Bomber Alley is following up from their well received sleezy hard rock tune “We Get By” with an amazingly slick cover version of Def Leppard’s classic song “Lady Strange”. The song was produced by Dee Snider’s solo band drummer & producer, Nicky Bellmore at Dexters Lab Recording in Milford, CT, (recording home for Hatebreed, Jasta, Dee Snider). It will once again be released on the newly formed label Mindsnap Music / Von Artists, Ltd. via The Orchard. Available to stream and download digitally now at this location.


Bomber Alley’s version of “Lady Strange” will also be licensed and put out on an official Def Leppard tribute album coming out soon on FnA Records.







Here’s what Russell Pzütto, bassist of Dee Snider’s solo band had to say about playing on this track…. “Bomber Alley definitely delivered for their rendition of 'Lady Strange' an old favorite of mine! It was my pleasure to throw down bass tracks and add the bottom end to the song.”


“Bomber Alley’s all about that old-school vibe, and this 'Lady Strange' cover is a testament to that. Shredding through a modern take on such a nostalgic sound and style with these dudes is a total blast!” adds Nick Petrino - Guitarist (Dee Snider band).





Bomber Alley, reminiscing the early GN’R era sound & attitude, is lead by long time LA sleeze rocker and well known drum tech, Talon Blaque, who stated, “I’m super stoked on the music we are writing & creating & also excited of what the future holds for Bomber Alley. Working with Opus of Dead By Wednesday‘s new label venture Mindsnap Music / Von Artists, Ltd. finally feels like we have a solid home for our awesome music that will actually get out there. They will take the time to nurture us & understand music unlike many other hit & run labels out there only looking for a quick buck. Tons of cool things to come including some tour dates TBA as well so please stay tuned!!”


Stay tuned for a follow up Bomber Alley tune and EP in early 2022 coming out on Mindsnap Music / Von Artists, Ltd. via The Orchard. For further details, visit Bomber Alley on Facebook.


“We Get By” lyric video:





 

Swedish occult rockers GHOST will release their fifth album, "Impera", on March 11 via Loma Vista/Concord. The band's leader, Tobias Forge, worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with producer Klas Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare, whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Forge discussed the "Impera" songwriting process in a new interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He said: "In every band I've ever had, every song I've ever written, I was always called a dictator, a control freak who couldn't work with anyone else. And I am a dictator and control freak. But I can work with people."

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

Back in 2017, Forge was sued by four former members of the band after being dismissed by the group's founder the previous December. They accused the singer of cheating them out of their rightful share of the profits from the band's album releases and world tours. The lawsuit was filed in the district court of Linköping, Sweden, where GHOST was originally based. It claimed that a partnership agreement existed between Forge and the four former members, all of whom performed anonymously in the band as Nameless Ghouls. As a result of the lawsuit, Forge was forced to reveal his identity after years of performing in a mask as Papa Emeritus. He has maintained that "no legal partnership" ever existed between him and the other members.

GHOST kicked off its co-headlining tour with VOLBEAT on January 25 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. The 26-date trek, which includes special guests TWIN TEMPLE, will conclude on March 3 in Anaheim, California.

The official music video for "Impera"'s latest single, "Call Me Little Sunshine", was lensed by iconic director Matt Mahurin and stars Ruby Modine.

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

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

Rolling Stone is reporting that John Paul Jones has re-recorded the 1971 Led Zeppelin classic, “When The Levee Breaks”, with help from 17 musicians from around the globe, including guitarist Derek Trucks, drummer Stephen Perkins, harmonica player Ben Lee, singer Susan Tedeschi, singer Elle Márjá Eira, slide guitarist Keith Secola, and vocalist Mihirangi.


Sebastian Robertson (who also plays guitar on the song) and Mark Johnson produced the video and new version as part of Playing For Change’s Song Around The World initiative. All funds generated from the song will benefit the charity partners of Peace Through Music, including Conservation International, American Rivers, WWF, Reverb and the Playing For Change Foundation.


“When the Levee Breaks” was written by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie two years after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Led Zeppelin introduced the blues song to a new generation when they covered it on Led Zeppelin IV. When Playing For Change was looking for a follow-up to past videos that featured Robbie Robertson revisiting “The Weight” and Peter Gabriel updating “Biko,” the choice was obvious.




“Looking at ‘When The Levee Breaks’ through the lens of producing a song to raise awareness for key environmental organizations truly felt like a plea for climate justice,” says Sebastian Robertson. “The wailing guitars, harmonica, and vocals all in harmony for Mother Earth.”


“It’s such an epic and powerful song both lyrically and musically,” Johnson adds, “and you feel the conviction and perseverance that the world needs to face these climate challenges together as a human race."


“When The Levee Breaks” wasn’t a regular part of Led Zeppelin’s live repertoire. They only played it at a handful of January 1975 concerts and again at their 1995 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. But John Paul Jones revived the song at many of his solo shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When Johnson and Robertson began sketching out their vision for the new rendition, they felt Jones would want to contribute.


“It starts with a dream,” says Robertson. “A lifelong obsession with Led Zeppelin and a mindset of manifesting the impossible. Then you reach out to his wonderful manager Adrian Molloy, concoct a plan, and deliver a demo that piques John’s interest. The rest, as they say, is history.”


