DISTURBED has apparently completed recording its new album.

Earlier today, the band's singer, David Draiman, took to his Instagram to share a 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 are 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".

The 10 songtitles listed are as follows:

* Hey You

* Divisive

* Love To Hate

* Part Of Me

* Won't Back Down

* Unstoppable

* Take Back Your Life

* Feeding The Fire

* Bad Man

* Don't Tell Me

Also included on the whiteboard is 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".
























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A post shared by David Draiman (@davidmdraiman)

TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL kicked off the 2022 edition of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" this past Saturday night (April 9) at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California. The show marked TESTAMENT's first appearance with drummer Dave Lombardo since he rejoined the group earlier this year.

An original member of thrash metal legends SLAYER, Lombardo was the guest drummer on TESTAMENT's 1999 studio album "The Gathering", which also marked the first time the band worked with then-up-and-coming British producer/engineer Andy Sneap.

The members of TESTAMENT discussed Lombardo's return to the band during a March 1 appearance on SiriusXM's Liquid Metal with host Jose Mangin. Asked if he had to physically audition for the drummer spot in TESTAMENT this time around, Dave quipped: "I just sent them a link to my Wikipedia. 'I've done these records, including one of yours. Can I come back?' [Laughs]"

Lombardo said that he reached out to the TESTAMENT camp the same day that the band announced it was splitting with its longtime drummer Gene Hoglan.

"I was still asleep, and my wife, she just said, 'Hey, Gene just left TESTAMENT,'" Dave recalled. "And she's been always telling me, 'Man, I can't wait for you guys to get together for that 'Gathering' reunion.' 'Cause we had been talking about this two and a half, three years ago — before the pandemic. And so I immediately — I didn't even get my other eye open and I was texting [TESTAMENT singer] Chuck [Billy]. I said, 'Hey, man, what's going on?' I don't know exactly what I mentioned in my text, but it was very simple, 'Hey, what's happening?' And he immediately called me back. And I remember Tiffany [Chuck's wife] was on the phone; Chuck was on the phone. We were, like, 'Hey.' It was a great come-together moment, like, 'Hey, here we go. This is the moment we've been waiting for.'"

Dave went on to say that the timing was right for his return to TESTAMENT.

"'The Gathering' reunion didn't have to happen putting Gene out, separating Gene and saying, 'Gene, we're gonna go with Dave for a while now.' Nothing like that happened," he said. "This happened organically. And it happened at a time where my other bands, two of the bands that I have, MR. BUNGLE and DEAD CROSS, [Mike] Patton sings in them and he's trying to get healthy and is taking a little hiatus. And SUICIDAL TENDENCIES hasn't been touring much lately. So that leaves me with a lot of little odd projects here and there that I work on in my free time. So it just felt like the right moment.

"I know it can be deceiving because I am in so many different bands, but there's 24 hours in a day and I only sleep eight hours, or seven to eight hours, so that leaves me 16 other hours," he explained. "And I don't take Saturdays and Sundays off. So it was a no-brainer."

Chuck said that he was surprised to hear from Dave so quickly after TESTAMENT made the news of its split with Gene public.

"Right when it happened, it was within minutes after the announcement," Billy recalled. "And Dave doesn't remember, but [his text message to me was] simply 'Lombardo?' That was the text. I'm, like, 'You're shitting me. Tiffany, Lombardo just wrote me, 'Lombardo?'' I called him right away. I said, 'Hey, dude, what's happening?' He was, like, 'Dude, I heard the news.' I'm, like, 'Dude, I would have called you right away, but I just thought it was kind of far-fetched for you to kind of jam because I know you're probably pretty busy with all the other projects going on.' And he was, like, 'No. I've got a big opening and I'd love to get back.' And we talked about 'The Gathering', doing that again. And here we are — it could be a reality to get to play 'The Gathering' like we spoke of."

"The Gathering" was widely considered to be an improvement over 1997's "Demonic", an album that saw Billy employ a more guttural style of vocals and was released at a time when thrash acts as TESTAMENT had fallen out of favor.

Hoglan originally played drums on "Demonic", but didn't stick around long enough to do any touring with the band. He officially joined TESTAMENT in 2011 and played on the group's last three albums: 2012's "Dark Roots Of Earth", 2016's "Brotherhood Of The Snake" and 2020's "Titans Of Creation".

TESTAMENT, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL played the sole 2021 date of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" last November at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. The gig took place less than two months after the three bands shared the stage at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento.

SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil, NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic and SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM drummer Matt Cameron have joined forces in a new band called 3RD SECRET. The group, whose lineup is rounded out by Bubba Dupree, guitarist for D.C. hardcore outfit VOID and alt-metal supergroup HATER (also featuring Cameron), and vocalists Jennifer Johnson and Jillian Raye (Novoselic's bandmate in GIANTS IN THE TREES), surprised-released its self-titled debut album, recorded and mixed by famed Seattle producer Jack Endino, on Monday (April 11).

Novoselic hinted at 3RD SECRET's existence in February, writing in a since-deleted tweet: "I am really busy trying to finish a record. In the middle of some hangups — looking for a mid-March release. But it's a secret, so don't tell anybody!"

"3rd Secret" track listing:

01. Rhythm Of The Ride

02. I Choose Me

03. Last Day Of August

04. Winter Solstice

05. Lies Fade Away

06. Live Without You

07. Right Stuff

08. Dead Sea

09. Diamond In The Cold

10. Somewhere In Time

11. The Yellow Dress

3RD SECRET recently played a secret show at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture. A photo of the performance is available on the band's web site.

3RD SECRET marks Cameron and Thayil's first full-album collaboration following the 2017 death of SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell.

Thayil recently expressed his hope that he would re-team with his former bandmates on a new project. "I think the three of us have an interest in doing new things," he said of Cameron and SOUNDGARDEN bassist Ben Shepherd. "We certainly like working together."

Album cover art: Tim Gabor / Band photograph: Mike Hipple

Kurt Cobain's guitar played in NIRVANA's iconic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video will be publicly sold for the first time at auction and was announced this morning as an additional "Music Icons" headliner. The guitar and other Cobain items will also be on display at today's press preview at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills.

Julien's Auctions is proud to present the electric guitar that changed music and the world — one of the most important and iconic guitars owned and played by Kurt Cobain that will ever be sold at auction. The conservative starting estimate of Cobain's 1969 Fender Mustang left-handed guitar in Competition Lake Placid blue finish with matching headstock is $600,000 to $800,000.

In honor of the upcoming Mental Health Awareness Month in May, a portion of the proceeds from the auction of this legendary guitar and select Cobain items will benefit "Kicking The Stigma", the Indianapolis Colts and the Jim Irsay family's national initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders and to remove the stigma too often associated with these illnesses.

"Music Icons: Julien's Auctions" will present over 1,200 pieces of music artifacts and memorabilia used by some of the world's greatest artists and legends of all time and will preview highlights at their famed gallery in Beverly Hills before heading to Julien's three-day auction taking place Friday, May 20, Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22, 2022 live at the Hard Rock Café: New York and online at juliensauctions.com. The marquee lineup of legends includes THE BEATLES, Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain, QUEEN, Elvis Presley, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Little Richard, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Erica Clapton, Cher, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and more.

Free-to-the-public exhibition dates:

Julien's Auctions 257 N. Canon Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210

April 11-15, 2022 (11 a.m.-5 p.m. PT)

Julien's Auctions is the world-record breaking auction house to the stars. Collaborating with the famous and the exclusive, Julien's Auctions produces high-profile auctions in the film, music, sports and art markets. Julien's Auctions has received international recognition for its unique and innovative auction events, which attract thousands of collectors, investors, fans and enthusiasts from around the world.

In 2020, Julien's Auctions received its third Guinness Book of World Record placement for the sale of Kurt Cobain's "MTV Unplugged" 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar, which sold for $6 million, making it the world's most expensive guitar ever sold at auction.

Based in Los Angeles, Julien's Auctions has a global presence bringing their auctions and exhibitions to targeted destinations worldwide including London, New York, Las Vegas, Japan and China. Live auctions are presented for bidders on-site and online via live streaming video and mobile technology.

Touch was the first band to play at the inaugural Monsters Of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in 1980, along with Rainbow, Scorpions, Judas Priest and Saxon. A live version of their hit, "Don't You Know What Love Is", appeared on the compilation LP Monsters Of Rock, documenting the performances at the festival.


Touch's first album was released on Atco Records and their first singles, "Don't You Know What Love Is" and "When The Spirit Moves You", charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Their follow-up album was recorded in 1982 and produced by Todd Rundgren, The record never came out and Touch disbanded thereafter.


The original band recently reformed after almost 40 years to create the new album, Tomorrow Never Comes, out now. Today, the band releases a music video for the song, "Run For Your Life". Check it out below, and get the new album here.







