Former W.A.S.P. lead guitarist Chris Holmes has released the official music video for the song "I Am What I Am". The track is taken from his latest studio album, "Unbearable Influences", which came out last September.

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, the guitarist returned to W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Chris has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

This past weekend, Holmes completed his fifth week of radiation therapy in his battle with cancer in throat and neck.

Last year, Holmes told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that W.A.S.P. was "a group, a band" on the first LP. "And after that, the second album, it wasn't a group — it was a one-man show," he said. "And it's been a one-man show after that ever since. It's the way it is. Look at the records. It's the way it is in that band.

"W.A.S.P. never played any shows until I was in the band, so where does a band start — when they record or when they do their first show?" he continued. "I came in before the first show, and it was 'one for all, all for one.' But then when money came into it and fame, people changed — they change real bad. And I never changed. I don't change. I haven't changed the way I think, the way I am. I'm not gonna change. I am what I am.

"During the [making of the] second [album], I was told the manager wants to use Blackie's [Lawless, W.A.S.P. frontman] image [on the cover], which the manager didn't tell me that — Blackie told me that."

According to Chris, he, guitarist Randy Piper, drummer Tony Richards and Blackie were all part of W.A.S.P. initial management contract, but Blackie was the only one signed to the record label. "Everybody thinks we [all] signed to the label, but it wasn't [like that]," Holmes told "Trunk Nation".

"I never learned about the business till about 10 years ago," he explained. "How do you learn about the business? You've gotta be in there with the manager and all that stuff, so I was always kept from that… I put my trust into somebody, and [I found out later that he was] sticking a knife in my back. I didn't find that out until 2010 or '11.

"Once [W.A.S.P.] became [all about] one person, [my attitude was] 'Hey, I'll just do my thing, and leave me alone. I'll play my guitar.'"

Despite the fact that he only got songwriting credit on a a couple of the songs on each of the first four W.A.S.P. records, Holmes was adamant that his input was essential to the band's overall sound.

"If I would have quit after the first album, the way I play guitar, the way I play is really important to writing those songs," he told "Trunk Nation".

"If I hadn't joined in the beginning, it would have never worked. Blackie told me that the first day, when he came and talked to me to play in W.A.S.P. He says, 'I've got this band. It's not gonna work unless you're in it.' He told me that to my face."

In October 2020, Chris said that he would never consider returning to W.A.S.P. unless Lawless agreed to pay him the publishing royalties that he allegedly owes him. He told Canada's The Metal Voice: "A lot of people think I made money from W.A.S.P. I've never gotten my royalties, or even my songwriting. All the stuff that I wrote, I've never gotten paid one penny. And you know whose fault it is? It's my my fault for not knowing the business, how it is. I trusted somebody.

"After every album, when the album is done, how they split up the publishing with the publishing contracts, the publishing companies — that's where the money comes from," he continued. "I was never told about when that meeting was. Because the other guys in the band never wrote — I was the only one [other than Blackie]. So I'm the only one that they have to screw over to get all the publishing. So I was never told. Then when I dug into it in about 2006 or [2007], I went into Sanctuary Music, had a lawyer go in to find out where all my publishing is, and I was written in as a session player into all the records. And if you don't know about it, and you're not told, and you don't see, you don't know. So I trusted Blackie Lawless about that. And when I found out, it really kind of yanked me wrong. It yanks me wrong — it makes me see he was sticking a knife in my back from the first day, from the first album, and not telling me, and being my best friend."

This past February, Lawless shot down Holmes's claim that the guitarist was "screwed" out of receiving royalties on the W.A.S.P. albums that he performed on. Lawless discussed Holmes's tenure with W.A.S.P. in an interview with "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked to respond to Holmes's assertion in Chris's recently released documentary "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes" that he was financially taken advantage of during his time in the band, Lawless said: "I don't really know much about… I spoke to [former W.A.S.P. guitarist] Randy Piper a couple of years ago. I don't really know what's going on with the rest of the guys. And I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about with Chris about not being paid.

"Chris, at two different points in his musical career, received settlements from this band; he signed documents as such," Blackie explained. "And he was paid quite well.

"I haven't seen what you're talking about. The answer I'm giving you right now is based on what you just said to me."

The W.A.S.P. frontman went on to confirm that he hasn't seen Chris's documentary and was once again asked about Holmes's claim that there is money and songwriting credits that he didn't get that he's due. Lawless said simply: "That is not true."

During a November 2017 press conference in Moscow, Russia, Lawless was asked what he would say to those W.A.S.P. fans who continue to call for the band to reunite with Holmes. He responded: "People get divorced for certain reasons, and there's times when the kids want the parents to get back together, but sometimes it never happens. And this is one of those [times]. Sorry."

ASHES OF ARES, the band featuring former ICED EARTH members Matt Barlow and Freddie Vidales, has released the official music video for the title track of its third studio album, "Emperors And Fools". Barlow was filmed by David Brodsky and Allison Woest for My Good Eye: Music Visuals; Vidales was filmed by Adon Fanion. The clip was produced by Woest (Barlow) and Fanion (Vidales).

