Idol of Fear, hailing from Toronto, Canada formed out of a necessity to make something of the darkness that swirls around us all. Completely dedicated to the highest quality music, they have worked tirelessly on Trespasser for years, even before their second album Grave Aperture was released in 2018.


What started out as close to 40 demos was whittled down to nine tracks, running for just over 45 minutes. The second track is their new single “Angel Dust”, a steamroller of a song with evil groovy, alien-sounding guitar riffs and pummeling drums. The lyrics are quite personal, centered on loss. The band comments on how this new album compares to the last:


“It can be tough to discern from the inside looking out but we definitely feel this album comes from a heavier, doomier place. We try to give each album its own personality so it may not be a linear “evolution” exactly. ‘Angel Dust’ is us stealing our favorite parts from third-wave avant-garde black metal and setting it to a more pop structure. Mournful, scornful.”




Idol of Fear have made music together for a very long time, and the result is an album that exudes musicianship, passion, and dedication. They are always on the move as far as songwriting goes, so work has begun already on the next release.


Aggressive and brooding, black metal fans should brace themselves for the heavy darkness from the North. They are recommended for those who listen to Deathspell Omega, Mgla, and Emptiness.


BraveWords is premiering the audio stream of “Angel Dust”; listen below!





Trespasser will be released on March 11, 2022 via the band's own label Somnolence Productions. Preorder on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“The Flayed Horizon”
“Angel Dust”
“Cheirotonia”
“Phantom”
“Trespasser”
“In The Cold Light Of Dawn”
“Alone With You”
“What You Came To Find”
“Endless”


“Cheirotonia”:





(Photo by A.J.)

Notorious Swedish black metal collective WATAIN has unleashed "Serimosa", the second single from its upcoming new studio album, "The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain", which will be released on April 29 via Nuclear Blast.

"Serimosa" sees a shift in pace from its furious predecessor "The Howling", heading towards more of a gloomy and gothic landscape, yet bearing the unmistakable black mark of WATAIN. Lyrically, its contemporary acuteness and prophetic quality is just as unnerving as it is comforting.

Vocalist Erik Danielsson states: "'Serimosa' tells of the electric notion of the coming of a great power. The appearance of cracks in the dam that holds the flood of the great sea. A visitor from the beyond, crossing the threshold into the material world.

"Just like 'Watain', 'Serimosa' is a word/name of power communicated out of unknown origin, appearing into the world sans history, to be approached with thought and reverence. Its linguistic root may be traced from the Latin word Seri ('serum'), along with Dolorosa ('pain'), Nebulosa ('starfog') and Lacrimosa ("tearfilled"), as if those words and their meanings were spoken as one. In her hand she holds the stern light of renewal, of transformation, of merciless cleansing. Thematically, Serimosa also holds similarities to the fiery Samhara aspect of Nataraja, the doomsday dance of Shiva marking the dissolution of order at the end of an eon.

"May she bring you far and deep."

"The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain" track listing

01. Ecstasies In Night Infinite

02. The Howling

03. Serimosa

04. Black Cunt

05. Leper's Grace

06. Not Sun Nor Man Nor God

07. Before The Cataclysm

08. We Remain

09. Funeral Winter

10. Septentrion

WATAIN will join forces with infamous Norwegian black metal legends MAYHEM for a tour through North America, aptly labeled "The Sanguine Sodomy Of North America", starting on March 7. They will be supported by U.S. blackened speed metal punks MIDNIGHT.

Scorpions recently released their highly anticipated new album, Rock Believer. Today, the band shares a Rock Believer full album player, featuring samples of each song on the album. Listen below:





Rock Believer can be ordered here.







Rock Believer tracklisting:


"Gas In The Tank"              
"Roots In My Boots"              
"Knock 'Em Dead"              
"Rock Believer"              
"Shining Of Your Soul"              
"Seventh Sun"              
"Hot And Cold"              
"When I Lay My Bones To Rest"              
"Peacemaker"
"Call Of The Wild"              
"When You Know (Where You Come From)"             


Limited deluxe edition bonus tracks:


"Shoot For Your Heart"    
"When Tomorrow Comes"    
"Unleash The Beast"    
"Crossing Borders"    
"When You Know (Where You Come From)"


"Gas In The Tank" lyric video:





"When You Know (Where You Come From)" video:





"Seventh Sun" lyric video:





"Shining Of Your Soul":





"Rock Believer" video:





"Peacemaker" video:





Rock Believer - The Journey videos:


Part 1:





Part 2:





Part 3:





Scorpions will kick off their Rock Believer World Tour this month in Las Vegas, where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards, they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows in Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band, Mammoth WVH.


Skid Row will be the opening band for all nine shows of Scorpions' Sin City Nights 2022 Las Vegas residency, thereby replacing previously announced support act, Queensrÿche. Scorpions' stint in Vegas was originally supposed to happen in July 2020, then it got pushed back to May 2021, only to be rescheduled to March - April 2022 at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.


Tour dates:


March
​26 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
30 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV


April
1 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
3 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
7 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
9 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
12 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
14 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
16 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV


May
10 - Altice Arena - Lisbon, Portugal
13 - Zenith Toulouse Metropole - Toulouse, France
15 - Zenith De Lille - Lille, France
17 - Accorhotels Arena - Paris, France
21 - Hallenstadion - Zurich, Switzerland
23 - Arena Di Verona - Verona, Italy
26 - O2 Arena - Prague, Czech Republic
28 - Tauron Arena - Kraków, Poland
30 - Laszlo Papp Sports Arena - Budapest, Hungary


June
3 - Rockfest - Helsinki, Finland
8 - Schleyerhalle - Stuttgart, Germany*
10 - Olympiahalle - Munich, Germany*
12 - Festhalle - Frankfurt, Germany*
16 - Mercedes-Benz Arena - Berlin, Germany*
17 - Zag Arena - Hannover, Germany*
19 - Westfalenhalle - Dortmund, Germany*
23 - Hellfest - Clisson, France
25 - Rock Imperium Festival - Cartagena, Spain
28 - Palais Nikaia - Nice, France
30 - Le Galaxie - Amneville, France


July
2 - Zenith D'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand, France


* with Mammoth WVH

SHINEDOWN has released the official music video for its new single, "Planet Zero". You can now watch it below.