In an e-mail interview with Rolling Stone, Jones said the decision to get involved was easy. “It’s a great cause, and I really liked what Sebastian and the team are doing,” he says. “The videos are all so well put together, and a joy to watch.”


Read more at Rolling Stone, and watch the video below:

AFM Records is proud to announce the signing of a very special new band: fallen Sanctuary, led by masterminds Georg Neuhauser (singer of Serenity) and Marco Pastorino (guitarist of Temperance), who indulge their common love for melodic power metal here. The two became friends in 2018 during a joint tour and soon realised that they pretty much share musical idols and tastes. 


Neuhauser: "Marco and I often got talking at night on the tour bus to the next show with Serenity and Temperance. It was amazing that we have so many favourite bands in common. And since we also get along really well on a personal level and live only a four-hour drive apart, we came up with the idea of releasing an album together some day." 


It would appear that "some day" has now arrived: June 2022, Neuhauser and Pastorino's debut album 'Terranova', released under the moniker of Fallen Sanctuary. The new band also features a permanent rhythm section consisting of Alfonso Mocerino on drums and bassist Gabriele Gozzi, who will complement Fallen Sanctuary live on stage.




"The quality of Fallen Sanctuary convinced and amazed us right away," says AFM Records A&R Timo Hoffmann. "The passion and dedication, their attention to detail and the super high standards they set for themselves, make Fallen Sanctuary stand out. Songwriting, performance and production are on an immensely high level and will thrill fans of varied Melodic Power Metal. In addition, Georg and Marco are such positive characters that we are very much looking forward to working with them."


Georg Neuhauser states: "Since I bought Edguy's Vain Glory Opera album back in 1998 I always followed AFM Records and dreamed of becoming a part of this family. So with Fallen Sanctuary this will happen now and I am sure that AFM is the perfect partner for us to release our debut album, Terranova. Many memories come to my mind, sitting in my room listening to the AFM albums from Edguy and Avantasia - and now another melodic power metal masterpiece will see the light on this label".


"We are thrilled to announce that we are joining AFM Records' roster for the release of our new album", guitarist Marco Pastorino adds. "They are the best team possible to be part of our journey. We worked extremely hard to give you the best debut album possible and we are looking forward to giving you more updates very soon! Get ready for some great melodic power metal!".


The Fallen Sanctuary debut album, Terranova will be released on June 24th, but February 25th will already see them present the first single, "Broken Dreams".


Stay tuned for updates.

BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has apparently commenced the recording process for its new album, "Merciless". The follow-up to 2020's "Carnivore" is tentatively due before the end of the year via Century Media.

Earlier today (Saturday, February 19), Ice-T took to his Twitter to write: "I'm proud to say we just finished the FIRST day of writing, recording and track selection for the New BC Album 'MERCILESS' Only one goal… It's gotta be HARDER than the last…. It already is. @BodyCountBand @centurymediaeu".

"Carnivore" continued the path of its uncompromising and critically acclaimed predecessors, "Bloodlust" and "Manslaugther", in pairing Ice-T's impassioned and socio-critical lyrics with thick guitar riffs and nods to metal and hardcore greats like SLAYER, METALLICA, PANTERA, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Guest musicians on the LP included Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE), Dave Lombardo (ex-SLAYER), Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Riley Gale (POWER TRIP).

BODY COUNT was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which was held in March 2021 in Los Angeles. BODY COUNT was nominated for "Bum-Rush", a track from "Carnivore".




☠️BODY COUNT NEWS☠️ I’m proud to say we just finished the FIRST day of writing, recording and track selection for the New BC Album ‘MERCILESS’ Only one goal… “ It’s gotta be HARDER than the last…. It already is. @BodyCountBand @centurymediaeu pic.twitter.com/COleTGwV29

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 19, 2022

Video footage of Dave Mustaine performing the MEGADETH classic "99 Ways To Die" with several campers at last month's Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida can be seen below. Also joining in for the performance was VIXEN guitarist Brittany Denaro (a.k.a. Britt Lightning), who is the musical director for Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp.

Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp was created 26 years ago to provide real people the once-in-a-lifetime experience of connecting and jamming with their musical heroes. The Camp has provided unforgettable memories, advice and feedback for attendees worldwide. Camp events span over four jam packed days where campers join a band mentored by today's top touring musicians, and work up to final performances with the headliner rock stars at legendary venues from Abbey Road Studios in London, to Hollywood's Whisky A Go Go, to the Atlantic resort in The Bahamas.

Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp was the focus of the tremendously successful 2021 documentary "Rock Camp: The Movie". "Entertaining", "inspiring" and "moving" are how critics, audiences and industry leaders described the documentary. The film follows four real people who attend Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp and how it transforms their lives. These "rock campers" share the stage with superstar counselors including Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, JUDAS PRIEST, Sammy Hagar and many more. "Rock Camp" was directed by Doug Blush, who has worked on over a hundred documentaries (including Oscar winners "20 Feet from Stardom", "Icarus" and "Period. End Of Sentence.").

"Rock Camp: The Movie" has generated great word of mouth and buzz, scoring a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has been featured on "The Today Show", "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" and on ABC News. The Washington Post called "Rock Camp" "an eye-opening treat," and The Chicago Sun-Times described it as "infectiously upbeat." Music industry critic and influencer Bob Lefsetz raves, "I couldn't turn it off. Rock and roll is a religion."