The "Emperors And Fools" LP, which was made available on January 21, 2022 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels, ends with the eleven-minute-long epic "Monster's Lament" which features the long-imagined joining of forces between Barlow and another former ICED EARTH singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens.

Speaking to Metalheads Forever about how the collaboration with Owens came about, Matt said: "Tim and I and Freddie, we keep in contact through social media and all that stuff anyway. And we have a lot of like interests and things, obviously, outside of that connection with ICED EARTH. We're all in this together right now, especially going through COVID and all that.

"Tim does music for a living. So we just thought it might be cool. We've been talking about doing a collaboration for a while. It just seemed like the right time because we could actually pay him as a musician and get him to participate. And we did that for a couple of musicians that had done guest spots.

"We just thought that this was a good idea," he continued. "This was a song that actually Freddie has had for a while. Freddie wrote the lyrics for it. He had the concept, this idea of a duet-type thing. It's a duet, but not really. I mean, it is, but it's two separate characters — Tim and I are playing two separate characters. And it's quite lengthy, but it's really cool too. It's got the face-ripping parts and then more mellow stuff and kind of coming back up. It's over 11 minutes long. I think it really is a very cool composition. And I hope that people like it.

"Freddie had lyrics but he didn't necessarily have the vocal melodies, so I worked the melodies out," Matt added. "And then the stuff that I worked out, I worked out for Tim and I and then I gave it to Tim. But I didn't hold him in kind of contraints — I didn't say, 'Hey, man, use this kind of voice' or 'Do this.' I just wanted him to do Tim. Whatever struck him the way that it struck him and just kind of following at least the template and staying within certain boundaries but letting him be himself. And I think that really played off. I was able to kind of do something almost point-counterpoint to what he's doing. So Tim's doing Tim and Matt's doing Matt, and so hopefully it hits people in the right way that we were trying to create something that was ebb and flow. We're not competing against each other. We're weaving it so that it's making a cohesive song with different characters involved. So I'm hoping that people dig it."

"Emperors And Fools" was released as a digipak CD, limited turquoise/black splatter vinyl (300 copies worldwide), limited red/black splatter vinyl (300 copies worldwide) and digital streaming and download format.

"Emperors And Fools" was produced by ASHES OF ARES, and mixed and mastered by Byron Filson at Villain Recording in Phoenix, Arizona. The cover artwork was created by Kamil Pietruczynik.

Track listing:

01. A City In Decay (intro)

02. I Am The Night

03. Our Last Sunrise

04. Primed

05. Where God Fears To Go

06. Emperors And Fools

07. By My Blade

08. What Tomorrow Will Bring

09. The Iron Throne

10. Gone

11. Throne Of Iniquity (CD-exclusive track)

12. Monster's Lament

ASHES OF ARES is:

Matt Barlow - Vocals

Freddie Vidales - Guitars, Bass

Guests:

* Drums on all tracks by Van Williams

* Keyboard intro composed by Jonah Weingarten

* First solo "The Iron Throne" by Wiley Arnett of SACRED REICH

* Second solo "The Iron Throne" by Charlie Mark

* Second solo "Monster's Lament" by Bill Hudson

* Guest vocals "Monster's Lament" by Tim "Ripper" Owens

* Keyboards "Monster's Lament" by Brian Trainor

In December 2020, ASHES OF ARES released the 12-inch black vinyl EP, "Throne Of Iniquity". Limited to 300 copies, the EP contained one new ASHES OF ARES song, "Throne Of Iniquity", as well as two cover tracks, CHICAGO's "25 Or 6 To 4" and KANSAS's "Dust In The Wind".

ASHES OF ARES's second album, "Well Of Souls", came out in November 2018 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels. It was the follow-up to ASHES OF ARES's self-titled debut album, which was released in September 2013 via Nuclear Blast.

Three years ago, Barlow told "The Classic Metal Show" about ASHES OF ARES: "Sometimes it's hard to escape the comparisons [to ICED EARTH], because my voice is still my voice no matter what, and I'm still gonna deliver things emotionally like I have before, so people are always gonna draw comparisons with ICED EARTH, and that's fine; I'm completely cool with that. I'm proud of my time in ICED EARTH, proud of everything that I've done with them, proud of them right now, going on and kicking ass. So I don't have any problem with that whatsoever — the comparisons. But that being said, I want ASHES to have its own identity as well. I think, again, as my writing partner, Freddie deserves that — he deserves to have his own identity in ASHES — and I think that's really important; that's what we're striving to do. And also, hey, man, there's already an ICED EARTH out there; they're touring and they're kicking ass, as I stated before. Why would I wanna do ICED EARTH stuff?"

Swedish occult rockers GHOST performed the songs "Spillways" and "Call Me Little Sunshine" live for the first time during the kick-off concert of their European tour on Saturday, April 9 at the AO Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom. Fan-filmed video is available below.

