Craft Recordings, Concord Originals and Marathan Films have announced the production of the documentary concert feature film "Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival At The Royal Albert Hall", directed by two-time Grammy Award winner Bob Smeaton ("The Beatles Anthology" and "Jimi Hendrix Band Of Gypsies") and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges, who, like his iconic character "The Dude" in "The Big Lebowski", is a fan of the band. The film features the only full concert footage of the original CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL to ever be released.

The film is a Craft Recordings, Concord Originals and Marathan Films production and is produced by Sig Sigworth ("R.E.M. By MTV"),Jonathan Clyde ("The Beatles: Get Back"),Martin R. Smith ("The Beatles: Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution") and John Beug ("Running Down A Dream Tom Petty"). Concord's Scott Pascucci ("Martin Scorsese's: Living In The Material World"),Bob Valentine and Concord Original's Sophia Dilley ("Billie") executive produce. Wesley Adams, Charles Hopkins and Taylor Umphenour are serving as co-producers.

"Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival At The Royal Albert Hall" takes the viewer on a journey from the bands humble, yet formative years in El Cerrito, California to their meteoric rise in 1969, from headlining Woodstock to selling out the Oakland Coliseum before traveling through Europe and taking the stage at the Royal Albert Hall. Featuring a wealth of unseen footage (including the concert itself),this film documents the story of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL up to the moment they leave the Royal Albert Hall stage as the biggest band in the world. The audio for the concert was mixed and restored from the original multitrack tapes by Grammy winners Giles Martin and Sam Okell ("The Beatles: Get Back", "Rocket Man").

Director Bob Smeaton recalls: "As a kid growing up in the U.K. during the late sixties, early seventies, CREEDENCE were a band that I was only really aware of through their hit singles. Therefore making this film was an education for me, I was able to see and hear why they are worthy of their status as one of the greatest bands of all time. I knew they were good, I never knew they were that good."

"Unveiling the power of CREEDENCE at a high-point in their career with this long-lost footage is extraordinary in its own right," said Sigworth. "To have Jeff Bridges narrate us through that discovery is when pop culture collides into something bigger."

Jeff Bridges said: "What a band! Love listening' to 'em, love playin' Fogerty's tunes. They're certainly favorites of mine. CREEDENCE, yeah, man."

As 1969 was drawing to a close, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL were challenging THE BEATLES for the title of the top-selling act in the world and John Fogerty was becoming one of America's most politically significant songwriters.

In April of 1970, CREEDENCE began their first-ever European tour, where the band's British debut would take place at the most prestigious music venue in the U.K.: London's Royal Albert Hall. Only days after the breakup of THE BEATLES, the concert would be one of the defining shows of their career. The concert was filmed, but never fully released until now.

Years of research, discovery and restoration have gone into the project including finding the original concert footage in a London vault which has been fully restored after 50 years of storage. The film also includes previously unreleased 16mm footage of the legendary performance, fly-on-the-wall band interactions and interviews unearthed from the Fantasy Records vault, plus what is believed to be the earliest known footage of CREEDENCE performing live.

CAA Media Finance represents the film's distribution rights.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: During their short time together as a band (1968 – 1972),CREEDENCE enjoyed an unparalleled period of creativity – releasing seven studio albums (two of which went to Number One),playing over 150 tour dates around the world, including a headlining spot at Woodstock and scoring 14 Top Ten singles. A mainstay band till today, CREEDENCE accrued 4 billion streams in 2021. Over the past 50-plus years, CREEDENCE's canon has become a part of the Great American Songbook. Songs like "Bad Moon Rising", "Down On The Corner", "Fortunate Son", "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", "Proud Mary", "Born On The Bayou", "Travelin' Band" and "Up Around The Bend" have been ingrained into pop culture — not just as rock staples, but as timeless standards. With so many memorable compositions that continue to grace the radio waves, television and film screens, and lyrics that still resonate today, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL is, truly, America's Greatest Rock Band.

"Eternal Winter" is a track taken from Nastergal's upcoming EP, Solitude, due for release on May 13th, 2022 via Wormholedeath.


Solitude is Nastergal's first release and features musicians from across the world. This is the band's next step into a realm of extreme metal, having played in various death and black metal bands in the past. 


Nastergal is an international black metal band started by Jacques Valentyn (guitars) and Riaan Coertze (drums) and completed with the help of Marco Toba (bass) and Evgen Zoidze (vocals). The music draws its inspiration from bands such as Dark Funeral with lyrical content influenced by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche. 




Check out "Eternal Winter" below.





Nastergal proudly presents a unique take on the Black Metal genre with their own unique sound. They are committed to the music they create and strive to deliver the best to their audience. The Solitude EP explores the dark world of self realization and war in the mind of Zarathustra as he struggles to validate himself in a world filled with deceit and ignorance. The underlying argument is that all human values are created by humans, rather than gods, or nature, or some underlying fundamental reality.

Northern California death metal outfit Greybush have unveiled an initial look at their upcoming EP. Check out the music video for the record's first single "Roadneck" - a killer track inspired in part by the brutal slayings of Ed Kemper.





The new EP from Greybush, This Is Punishment, will see a May 23rd release, with an album release show set for the same night at Goldfield (Midtown) in Sacramento, CA. 







For further details, visit Greybush on Facebook.


 


 


 

Swedish death thrashers Septekh recently signed a record deal with ViciSolum Productions and have released their brand new video / single "Greetings From The End". The song is taken from the band's forthcoming EP, with the same title. The EP will be released via ViciSolum Productions on May 13th.





With work on the next full length already on the way, Septekh once again turned to a proven side path. The plan this time was to do a quick EP and get a handful of eclectic songs out as a stop-gap and palette cleanser for the next release. The pandemic turned that quick gap into a two year near complete hiatus. But there is always a silver lining. Having found a very good home for this and upcoming releases on ViciSolum Productions, vocalist Ldy Grznls comments about the forthcoming EP as follows:




“'Greetings From The End' feels more solid and derived than ever. A lethal, rascal spirit-energy as well as the rawness and craftsmanship that comes with age. Personally this latest batch of songs became the canvas to observe my own trajectory. Suicide. Immortality. Biography.”





 

Svart Records announce the signing of Red Rot - the new extreme metal band of Luciano Lorusso George and Davide Tiso (formerly of Ephel Duath).


Today, the Italian-American outfit has announced their debut album, Mal de Vivre, a relentless opus of technical beauty and bludgeoning grace, which will see an August 26 release via Svart. To give fans their first taste of the record, Red Rot will release their new single "Ashes" tomorrow (April 29), but the music video for the track is out today and can be seen below.


Pre-save/listen To "Ashes" here.







Red Rot's debut, Mal de Vivre, is a relentless opus of technical beauty and bludgeoning grace.


Dubbed after a French expression to describe a sense of profound discontentment, the idea of losing the taste for life, Mal de Vivre was written, recorded and mixed between October 2020 and May 2021 as the world was reeling in the throes of a pandemic. Featuring eclectic drummer Ron Bertrand and bass virtuoso Ian Baker to flesh out their powerhouse of cutting-edge extreme metal, Red Rot are an emerging force to be reckoned with.





The seventeen songs in Mal de Vivre are musically intense, raw and passionate, but with a multi-faceted elegance that envisages Red Rot appealing to fans of radical and heavy music right across the spectrum. Engorged with elements of Death Metal, Doom and Thrash: Mal de Vivre sounds like a twisted blend of the roots of early Morbid Angel and Paradise Lost with the experimental discord of Voivod and the hardcore clash and klang of bands like Converge. Lorusso’s lyrics on Mal de Vivre explore themes of mental illness, psychological deviance, rage, gloom and paranoia, all delivered with agonized and emotional conviction.


Davide Tiso further illustrates their themes and origins in his concept for Red Rot by explaining: “When it was time to give a name to the music coming up, I thought about two elements: something sulphuric, malignant in its essence, combined with the idea of rot.


