Coheed And Cambria have shared an acoustic version of their new Top 25 single, "The Liars Club", which is available today on all streaming platforms. Peeling back the layers on the anthemic track, Coheed And Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez reimagines "The Liars Club" with sweeping acoustics as he suspends disbelief and immerses listeners into a new reality.


Listen here, and watch the video below.


For reference, in the band’s forthcoming new album, Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind, The Liars Club is a crime syndicate run by a mob boss called Candelaria. The Club’s leadership achieves their endless endurance by draining the essence from youthful blood. Youth which they’ve lured to their doorstop via Inaugura, a raucous party aboard Candelaria’s floating city called The Cotillion.




As to why the acoustic touch, Claudio remarked, “It’s fun for me to try and reimagine songs I’ve written… ‘The Liars Club’ felt like the perfect candidate for the treatment.”





"The Liars Club: is featured on the band’s new album, Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind, which will now be released worldwide on June 24 due to ongoing global vinyl delays.


Coheed And Cambria commented on the new release date explaining, “Due to the ongoing issues with vinyl manufacturing, Covid shutdowns in China and supply-chain disruptions, we have pushed the release date for Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind to June 24th. We did everything we could to make the May date happen, but it’s beyond our control and we are excited you’ll have vinyl and the beautiful box set available on release date. We couldn’t be prouder of this new album, and we hope you will feel it was worth the wait. We will drop another song in the meantime to carry you through. Thank you for your never ending support.”


Pre-orders for the album on DSPs and for the collection’s deeply immersive Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set are available now.





Coheed And Cambria also launched an official pre-order for their “Marmalade Glow” limited edition colored vinyl variant of the new album. The double vinyl, triple gatefold baby blue and orange vinyl is exclusive to the band’s website.





Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind welcomes us back to “The Amory Wars” as the 2nd installment of the five-part “Vaxis” arc about a couple on the run from tyrannical forces and their mysterious new addition. The album’s limited edition deluxe box set [packaging shot below] includes the exclusive 96-page illustrated hardcover novel “A Window of the Waking Mind” which was developed by Sanchez and written by his wife Chondra Echert with strikingly realistic color artwork by Chase Stone. The 9” x 12” box set also houses an exclusive Quintillan Speaker Containment Unit Lamp (approx. 8” diameter), a 3-panel fold out poster of expanded album cover art, and the A Window of the Waking Mind Black Card which will allow all card holders early access to tickets and early entry to Coheed and Cambria headline dates. All box sets will also come with a CD copy and download of Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind along with an official Certificate of Authenticity. Furthermore, fans who pre-order the limited edition box set before January 23, will receive autographed copies and have their name included within the pages of the accompanying illustrated hardcover novel. For more information on Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set, visit coheedandcambria.com.


For the last 20 years, Coheed and Cambria have continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest running concept story in music, Coheed and Cambria have consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. Comprised of Claudio Sanchez (Vocals / Guitar), Travis Stever (Guitar), Josh Eppard (Drums) and Zach Cooper (Bass) the band has gripped listeners and press around the globe with their visionary compositions and conceptual mastery. In 2018, Coheed and Cambria made a stunning debut with their album Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Hard Rock Albums” chart, #6 current sales and Top 15 on the “Billboard 200” chart.





Tracklisting:


“The Embers Of Fire”
“Beautiful Losers”
“Comatose”
“Shoulders”
“A Disappearing Act”
“Love Murder One”
“Blood”
“The Liars Club”
“Bad Man”
“Our Love”
“Ladders Of Supremacy”
“Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)”
“Window Of The Waking Mind”


 “The Liars Club” video:





“Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)” video:





“Shoulders” video:





Coheed And Cambria have also announced details of a massive 2022 North American summer headline tour. Deemed the “A Window Of The Waking Mind Tour”, it’s the band’s first major headline tour in five years. The upcoming trek will kick off on July 12 and see the band performing at some of the largest venues of their career in major cities across the continent including Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Denver, Queens, Toronto, Los Angeles and more.


Featuring support from Dance Gavin Dance and Mothica, tickets are on sale now.


Coheed And Cambria are currently out on “The Great Destroyer Tour”, a US headline run with special guests Sheer Mag which is set continue through mid-March giving audiences an opportunity to see the band live in intimate clubs across the US . For tickets and more information on Coheed and Cambria’s upcoming tour dates, head here.





“A Window Of The Waking Mind Tour” dates:


July
12 - FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park - Miami, FL
13 - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa, FL
15 - 713 Music Hall - Houston, TX
16 - Whitewater Amphitheater - New Braunfels, TX
17 - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory - Irving, TX​
19 - Coca-Cola Roxy - Atlanta, GA
23 - Nashville Municipal Auditorium - Nashville, TN
24 - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre - Charlotte, NC
26 - The Anthem - Washington, DC
27 - The Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA
29 - Agganis Arena - Boston, MA
30 - Forest Hills Stadium - Queens, NY


August
1 - Stage AE Outdoors - Pittsburgh, PA
2 - Crofoot Festival Grounds - Pontiac, MI
3 - RBC Echo Beach - Toronto, ON
5 - Armory - Minneapolis, MN
6 - SeatGeek Stadium - Bridgeview, IL
7 - Saint Louis Music Park - St Louis, MO
9 - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre - Denver, CO
10 - The Lot at The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
12 - Shrine LA Outdoors - Los Angeles, CA
13 - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre - San Diego, CA
14 - Greek Theatre - Berkeley, CA
16 - Marymoor Park - Seattle, WA
17 - Edgefield - Troutdale, OR


(Photo - Alexandra Gavillet)

Symphonic metal masters After Forever are soon approaching the 15th anniversary of their self-titled swansong album, After Forever (2007), and to celebrate this anniversary, the band will release a special reissue of the album - completely remastered by Darius van Helfteren and featuring two rare Japanese bonus tracks. The first is the beautiful piano ballad, "Lonely", and the other is a catchy progressive symphonic metal anthem named "Sweet Enclosure", which has been released today. Listen here, and below.