"Spillways" and "Call Me Little Sunshine" are both taken from GHOST's fifth album, "Impera", whcih sold 70,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the third top 10 album — and fifth top 40-charting set — for the Swedish act.

"Impera" landed at position No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in France and Ireland, and No. 20 in Italy.

"Impera" was released on March 11. The 12-song effort was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace.

GHOST mastermind Tobias Forge worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare, whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Regarding his collaboration with Åhlund, Al Fakir and Pontare, as well as OPETH's Fredrik Åkesson who was brought in to sharpen the album's guitar attack, Forge recently told St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "I found that I can work really well with someone I respect, who is always pushing for the best. They make me want to write better, to get my game up a little."

GHOST's U.S. co-headlining tour with VOLBEAT kicked off on January 25 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada and concluded on March 3 in Anaheim, California.

In March 2020, at final show of GHOST's "Prequelle" tour in Mexico City, Mexico, the band officially introduced Papa Emeritus IV, the new character who is fronting the act for its "Impera" album phase.

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of "Prequelle".

Photo credit: Mikael Eriksson

The New Black guitarist / Who Brought The Dog frontman Fabian "Fabs" Schwarz kept himself busy during lockdown with more musical experimentation. He recently released unleashed a full lenghth album, ROAR!, via RetroSynth Records.


Schwarz has followed up with a non-album single, "Five Best Things", featuring The New Black vocalist Fludid, and lyrics penned by The New Black guitarist CHristof Leim.







Pick up "Five Best Things" via Bandcamnp here.


The album cover artwork, tracklist and the line-up of guest vocalists for ROAR! are available below.





Tracklist:


"Hate Me In Return" (Fludid / The New Black)
"Skull And Bones" (Bina / Savanna Skean)
"Third Eye" (Alen Ljubic / Gloomball)
"A Man Of Power" (Charly Steinhauer /Paradox)
"Home Is Not A Place"
"Laserlust" (Fludid / The New Black)
"Runaway" (Bina / Savanna Skean)
"Disco Blue" (Fludid / The New Black)


"Hate Me In Return"





The New Black is a hard rock band hailing from Würzburg, Germany, launched in 2007 by Schwarz and guitarist Christof Leim. They have released four albums to date via AFM Records: The New Black (2009), II: Better in Black (2011), III: Cut Loose (2013) and A Monster’s Life (2016).

THE BLACK CROWES will release a new Amazon Original EP, "1972", on May 4. A tribute to the 50th anniversary of some of the best rock and roll during its prime, the project was recorded at the Sunset Sound in Los Angeles in January 2022 and is a collection of six songs that were specifically selected through a collaboration between the band and Amazon Music. The first single, a soulful cover of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" by THE TEMPTATIONS is out today.

"1972" will be available exclusively on Amazon Music digitally. Vinyl and physical CD are also set for release everywhere on May 6 via the band's label Silver Arrow.

THE BLACK CROWES singer Chris Robinson said: "The year 1972 was a watershed moment, some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever made came out of that year. To get our band back together in the studio, it had to be a celebration of rock and roll. This record is about love and devotion to something that makes us feel good. We hope that it makes fans around the world feel the same."

Stephen Brower, global co-head of artist relations for Amazon Music, said: "THE BLACK CROWES have been celebrating their influences for their entire career, and a whole generation of fans (this one included) surely discovered Otis Redding's 'Hard To Handle' and Bob Marley's 'Time Will Tell' through their versions. To work with them to re-visit 1972, a truly magical year in music, was an absolute thrill. I can't imagine another band having the skill and the swagger to take on these songs and pull it off so spectacularly."

Join THE BLACK CROWES on May 4 at 10:00 p.m. EST / 7:00 p.m. PST for a performance of the EP live from the historic Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles via Amazon Music's channel on Twitch. May 4 also marks the 50th anniversary of a renowned LITTLE FEAT performance at the famed venue in 1972.

"1972" physical albums along with exclusive merchandise will be available for public purchase during the stream. Directed by Joseph Llanes, fans can also watch an exclusive, behind-scenes-look at the group in studio for the first time in over a decade below.

"1972" track listing:

01. Rocks Off (THE ROLLING STONES)

02. The Slider (T.REX)

03. You Wear It Well (ROD STEWART)

04. Easy To Slip (LITTLE FEAT)

05. Moonage Daydream (DAVID BOWIE)

06. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (THE TEMPTATIONS)

Fans can hear THE BLACK CROWES' covers by simply asking "Alexa, play the Amazon Originals from THE BLACK CROWES" in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android, and on Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to the new track, Amazon Music listeners can access hundreds of Amazon Originals, featuring both emerging and established artists across numerous genres, available to stream and purchase only on Amazon Music.

As for new original music from THE BLACK CROWES, the plan is for the Robinson brothers to hit the studio in January, with Chris telling Rolling Stone that he has finished his portion of "15 or 20" songs.