I found out that the Red Rot present in the vegetable tanned leather of old books that remain stored and untouched in humid locations is a result of binding components turning into sulphuric acid. This idea of old knowledge left rotting into itself created sulphuric essence clicked with me. It took quite a long time for me to start playing rotting sounding music: my career started playing sophisticated jazzy sounding metal. Now I feel I added sulfur to my music and Red Rot is the result of it. Apparently the damage caused by Red Rot is irreversible, I like to think that Red Rot’s music could do the same”.


This festering and gangrenous outbreak erupted into Mal de Vivre which was then mixed and mastered by producer extraordinaire Jamie King at Basement Studio in Salem, North Carolina. Mal de Vivre’s resulting mix sounds abrasive but legible and defined, featuring punishing, heartfelt vocals, burly, relentless low-tuned guitars, pummeling drums and a warm, encompassing bass tone that makes Red Rot a primal but distinctly modern beast.


Clocking in at the perfect 38-minute mark, the songs on Red Rot’s Mal de Vivre alternate between one-minute bursts and three-minute nightmares resulting in a fervent but cathartic listening experience.


That Mal de Vivre is such a well developed and conceived debut album should be no surprise to fans of Tiso and Lorusso’s earlier work, but newcomers to Red Rot’s fungal network of dominating putrefaction have oozing spoils to savor once this album drops.

Lybica, a dynamic and instrumental band from South Florida that seamlessly blends flavorful guitar melody with powerful metallic crunch, and which features Killswitch Engage drummer Justin Foley on guitar, have today shared the double single "Palatial" and "Ferment".


Listen here, and watch a video for "Palatial" below..







"These tunes were two early ones that came together when we first started jamming, so it's fitting that they're the first songs we're sharing with everyone," Foley says. "I think they sum up what we're all about, blending loud with soft, heavy with hooks."





Lybica will release their debut album later this year via Metal Blade Records.


In other band news, Lybica will play their first show ever on May 7 at Haven Lounge in Winter Park, Florida, just outside of Orlando. The band has added drummer Chris Lane (A Brilliant Lie), to its lineup as of December 2021. He makes his debut in the "Palatial" video.


Foley continues, "Now that we have Chris [Lane] on drums, it's time to give these songs and more their live debut at Haven Lounge in Winter Park, Florida on May 7. We can't wait!!"


(Photo - @whoisjazel @blackcardfilms)

Paul Taylor, well known as an accomplished guitarist/keyboardist who has worked with countless artists as a composer and musician over the decades, most famously with WINGER, revealed during an appearance on the "Sonic Dorms" podcast that he spent "the last couple of years" collaborating with Mick Mars on the MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist's long-awaited solo album.

"That one, I wrote most of the record with Mick and [Alabama musician] Jacob Bunton, who sang with [former GUNS N' ROSES drummer] Steve Adler," Paul said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "Me and Jacob have written a lot of stuff for TV together. I'm really excited to have that come out, and that, I think, is gonna be towards the end of the year."

Taylor went on to say that he was impressed with Mick's skills as a guitarist and a songwriter.

"Mick is so awesome, and just the endless cool things he comes up with and the palette of sounds," he said. "There's days I just go, 'Is that guitar? Is that you doing all that?' [It's been] really fun. I'm very excited about that."

According to Taylor, he worked with Mars and Bunton on Mick's solo album "for a good year and a half. And Mick doesn't really want me to say too much about it," he explained. "But he said it's okay just to say it's a heavy record — it's definitely heavy — and it very versatile. I feel really lucky that I got to sit and work with him and turn these things into songs. I think it's gonna blow some people away. It's really cool."

Mars has been working on his solo disc — on and off — for at least the past six years. Some of the early sessions for the LP were helmed by recently retired producer Michael Wagener (OZZY OSBOURNE, ACCEPT, WARRANT, SKID ROW) at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, where Mars has lived for about nine years.

Two years ago, Bunton revealed that he was the lead singer on Mars's solo album. Speaking to AL.com, Bunton, who has previously also played with LYNAM, said about his collaboration with Mars: "I can tell you that I'm involved and the past several months we wrote and recorded a record and Michael Wagener produced it. The great Michael Wagener from [mixing 1986 METALLICA album] 'Master Of Puppets' and all that kind of stuff. He worked with MÖTLEY CRÜE on their very first record 'Too Fast For Love', when they did it themselves they recorded the record and then Michael Wagener mixed, and then when they got the record deal with Elektra, [QUEEN producer] Roy Thomas Baker ended up going back and remixing it. But on all of their self-released copies, it's Michael. But to make a long story short, Michael's producing the record because that was the first producer Mick worked with in MÖTLEY CRÜE, so he wanted to do his solo album, so it's been really cool. We've been recording it in Nashville and we're almost done."

Regarding what fans can expect from Mars's solo CD, Bunton said: "The songs are really cool, the record is really cool. He's such an inventive player and his riffs are insane and it's definitely going to be what people are expecting. When they hear it … It's really cool."

In September 2019, Mick told Billboard about the musical direction of his solo material: "[It's] not like today's music, which to me is pretty much pop metal and more growly guys. It's all cool and it's all good, and I'm just searching for something that's just a little different than that. I [also] don't want to be living in '85. It's hard to reinvent yourself, but that's what I'm doing now. I'm trying to reinvent the way that I approach music writing. I've got a lot of crap, and I've got a lot of good stuff too."

At the time of the Billboard interview, Mars said that he had been working with a vocalist named Jacob, leading some fans to speculate that he was referring to Bunton. "[He] can be a lot of different voices, and it's pretty amazing," Mick said. "I go, 'I want this kind of voice here,' and he'll pull it straight off."

In a separate interview with "Talking Metal", Mars said that his debut solo record will not sound like anybody else. "Well, I guess it's my own style," he said. "It isn't really blues. My playing has a blues element to it, of course, but it isn't what you would call a blues record. It's more of a heavier rock thing, but I don't wanna even try to 'outheavy' the heavies, you know what I mean? It's just something hopefully just a little different than what's going on now. You're not gonna hear a MÖTLEY-flavored song, except for the guitar, [because] that's me. They're gonna be a bit harder than that, but not as hard as the heavies, like MINISTRY and some of those guys."

Last December, former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi says that he doesn't know if the songs he recorded with Mars six years ago will make it to the MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist's solo LP.

Back in 2016, Mars released snippets of two solo songs, apparently called "Gimme Blood" and "Shake The Cage". The tracks, which were recorded at the aforementioned Blackbird Studio, featured Corabi, who appeared on CRÜE's 1994 self-titled album. Corabi later said that he didn't contribute to the writing process for the two songs, but that he was open to collaborating with Mars on some brand new material.

Last August, KORN drummer Ray Luzier confirmed that he is a featured guest on Mars's solo album.

SUICIDE SILENCE has parted ways with longtime drummer Alex Lopez.

The California deathcore act announced the split in a statement posted on social media earlier today (Friday, April 29).

"SUICIDE SILENCE and our longtime drummer, Alex Lopez, have mutually agreed to part ways," the statement reads. "We wish him nothing but the best moving forward & encourage you all to follow his future endeavors in both music & visual arts. Our good friend, Ernie Iniguez (who recorded drums on 'Become The Hunter') will be drumming with us on the upcoming 'Chaos & Carnage' tour and European festival run.

"That all said, we'll be premiering a new single next week (Alex's final studio performance with the band) called 'Thinking In Tongues' that we're very excited for you all to hear. It will be premiering on SiriusXM Liquid Metal on May 3rd with a full digital release & music video on May 4th."

In a separate statement, Alex said: "So I'll make this as short as possible. SUICIDE SILENCE and myself have parted ways. I'll always love them and their families and everything we accomplished together during my time. I wish SS the best. With that said, I'm excited to continue making music and art, and plan to be involved with any projects I find fulfilling. I'd be truly grateful if you continued to follow and support what I do next, It's not over for me by a long shot. Love and thank you to all my fans, friends and supporters, the next chapter begins".