Tomorrow Never Comes tracklisting:


"Tomorrow Never Comes"
"Let It Come"
"Swan Song"
"Try To Let Go"
"Fire and Ice"
"Trippin' Over Shadows"
"Frozen Ground"
"Lil Bit of Rock N Roll"
"Glass"
"Scream at the Sky"
"Wanna Hear You Say"
"Run For Your Life"


"Run For Your Life" video:





"Try To Let Go" video:





"Trippin' Over Shadows" video:





“Let It Come” lyric video:





"Tomorrow Never Comes" video:

During a brand new chat with "Interviewing The Legends With Ray Shasho", HEART singer Ann Wilson reflected on the band's 2013 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame which saw her and her sister Nancy reunited with the four musicians who helped HEART achieve its initial success in the mid-1970s — guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, drummer Michael DeRosier and longtime guitarist-keyboardist Howard Leese.

"It was a really interesting experience getting together with the original lineup of the HEART guys back on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction time — just because we've been through so many different incarnations in this band, and each one of them has been great in its own right," Ann said. "And as time has gone on, the sound of the band has changed as it goes through the different eras. And so on the day when we got together with the original lineup guys to get ready for the two songs at the Rock Hall, we rehearsed off site, and we went through 'Crazy On You' and 'Barracuda' and stuff like that, and it sounded so different from what I'm used to now. Because back then we didn't have a swing factor; it was more like up and down, left and right. It wasn't necessarily butt-shaking music like it is now."

HEART performed three songs at its Rock Hall induction. The first was a rendition of "Crazy On You", featuring the Wilson sisters along with DeRossier, Fisher, Fossen and Howard Leese; the Wilsons then played an acoustic version of "Dreamboat Annie", followed by "Barracuda", with the sisters and the then-lineup of HEART joined by PEARL JAM's Mike McCready, SOUNDGARDEN's Chris Cornell and ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell. HEART was inducted by Cornell.

The Wilson sisters' reunion with HEART's original lineup at the Rock Hall ceremony marked the first time the group played together in 34 years.

When Ann and Nancy formed HEART, the idea of two women leading a rock band was still groundbreaking. From the moment 1976's "Dreamboat Annie" was released, they became stars. With hits like "Magic Man", "Crazy On You", "Barracuda", "Alone", "What About Love" and "These Dreams", the band became one of the biggest hit-makers in the Seventies and Eighties, selling more than 35 million records. In 2012, their memoir "Kicking & Dreaming: A Story Of Heart, Soul And Rock & Roll" became a New York Times bestseller.

Fisher joined Ann Wilson on stage last October during her solo concert at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Washington to perform the HEART classic "Mistral Wind".

Roger's performance with HEART at the Rock Hall induction marked his first appearance with the band since he left after his personal relationship with Nancy Wilson ended in 1979.

Ann's new solo album, "Fierce Bliss", will arrive on April 29 via Silver Lining Music.

Below is fan-filmed video of Sepultura's entire April 6th show at the House Of Blues in San Diego, CA. It was the band's first show with Angra drummer Bruno Valverde behind the kit, who was sitting in for Eloy Casagrande, who was forced to drop off the band's North American tour after breaking his leg a few days earlier in El Paso, TX.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"Refuse/Resist"
"Territory"
"Means to an End"
"Attitude" (tour debut)
"Cut-Throat" (tour debut)
"Kairos"
"Sepulnation"
"Slave New World" (tour debut)
"Agony of Defeat"
"Orgasmatron" (Motörhead cover - tour debut)
"Arise"
"Ratamahatta"




Encore:
"Roots Bloody Roots"

SiriusXM radio personality Eddie Trunk has blasted the rock band SANTA CRUZ for allegedly using pre-recorded tracks during a recent concert, saying it's "unreal" how fans and promoters are seemingly okay with the practice.

This past Wednesday (April 6), SANTA CRUZ — whose current lineup consists of longtime frontman Archie Cruz along with new recruits Jerry Jade (guitar), Tommy Bradley (bass) and Randy McDemian (drums) — played a show at the legendary Whisky A Go Go venue in West Hollywood, California. The following day, a fan-filmed video of SANTA CRUZ performing the song "Under The Gun" was posted on the "concertsrock" YouTube channel, showing Cruz at one point walking away from the microphone while the singing continued to be heard through the P.A. until Cruz, Jade and Bradley returned to their microphones for what was the song's chorus section.

On Friday, Trunk took to his Facebook to share the concertsrock video of the "Under The Gun" performance, and he included the following message: ""This is beyond words … everyone I guess just okay with this?! As I've said and have been saying this has become an epidemic that needs to stop . So bad it's to the point this band doesn't event attempt to fake their lip synching.. stunning. Imagine paying to see a band you love 'live' and it's anything but. What's the point? Imagine you are a band that puts the work in to be live, and others don't, play to a computer , and fans talk about how great they sound.. pathetic. It's the norm in pop, it's gotta stop in rock. Bands, fans and promoters have to care that a live rock show is live or it will only get worse. Madness."

