THE THREE TREMORS, the project featuring acclaimed heavy metal singers Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin (JAG PANZER) and Sean "The Hell Destroyer" Peck (CAGE, DEATH DEALER, DENNER/SHERMANN), has released "Kryptonian Steel", the final video from its second album, "Guardians Of The Void". The song is an homage to the "Man Of Steel", Superman, and is the brainchild of Peck, well known for his comic book collecting. The track drops a lot of Superman lore and the animation on the video keeps the intense level of violence rocking with the speed metal nature of the music.

"I try to keep writing songs about comic book characters with all the bands I am in and now here we have my first DC character song," Peck said. "I am probably the number one comic book song guy on Earth, come to think of it. [Laughs] When I sent the lyrics to Ripper, I was laughing to myself because I thought he would absolutely hate singing these lyrics."

Ripper added: "We had been doing this intro live to the song where I talk about how I was dreading singing these lyrics, and it ended up being one of my favorites on the album. We have a great time playing this one live."

Harry stated: "This song kicks ass I am glad we did a video on it so people who have not supported us by buying the physical copy can hear what they are missing. So I say support heavy metal and pick up the record because you need to hear the other eight songs that are not being released to the free streaming platforms."

"Guardians Of The Void" arrived in November via Steel Cartel Records.

Coming off the successful release of their self-titled debut album, several North American and European tours, release of the solo versions of the first album, and some festival performances, THE THREE TREMORS shot out of a cannon at a frantic pace. They were pursuing an aggressive pace of live performances when the shutdown forced them to cut short their North American tour in the middle of their run in early 2020. They wasted no time, however, and got to work on another new album. Now their sophomore effort "Guardians Of The Void" is ready for blast-off.

Twelve songs are found on this wicked rocker of an album and once again they cover all the bases of heavy metal. As with all Steel Cartel releases, only the songs that receive video releases are on the streaming platforms, so the physical medium and the fans that support and collect them are the bands priority and focus.

And speaking of great physical product, THE THREE TREMORS has once again hired Marc Sasso to do the cover artwork once again. Sasso is best known for his work with such companies as Marvel, the WWE and HALFORD, DIO, CAGE and many others. He has hit it out of the park once again with this haunting, otherworldly painting that captures the mysterious essence of the album title perfectly.

Owens described how the recording process went down: "We had just started our second North American tour promoting the solo versions that we had just released when everything started to shut down. It was a shame, because we had some really good momentum and the shows were selling well, including a few that were sold out in advance. When we realized that we could be sitting home for a while, we all started putting these new songs together and recording them."

Harry said: "I had moved to Greece during this whole time and the guys started sending me song after song at a furious pace. The songs were kickass, and I found it easier and more natural to collaborate and add my ideas and nuances this second time around. We have toured and done so many shows together now, the comfort level was there and they came together really quick. The end result is amazing, I think."

Sean added: "Everyone in the band has a lot of other projects going on, so it was good we could all pull together and make this follow-up album. Now Sean [Elg], our drummer, is also in KK'S PRIEST with Ripper, so we are stoked that we could not only put out another record but also get a tour in before everyone gets busy. We have spent so much time together, we are like a heavy metal street gang and have a blast performing these songs and going on the road."

Pitch Black Records has announced the release of the official tribute to the late William J Tsamis (March 13, 1961 – May 13, 2021). Titled A Crack in the Sky – A Tribute to William J Tsamis, the album is scheduled for release on May 13, 2022, the first anniversary of his death.


A true hero of the heavy metal underground and beyond, the legacy of guitarist and composer William J Tsamis will forever be deeply intertwined with the name of Warlord. Formed in liaison with drummer extraordinaire and perpetual bandmate Mark Zonder, Warlord managed to rise to prominence amidst crushing competition right in the middle of the post-NWOBHM / US heavy metal explosion of the early 1980s. Among the main distinguishing factors that contributed to Warlord’s elevated position in the pantheon of US Metal is the characteristic and classically-trained guitar- and songwriting prowess of William J Tsamis. Like no other musician of the times, he had the ability to marry earth-shattering heaviness with melodic sensibility in the creation of larger-than-life compositions that, when draped in language and imagery related to the eternal battle between good and evil, reached unparalleled intensity and grandeur.