Lopez joined SUICIDE SILENCE in 2006 as the replacement for the band's original drummer Josh Goddard. He has appeared on all six of SUICIDE SILENCE's studio albums, including the group's latest, the aforementioned "Become The Hunter" being the most recent.

SUICIDE SILENCE's debut album, 2007's "The Cleansing", will receive an expanded 15th-anniversary re-release on June 24. "The Cleansing (Ultimate Edition)" will include liner notes by the band as well as extensive bonus material.

With nearly two decades of non-stop touring around the globe, hundreds of thousands of records sold, and cementing themselves as a linchpin band in modern extreme metal, the Riverside, California quintet recently returned to Century Media, the label that released the highly acclaimed albums "The Cleansing", "No Time To Bleed" (2009) and "The Black Crown" (2011).

SUICIDE SILENCE is currently working on material for the follow-up to "Become The Hunter" album, which was released via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. It will be the band's fourth LP with vocalist Hernan "Eddie" Hermida (ex-ALL SHALL PERISH),who joined SUICIDE SILENCE following the passing of frontman Mitch Lucker. The band recently finished an extensive U.S. tour with JINJER and has announced a co-headlining run on the U.S. 2022 "Chaos & Carnage" tour with CARNIFEX, labelmates LORNA SHORE, UPON A BURNING BODY, ANGELMAKER and DISTANT, beginning May 15 and running until June 4.

Photo by Lina Glasir

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METALLICA's award-winning Blackened American Whiskey has announced its latest limited-edition Blackened Kentucky Straight Rye Double Cask Finished Whiskey dubbed Rye The Lightning, a play on words inspired by METALLICA's six-times-platinum sophomore album "Ride The Lightning". This expression is double finished in Madeira and rum casks and undergoes the proprietary Black Noise sonic-enhancement process.

Rye The Lightning is crafted from Kentucky straight rye whiskeys aged between five and eight years and hand-selected by Blackened master distiller and blender Rob Dietrich. The whiskeys are then vatted and transferred for finishing in Madeira wine and Caribbean rum casks for two to 14 weeks each. The double cask finishing results in notes of dried fig, hay, pinewood, pear, and rum cake on the nose, and on the palate, clover honey, mint, corn husk, sugar cane, walnut, and cinnamon.

It is during the rum cask finishing that the proprietary Black Noise sonic-enhancement process is applied. The barrels are pummeled by the low hertz frequencies of METALLICA's music, and the sound waves visibly shake the finishing barrels, causing greater interaction between the whiskey and the wood, thereby extracting more flavors and colors.

The name for this release is aptly dubbed Rye The Lightning because the playlist used for the Black Noise sonic-enhancement process is "Ride The Lightning". But Rob Dietrich and METALLICA didn't want to just use the original version — they wanted to amp it up a notch. They chose a playlist consisting solely of the "Ride The Lightning" portion of METALLICA's June 2012 Orion Music + More festival setlist — the only time the band has ever played the album live in its entirety, albeit in reverse track order from the original album.

"The vibe from the crowd at the first Orion Music + More festival was electrifying," said bassist Robert Trujillo, "and it's really cool that we get to capture that energy in this release. We've used a few live songs in our playlists before, but never a full live playlist. So to be able to incorporate our fans in the Blackened journey and have them be a part of the whiskey-making process is really unique, and makes this a true collaboration."

Fans interested in hearing this rare performance of "Ride The Lightning" from back to front can now enjoy a newly remixed version exclusively through Blackened. A copy can be downloaded by scanning a QR code found at retail, following @blackenedamericanwhiskey on socials, or visiting blackenedwhiskey.com for more information.

The 10-track Black Noise playlist includes:

* Ride The Lightning Intro
* The Call Of Ktulu
* Creeping Death
* Escape (Live Debut)
* Trapped Under Ice
* Kirk Solo
* Fade To Black
* For Whom The Bell Tolls
* Ride The Lightning
* Fight Fire With Fire

"I absolutely love the high spice and earthy notes in American rye whiskey!" exclaimed Dietrich. "I wanted to play with those flavor profiles by bringing a symmetry of subtle flavor elements by combining not just one, but two different cask finishes to the whiskey, creating a complex balance of sweet and savory."

The packaging is emblazoned with a green soundwave to differentiate from the Blackened American Whiskey flagship and align with the historical significance of using the color green to characterize rye whiskey bottles. Rye The Lightning is bottled at 90 proof and sold for an SRP of $69.99.

To find local retailers or gather information, visit Blackened American Whiskey's web site www.BlackenedWhiskey.com and follow on social at @BlackenedAmericanWhiskey.

Rufus Publications has announced the re-release of the "Led Zeppelin Five Glorious Nights" book by Dave Lewis.

In May 1975, LED ZEPPELIN performed five momentous concerts at the Earls Court Arena in London to a combined audience of 85,000 fans. It found the band at the peak of their powers, slaying the sold-out audiences with a nightly marathon three-and-a-half-hour presentation of light, sound, power and energy.

LED ZEPPELIN's appearances at Earls Court represented a career high for the group and four decades on, are still held in the highest esteem by the vast following. They were also some of their most visually appealing shows complete with pioneering laser effects, a large video projection screen and the band themselves more than dressed for the occasion — Jimmy Page in a two-piece dragon suit, Robert Plant with a cut-off shirt, allowing for bare chested narcissism, John Paul Jones in a quirky Spanish jacket complete with onions, and John Bonham in a glittering T- shirt high on the drum rostrum.

"Five Glorious Nights", complied by Lewis, captures the visual magnificence of the band though the photographic images of some of the finest rock photographers of the era — who were right there on the spot to capture rock history. The original version was a sell out and is the most requested book in the Rufus range.

This new edition features 32 extra pages and new photographs from Jill Furmanovsky, Adrian Boot and Graham Wiltshire. This extensive collection of timeless images of LED ZEPPELIN on stage at Earls Court in all their regal splendor, are brought together in a deluxe coffee-table book.

Drawing from the archives of variety of photographers, including Barry Plummer, Dick Barnatt, Ian Dickson, Michael Putland, Mick Gold, Gus Stewart and more, the book chronicles the sheer visual splendor of these historic concerts though an extensive collection of color and black-and-white photos — many of them rarely seen. The photos are complemented by rare memorabilia and a written commentary that puts into perspective exactly why these concerts were some of the finest LED ZEPPELIN ever performed.

Lewis is the highly respected LED ZEPPELIN archivist and author and editor of the long running LED ZEPPELIN magazine Tight But Loose. He was in attendance at all five of the Earls Court shows.

This new edition is available in two editions: a new 250mm square hardback format in a luxury, printed slipcase for a special pre-order price £59 and an epic leather-and-metal edition, measuring a huge 375mm square, bound in recycled burgundy leather and supplied in a hand-made aluminum slipcase with a reproduction show poster. Only 150 of these are available at £450 each and includes the standard edition. Both editions will ship in October 2022. At the end of August, the prices will revert to £69 and £495, respectively.

Pattern-Seeking Animals, the California-based progressive rock band featuring Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and John Boegehold (keyboards), have released their third album, Only Passing Through, via InsideOut Music.


Watch Jimmy Keegan's playthrough for the song "I Can't Stay Here Anymore":







Offering eight songs (and two bonus tracks) that are as varied as they are excellent, Only Passing Through is a work that will deliver on all fronts. From the opener "Everdark Mountain" to the weighty "Much Ado" and the 13-minute epic "Time Has A Way", the album has something to please fans in all quarters. If you ever wondered what Spaghetti Western Cinema would sound like in the world of 2022 prog, have a listen to "Said The Stranger". For some jazzier stylings, lend an ear to "Here With You With Me".