Singer Floor Jansen comments: "I am very glad to see this album revamped and presented once again. I am still so proud of it and consider it our best work! It brings back happy memories of rehearsal sessions in extreme temperatures with good laughs and wonderful recording sessions in the middle of the Dutch countryside. Singing these songs live is something I will miss forever and rocking with our loyal fans too. Thank you for all the magnificent years and I hope you can enjoy this album, maybe for the first time, maybe once again!"


Out May 27, the album will be released digitally, on CD and vinyl. Pre-order here.







Tracklisting:


"Discord"
"Evoke"
"Transitory"
"Energize Me"
"Equally Destructive"
"Withering Time"
"De-Energized"
"Cry With A Smile"
"Envision"
"Who I Am"
"Dreamflight"
"Empty Memories"
"Lonely"
"Sweet Enclosure"


"Sweet Enclosure":





After Forever are:


Floor Jansen - Vocals
Sander Gommans - Guitar, Grunts
Bas Maas - Guitar, Vocals
Luuk van Gerven - Bass
André Borgman - Drums
Joost van den Broek - Keyboard

Former SKID ROW singer Tony Harnell has weighed in on the band's decision to enlist Erik Grönwall as its latest frontman, calling it "a very smart and innovative idea."

Grönwall, who auditioned for the competition show "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life", joined the group this past January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in SKID ROW for more than six years.

Last month, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

During an appearance on the latest episode of the GUNS N' ROSES-centric "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Harnell — who fronted SKID ROW for less than a year — stated about the band's newest addition (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that they made a great decision. I've admired Erik from afar, and I think it's the best choice they could have possibly made at this stage of the game. I mean, look, everybody knows what [fans] want with that particular situation," apparently referencing fans' constant call for a reunion with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach, "but it doesn't look like it's ever gonna happen. So in lieu of that happening, I think this was a very smart and innovative idea for them to grab a younger guy who has a lot of fire onstage and he has a great voice — very versatile. I'm impressed, and I think it's a great choice."

SKID ROW, which played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, recorded "The Gang's All Here" in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Last September, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.

Theart, a former member of DRAGONFORCE, joined SKID ROW in 2016 following the departure of Harnell.

Harnell previously said that his drinking was partly responsible for him quitting SKID ROW via social media, explaining that it was "a really dumb" and "very unprofessional" thing to do.

In a brand new interview with "The Rockman Power Hour", FILTER mainman Richard Patrick revealed that he is re-teaming with Ben Grosse "as the producer and mixer" for some of the band's new music. "We're gonna make two songs that sound just like 'The Amalgamut' and 'Title Of Record'," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It's gonna sound just as amazing as that. They're well-written songs, so I've got that going for me. But it's gonna take his sauce. He puts this amazing sauce. He calls it 'butter'. He puts a little saucy butter on the mix, and somehow it's amazing. But I haven't worked with him in years and now we're finally gonna get back together and do some stuff. So I'm really looking forward to it."

Richard has successfully led and spearheaded FILTER for the last three decades, releasing many platinum records, including the aforementioned "Title Of Record" and "The Almagamut".

Last May, it was announced that FILTER had signed a worldwide deal with Golden Robot Records.

In October 2020, FILTER released the official music video for the song "Murica".

Patrick later told Alternative Press that the character in the "Murica" video is "a Trump-supporting, gun-loving, unmedicated, super-freak 'merican unhinged and at his wits' end. And he's trying to take control of something that is not out of control. And he's afraid. He's the super-afraid white male. The Trump-supporting nutbag that I hope I can reach.

Asked if he thought "Murica" was going to piss people off or it's going to be a rallying point, Patrick said at the time: "I just wanted to show this surreal, crazy side of what America looks like. I literally am doing it just so the record shows that someone was willing to fuckin' say something about the right. Something about how crazy they are."

FILTER's most recent LP, "Crazy Eyes", came out in April 2016 via Wind-Up Records.

BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE, the Huntington Beach, California-based alternative hard rock/metal band featuring former KORN drummer David Silveria, has released the official music video for the song "Leave Me Be". The track is taken from the band's latest EP, "Defy The Algorithm", which was made available on April 22 via all major platforms.

Joining David in BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE are bassist Chris Dorame, guitarists Joe Taback and Mike Martin and singer Rich Nguyen.

BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE formed after a worldwide vocalist search led them to recruit Nguyen. The band's diverse musicality is backed by Silveria's signature groove and neatly wrapped together by captivating vocal melodies.

BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE's debut singles "Pity" and "Change Your Mind", released on January 4, 2019, were met with tremendous fanfare. "Pity", the edgier track of the two, has helped grow the band's following exponentially in both the U.S. and abroad. "Change Your Mind", showcases the band's softer, melodic side. The two singles were released as a Side A/B as a throwback to the '80s and '90s single releases. "Pity" peaked in the Top 25 (#23) on the Billboard (BDS) Indicator chart and Top 10 (#9) on the Foundations (SMR) chart. It has reached over 264,000 streams on Spotify and 54,000 views on YouTube. A third single "Hesitation", was released on July 16, 2019 to radio with an accompanying music video. The song is the exact middle ground between the first two singles. It peaked in the Top 25 (#24) on the Billboard (BDS) Indicator chart and Top 10 (#6) on the Foundations (SMR) chart. It has reached over 26,000 streams on Spotify and over 72,000 views on YouTube.

BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE released its debut EP, "Acronym", in January of 2021. It has reached over 560,000 streams on Spotify. The video for the final single "Anything But Right" was released on August 13, 2021.
"Defy The Algorithm" EP track listing:

01. Twine
02. Surprise
03. Worn Down
04. Antibodies
05. Leave Me Be
06. Naïve

Silveria previously told OC Weekly about BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE's musical approach: "We definitely have our own unique sound, but at times there are hints of the early sound of KORN. I feel this band is a new fresh sound on the rock scene that is lacking right now. We have a new sound for sure, but we aren't reinventing the wheel."

Nguyen described his lyrical themes as "both personal and abstract. Every song I write has two meanings; mine and your interpretation," he explained. "I try to write my lyrics vague enough for people to relate to and form their own opinions. However, if you know me personally, you may be able to figure what I'm talking about, maybe."

Internationally acclaimed ‘80s-influenced hard rockers Santa Cruz have unleashed the music video for “Under The Gun”, the first single from the group's upcoming new album, The Return Of The Kings. The new full-length will be released this fall. In the meantime, the music video for “Under The Gun” can be viewed below, and the song is available to stream now on all digital music platforms.


The 2022 lineup of Santa Cruz sees Finnish frontman/guitarist and founding member Archie Cruz now joined by the Los Angeles-based trio of guitarist Jerry Jade (Bad Gvy), bassist Tommy Bradley (Revelry Gang), and drummer Randy McDemian (Abrahadabra Clothing).


“’Under The Gun,’ a nod to some of metal´s all-time greats like Ozzy and Dokken, comes out with a banging video, inspired by Sergio Leone´s Spaghetti Western movies and Tarantino-esque cinema,” explains Archie Cruz. “The video was shot in Joshua Tree on April 7th with Industrialism films and the director Vicente Cordero. The plot is about four gunslingers having a Mexican stand-off for a suitcase full of cold hard cash.”







Additionally, Santa Cruz have also announced a retooled live show that will be unveiled to the concert-going masses with a performance scheduled at the Whisky A Go-Go on August 25th.





Archie Cruz recorded The Return Of The Kings - the follow-up to 2019's Katharsis - as a one-man studio project throughout 2020 and 2021 in his native Finland, but to fully enact the vision for the new record in the live setting he has turned to the modern Los Angeles hard rock revival. The new quartet of Cruz, Jade, Bradley, and McDemian pay tribute to the old-school Sunset Strip influences while also reinforcing the updated take on the sound that has allowed Santa Cruz to win over audiences worldwide. 





For further details, visit Santa Cruz on Facebook.


 

Torn Between Two Worlds, featuring former Angtoria bandmates Sarah Jezebel Deva and Chris Rehn, are gearing up to release an EP, entitled As If We Never Existed. The cover artwork, created by Jamie Huntley, can be viewed below. A release date has not been confirmed as yet.





Torn Between Two Worlds recently released the new single, "Transparent". Check it out below, purchase it via Bandcamp here.




Sarah has checked in with the following update:


"On May 6th, we will release the long overdue Lyric video for "Transparent". A few people have told me, including Chris Rehn himself, that a song never does that well without a video. When we released the song, we noticed that the plays on YouTube were just under 600. We want our music to be heard, that is simply the main goal.... to be heard and to be enjoyed and to inspire you, if we can.


Life got in the way and we never got around to doing the video until I put out a plea for help. A wonderful person answered; comic writer Kurt Amacker got in touch with me. If you are a Cradle Of Filth fan, you may already know that name. He is responsible for Cradle Of Filths graphic novel (search kurtamacker.com). He suggested a guy called Drake Mefestta, who has also been heavily involved with COF / Devilment / The 69 Eyes and so on. I also believe, if I heard right, he is responsible for website design for W.A.S.P.'s official page and one of the guys from Black Sabbath. Drake kindly took his time to help us, Torn Between Two Worlds.


None of this stuff is easy. Great expertise goes into everything an artist or musician creates; we hope once again you see this. We also hope once again you see what we see, how flipping lucky we are to have such amazing people bend over backwards and help us for free or little cost.


We hope this new video will be shared far and wide. Talk very soon."





p>Sarah recently opened up about writing the song.


Sarah: "This song was a bit of a challenge for me as this song is totally from scratch. It wasn’t written a few years ago like 'The Beauty Of Deception' was. 'All Eyes On Me' was also written a few years ago, but 80% of the lyrics lost, re-written and rearranged and the vocals recorded at my home, and “Hello” being a cover song (Adele). This is the first song lyric-wise that I have written in almost 10 years, I think, and when Chris sent me the music, I found it so difficult getting everything together. I recorded half a track and Chris and I just weren’t feeling it, so we took a big step back for a few months and let everything digest, because you can’t rush a song if you want people to believe in your music. Chris Rehn is a mindblowing composer and takes much pride in his arrangements, and for me, as silly as it sounds, I want him to be proud of the song and me. I can’t stress enough how its him that should be praised to high heaven, not me.