In addition to his work with Warlord, William J Tsamis also channeled his creativity into the lesser known, but equally potent and arguably more personal projects Lordian Winds and Lordian Guard. Of special notice are the two Lordian Guard albums he released with his late wife Vidonne Sayre Riemenschneider on vocals, which despite material shortcomings come across as some of the most unique and brutally honest heavy metal records of the 1990s.




Although Warlord never attained mass popularity on the magnitude of some other acts at the time, the continued impact of William J Tsamis’ works on heavy metal should not be underestimated. Like all great guitarist-composers, Tsamis developed his mode of expression that is as instantly recognizable as it is difficult to pin down with words. Adhering to the European school of classically-influenced electric guitar playing, he managed to combine the primeval force of heavy metal with a deep-trawling sense of majestic melancholy.


Such a unique approach always wins out in the end, and the upcoming tribute album is a testament to the influential role William Tsamis’ music has played, and continues to play, on heavy metal musicians of all backgrounds and ages across the globe.


Approved and endorsed by Warlord’s management, A Crack In The Sky features brand new recordings of timeless classics, all exceptionally covered by 16 outstanding bands, young and old, hailing from different parts of the world. Clocking in at just a few seconds over 79 minutes, this is as “full” an album as it could get.


Special mention must be made to the album’s liner notes which include a foreword by Mark Zonder along with brief statements by each participating band. Furthermore, a few industry individuals and artists have been invited to share their thoughts about Bill Tsamis in a special “In Memoriam” section within the album’s liner notes. The liner notes of any album are of course an integral part of it, but in this case, they are of particular importance as they are a powerful portrayal of what Bill Tsamis has meant to people; both as a musician and as a person. For this reason, Pitch Black Records will be making a special digital edition booklet (14 pages) freely available for anyone to download on the release date.


A Crack in the Sky – A Tribute to William J Tsamis will be released in the following formats:


• CD Digipak (deluxe 3-panel)
• CD Book (hardbound 20x20cm book, including download code and limited to 100 copies – exclusively available from Pitch Black Records and select partners)
• Double-LP (including download code, released in association with Vinylstore)
• Digital


The album’s cover and artwork have been created by the talented Giannis Nakos (Remedy Art Design) with photography kindly provided by Chris Del Grande. Mastering and additional mastering was handled by renowned producer Arthur Rizk.





Tracklisting:


Mirror – “Aliens”
Sumerlands – “Lost And Lonely Days”
Stray Gods – “War In Heaven”
Twisted Tower Dire – “Mrs. Victoria”
Claymorean – “70,000 Sorrows”
Eternal Champion – “Stygian Passage”
Arrayan Path (feat. Paolo Viani) – “The Rainbow”
Forsaken – “Lucifer's Hammer”
Firewölfe – “Battle Of The Living Dead”
Steel Shock – “Child Of The Damned”
Solitary Sabred – “Black Mass”
Wotan – “Winds Of Thor”
Reflection – “Winter Tears”
Galaxy – “Penny For A Poor Man”
Comet Rider – “Soliloquy”
Socrates Leptos – “A Crack In The Sky (Outro)”





For more information and preorders, head to pitchblackrecords.com.

In a new interview with the "Murray Adventures" podcast and "The MGM Morning Show With Matt Murray" on 103.7 WMGM Rocks in Atlantic City, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke about his "Legends" art series, which consists of lifelike-yet-impressionistic portraits of musicians who have influenced him, from Jimi Hendrix to Freddie Mercury to John Lennon to Charlie Watts and Eddie Van Halen. Regarding how he decides which artists to paint, Rick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "These are all musicians, singers, songwriters that have inspired me over the years. The last one that I did, I mean, to me, it was pretty obvious — Charlie Watts. If it wasn't for Charlie Watts, I wouldn't be on the phone with you now. I think it's the end of an era. He inspired so many to pick up a pair of sticks. And it was just my way of paying homage to him. And then another person that I really, really looked up to and I had the honor of meeting, it's Eddie Van Halen. So all of these people somehow touched my life and somehow inspired me to do what I do today."

When Murray pointed out that Watts always had a "smooth, calm and collected" approach to playing drums, Allen said: "That's true and that was the mood that I tried to bring into the painting that I did. He's just got this sort of content look about him, like he's got nothing to prove. But he was a smoking drummer. I think in many ways he was very underrated. But without Charlie Watts, THE ROLLING STONES wouldn't have sounded the way that they did. Just in the same way that if you took Keith Moon away from THE WHO, it wouldn't necessarily have been the same."

