 on digital and streaming services.

WHITESNAKE founder and lead singer David Coverdale had 16 tracks remixed and remastered for this collection, including "Is This Love", which was a hit, reaching No. 9 on the U.K. singles chart and No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "Is This Love" was WHITESNAKE's second-biggest U.S. hit after "Here I Go Again", which topped the charts.

Asked if there was any trepidation about how the WHITESNAKE rock audience would accept such a radio friendly ballad, Coverdale said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Slightly, yeah. The original idea was for Tina Turner. My friends and associates at EMI Records were looking for songs to follow up Tina's astonishing story. The album with 'What's Love Got To Do With It' was huge, global, and they were looking for songs. And they knew I was going away to do the old correlation of song ideas and said, 'If you come up with anything that you think might be good for Tina' — 'cause they knew I was a huge fan — let us know. So that was the idea — the original idea for 'Is This Love' was for Tina."

Regarding how the song came together, David said: "[Then-WHITESNAKE guitarist] John Sykes and I… I rented a villa in the south of France, and John and I had different hours. He had owl hours and I had daytime hours. He'd sort of stagger out of his room to get coffee as I was tinkering away and turning the volume up about four in the afternoon. And he said, 'Oh, what's that? That's nice.' I said, 'Oh, it's not for us. It's for Tina Turner.' Anyway, he gets his coffee, sits down and starts playing these… It was just this organic thing. These ideas just fed really beautiful things that I wouldn't have come up with. Maybe John wouldn't have come up with the chords, but the embellishments were just part of the whole package of the song. And when [WHITESNAKE's then-record label] Geffen heard it, I said, 'No, no, no. This is for Tina Turner.' [And they said,] 'No, it's not.' And it's one of the biggest songs that we have.

"Whenever we play really big heavy metal festivals around the world, I'm going, 'Should we do it?' Man, everybody's hugging, 'cause usually by that time of the day, people need a good sonic hug. So we're only too happy to oblige with that.

"Sorry, Tina," Coverdale added. "I would still love to have heard her sing it, though. If you were to imagine it in your mind's ear, you know she'd do a superb job on it."

Coverdale previously stated about the new "Greatest Hits" collection: "We've definitely expanded on the original 'Greatest Hits', took them all out of the sonic time capsule of the '80s and '90s, and brought them up to date, sound-wise … as always, we have the original albums for those who consider them holy relics."

Keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, SONS OF APOLLO),who also appeared on WHITESNAKE's recent "Red, White And Blues" trilogy, adds Hammond organ to more than half the songs on the collection. His scorching contributions can be heard on the No. 1 smash "Here I Go Again", "Fool For Your Loving", "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" and more. New performances by former WHITESNAKE guitarist Adrian Vandenberg can also be heard on "The Deeper The Love" and "Judgement Day" from the 1989 album "Slip Of The Tongue".

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

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

WHITESNAKE has just embarked on a farewell tour with special guest EUROPE. The first leg of "Whitesnake: The Farewell Tour" kicked off on May 10 in Dublin.

"Greatest Hits" CD/Blu-ray track listing:

01. Still Of The Night
02. Here I Go Again
03. Is This Love
04. Give Me All Your Love
05. Love Ain't No Stranger
06. Slide It In
07. Slow An' Easy
08. Guilty Of Love
09. Fool For Your Loving
10. Judgment Day
11. The Deeper The Love
12. Now You're Gone
13. You're Gonna Break My Heart Again
14. Sweet Lady Luck
15. Crying In The Rain
16. Forevermore

WHITESNAKE will team up with the SCORPIONS for a North American tour this summer and fall. The two-month-long Live Nation-produced trek will kick off on August 14 in Toronto, with additional concerts in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver, among others. Also appearing on the bill will be the Swedish band THUNDERMOTHER.