Boegehold is justifiably proud of the album: “Only Passing Through picks up where Prehensile Tales left off but soon takes several stylistic detours as it progresses. Everyone involved made this album a lot of fun to make and we're all looking forward to it finally being heard."


Order the album here.





Tracklisting:


"Everdark Mountain"
"I Can't Stay Here Anymore"
"Time Has A Way"
"Rock Paper Scissors"
"Much Ado"
"Only Passing Through"
"Said The Stranger"
"Here With You With Me"


Bonus tracks:


"I'm Not Alright"
"Just Another Day At The Beach"


"Everdark Mountain" visualizer:





"Rock Paper Scissors" video:





"I Can't Stay Here Anymore" video:

Bay Area skate punk/thrash/crossover band, Boneless Ones, is back. After a 35 year hiatus the guys said, “Hey-what the fuck!!!”… That’s three-plus decades of sonic dominance and counter-culture benefaction. Now, The Boneless Ones find their contumacious voice again on "Back To The Grind" via their own label, Thunder & Lightning Records.


Troy Takaki says: "Lower Bobs is an amazing DIY skatepark in Oakland. When I first went there I said, 'we have to shoot a video here'. Throw in a new song and some awesome skaters, the video shoots itself. Actually, thank you Adam and Donovan for shooting it. Our first video with an actually director and cameraman."


Watch the "Back To The Grind" video below.




On "Back To The Grind", Troy Takaki states: “The name of the album was Chris’ idea. Max wrote a song about skating with your friends after a long time off. The first lyric to the song is 'I’m back on board with my friends'. We named the song 'Back To The Grind' because it is just better than 'Back On Board'. Well, we are back! After 36 years we are playing again!"


About "Crossing Over the Bridge", Chris Kontos says: “This song is about Crossover. Do you know what that is? This song is owed to the Ruthie’s Inn moment and what the Bay Area created blending punk rock, metal, thrash, Rock ’n Roll."


The Boneless Ones reunite! And what a long time coming... "heavy, punk and trashy." - Craig Locicero (Forbidden, Dress The Dead)


"Kick-ass metal/punk/crossover music." - Chris Kontos (Machine Head)


The Boneless Ones celebrate their much-anticipated return with new album, Back To The Grind. Featuring founding members Max Fox (vocals) and Troy Takaki (bass) with erstwhile drummer Chris Kontos (ex-Attitude Adjustment, ex-Machine Head) and new guitarist Craig Locicero (Dress the Dead, ex-Forbidden), and after 35 years, still - the Bay Area quartet breathe present-day life into the sounds/customs that crucially bridged punk, hardcore, metal, and skateboarding. In fact, it was appearances on pivotal compilations Them Boners Be Poppin’ (Boner) and Skate Rock Volume 3 - Wild Riders of Boards (Thrasher) that set up debut album Skate for the Devil for near-continuous reverence from the day of its release in 1986 to its most recent re-issue via Beer City Records in 2020.


Pre-order the new album, out May 13, here, or here.





Tracklisting:


"Back To The Grind"
"We Ride The Night"
"Bones Of Rock"
"Church Of Violence"
"Blood On The Street"
"Crossing Over The Bridge"
"Tied To A Stake"
"I Wish You Were Beer"
"Good Friends"
"Cops & Robbers"
"Heavy Is The Face"
"In The Cold"
"Faces Of Death"


"Back To The Grind" video:





Formed in Berkeley, California, in 1984. Initially, they weren’t even a musical group—more a cadre of Pro-Am aspiring punks aligned to a single skate-or-die goal. The genesis of the moniker goes back to Fox and cohort Takaki pilfering boneless stickers from grocery store meat departments. They plastered the ‘boneless’ red decals everywhere. Then, still, without a band, they designed a logo. When a skate photo of Fox, Takaki, and ripper Joel Chavez appeared in East Bay fanzine Cometbus, they were mistaken for a real-life band. Naturally, Chavez’s trick—called a “boneless”—combined with youthful guerilla marketing tactics had paid off. The Boneless Ones were officially born. Obligatory lineup changes eventually coalesced into Fox and Takaki bringing in Joe Satriani-educated guitarist Luke Skeels and Fang drummer Tim Stilletto. Not long after, the quartet wrote and recorded Skate for the Devil with Kevin Army. The rest, the adage goes, is history.


Skate for the Devil was constructed with spontaneous spirit, fresh-faced grit, and a middle-finger attitude. Whatever was to come after classics like “Keg Kept a Flowin’,” “Love to Hate,” “Miss Fresno,” and “Skate for the Devil” had to have the same impetus, a similar tongue-in-cheek constitution, and above all, continued adoration for all things skateboarding. Not for nothing but Thrasher Magazine called “Skate for the Devil” one of the greatest skate rock songs of all time. So, high bars had been set. With heavy hearts from the passing of Skeels (R.I.P. October 26, 2020) and good friend Eddie Jennings and palpable nostalgia in their minds, The Boneless Ones reconvened not as a reunion band but as an entity driven to create anew. Indeed, Kontos (originally in the band's ’86 and ’87 configurations) and Locicero provided indispensable firepower and aptitude to the overall songwriting sessions. The Boneless Ones pulled four unreleased tracks (“Tied to a Stake,” “Church of Violence,” “In the Cold,” and “Faces of Death”) from a long-lost ’87 demo while the band minted up-to-date songs in “Back To The Grind,” “We Ride the Night,” “Blood on the Streets,” and “I Wish You Were a Beer,” the follow-up to “Miss Fresno.” Back To The Grind is real, and it surpasses all expectations.


Back To The Grind is an album steeped in Bay Area roots—the vibrant Berkeley scene, Ruthie’s Inn, et al.—but it’s not a retread musically. Yes, old songs have been retooled. Yet, it’s the new songs where The Boneless Ones overwhelmingly shine rebellious, wax dynamic (fast and slow), and hit harder than metal to concrete. The guitar hero antics of Skeel are still imbued in Locicero’s contributions, and the tongue-in-cheek humor of the group’s formative years remains intact. There’s no confusion in direction, however. This is skate rock/cross-over music, as poignant today as it was in the mid-’80s. That’s evident from the old-school gallop of “Church of Violence” and the shout-out grind of “Crossing Over” to the launch-ramp pulse of “Good Friends” and the Vanishing Point-informed “Blood on the Streets.” For a bunch of guys with miles on their backs and stories to tell, Back To The Grind illustrates that it’s never too late to resurrect and persist once more that which matters most.


"We wrote the whole record in the spare bedroom at my house," says drummer Chris Kontos. "I was on electric drums. I kept it caveman. I didn't want a Machine Head or Gojira-level drumming style on this record. The record needed to be played on a steering wheel—like air drums. Craig was really hitting on some Rikk Agnew [Christian Death, Adolescents] moments on this record. He also understood the skate theme that we were going for. The modern [recording] tech going straight into my computer really helped our playbacks. We finally had a quality pre-production from that. We all had our parts down by the time we were ready to go in and record."


The Boneless Ones are, if anything, chroniclers. Musically, that’s tangible throughout Back To The Grind. Lyrically, Fox has lived a life, and all that comes with it. Themes of brotherhood, lost love, reflection, and skateboarding—a scene in which the vocalist remains very active—are woven throughout the lyrical outlay. Indeed, “Back To The Grind” hits on never letting go, while “Bones of Rock” pays homage to rock ‘n’ roll; heartbreak is tackled on “In the Cold," and “Good Friends” honors the unfortunate passing of a friend; “Crossing Over” takes on the tenets of Bay Area cross-over music, and the bands that inspired it. Back To The Grind is a testament to the last 35 years of Fox’s life.


“There’s two different styles I write in,” Fox says. “There’s storytelling songs and songs that tell a story. I wrote a lot of the new songs from the heart—things that have happened in my life. They’re ‘life songs.’ I’ve lived my life, and I have stories to tell. I’m conscious that not every song needs to be a long and drawn-out novella. Some of the songs are playful, fun, and joyful. But there’s a very serious side to us, too. Both sides are important to us, and I think they define what The Boneless Ones were and are now.”