David Fishof, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp founder, has had a successful career as a sports agent, producer, promoter, and manager and is the founder and CEO of Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp. Fishof produced the "Happy Together" tours, the MONKEES 20th-anniversary reunion tour, "Dirty Dancing Live" tours and "Classic Superfest" and others. He also created and produced RINGO STARR & HIS ALL-STARR BAND tours for 15 years.














Playing Symphony of Destruction with Dave Mustaine, Vinny Appice, Daniel Linares, Brian Fox, & Brandt

Posted by David Ashelman on Tuesday, January 11, 2022





So what’s it like to jam with your idol Dave Mustaine at Rock Camp. Check this out.

Posted by David Fishof on Tuesday, January 11, 2022

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of PANTERA's classic sophomore major label album "Vulgar Display Of Power", The Pit recently uploaded a video interview with the band's vocalist Philip Anselmo. You can now watch the remaining two parts of the chat below.

Speaking about the LP's opening track, "Mouth For War", Anselmo said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we wrote 'Mouth For War', I wrote the main riff and Dimebag [PANTERA guitarist Darrell Abbott] liked it. And it sounded about a thousand times better when he played it. And he made it his own. And everybody — God — they put that song together; we put that song together. I think we knew we had written a pretty good song, that one. And I think the video for its time was unique to look at, groundbreaking, sort of, action-packed, shit like that — so very '90s-band-like."

In one of the earlier parts of the interview, Anselmo discussed his expectations for the LP at the time of its release. He said: "When 'Vulgar Display Of Power' first came out, my expectations for how it would do were none. I never had any expectations for any record we've ever done. I always felt like if I put an expectation upon it, I'd always get let down. So I just let things happen as things happened.

"Now, the reception of the record and — God — the tours, the tours," he continued. "The difference in the audience from 'Cowboys From Hell' touring cycle to 'Vulgar Display' was night and day — truly. But I was surprised at how positive the reception was and all the massive crowds and the fans. That was really the true… Well, that was when people started coming to shows — like, you had to see PANTERA."

"Vulgar Display of Power" was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2004, signifying shipments of more than two million units in the U.S. since its February 1992 release.

In a 2017 interview with the WGRD radio station, former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott spoke about the 25th anniversary of "Vulgar Display Of Power". He said: "I never ever think about [how long it has been since the record was released]. It certainly doesn't feel like it at all, man; it feels like it was yesterday, almost. But looking back on it, it really was a groundbreaking record for heavy metal. It really set the tone for what modern-day metal bands do. They still use that record to A-B their records to — getting their guitar sounds, their drums sounds, this, that and the other. So it really was special, and I'm really proud to have been a part of it."

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Vinnie Paul and his brother Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Up until his death, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for the murder of Dimebag.

KręciołaTV has shared pro-shot video of Arch Enemy's 2018 performance at Pol'and'Rock Festival. Check out the entire show below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"The World Is Your" 
"Ravenous"
"War Eternal"
"My Apocalypse"
"The Race"
"You Will Know My Name"
"The Eagle Flies Alone"
"First Day in Hell"
"As The Pages Burn"
"Dead Bury Their Dead"
"We Will Rise"
"Avalanche"
"Nemesis"







On July 29, Arch Enemy will release their 11th studio album, Deceivers, via Century Media Records. For a preview of the record, the new single, "Handshake With Hell", can be streamed here.


The video for the song, directed by Patric Ullaeus, can be viewed below.


Michael Amott (guitars) comments: "Our new single/video 'Handshake With Hell' started off with some riffs and melodies that I thought might be suitable for each other, and when I showed the parts I had to Daniel (Erlandsson, drums), he also felt it had potential. We worked on a demo of it, developing it much further together, and once we had reached a point where we felt it was ready, we sent the instrumental version to Alissa over in Canada. She came back with this really cool approach to the vocals and lyrics that elevated the song even further. To me, it's a stand-out track on the new 'Deceivers' album, really showcasing what we are capable of as songwriters and performers in 2022 - it's definitely one of the new songs I'm dying to play live on tour!"


Alissa White-Gluz adds: "When Michael and Daniel showed me the instrumental they had cooked up, I got a ton of vocal ideas to complete the song. 'Handshake With Hell' has a classic heavy metal feel, and it felt like the right time to unleash some classic heavy metal vocals to match. I think the result is really interesting and catchy!"





A collection of 11 tracks that are ruthlessly catchy and mercilessly violent, Deceivers stands toe-to-toe with the highlights of the band's storied catalogue. Pre-order the album here.





Deceivers tracklisting:


"Handshake With Hell"
"Deceiver, Deceiver"
"In The Eye Of The Storm"
"The Watcher"
"Poisoned Arrow"
"Sunset Over The Empire"
"House Of Mirrors"
"Spreading Black Wings"
"Mourning Star"
"One Last Time"
"Exiled From Earth"


"Deceiver, Deceiver" video:





"House Of Mirrors" video:





This spring, Arch Enemy and Behemoth will return to the states to co-headline The North American Siege 2022 tour with Napalm Death and Unto Others as special guests, before Arch Enemy appears at select summer festivals; the rescheduled European Siege 2022 tour (with Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Carcass, Unto Others) will kick off in the fall.