Eddie later shared an image on Twitter of a mock t-shirt promoting a fictitious 2022 tour by him under the banner "Eddie And The Traxx" with the slogan "Sounds Like The Album – Because It Is". He wrote in an accompanying caption: "Very close to starting my own band. And I can't sing or play. But if everyone is okay spending hard earned money to see a band play 'live' & instead hear a computer then why not? Guess it doesn't matter? Plenty of bands I can open for sadly doing the same thing".

Archie responded to the criticism in an Instagram Story on Saturday, suggesting the whole thing was planned and intentional. "Pro-tip: fuck up a track live on purpose & get a shit-ton of free publicity," he wrote. "Y'all fucking bought that shit".

While most of Trunk's followers were in complete agreement with him on this topic, several took the opportunity to criticize him for failing to call out FOZZY frontman Chris Jericho — whom Eddie has repeatedly referred to as a "close friend" in the past — for recently admitting that his band uses "backing tracks for some songs" and insisting that "everybody" else does as well. Jericho was a guest on the April 4 episode of Trunk's SiriusXM show "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" but was not questioned about the backing-tracks comments that he had made just days earlier.

In recent years, more and more artists have been given a pass for relying on pre-recorded tracks, drum triggers and other assorted technology that makes concerts more synthetic but also more consistent. For better or worse, pre-recorded tracks are becoming increasingly common for touring artists of all levels and genres and they're not just used in pop music — many rock artists utilize playback tracks to varying degrees.

Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Jericho stated about rock bands using pre-recorded backing tracks during live performances: "We use backing tracks for some songs, and everybody does. Unless you're GUNS N' ROSES… Let me rephrase that… If you're in Slash's band… GUNS N' ROSES has backing tracks. They have a keyboard player. It's just the way of the world right now. It doesn't mean we're not singing and not playing. If you're listening to a record, you go to a DEF LEPPARD gig and you hear 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' that was recorded with 25 tracks of guitars, you can't just go with two guitars on stage and in your right mind think there wasn't something building up the background there. It's just kind of the way that bands are. It doesn't make you any less of a band. 'Cause you know what? QUEEN used tracks in the '70s. If you don't believe me, watch it when they play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' live."

Back in July 2020, Jericho was accused by Sebastian Bach of using pre-recorded lead vocal tracks during live performances. The former SKID ROW frontman, who has also been outspoken about rock bands using pre-recorded backing tracks during live shows, initially claimed Jericho was "miming to a tape" at FOZZY concerts in a social media post. In response, the wrestler-turned-rocker insisted that he had "never mimed anything ever" and challenged Bach to a "singoff" with "no effects, no tuning, no bullshit", saying "Bas is a great singer...but I'm better".

In March 2020, SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers said that "90 percent" of rock artists use at least some pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. He told Rock Feed: "It bothers me that it bothers people. I'm, like, 'Why does this bother you?' It's the way it is. People have been doing this since the '80s. And we want the sound to be the best it can be. Could we go up there, just the four of us, and put on the best rock show ever? Of course. But that's not how we wanna do it."

Bach had previously said that he is "one of the last people" who are still not using pre-recorded tracks at their live shows. "I don't know how much longer I can say to you that I don't use tapes onstage, because I don't, and I never have," he told Consequence Of Sound. "And I still don't. When I have opening bands, and they're using tapes, and then I come out and I don't use tapes… sometimes, it makes me feel stupid, because I'm like, 'What am I doing, when all these kids half my age can come onstage and do all of my moves, but they don't have to warm up for an hour before the show, or weeks, before the first show?' Sometimes, I'm like, 'Why do I even bother, if the public is so used to this other way?' It's becoming very rare to come see a good band that's actually a real band — that's not miming or doing silly moves while a tape is running. It just becomes more rare as the years go on."

In 2019, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said that he doesn't "agree" with certain rock artists relying on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances. "I tell you what, I see it with a lot of younger bands, and I don't think it's a good thing at all," he told the New York Post. "I mean, the music is getting too technical now. You have computerized recording systems, which we use, but I think we use them more for convenience than because we need to. We've toured with a couple bands that use tapes — it's not real. You're supposed to play live; it should be live. I don't agree with using tapes … I think it's a real shame."

One musician who has been open about his band's used of taped vocals during live concerts is MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who said: "We've used technology since '87." He added the group employed "sequencers, sub tones, background vox tracks, plus background singers and us. [MÖTLEY CRÜE also taped] stuff we can't tour with, like cello parts in ballads, etc.... We love it and don't hide it. It's a great tool to fill out the sound."