"Planet Zero" is the title track of SHINEDOWN's seventh album, which will be released on April 22 via Atlantic Records.

According to a press release, the "Planet Zero" video "brings to life a glimpse of a dystopian future (complete with a menacing A.I. character named Cyren from the album's interludes who we hear at the end of the music video) that warns of the dangerous and dehumanizing consequences of cancel culture run rampant. 'Planet Zero' provokes a thoughtful question about if cancel culture has gone past the point of holding people accountable for bad words and actions that deserve it, into people shutting down anyone that has a different perspective or opinion that they don't agree with, which can cause us to lose a lot — empathy, our respect for one another, and our ability to communicate in a way that leads to actual progress and understanding. Part potent social commentary and part in-depth exploration of the human psyche, the 'Planet Zero' album serves up an incisive look at some of society's most critical issues, including the increasingly toxic division among those of differing ideologies, the need for honesty in our public discourse, and the corrosive effects of social media and cancel culture on mental health and humanity. There is also triumph, hope and reminders that we all need one another on this album. 'Planet Zero' was written for everyone regardless of background or affiliation with the hope that our culture can stop looking at each other as demographics or talking points and start seeing each other as people with individual life experiences and perspectives."

Vocalist Brent Smith stated about the new disc: "If we shut each other down and allow ourselves to be divided by the information we consume and the way we talk to each other, we lose our humanity. When you look outside of your phone, you'll see there are so many people doing good things and trying to take care of each other. But we're starting to see parts of society slip into an unknown. 'Planet Zero' was written for all of us. The fact is that we're all here on this planet no matter what, so it's time to actually move forward together with empathy, perseverance and strength. With that said… welcome to PLANET ZERO."

In December, Smith told 95.9 The Rat's Carl Craft about the new LP's more "stripped-down" approach: "We wanted to push everything to the front. And what I mean by that is we've proven that we can make these records that there's a lot of musicianship involved in it, and we have layered our records over the years because we love music and we love sound and we try to make really cinematic records. So with that, you have a lot of instrumentation that is not just drums, bass, guitar and vocals — we use orchestras, we use a lot of synthesizers, we use a lot of techniques that… We don't believe in… Don't tie your hands up when you're making a record. Make the record that you wanna make. And ultimately, though, what we wanted to do with this album was make it just as ferocious as the other records but not utilizing so much of some of the style that we've done in the past with layering and layering guitars, adding lots of synth beds, stacking the vocals."

He continued: "I come from the Freddie Mercury school when it comes to vocals and layering and backgrounds and things of that nature because I try — I say 'try' — try to use my voice as an instrument. But this is about really less is more. So the majority of this record is authentically drums, bass, guitar. There are piano songs; there's two really, really very intense-subject-matter piano songs that are gonna be in SHINEDOWN seven. But we wanted to make a real rock record, we wanted to make a real record where we focus on just making sure that the band is being heard the way the band needs to be heard. So, not a lot of layering. It doesn't mean it's any less powerful; it's just we're not dealing with a lot of stacks. We're just putting things left to right stereo, pushing everything to the front. The vocals aren't layered a ton — not a lot of effects on the vocals, so not a lot of delays and reverbs and things like that. A lot of the vocals on the record are dry and kind of right up in your face."

Smith also talked about the lyrical themes covered on the new SHINEDOWN album, saying they were inspired at least in part by the ongoing pandemic and resulting impact on the community, residents and businesses.

"Going through everything that the world went through last year, and we wrote the majority of the record last year, and this year, we couldn't turn a blind eye to everything that was going on," he said. "And we talk on this record, and we express on this record — we're not trying to dance around certain subject matter. We're trying to be very honest and very real. In a lot of ways, this is a very humanitarian record."

Asked if SHINEDOWN will "piss people off" with some of the lyrical positions that are taken on the upcoming LP, Smith said: "Possibly. But the thing about it is I don't necessarily think it's about pissing people off; it's about understanding what we all went through but where we need to go now. I think that it gets lost. It's never supposed to be about… And I say this because I'm being very, very bold and very honest about it. This country, it's not called the Divided States Of America; it's called the United States Of America, and we want people to understand that that comes down to the people; that comes down to us. And us being able to not only work with each other, to grow with one another. But when you have certain people in power that do not have your best interests in mind, you have to stand up and make your voice heard. When I see what's going on in regards to people's freedom of speech and it being censored and people being pushed into a corner because of their opinions and what have you. You need to be able to have constructive conversations with each other in order to get actual action to happen for positive change."

Regarding the first single from SHINEDOWN's seventh album, Brent said: "It honestly addresses everything that society has dealt with from a planetary platform, if you will — not just here in the U.S., but the whole world — what the last 18 months has been like, and, at least in our opinion, how we've gotta move forward.

"Listen, the record… We're talking about things that we've never talked about before," he revealed. "We're opening up the conversation into different subject matters that SHINEDOWN has never addressed. We have the full support of our label, our management and hopefully our fanbase, whether they've been there from day one or they're just kind of finding out who we are. But it's a record that I think some people will consider controversial, I think some people will consider to be very provocative, especially for SHINEDOWN, but it's also something that we feel that it is very important and that it is necessary… Don't get me wrong either — there's a lot of triumph on this record, but there's also a lot of having to take a step back and go, 'What's really going on? And how do we stop it from happening if it's going to be something negative on the human race as a whole?' Our society, the way that we live with one another, we share this planet with a lot of different organisms and creatures. It's not just about us. It's important that everybody really takes a step back and doesn't always make it about them. We have to work together — like, all of us; we've really gotta start working together with each other and really creating a positive change forward for not only society but also for this beautiful planet that we've been given."

The follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention" was recorded in part at a new studio in Charleston, South Carolina spearheaded by the group's bassist and producer Eric Bass.

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

The five nominees for the 2022 JUNO Award for "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" have been announced. Fighting it out this year are:


- Archspire - Bleed The Future (Season Of Mist)
- Brand of Sacrifice - Lifeblood (Independent)
- Danko Jones - Power Trio (Sonic Unyon)
- Spiritbox - Eternal Blue (Rise/BMG)
- The Agonist - Days Before The World Wept (Napalm)


Spiritbox are also nominated in the "Breakthrough Group Of The Year" category.




A complete list of JUNO Award nominees can be found here.


The 51st Juno Awards are scheduled to take place in Toronto on May 15 at the open-air Budweiser Stage at Ontario Place. The show will be broadcast at 8 PM, ET/5 PM, PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music's Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages. Tickets go on sale March 4 at 10 AM, ET.











(Top photo of The Agonist by Eric Sanchez)

There are few rock guitarists on this planet who have had such a lasting influence on so many renowned musicians as Michael Schenker. With his outstandingly fluid style, inexhaustible wealth of ideas and instinctive feel for hooks and melodies, Michael Schenker is a living legend who, despite his longstanding and distinguished history, still impresses with his unflagging energy and drive. The blond stringsman from Sarstedt, Germany began his international career in the early 1970s with the SCORPIONS, achieved worldwide fame after joining British rock group UFO and then seamlessly continued his exceptional global success story under his own name, as well as with acts such as MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP (MSG for short), TEMPLE OF ROCK and MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST. Schenker and his career, which has spanned more than fifty years, are absolute exceptions in the otherwise short-lived music industry.

Now his latest MSG album is about to be unleashed, scheduled for release on Atomic Fire Records on May 27 under the programmatic moniker of "Universal". His latest offering will feature all the strengths of this exceptional musician: first-rate songs with anthemic melodies, catchy guitar riffs and inspiring solos. As we have come to expect from him, Schenker has once again enlisted a number of prestigious fellow musicians for the recording of his new studio production, among them, as main vocalist Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, VANDENBERG), who will also be MSG's frontman on their upcoming tour, Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN) and Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), keyboard player Steve Mann (LIONHEART), drummers Simon Phillips (TOTO, THE WHO), Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER), Bobby Rondinelli (RAINBOW) and Bodo Schopf (ELOY), as well as legendary bassists Bob Daisley (BLACK SABBATH), Barry Sparks (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, DOKKEN) and Barend Courbois (BLIND GUARDIAN, ZAKK WYLDE), with Tony Carey as a very special guest.

Like its predecessor "Immortal" (2021) and the MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST albums "Resurrection" (2018) and "Revelation" (2019), "Universal" was produced by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss (LESSMANN/VOSS, MAD MAX) at Voss's Kidroom Studio, which has become something of a creative home away from home for Schenker.

"Michael Voss is happy to wait until I have worked out an idea and takes the time to really get to know the song, simultaneously developing ideas for the vocals," Schenker describes the fruitful collaboration which has one cog intermesh with the other. "Then we work out the drums, bass and some keyboard parts together. He always has plenty of great ideas up his sleeve."

Compositional highlights abound on "Universal", from the haunting opener "Emergency" and the subsequent "Under Attack" with its casually driving groove to "The Universe", featuring an atmospheric duet by Ronnie Romero and Gary Barden, "Wrecking Ball", performed as brilliantly as ever by Ralf Scheepers, and "London Calling" with its homage to the British capital's musical spirit.

The rock anthem "A King Has Gone" and its intro "Calling Baal" both have a special significance: The track, sung by HELLOWEEN frontman Michael Kiske, is a tribute to the immortal Ronnie James Dio, in particular to his performance on the 1976 hard rock classic "Rainbow Rising". For this reason, Schenker has brought together an original RAINBOW rhythm section consisting of Bobby Rondinelli and Bob Daisley, additionally enlisting keyboardist Tony Carey, who also played on "Rainbow Rising", for a terrific Moog synth intro — a direct reference to the iconic intro of the 1976 album opener "Tarot Woman". The impressive result "Calling Baal"/"A King Has Gone" is already considered to be one of the most important and successful songs in Schenker's career to date, both musically and lyrically.

In line with all these highlights, the spectacular album cover designed by Zsofia Dankova (POWERWOLF, among others) features Schenker in a futuristic spaceship, floating high up in orbit. The artwork is based on the guitarist's own visions.

"I had the original idea for the album cover a few years ago, but only now does it seem to fit perfectly," he says. "So I sent some older sketches to my label Atomic Fire Records, and based on this the final artwork and album title were created."

Photo credit: Tina Korhonen

German progressive metalcore djentlemen Time, The Valuator, have introduced their new lead singer, Daniel Moczarski.


"When we were looking for a new singer, we found Daniel through YouTube covers and auditions for Eskimo Callboy, in which he made it to the shortlist", says the band. "After that, he joined and immediately started working on the new album with us, providing an impressive vocal feat that captures the energy of our style, aside from bringing fresh conceptual ideas to the table. We are looking forward to sharing what we've been cooking up during the last 3 years."


Check out this short snippet of Daniel performing a song from the next Time, The Valuator album:







With songs full of emotion, powerful vocals, and infectious groove, Time, The Valuator have risen to become one of the most promising new acts in the modern rock sphere. The German quintet impresses not only with their music but also with their message. In the words of guitarist Rene Möllenbeck, "Time, The Valuator strive to create something to be remembered."





Lineup:


Daniel Moczarski (vocals, songwriting, co-production)
Rene Möllenbeck (guitars, keys, songwriting, co-production)
Cedric Dreyszas (guitars, songwriting)
Ryan Voosen (bass, co-songwriting, co-production)
Yunus Proch (drums, co-songwriting, production)

Iconic is a new band launched through Frontiers Music featuring Michael Sweet (Stryper / guitars), Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake / guitars), Marco Mendoza Twisted Sister / bass), Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore / drums) and Nathan James (Inglorious / vocals). An album is currently in the works and due to a summer release.