The song is based on fame and ego, people who take everything and everyone for granted, and takes pleasure in destroying everything and people, only to make themselves feel better. They love to take credit for absolutely everything, whilst others work their arses off, put their heart and soul into everything. Self destructive, compulsive liars who believes you are where you are today because of them. Surrounded by many for the wrong reasons, yet doesn’t actually doesn’t have much."





Check out the previously released singles from Torn Between Two Worlds below.


"The Beauty Of Deception"





"All Eyes On Me"





"Hello"


 


 





 

Guitarist Dregen (The Hellacopters, Backyard Babies) celebrates a successful year by releasing his fourth beer in the Riff family - The Riff APA!


In the summer of 2020, Dregen entered the beverage industry together with musician & entrepreneur Jesper Lindgren (Velvet Insane) with his Riff – Lager by Dregen. The beer took the market by storm and empty shelves unfortunately soon became a common sight when demand overwhelmed the brewery that was used back then. With the aim set on continued development, an extensive selection process was started to find a brewery that could meet both Swedish and international demand. With consensus on quality, flexibility and top-class service, Dregen, Jesper and the brewery Nyckelbryggerier found each other where the agreement was signed in February 2021.


Better, faster and tastier has since been the mantra for the trio who have now really reloaded to develop the concept.




Riff has expanded and has now become a “family” consisting of Riff Lager, Riff IPA, Riff Alcohol-free and now, after a highly successful year a mighty Riff American Pale Ale drops at Systembolaget April 26th. All brewed with love to the nature of northern Sweden and to the sound of distorted hard rock of the noblest kind. In short, a repertoire for every occasion and scene!





Further details and ordering information can be found here.





 

According to the UK's Planet Radio,  a life-size bronze statue of fabled Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was unveiled near the beach at Jeju Island, South Korea on Thursday, April 21st.


The work has been a labour of love for businessman and Queen fan Baek Soon-yeob. The sculptor sought approval from the band before going ahead with his plan, first emailing them in 2014 to ask for the rights to create the statue. With his plea going unanswered, Baek began a ploy to email the rock legends about the project every month for the next 8 years.


His dedication paid off; when the current version of Queen (featuring singer Adam Lambert) played a pair of shows in South Korean capital Seoul in January 2020, Baek was finally able to sit down with the band and outline his idea.




The completed statue is 1.77m tall (approximately 5ft 9in) and cost around $37,000 (£28,750) to create. The likeness captures Freddie in iconic on-stage stance, with right fist raised high. An unveiling ceremony was attended by members of Queen’s South Korean fan club, several of which were pictured waving ‘We Are The Champions’ scarves – others displayed national flags of Ukraine and Great Britain. Brian May also submitted a pre-recorded video message to the assembled fans.


Read the complete report and see more photos of the statue here.





Back in August 2021, Queen guitar legend Brian May recently guested on BBC's Raised On Radio and discussed the band's 50th anniversary, the 30th Anniversary of frontman Freddie Mercury's death, and he offered some insight as to the band's future plans with singer Adam Lambert.


On Freddie Mercury


May: "I'm absolutely sure if he was still here today, we'd still be doing it. The mother ship would still be steaming around the world, and we would be taking time off to do our solo stuff like this, but the Queen would come together and we'd be doing it. He loved it. He lived for music, he lived for the band, it was his family, as it is my family still, although I fought against it, and so is Roger. You can't really get away from the fact that Queen is our family more than anything else, really. He lived to the max every second of the day.


I don't think we even realized that Freddie is a bit of a genius, really; a pretty eccentric kind of genius. And you wouldn't have thought it if you met him in the street or in Kensington market around 1970. You'd just thought, 'A strange guy... obviously thinks he's a rock star.' But he had an incredible belief in himself, incredible drive, and he stood for no-nonsense. Nothing would ever get in his way of achieving what he wanted to achieve. So I take that as an example even now because we're all people-pleasers, aren't we? We think, 'Oh, I like to do this but I don't want to do that because that might upset this person.' Freddie was never like that. He said, 'I want to do this, I'm going to do this. If you don't want me to do it, get out of my way.' And some people might have found him rude, but generally Freddie achieved what he did because he was so focused and had so much belief. Pretty fantastic voice as well. A gift from God, obviously."

In a new interview with Dave Doran from Rock 105 and 95.5 radio stations, SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers was asked how he feels about the fact that his band will be eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in a few years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Ah, I don't care. It's the same thing as the Grammys to me. To me, when [SHINEDOWN's third studio album, 2008's] 'The Sound Of Madness' had six Number One songs on one record in the year that it came out, when that hasn't been done since… I think Adele did it, and it really hasn't been done since. It hadn't been done in probably 15 years before that. And it didn't get nominated for a Grammy. [So] I was like there's not a physical way I could care less about this.

"I think people think I'm bluffing when I say this — I couldn't care less [about winning a Grammy]," he continued. "And honestly, [if we won a Grammy] I'd give it to my parents. That thing would never go inside my house. I get a Grammy every night at nine o'clock when I walk onstage and there's 10 thousand people there."