THE BLACK CROWES recently announced a 2022 North American tour celebrating their classic 1990 debut album, "Shake Your Money Maker". The 34-date trek will kick off on June 9 and run through July 24 before picking up again on August 13 and concluding on August 27.

The 2021 leg of THE BLACK CROWES' "Shake Your Money Maker" tour ended last September at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York.

Joining Chris and Rich in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are longtime bassist Sven Pipien, who played with the band live from 1997 up until the band's hiatus in 2015, along with Brian Griffin on drums, Joel Robinow on keyboards and Isaiah Mitchell on guitar, plus backup singers Mackenzie Adams and Leslie Grant.

Rich told Cleveland.com that he and his brother wanted to re-start THE BLACK CROWES with a clean slate. "There was a strong agenda in the band [previously] to keep Chris and I apart and keep Chris and I fighting," he said. "We just didn't want to have to deal with any of that negative [stuff], so it had to be this way in order for it to be what we want."

"Shake Your Money Maker" was re-released in multi-formats sets in February 2021 through UMe/American Recordings. The album, fueled by singles "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard", "She Talks To Angels" and a cover of fellow Georgian Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", has sold over five million copies.

Last month, former THE BLACK CROWES drummer Steve Gorman filed a lawsuit against the paid over unpaid royalties. In his complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Chris and Rich and The Black Crowes Partnership, Gorman claimed faulty accounting resulted in him missing out on royalties from THE BLACK CROWES' classic albums.

Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL played their first show in front of an audience in more than two years last night (Thursday, April 7) as the support act for APOCALYPTICA at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Prior to last night's concert, the last time LACUNA COIL played together was at the group's special September 2020 livestream event where the bandmembers performed their latest album, "Black Anima", in its entirety with no audience in attendance at the Alcatraz Club in Milan, Italy. That show was released as a live album, "Live From The Apocalypse", via Century Media.

LACUNA COIL hadn't played in front of a crowd since the completion of the band's South American tour in February 2020.

Less than two months ago, LACUNA COIL said that it had entered the studio to begin recording "a very special project." No further details have been made available.

Last June, LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia told Revolver that she and her bandmates didn't use the coronavirus downtime to work on new music. "We didn't want to force the fact that because we were home, we had to write music," she explained. "We always thought that to write music, you need to be inspired. And inspiration comes from the outside, comes from experiences that you have, things that you live. At least this is valid for us.

"Everything we do in a regular life, in a normal life enriches us and gives us input that we can put in our music," she said. "And also we like to write together. So, if Marco [Coti Zelati, bass] creates the basis of the music together with the other musicians in the band, then Andrea [Ferro, vocals] and I jump in with the lyrics and vocal lines. But we do that together. We need to enter in songwriting mode. So we didn't really like the fact that we had to write separately just because we have to put a record [together] because it's quarantine. Now we are starting to collect ideas 'cause we feel a little bit happier."

Scabbia continued: "We didn't want anything connected to the negativity of the pandemic… That's why I used my time to do something completely different. Because I know that what I did that it's completely different from what I usually do will make me start again to do what I did before with passion — with the same passion. I was just afraid that if I would have used all the downtime making music when I didn't really want to, it would have had a negative influence on me. And it would have been, like, 'I really don't want to do that.' And I also wanted to prove to myself that, yeah, music is main passion. I love what I do for a living, and I hope that I can do it until the day I die. But I also wanted to show myself that I can be capable of doing something else as well."

In February 2021, LACUNA COIL took part in an initiative dubbed "L'Ultimo Concerto?" (Last Concert) to highlight the increasingly uncertain future of music venues. Instead of delivering live performances as part of a scheduled free virtual stream, each of around 130 Italian artists was filmed taking the stage at a different venue and then standing there in silence as a way of commemorating the one-year mark since the first Italian venues closed.






Lacuna Coil. So good.

Posted by Gary Book on Thursday, April 7, 2022

KITTIE guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander and drummer Mercedes Lander held their first rehearsal together since 2017 over the weekend. Earlier today, a short video of the session was posted on the band's Instagram, and it was accompanied by the message: "We look like we're jamming at a construction site! This is the first time we've played together like this in 5 years. The feeling is unbelievable! #whatialwayswanted #underconstruction #kittie".

Last month, Morgan confirmed to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that KITTIE will play more shows beyond the already announced appearances at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September and at the When We Were Young festival in October. "That's it for this year," Morgan said. "But next year, we definitely will. But I think those opportunities will come later on.

"We don't have anything set in stone, but I think it's something that, like I said before, once these doors are open, I think we can expect to feel comfortable doing a few more little things here and there and hopefully we'll be able to do some more one-offs in the States and Europe and that type of thing," she explained. "So the possibilities are endless."