Last July, WHITESNAKE announced that it had enlisted Croatian singer/multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick for its current tour. Jelusick is a member of multi-platinum selling band TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and was previously part of DIRTY SHIRLEY (with George Lynch),ANIMAL DRIVE and recorded with many others. The 29-year-old Dino has been singing, touring and recording since the age of five. Other than being a frontman, his main instrument are keyboards but he also plays bass, guitar and drums. He finished music academy and did theater work.

Coverdale, who turned 70 last September, recently confirmed that he plans to retire from touring after WHITESNAKE's next batch of concerts around the world.

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

WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

On Tuesday (May 24),legendary rocker Iggy Pop was presented with the 2022 Polar Music Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm.

The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the manager and music publisher of ABBA. A well-known lyricist, he also was the co-writer on many of their early hits. The prize was first presented in 1992.

In accepting his award, Iggy Pop commented: "Recognition is a hard mistress … Ada Osterberg, a Swedish émigré to the U.S., adopted my father James… [Ada] was a Red Cross nurse and raised my dad during the great depression… These were great people, real people. I am neither great nor real. At this point, I am a myth. Happily, music is a form of myth. All beauty derives from believing in myth. But every so often, you gotta get real — like balls. That's how I got here. So when you think about music, when you think about this prize and if you remember me, think about the balls."

In a statement announcing Iggy's award, the Polar Music Prize award committee said: "With his era-defining group THE STOOGES, Iggy Pop created furious rock music by blending together blues and free jazz influences with the roar of the Michigan automotive industry. With his courage, initiative and raw power, Iggy Pop paved the way for punk and post-punk. Groups like the SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, BLONDIE, SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, JOY DIVISION and Nick Cave all followed in his footsteps. As a solo artist, Iggy Pop has never slowed down, and has instead pushed this art form forwards for half a century. Iggy Pop is 'the chairman of the bored’ who portrays alienation in poetic language. A wholly unique artist who personifies and embodies what rock music is about."

Since his raucous proto-punk, peanut butter smearing days with THE STOOGES, few "street walking cheetahs" have mastered the maniacal with as much grit, gusto and flair as Iggy Pop.

Pop's songs have been covered by the likes of GUNS N' ROSES, R.E.M., RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and SEX PISTOLS, among others. His 1990 album "Brick By Brick" sold more than 500,000 copies, and his 2003 LP "Skull Ring" featured the likes of GREEN DAY, SUM 41 and PEACHES.

Although his solo records were more commercial than those of his 1960s/1970 band THE STOOGES, he never broke through into the mainstream.

A reformed STOOGES recorded the album "The Weirdness" in 2007.

Previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include METALLICA, Elton John, Sting, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, LED ZEPPELIN, PINK FLOYD, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Max Martin and Bruce Springsteen.

The Polar Music Prize honors two laureates every year to "celebrate music in all its various forms" and "to break down musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music." It awards each laureate one million kronor (approximately $125,000) at a gala in Stockholm.

This year's ceremony took place at The Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

DEF LEPPARD played a three-song mini-set on last night's (Wednesday, May 25) episode of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The trio of "Rock Of Ages" (from DEF LEPPARD's "Pyromania" album),"Hysteria" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (both from "Hysteria") can now be seen below.

DEF LEPPARD's new album, "Diamond Star Halos", will arrive on May 27 via UMe. The follow-up to 2015's self-titled LP is available for pre-order now in multiple configurations, including a deluxe edition, 2-LP vinyl, digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched.

In a recent interview with Germany's Rockland Radio, DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott was asked why fans of his band should listen to "Diamond Star Halos". He responded: "If you're a DEF LEPPARD fan, I would imagine there's always a need to listen to some new music, because as much as it's great to have this massive back catalog of music, new music is what keeps a band alive, so we wanna share that with our fans.

"Why would they wanna listen to it?" he continued. "Well, I believe that this is a career-defining album. For a band that's been around now for 45 years, to make an album that's this strong, I believe, at this point of our career is actually quite an achievement.