"Despite the obvious uncertainties everyone is currently facing in the world, we have got quite a few concerts booked for this year!" says Amott. "We're delighted to be returning to the live stage in North America this spring and hitting select European festivals in the summer, as well as a huge European tour at the end of 2022. It's time, let's do this!"


All dates and tickets can be found here.


Arch Enemy lineup:


Alissa White-Gluz - Vocals
Michael Amott - Guitars
Jeff Loomis - Guitars
Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass
Daniel Erlandsson - Drums

The clip below features Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen performing at her solo show at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands on September 1st, 2021. Floor performs Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's "Shallow" from the movie A Star Is Born. 


Floor performed this track twice during Beste Zangers. Once solo, and after the massive success together with Tim Akkerman. Now during her sold out solo show in Amsterdam she performed it again, live, for the world to see.







The setlist was as follows:


Set 1:


"Ever Dream" (Nightwish)
"Storm In A Glass" (Northward) 
"Nemo" (Nightwish) 
"Mama" (Samantha Steenwijk cover) 
"Sweet Curse" (ReVamp song - with Henk Poort) 
"Dangerous Game" (from Jekyll & Hyde - with Henk Poort) 
"Euphoria" (Loreen)
"Face Your Demons" (After Forever)
"Winner" (Tim Akkerman cover)


Set 2:


"Slow, Love, Slow" (Nightwish)
"Shallow" (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper cover)
"Strong" (After Forever) 
"Élan" (Nightwish) 
"Energize Me" (After Forever) 
"Qué Se Siente" (Rolf Sanchez)
"Bridle Passion" (Northward) 
"Our Decades In The Sun" (Nightwish)
"Wolf And Dog" (ReVamp) 
"The Phantom Of The Opera" (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover - with Henk Poort)


"Ever Dream"





"Storm In A Glass"





"Dangerous Game"

Tabahi is a thrash metal band from Karachi, Pakistan, a city that is known as the most violent in Pakistan, and among the world’s most dangerous which makes for a perfect breeding ground for quality thrash metal. Tabahi takes its cues from ‘80s German thrash bands such as Destruction and Kreator, armed with some classic pre-‘86 Bay Area ideas. 


With stingy vocals and claustrophobic riffs, the music will take you right into the heart of Pakistan’s most dangerous city with a pure thrash assault that numbs the brain.


They have returned after 7 years with their new single “Politricks”, a theme that is parallel to their band name. As the song name itself and aggressive lyrics suggest; it's a direct call out of the political brainwashing tricks, hypocrisy, deception and madness which our society is repeatedly subjected to for decades now. 







Tabahi stands out as a thrash metal band with its lyrical content targeting Pakistani socio-political environment.


The band was formed by Faiq Ahmed in 2005 who performs as the guitarist, while Daniyal Buksh Soomro performs as the vocalist and bassist, and Omair Soomro performs live on drums.

Following on from their high-energy performance at last week's BRIT Awards, Ed Sheeran and BRING ME THE HORIZON have released their alternate version of "Bad Habits", out now on Atlantic Records.

Sheeran and BRING ME THE HORIZON opened the BRIT Awards with their version of "Bad Habits", which made waves across both fanbases, leading us to today's track release.

Sheeran says: "I really enjoyed the show last week and I think people will really like the new version. Excited to get it out."

BRING ME THE HORIZON's Oli Sykes says: "From receiving the email asking whether we'd like to open the BRITs with Ed Sheeran to us chatting and bouncing ideas to rehearsing and then performing and now releasing, this has, needless to say, been pretty mental. But we are all about pushing the boundaries of our own and other genres, so this felt like the perfect challenge."

The original version of "Bad Habits" was released in June 2021 as the lead single off of Sheeran's latest album, "=", which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon its October release, marking his fourth consecutive chart-topping full length. "Bad Habits" is currently nominated for "Song Of The Year" at the upcoming 64th Grammy Awards and stands at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its 33rd week on the chart.

Sheeran is an era-defining artist. From record-breaking sales across his recorded music and live performances, and a plethora of award wins to his name, the British singer-songwriter is the boundless talent behind some of the biggest songs in history. With four multiplatinum, critically acclaimed albums under his belt — "+" (2011), "x" (2014), "÷" (2017) and "No.6 Collaborations Project" (2019) — Sheeran has amassed more than 60 billion streams and sold over 50 million albums, globally to date; he is also one of only six artists to have three songs — "Thinking Out Loud", "Perfect" and "Shape Of You" — earn RIAA diamond certification, for sales equivalents exceeding 10 million in the U.S. alone. An unparalleled live performer, Sheeran's most recent, two-year "÷" world tour made history becoming the most-attended and highest-grossing tour of all time.

Last fall, Sheeran released "=", the fourth installment of his symbol album series, highlighted by the hit singles "Shivers" and "Bad Habits". Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, "=" is Sheeran's fourth consecutive full-length release to top the chart after its first week. A global phenomenon, "=" has also gone to No. 1 in 19 countries around the world.