Joining Morgan and her sister Mercedes at the above-mentioned shows in the fall will be guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

Asked in a recent interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast what led to Vujic returning to KITTIE for the upcoming dates, Lander said: "Ivy played on two of our albums, the last two albums that we did. She left the band right before the very last big tour that we ended up doing; she did the Soundwave Festival [in Australia] with us in 2012, and those were the last shows that we did with her. And she just kind of settled into her life, started a family, got married, and so that's sort of been what she's been up to. But Ivy's a metal girl at heart and she's always been super, super easygoing about stuff. I just sent her a message and I was, like, 'Hey, can we talk?' And we had a really, really great phone call and I just sort of explained the situation, explained what was going on. I asked her if she'd be into doing it, and she was, like, 'Yeah. Sounds great.' … It's very much one of those things where you don't talk that often anymore, you don't see each other that often, but then, when you all get together again, that chemistry and that vibe is always there."

Morgan continued: "I feel like that lineup of KITTIE in particular was always very super pro, super chill — no stress, no drama. Just, like, 'You know what? We're gonna go out there and we're gonna sound amazing.'

"She's an incredible bass player. I don't think that Ivy gets enough credit. She is absolutely incredible. So it's gonna be great."

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".

When We Were Young will be held on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip on October 22, October 23 and October 29.

When the lineup for When We Were Young was first revealed, KITTIE said: "Thanks for your patience with our silence friends. The truth is we've been in full on crisis mode the past week and weren't sure if we'd actually be able to make this happen but it's true and we'll be there to melt your face off and we hope you got your tickets."

KITTIE has not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".

In January, the original lineup of KITTIE — Morgan, Mercedes, Fallon Bowman (guitar) and Tanya Candler (bass) — reunited for an online chat to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its gold-certified 2000 debut album, "Spit".

Candler left KITTIE after the release of "Spit" in order to finish high school and was replaced by Talena Atfield.

Bowman exited KITTIE in 2001 and started her own industrial/electronic project, AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT.

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for 2011's "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

"I've Failed You" sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.
























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According to Billboard, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' new album, "Unlimited Love", sold 97,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marks the band's first chart-topping effort since 2006's "Stadium Arcadium".

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Of "Unlimited Love"'s 97,500 units earned for the week, album sales comprise 82,500; SEA units comprise 14,500; and TEA units comprise 500.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS's first new LP with guitarist John Frusciante since "Stadium Arcadium" was once again produced by Rick Rubin who previously worked on "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" (1991), "Californication" (1999), "By The Way" (2002) and the aforementioned "Stadium Arcadium".

The band stated about the new record: "Our only goal is to get lost in the music. We (John, Anthony, Chad and Flea) spent thousands of hours, collectively and individually, honing our craft and showing up for one another, to make the best album we could. Our antennae attuned to the divine cosmos, we were just so damn grateful for the opportunity to be in a room together, and, once again, try to get better. Days, weeks and months spent listening to each other, composing, jamming freely, and arranging the fruit of those jams with great care and purpose. The sounds, rhythms, vibrations, words and melodies had us enrapt.

"We yearn to shine a light in the world, to uplift, connect, and bring people together. Each of the songs on our new album 'Unlimited Love' is a facet of us, reflecting our view of the universe. This is our life’s mission. We work, focus, and prepare, so that when the biggest wave comes, we are ready to ride it. The ocean has gifted us a mighty wave and this record is the ride that is the sum of our lives. Thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy it."

Frusciante said: "When we started writing material, we began by playing old songs by people like Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, THE KINKS, THE NEW YORK DOLLS, Richard Barrett and others. Ever so gradually, we started bringing in new ideas, and turning jams into songs, and after a couple of months the new stuff was all we were playing. The feeling of effortless fun we had when we were playing songs by other people, stayed with us the whole time we were writing. For me, this record represents our love for, and faith in each other."

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS will embark on a world tour this summer. The North American leg will kick off in Denver, Colorado on July 23 at Empower Field at Mile High. It will conclude in Arlington, Texas on September 18 at Globe Life Field.

Frusciante originally joined RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS following the death of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak in 1988. This lineup recorded two highly successful albums that brought the group mainstream popularity: "Mother's Milk" and "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". Sadly, Frusciante fell into a deep heroin addiction that caused him to leave the band while touring to support "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". Frusciante rejoined CHILI PEPPERS six years later, playing on 1999 album "Californication", 2002's "By The Way" and 2006's "Stadium Arcadium" before quitting the band again in September 2009.

Photo credit: Sandy Kim

Bay Area natives, Aenimus, will release their Sacrificial EP on May 6 via Nuclear Blast. Today, the band release their third single, "Wasteland", featuring David Benites. Watch the lyric video below.


Aenimus comments, "'Wasteland' is the heaviest and darkest song Aenimus has written. The lyrics are very melancholy and touch heavily on the dark place where depression and addiction can lead people. The music is fast-paced and relentless from beginning to end and I think listeners will enjoy this darker side of Aenimus."







Sacrificial was recorded at Grimzee Studios with Brian Gosling handling the producing and mixing. The cover artwork was created by Mark Erskine of Erskine Designs. Pre-save the EP here.