Sweet has checked in with the following update:


"Heading to LA right now to film two music videos for a new band project on Frontiers Music called Iconic. I co-wrote the album with Joel Hoekstra, Alessandro Del Vecchio, and Nathan James, and if you like Whitesnake 1987 you’re gonna love this. Of course, the incomparable Tommy Aldridge is drumming and Marco Mendoza is playing bass.




I’m very blessed to be a part of it and to be able to work with the best of the best. When I return, I sing the new Stryper album! It’s sounding absolutely stellar! Our best yet! I’m very grateful for all that I’m allowed to do and never ever take it for granted."


Check out Iconic via social media here.





Photo by Joel Hoekstra

Time To Kill Records have announced the re-release of Mayhem’s modern masterpiece Esoteric Warfare, due out on March 1, 2022 in MC format under exclusive license from Season Of Mist.


Originally released in 2014, with Esoteric Warfare, the band's first album with Teloch on guitar since Blasphemer's departure from the band in 2008, the long running Norwegian black metallers have created an intense journey in which angular riffs are being alternated with subtle melodies until they intertwine into an enormous soundscape.


These new tape editions are currently available via Bandcamp and Time To Kill Records.







Tracklisting:


Side Astatium
“Watchers”
“Psywar”
“Trinity”
“Pandaemon”
“MILAB”


Side Bohrium
“VI.Sec.”
“Throne Of Time”
“Corpse Of Care”
“Posthuman”
“Aion Suntelia” 

Shredguy Records will release the new album from Amoriello entitled Phantom Sounds. The New Jersey based heavy metal guitarist Thomas Amoriello leads the charge on this traditional metal offering that includes soaring vocals, shredding guitars and a thunderous rhythm section. 


An international collaboration of musicianship that ignites the metal torch with elements of neoclassical, progressive, power metal, and gothic stylings with current and former members of Firewind, Iron Savior, Burning Witches and Death. The song-oriented metal fest includes eight tracks that explore the dark and macabre with catchy anthems, shred instrumentals, a blues track and power ballad. Amoriello is honored to be a part of the Shredguy Records roster. 


Amoriello states that, "Shredguy is the modern day Sharpnel Records and the label owner Michael McDowell has promoted and discovered many talented six stringers exposing their stellar musicianship to the world as Mike Varney did in the 1980's." 







Amoriello is proud to have the Phantom Sounds compact disk released by Shredguy Records. Guests this time around include Herbie Langhans from Firewind, Piet Sielck from Iron Savior, Bobby Koelble from Death, Sonia Anubis from Crypta/ex-Burning Witches, Will Shaw formerly of Heir Apparent, Titta Tani formerly of Claudio Simonetti's Goblin, and Jim Rutherford of Power Theory. Age of Artemis bassist Giovanni Sena leads the rhythm along with Canadian drummer Cameron Fleury rounded out by keyboardists Anthony Stahl (Deadrisen) and Ariel Perchuk. Melitza Torres of Liliumdust concludes the recording with an operatic melisma. The recording was co-produced and mixed by Carlos Alvarez and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima.


Phantom Sounds is available March 15 on CD from Shredguy Records.


The recording will also be released on vinyl from H42 Records in Germany in August/September 2022.


In addition to the metal project recordings, Amoriello is an educator who holds a Master of Music degree in classical guitar from Shenandoah University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music Education degree from Liberty University. He has authored two music-themed children's picture books and served as the Chair for the National Association for Music Education Guitar Council.

Kid Rock will join forces with FOREIGNER and GRAND FUNK RAILROAD for a U.S. tour this spring and summer. JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING will appear on select dates, with a special appearance by Trey Lewis at all shows. The 24-city "Bad Reputation Tour" will kick off on April 6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, making stops across the U.S. in Nashville, Boston, Chicago, and more before wrapping up with two shows in Detroit.

Asked in a new interview with Rock Band Reviews what he would say to those FOREIGNER fans who are reluctant to come out to see the band because of Kid Rock's involvement with the tour, FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson said: "If they're not coming because of Kid Rock, if it's musically oriented, well, I would say listen to Kid Rock; he's a great artist. I mean, yes, he's a rapper and maybe some people don't like rapping, but there are definitely songs in there as well, And his band is great, and the audience is very enthusiastic. It makes for a great show. So I would say there's absolutely no reason to not come out. I mean, if you're politically against Kid Rock, I guess that's one thing, but, hey, listen, we're not letting politics get in the way. We're all getting up there in very friendly terms and just make it a great rock show."

Back in 2017, Pilson — an acclaimed producer and a veteran bassist who has also played with DIO, DOKKEN and T&N — said that then-President Donald Trump was "a dangerous man" whose vitriolic and divisive rhetoric could ignite another American civil war.

Kid Rock, a vocal Trump supporter, recently released a profanity-laced single that bashes President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci over vaccine mandates and other policies. "We The People" features the chorus of "Let's go, Brandon," conservative code for "Fuck Joe Biden" (born when a NASCAR reporter misheard a crowd, reporting that they chanted in support of racer Brandon Brown when they were actually chanting expletives toward the U.S. president), and also takes aim at the mainstream media, CNN, TMZ, Twitter and Facebook. The track was released in January, along with two others, to promote the "Bad Reputation" tour, which Kid Rock claims could be his last.

In "We The People", Kid Rock shouts: "We the people in all we do reserve the right to scream, 'Fuck you!' Wear your mask. Take your pills. Now a whole generation is mentally ill," he adds.

Elsewhere in the song, he raps: "(Hey-yeah) man, Fuck Fauci (Hey-yeah). COVID's near. It's coming to town. We gotta act quick, shut our borders down. Joe Biden does, the media embraces. Big Don does it, and they call him racist.