"I've been comparing the situation — not the album, but I've been comparing the situation — 'Diamond Star Halos' for DEF LEPPARD, I think, is capable of being what 'Hotel California' was for THE EAGLES or 'Rumours' was for FLEETWOOD MAC. And what I mean by that is what came before was fine; there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, THE EAGLES' 'Greatest Hits', which was their previous album to 'Hotel California' is one of the biggest-selling records of all time; it speaks for itself. And the FLEETWOOD MAC scenario — the Peter Green years, the Jeremy Spencer years — it was all brilliant stuff. But then they put out 'Rumours' and THE EAGLES put out 'Hotel California', and it was a quantum leap."

Circling back to "Diamond Star Halos", Elliott added: "I believe that this album is a quantum leap. It's not a rehash of 'Pyromania' or 'Hysteria' or any of our albums. It's got all the flavors that DEF LEPPARD have had in the past, but it's got some new explorations that we've never done that I think our audience are ready for this journey. Because it's 35 years since 'Hysteria' is released, it's 39 since 'Pyromania' came out, and our audience are also older, like we are. So I think they're ready to hear something a little different. It's still got plenty of DEF LEPPARD stuff — 'Gimme A Kiss', 'SOS Emergency', 'Fire It Up' [and] 'Kick'; they're all classic DEF LEPPARD — but there's some stuff that, like our heroes QUEEN, it just goes off on tangents that are a little different to the stuff that they'd done in the past."

The artwork for "Diamond Star Halos" follows pedigree with DEF LEPPARD's instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the U.K.-based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band's influence through their eyes today.

Over the past two years, DEF LEPPARD recorded "Diamond Star Halos" simultaneously in three different countries with Elliott in Ireland, Rick Savage (bass) in England, and Phil Collen (guitar),Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) in the United States. Without the pressure of timelines or a fixed schedule, they poured all of their energy into crafting 15 meaningful tracks with a mixture of classic spirit meets modern fire. Thematically, they nodded to their earliest collective influences such as David Bowie, T.REX and MOTT THE HOOPLE, among others. The title itself notably references T.REX's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)". However, they didn't embark on this journey alone. The multi-Grammy Award-winning and legendary artist Alison Krauss lent her instantly recognizable and angelic voice to "This Guitar" and "Lifeless", while David Bowie pianist Mike Garson performs on "Goodbye For Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)".

DEF LEPPARD's "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to ABC Audio about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album.

"We've stopped kicking the tires and now we're in tracking," he said.

"You can never have enough songs when you're making an album," he continued. "Songs that you didn't even know you had bits and pieces and fragments of, suddenly they become an incredibly important part of your record."

Regarding the musical direction of the new JUDAS PRIEST material, Rob said: "The music that we're making now is representative of where PRIEST is at this probably sixth decade of our existence when it comes out… It sounds great. I'm really pleased. I'm really, really happy that… we're not dropping the ball. Not that we ever have. But it's good, because there are some elements in there that we've never… kind of discovered before."

More than a year ago, Halford confirmed that PRIEST's next album will see the band reuniting with the "Firepower" production team consisting of Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". He was replaced by Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

This past March, Faulkner told the "Metal From The Inside" podcast about the recording process for the new PRIEST album: "It's been slowed down a lot because of, obviously, the pandemic. We wanted to get together, like we did on 'Firepower', and record it together, but, obviously, the lockdowns and everything like that slowed that process [down]. Some of us live in the U.S., some of us live in the U.K., so getting together proved to be a bit difficult over the last couple of years. Now everything is kind of opening up, it's a bit easier, but now we're on the road, so we've got a touring cycle [to get through]. So, if we can, we might be able to do it in between the touring cycles."

As for when fans can expect to get the next PRIEST album, Faulkner said: "We don't have a release date. It's not finished. We've got the songs, but we've gotta record it. We've got drums down. I don't know if that's even been said yet. So we're gonna try and build it up as we move through this touring cycle. But as Rob always says, it'll be finished when it's finished. At this point in their career, there's no point in rushing anything, especially when we've waited this long through the pandemic to start doing it. It'll be done when it's done. But there will be another PRIEST record. We've got some great songs."

Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Richie said: "It's different to 'Firepower', but it's definitely… You can hear where it's coming from. It's not even 'Firepower 2'… It's hard to say anything these days without people getting… If I say it's like a continuation of 'Firepower', people think it's 'Firepower 2'. It's got its own character, it's got its own legs, and we're looking forward to releasing it on to the world when it's done."

In February, Halford was asked by Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In if he agreed with Faulkner's recent comment that the band's upcoming album will be more musically "progressive" than "Firepower". He responded: "Yeah, the metal is there. But here's the thing: we've tried our best not to replicate anything that we've done. From 'Rocka Rolla' all the way through to 'Firepower', each record has had a distinctive character. And it's tough because fans go, 'We want another 'Painkiller',' 'We want another 'British Steel'.' And [it's, like], 'Dude, we've already done that.'

"Fans know that we're a band that is always full of adventure and trying new stuff," he continued. "And so, yeah, this has got probably some more progressive elements that we've never really delved into before. And that's exciting, because, again, it gives us and our fans another opportunity to see a different side of PRIEST. But it's still metal. There's just more of it. There are more notes than there were before."

That same month, Faulkner told Canada's The Metal Voice about the overall sound of the new PRIEST music: "Whenever you start a record, you never know how it's gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it's gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don't quite know. And also it's really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it's not 'Firepower 2', I don't think. It's its own thing, it's its own animal. If anything, I would say it's a bit more progressive in places, and in places it's got a bit more of that 'Killing Machine' swagger."

Faulkner added: "I know everyone says, 'Oh, is it the next 'Painkiller'?' or 'Is it the next…?' whatever… I don't know if they'd ever done it, but I know we've never done it when I've been in the band; we've never tried to recreate an album. It's always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it's definitely a little bit more progressive than 'Firepower' and, as I said, in places it's got a little bit of that 'Killing Machine' angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we're waiting to see what it turns out like, 'cause it could turn out completely different."

JUDAS PRIEST will receive the Musical Excellence Award at this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which will honor Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.

The induction ceremony will be held on November 5, 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. There will also be a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Radio channel 310.

According to the Hall Of Fame, the JUDAS PRIEST members that will get inducted include current members Halford, Hill, Tipton and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members Downing, Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

During an appearance on Wednesday's (May 25) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", LAST IN LINE bassist Phil Soussan spoke about the band's plans for the coming months. He said: "We have an EP coming out in August, which we'll have an announcement about. 'Cause it's a very special EP — there's something very, very cool about it — and there's gonna be a great video that goes with that. And we also are delivering an album [in] July that will be released end of February, right at the beginning of March next year. So the EP will carry us in the middle, and we'll be doing a bunch of shows to support that."

LAST IN LINE recently inked a deal with earMUSIC, the recorded music label of German entertainment group Edel AG which boasts a roster of global artists including DEEP PURPLE, Alice Cooper, BABYMETAL, THUNDER, STATUS QUO and many more.

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

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

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

Last June, Soussan spoke to Metal-Net.com about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for LAST IN LINE's third album.

"I've been quite motivational with the band," Phil said. "I'm trying to keep things happening. We wanted to work on a few different aspects [during the pandemic]. And we also had to go about getting a new record deal — we were changing labels — so that's something we're in the process of doing, and we're getting pretty close now. But part of that was writing a third record. So we've been hard at work trying to write a third record and even record that third record while we've been in different locations around the world. And, obviously, this band works as a unit in every sense of the word, so it's a real handicap not being able to be in the same room as everybody and trying to make it happen."

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

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

"And yeah, I've been through a lot with Jeff Pilson. I've known him for years. He's a great guy. He's like my brother."

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

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

Mark Tremonti says that "stars" would "have to align" for a reunion of CREED to take place.

Two years ago, CREED updated its Facebook profile with an old photo, igniting rumors of the multi-platinum act's imminent return.

