In a new interview with "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo was asked which is harder to keep together: a band or a marriage. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I've had success and failures at both. There's a lot of similarities in the two things, but what usurps everything is love and respect. And that's a two-way street. Rachel [Bolan, bass], Scotti [Hill, guitar] and I, and Rob Hammersmith, the drummer who's been in the band 12 years, and now Erik [Grönwall, vocals], there's a love and respect that is completely palatable; you can feel it in the room with us, in the dressing room, on stage. It's all very real. That has to exist with the home life too. I love my family — I love my wife; I love my family. And as long as I'm able to be the man that I know I'm capable of, for my friends, for my family, then I'm the happiest guy in the room, I'm the happiest guy in the world. My happiness isn't based on how many zeroes are on my bank account statement; that's never been the driving force. It's always been about waking up and having a smile on your face.

"We all face really, really rough circumstances," he continued. "Our singer Erik is a cancer survivor. He didn't know if he was gonna live, much less sing again. And now this kid's on stage killing it, tearing it up. And it is a great testament to a person's love and fortitude and their character. And he exudes it with every note he sings. And I look at that and I'm inspired. It makes me a better person, a better guitar player, a better songwriter, a better performer. And it's so honest and truthful that it's completely infectious; it's undeniable.

"We navigated our career in such a path that regardless of the ups and downs of what we experienced in this business, we were able to always maintain some level of happiness throughout it all," Snake added. "We found strength in a lot of areas where other bands might have found despair."

SKID ROW's new single, "The Gang's All Here", was made available last month. The song is the title track of the band's upcoming album, which will arrive on October 14 via earMUSIC.

Grönwall joined SKID ROW two months ago as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years.

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.

Grönwall sang on H.E.A.T.'s last four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012), "Tearing Down The Walls" (2014), "Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

The 34-year-old Swedish singer was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021. A short time later, he wrote on his social media: "I am extremely privileged and grateful to live at a day and age where a disease like this is curable. There's been so much progress made in this field. My body is reacting well to the treatment but it's a long treatment and it's going to be the toughest challenge of my life so far, for me and my family."

Halestorm, who will release their fifth studio album, Back From The Dead, on May 6, have released an official lyric video for their latest single, "The Steeple". Watch below:





Back From The Dead is available in multiple formats for fans to pre-save and pre-order, here.




Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Mastodon, Alice in Chains) with co-production by Scott Stevens (Shinedown, Daughtry, New Years Day), Back From The Dead quickly evolved from songwriting exercises into a matter of survival for the band.


Lead singer Lzzy Hale says, “We started writing this album about three months B.C. (Before COVID). Once we went into lockdown and were unable to perform and tour, I fell into a dark place and something of an identity crisis. This album is the story of me carving myself out of that abyss. It is a journey of navigating mental health, debauchery, survival, redemption, rediscovery, and still maintaining faith in humanity.”





Back From The Dead tracklisting:


"Back From The Dead"
"Wicked Ways"
"Strange Girl"
"Brightside"
"The Steeple"
"Terrible Things"
"My Redemption"
"Bombshell"
"I Come First"
"Psycho Crazy"
"Raise Your Horns"


"The Steeple" video:





"Back From The Dead" video:





Halestorm recently announced their summer 2022 tour featuring special guests The Pretty Reckless, The Warning, and Lilith Czar on select dates.


Produced by Live Nation, the 16-city tour kicks off on July 8 at Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill in Detroit making stops across the US in Boston, Charlotte, Phoenix and more before wrapping up in Portsmouth at Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion on August 12.





Dates:


July
8 - Detroit, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
10 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
12 - Indianapolis, IN - TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
13 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
15 - Cadott, WI - RockFest (festival date)
17 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion+
19 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion
20 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
22 - Harrington, DE - DE State Fair (festival date)
23 - Scranton, PA - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion+
27 - Syracuse, NY - St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
28 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center+
30 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre


August
2 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
4 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
5 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Federal Theatre
7 - Grand Junction, CO - Los Colonias Amphitheater*
9 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre*
10 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
12 - Portsmouth, VA - Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion+


* Not A Live Nation Date
+ Check local listings for lineup


(Photo - Jimmy Fontaine)

Tempe, Arizona-based deathgaze outfit, Kardashev, will release their sophomore full-length, Liminal Rite, on June 10 via Metal Blade Records, today unveiling the record's first single and pre-orders.