"Inflation's up like the minimum wage. So it's all the same. Not a damn thing changed," he exclaims.

He then calls for politically polarized Americans to come together, saying: "We gotta keep fighting for right to be free. And every human being doesn't have to agree. We all bleed red, brother, listen to me. It's time for love and unity."

The track concludes with sampled crowd chanting, "Let's go, Brandon."

In a Facebook video announcing the new tracks, Kid Rock described "We The People" as a "hard rock-rap tune."

"[It's] about, well, all the craziness going on in our world in the last few years and the politics and the polarization and social justice," he said. "You know, constantly for just being a Trump fan attacked in the media day in day out."

He added: "I don't mind taking a punch, but I hit back, motherfucker, and I hit hard."

"We The People", "The Last Dance" and "Rockin'" are all expected to appear on Rock's new album, "Bad Reputation", which is due later this year.

Guitarist Joe Nelson, who is known for his work with Nekrogoblikon, performed with Canadian pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne's band on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on February 28th. The band also featured Blink-182 drummer and Lavigne's producer, Travis Barker. Check out the footage below.







 

 
 

 


View this post on Instagram

 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

A post shared by Joseph Daniel Nelson (@joedanguitar)





Nekrogoblikon have announced their new album, The Fundamental Slimes And Humours. The album will arrive April 1st. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.


Nekrogoblikon has shared the video for their new song "This Is It", which can be seen below. "We're excited to finally release 'This Is It', the second single from our upcoming album, The Fundamental Slimes And Humours," the band says. "This was the first song that got completed during the writing/demoing process, meaning it's also the one we've been waiting the longest for you all to hear. Hope you enjoy it!"





The Fundamental Slimes And Humours artwork and tracklisting:





"Right Now"
"Golden Future"
"Yin"
"Supernovas (Exploding In Space)"
"Bones"
"Going To Die"
"A Lesson In Hate"
"This Is It"
"Fancy Wind"
"Carousels"
"No Such Thing As A Key"


"Right Now" video:





Los Angeles, California's Nekrogoblikon are melodic hard rock pranksters who deploy gnarly death metal earworms filled with crafty hooks, claw-pumping choruses, lightning-fast riffs, and over the top, EDM-style keyboard flourishes. With their ostentatious goblin hypeman John Goblikon, the band takes cues from hyperbolic horror-metal enthusiasts like Gwar, Finntroll, and Dethklok, while maintaining an affable, self-referential sense of humor.

Bristol, UK-based band Rxptrs - who blend rock, metal, punk, and hardcore with a seamlessness that is enviable, creating something that is unique that seethes with boundless energy - have just shared the video for "Demons In My Headphones."





"Politics, social media, false information, and strong opinions, 'Demons In My Headphones' really came at a point where we were nearly done with everything we were seeing and hearing online," the band explains. "It got to a point where we wanted to drink to drown out the voices on our screens. We live in dangerous times, with false information and opinions being printed like news on social media. Life online feels like tip-toeing through a minefield. Both sides of the coin have been tainted with shady tactics, loud opinions, and mistruths. The song is about not knowing who to trust, the confusion of cancel culture and landing in a mindset that sees the world through a farcical lens."




The song will appear on the band's forthcoming album, due out this summer. Stay tuned for more details.


Stream/buy at BlacklightMediaRecords.com.


Rxptrs (pronounced "Raptors") are a new wave of British rock. The energetic quintet combines ferocious grit with an ear for melody. Built upon the backdrop of the UK, the fiercely creative, long-term friends set out with a sonic mission statement to not succumb to a single barrier, to push boundaries and go beyond the limit of genres, creating a raw sound that is unmistakably their own. Each raucous track is laced with lyrical depth as Rxptrs lay it all on the line. They state, "Music is a vessel, this is how we channel the experiences that have shaped us. This is how we bare our scars." Quickly becoming renowned for their explosive live performances, the group's hardcore following continues to grow. Their workhorse mentality towards touring has seen them light up stages across the UK and Europe alongside the likes of Escape the Fate, King 810, As It Is, Light the Torch, and more. Rxptrs' visceral energy continues to infect the population as they cut their teeth on the live scene, with no sign of slowing, they're truly hellbent on showing everyone the way of the Rxptr.

Austin, Texas-based progressive death/black metal unit Haunter has completed work on their new album, Discarnate Ails. The record is confirmed for release May 6 through Profound Lore Records, who today issues its details including preorders and a clip of the monstrous “Chained At The Helm Of Eschaton.”


The follow up to 2019’s Sacramental Death Qualia LP, Discarnate Ails will unveil Haunter as one of the most enlightening and dynamic bands within the present-day progressive death/black metal movement and one of the pioneering prospects of the scene.


With Discarnate Ails, Haunter has tapped into the next level unparalleled with their most complex, advanced, and their most furious and heaviest release to date. The three epic chapters that form the album weave through intricate, dissonant, and vitriolic passages that find the notable balance of challenging melodious movements and parts while maintaining the band’s sense of creating epochal songs of triumph and mastery.




Mixed by Arthur Rizk and mastered by Dan Lowndes, Discarnate Ails features cover artwork by Elijah Tamu, additional art by 47_N_74D0 and Saprophial, and design by Chimere Noire.


Discarnate Ails will see digital, CD, and cassette release on May 6, with the vinyl to follow this summer. Find preorders via Profound Lore, and watch for vinyl updates, an official video, and more to be issued.





Tracklisting:


“Overgrown With The Moss”
“Spiritual Illness”
“Chained At The Helm Of Eschaton”


Clip of “Chained At The Helm Of Eschaton”:





(Photo – Oscar Moreno)

Ted Nugent has blasted electric vehicles as not environmentally friendly, citing the harmful effects of mining for the rare metals, like the lithium necessary for the vehicles' batteries, and of disposing or recycling those batteries at the end of their lives.

Nugent weighed in on the claim that solar panels and electric vehicles are two prime examples of technologies that can help people minimize their environmental footprint during today's (Monday, February 28) edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted offers his take on the news of our world every night. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The whole electric car debacle? Absolutely an environmental curse.

"Let's examine the science, shall we? Where does all the lithium come from, our enemies, and what happens to that toxic environmental-destroying lithium after the batteries go bad, green breath dirtbags. You've gotta be kidding me."

He continued: "I just had my fleet of Ford Broncos retuned so they get exactly eight hundred and forty yards to the gallon, because even if Uncle Ted put the pedal to the metal and just burned all the fossil fuels I could possibly scorch the earth with, I would never catch up with the environmental destruction and the toxicity that is gonna be created by the creation, deployment and maintenance of all those wind turbines, the creation, the deployment and maintenance of all those solar panels and the creation and the earth-destroying resource raping and pillaging that goes into creating electric cars.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ted added. "You've gotta have a sunbaked turd for a brain to believe any of this absolute left-wing, communist, greedy, Bill Gates, corrupt government monster that they're creating with the so-called Green New Deal. It's the worst thing in the history of environmental pollution — way worse than the Industrial Revolution."

Green New Deal proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic reforms and public works projects undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.

Last month, Nugent once again repeated the baseless conspiracy theory that the riot at the U.S. Capitol was orchestrated by undercover FBI agents, Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

Nugent, an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has refused to take the vaccine, has falsely claimed that public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic violate the Nuremberg code, a set of medical experimentation guidelines set after World War Two, as the vaccine is "experimental."

In the past, Nugent, who battled COVID-19 last April, had referred to the virus as a "leftist scam to destroy" former U.S. president Donald Trump. He had also repeated a narrative pushed by conservative media and disputed by health experts that suggests the official death count from the coronavirus is inflated.

Nugent's new studio album, "Detroit Muscle", is due on April 29 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's current band, which includes bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT discussed the return of drummer Dave Lombardo to the group's ranks during an appearance Tuesday (March 1) on SiriusXM's Liquid Metal with host Jose Mangin.

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.

Asked if he had to physically audition for the drummer spot in TESTAMENT this time around, Dave quipped (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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.

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" was originally scheduled to kick off on October 6 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding in Oakland. The tour has since been rescheduled to take place in April and May 2

During an appearance on "Put Up Your Dukes", the new podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes, current EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza was asked to name the worst show he ever played in his life. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I remember we were on the 'Headbangers Ball' tour [with ANTHRAX and HELLOWEEN in 1989] and we were in New Orleans. And I love Slurpees — not as much anymore 'cause of my transformation lately, but I love Slurpees. And we got to the French Quarter, and Hurricanes are like Slurpees with fucking alcohol in them. So I was drinking 'em, and I didn't really taste the booze and they are high-alcohol-contented drinks. And I drank, like, five of them. And on those tours, we were on stage at, like, 7:30 or something, eight o'clock. It was an arena tour, so it stated early. HELLOWEEN went on, then us. So we were [scheduled to go on at] 7:30. And I went on stage, and I had to be the worst 'cause I was so fucking shitfaced; I couldn't even remember the words and I was spinning. And it was just awful. Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] was none too happy with me."

He continued: "I'd never been the French Quarter before, so our manager was there with us, Toni [Isabella], and she's all, 'Oh, let's take a cab and go.' And I'm walking around. I'm, like, 'Wait a minute. They've got drink places right on the street?' I'm all, 'Fuck me.' I'm all, 'What do you got that kind of tastes like a Slurpee?' They're all, 'I have a Hurricane.' I'm, like, 'Okay. Cool.' I'm all, 'It does taste like a Slurpee.' I [had] five of those — five of them. And now if I drank a half of one, I'd be throwing up, let alone five of them. But I was 26 at that time, and we did do party back in those days, so it's not saying my body wasn't like an athlete, physically ready for it. But that was probably the worst time on stage. Although I'll say — and not to be arrogant — I try not to ever have bad shows, regardless of how much I need to prepare myself for it."

EXODUS released its new album, "Persona Non Grata", on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" is the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

EXODUS TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL played the sole 2021 date of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" last November 27 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.

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" was originally scheduled to kick off on October 6, 2021 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding in Oakland. The tour has since been rescheduled to take place in April and May 2022.

In a new interview with the "Drum Candy" podcast, KORN drummer Ray Luzier explained his decision to relocate his family to Franklin, Tennessee nearly a decade ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I moved [to the Nashville area] — June, it'll be eight years here, which is nuts, 'cause I'm still in a band based in Bakersfield, California. I always joke with people, 'I have a two-thousand-mile commute to work.'

"When Head [KORN guitarist Brian Welch] rejoined the band in 2013, I said to him first thing, 'cause he lived out here [in Nashville], and I said, 'When are you gonna move back to Cali?' And he said, 'I'll never live in L.A.' And I said, 'How are you gonna be in the band?' And he was, like, 'There's airports and Internet, isn't there?' And right at the time, [my wife and I] had just had our first kid; it was almost three years into it. And I was thinking to myself, 'Man…' 'Cause my wife never really got L.A. And I was, like, 'Man, I wonder if we can get out of here,' if it was feasible enough. So I got permission from the band."

Luzier, who was raised just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before moving to Los Angeles in 1988 to pursue a career in music, added: "Jon [KORN singer Jonathan Davis] is really adamant about stuff on the cuff, like, 'Ray, come up here. Drive up to [Bakersfield]. I've got this idea. Play drums on it and drive back down.' It was a two-hour commute for me when I lived in L.A. This only happened a few times where I've had to jump on a plane the next day and go out there. But for the most part, [Head] is right. We meet at the airport. If we do a European tour, we meet at the airport. If we do a record, we all meet in Bakersfield. I have a four-hour flight. That's nothing to me; I live on airplanes."

Luzier married his longtime girlfriend, model Aspen Brandy Lea, in June 2016. The nuptials took place at the Keys Creek Lavender Farm in Valley Center, California in a "totally private" ceremony attended only by the couple's two sons, now-11-year-old Hudson Ray and six-year-old Beck Jagger.

Luzier and his wife started dating in 2009 after she interviewed him while on assignment for Rivalry Nights. It was one of his first interviews as a member of KORN, having spent the initial two years of his tenure with the group as a session drummer.

Ray lived in Los Angeles for 16 years before moving to Nashville.

KORN's latest album, "Requiem", was released on February 4 via Loma Vista Recordings. The LP was produced by Chris Collier and KORN.

"Requiem" entered Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart at No. 1. The band sold 23,000 equivalent album units in the February 4-10 tracking week, according to Billboard. Of that sum, 20,000 units are from album sales. "Requiem" also landed at No. 2 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts. On the all-format Billboard 200, it arrived at No. 14.

KORN kicked off a short run of shows with SYSTEM OF A DOWN on January 31 in Phoenix, followed by dates in San Diego (February 1) and Los Angeles (February 4 and February 5). KORN's headlining tour with CHEVELLE and CODE ORANGE will launch March 4.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor says that the passing of Joey Jordison broke his heart.

The founding SLIPKNOT drummer died "peacefully in his sleep" last July of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

Taylor addressed Jordison's death publicly during a February 18 question-and-answer session at the annual Mad Monster Party, a three-day fan convention which took place at the Embassy Suites in Concord, North Carolina. Asked how he has dealt with the loss of his longtime bandmate, Corey said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a tough one. It hit me hard, even though I hadn't seen him or talked to him in a very long time. And I won't get into certain things, but I will say that it hit us all really hard. The first person that I called was Clown [SLIPKNOT percussionist M. Shawn Crahan] to make sure he was okay. Because those guys… I can remember going down and seeing them both at the gas station that Joey worked at — like, way back in the day. And he would work the overnights. When I wasn't working at the porn shop, I would go down. And they were always scheming; they would always sit together scheming. It's, like, 'I've got this fucking idea. All right? We're gonna set our faces on fire.' And I was, like, 'No. You're really not gonna do that.'"

He continued: "All that history and all the memories came back then. And his health was obviously part of that. And it was sad because this man was probably one of the most gifted people I've ever seen in my life… It was far, far too soon. And it broke my heart. Regardless of what had gone down between us, it broke my heart. It was a hard… It's still hard to think about. I think about it now and it doesn't seem real. So it hit us just as hard. It's one of the reasons why we pay homage to him and Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist] at the end of [each SLIPKNOT] show — to make sure that people realize that even though he was gone, he's still part of the family, and he always will be."

Corey previously opened up about Joey's death during a September 2021 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". At the time, he said: "Our first concern was obviously his family, so we reached out immediately to make sure that they were okay, to let them know if they needed anything from us, they could absolutely ask.

"It's a damn tragedy," Taylor continued. "He was way too young, and he was way too talented to lose him like this.

"I know a lot of people wonder about the circumstances that led to him not being in the band anymore, and it's, like, we're not gonna talk about that, because I'd rather talk about his legacy, which is that he helped create this band that we all have fought to keep out there and keep going.

"Just the fact that he's not here now, it's still — I still can't believe it," Corey added.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

Several years ago, Jordison overcame the neurological condition acute transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord which damages nerve fibers, which ultimately led to the drummer temporarily losing the use of his legs.

Jordison and the members of SLIPKNOT had been silent and evasive about the reasons for his dismissal from the band, but Joey finally spoke about it in 2016 while accepting an award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in London, England.

At the time, Joey claimed that he was fired from SLIPKNOT without a band meeting or "anything from management." He said: "All I got was a stupid fucking e-mail saying I was out of the band that I busted my ass my whole life to fucking create. That's exactly what happened and it was hurtful. I didn't deserve that shit after what I'd done and everything I'd been through.

"They got confused about my health issues and obviously even I didn't know what it was at first," he continued. "They thought I was fucked up on drugs, which I wasn't at all.

"I've been through so many things with those guys and I love them very much. What's hurtful is the way it went down was not fucking right. That's all I want to say. The way they did it was fucking cowardly. It was fucked up."

Back in 2014, Taylor told Metal Hammer that firing Jordison after 18 years was "one of the hardest decisions" the group ever made, adding that Joey is "in a place in his life" which is "not where we are."

Taylor said he could not get into specifics for legal reasons, but admitted, "It's when a relationship hits that T-section and one person's going one way and you're going the other. And try as you might to either get them to go your way or try and go their way, at some point you've got to go in the direction that works for you. This is me speaking in the broadest terms, with respect to Joey. I guess to sum it up, it was one of the hardest decisions we ever made."

Taylor said that the band is "happy right now and we hope that he is . . . he's just in a place in his life, right now, that's not where we are."

The singer would not answer whether drug use played a role in Jordison's dismissal, and confessed that he had not been in touch with his former bandmate. Taylor said, "I haven't talked to Joey in a while, to be honest. That's how different we are. It's not because I don't love him and I don't miss him. And it is painful; we talk about him all the time, but at the same time, do we miss him or do we miss the old him? That's what it really comes down to."

Four years ago, Joey revealed that he was working on his first-ever book.

In 2018, Jordison completed a European tour with the international death metal supergroup SINSAENUM.

Seven months ago, Joey's SINSAENUM bandmate Frédéric Leclercq blasted TMZ for sharing the audio of the 911 call placed by the former SLIPKNOT drummer's ex-girlfriend after she found him dead. On July 29, 2021, the tabloid site posted the two-and-a-half-minute phone call in which the ex-girlfriend — who continued taking care of Joey's bills and maintaining his house in Iowa even after their split — could be heard getting very emotional when she went to his home to check on him after he hadn't returned her messages. During the call, she indicated that Joey was "a really bad alcoholic" with "health issues," and she revealed that the motion sensors on the house hadn't detected any activity in days.

The same year that he exited SLIPKNOT, Jordison launched the band SCAR THE MARTYR and later, VIMIC.

According to The Blast, Marilyn Manson has filed a lawsuit against actress Evan Rachel Wood over allegations of rape and sexual abuse.

Wood alleged in the documentary "Phoenix Rising" that she was "coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretenses" while filming the 2007 music video for "Heart-Shaped Glasses" with her then-boyfriend Manson.

Manson's attorney Howard King later denied Wood's allegations in a statement to People, claiming that the singer "did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth."

In his lawsuit against Wood, Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, accused his ex-fiancée of intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, computer fraud, and impersonation over the Internet.

The documents, which filed on Wednesday morning (March 2) in the Los Angeles Superior Court, state: "This action arises from the wrongful and illegal acts done in furtherance of a conspiracy by Defendant Evan Rachel Wood and her on-again, off-again romantic partner, Defendant Ashley Gore, a/k/a Illma Gore, to publicly cast Plaintiff Brian Warner, p/k/a Marilyn Manson, as a rapist and abuser — a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner's successful music, TV, and film career."

In the documents, Manson accused Wood of impersonating "an actual agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by forging and distributing a fictitious letter from the agent, to create the false appearance that Warner's alleged 'victims' and their families were in danger, and that there was a federal criminal investigation of Warner ongoing. They provided checklists and scripts to prospective accusers, listing the specific alleged acts of abuse that they should claim against Warner."

The documents further allege that Wood "made knowingly false statements to prospective accusers (which have since been repeated by those accusers in court filings), including the defamatory claim that Warner filmed the sexual assault of a minor."

Wood, who was in a relationship with Manson from mid-2006 until early 2011, claimed in the "Phoenix Rising" documentary that the music video shoot was "the first crime [he] committed against me."

"It's nothing like I thought it was going to be," Wood said. "We're doing things that were not what was pitched to me. ... We had discussed a simulated sex scene, but once the cameras were rolling, he started penetrating me for real. I had never agreed to that. I'm a professional actress, I've been doing this my whole life; I've never been on a set that unprofessional in my life up until this day."

A little over a year ago, Wood named Manson as the previously anonymous abuser she referenced while testifying before the California Senate in relation to the state's Phoenix Act, which extends the statute of limitations on domestic violence from three years to five. In February 2021, Wood claimed in a social media post that Manson "groomed" and "horrifically" abused her for years. After she shared her accusations, several other women posted their own allegations against the singer. The women claimed to have endured "sexual assault, psychological abuse, and/or various forms of coercion, violence, and intimidation" at the hands of Manson.

The 53-year-old Manson later released a statement denying the abuse allegations leveled against him, writing on Instagram: "Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality. My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth."

KROKUS singer Marc Storace says that he has no regrets about turning down a chance to audition for AC/DC more than four decades ago.

The 70-year-old Maltese-born vocalist — whose band had opened for AC/DC in the past — passed on the opportunity to try out to replace the late Bon Scott in 1980.

In February of that year, Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with Malcolm and Angus Young where they began working on music for what became the "Back In Black" album.

"Back In Black" was the first album AC/DC released after singer Brian Johnson replaced Scott, and it went on to become the third-biggest-selling LP of all time.

Asked in a new interview with Barbara Caserta of Italy's Linea Rock if he ever wonders what could have been had he gotten the AC/DC job, Storace responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a hypothetical question. It's all open to fantasy and dreams, but reality can take a different direction. And at that moment, I thought, 'Well, I'm sitting on my high horse, enjoying success with KROKUS.' My debut album [with KROKUS], 'Metal Rendez-Vous', went like a rocket. We did 'Hardware' and we had, actually, a brand new light show, which arrived from Birmingham. And the CEO of that company in Birmingham — the whole hard rock scene, the center was Birmingham; LED ZEPPELIN and everyone else, and AC/DC, they were all doing their production stuff there. And the guy took me to the side, the CEO, because he drove down to show us this new light show computer, which we'd never seen one like that [before]. And then he took me on the side and he said, 'Would you like to audition for AC/DC?' And I said, 'Steve, I'm so happy here. Things are happening, and we're gonna go places. And these are my new mates.' I had a kind of loyalty. I was really thankful that I joined KROKUS because it suddenly happened. And I had been trying in many different ways. And even with [Swiss progressive rockers] TEA, though we had enjoyed an amount of success, it was nothing like what we achieved later on with KROKUS. So, looking back at this little guy in Malta, where there's no record companies, no big rock and roll life and no tours the way I dreamed of and everything, and looking at Switzerland, where actually it's more known for the banks and the chocolates and the watches than hard rock bands, and seeing how far that KROKUS got to, I think we should be thankful. And that's the way I feel; I feel thankful for what I've achieved with these guys."

He continued: "The thing about AC/DC is it's not realistic to think that way, when you think why I decided that way. And I wouldn't change a minute. I'm happy. I have a loving wife. I have two beautiful children. They're intelligent. They're doing their own thing. I have my own house. I'm an ambassador for [the French car company] Peugeot. It's great to be alive. And that's why I'm doing my solo album. And I don't wanna stop."

Six years ago, Storace said that he would "certainly" accept an invitation to step in for Johnson after the AC/DC frontman was advised by doctors to stop touring or risk total hearing loss.

Marc admitted in a previous interview that he initially had some understandable reservations about being repeatedly compared to Scott, feeling he was being "branded as a copy of somebody who, at the time, I didn't even know that well." But he eventually started seeing things differently. "Today, I look at is as a big compliment. I think he probably had many of the same idols I had, and we were both gifted with the same vocal tonalities."

Back in 2000, Storace released an album with a project called DC WORLD in which he sang Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs. Audio samples from that effort can be heard in a YouTube clip below.

Storace's first-ever solo album, "Live And Let Live", was made available in Switzerland in December and was released in North America earlier this month.