In a 2014 interview, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars admitted that he wasn't comfortable with the fact that his band used pre-recorded backing vocals in its live shows, claiming that he preferred to watch groups whose performances are delivered entirely live. "I don't like it," he said. "I think a band like ours… I have to say '60s bands were my favorite — '60s and '70s bands — because they were real, like, three-piece bands or four-piece bands, and they just got up there and kicked it up. Made a mistake? So what? Sounded a little bit empty here or there? So what? It's the bigness and the rawness and the people that developed and wrote the songs and made them and presented them. To me, that's what I really like. I mean, I could put on a MÖTLEY CD and play with it all day long. I don't wanna do that."

KISS lead singer Paul Stanley, who has been struggling to hit the high notes in many of the band's classic songs for a number of years, has been accused of singing to a backing tape on KISS's ongoing "End Of The Road" tour.

Back in 2015, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons slammed bands who used backing tapes for not being honest enough to include that fact on their concert tickets.

"I have a problem when you charge $100 to see a live show and the artist uses backing tracks," Simmons said. "It's like the ingredients in food. If the first ingredient on the label is sugar, that's at least honest. It should be on every ticket — you're paying $100, 30 to 50 percent of the show is [on] backing tracks and they'll sing sometimes, sometimes they'll lip sync. At least be honest. It's not about backing tracks, it's about dishonesty.

"There's nobody with a synthesizer on our stage, there's no samples on the drums, there's nothing," Gene continued. "There's very few bands who do that now — AC/DC, METALLICA, us. I can't even say that about U2 or THE [ROLLING] STONES. There's very few bands who don't use [backing] tracks."

"Under The Gun" is the first single from SANTA CRUZ's new album, "The Return Of The Kings", which will be released this fall via M-Theory Audio. Cruz recorded the follow-up to 2019's "Katharsis" as a one-man studio project throughout 2021 in his native Finland.




This is beyond words … everyone I guess just okay with this?! As I’ve said and have been saying this has become an...

Posted by Eddie Trunk on Friday, April 8, 2022





I have long railed against the epidemic of bands using tracks live. And how fans & promoters just accept “live” acts & paying to see a band “live” and it’s anything but. This is how bad it’s become. Everyone okay with this?! Unreal! https://t.co/EHp6zW57i4 v

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 8, 2022








Because you are a REAL artist! Thx to all who deliver truly live & put the work in to do so. Appreciated it now more than ever w/what’s going on out there & how many turn a blind eye to it! And “everyone is doing it”is NOT an excuse.Because everyone isn’t! https://t.co/apcWVpqXnb

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 9, 2022








Another real artist here. In a real band. That puts the work in to actually sing and play live.. what a concept .. this shit has to stop ! Madness ! No fucks given to even try and fake it .. https://t.co/A9e8WQLAtB

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 9, 2022








Very close to starting my own band.And I can’t sing or play.But if everyone is okay spending hard earned money to see a band play “live” & instead hear a computer then why not? Guess it doesn’t matter? Plenty of bands I can open for sadly doing the same thing pic.twitter.com/wAj1GLLJpa

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 9, 2022










Wow!!! ???

— Mike Portnoy ? (@MikePortnoy) April 8, 2022








This is funny. 1st of all Jericho has denied lip synching repeatedly. Do you have video of him w/no mic & vocal? Did I shoot & post the video? No. How about band/bands that do this? You OK with it? I don’t care who the band is it’s ridiculous & has to stop! https://t.co/caw111wwB3

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) April 10, 2022








It is crazy, I get it if you need some back ground choirs or orchestra stuff or effects but I just don’t get how people wouldn’t sing and play the main stuff live ( with the exception of a few LOL )

— Tim 'Ripper' Owens (@TimRipperOwens) April 10, 2022








I think the controversy is you not calling out the bands you’re friends with, but take a major jab at those you have no desire to like. I agree live shows should be live, but if you’re going to point fingers point at all involved

— Mike Sanderson (@MikeSan54848388) April 10, 2022








Spot on!!! He changes the subject back to his disdain for back tracks live. That’s fine but he completely side steps the fact that apparently Jericho admitted to it and he jumps on everyone else that does it but doesn’t say anything about his pal doing it.

— Lucas McCain (@RealLucasMcCain) April 10, 2022








You know if it was a band that you supported,you know for a fact you wouldn’t be saying shit about this.

You would be making a pathetic excuse in their defense as to why they had to use them.

Plus you are the last person to judge they performed live wrote their own music more

— Greg (@starchild2019) April 8, 2022








This is a great point. ? I tuned in mostly to hear that topic addressed. I wanted Jericho to tell us it isn’t true because I’m really digging the things Fozzy is doing right now, creatively. Now I just imagine that he told Eddie not to bring it up. ?

— Ron Gabaldon (@rockinrebel107) April 9, 2022








What about Jericho’s admission that he uses them in Fozzy?