Kevin Army and his trusty 8-track recorder did the job on Skate for the Devil in ’86. The Boneless Ones (and technology) have moved on, however. The group enlisted producer Zack ‘The Wizard’ Ohren (Machine Head, Fallujah) and Oakland-based Sharkbite Studios to properly capture Back To The Grind. The sessions were rigorous yet productive. On the first day, Kontos got through 10 of the 13 songs, while Fox nailed the vocals in two days. The Boneless Ones then brought on Grammy Award-winning mixing engineer Matt Winegar (Fantastic Negrito, Primus) and mastering guru Ed Littman for Ed Littman Mastering to ensure Back To The Grind would boom and grind from loudspeakers at skateparks to streaming playback.


“Zack was good,” says Takaki. “He was there with us from the get-go. You always know where you stand with Zack—he speaks his thoughts. So, he helped us clean up our act. Chris was incredible. His playing is so physical. After the drums, we did bass and rhythm guitar. Now, we record everything individually. I work in movies, so I understand the theory, but this is the first time I recorded the bass by myself. The recording was so much different from the first album. We definitely pulled favors to get the music recorded 1,000 times better than it should’ve been.”


Where The Boneless Ones go from here is determined by fun and feels. That's how they started, and that's how they'll continue on. Certainly, the years of covert marketing via Hollywood movies (Diary of a Wimpy Kid [as Löded Diper], The Bounty Hunter), skate videos (Monster Energy Drink and Thrasher Magazine “Magic Maka Bus” with pro Grant Taylor), and appearances in other mediums have helped The Boneless Ones stay front and center. The tradition carries on with music spots in downhill skater documentary Nick Broms: What’s the Rush? and HBO Max series Dead Boy Detectives. Renowned artist Mark DeVito (Metallica, Motörhead) completes the Bay Area circle with a raging cover piece and a cool new slime-green logo design. The kegs keep flowin’, the party’s never dull, and most importantly, the grinds are always gnarly with The Boneless Ones’s Back To The Grind.


(Photo - Timi Devlin)

Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND, visited guitar shred pioneer Jason Becker in Richmond, California on the last day of FIREWIND's North American tour with DRAGONFORCE.

Says Gus: "I'm grateful I got to spend a couple of hours with him, his family and friends, play some of his guitars and get to see him again after six years. Jason was kind enough to let me borrow his jacket he wore on CACOPHONY's 'Go Off' photo shoot which I wore on stage the same night to honor the man."

A video recap of Gus's visit can be seen below.

Last year, some of the world's most legendary musicians teamed up with DRAGONFORCE's Herman Li in a bid to raise funds for Becker, who has been living with ALS for the past three decades.

Such high-profile guitarists as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman joined Li live on his Twitch channel for some impromptu jamming, with all proceeds going directly to help pay for Becker's medical expenses.

Becker — the composer, virtuoso musician, and former child guitar prodigy — has been suffering from ALS for more than 30 years, but that hasn't stopped him from creating music. His latest album, "Triumphant Hearts", was released in 2018, after Becker composed the music via computer using his eyes and enlisted heavy hitters like Satriani, Friedman, Joe Bonamassa, Uli Jon Roth, Neal Schon, Jeff Loomis and Paul Gilbert to play the parts.

In 2021, during a severe health scare, Becker's family, friends, and fans rallied together again to aid Becker, launching the #ShredForJasonBecker livestream fundraisers on Li's Twitch channel and a special Reverb storefront, where artists listed autographed guitars, merch and other rare items in support of Becker.

Li, who has been a fan of Becker since his youth, spoke about his fundraising efforts during a recent interview with Just Jen Reacts. He said: "For me, it was an honor, because… I have a crazy story about this whole thing. When I was, I think, 17, I read an article about Jason Becker having ALS, that he couldn't move and play guitar anymore. And I even wrote to him on the Internet, via e-mail, when I was probably 19 or something, and he actually wrote back to me. And now, it comes all full circle that I'm able to help him and we raised — not just me, but along with the amazing musicians and the people out there, the fans — we were able to raise past six hundred thousand dollars.
"

He continued: "It's an incredible thing, the community, the people out there — I'm talking about legends in the music industry for a long time all the way to the YouTube legends and the Twitch legends, we got everybody getting involved in this. So, I mean, I've gotta say I'm just one small piece of the puzzle that everyone together. But it was great.

"I was actually kind of shocked myself; I didn't know I was able to do something like that," Li admitted. "But it's a crazy story — from a fan myself, growing up [and] listening to [his music], I'm able to do that for [Jason]."

Becker's story is one of brilliance, talent, determination, adversity, and, ultimately, triumph. A child prodigy on guitar, Jason rose to prominence as a teenager when he was one half of the technical guitar duo CACOPHONY, with his great friend Marty Friedman. In 1989, at only 19 years old and after wowing audiences all over the world, the young virtuoso became the guitarist for David Lee Roth, following in the huge footsteps of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. He wrote and recorded on Roth's third solo album, "A Little Ain't Enough", and was poised for superstardom when a nagging pain in his leg was diagnosed as Motor Neurone Disease (MND),also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),or Lou Gehrig's Disease, the same condition Stephen Hawking lived with for over five decades. It is a fatal condition with a life expectancy of maybe five years. Maybe.

That was more than 30 years ago. He lost the ability to play guitar, walk, talk, and breathe on his own. But never lost his will to live or his desire to create music. Communicating through a series of eye movements with a system developed by his father, Jason spells out words as well as musical notes and chords. He imparts his musical vision to his team who then can input the notes into a computer, edit the parts to his exacting standards, and then generate charts for session musicians. His inspiring music and life story have been the subject of countless news articles and magazine cover stories.

Dolly Parton has changed her mind about pulling her nomination from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Last month, the 76-year-old country music legend asked the Hall to withdraw her name from the 2022 ballot, saying "I don't feel that I have earned the right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out." But the Rock Hall issued its own statement saying her nomination had already been sent out to voters. "We are in awe of Dolly's brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," the Rock Hall said.

In a new interview with NPR's "Morning Edition", Dolly revealed that she has changed her mind, saying that she will "accept gracefully" if she is voted in.

"It was always my belief that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was for people in rock music," she said. "And so I felt like I was taking away from someone that maybe deserved it certainly more than me. I have found out lately it's not necessarily that. But if they can't go there to be recognized, where can they go? And so I felt like I was taking away from someone that maybe deserved it certainly more than me since I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there's more to it than that."

Voting closed for the 2022 Hall Of Fame ballot earlier this week.

Parton was one of 17 artists nominated for the Rock Hall class of 2022, along with JUDAS PRIEST, Eminem, Lionel Richie, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and Beck, among others.

Ballots are cast by an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists — including previous inductees — historians, music industry members and critics. Factors considered by voters consider include "an artist's musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique," according to a statement issued by the Hall.

To be eligible for this year's ballot, each nominee's first single or album had to have been released in 1996 or earlier.

Inductees will be announced in May. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony will take place this fall. The date, venue, and on-sale information will be announced later.

The 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees were announced last month, with Dolly appearing on the ballot for the first time.

Parton told Billboard in February that she never thought of herself as a rock 'n' roller "in any sense of the word, but I guess they judge it on the music and the influence certain songs have had, and I guess I've had songs with other people in that realm," she said: "I'm not expecting that I'll get in. But if I do, I'll immediately, next year, have to put out a great rock and roll album — which I've wanted to do for years, like a Linda Ronstadt or HEART kind of thing."

Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1986, the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1999 and the national Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2001.