Frontman Kirk Windstein of New Orleans sludge metal veterans CROWBAR spoke to Aftershocks about how his band's upcoming North American tour with SEPULTURA and SACRED REICH might be affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It seems… They're starting to talk — and they're not just talking about Louisiana or the New Orleans area; they're talking about the whole U.S. — where they think it's about to hit a plateau. It's spreading so fast, it's so fucking contagious that… It's one of two things — either we literally shut down the entire country or people get their fucking vaccines, whether they like it or not.

"I was not a big fan of it — I'll admit — but I am fully vaccinated and I am fully proud of it," he continued. "And I caught COVID — and so did my drummer — on tour with MUNICIPAL WASTE. It's not those guys' fault, but we did catch it. And it wasn't a picnic, I'll tell you that; it was no fun. But that's done.

"It's one of them things — wear your mask, do your social distancing, keep your fucking hands clean. If you don't feel good, stay home."

According to Windstein, he has "no choice" but to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if he wants to play in other parts of the world. "If I worked at the corner grocery [store] or something and that was my job and I never wanted to travel or go anywhere, who knows?" he said. "But guess what? I love to travel. And I love to travel around the world; I love to play. You tell me to get fucking two shots, I'll get two shots. You tell me to get three, I'll get three. Whatever it takes. That's just the reality. Whatever it takes to protect myself and others around me, I'm gonna do what I can do."

CROWBAR's North American tour with SEPULTURA and SACRED REICH will kick off on March 4 in Sacramento and will make stops in Toronto, Cleveland, and New York before concluding on April 8 in Berkeley, California.

CROWBAR will release its new album, "Zero And Below", on March 4 via MNRK Heavy (formerly eOne Music). The LP's first single, "Chemical Godz", was made available in December.

"Zero And Below" was produced, mixed, and mastered by Duane Simoneaux at OCD Recording And Production in Metairie, Louisiana and was previously described in a press release as "reverently old school, counterbalanced by a resonant melodicism that's stunningly mature."




So I got my second covid shot Friday. It started hitting me Saturday night and yesterday was miserable, but I'm feeling...

Posted by Kirk Windstein on Monday, August 9, 2021

earMUSIC has released the latest single from ANNIHILATOR's upcoming "Metal II" album, "Couple Suicide", featuring Danko Jones and Angela Gossow (ex-ARCH ENEMY).

"Metal II", which arrives February 18, kicks off earMUSIC's long-term ANNIHILATOR catalog campaign, which will include special configurations, additional bonus material, exclusive and previously unheard new tunes from the band.

"Couple Suicide" tells the story of what may be a doomed relationship if only the protagonist could find a solution.

ANNIHILATOR leader Jeff Waters commented: "I'm a big fan of Danko and Angela. Danko and I have written songs over the years. He is a badass rocker meets punk rocker with a bit of pop and metal in there, plus he's a nice guy. He and I discussed doing a project/record together someday. Angela was the vocal queen of her genre and I loved her in ARCH ENEMY. It's such a conflicting, 'opposite end of the spectrum' vocal pairing, that it has to be cool! And it is!"

"Metal II" has been given an incredible overhaul with the one and only Dave Lombardo (SLAYER) killing the drums and lead vocals "re-invented" by the great Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY, ICED EARTH). The rest of the guest list on the album is huge: Willie Adler (LAMB OF GOD), Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM), Steve "Lips" Kudlow (ANVIL), Dan Beehler (EXCITER), Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES), Jeff Loomis (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE), Anders Björler (THE HAUNTED, AT THE GATES) and Corey Beaulieu (TRIVIUM).

Waters passed over mixing duties to legendary engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, VAN HALEN) and it was remastered by Maor Appelbaum.

When Waters was asked, "Which record would you re-do, if you could and why?," with no hesitation it was "Metal". So, what we have now is a 2021 record that is called "Metal II", appropriately, featuring all the original guest tracks from 2007 with Jeff Waters at the helm.

"One of greatest engineers/mixers on the planet, Mike Fraser, was my first choice to mix this one," Jeff said. "It was a challenge as Mike was not brought in to make a record; he was simply there to mix a big mess of tracks that were recorded in 2006 and 2021 and with over 14 players on it. After this difficult mix, I promised Mike that I would do another record with him, from the ground up."

"Dave was in my favorite band ever (SLAYER)," Waters said, "and continues to evolve and play in many diverse bands, like MISFITS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, DEAD CROSS, MR. BUNGLE and many other projects. It was an honor to be on the same record as Lombardo. And he uses the 'Reign In Blood' ride cymbal!! Yes! The ACTUAL ride cymbal we hear on that classic record."

Waters revealed that "Stu has been the vocalist that I have (publicly) wanted to be ANNIHILATOR's singer, ever since I heard him in the Canadian band INTO ETERNITY, but I never got the opportunity to get him! He is the next generation of amazing vocalists that is grabbing the microphone from such icons as [Bruce] Dickinson and [Rob] Halford. And our paths SHOULD have crossed a long time ago, but we are here now!

"So I got a hold of them both," Waters continued, "and they both loved the tunes and both said 'FUCK YES'! And I said to Stu, 'You've got three takes', so there's blemishes and warts and fuck-ups everywhere. And I said the same to Dave, 'get it done'. And watching pros do this is mind-blowing because you don't have the best sounds, but you have the best players."