Aenimus will join Allegaeon on their Terrestrial Takeover Tour. The 26-date trek will kick off in Anaheim and make stops in Austin, Atlanta, and Brooklyn before concluding on July 1 in Fresno. The package includes direct support Arkaik and openers Summoning The Lich.


Aenimus comments, “We are so excited to announce the 'Terrestrial Take Over' tour, where we will be supporting Allegaeon alongside Arkaik and Summoning The Lich. After 902 days since our last show, we will finally return to the stage on June 1st at 1720 in Los Angeles CA, and make our way around the country to finish the tour July 1st at Full Circle Brewery in Fresno. We look forward to performing new music off our upcoming EP Sacrificial and some fan favorites from Dreamcatcher and Transcend Reality and more than anything, we can’t wait to see all of you at a show!”


Prior to the tour, Aenimus will also play a show with The Faceless, and Allegaeon on June 1 at 1720.





Dates:


June
4 - Doll Hut - Anaheim, CA
5 - Nile Underground - Mesa, AZ
6 - Tumbleroot Brewing - Santa Fe, NM
7 - Amplified Live - Dallas, TX
8 - Come And Take It Live - Austin, TX
9 - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX
10 - Onyx Theater - Baton Rouge, LA
11 - Boggs Social - Atlanta, GA
12 - The Haven - Orlando, FL
14 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC
15 - Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD
16 - Dingbatz - Clifton, NJ
17 - The Meadows - Brooklyn, NY
18 - Jewel Nightclub - Manchester, NH
19 - The Crafthouse - Pittsburgh, PA
20 - The Sanctuary - Detroit, MI
21 - Reggies - Chicago, IL
22 - Amsterdam Bar & Hall - St. Paul, MN
23 - Wildwood - Iowa City, IA
24 - The Royal Grove - Lincoln, NE
25 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
26 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
28 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
29 - Dante's - Portland, OR
30 - The X Bar - Cupertino, CA


July
1 - Full Circle Brewing District - Fresno, CA

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they take on Living Colour's "Cult Of Personality". Watch below:





A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:

On April 4th, Judas Priest was forced to cancel their show in Lowell, MA due to frontman Rob Halford battling a cold. The tour resumed on April 7th in Halifax, NS at Scotiabank Centre. Fan-filmed video is available below.













Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:


April
10 - Videotron Center - Quebec City, Quebec
11 - Place Bell - Montreal, Quebec
13 - FirstOntario Centre - Hamilton, Ontario

Lena Scissorhands Featuring Death Dealer Union have released a video for the new single, "Borderlines". Buy stream the song here, and watch the video below.





"My first song in collaboration with Death Dealer Union... It didn’t just help me stay busy and creative in the times of a big global depression but also worked as therapy in the times of need. I had fun collaborating with new musicians! Please enjoy 'Borderlines.'" - Lena Scissorhands




"With all the amazing and talented bands of the last decade, we wanted to stand apart by capturing some of the foundational aspects of Metal and yet weave a strong thread of modern female fronted Nu-Metal but with no rules!" - CC McKenna





Lena Scissorhands featuring Death Dealer Union is an alternative power metal collaboration envisioned by drummer and main songwriter CC McKenna, a skilled veteran Los Angeles musician with vast experience as an actor, model and businessman.


Everything started when CC and the guitarist Doug Weiand started to compose music together during studio jam sessions. After a few songs took shape in the recording studio, they auditioned several lead vocalists before the awesome Lena Scissorhands, a true rock/metal queen, wrote and featured some phenomenal lead vocals on Death Dealer Union songs.


The rest is history.


(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)

Seven Kingdoms have released the first single, "Universal Terrestrial", from their upcoming full-length album, Zenith. The music video for "Universal Terrestrial" was filmed during the crowdfunding campaign, which raised over $50,000 on Kickstarter.


7K guitarist Camden Cruz says, “We are very excited to release the first song from Zenith! We are packing this one up, and two more new songs with us for the Beast in Black tour that starts this week! We will actually be shooting the music video for Chasing the Mirage while we are on tour! We had a great time filming this song a few months ago with our main man, Jimmy Garcia. We hope you love it!”


DMG CEO Maurizio Iacono comments on the upcoming release: “Seven Kingdoms have released a thunderbolt of a single with 'Universal Terrestrial' and are poised to bring American power metal to international levels with their new album Zenith."







Zenith was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, FL, and 8 Arms Audio in Orlando, FL during the summer and fall of 2021. The record was mixed and mastered by Jim Morris at Morrisound Recording in November of 2021. The cover art was done by Jan Yrlund (Battle Beast, Korpiklaani, Windrose).


Zenith will see a June 17 release via Distortion Music Group and can be pre-ordered here.