— Keith Rochford (@KeithRochford) April 9, 2022








Wow, I remember playing pretend to kiss records with my brothers when we were in grade school. This is similar yet we were better. ?

— Shawn Duncan ?? (@sduncandrums) April 9, 2022








I think it was these guys…. pic.twitter.com/8H2ajqrq5h

— Roy G (@Razracing) April 9, 2022








I’m old enough to remember when people called for the heads of Milli Vanilli for doing this ( only worse because they didn’t even sing the recorded tracks). Now it’s SOP. Suddenly I don’t feel so bad about occasionally blanking on a lyric during a gig.

— Doug Smith???? (@DougofGabriola) April 9, 2022








I think time and place can exist too. Take the Who and Baba. Piped in, but the rest was all live even if it meant it wasn’t as full as the recorded track. But vocals? Other guitars? Drums? Nah…then I’ll just stay home and listen to the record.

— John Courtney (@jcourtneyii) April 9, 2022








A great band is better live than in the studio- the energy and the presence. Musicians talk about recreating the record, and I say what's the point? We have the record, what happens that night makes it special.

It's easier to use tracks, and audience gets lost w/o them. Its both

— Frank Pentangeli (@Gunslinger018) April 8, 2022








I’m ok with intro tracks used on the album - symphony, choir, effects such as storms, stuff like that. But the actual playing better be live. I don’t fork out big ticket money to see Milli Vanilli. What would “A Nightmare to Remember” by Dream Theater be without the car crash?

— Bill Poindexter (@CoachBill44) April 9, 2022








Fucking ridiculous. At the @TheWhiskyAGoGo no less. It would be an honor and privilege for @DemonScarNYC to play that stage. I assure we don’t have tracks. We just kick ass and play rock n roll live the way it should be. ???

— Nza (@nzasixx) April 9, 2022








What did I just watch Eddie? I would have demanded a refund jeez

— ItsMeGina?️‍???? (@sottilegina2) April 9, 2022








I’m with you 100% Eddie. If you want to hear the album, listen to it at home. Live should be live…period. @RALegault65

— BEER RUM & ROCK N ROLL ??☠️?? (@BEERRUMROCKROLL) April 9, 2022








Refund the tickets, seriously Eddie, if 71 yo Biff Byford can smash out a 2 hour set LIVE for @SaxonOfficial like it was 1980, everyone else should do the same…

— Lenboy (@Lenboy) April 9, 2022








When this happened with Ashlee Simpson it ended her career and now it's becoming the norm

— Zoë (@zoeeee27) April 9, 2022








Absolutely agree! I will not pay top dollar to see bands live that do this. I’ll stick to small clubs and seeing local bands that actually play. I’m done with all this shit! They get paid good money for these shows they should give people 100%!!

— Clint Westwood (@SGfunkit) April 9, 2022

Canadian thrashers Hyperia, formerly of Calgary, AB, now residing in Vancouver, BC released their new album Silhouettes Of Horror independently in March 2022. The full-length follows their 2020’s Insanitorium unleashed via Sliptrick Records and their 2019 EP Fish Creek Frenzy.


Check out the guitar playthrough video for the track "Experiment 77" below.







Silhouettes of Horror sees guitarist Colin Ryley behind the soundboard producing and mixing the record with mastering done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland (Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Battle Beast). Album artwork was created by Andrei Bouzikov (Vektor, Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Toxic Holocaust).


“We think that we have polished our sound and pushed ourselves to create what we believe is a newly refined vision. This record has pushed the whole band to their limits, and the songwriting, performance, and production value is a huge step up. We feel the fans will enjoy this new album even more than our first full-length,” adds Collin Ryley.


Energetic, melodic, fast, psychotic, and dynamic are the elements that make Silhouettes Of Horror that old and new fans of thrash, NWOBHM, and power metal will appreciate. The band even included a cover hommage of Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme”. For the recording of Silhouettes Of Horror, Hyperia also recruited good friend and session drummer Gord Alexander (Tessitura, Tides of Kharon, Immunize).


Most of the lyrical themes on the album revolve around inhumane government experiments, sleep disorders, and night terrors.





Tracklisting:


"Hypnagogia" 
"Intoxication Therapy" 
"Experiment 77" 
"Severed" 
"Prisoner Of The Mind" 
"Terror Serum" 
"Whitecoat" 
"Silhouettes Of Horror" 
"Operation Midnight" 
"Pleonexia" 
"Gimme Gimme Gimme" (Abba cover)


"Prisoner Of The Mind":





"Experiment 77":

San Francisco Bay Area metal titans MACHINE HEAD will release their tenth studio album, "Of Kingdom And Crown", on August 26 via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings. The follow-up to 2018's "Catharsis" includes the three songs that were featured on last year's "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single: "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky". Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with producer Zack Ohren.