Waters closes, "Although Alexi Laiho's shredding in 'Downright Dominate' and the VAN HALEN song 'Romeo Delight' were recorded a while back, adding Stu and Dave to these songs gave us all the feeling that 'Metal II' is also a fitting tribute to our two fallen guitar heroes. Ed and Alexi, R.I.P."

"Metal II" track listing:

01. Chasing The High (ft. Willie Adler)

02. Downright Dominate (ft. Alexi Laiho)

03. Army Of One (ft. Steve "Lips" Kudlow)

04. Couple Suicide (ft. Danko Jones and Angela Gossow)

05. Heavy Metal Maniac (ft. Dan Beehler and Allan Johnson)

06. Haunted (ft. Jesper Strömblad)

07. Romeo Delight

08. Detonation (ft. Jacob Lynam)

09. Clown Parade (ft. Jeff Loomis)

10. Smothered (ft. Anders Björler)

11. Kicked (ft. Corey Beaulieu)

Canada's ANNIHILATOR is the lifework of Waters. Founded in 1984, the band took the metal scene by storm with its debut 1989 release "Alice In Hell", upped the ante with 1990's "Never, Neverland" and has continued a non-stop career-pattern of releasing records and touring with many of the biggest bands in the metal genre (mostly all outside North America), ever since; cementing ANNIHILATOR as the biggest-selling metal act in Canada's history.

ANNIHILATOR has given the metal world a sound that is one of the clearest, most tasteful mixtures of huge, metal riffs with the idea of the perfect song and some legendary solo shredding as the icing on the cake. Waters and ANNIHILATOR have been a major influence on countless well-known metal acts and musicians around the world. In fact, countless, successful non-metal acts and musicians cite Waters and Co. as an influence in their careers.

Waters is the guitarist, vocalist and writer for ANNIHILATOR as well as a studio owner, producer, engineer and mix and mastering engineer. Waters formed the band with singer John Bates.

Volbeat have released a lyric video for "Step Into Light", featured on their new album, Servant Of The Mind, out now via EMI Records. Watch the clip below:





Servant Of The Mind is available in standard/digipack CD, deluxe 2LP vinyl (with various limited-edition variants, more info below), a deluxe digital edition, plus a special box set (including 2CD digipack, 28pg booklet, bandana, and hip flask, housed in a metal box, available from the official Volbeat store). Order the album here.







Tracklisting:


"Temple Of Ekur"
"Wait A Minute My Girl"
"The Sacred Stones"
"Shotgun Blues"
"The Devil Rages On"
"Say No More"
"Heaven’s Descent"
"Dagen Før" (feat. Stine Bramsen)
"The Passenger"
"Step Into Light"
"Becoming"
"Mindlock"
"Lasse’s Birgitta"
 
Deluxe 2 CD/2 LP and Digital Deluxe bonus tracks:


"Return To None" (Wolfbrigade cover)
"Domino" (The Cramps/Roy Orbison cover)
"Shotgun Blues" (feat. Dave Matrise from Jungle Rot)
"Dagen Før" (Michael Vox Version)


"The Passenger" lyric video:





"Say No More" lyric video:





"The Devil Rages On" lyric video:





"The Scared Stones" lyric video:





"Temple Of Ekur" lyric video:





"Shotgun Blues" video:





"Becoming" lyric video:





"Shotgun Blues” lyric video:





"Wait A Minute My Girl" video:





"Dagen Før" lyric video:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featuring Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell & Noel Redding, performed live at the Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas on February 17, 1968. You can now listen to the full concert below.


Please note that this is not a professionally recorded concert and the sound quality is sub-par. Although rough sounding; this performance is provided for your enjoyment and to help present further context into Jimi Hendrix's incredible performance legacy.


Setlist:




Introduction
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"
"The Wind Cries Mary"
"Fire"
"Catfish Blues"
"Foxey Lady"
"Hey Joe"
"Purple Haze"
"Wild Thing"

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi has blasted "Pam & Tommy", Hulu's limited series about MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's and "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson's infamous leaked sex tape, saying everyone involved with the project should be ashamed.

Sebastian Stan and Lily James star in the series as Lee and Anderson, while Seth Rogen also appears as the man who stole the tape, and produced with his partner Evan Goldberg. The series, which premiered on February 2, also stars Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling, Andrew Dice Clay, Pepi Sonuga, Spencer Granese and Mozhan Marnò.

Earlier today, Corabi, who joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, and stayed with the band for five years, took to his social media to write: "Ok….just my opinion here on something that's been bugging me. The Tommy And Pam miniseries on Hulu, is so full of bullshit, it's ridiculous!!!! I can honestly say about 98% of this 'FICITIONAL' take on T&P's life is CRIMINAL.

"I shared 5 years of my life with Tommy and although it was at times INSANITY it's sooooo overblown in this SHIT they call TV entertainment! Tommy never walked around in a Speedo, didn't act at all they way they portray him, and now I see that THIRD EYE BLIND 'bumps' us from a studio, because they're more relevant???? DID NOT HAPPEN…!!!

"Apparently, HULU, and all involved in this crock of shit don't care about how Pam may feel to have to relive this. Or how Tommy's new wife may feel. Or how about Tommy's boys seeing this completely overblown story about their parents!!!