Dolly is the most honored and revered female country singer-songwriter of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. Recently, Parton reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart for the first time for her duet with Grammy Award-winning Zach Williams of "There Was Jesus", for which they won a Grammy, making that her 11th Grammy win. She received her first Dove Award for short-form video for her collaboration with KING & COUNTRY on the song "God Only Knows". Parton is the first artist to have topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton recently became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person Of The Year given out by NARAS. She has 44 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 50-plus years.

Photo credit: Stacie Huckeba
BREAKING: A month after asking to be removed from the ballot, Dolly Parton now says if she is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame she will “accept gracefully.” @MorningEdition#RockHall2022pic.twitter.com/7syDdg6TBo

— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) April 29, 2022

It’s often the most difficult challenges that force a musician to grow artistically. For Lacrimas Profundere, one of the most innovative and successful German dark metal bands of our time, their latest studio album, How To Shroud Yourself With Night, was primarily about the implicit burden imposed by their 2019 hit record Bleeding The Stars, whose success had indirectly raised huge expectations.


Who wouldn’t be tempted to flirt with a sequel to that success story? “For me, it was about liberating myself from the pressure to succeed and about trying to raise the bar, staying ahead of the game, challenging myself and staying true to ourselves, instead of playing it safe and writing some kind of ‘Bleeding Part II’,” explains guitarist, band founder and main composer Oliver Nikolas Schmid, who once again found invaluable support in his brother and lyricist Christopher Schmid:


“The new material sounds fresh, wicked, surprising and more passionate than ever before. It’s also the second chapter with our singer Julian, who has inspired us and played a major part in the creation of the album,” Schmid continues. “We understand what he likes and have broken away from old thought patterns and ways of doing things. Never before have we been such a tight unit, always ready to expand our own sound. That’s precisely why How To Shroud Yourself With Night has turned into our most spirited work by far.”




Like Bleeding The Stars, How To Shroud Yourself With Night was produced by Kristian ‘Kohle’ Kohlmannslehner at his Kohlekeller Studios in Seeheim and mastered by Tom Porcell at the Limetree Studios. The atmospheric, deep black cover artwork was designed by Indonesian artist Bahrull Marta and underlines the songs’ dense atmosphere and great depth of focus that supports the actual theme of the album: the desire to simply disappear, to be invisible and not have to deal with yourself and the outside world anymore.


Schmid: “Each song on this album deals with that theme. It’s about shadows, about darkness and mystical objects which combine the unique power of “nothingness”.


How To Shroud Yourself With Night sees them throw their oppressive veil of melancholy into the dark night and reveal the beauty that’s inherent in bleak despondency. They accompany the listener into the gloom with doomy riffs and mournful melodic guitar and keyboard passages rich in atmosphere. Well, there’s not much to add to this precise assessment.


How To Shroud Yourself With Night will be released on August 26 via SPV/Steamhammer in the following configurations:


- CD DigiPak (incl. poster)
- LP, 140g, cristallo vinyl, printed inner sleeves
- Download / Streaming


Pre-order here.


- Exclusive CD/LP Bundle with a T-shirt only at the Steamhammer shop


Pre-order here.


The first single, "A Cloak Woven Of Stars", will be released next week.





Tracklisting:


"Wall Of Gloom"
"A Cloak Woven Of Stars"
"Nebula"
"In A Lengthening Shadow"
"The Curtain Of White Silence"
"Unseen"
"The Vastness Of Infinity"
"To Disappear In You"
"An Invisible Beginning"
"Shroud Of Night"

World acclaimed keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion), one of the most significant keyboard players of the modern era, will be releasing the new album Vortex, on July 1 via InsideOutMusic.


Returning alongside Sherinian is legendary drummer Simon Phillips, who once again co-wrote and co-produced the album, as well as Tony ‘The Fretless Monster’ Franklin, on bass.


Today, Derek is pleased to release the title track from the album. Watch the video for "The Vortex" below.




The follow-up to 2020’s The Phoenix, Vortex includes eight tracks built on his signature chameleonic sound that blends rock with elements of funk, prog, and jazz, which he started writing even before The Phoenix was finished.


“Vortex is a continuation of The Phoenix,” Sherinian states. “However, I feel the composition is stronger on the new album, and I would describe it as a modern day 70s style fusion record, but with newer heavier tonality.”


When it came to guitars, Sherinian recruited a who’s who of great players, some of whom he had worked with before - Steve Stevens, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, Zakk Wylde, Sons Of Apollo bandmate Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal - and a few new allies, in the form of Michael Schenker, Mike Stern and Nuno Bettencourt.


“The choice of guitarist works itself out in the writing,” he explains. “Also, like in the case of Steve Stevens, we co-wrote the song together, so it was natural for him to play on it.”


Of his new collaborators, he says of Bettencourt, who appears on the scratchy “Fire Horse”, “I have always been a fan of his playing, and I am glad that we finally got to record together. He has the Van Halen swing and swagger to his playing that I love. We were both born in 1966, the Chinese year of the Fire Horse.”


According to Sherinian, Schenker’s inclusion was a no-brainer. “Michael Schenker has been one of my heroes for many years. He asked me to play on his Immortal album, and in return, he agreed to play on “Die Kobra”. I wanted to write a great song inspired by my favorite Schenker tracks. Zakk Wylde added some great additional parts to the song, and Tony Franklin and Simon Phillips sound great, as usual.”


The Vortex will be available as:


- Ltd. 180g white LP+CD
- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"The Vortex" feat. Steve Stevens
"Fire Horse" feat. Nuno Bettencourt
"Scorpion"
"Seven Seas" feat. Steve Stevens
"Key Lime Blues" feat. Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather
"Die Kobra" feat. Michael Schenker, Zakk Wylde
"Nomad's Land" feat. Mike Stern
"Aurora Australis" feat. Bumblefoot


"The Vortex" video:





(Photo - Greg Vorobiov)

Brian May has released a brand new video for "Another World", the title track of his second solo album, filmed on location in the Canary Islands and in which Brian returns to the sites where he feels "closest to the heavens". Watch below:





A multi-format, meticulously repackaged deluxe edition of the album has been released in Brian's Gold Series, featuring the remastered original album alongside remixes, rarities and live tracks in the 2CD and box set formats.







The 15-track rarities collection in the new edition of the album, titled Another Disc, also features Brian's live version of “On My Way Up,” as performed in Paris in 1998, and a new guitar version, of which he says: “It's nice to just pick up the guitar and sing it with a guitar, so there's a couple of those versions on there. I particularly like the one of “On My Way Up” because it's very kind of rude. It's just raw, and I've done nothing to it apart from playing.”


In his new Another World 2022 album liner notes, Brian notes how far we have all travelled since the album’s release in 1998, but also that the exploration feels very appropriate at this time. “It seems perhaps that in 2022 we ARE in Another World,” he writes, “but if it’s not quite the world we asked for, perhaps we can still reach that perfect world… in our dreams. JOIN ME !!!”


“On My Way Up” video:





"Maybe Baby" lyric video:

During an appearance earlier today (Thursday, April 28) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" show, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler reflected on the making of the band's final album, "13". Released in 2013, it was SABBATH's first LP in 35 years to feature Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Speaking about working with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who is notorious for being very "in and out" of the studio while records are being made, Geezer said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Some of it I liked, some of it I didn't like particularly. It was a weird experience, especially with being told to forget that you're a heavy metal band. That was the first thing [Rick] said to us. He played us our very first album, and he said, 'Cast your mind back to then when there was no such thing as heavy metal or anything like that, and pretend it's the follow-up album to that,' which is a ridiculous thing to think."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that many other artists who have worked with Rubin walked away from the experience feeling a bit underwhelmed, Butler said: "I still don't know what he did. It's, like, 'Yeah, that's good.' 'No, don't do that.' And you go, 'Why?' [And he'd say], 'Just don't do it.' I think Ozzy one day went nuts 'cause he'd done, like, 10 different vocals, and Rick kept saying, 'Yeah, that's great, but do another one.' And Ozzy was, like, 'If it's great, why am I doing another one?' He just lost it. And that's the way it was. Tony wasn't happy with some of the stuff he was trying to make him play. He was making Tony get 1968 amps — as if that's gonna make it sound like back in 1968. It's mad. But it's good for publicity and it's good for the record company. If you've got Rick Rubin involved, then it must be good, kind of thing."