Zenith tracklisting:


"Diamond Handed"
"A Silent Remedy"
"Love Dagger"
"Chasing The Mirage"
"Valonqar"
"Empty Eyes"
"Magic In The Mist"
"Universal Terrestrial"
"The Water Dance"
"Life Signs"
"I Hate Myself For Loving You" (Cover)

METALLICA's "performance coach" Phil Towle, a former psychotherapist who was brought into the picture in January 2001 to help James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich repair their relationship with Jason Newsted, was interviewed on the latest episode of the METALLICA-centric podcast "…And Podcast For All". During the chat, Towle was asked about one of the most memorable scenes in the METALLICA documentary "Some Kind Of Monster" in which Ulrich is confronted by former METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine about being kicked out of the band in 1983 for being a belligerent drunk. The meeting between Ulrich and Mustaine took place on September 13, 2001, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in San Francisco, California, and was refereed by Towle.

"The Mustaine session itself was pivotal for Lars and Dave, but it wasn't complete for Dave," Towle told "…And Podcast For All" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I mean, obviously. It was the first chance that Mustaine had had to be able to purge. And I think Lars did a great job of opening up and doing his best to take it on without trying to change Dave's mind. He couldn't really answer the soulful part of Dave's pain; he couldn't heal that pain. Dave has to heal that pain in response to what was going on. But the conversation was an opener; it was a great opener for them to be able to… It was a way for each of them to communicate what was in their heart and on their minds. And like so many parts of life, it had its own standalone features, but it wasn't standalone. It was an opportunity for both of them to reconnect in healthy way. Look what happened — they brought Mustaine back when they were inducted into the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame, right?" he said, apparently referring to METALLICA's reunion with Mustaine at the 30th-anniversary concerts in San Francisco in 2011. 'So, that led to that; I'm sure that was part of it."

In the aforementioned "Some Kind Of Monster" scene, Mustaine told Ulrich that his dismissal from METALLICA ruined his life and that he has always lived in the shadow of his former bandmates, even though he had earned several platinum albums of his own with his post-METALLICA band MEGADETH.

In 2004, Mustaine told MTV News that he didn't approve the five-minute clip to be included in the film, because he felt the clip didn't represent the full extent of what happened in the meeting.

"If you watch the stuff linearly, it's totally different," Mustaine said. "They filmed three hours of us together and they only used about five minutes. Why didn't they use the part where Lars gets up and walks to the bathroom crying because I let him have it because of the shit that happened?"

"Some Kind Of Monster" filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky told MTV News in a statement that "we stand by what we filmed, how we filmed it, and our decisions in the editing room. ... We are all very surprised that Mr. Mustaine is displeased. We found him to be an intelligent, articulate person struggling with the same issues as METALLICA — questions of creative and existential identity and collaborative tensions. Lars Ulrich is shown in an equally human manner, even shedding a tear on camera during the scene. ... While we certainly couldn't include the entire three hours we shot with him, we strongly believe that the scene in question is truthful and representative of the emotions that transpired."

Mustaine said that he signed the release papers after the therapy session but only on the condition he was given the chance to green-light the footage he was in after it was edited. He received a tape of his scene more than a year later and was displeased with what he saw. He then relayed a message to METALLICA that he didn't want his scene released.

"It didn't mean anything to them," Mustaine said. "Then Lars put his spin on it, saying, 'Well, we looked at [his statement], and we couldn't figure out if it was him or the management saying it.' Who gives a fuck? We didn't approve it, and that's all that should have mattered."

Berlinger and Sinofsky told MTV News that they did nothing wrong by including the scene in the film.

"As is our standard practice, the release form that Mr. Mustaine signed on the day of the shoot did not include any provision that he, or any of the dozens of other people we filmed who signed this same release, would have approval over the material," they said. "However, throughout the filming of the scene, there were several moments that became particularly emotional, in which Mr. Mustaine asked us to turn the camera off, a request we honored — none of that material was included in the film. The footage that was used did not have any restrictions from Mr. Mustaine when he signed the release.

"Two years after filming the scene with Mr. Mustaine, we contacted his representatives not for approval over the scene, but in order to request permission to use clips of MEGADETH videos and archival footage. ... When Mr. Mustaine asked to see how he appeared in our film before he would grant permission to use this archival material, we sent him a copy of the scene, assuming he would see it as positive. When we were told that he was unhappy with his portrayal, we offered to screen the entire film for him in person ... [but] he refused our offer. There was no attempt to stab him in the back by anyone connected to this film."

Mustaine, for his part, told MTV News that he "had no idea" he "was getting set up. And the thing I don't understand is that for 20 years they've said that I was the temporary guitar player, and that I was no good," he said. "You don't talk about me, and basically pretended that I never even existed, and now I'm so goddamn important I gotta be in the movie? Give me a break."