"Shame on EVERYONE involved…" Corabi ended his message by including four middle finger emojis.

"Pam & Tommy" executive producer Rob Siegel admitted to Variety that the scene in the series involving MÖTLEY CRÜE and THIRD EYE BLIND never actually happened in real life.

"I felt like [THIRD EYE BLIND] was the perfect band for the scene," he said. "I did a little quick Google search. What label was MÖTLEY CRÜE on? Elektra. Who else was on Elektra? THIRD EYE BLIND. The timing was perfect. In 1996 they're working on their debut album. So the scene is fictional, but I like to think it absolutely could have happened."

THIRD EYE BLIND singer Stephan Jenkins confirmed that he has never even met the members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, telling Variety: "MÖTLEY CRÜE and I've never been in the same studio. I recorded my whole first album in Northern California. So we were across the state from each other at the very least."

Lee and Anderson are not involved with the series, which was written by Siegel and DV DeVincentis and produced by Annapurna.

The series focuses on the duo's salacious relationship in the 1990s, including the leak of the private honeymoon video and the legal battle that ensued.

Anderson and Lee got married on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days. The couple, who divorced in 1998, share two sons, Brandon, 24, and Dylan, 22.

The sex tape Lee made with Anderson during their 1998 honeymoon ended up finding its way online after being stolen from their home by an electrician. Pamela later sued the distribution company, but ended up settling, and the tape continued to be available online as a result. The tape reportedly made $77 million in less than 12 months.

Last November, Corabi said that he was "insulted" by the way he was portrayed in MÖTLEY CRÜE's biopic "The Dirt". Corabi discussed the way he was name-checked in "The Dirt" in an interview with The Metal Summit. He said: "The portrayal in the movie, it was pathetic. It really made it look like I was really pissed when [the guys in the band are seen] basically walking into a high school gymnasium to, like, eight people. And I'm sorry — regardless of what the ticket sales were like [while I was in MÖTLEY CRÜE], it was never that bad. So I just kind of took it as a little bit of back-handed compliment — not even a compliment; it was like an insult. I was insulted. And I'm, like, you know, dude? If you're gonna be a fucking asshole about it, whoever's choice it was to put that in there… At the end of the day, I didn't appreciate it."

John, who is played by Anthony Vincent Valbiro in the adaptation of CRÜE's 2001 memoir "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", went on to say that he would have preferred it if he had been left out of the film altogether. "I think I'm in the movie 20 seconds," he said. "So, take that 20 seconds out and skim over it completely."

Released in March 2019, "The Dirt" currently has a 36% critic score from 74 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the online review aggregation service that allows both critics and the public to rate movies. The same site has an 94% audience score for "The Dirt" from more than 6,000 reviews.

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.




Just my opinion! pic.twitter.com/RLHK07Wk7y

— John Corabi (@Crablegs59) February 18, 2022

Romanian heavy / power metallers Scarlet Aura never stop working. After successfully releasing their latest album, Genesis Of Time, in September 2021 as the final instalment from The Book Of Scarlet, they are ready to surprise their fans again!


Scarlet Aura reveals the title of their upcoming and first of its kind in the band’s history – acoustic album: Under My Skin, which will be released physically as double CD digipak on April 22nd via Silver City Records and Universal Music Romania. The full digital release of the album will commence at a later date.


Under My Skin is a collection of the band’s “Best Of” songs; but with an unexpected twist. Re-interpreted in the acoustic style, the songs were transformed by Mihai Danciulescu from the train hitting power to the mellowness and breathtaking of the acoustic chords joined by Aura’s touching vocals, Rene’s present and rapid bass lines and soft beats from Matthias. The power/heavy metal storm in the Scarlet Aura latest releases turned with this album into a acoustic masterpiece orchestra, which proves once more that the dedication of the band towards the fans and heavy metal is absolute, joining the big bands at the round table of electric and acoustic skills in songwriting, sound and production.




Under My Skin artwork and tracklisting:





"Hail To You!" 
"Frostbite" 
"Let’s Go Freakin’ Wild" 
"Immortal In Your Eyes" 
"Battle Cry" 
"Glimpse In The Mirror" 
"Zombie" 
"Fallin’ To Pieces" 
"If I Close My Eyes" 
"My Own Nightmare" 
"You’re Not Alone" 
"Breaking The Law" 
"Ingeri Pe Motoare" 
"Utopia" 
"The Heretic" 
"Colour Blind" 
"All We Are" 
"Ya Svoboden (Я Свободен / I Am Free)" 


 

RiverGhost hit the ground running with their first single "DarkHorse". While the band has been in action since 2021, they bring their bluesy rock and roll sound to 2022 with their long awaited on-record debut.


"DarkHorse" has all the guitar-driven grit that hard rock fans love, meshed with that signature Southern rock groove that'll make listeners shake and shimmy. This blues rock act captures the essence of classic bands like Guns N' Roses, The Black Crowes and Aerosmith with a fresh take on that sacred sound. "DarkHorse" is just one of many hard-hitting singles in RiverGhost's arsenal, and listeners can expect much more to come.







For further details, visit RiverGhost on Facebook. 