In an official documentary chronicling the making of the "13" album, Geezer was more complimentary about collaborating with Rubin, saying: "It's great with Rick Rubin in charge. He's got a great track record and he comes up with some great ideas. Some work, some don't, but it's worth trying."

When Iommi was asked about working with Rubin in a 2013 interview with Guitar Player magazine, he said: "It was fine once we got used to him. We didn't know how he was going to work, because through the writing period, we didn't see a lot of him. He'd say, 'Phone me up when you've got an idea and I'll come down.' So we'd have a track together and phone him up or e-mail him, and then he'd come down and say, 'Yeah, I like this part, but I don't like that part' or 'I like everything,' whatever it may be, and then he'd go. He was only there perhaps ten or 15 minutes at the most. We didn't know how he was going to approach recording. It was all a bit of a mystery to us… It's sort of left to the last minute, and then he throws it at you. He just pushes that much more, and that's difficult for a band like us. We've been around so long, it's hard to accept criticism from somebody we've never worked with. But we did, and it was good. It was really good. We might be working on a track, and he'd go, 'Oh no, it doesn't feel right. Try it again and try extending that part.' So we'd do it and then we'd be thinking to ourselves that it may be too long, but we'd do it anyway. And then he'd go, 'That doesn't feel right. Let's try another one.' And then he'd say, 'Okay I think we've got it, but do you want to just try another one?' So we would try another one, and he'd say, 'Okay, let's leave it now.' So we never knew exactly which one he was going to pick."

Asked in a 2021 interview with SPIN if he had learned anything from working with Rubin, Iommi quipped: "Yeah, I learned how to lie on the couch with a mic in my hand and say 'Next!' ... It was just different, the way he works. He wanted to find the original SABBATH sound. He said, 'Have you got your original amps?' I said, 'Rick, that was 50 years ago. Do you have any amps from 50 years ago? … I don't have them, they've blown up. They're gone long ago. I've got my own amps now.' He said, 'No, we need the old stuff.'

"So, I get to the studio, and there are 20 different bloody amps there. He goes, 'They're vintage amps.' I said, 'That doesn't mean they sound good; they're just old.' He went, 'Well, let's try them.' I tried them, and I didn't like any of them.

"So it was a bit of a backwards and forwards till he got used to me, and I got used to him, really," Iommi added. "But we did it, and the album was very basic. I'd done a lot of the songs from the last album in my studio at home. I thought the sound was better, to be honest. But there was more stuff involved; I put more instruments on it. He just wanted it very bare and very basic, which you know, was good."

Original SABBATH drummer Bill Ward in May 2012 announced that he was declining to join his former bandmates for its scheduled dates, as well as the recording of the new album, due to a contractual dispute. After SABBATH shot down Rubin's suggestion to replace Ward with Ginger Baker (CREAM) ("I thought, 'Bloody hell?'" Iommi told Rolling Stone magazine. "I just couldn't see that."),Rick suggested RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk.

A little over a decade ago, SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor blasted Rubin after they worked together on the band's 2004 album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)", saying that "Rick Rubin showed up for 45 minutes a week. Rick Rubin would then, during that 45 minutes, lay on a couch, have a mic brought in next to his face so he wouldn't have to fucking move. I swear to God. And then he would be, like, 'Play it for me.' The engineer would play it. And he had shades on the whole time. Never mind the fact that there is no sun in the room it's all dark. You just look like an asshole at that point. And he would just stroke his huge beard and try and get as much food out of it as he could. And he would go, 'Play it again.' And then he'd be, like, 'Stop! Do that over.' And he had an assistant who was seven feet tall. He had that disease where you can't grow hair on your body, so he was just bald. He looked like Mr. Clean's neurotic cousin. But he basically ran Rick Rubin's life like, he was just fucking on it, on it, on it, on it. About half way through our precious 45 minutes, he would bring in this plate of shit. I assume it was food. It was bluish green. It smelled like someone had just plunged a fucking toilet somewhere. And he would eat it as fast as he could just get it in there, all over himself. Which is, when you're working, so wonderful to look at…"

Taylor added: "I will say this: I respect what Rick Rubin has done, I respect the work that he has done in the past to get to where he is now. But this is a huge but this is a J.Lo-sized 'but...' I will say this: The Rick Rubin of today is a thin, thin, thin shadow of the Rick Rubin that he was. He is overrated, he is overpaid, and I will never work with him again as long as I fucking live."

Rubin has worked with numerous artists over the years, including AC/DC, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Johnny Cash, SLAYER, METALLICA and many more.

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" was released that working with Rubin took some getting used to. "It was definitely frustrating at first, because Rick is kind of renowned for taking his time and, you know, we definitely took our time on this one, with six and a half months," he said. He sat us down, he's like, 'Do you realize that you can be just as extreme with a whisper as you can with a scream? The heavy stuff, you're obviously very good at, but at the same time, we're gonna break outside of this box.'"

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root told Revolver magazine in 2008: "Rick was really attentive to what we needed as a band.... A lot of the guys in the band say Rick was unavailable. And yeah, he takes on a lot of projects at one time, but he also does things that are beneficial. He would listen to what we'd done, then have us retrack things that needed work. He's kind of like Big Brother up on the hill. Even though he wasn't there physically every day, he was."

In that same interview, Taylor said: "I wouldn't know what it's like to work with Rick Rubin. I only saw him about four times. Rick Rubin is a nice man. He's done a lot of good for a lot of people. He didn't do anything for me... if you're going to produce something, you're fucking there. I don't care who you are."


Thank you @geezerbutler for coming by my Vegas place today and joining me on #TrunkNation ! If you missed it now on the @SIRIUSXM app. Replay tonight 10-Mid ET @siriusxmvolume 106. Geez at 11P ET. Just another day at work in Vegas… awesome!! pic.twitter.com/a8NuK6aXFh

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 28, 2022

"Waiting For A Girl Like You", “Urgent", "Break It Up", "Juke Box Hero". Foreigner’s timeless anthems continue to rock the charts, with ten multi-platinum albums, sixteen Top 30 hits and album sales now exceeding 80 million copies.


Now, as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the groundbreaking album, Foreigner 4, the band releases The Best Of Foreigner 4 Live: The Last Vegas Edition, a very special digitally recorded and mastered live performance of these principal tracks on a stunning red vinyl edition available at Walmart on May 6.


One of Foreigner’s most iconic works, 4 is certified eight times platinum by the RIAA making it one of the biggest rock albums of all time. It spent more weeks at #1 than any artist in the history of Atlantic Records, outpacing such giants of the era as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis and many more.




The Best Of Foreigner 4 Live: The Las Vegas Edition includes several unique performances such as "Waiting For A Girl Like You" with a 56-piece orchestra and chorus. Other highlights include the opening songs, "Night Life" and "Woman In Black", which together illustrate the weight and musicality of this incredible band. One of the most important tracks is a stunning performance of "Juke Box Hero" featuring Led Zeppelin’s heir apparent, Jason Bonham on drums. The solo section gives a nod to their epic hit, "Whole Lotta Love".


Recently, Foreigner rocked the Las Vegas strip with an exclusive headlining residency show at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas in March and April 2022. The show, entitled The Best Of Foreigner 4 Live, was also a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Foreigner’s biggest selling album.





Foreigner’s lineup includes founder and Songwriters Hall of Fame member Mick Jones, the visionary maestro whose stylistic songwriting, indelible guitar hooks and multi-layered talents continue to escalate Foreigner‘s influence and guide the band to new horizons; lead singer Kelly Hansen, one of rock’s greatest showmen who has led Foreigner into the digital age while inspiring a whole new generation of fans; noted bassist Jeff Pilson; Michael Bluestein on keyboards; guitarist Bruce Watson; Chris Frazier on drums and guitarist Luis Maldonado.


Pre-order The Best Of Foreigner 4 Live: The Las Vegas Edition exclusively at Walmart.





Tracklisting:


Side One:
"Nightlife"
"Woman In Black"
"Break It Up"
"Urgent"


Side Two:
"Waiting For A Girl Like You"
"Girl On The Moon"
"Juke Box Hero"/"Whole Lotta Love"





(Photo - Karsten Staiger)

Wishbone Ash achieved considerable success in the 1970s, during which they were among England's most popular hard rock acts, achieving an incredible eight top 40 albums. Often regarded as one of the premiere UK live acts of the ’70s, they toured considerably throughout this period and into the following decades.





Madfish are now proud to present a new 10-LP box set containing five live concerts recorded between 1976 - 1980 from across the globe. Initially appearing on The Vintage Years CD box set in 2018, four of the concerts enclosed will be issued on vinyl for the first time, with a newly sourced and previously unreleased recording from the band’s October 1976 run of shows in Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo on the New England tour, exclusively available within.




Featuring the second classic Wishbone Ash line up of Andy Powell, Martin Turner, Laurie Wisefield and Steve Upton, these recordings showcase a band at their live best and firing on all cylinders across four different tours.


In-depth album notes and track-by-track ‘making of’ interviews by author and Wishbone expert Campbell Devine are on display within a lavish booklet which features a sleek design as well as rare live photographs, a replica ‘Wishbone News’ newspaper from the Front Page News tour and individually numbered certificate.





The live shows included are:


1. Nakano Sunplaza, Tokyo, October 1976 (New England tour)
2. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 18th November 1976 (New England tour)
3. Marquee, London, 29th October 1977 (Front Page News tour)
4. Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, 30th October 1978 (No Smoke Without Fire tour)
5. Civic Hall, Guildford, 12th February 1980 (Just Testing tour)


With only 1,000 copies available this is a must-have for all Wishbone Ash fans.


Pre-order here, and watch a video trailer below:

The North American Siege 2022, featuring Arch Enemy and Behemoth, plus special guests Napalm Death and Unto Others, landed at Toronto's Rebel venue on April 25. Behemoth have shared this recap video:





Remaining tour dates:




April
28 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
29 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia
30 - Worcester, MA - Palladium


May
2 - Chicago, IL - The Riviera Theatre
4 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
7 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
9 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
10 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
11 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
13 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
15 - Los Angeles, CA - The Hollywood Palladium

Today, multi-Platinum selling and multi-JUNO award-nominated rock band, The Tea Party, announce their return to Canadian stages with their first tour in almost three years. The tour kicks off in Waterloo, ON on June 17, sees the band play 19 shows, and wraps in Kelowna, BC on August 6.


2021 saw the release of The Tea Party’s Sunshower EP, a companion piece to the 2019 Black River EP, that once again showcases their mastery of light and shade, and why they continue to occupy a unique place within the ever-changing musical landscape. The EP presents a message of hope in the face of one of the most challenging years we as a society have endured so far in the 21st century.


"The Beautiful", a track off the Sunshower EP, is currently at Canadian radio. Listen below:







“3 years is a long time…The band is incredibly excited to get back and perform in front of the best fans in the world,” said Jeff Burrows (drummer/percussionist). “This summer will not only invigorate fans of live music around the globe, but the bands as well. The Tea Party plans on taking full advantage of that, and looks forward to blowing minds across this great country.”


Never known to remain idle, The Tea Party also released a brand-new CD Deluxe Edition and Remastered Vinyl Edition of their iconic, self-titled album The Tea Party this past December via Universal Music Canada, 30 years since its initial “indie” release. The Deluxe Edition is available on 2CD plus an album, the Remastered Edition is available on 2LP pressed on 180g red vinyl and is also available on eAlbum, MFit + Hi-Res Audio.


Since releasing their major-label debut album Splendor Solis in 1993, The Tea Party, composed of Jeff Martin (singer/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist), Jeff Burrows (drummer/percussionist), and Stuart Chatwood (bassist and multi-instrumentalist), have come to be regarded as one of the world’s most innovative rock bands, with a sound that incorporates everything from traditional instrumentation from around the world, to cutting-edge digital technology.


Over the past three decades, the trio has gained the attention of fans on a worldwide level, with record sales approaching 3 million units, over 50 million career streams to date, receiving 14 JUNO Award nominations and 22 MuchMusic Award nominations, and touring around the globe. Now, after more than 30 years as a band, The Tea Party is ready to open a new chapter in its saga, a story that remains rooted in the goal to create new, ambitious, and thought-provoking music.





Tour dates:


June
17 - Waterloo, ON - Maxwell’s Outdoor Concert Series
19 - Burlington, ON - Sound of Music Festival
23 - Sarnia, ON - Bluewater Borderfest


July
1 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama (The Tea Party & Moist)
2 - Toronto, ON - History (The Tea Party & Moist)
8 / 9 - Montreal, QC - Théâtre Corona
11 - Quebec City, QC - Festival D’été de Quebec
14 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest
15 - Belleville, ON - Empire Rockfest
16 / 17 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
22 - Timmins, ON - Rock on The River
29 - St. John’s, NL - George Street Festival
30 - Truro, NS - Rock The Hub


August
2 - Edmonton, AB - Midway
3 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Casino
5 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
6 - Kelowna, BC -Venue TBD

In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 spoke about his involvement with the soundtrack to MÖTLEY CRÜE's biopic "The Dirt", based on CRÜE's 2001 New York Times bestselling autobiography. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm so proud [of being part of that]. Me and Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] wrote on that. And dude, I fucking MÖTLEY CRÜE, and it was so cool for it to come to fruition. And to hear Vince [Neil, vocals] and Tommy [Lee, drums] and Mick [Mars, guitar] and, of course, Nikki doing that… I think that song really gave me a real excitement of collaborating with someone. And seeing the video and the history of it, it was really pretty incredible."

John 5 previously discussed his contribution to "The Dirt" soundtrack in a December 2019 interview with Milwaukee's 102.9 The Hog radio station. At the time, he said: "Me and Nikki are like two 15-year-olds who are just on the phone twenty thousand times a day and we hang out all the time. We'll go to the mall and we'll go ride bikes and we'll do ridiculous stuff like that. And so, of course, we like to play music together, and yeah, that's how that came about — writing music for 'The Dirt'. And those songs are killer."

He continued: "I'm so proud to be a part of MÖTLEY CRÜE history… And also, I wanna say, those guys — Mick and Nikki and Tommy and Vince — they just killed it in the studio too; it was, like, one or two takes. It's pretty incredible, it's pretty astounding what true professionals they are. It was really incredible."

Three years ago, John 5 was full of praise for Sixx, whom he called his "best friend." The guitarist told Outburn: "We love each other. He has inspired me and taught me so much about life in general. He's a phenomenal songwriter, lyricist, author, everything. He's always telling me to listen to this audio book or see this movie. He has a happy marriage, a happy life, a successful band he started from the ground up. He's one of the most inspiring people. He'll text me all the time to read something or try something. It's wonderful. He's a phenomenal photographer as well. I remember him telling me that he's going to take bass lessons again and get into playing with his fingers. He was so dedicated."

"The Dirt Soundtrack" featured four new MÖTLEY CRÜE songs, including the single "The Dirt (Est. 1981) (feat. Machine Gun Kelly)", and CRÜE's unlikely cover of Madonna's "Like A Virgin".

"The Dirt", which debuted in March 2019 on Netflix, remains one of the highest-rated music films as voted by the audience on Rotten Tomatoes, the online review aggregation service that allows both critics and the public to rate movies. Movie critics were far less impressed by the film, which currently has a 36% critic score from 74 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.





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