Dave spoke about his "Some Kind Of Monster" scene in a 2010 interview with the Chicago Tribune. After the interviewer pointed out that Mustaine came across in the scene like a guy who has never quite completely gotten over being fired from METALLICA, Dave said: "I think that's pretty accurate. I care about those things. I still do. I was drinking and drugging, but I never got any warning from Lars and James when they fired me. They just put me on a bus and sent me home. The movie was something they were doing, and I didn't know what it was about. I'd been through enough therapy myself, so I didn't mind being put in that situation. All I wanted was some closure and to have a new relationship with those guys. We did so much damage to the relationship through drugs and alcohol. I still wanted to be friends with him. I knew sitting down and talking with that guy was going to address part of it. I just wanted closure with these guys so we could put the past behind us. We were kids when it all went down. But James wasn't there when Lars and I had our talk (in the movie). James said to me at the 'Big Four' concert that he wished he had been there, and I was moved by that. I thought he was a gentleman; I was very proud of him."

In a 2009 interview with Norway's Lydverket, Mustaine said that he was "so hurt" by getting kicked out of METALLICA for allegedly drinking too much. "I said, 'What?! No second chance, no warning? C'mon, we all drink. C'mon.'" he recalled. "And [they were like], 'No, that's it. You're gone.' And I was like, 'All right.'"

Mustaine also went on to claim that an altercation with Hetfield led to his being fired from the band.

"I was selling pot," Dave said. "When I would go play in concert, people knew that my pot was sitting in my apartment just saying, 'Go ahead and keep me company.' So I was broken in on. People stole everything that I had; all my stash. And I figured, screw this. I'm gonna get some dogs to stay in the apartment when I leave. So I got two dogs and I took one of them up to a rehearsal one time and she put her paws up on Ron's [McGovney, METALLICA's then-bassist] car. And James kicked it right in the side. And I was like, 'What did you do?' [And I was like] 'It's a dog, it's what they do. You don't kick animals.' So we went into the house, and we started arguing some more. And I ended up punching him in the face and I think that was the root of why I lost my job."

In a 2009 interview with the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks, Hetfield said that it was "so odd" to hear Mustaine still talking about his exit from METALLICA. "It is very Dave, and that's him," James said. "And no matter what band he was in or whatever... I mean, Dave is not in this band for a reason, and this is the reason. It's super-simple. He was in the band for 11 months and it goes on and on and on and on and on. I don't know any other band on this planet that there was a member in the band for a short amount of time and they've still got this big chip on his shoulder. It's insane.... You know what?! He's in love, and that's fine, 'cause we love him back."

Back in 2016, Hammett told the "Word Of Wheeler" podcast that he understood Dave's continued resentment toward his former bandmates over the way he was dismissed from the group. "I've always seen Dave as someone who was just really, really sad, really angry, really frustrated about his situation with METALLICA, and he never could let that go," he said. "And, you know, I've always shown a lot of empathy for him, understanding that he was just pissed off. It's the equivalent of the woman of your life leaving you. I mean, really. When your band kicks you out… I've never been kicked out, but I can imagine it's a horrible experience, especially if it's a band that you feel really passionately about. So I can understand Dave's plight over all these years. But I will also say that when we did these 30th-anniversary shows at the Fillmore [in San Francisco], and we invited Dave to play on all those 'Kill 'Em All' songs, man, it felt so good to have him playing on stage. It felt perfectly fine for me to, while Dave was playing the guitar solos, for me to go over to James and play the rhythm parts with James, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And I could see from the look on Dave's face and just from his whole attitude that it was super-cathartic for him. And I could see how it was helping him. And so I just took it all in stride. And it's interesting, because since then, I think, Dave's relationship with us is a little bit better now. I'd like to think that that whole thing just kind of healed some scars that needed to be healed."

After Hammett's comments about Mustaine were reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and other music sites, Dave took to his Twitter to respond. He wrote: "I have tremendous respect for @KirkHammett and I appreciate his take on this. he is almost 100% accurate...almost. I wish him the best."

In a September 2011 interview with Artisan News, Mustaine appeared to concur that his onstage reunion with METALLICA went a long way toward healing the wounds from the way his tenure in the band ended. Dave said: "When we [played a cover of DIAMOND HEAD's] 'Helpless' [as part of a 'Big Four' jam] one night, I walked over to say hello to Kirk on the stage and he said, 'Do you wanna take the solo?" and I said, 'Yeah.' [Laughs] But we forgot to tell anybody on the stage or [running] the sound out front that I was gonna do the solo, so the song's playing along and Kirk's playing rhythm full blast, and I'm sitting there going you can't hear what I'm doing. At least we knew what had happened. It was kind of a symbolic passing of the torch back to me and it was a nice gesture. I think that that helped Kirk and my relationship improve a bit."

In a September 2004 interview, Mustaine famously stated, "I really don't care about Kirk — he stole my job, but at least I got to bang his girlfriend before he took my job. How do I taste, Kirk?"

Mustaine did not play on any METALLICA albums and did not attend their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine was not included because "you've got to kind of cap it somewhere. Dave Mustaine never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

Guitarist Thomas Zwijsen has released a new video, in which he performs an acoustic rendition of "Arc Of Space", featured on Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's Accident Of Birth album, released in 1997.





Zwijsen previously released the video below, featuring an acoustic performance of Iron Maiden's "The Parchment". Written by Steve Harris, the song featured on Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu.