In a new interview with Keefy of Ghost Cult, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're in the process of putting it together. Obviously, that process has been stalled somewhat due to COVID the last couple of years. Now that [the COVID restrictions] have been lifted, we're now on a touring cycle. So now there's that challenge to deal with in terms of putting the record together. But we're gonna try to work around it. In between tour legs, we're gonna try to get the stuff recorded.

"Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] always says, 'It'll be done when it's done; it's finished when it's finished.' At this stage of their career, there's no point in rushing anything. It'll be done when it's done. And I think that's the best way of putting it. We'll try to get it done as we can, and you guys will be the first to know when it is."

According to Faulkner, the new PRIEST album is already written. "It's kind of in demo form," he explained. "We've got a batch of songs in demo form that are ready to be recorded properly, and we've got the drums done. Everything else needs to be done, really. So in terms of being written, it's written, but we need to record it properly and everything like that. So it's not really anywhere near done. But when it's done, it's done."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band's performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. He was was rushed to the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

California's Ceremony have released their new 12”, "Vanity Spawned By Fear", just ahead of their North American spring 2022 tour. "Vanity Spawned By Fear" is the legendary, acclaimed punk band’s first standalone single of their career: an infectious take on new musick, glam, and moody synth.


"Vanity Spawned By Fear" is available now digitally, and in a limited edition, one-time-only vinyl pressing. A video for the song can be found below.







Ceremony guitarist Anthony Anzaldo Jr. comments: “We do our best to keep futility a secret, a cognitive exercise with feeble reward. The Poppy field reminds us that not all things are meant to be altered. In California, Vanity is spawned by fear.”





Ceremony embark on their North American spring 2022 tour next week - April 21 through May 29. The run includes select sold out shows with Turnstile and additional headline dates with Citizen.


(Photo - Nedda Afsari)

Mass Worship have released a guitar playthrough video for “Scorched Earth”, from the recently released full-length album, Portal Tombs. Watch below:





Portal Tombs is a terrifying but electrifying exploration of the gloomy depths of human nature: a monolithic manifestation of the musical force that is Mass Worship. The album features guest appearances by Jonas Stålhammar of At The Gates, Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway of Napalm Death, and Jonas Renkse of Katatonia/Bloodbath.




“It’s pretty mind-blowing to have members of such inspirational pioneers on our own album”, says the band.


Drawing inspiration from bands such as At The Gates, Mastodon and Meshuggah, Mass Worship could be likened to many bands, but somehow forge their musical identity into something exceptionally distinctive and transcendent, and with enough confidence and conviction to win over even the most orthodox fans of the genre.


Order your copy of Portal Tombs at this location.





"Specular Void"
"Portal Tombs"
"Revel In Fear"
"Orcus Mouth"
"Unholy Mass"
"Dunes Of Bone"
"Scorched Earth"
"Empyrean Halls"
"Deliverence"


“Empyrean Halls” visualizer:





“Orcus Mouth” video:





"Portal Tombs"  guitar playthrough video:

Emperor's Fire & Demise: Into The Infinity Of Darkness is due for release on April 30, and available for pre-order now.


The official 14-tape box set with the complete works from Norwegian black metal legends, Emperor, is housed in a heavy luxurious matte black case-wrapped box with silver hot foil stamped printing. This box is strictly limited to 1,000 hand numbered copies.







Contents:


Tape 1: Wrath Of The Tyrant
Tape 2: Rehearsal ’92
Tape 3: Emperor
Tape 4: In The Nightside Eclipse
Tape 5: The Akkerhaugen Tapes (incl. never heard rehearsal from ’95)
Tape 6: As The Shadows Rise
Tape 7: Reverence
Tape 8: Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
Tape 9: IX Equilibrium
Tape 10: Split With Thorns
Tape 11: Emperial Live Ceremony
Tape 12: Prometheus - The Discipline Of Fire And Demise
Tape 13: Live At Wacken Open Air 2006 - A Night Of Emperial Wrath
Tape 14: Live Inferno


Includes:


- massive 300 page hardcover-book with many unseen pictures and tons of new liner notes and interviews
- metal-pin
- 3 regular patches
- shaped backpatch
- flag
- 7 posters
- numbered certificate (signed by Samoth, Ihsahn and Trym)


Pre-order here.

Pitch Black Records announces the new, third album from Norwegian old-school heavy metal outfit, Sinsid. In Victory will be released on May 20.


In Victory is a follow-up to 2020’s Enter The Gates, and is most definitely an album that will get defenders of old school heavy metal excited about it. Through the album’s nine non-stop headbanging tracks, an epic journey will unfold where fans will identify everything that made the genre great – anthemic choruses and solos, hard-hitting riffs and faith in heavy metal as a symbol of brotherhood and the fight against Evil.


Sinsid’s new album shows the Norwegian quintet at its best, inspired and never so powerful. One thing that’s more evident compared to previous works Mission From Hell (2018) and Enter the Gates (2020) is the more frequent use of the double bass drum. The band sounds as good as ever with an improved contemporary production which however still managed to maintain that “old school” feeling.




Originally formed in 2012, Sinsid's influences include anything from the blues and rock to metal and Viking or thrash but the very core of the band is, unmistakably, traditional heavy metal. The band’s debut triumphantly introduced Sinsid to the metal world and quickly gained the band a massive new following, with reviews referring to it as “good old, honest, working-class metal” and “couldn’t be more metal if it was hammered over an anvil!”


In Victory will be available on CD and Digital with a limited LP (100 numbered copies) planned for release later in the year. Pre-order information here.





Tracklisting:


"The Northern March" (Intro)
"Iron Heart"
"Metalheads"
"Secret Of The Beast"
"In Victory"
"No Fear"
"Wrath Of Destruction"
"Headless Grinder"
"Cult Of Doom (Into The Fire)"


"Headless Grinder" video:





Lineup:


Terje Singh Sidhu – Vocals
Sten Roger Knutsen – Lead guitar
Even Haavold – Rhythm guitar
Grzegorz Urbanski – Bass
Trygve A. Tvedt – Drum

Wisconsin-based death metal band, Jungle Rot, will release their new album, A Call To Arms, on May 13 via Unique Leader Records. The band have released the new single, for the album's title track. Watch the video for "A Call To Arms" below.


A Call To Arms sees the first Unique Leader offering emerge with a punishing Dan Swano mix and eerie Voodoo themed artwork - a brutal culmination of the band's past sound melding with a slick, devastating polish bringing them firmly into 2022.


Pre-order the album here.







Tracklisting:


"A Call To Arms"
"Beyond the Grave"
"Genocidal Imperium"
"Asymmetric Warfare"
"Vengeance & Bloodlust"
"Maggot Infested"
"Death Squad"
"Haunting Future"
"Total Extinction"
"Population Suicide"


"A Call To Arms" video:





"Total Extinction" visualizer:





Jungle Rot have also announced the A Call To Arms US Tour with special guests, Internal Bleeding. Dates below.





Tour dates:


June
2 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
3 - Lincoln, NE - 1867 Bar
4 - Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep
6 - Boise, ID - The Shredder
7 - Seattle, WA - Club Sur
8 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
9 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
10 - Anaheim, CA - Doll Hut
11 - San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick
12 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720
13 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Underground
14 - El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Bar & Grill
15 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
16 - Denver, CO - HQ
17 - Kansas City, MO - BLVD Nights
18 - Sturtevant, WI - Route 20

Wildstreet's latest single "Won't Be Apart" (feat. Todd Long) began as a voice memo of a melodic idea, sent to Eric Jayk (Wildstreet) from Ghost of Sunset's Todd Long. After a few short weeks the song was recorded and Jon Wyman (The Pretty Reckless) had been recruited to mix. The song is out now on all digital platforms. The track's highlights include a pedal steel guitar solo, strings and lush vocal harmonies reminiscent of '90s R&B.


Check out the official lyric video below.







 


Wildtsreet will embark on their US tour and are set to appear at Rockfest later this year, with multiple shows in Mexico, Colombia, the UK and Europe coming up. And to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of their latest album, III, the band will be playing the legendary Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood on June 25th.


 


 


Dates are as follows:


 


 


April 
14 - Richmond, VA - Another Round Bar and Grill
15 - Spartanburg, SC - Ground Zero
16 - Virginia Beach, VA - Scandals Live
28 - Allentown, PA - Sportsmen's Café
29 - Uniontown, PA - Revolutions Bar & Grill
30 - Waterloo, NY - Lizard's Tailgator Lounge


 


 


May
1 - Tonawanda, NY - Stamps The Bar


 


 


June
25 - Hollywood, CA - Whiskey-A-Go-Go


 

U.S. rockers Farewell To Fear have returned to the scene armed with two cracking new singles, "Brainwashed" and "Falling", their first new material in over 12 months. Farewell To Fear are set to reignite the active rock market in 2022 with plenty of live shows and festival dates locked in.


The third single at bat from Farewell To Fear is rightfully titled "Played Again", a track which takes the angst and experience of feeling used and channels it into a fist pumping anthem. Available now on all digital platforms, crank this one and feel empowered! 







Farewell To Fear was born out of the huge black hole that mainstream rock radio left during the absence of super rock stars like Metallica, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. The band revisits an era with big rock riffs, big choruses and huge anthems for a new generation of rockers.


Their first full-length album New Blood, produced by Brett Hestla (Creed, Dark New Day), generated an incredible three singles on Sirius XM’s Octane channel, a rare feat for an unknown band. As well as landing them at #1 on Amazon’s Hot New Rock Singles chart and #8 on iTunes Rock chart, their debut album also earned them direct support from Howard Stern, including the rarest of moments on Stern’s show… airing an entire song as opposed to the normal 20 second snippet he usually shares. That track, a cover of Rihanna's "Diamonds", recently eclipsed 2.5 million streams on Spotify. 


Inspired by the overwhelming success of New Blood, Farewell To Fear released the Legacy EP, allowing them to seamlessly merge their skills and styles together to create heavy rock songs that deliver a strong punch to the gut, while staying melodic and delivering impactful lyrics hitting all ranges and octaves. 


Shortly following Legacy, the band released their Voices album. Voices was produced by Damien Starkey (Burn Season, Puddle Of Mudd) and elevated the bands' sound to a new level. Expect no stone unturned with this album! The single "Underneath My Skin" sent a powerful sucker-punch with its message of love and obsession. It moves as an emotional gut-wrenching song that will inspire the devil within.


The band wasted no time spreading their new sound with the masses at various rock festivals, touring with artists such as Fozzy, Like A Storm, Palisades and Flaw throughout North America, including joining Chris Jericho/Fozzy and friends performing on the Rockin and Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise.


Staying true to form, Farewell To Fear immediately went back into the studio amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to release the ever-timely single "I Won't Be Your Tragedy", which eclipsed over 100,000 streams on Spotify in three months.


Farewell To Fear is set for an explosive 2022 and has already been invited to perform at the Rebel Rock Festival in Orlando, with Five Finger Death Punch, Limp Bizkit, I Prevail, Sevendust and many more!











 

Hungarian black/pagan metal outfit, Bornholm, have released a bass playthrough video for "My Evangelium", featured on the band's fifth studio album, Apotheosis, released last November. Watch below:





Apotheosis can be ordered here.







Apotheosis tracklisting:


"I Divine"
"My Evangelium"
"Sky Serpents"
"The Key To The Shaft Of The Abyss"
"Black Shining Cloaks"
"Spiritual Warfare"
"Darkened Grove"
"To The Fallen"
"I Am War God"
"Apotheosis"
"Enthronement"


“Black Shining Cloaks" video:





“Spiritual Warfare” video:





"I Am War God" video:





Lineup:


Sahsnot – Guitar/Vocals
Charun – Bass
D – Drums


(Photo - Krisztina Máté)

Helsinki, Finland-based brutal / tech / slam / death metallers Enragement have unveiled "In Cinder" - the third and final single from the group's upcoming third full-length album, Atrocities - set for release on April 29th via Rising Nemesis Records.





With Atrocities, Enragement delivers a hybrid approach to brutal and slam death metal that draws just as much from the technical side of the genre as it does the necessary sheer brutality and absurd heaviness the style is built upon. The end result is more intricate and deadlier than many of their peers, without losing sight of the core framework brutal / slam death metal exists within when done well. From a thematic perspective, Atrocities again chooses to eschew the normal focus on fantastical horror movie-type brutal lyrics in favor of discussing the all too real horrors of human wars and conflicts in the myriad of ways they impact all of our lives.




Enragement comments: "Hideous portrayals of what lies beneath civilization, Atrocities describes monstrous true events throughout the history of mankind, from ancient to recent. Each song is a representation of acts whose cruelty extends beyond imagination – acts that seem to occur more frequently than we dare believe. This is the epitome of human suffering.


Musically, Enragement combines the intensity of brutal, technical, and slamming death metal with twists and turns from a diverse range of other extreme metal genres. Depending on the song, a perceptive listener can distinguish the cacophony of black metal, the grim atmosphere of doom metal, and the sheer fury of grindcore intricately weaved into the neck-breaking foundation of death metal.


No matter how unthinkably gruesome they may seem, each song on Atrocities is based on true events. Regardless of how deep you dive into imaginary evil, fantasy never overcomes the sickness of reality. The malevolence of man knows no boundaries."





Tracklisting:


"(In)humanity"
"Sadistic Sedition"
"Lethal Human Experimentation"
"Siberian Frost"
"Decimating Winds Of Phosphorus"
"Heavenly Inferno"
"Trade In Viscera"
"Nailed To The Cross"
"Violent Bigotry"
"In Cinder"
"Transcend In Fire"
"Cast Into Perishment"








(Photo by Petri Sara Photography)


 

Helsinki, Finland "goth 'n' roll" pioneers THE 69 EYES have released "Drive", a catchy new single and the first of several new tracks to be made available in the next months. The band is currently in the studio recording its 13th album, to be released in 2023 via Atomic Fire Records (worldwide excluding Finland).

THE 69 EYES guitarist Bazie comments: "The inspiration came from the same pool of music I have always liked, mostly from the '80s.

"I never plan anything; just grab my guitar and see what comes up. We jammed a lot more as a band this time and came up with song ideas from all the guys. 'Drive' started from one little riff, which I had for a long time. It took a while, but it was worth it. It still sounds exciting, and that was the goal."

THE 69 EYES singer Jyrki 69 adds: "Bazie delivered this music, and I was blown away by how fresh it felt again. Sounded like some rock radio stuff.

"Our songs are on daily rotation on the rock channels here in Finland, but they are the ones that we did 15 years ago. So, I thought that we could have some fresh options now, let's take the airwaves!

"'Drive' is a traditional 69 EYES-sounding fast rocker with a Sunset Strip slap on it!"

The "Drive" music video was directed by Vicente Cordero and can be seen below.

THE 69 EYES will hit the road in Europe in November and December 2022, along with America's industrial pioneers MINISTRY and horror rockers WEDNESDAY 13.

THE 69 EYES has been haunting stages all over the world for 33 years and seem to be a truly immortal part of the dark rock/metal scene. Widely known as the Helsinki Vampires, the quintet gained several platinum albums with "Blessed Be" and "Paris Kills" and not only reached #1 of the single and album charts in their home country of Finland, but also plunged the world into a sinful cosmos of love, death and melancholy, while outliving any other band emerging from the goth hype of the early 2000s.

By developing their sound further into sleaze rock on "Devils" (2004) and "Angels" (2007) and not shying away from pitch black Elvis Presley allusions in Jyrki 69's dark voice and unique onstage dance moves, the band has established a worldwide following. Over the course of over three decades, the band has toured relentlessly throughout Europe, America, Asia and Australia and released 12 full-length studio albums.

Photo credit: Marek Sabogal

In an interview with Monsters, Madness And Magic, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked to name the most difficult song in his catalog for him to perform live. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's songs… They're all hard if you play 'em right, is the truth, because they're fast. There's a lot of muscular intensity. You can't just sort of phone it in. You've really gotta warm up. And you've kind of gotta be warmed up and have a lot of your endurance in place; you can't have just been on vacation and pick your bass up and rip through the tunes. It requires dexterity and everything. So 'Holy Wars' can be difficult to play. When we had it at the end of the set, it was easier to play 'cause you're warmed up for an hour and a half; it's a lot easier. When we used to come out and start with it, back in the '90s, like with the 'Rust In Peace' or something, I think we started with it at the time, and it was, like, 'Oh my God. This is a fucking killer to come out of the gate with this one.' You were kind of waiting for the little break where Marty [Friedman, former MEGADETH guitarist] does the flamenco thing, so you can go, 'Ah…' and shake it off. 'Cause if you tense up, you get the Popeye arm. The funny thing is something like 'My Last Words' which has that really ripping pentatonic pattern, that actually is not that hard to play 'cause it's a pattern — it's a pentatonic pattern. So sometimes things you think would be harder aren't and some of the more notey complexities would be… 'Tornado [Of Souls]', 'cause of the downpicking on 'Tornado', could be a thing. And I would change it sometimes depending on who the drummer was. When Shawn Drover played in the band, he'd play very much behind the beat like Chuck Behler. He had a really relaxed feel — very comfortable to play with, Shawn, actually. And when Nick [Menza] was in the band, he would always push everything — everything was always at the front edge of the beat, so you're hanging on for dear life. [It's, like,] 'C'mon — pull it back a little bit, dude.' So sometimes the drummer made all the difference."

Ellefson was born and raised in in the small Minnesota town of Jackson, located near the Iowa border, just under three hours southwest of St. Paul. After leaving Jackson in the early '80s to move to Los Angeles, he met former METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the pair co-founded multi-platinum, Grammy-winning hard rock act MEGADETH, going on to become one of the "Big Four" of thrash metal. Ellefson's smalltown Jackson roots have been immortalized in MEGADETH lore as the subject of classic songs including the smash hit "Foreclosure Of A Dream" and the underground classic "Mary Jane".

Ellefson, who has lived in Scottsdale, Arizona since 1994, was dismissed from MEGADETH last May, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

David, a Christian who launched the Mega Life Ministries worship group in 2007, studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis a decade ago.

Last October, Ellefson told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that there is a perception that people of faith must set a higher standard of how they live with and treat others. "It's almost like you're this entity that's floating up toward the heavens: 'Oh, he's such a wonderful man. He's a man of faith. He's got his family. And then this happens.' It's, like, 'What the hell is this?'" he said.

"I mean, look, admittedly I've sort of trained the public to think that I'm one of the more well-behaved rock stars out there, and for the most part I have been," he continued. "But at the same time, and this isn't to claim anything other than just, oops, shit happens. That is what it is."

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

HYPOCRISY has announced the addition of "session" drummer Henrik Axelsson to the group's ranks.

Earlier today (Tuesday, April 12), HYPOCRISY released the following statement via social media: "Please welcome Henrik Axelsson! This talented Swedish musician played in IMPLODE and SOILS OF FATE. Since 2014, he is the drummer for THE CROWN. Now Henrik is going to join HYPOCRISY as a session member. Looking forward to performing together".

Longtime HYPOCRISY drummer Reidar "Horgh" Horghagen left the band earlier in the month. At the time, the band said about the split: "It's not easy for us. We've played together for 18 crazy years filled with music, tours and friendship. So many countries, so many songs, and so many gigs with Horgh on stage with us. It's the end of a long interesting chapter, and the beginning of a new one. We are grateful to Horgh, this great musician and great man, for all we have achieved together."

Horgh said in a statement: "I want to take this opportunity to thank the fans for the great support over the years, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many of you as we toured around the world. Thanks to the band and crew for the time we spent together. I wish you all the best for the future."

A member of the Norwegian black metal band IMMORTAL since 1996, Horgh joined HYPOCRISY in January 2004 as the replacement for Lars Szöke.

HYPOCRISY will embark on the "Worship" tour this spring. The 28-date trek will kick off at Warsaw in Brooklyn, New York on April 29 and will make stops in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Austin before concluding in Baltimore at the Maryland Deathfest on May 29. Support on the trek will come from CARACH ANGREN, THE AGONIST and HIDEOUS DIVINITY.

HYPOCRISY's latest album, "Worship", was released last November via Nuclear Blast Records. The 11-track effort was recorded and mixed at frontman Peter Tägtgren's Abyss Studio AB in Sweden while mastering was completed by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers Audio Mastering. Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (KATAKLYSM, IN FLAMES, CARNIFEX), "Worship"'s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials.


Please welcome Henrik Axelsson! This talented Swedish musician played in Implode and Soils Of Fate. Since 2014, he is...

Posted by Hypocrisy on Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Guitarist Thomas Zwijsen has released the new video below, in which he performs an acoustic classical guitar cover of "Lost In A Lost World", featured on Iron Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu.





Zwijsen previously released the video below, featuring an acoustic rendition of "Arc Of Space", from Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's Accident Of Birth album, released in 1997.

The members of FOZZY were presented with a gold record plaque for their 2017 breakout hit "Judas" during their concert Monday night (April 11) at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. Fan-filmed video of the presentation is available below.

"Judas", which reached the Top 5 on the U.S. rock chart and boasts 55 million views on YouTube for the music video, was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for accumulating 500,000 certified units.

Last month, when the news of "Judas" going gold was first announced, FOZZY singer Chris Jericho stated: "Being awarded a gold record has been a dream of mine ever since I started listening to THE BEATLES at nine years old and saw a picture of them getting an award for 'Beatles VI'. Then as I grew older and heard Ozzy [Osbourne] talk about his 'gold discs' and seeing the walls of Rudolf Schenker's house plastered with framed SCORPIONS awards, I set my goals on someday getting one of my own. And for 'Judas' to have sold 500,000 units in this day and age completely blows my mind as a fan and a musician, and also makes me realize how far FOZZY has come and how far we are going to go!! Thanks to all of you for making this dream come true for me and the guys. I can't wait to hang my award on my wall… just like Rudolf."

According to the RIAA, one equivalent song unit is equal to a single digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams.

FOZZY's new album, "Boombox", is due on May 6. The LP, which includes the top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane", was once again produced by Johnny Andrews.

FOZZY's "Save The World" 2022 U.S. tour, featuring special guests GFM, KRASHKARMA and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, started on March 31 in Detroit, Michigan and will wrap on May 16 in Sauget, Illinois.

In the summer of 2020, Chris revealed that FOZZY's next LP would contain 12 songs, including a cover of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD's "Relax".

Ward and Andrews once again did "the lion's share" of the songwriting for the new LP, which was recorded primarily in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to producing "Judas", Andrews previously co-wrote FOZZY's "Lights Go Out" track back in 2014. He has also written songs with the likes of ALL THAT REMAINS, THREE DAYS GRACE and HALESTORM.

In November 2020, FOZZY appeared in its first global live streaming event from Madison Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

This past January, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Ward.

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals), Rich Ward (guitars, vocals), Grant Brooks (drums), Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).


























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Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has shared footage of the band performing the song "Sickness Unto You" live for the first time ever on March 11th in Tampa, Florida. Check out the footage below.


The song is taken from Trivium's 2020 album, What The Dead Men Say







Heafy recently shared more details about his long-awaited and much-anticipated Ibaraki project. The project's debut album, Rashomon, will be released on May 6 via Nuclear Blast.





The band has shared the video for "Akumu" (feat. Nergal). Watch below.


"'Akumu' translates to 'nightmare' - and with this piece, I encourage the listener to work to find their interpretations of what they feel from the lyrics, music, and the haunting visuals of the music video," says Kiichi. "I have always been fascinated by Sagazan's 'Transfiguration,' and for years, I have wanted to pay homage to his works with a performance art piece; to finally be able to immerse myself in his style was an intense experience."


He finishes, "Having Nergal guest in this Ihsahn co-written piece allowed me to combine many of my long-time influences; and when I presented with Nergal of the challenge of translating my lyrics into Polish, it brought the song to another level."


Last month, Ibaraki offered fans a taste and a tease of the music by sharing the video for "Tamashii No Houkai", featuring special guest Ihsahn of Emperor fame, who is a core contributor and partner in this project. Watch the video below.


Fans will be able to listen to "Akumu" and "Tamashii No Houkai" by pre-saving here. Pre-order the album Rashomon on CD, vinyl, cassette, and T-Shirt + CD bundle here.





Tracklisting:


"Hakanaki Hitsuzen"
"Kagutsuchi"
"Ibaraki-Dōji"
"Jigoku Dayū"
"Tamashii No Houkai"
"Akumu" (Feat. Nergal)
"Komorebi"
"Rōnin" (Feat. Gerard Way)
"Susanoo No Mikoto" (Feat. Ihsahn)
"Kaizoku"


"Akumu" video:





"Tamashii No Houkai" video:





Ibaraki - the name for a terrifying Japanese demon taken from feudal legend and the new project of Trivium's Matthew Kiichi Heafy - is more than a solo record. It's the end-result of a journey of an artist finding his voice. Its inspirations include everything from an adoration for the extremes of black metal to the exuberant storytelling of Gerard Way to the adventuresome worldliness of tragic bon viveur Anthony Bourdain. It's a reflection of Kiichi's multifaceted interests as well as a profound affirmation of his Japanese-American identity, and one that led him to confront one of his family’s most tragic moments. Like the artist behind it, there is much to the story of Ibaraki and it began with a timid email to one of black metal's most revered and influential figures.


Kiichi, a fan of black metal before he even started Trivium, reached out to label reps for Ihsahn of Emperor, and the artist personally responded. He recalls, "It was so cool to get that nod and it inspired me to start checking some of his solo stuff. He’d just released his own solo record and I'd never heard anything like it - saxophones, clean singing, jazz chords. It was incredible to me. He's this non-stop inventor. So I started writing in a totally different way."


The exposure to Ihsahn's solo work that would inspire the gradual craftsmanship that would eventually become Ibaraki. It was also the beginning of a friendship and creative collaboration that would eventually compel Ihsahn to take a leap of his own into a newfound role as producer on the project. While much of the material for Ibaraki was assembled over those months and years - as much a songwriting process as an exchange of ideas between friends - it wasn't until the pandemic that the space was created and the idea could really flourish.


"It was very loose," says Ihsahn. "We just had rough demos for a very long time because we're arguably pretty busy people, but suddenly, everything was cancelled and we had time on our hands for the first time, so it was like, 'OK, let's do this.' We never got to work in the same room; he'd track guitars and send them to me, I'd run them through my studio and send them back. It was a new way of working, but it was like he was there on the other side of the glass. Matt is a very, very positive, energetic, and passionate music fan - we have similar attitudes to music and open mindedness. We hit it off, and it's been really rewarding to me."


The creative interactions between the pair are the result of a deep trust borne of a commonality of their experience. "We both started our respective bands when we were 13," Ihsahn says. "We got signed when we were 16. That's young, and in essence we both found our path in life at an early age. We've talked a lot about that and our different experiences with that, because it's like we know nothing else."


While material was primarily written by Kiichi, Ihsahn engineered and produced and contributed some song structures, plus Trivium drummer Alex Bent, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and guitarist Corey Beaulieu contributed to various tracks. Ihsahn's wife Heidi even sampled some natural sounds from the forest near their home and his entire family. Additional guests include the aforementioned Way and Behemoth's Nergal.


Ihsahn also encouraged Kiichi to seek out new avenues for lyrical inspiration, namely his Japanese heritage. While an array of stories have been told via the tattoos on his body, such as the specific ancient Japanese story of gods, goddesses, and monsters from the Shinto religion taught to him by his mother, he began pouring the stories into lyrics.


While the rich mythology and folklore of Japan that would give Ibaraki its unique aesthetics and influences, it also provides the artist with the catalyst to contemplate his own identity and to consider how recent tragedies stateside have highlighted the need for better representation in metal.

Disorder Recordings presents Suffer Decay Alone, the debut album from Ohio rust belt-based industrial metal outfit, Above And Below.


Hot off the release of Plaguewielder's 2021-released Covenant Death album, primary member Bryce Seditz sets off to branch out in 2022 with his solo act Above And Below. Utilizing the local noises of mines, steel mills, and the gloom of his surrounding area to create an overwhelming feeling of rejection and despair on the debut album, Suffer Decay Alone sees Seditz applying his influences from the likes of Tim Skold and 3Teeth, and taking and taking Ministry’s Al Jourgensen’s approach of handling all songwriting and most of the production. With Seditz handling vocals, guitar, synth programming, and engineering, Disorder Recordings labelmate/owner Jeff Wilson (Chrome Waves, Deeper Graves) helps polish off the album with bass, additional manipulation, mixing, and mastering, and the cover artwork was handled by Chris Smith.


Regarding the debut, Seditz states, "Above And Below was an idea I've had since the first time I listened to The Downward Spiral. I've always wanted to make industrial music but didn't have the means. During the quarantine I bought an interface and laptop and taught myself how to make this kind of music. Influences stem from Nine Inch Nails, Not My God, and black metal. The lyrics are very much about intrusive thoughts and failed relationships. There is a feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness to this album."




Suffer Decay Alone will see release on CD and digital through Disorder Recordings on June 10th. Watch for audio previews, videos, preorders, and more to post over the weeks ahead.





Tracklisting:


“Ghosts”
“Rust”
“Hope”
“Isolate”
“Dead”
“Tear”
“Covered”


Teaser:

Rockshots Records has announced their signing of Tuscan, Italy's 17 Crash for their fourth studio album Stamina to be released winter 2022.


Driven by the passion of drummer Phil Hill and singer Ros Crash, 17 Crash began their crazy journey back in 2011.


At an earlier stage of their career, 17 Crash were a true and vibrant synonym of vintage ‘80s LA glam rock style: big hair, leather pants and loud guitars. Distinctive attire and growling sounds finally merged into the debut album Reading Your Dirty Minds (2015). Right after their first release, the band toured extensively throughout the Italian peninsula while making sure the name of the band was being heard.




Evolving and exploring new sounds, it didn’t take that long until they found what they were looking for with the release of the second studio album Hit The Prey (2018). Finding the right balance between the ‘80s sound and modern AOR, the new record marked a significant turning point both in terms of musicianship and career approach.


Another two years of touring passed until a further stage of evolution with their third album Through Hell And Back (2020) reconfirming previous collaboration with long-esteemed colleagues Alessio Lucatti in production and Simone Mularoni for mixing and mastering. The third chapter written by 17 Crash featured groovy heavy riffs, polished sounds and even sharper tunes, effectively establishing the band as a true landmark not only within national borders, but in the international hard and heavy landscape as well.


2022 will witness the release of the fourth album Stamina, a much more complex and profound piece of work written entirely during the endless lockdowns from the 2020 pandemic that the world experienced. It will be ‘80s rock crossed with a particular duality between human struggle and the will to fight and resist against all the odds. It might seem that 17 Crash have come a long way, but rest assured they are just warming up for what’s to come.


For this band's new adventure, 17 Crash has announced a new member to the family: bassist Alba Nasoni, alias The Mess Mistress.