Forged in 2012, Kardashev's mission statement could best be described as, "Attempting to create the most beautiful, heavy music through themes of love, loss, and altruism in the metal spectrum." The band dropped their debut full-length Peripety in 2015 and has since focused on short form concept records, most recently 2021's stirring The Baring Of Shadows. Rarely approaching the creation of a record with any preconceptions or plans as to what form it will take, they work until what they generally envisaged manifests itself. The result is this year's Liminal Rite featuring eleven deeply rousing, poignant, and musically grandiose tracks.


Opening with the gorgeous drones of "The Approaching Of Atonement" before launching into the densely layered, surging "Silvered Shadows," an air of tragedy looms over much of the record's proceedings demanding an emotional response at every musical turn. Liminal Rite is lyrically deep and complex, focusing on mood above all else. Guitarist Nico Mirolla aptly describes the songs as musically bearing resemblance to freeform jazz or a progressive record, because, "The story is the focus. There is an overtly important narrative taking place that is facilitated by the sonic textures and qualities intentionally designed for it."




The record follows a narrative laid out by drummer Sean Lang's spoken word parts. Elaborates Mirolla, "Liminal Rite explores how the past can both wound and seduce, leading us down a path of self-destruction. It's an anecdotal tale from a fictional man's perspective late in life on how perception and reality do not always coalesce. His experience tells a larger message of how our minds often create a false view of the past. Sean's narration is him expressing the man's perception and recollection of life. The failure of his memory, the nature of dementia, and how it plays into his experience are all encapsulated by the narrative sections."


While Lang simply speaks his parts, vocalist Mark Garrett possesses a phenomenal vocal range, branching from the heavenly and frail to multiple different extreme metal styles, and he follows his gut instincts when it comes to deciding which to employ. "Nico, [bassist] Alex [Reith], and Sean write music that is heavily focused on emotional storytelling, Garrett notes. Because of this, and since I write vocals once the rest of the song is complete, I find myself both swept away in the emotion of the song and wanting to help further the cathartic experience of the listener even more."


In advance of the record's release, today Kardashev unveils a vocal playthrough for the album's first single, "Compost Grave-Song." Notes Mirolla of the track, "'Compost Grave-Song' illuminates the point of no return in The Lost Man's descent into regret, anger, and madness. He is lucid. He is awake. The Lost Man finds himself standing in the spot where his father knelt so many years ago. Guilt masked by anger grabs him by the chest and he curses the earth beneath him. The death of his brother rises to the surface of his mind as a cloud of locusts swarms a field, ripping and tearing until all hunger is satiated. He clutches a stone and sees the ghostly effigy of his father's hand doing the same. Images of the tragedy that took his brother away flood The Lost Man, and he remembers the fury of his father as the truth was laid bare. But… what was it, that grave mistake that manifested by his own actions? The memory is too far in the ground, buried under broken glass and isolation. But this time will be different. This time he will not be cast aside. He is home, and he would rather die than suffer the loss of his past for a second time."


View Kardashev's "Compost Grave-Song" video below.


With drums tracked in Lang's home studio, Kardashev returned to Endless Gate Audio in Arizona to track guitar, bass, and vocals. They then gathered at The Sound Lair in Tennessee - the first time this lineup has ever been in the same room together - to work with producer/mixer Miah Lajeunesse. The album was mastered by Ryan Williams. The band also brought in Bohren & Der Club Of Gore's saxophonist Christoph Clöser -- which was a life goal checked off for Mirolla - to add an extra flavor to haunting, epic closer "Beyond The Passage Of Embers," and Christopher Blaney added some piano parts alongside those of Rieth. The members also pushed themselves into new territory: Garrett recorded his own vocal harmonies rather than relying on a vocoder as on previous releases, Rieth recorded some piano parts, and Lang penned and recorded the spoken word story that haunts the record. The album comes cloaked in the cover art of Faith Veloro.





Liminal Rite be available on CD, digitally, and LP on the following color variants:


• Misty Rose Marble (US exclusive)
• Light Gray Marbled (US exclusive)
• Pale Blue Grey Marbled (EU exclusive)
• Crimson Marbled Marbled (EU exclusive - ltd to 300 copies)
• Clear Ochre Brown Marbled (EU exclusive - ltd to 200 copies)
• Pastel Blue Marbled (EU exclusive - ltd to 200 copies)
• Clear Lilac Marbled (EU exclusive - ltd to 200 copies)


Find pre-order options here.