The official music video for the song "Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate" can be viewed below.

"Of Kingdom And Crown" is a 13-track concept album set in a decimated futuristic wasteland where the sky is stained crimson red. The crux of the story is based on two main characters: the first and main character is Ares (pronounced Aries), who loses the love of his life (Amethyst) and goes on a murderous rampage against the vile sect responsible for her murder; the second character is the perpetrator Eros (pronounced Arrows), who loses his mother to a drug overdose and becomes radicalized in the aftermath. Eros goes off the deep end manifesting his own killing spree. The lyrics detail how their lives intertwine.

MACHINE HEAD founder Robb Flynn comments: "Thanks to my two teenage boys, my family has become obsessed with this awesome Japanese anime series called 'Attack On Titan'. The album's concept was loosely inspired by the series in the sense that in the storyline there is no 'good' or 'bad' guy; both characters believe they're doing the right thing as it applies to their being, but make no mistake, both are committing acts of pure atrocity and evil. The opening track 'Slaughter The Martyr' is basically our character No. 1's origin story.”

The colossal concept comes with a list of equally colossal packaging for various physical formats including 16 different worldwide vinyl formats, deluxe vinyl box set (with bonus tracks), CDs (both old-school longbox and jewel box options), multi-color cassettes, and a limited-edition digipak with bonus tracks. CDs, digipak, cassettes, and all digital formats will be available on August 26, with all vinyl formats arriving on November 25.

"Of Kingdom And Crown" track listing:

01. Slaughter The Martyr

02. Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate

03. Become The Firestorm

04. Overdose

05. My Hands Are Empty

06. Unhallowed

07. Assimilate

08. Kill Thy Enemies

09. No Gods, No Masters

10. Bloodshot

11. Rotten

12. Terminus

13. Arrows In Words From The Sky

Digipak CD bonus tracks:

14. Exteroception *

15. Arrows In Words From The Sky (acoustic)*

Flynn recently told Metal Hammer magazine about the musical direction of the new MACHINE HEAD material: "It's similar to [2003's 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' and 2007's 'The Blackening'] in that we're moving forward into something fresh and new but it's got that classic MACHINE HEAD vibe. We have a lot to deliver and expectations are very high, so I'm lucky to have great people surrounding me. Jared [MacEachern, bassist] really stepped up and wrote some great riffs and great vocals. Vogg [guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka] contributed a few ideas and brought some really great songs."

He continued: "It's fucking heavy, probably the heaviest we've been in a few albums. I've been playing so much guitar recently; I do Electric Happy Hours every Friday and sometimes you play a song you haven't played in 10, 20 years, or go through a whole album from top to bottom. When we toured 'Burn My Eyes', it took me back to where I was writing that music. I don't think I can ever be in that place again lyrically, but riff-wise, I think that all spilled into this album."

This past February, MacEachern told Primordial Radio about his contributions to MACHINE HEAD's new album: "I think that I was very aware from day one that Robb is the leader, he's the creative leader, the musical leader… We all have our inputs but I think it's always understood that ultimately the decision is up to him for how things go. But, yeah, I definitely made contributions and I feel great about those contributions and I'm asked about my opinion on certain things. But, like I said, I'm following his lead."

As for the sound of the new MACHINE HEAD LP, Jared said: "It's a pretty — to use Robb's word… I believe he used the word 'colossal' the other day. It's a pretty big-, epic-sounding album. We've been toying around with the order, but I've been listening, sitting down, taking the time to listen to it all the way through, and the way it goes, it's a ride — a really great, heavy, beautiful, melodic, raging, thrashing ride."

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

MACHINE HEAD will team up with Sweden's Viking metal overlords AMON AMARTH for a co-headline "Vikings And Lionhearts" European arena tour in September and October. Support on the trek will come from THE HALO EFFECT, the new band featuring five former members of IN FLAMES: Peter Iwers, Daniel Svensson, Jesper Strömblad, Niclas Engelin and Mikael Stanne.

"Catharsis" was the final album to feature guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain, who both left MACHINE HEAD in October 2018.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine says that he "peed on the floor" of the White House bathroom three decades ago.

The 60-year-old guitarist/vocalist, who went to the White House in 1992 with the "Rock The Vote" campaign for the Democratic National Convention coverage, made the outrageous claim while introducing the song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" during MEGADETH's concert last night (Sunday, April 10) at the Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona.

Mustaine said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I want you guys to know that I've lived through a lot of different eras in the United States and seen different things, and one thing that makes me the most proud of everything here in our country is you guys, the way that you are handling yourselves and the way that… as the metal community. There's a lot of people that go out there and they say things and they totally embarrass themselves. And I want you guys to know how proud I am to represent you."