Mark, who is promoting his upcoming album of Frank Sinatra covers titled "Tremonti Sings Sinatra", discussed the chances of a CREED comeback during a new interview with Ghost Cult magazine.

Asked about the possibility of a CREED reunion, Mark said: "You never know. It's just one of those things where whenever it comes up, either our camp or [CREED singer] Scott [Stapp] has something going on at the moment. So our stars have to align. In fact, right now if a promoter said, 'Hey, we wanna do a huge CREED tour,' I'd have to bypass all the stuff we're working on at the moment. So we just have to wait till the time is right."

Last September, Tremonti told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn that constantly being associated with CREED — nine years after the band completed a tour in support of its fourth album, 2009's "Full Circle" — was "definitely both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now if it weren't for CREED; I wouldn't have this career, this long career," he said. "But at the same time, for my entire life, I will be that guy from the band CREED, which is good and band. 'Cause certain people loved CREED, certain people hated CREED. So no matter what I do artistically, I'm gonna be the guy who was in CREED that was, at certain points critics liked to come after us. So I've kind of lived in both worlds — I was in a band that sold lots of records but got some critical attacks, but I also got to be in a band that didn't sell as many records but got critical praise. So I got to see both sides of it. It would be great to have it all in one. But it's tough."

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.

In 2019, Tremonti said in an interview on Jamey Jasta's podcast that he was sitting on an album's worth of material for CREED. Asked whether CREED could reunite again, Tremonti said, "People say, 'Is it done? Is it over? Is there new music coming out?' I'm sitting on an entire CREED album... When we were together doing the reunion tour, we put a lot of music together and I have like really sketchy little demos of probably 13 songs. I listened to them maybe a year ago and they're good songs."

Tremonti added: "It's just, there's no time. Is it good enough for me to put everything on the back burner that I've been working on for the past 14 years? No. Is it good enough to maybe 10 years from now or seven years from now... or some big resurgence happens or there's an anniversary where everybody's like, 'We want to see CREED and the world demands it like they used to.' I wouldn't say no."

After being the timekeeper of Portugal’s most important metal band, Moonspell, for nearly thirty years, Mike Gaspar has finally settled on a new outlet with which to celebrate his love for heavy metal, his cultural heritage, and his passion for untamed, feral music with roots reaching deep into the fabric of our world. Now, barely a year after announcing their inception, Seventh Storm will unleash their debut album, Maledictus, on August 12, via Atomic Fire Records.


The omnipresence of death in the midst of blooming life and creativity is at the center of the band. Here we see a hungry combo arise that has given their soul for their music. Gaspar explains, "My dream essentially was to try and bring back a bit of that innocent ‘90s touch. And to mix traditional Portuguese music with metal.” 


With influences ranging from Bathory via Samael, Tiamat, Paradise Lost, Fields Of The Nephilim, Cradle Of Filth, and Dead Can Dance to even Van Halen or Mötley Crüe, Seventh Storm is only just embarking on a journey across the wild and wondrous waters of heavy metal history. And while not a concept album, Maledictus - graced by an atmospheric painting from Victor Costa - is tied together by a strong sense of pain and anger, paired with a flickering hope of forgiveness for our lives.




Recorded at Dynamix Studios in Lisbon in May and October 2021, with mixing duties handled by icon Tue Madsen, Seventh Storm completed their debut within a year after Gaspar’s departure from Moonspell – a demonstration of sheer willpower. He remembers, "On the 25th of April, 2021 I announced my new band – the day the Portuguese dictatorship ended back in 1974. We felt it would be a strong message to announce the band on that date." 


For Gaspar and his band of buccaneers alike, Maledictus is a new beginning. "It’s our grand stand," he says. "This is us showing that not all is lost. That our past was not in vain. We are here to stay!"


So cast off and watch for the first single and preorders for Maledictus to be unveiled in a few short weeks.


Seventh Storm:
Mike Gaspar - drums
Rez - vocals
Ben Stockwell - lead guitar
Josh Riot - guitar
Butch Cid - bass guitar


(Photo – Diego Branco)