Liminal Rite tracklisting:


"The Approaching Of Atonement"
"Silvered Shadows"
"Apparitions In Candlelight"
"Dissever"
"Lavender Calligraphy"
"The Blinding Threshold"
"Compost Grave-Song"
"Cellar Of Ghosts"
"Glass Phantoms"
"A Vagabond's Lament"
"Beyond The Passage Of Embers"


"Compost Grave-Song" video:





Kardashev lineup:


Nico Mirolla - guitars
Mark Garrett - vocals
Alex Rieth - bass
Sean Lang - drums

Time to grab those wayfarers, fire up the flux capacitor, jump in the DeLorean and revisit the fun and sunshine of the 1980s with White Spirit.


"Runaway" is the first single from the new album, Right Or Wrong, and is accompanied by a lyric video that reflects the carefree, good time vibes of 1981, when Brian Howe’s stunning vocal was originally recorded.


"Runaway" is a time capsule. A pure slice of joyous, melodic rock layered with luscious keyboards, driving guitars, a powerhouse rhythm and a barnstorming vocal from a young Brian Howe that showed he was destined for stardom.




After their debut single, "Backs To The Grind" was released on the legendary NEAT Records in 1980, White Spirit were hot property and their debut album was loved by critics and the public. After line up changes, the new and improved White Spirit entered the studio to work on their second album, but the album was never fully completed, the band broke up and musicians went their separate ways.


Singer Brian Howe crossed the Atlantic and became frontman for Ted Nugent, before achieving mega platinum success as the replacement for Paul Rodgers in Bad Company. So White Spirit were seemingly consigned to music history, with former members proceeding to forge impressive careers built on this promising foundation. Four decades on, the location of these 2nd album sessions remained a mystery.


The day following Brian Howe’s tragic death from a heart attack in May 2020, guitarist, Mick Tucker and keysman, Mal Pearson were on the phone reflecting on those heady White Spirit days. The missing tapes were once more discussed, but still neither had any idea where to find them. Fate stepped in, and during a house move, Mal Pearson was looking through his furniture in storage when he found a dusty old bedside cabinet. Inside were four sets of tapes. One labelled Chiswick Studios – White Spirit. This was it. The one they’d all thought was lost forever.


The tape was handed over to Conquest Music boss and Tank guitarist, Cliff Evans who arranged for the delicate process of restoring the tapes to retrieve the old recordings. Successful as the process was, the sound quality of some elements of the tracks were just not good enough for today’s ears so Tucker & Pearson decided to replace all of the musical accompaniment with a stellar line up of players. Neil Murray (Whitesnake) and Russell Gilbrook (Uriah Heep) made up the rhythm section, with the guitars and keyboards replaced by Mick and Mal.


Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall) was chosen to mix the album in Sweden, and the result is an incredibly fresh body of work with power, finesse, great songs, and amazing vocals. Ten tracks with a nod to the past, but fresh and vibrant arrangements fit for 21st Century ears. One can only wonder what may have been if the album was released as originally planned in 1981.


So the wheel of fate that saw White Spirit disband 40 years ago, turned once more, unveiling the lost tapes that finally reveal the first album recorded by Brian Howe, sounding as fine as he ever did.


The album Right Or Wrong will be released in July 2022 on Conquest Music. Be prepared for some surprise guest stars and a body of work that, had it come out when it was originally written, could have placed White Spirit amongst the giants of melodic rock.


White Spirit are planning live shows, with Tucker & Pearson already writing the next album. We can be sure it won’t be another 40 years before that is released.


The first single, "Runaway" features an exclusive radio edit, alongside the full, album version of "Runaway". Find "Runaway" on digital services here.

For the last two years, the thousands of Swedish metal fans who would gather once a year in Tyrolen to celebrate their heroes on stage at the annual Muskelrock festival have fallen silent. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the venue was forced to cancel their event in both 2020 and 2021.


It was in this dark time when the mighty metal legend, Thor, released his ode to the festival “This Is Musclerock” as the lead-off track on his album, Alliance. The track featured a stellar, unmistakable vocal from fellow metal behemoth John Gallagher of the groundbreaking metal act Raven. Together, these twin suns of classic metal united with one voice to call for a revival of the Muskelrock festival as well as the Musclerock genre that Thor himself helped to pioneer. And now the two appear in a brand new video for the track.


Thor shares these thoughts, “Some call me The King of Musclerock. As the proponent of the genre Musclerock, a precursor to Heavy Metal, I am happy that Cleopatra Records in coordination with Fistful Of Metal are releasing the new video for the song ‘We Need Musclerock.’ I am excited to be joined by the legendary John Gallagher of Raven on this one. This anthem is a tribute to the famous Muskelrock Festival held each year in the mountains of Tyrolen in Alvesta, Sweden. I was happy to help launch the Muskelrock festival with promoter Jacob Hector in 2009. Now it has become one of the greatest Metal festivals in the Universe. Thousands of Muscular Metal fans will gather from all over the world to herald the name of Thor and be entertained by feats of strength and a large roster of top bands. Thanks to Ted Jedlicki for directing/editing this exciting video and John Leibel for writing a great tune. So I say to all of you... SKAAL!”







Be sure to check out Alliance, which features stellar guest appearances from the likes of W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes, Raven vocalist John Gallagher, Danko Jones, Anthrax's Neil Turbin, Ross “The Boss” Friedman and many more.


Order the CD and vinyl here. Order/save the digital edition here.





Tracklisting:


“We Need Musclerock” feat. John Gallagher (Raven)
“Niflhel (Realm Of The Dead)” feat. Björn Strid (Soilwork)
“The Ultimate Alliance” feat. Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Ross “The Boss” Friedman (Manowar), Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) & Fang VonWrathenstein (Lords Of The Trident)
“Ode To Odin” feat. Dan Cleary (Striker)
“We Will Fight Forever” feat. Neil Turbin (Anthrax)
“Because We Are Strong”
“Rock Around The World” feat. Danko Jones
“Queen Of The Spiders” feat. Frank Soda (The Imps)
“Power Hungry”
“Bounty Hunter” feat. Frank Meyer (The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs) & Dennis Post (Warrior Soul)
“Battlements” feat. Trevor William Church (Haunt)
“Thor vs. The Juggernaut (War Of The Gods)” feat. Sean Peck (Death Dealer)
“Generation Now” feat. Joey Killingsworth (Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre)
“After The Laughter” feat. Martin Gummesson (Thundermaker)
“Good Stuff” feat. Al Harlow (Prism)
“Congregate” feat. Joey Roads & Sheldon Byer (Roadrash)


"Good Stuff" video:



“We Will Fight Forever” (Reprise)


"Ode To Odin" lyric video:





"Queen Of The Spiders" video:





“Because We Are Strong” video:





Niflhel (Realm Of The Dead)":





“The Ultimate Alliance” video:

In a new interview with "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren spoke about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for the band's upcoming studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can't divulge too many details just yet, but we're definitely in the middle of the process. We have been writing, we have been recording. I'm very excited about everything that we're coming up with right now. It's feeling great, it's sounding great."

He continued: "We don't necessarily have a definitive time frame right now [for the album's release]. Coming off two years of a pandemic, we just have been taking our time in trying to put out the best record of our careers and top everything that we've ever done before.

"I think people are gonna be pleasantly surprised when they finally get a chance to hear this," Mike added.

Wengren's comments come just days after DISTURBED singer David Draiman confirmed that the band has completed recording a new album. Prior to that, Draiman shared a since-deleted Instagram photo of a whiteboard — which appeared to have been taken in a recording studio — charting DISTURBED's progress with recording. On the board, 10 songs were listed, featuring such titles as "Hey You", "Love To Hate" and "Part Of Me". David captioned the picture: "And that's a wrap people. #HolyShitIsThisGood #epic @disturbed". Also included on the whiteboard was the guitar tuning for each track, with most of them using "Standard C#", "Drop C#" or "Drop C" tuning. One track was also recorded in "Drop A#" tuning, while another is in "Drop B".

Draiman spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for DISTURBED's follow-up to 2018's "Evolution" album during a recent appearance on "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie. Regarding what it has been like for him and his bandmates to regroup in person after such a long time apart and once again launch the creative process, he said: "There's really nothing that replaces it. It was a continuing theme of conversation over the course of the week that we had together between our couple of shows we played in Indiana [in early November] and our performance over in Daytona for [the] Welcome To Rockville [festival]. There really is no substitute. There isn't. The energy and that realization when you've got something. Compare it to fishing, and you finally land a big one. [Laughs] It's incredibly, incredibly exciting. And we were on fire."

As for the musical direction of the new DISTURBED songs, Draiman said: "The material is somewhere between 'The Sickness' and 'Ten Thousand Fists' as far as where I would identify it as sonically. It's rhythmic, it's pummeling, it's anthemic, it's polysyncopated. It's meat-and-potatoes DISTURBED."

David also discussed DISTURBED's apparent decision to pursue a more aggressive musical approach on its next LP compared to "Evolution", on which nearly half the songs were either acoustic or semi-acoustic.

"It's a different sort of itch you're scratching," he said. "You can have the satisfaction that comes with, let's say, playing with your children peacefully somewhere and you can have a different sort of satisfaction in engaging in full-contact football with your buddies. It's just a different feel. They're both equally as gratifying but sometimes you just get a little taste more for one than the other. And right now we are definitely — we've got our teeth dug in to that style. We were dying to do the more aggressive stuff. We wanted to go back home. We wanted to go back to the 'groove so hard that you can't stop bobbing your head' kind of stuff. So, we're there, and we're loving it."

Prior to DISTURBED's appearance at Welcome To Rockville, Draiman told Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio that the band will likely do things slightly differently with the upcoming release. "The way that I see it happening is we're probably not gonna put out something in the traditional full-length; we're probably gonna be doing two separate releases," he explained. "So we'll probably have one geared for release — if everything works as planned — by the fall, and then maybe something the following year as well." When Brutus asked Draiman to clarify if that means that the next DISTURBED release will be an EP, David said: "Define it what you want, but it would like five or six songs at a pop — something like that.

"We live in an environment right now and in an age where people's consumption of music has been very soundbitish and very track-driven and very single-driven," he continued. "And there's definitely some beauty towards continuing to try and [make] things like concept records and telling a long story over the duration of a series of songs — there's huge merit to that — but I think that when you write 10 songs and three of them actually get worked at radio and maybe, if you're lucky, the fans are really familiar with half the record and the rest ends up sitting on a shelf, and if you do end up pulling it out one day, it's like an obscure, weird moment during the set, and it's almost like gratuitous for yourself. I don't wanna do that anymore. I wanna make everything count. I wanna make sure that we get the biggest bang for everything we're putting out there. I think that that should be easily attainable. It seems to be where the environment is going, and it seems to be — whether we like it or not — what the digital age has funneled us into."

DISTURBED performed live for the first time in nearly two years in late September as one of the headliners of the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

In March 2021, DISTURBED's "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was officially canceled. The amphitheater tour, with very special guest STAIND and BAD WOLVES, was originally slated to take place in the summer of 2020 but was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was eventually scrapped altogether.

"The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DISTURBED's seminal album "The Sickness". On this tour, the band was expected to perform songs off the album, as well as tracks from "Evolution" and DISTURBED's extensive catalog.

In September 2020, DISTURBED released a cover version of Sting's 1993 single "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You".

PUDDLE OF MUDD frontman Wes Scantlin has confirmed to Montana radio DJ Willy Tyler that he and his bandmates have been working on the material for the follow-up to 2019's "Welcome To Galvania" album. "I wrote basically every day [during the pandemic], and I'm still doing that," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It was kind of, like, 'Wow, this really sucks, but it's really kind of cool almost that I get this much time to express my artistic [creativity].' It was a double-edged sword."

According to Scantlin, he has "plenty" of new music ready to be recorded. "And I've been working in the studio for the last month, month and a half," he said. "And I'm getting ready to get back in there and start doing it again. I've taken little breaks — just little weekends."

Scantlin's latest comments come five months after he made headlines when he walked offstage midconcert at the EPIC Event Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin after complaining about the venue's lights.

Wes had almost non-stop problems with the law, alcohol, finances and other issues, before claiming to have gotten sober in 2017. Scantlin said that he ended up going back to rehab and receiving treatment "because there's really nowhere else to go." He also credited his family and fans for giving him the strength to try to get better.

Scantlin was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in September 2017 after he attempted to board a plane with a BB gun. He pleaded no contest and was banned from LAX unless it involved traveling for work.

Before that, there have been a few tumultuous years for the singer and guitarist. In January of 2016, he was arrested on suspicion of breaking into his former home and vandalizing some of the property.

He skipped two court dates related to the charges later that spring, which led to another arrest.

Prior to that, Scantlin was arrested in December 2015 for possession of a controlled substance and had several previous busts that same year for driving under the influence.

Additionally, he was arrested at a Denver airport in 2015 for taking a joyride on a baggage carousel and taken into custody as far back as 2012 for an altercation with a flight attendant.

He also ended a number of PUDDLE OF MUDD shows in 2016 early with various meltdowns, including one in which he accused a fan of stealing his house

PUDDLE OF MUDD was formed in 1991 in Kansas City by Scantlin, the only original member still with the band. The group into the mainstream with 2001's "Come Clean", which yielded three hits — "Control", "Blurry" and "She Hates Me".

"Welcome To Galvania" was released via Pavement Entertainment.