Allen became the drummer for DEF LEPPARD at age 15. As one of the world's best-selling music artists, DEF LEPPARD have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, two albums with RIAA diamond certification (10 million albums sold) and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019.

At the height of worldwide fame in 1984, he had a car accident that changed his life. Rick lost an arm, but turned personal tragedy into spiritual transformation and continued his musical career. While he was already a hero to millions of young people, he soon added millions of new admirers. Since then, Rick has been reaching out and giving support to others all over the globe by sharing his personal experiences and his love of drumming. Over the past 13 years, Rick has reached out to teenage cancer patients, children with special needs, at-risk youth in crisis, families of domestic violence and veterans who have served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Humanitarian Award by Maria Shriver's Best Buddies of CA in 2002 and in 2012, was also awarded the prestigious Wounded Warrior Project's Carry It Forward Award. Rick continues his work helping wounded warriors through Project Resiliency's Warrior Resiliency Program sponsored by his charity foundation the Raven Drum Foundation.

An integral part of Rick's creative life went public in 2012. After years of personal photographic work, Allen ventured into the fine art world with a blockbuster debut collection of abstract artwork built from rhythm. Allen has become a pioneer in the new medium, utilizing drumsticks and rhythm to dictate abstract visuals on canvas.

That debut collection, in 2012 featured 300 pieces, quickly sold-out in its initial offering to the public and boasted a sold-out exhibition. A second collection, released in 2013 and titled "Rock-On-Canvas", met with a similar exceptional reception and helped to forge a relationship with America's leading fine art retailer Wentworth Galleries.

Rick said: "Music, art and photography have been passions of mine since I was a boy. My life has been a journey of transformation and my art is a reflection of the many facets of dreams and perceptions that have shaped me. Each piece has a story and a connection to my life from my roots in England, my life changing car accident, journey to America, travels around the globe and to my deep connection to Wounded Warriors and their struggle to heal. The collection intends to express messages of hope, transcendence and the human condition."

Daryl Hall has confirmed that he was asked to join VAN HALEN following the departure of David Lee Roth more than three and a half decades ago.

The singer-songwriter — best known as one half of HALL & OATES — broached the topic of his hypothetical link-up with VAN HALEN in a new interview with "Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke", which airs on the New York radio station Q104.3. Asked if it's true that Eddie approached him about stepping into the role of the band's frontman after Roth's exit, Daryl laughed and said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, yeah. Actually, yes. I knew those guys [VAN HALEN] really well; we actually shared some people — crew and things like that. And Eddie came to a show with [his then-wife] Valerie [Bertinelli] — this goes back, you know — and David had just left the band. And Eddie said, 'Do you wanna join VAN HALEN, man?' He was half joking, but I think he was serious — I really do believe he was serious. And I took it seriously. I went, 'Meh, I think not. I think I've got my own shit going on.'"

Hall also confirmed that the iconic keyboard hook in VAN HALEN's "Jump" was inspired by HALL & OATES's song "Kiss Is On My List". "That is correct," Daryl said. "That's what [Eddie] always told me. He said that inspired 'Jump'."

You can hear the full conversation below.

Hall wasn't the only singer Eddie reportedly approached about joining VAN HALEN before he recruited Sammy Hagar to front the band. Former JOURNEY vocalist Steve Perry told Rolling Stone in a 2020 interview that he was "honored" when Eddie asked him to come to Los Angeles and jam but that he felt he wasn't "really suited" to representing VAN HALEN's "legacy up to that point". Patty Smyth of the group SCANDAL also said that she was asked to join VAN HALEN but that she ultimately declined because "they were heavy drinkers" and she didn't want to relocate to Los Angeles. "I was, like, 'I'm from New York. We don't move to L.A.,'" she recalled in a 2020 interview with Stereogum.

VAN HALEN eventually recruited Hagar, who sang on four studio albums between 1986 and 1995 before he quit the group in 1996. Hagar rejoined for a 2004 tour but left again after that, paving the way for the most recent reunion with Roth, which began in 2007 with a world tour.

Hall is an inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the best-selling duo of all time. He is also the star of his very own award-winning web series-turned-TV staple "Live From Daryl's House", as well as a successful venue owner with Daryl's House, a restored live music space in Pawling, New York.

Photo credit: Stuart Berg