He continued: "When I went up to the White House, I was so proud to be able to go up there and say, 'Fuck you. You think we're stupid? We are not stupid.'

"By the way, when I went into the White House, I went into the royal — whatever the fuck it's called — White House bathroom, and I peed on the floor. I had to. I had to."

Three years ago, Dave, who has attracted a fair amount of media attention over the years for his political thoughts, said that he and other public figures have fallen victim to so-called negative partisanship, in which people identify as being against the opposing political party, and vocalize their beliefs through anger or loathing.

"I've got this reputation that I'm a right-winger," Mustaine told Ron Keel of the "Streets Of Rock 'N' Roll" radio show. "Well, check my voting record to see that I've voted Democrat and Republican. And it's just a shame that people are trying to destroy people's careers because of a vote."

Mustaine has consistently denied that he is a Republican, telling Artisan News in a 2012 interview: "I'm an independent, not a Republican — I've never been a Republican. I've always said that. I don't belong to any party — I'm non-partisan. And for me, the sad thing is, instead of voting for the best man, I have to vote for the lesser of two evils."

Back in 2016, Mustaine refused to say if was going to vote for Donald Trump in that year's U.S. presidential election but called the billionaire real estate mogul "a very successful businessman." He also said that he wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton.

Four years earlier, Mustaine made headlines when he voiced his support for ultraconservative Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He explained at the time that the Pennsylvania politician looked "like he could be a really cool president… kind of like a JFK kind of guy." That same year, he drew ire on social media when he suggested onstage at a concert in Singapore that President Obama was behind the mass shootings in Aurora and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Mustaine later blamed media outlets for taking his statements out of context, explaining that he never said he officially "endorsed" Santorum. As for the Singapore concert, he claimed to have been repeating the theories of Larry Pratt, a pro-gun activist who runs the organization Gun Owners Of America.

Also in 2012, Mustaine revealed his "birther" opinions on a talk show, saying he doubted President Obama was born in the United States. He told radio host Alex Jones: "With all of the proof about his birth certificate being fake… And you see the signs in Kenya that say 'the birthplace of Barack Obama.' Hello?! C'mon, guys. How stupid are we right now?"

In October 2011, as Occupy Wall Street protests were raging across the country, Mustaine railed against what he saw as the president's inappropriate support for the populist movement, calling Obama the most divisive president we've ever had. "I've never, in my 50 years of being alive, listened to an American president try and turn one class of people against another class of people," he said. "I've never — never — heard a president say, 'Go down and join the protesters down at Wall Street,' knowing that there are Nazis down there, knowing that there are people down there who are trust-fund babies, that are super, super wealthy and they're going down there and pretending that they really care; they just wanna be part of the 'movement.'"

Mark Dean recently spoke with TNT guitarist, Ronni Le Tekrø, for Antihero. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow...


Mark Dean: I think as well, what's been going on over the last two years, artists always sought inspiration from the world around them. Has what's been going on in the world with the pandemic, has that impacted on your creativity? Is it difficult? Has it made your writing, your style, your creation darker and more negative?


Ronni Le Tekrø: "Yeah. I think it's darker, definitely, the lyrics. And more than just a topic in one way. But on the other hand, it's more melodic too. I don't know. And also, I think I play more guitar solos on this album than in a while. So I think it was an outlet for creativity."




Mark Dean: Does (TNT) still have a future in terms of recording new music, doing gigs? Obviously you've had in the band, your fair share of personal tragedy over the years.


Ronni Le Tekrø: "Yeah, definitely. We've had some tragedy, some serious illness for different members. But I think maybe in the future that we could make the very last album. We're obviously going to continue touring in whatever lineup, with whatever lineup. But if there's going to be new music, I'm not sure. I've started writing some stuff."


Read more at Antihero.


Le Tekrø released his new solo album, Bigfoot TV, back in March via TBC Records via Cargo Records. Bigfoot TV is Le Tekrø’s first solo album in six years, and old and new fans are in for a treat. Together with his tight band, Bigfoot TV sounds inspired and vibrant, Ronni's brilliant guitar is a red thread through the album and you’ll find references to everything from TNT to Thin Lizzy, The Beatles, David Bowie and his own progressive rock albums.





Tracklisting:


"Life On Long Island"
"Demons"
"Moving Like A Cat"
"The Black Rose"
"A Handful Of Time"
"A New Day In The Morning"
"U.F.O."
"Not Today"
"Eyes Of The Woods"
"Come On Go On" (Bandcamp Exclusive)


"Moving Like A Cat"





(Photo - Carl Eek)