SHINEDOWN has sold more than 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, earned 14 platinum and gold singles, six platinum and gold albums, 17 No. 1 Active Rock hits, and amassed more than 4.5 billion total streams. They were recently named No. 1 on Billboard's Greatest Of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists chart after totaling 17 No. 1 singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs Chart — the most in the history of the Billboard chart. Each of SHINEDOWN's 28 charting singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs Chart has reached the Top 5 — an unparalleled achievement — and they hold the record for most Top 5 singles ever on this chart.

Earlier this month, SHINEDOWN decided to move the release date of its new album, "Planet Zero", to July 1 from the previously announced April 22. The high-concept, ultra-vivid, viscerally charged album was produced by SHINEDOWN's Eric Bass (who also helmed the band's 2018 acclaimed album "Attention Attention") and recorded at Bass's newly built Big Animal Studio in South Carolina.

Following this April and May run with special guests THE PRETTY RECKLESS and DIAMANTE, SHINEDOWN will head to Daytona Beach for Welcome To Rockville 2022 where they'll headline Saturday, May 21 alongside GUNS N' ROSES and RISE AGAINST. In June, SHINEDOWN will head overseas for a European run featuring festival appearances at Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring in Germany, Download festival in the U.K. and Hellfest in France along with select shows with IRON MAIDEN. The band will then embark on a run of Canadian dates beginning in July with support from POP EVIL and AYRON JONES.

SHINEDOWN recently announced a new summer/fall 2022 U.S. tour in support of "Planet Zero". The trek, with support from JELLY ROLL and John Harvie, will kick off on September 3 in Kansas City, Missouri and end on October 8 in Anaheim, California. SHINEDOWN will also perform at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California on October 9.

Today the spotlight is being focused on Norwegian solo metal artist Anniken and her latest single off her forthcoming debut album Climb Out Of Hell on May 13, 2022 via Rockshots Records.


Entitled, "Spotlight", the single and album opener kicks is a track that many musicians can relate to. It's about the anxiety and desire for success along with the love and hate relationship of being up on stage with the spotlight focused on you.


Anniken has been a part of the Norwegian heavy metal scene for years with her band Darkest Sins, the studio project Ana – Metal for Charity, as well as being a part of her husband Marius Danielsen’s trilogy Legend of Valley Doom, both in the studio and with the live band. While in Darkest Sins she opened for bands such as Anthrax, Jorn, TNT, and UDO along with Legend of Valley Doom she has worked with legendary musicians such as Ralf Scheepers, Amanda Somerville, Roland Grapow, Matt Barlow, Doogie White, Jennifer Batten, and also actor John Rhys-Davies from the Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones movies.




Writing her own songs and having a profound love of lyrics, Anniken is now progressing into her solo endeavours. Anniken's debut album "Climb Out of Hell" features nine tracks, a few of them co-written with her husband Marius Danielsen.


It is a varied metal album that is melodic, raw, and catchy with different types of songs for every kind of metal fan. Some slow, some fast, most of them heavy. Some of the songs have a deeper meaning to them, while others are just exactly what you think they are.


Anniken adds:


"Firstly, I want people to enjoy the music. Secondly, I want them to notice the lyrics. I love listening to music while reading them and trying to understand the stories that are being told. I hope that the listeners feel the same way. I like to also add, that some of the songs were written a while back. I had others that didn’t make the cut. Overall, it is fun to write with other artists and see how the songs turned out both in the studio and live. But writing with others also means compromising. And that is one of the main reasons behind starting my solo project. I wanted to show what I could do, without the guys (yes, the bands I’ve played with always consisted of all guys and me). It is, unfortunately, easy to underestimate female artists in metal. At least, that is my experience. There aren’t as many women within the genre as there are men. Very often I experienced that people just assumed everything was written by the men in the group. I don’t mind being ‘just the singer’, but I would love to show the world that I am, in fact, more."


Climb Out Of Hell can be preordered at the Rockshots Records webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Spotlight”
“Climb Out Of Hell”
“Back Then”
“Just Walk”
“Keep The Light”
“Star”
“No Name”
“Save Us”
“Amplified”


"Spotlight" lyric video:





“Keep The Light” video:





Album Credits:
- All songs are written by Anniken, tracks 6,7 and 8 are co-written with Marius Danielsen.
- Cover/art is a compilation of two paintings by Sylvie Rasmussen, Anniken’s grandmother.
- Album is produced by Marius Danielsen.
- All lyrics are written by Anniken, except for the lyrics for Star, which are co-written with Marius Danielsen


Vocals: Anniken
Guitar and Bass by: Marius Danielsen
Orchestrations by: Gabriels (Tracks 1,2,3,4,6,7,9), Peter Danielsen (Tracks 5,6)
Drums by: Alessandro Kelvin
Choirs by: Marius Danielsen, David Åkesson
Growl vocals by: Brandon Bordman
Solos by: Gabriels (Track 1), Bill Hudson (Tracks 2,5), Nick Giannakos (Track 3), Fredrik Enochson (Track 4), Tommy Johansson (Track 5), Jimmy Hedlund (Track 6), Nils Courbaron (Track 7), Marius Danielsen (Track 8), Terry Wapram (Track 9)

RiverGhost has released their third single, "End Of The River". Following their earlier releases, "Darkhorse" and "Fruit On The Vine", RiverGhost has committed themselves to consistently delivering soulful rock and roll with a twinge of rhythm and blues.


"End Of The River" capitalizes on the blues element RiverGhost is known to bring to the table, conveying a newfound moodiness and a sodden sound that the band has yet to display on record. The song itself is textural; "End Of The River" is a culmination of all the best elements listeners would expect from a Southern rock song. Vocalist Kaige Dvelle delivers country-tinged, meaningful lyrics carried by a fervent rhythm section to create an intense audible and visual experience.







There’s lots to take away from "End Of The River". It’s a song for unstable times; it’s a perfect follow up to "Darkhorse" and "Fruit On The Vine" and a haunting bridge to the next release.


Hearing these initial three tunes gives you an idea of the musical craftsmanship coming your way and gives listeners a mere slice of the inspiring, big picture that is RiverGhost.


“I’ve never been a fan of knowing the story behind songs. I always felt it took away my chance to paint my own picture”, says Kaige Dvelle, RiverGhost leader and frontman.


Tim Dolbear, producer on the track mentions: "Kaige and Randy (Boots) work together like they have been on the same team for their entire lives, kind of a Steven Tyler / Joe Perry synergy when they are in the room together. In the studio, working with the team was just effortless. All I had to do was stay out of the way and not mock it up."


While RiverGhost has been in action since 2021, they bring their groovy rock and roll sound to 2022 with their long awaited on-record debut. This blues rock act captures the essence of classic bands like Guns N' Roses, The Black Crowes and Aerosmith with a fresh take on that sacred sound. Bringing in elements of soul, rhythm and blues and country wrapped in rock and roll, RiverGhost is paving their way as a band for all to enjoy.








For further details, visit RiverGhost on Facebook. 





 

THE DARKNESS singer Justin Hawkins has weighed in on PUDDLE OF MUDD's cover version of a NIRVANA classic which went viral two years ago.

The 47-year-old British-born rocker who currently lives in Switzerland offered his assessment of PUDDLE OF MUDD frontman Wes Scantlin's 2020 rendition of "About A Girl" via his YouTube series "Justin Hawkins Rides Again" where he shares a mixture of serious musician analysis and fun hot takes to his 112,000 subscribers.

PUDDLE OF MUDD's acoustic performance of the track at the SiriusXM studios was uploaded to YouTube in January 2020 but didn't blow up on the video-sharing platform until three months later, with detractors blasting Scantlin's off-key take on the iconic song.

Earlier today (Sunday, April 24), Hawkins took to his YouTube channel to share a nine-minute reaction to PUDDLE OF MUDD's version, explaining in the accompanying notes: "Today I'm reacting to a video that has received a lot of ridicule. It's the PUDDLE OF MUDD cover of NIRVANA's 'About A Girl'. However, I'd like to react to it from a more sympathetic point of view and tell you why maybe it's not that funny at all. What do you think? Is it wrong to laugh at this or is it just funny?"

In Justin's video reaction, which can be seen below, he says in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know enough about this band, I don't know what's going on with him, but it looks like when he's gearing up to sing even the first line, it kind of looks like he's in a bit of pain. When it gets inside your head like that, you've got no chance.

"You can really see the singer from PUDDLE OF MUDD, his face is like this [adopting a pained expression], and that's before he's even sung a note," Hawkins continued. "So his head's in the wrong place, as it were. He's already sort of playing out how these challenging high notes are gonna be, how they're gonna feel. And I imagine his voice is tightening up. When you get that sort of tension that manifests itself [in the throat] when the problem is actually in [your head]."

After listening to more of Scantlin's attempt at some of the high notes, Hawkins added: "I think he's ill. Maybe he's tired. Maybe it's one of those ones where he's in the middle of a tour and he's really, really overtired. Maybe he's damaged his vocal cords a little bit and he can feel he's not in the right place… And you can see in his face that this is excruciating for him. He's getting nothing from his bandmates. He shouldn't be doing this, basically — he really shouldn't. I find it really difficult not to sympathize with him… I can't even listen to it. He shouldn't be doing it. Poor guy. Give the man a day off — or 365. Give him a year off. That's it. Have a year off."

Hawkins then listened to some more of PUDDLE OF MUDD's performance, with Wes straining to hit the notes originally sung by Kurt Cobain.

"When I listen to it, I can almost hear stuff shredding," Justin said. "It actually hurts me to hear him do it — not just because it's bad, and obviously it's bad. But the poor guy.

"I'll tell you what it's like. For those of us who have testicles, you know when you see somebody getting booted or somebody runs up to somebody else and boots him in the testicles, you can feel it. When I watch this, there's something that gets to me. I just wanna hold him. Not like that — not from behind or anything, but I wanna let him know that I feel for him."

Hawkins went on to speculate that Scantlin was suffering from a medical condition in his throat at the time of the SiriusXM taping. "This must be prior to a surgical procedure on his voice or something like that," he said. "I'm not saying it to be cruel. I've been in exactly the same position myself. He just shouldn't be working. Ugh, this is horrible."

As for how he would have handled the situation differently, Justin said: "I think if I was [Wes's] guitarist, I think I would put my guitar down, I would walk over to the cameraman, I would invite him to switch the camera off. I would take the microphone away from [Wes] and I would say into it something like this: 'Dear listeners and viewers of SiriusXM, our singer is valiantly defying the odds and he has a medical condition, which you can probably hear. He really ought to have a note from his doctor to not be present here. I'm calling a halt to this because he needs rest, he needs medical attention, and we all need to pray for him and sympathize with him. And we'll be back just as soon as his voice is mended, however long that takes.'"

Back in April 2020, Scantlin fired back at critics of his "About A Girl" performance, writing in a social media post: "Rise above others who try and take you down… I'm at my BEST NOW… and that's all that matters. I pray for all of you because we care. Jealousy is toxic, and toxic people are a waste of time. We walk away with nothing but a SMILE".

As of this writing, PUDDLE OF MUDD's version of "About A Girl" has surpassed 1.7 million views on YouTube with just around 4,600 likes.




























View this post on Instagram


































Rise above others who try and take you down... I’m at my BEST NOW... and that’s all that matters. I pray for all of you because we care. Jealousy is toxic, and toxic people are a waste of time. We walk away with nothing but a SMILE ????#riseabove #puddleofmudd #mybestlife #love #sober #soberlife #toxicpeoplesuck #familycomesfirst #music #success #goodvibesonly #werock #famous #ourfansarebetterthanyours #rock #rockmusic #alternative #alternativerock #alternativerockmusic #alternativerockband #rockmusic

A post shared by PUDDLE OF MUDD (@puddleofmudd1) on Apr 19, 2020 at 6:17am PDT

"The Outsider" is the new video and single by Lars Eric Mattsson.





Taken from the album The Outsider which is out now and features ten different singers, 19 Tracks, 81 Minutes The guest singers: Elisa Pezzuto, Daphne Nisi, Johanna Mattsson, Göran Edman, Markku Kuikka, Conny Lind, Walle Wahlsten, Adrienn Antal, Niko Mattila. Lars is also handing vocals on some songs as well as providing backing vocals to most tracks.




This (double) album is made out of 19 tracks (almost 81 minutes!) of classic melodic hard rock with a progressive touch including a few ballads and three instrumentals. Lars says it’s his most well crafted and probably also most accessible work to date and that no song could be left out as that would make the picture of where he is at this moment in life incomplete. “It was a huge joy to work with these excellent singers and I tried to give everyone material that would be perfect for each individual”. 


Production and recording credits:


Lars Eric Mattsson - Guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals


Lead vocals:
Göran Edman (“Now and Forever”)
Conny Lind (“Gold Digger”)
Adrienn Antal (“Raise My Sword”)
Daphne Nisi (“Where Are We Going?”)
Markku Kuikka (“Stare into the Abyss”)
Niko Mattila (“The Road I've Chosen”)
Johanna Mattsson (“Keep This Flame Alive”)
Walle Wahlsten (“Into the Battle”)
Elisa Pezzuti (“Sometimes I Wonder”)
Lars Eric Mattsson
(“The Sun Coming Down”, “It's Too Late”, “Who Are We Foolin'”, “I've Got the Funk”, “We All Bleed for Love (Vikings)”, “Broken Heart Blues”, “Vicky's Eyes”)


"Raise My Sword":

Guitarist Thomas Zwijsen has released the new video below, in which he performs an acoustic classical guitar cover of "Master Of Puppets", the title track of Metallica's third studio album, released in 1986.





Zwijsen previously released the video below, an acoustic cover of "Lost In A Lost World", featured on Iron Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu.

It was recently announced that Sacred Oath have discovered multiple videos of entire concerts from their first tour in 1987 supporting their debut album, A Crystal Vision. The videos were found among the personal items of Gil Cruciani, late father of original guitarist Glen Cruciani.


Watch the band perform "Magick Son" at West Hartford's Agora Ballroom:







Cruciani has been credited with many of the Sacred Oath’s early publicity photos, and now it seems he filmed the band on multiple occasions in ‘87 and ‘88 with a VHS camera when they performed in Connecticut and New York.


“My jaw hit the floor when I saw these videos,” says singer/guitarist Rob Thorne, who started the band in 1985 while a sophomore in high school. “It was like sitting in front of home-movie baby films. First, I couldn’t get over how young we are in them, and then I was shocked at the high level the band was performing at.  I guess I remember that time as one of naïveté, but for a bunch of teenage punks we had our shit together. It’s tight!”


Sacred Oath, who released their eigth album, Return Of The Dragon, in 2021, made their debut back in 1987 with the release of their first album, A Crystal Vision, on Mercenary Records. The record went on to garner cult classic status among power and thrash metal enthusiasts as one of the earlier pieces of power metal and power-thrash. Now the band is embarking on what they’re calling their 35th Anniversary Tour, including all nine songs from A Crystal Vision in the setlist. The tour opens on May 7 in Southington Connecticut.

KISS have shared the video footage below from their April 23rd End of the Road World Tour stop at Campo Argentino de Polo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


Says the band: "Buenos Aires Rock City! YOU were READY and so were WE! What an AMAZING night! Thank You Argentina!"


KISS perform next on Tuesday, April 26 at Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil. To view the band's complete tour schedule, head here.

"La Grange", the latest single from ZZ Top’s upcoming album, RAW (out July 22 from Shelter Records, through BMG) is out now. Head hereto stream/download the single. Listen below:





When the three members of ZZ Top gathered at Gruene Hall, they were in each other’s line-of-sight, making for a very organic recording session, part of which is seen in the film. RAW, the totality of their efforts there, will be available on 180-gram vinyl, CD and through digital platforms. The album was produced by Billy F Gibbons, engineered by Jake Mann and G.L. G-Mane Moon and mixed by Ryan Hewitt. The album is issued “in righteous memory” of Dusty Hill who passed away last year.




Pre-order the album here.





LP tracklisting:


Side 1


"Brown Sugar"
"Just Got Paid"
"Heard It On The X"
"La Grange"
"Tush"
"Thunderbird"


Side 2


"I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide"
"Gimme All Your Lovin’"
"Blue Jean Blues"
"Certified Blues"
"Tube Snake Boogie"


“Brown Sugar”:





The first leg of the band's Raw Whisky Tour tour, starting on May 27 in San Diego, CA, will see the band on stage in 50 markets across North America, more dates to be announced soon. The tour’s title is a hat tip to both the forthcoming album as well as the recent release of ZZ Top Tres Hombres whisky from Balcones Distilling of Waco TX, a flavorful 100 proof mash bill of roasted blue corn, malted barley and rye.





Dates:


May
6 - Niagara Falls, ON - Fallsview Casino Resort
29 - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre


June
1 - Redding, CA - Redding Civic Auditorium
2 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
5 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Pavilion
7 - Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheater
8 - Walla Walla, WA - Wine Country Amphitheater
9 - Spokane, WA - First Interstate Center for the Arts
12 - Billings, MT - MetraPark – First Interstate Arena
14 - Grand Junction, CO - Las Colonias Park Amphitheater
17 - Tucson, AZ - Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater
19 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts
21 - Loveland, CO - Budweiser Events Center
22 - Grand Island, NE - Fonner Park – Heartland Events Center
24 - Park City, KS - Hartman Arena
25 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre
26 - Little Rock, AR - First Security Amphitheater
29 - Rogers, AR - Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion


July
1 - Toledo, OH - Toledo Zoo & Aquarium – Amphitheater
2 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
5 - Fort Wayne, IN - Foellinger Theater
9 - Greenville, WI - Greenville Lion’s Park
22 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion
23 - Watertown, NY - Watertown Fairgrounds Baseball Diamond  


August
27 - Beaver Dam, KY - Beaver Dam Amphitheater

Held Hostage have announced their brand new album, Great American Rock, to be released digitally and on CD via FireRock Music Group on May 6. Tim "Ripper" Owens and Joe Lynn Turner provide guest vocals on the album.


The album can be pre-ordered now here, and look for the CD in retailers such as Target, Walmart, Barnes & Nobles and your local record stores.


FireRock Music Groups' Scott Braun, Creative Director/A&R, says. "This is a band rich in rock n roll history and they bring with them, a great fan base and they feature some rock legends, on their new record. When I first heard the new record Great American Rock, we knew we had to sign them."




Tom Collier founding member/ lead guitarist/lead singer, "I wanted to get back to the roots of American Rock n Roll. Being able to bring Tim “Ripper” Owens back for a second album with us was such a thrill. I produced the album but I have to say, giving Ripper free reign on his vocals and taking suggestions from him, made this record exactly what we call it, Great American Rock. We also take on the issue of suicide of all ages, with our song 'Rise'. This is a side of Ripper the world has never seen."





Tracklisting:


"We Rock Hard" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Now We Ride (Bikers Life)" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Your Eyes" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"The Master" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Hold On" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"You Rock Our Way" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Take Me Away" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Be A Man" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Chaos" (Live)
"Rise (Stop Suicide All Ages)" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Fallen Brothers" (featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens)
"Show Me The Way Back" (Acoustic) (featuring Joe Lynn Turner)


Teaser:





Production Credits:


- Producer Tom Collier
- Engineer Ron Keck
- Recorded at Subcat Studios Syracuse NY
- Photo Credits Scott Braun, Dave Koegel
- Special Guest Vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens 10 tracks
- Special Guest Vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, Special guest Bassist Mike Lepond (Symphony X, Ross The Boss), Drummer Ron Keck all on "Show Me The Way Back Home"


Held Hostage is:


Tom Collier - lead guitar/lead vocals
Scott Gregg - rhythm guitarist/backup vocals
Jeff Murray - drums
Dave Carrol - bass /backup vocals

After wrapping up a successful North American tour opening for Zero 9:36 and their latest single “Plastic Heart” crashing in to the Top 40 at Active Rock radio, Florida rockers Fame On Fire have released the acoustic performance of their latest single.





The band - comprised of Bryan Kuznitz (vocals), Blake Saul (guitarist), Paul Spirou (bass), and Alex Roman (drums) - released “Plastic Heart" (Acoustic) as a streaming exclusive after fans experienced it live during their recent tour stop in Colorado Springs. The band was forced to play acoustic after their drummer Alex was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to miss a few shows to recover. As fan reaction to the live acoustic version grew, the band decided to record it officially leading to its release worldwide.




The video for the performance can be found below, and the song is available via all streaming partners here.


“We wanted to show the other side of the song, the acoustic version hits different - it’s actually more of a sad situation than a fuck you situation when someone just up and leaves and completely changes who they are leaving you feeling empty,” explains Fame On Fire.





(Photo - Roman Films)