 

Melodic hardcore heavyweights IGNITE have dropped their fourth single and new music video for "This Day" from their upcoming self-titled album. The LP will be released on March 25 via Century Media.

"'This Day', a hopeful call for unity, is an unfiltered, disheartened reaction to the teeming racial tensions of the last couple years," states new lead vocalist Eli Santana.

Santana joined IGNITE as the replacement for longtime vocalist Zoltán "Zoli" Téglás, who exited the group in 2020.

IGNITE bassist Brett Rasmussen previously stated about Santana's addition to IGNITE: "The energy and positivity that Eli brought to the recording studio was contagious! It was an absolute breath of fresh air for all of us and reminded me of the early days of IGNITE. I really can't wait to take these songs on tour."

IGNITE's new LP will feature the following track listing:

01. Anti-Complicity Anthem

02. The River

03. This Day

04. On The Ropes

05. The Butcher In Me

06. Call Off The Dogs

07. The House Is Burning

08. Enemy

09. State Of Wisconsin

10. Let The Beggars Beg

11. After The Flood (CD bonus)

Rasmussen commented on the new album: "A lot of hard work went into this album and this is the happiest I have felt about an IGNITE album in a long time. It feels incredible to work this hard on a project and see the entire plan come together as anticipated."

IGNITE is:

Vocals - Eli Santana

Guitar - Nik Hill

Guitar - Kevin Kilkenny

Bass - Brett Rasmussen

Drums - Craig Andersen

Professionally filmed video footage of JUDAS PRIEST performing the song "Living After Midnight" on August 15, 2021 at the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which took place at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

The British heavy metal legends, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary, were rejoined by guitarist Glenn Tipton during their first concert in more than two years. The band also pulled out a number of surprises in its set, including first-ever performances of "One Shot At Glory" and "Invader", as well as several tracks that hadn't been played in a long time, such as "Rocka Rolla (performed for the first time since 1976), "Exciter" (first time since 2005), "Hell Patrol" (first time since 2009), "A Touch Of Evil" (first time since 2005), "Dissident Aggressor" (first time since 2009) and "Blood Red Skies" (first time since 2012).

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

As he has done a number of other times over the course of the last three and a half years, Tipton joined PRIEST onstage on Bloodstock for the encore, performing "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently told Metal Pilgrim that Glenn is "still actively involved with JUDAS PRIEST, a hundred percent. Andy is still standing in that spot for Glenn with Glenn's blessing… And my gratitude to Andy. It couldn't have happened in a better way, if you wanna try and make something good out of it. It was a really important day when Glenn said, 'I think it's probably best if I step to the side and maybe we should let Andy come in.' That was just a really beautiful act of selflessness. That's Glenn treasuring PRIEST and PRIEST's reputation, particularly in live concert more than anything else. So bless Glenn for that. And as a result, Andy stepped in and did amazing work on the 'Firepower' tour, and we're looking forward to doing the same thing with him on this 50th-anniversary [tour]. And don't discount the fact that Glenn can show up. He plays the guitar differently, but there's no reason why Glenn can't show up and do some work. I mean, I've said to Glenn, 'Just walk out on stage and do that to everybody [flashes devil horns], and the people will just go fucking crazy, 'cause you are loved so much.' But I've got a feeling that Glenn's gonna be making the occasional appearance on this 50th-anniversary [tour]."

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

Last November, JUDAS PRIEST announced the rescheduled "50 Heavy Metal Years" North American tour dates for March-April 2022. Support on the trek will come from QUEENSRŸCHE.

SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker has addressed some of the issues that led to the departure of the group's longtime drummer James Kottak more than five years ago.

In September 2016, Kottak was dismissed from the legendary German hard rock band during his well-publicized battle with alcoholism and was replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD member Mikkey Dee.

Asked in a new interview with Javier Hualde of Spain's classic rock radio station RockFM how he would compare the drumming styles of Kottak and Dee, Schenker said: "Every musician has his own style. James was great, and is still a great drummer — no question about this — but we had a little problem… well, he had a problem, and we tried to help him through the problem. In this case, we noticed that he need[ed] more time than we could give him because we were on tour. So in this case, Matthias [Jabs, guitar] had the idea to call Mikkey Dee, because he was available because of [MOTÖRHEAD frontman] Lemmy's death. So, yeah, it was a great thing to see light in the distance because we were a little bit depressed because we [were] helping James so much, but he couldn't deliver the spirit we gave him. And so we split."

Rudolf continued: "We rehearsed with Mikkey Dee and we noticed immediately there's a new kind of kick-ass [energy]. Everybody has his own style, and Mikkey Dee is really a very — especially for me as a rhythm guitar player — he is a very influencing person. That means when I play my riffs, he knows how to make them more wild and more powerful. And that's very good — it's a synergy effect which even is added by Paweł [Mąciwoda, bass] because they are really a great rhythm team, Pawel and Mikkey Dee, and me as a rhythm guitar player, we can build a great basis for Matthias and Klaus [Meine, vocals]."

In a 2020 interview with the SCORPIONS official fan club Crazyscorps, Kottak discussed the circumstances that led to his departure, saying: "I always liked a drink here and there. And then I always also take a pain medication called Aleve. It's what all the baseball players take, all the footballers, and it works like a charm. You take those of those and you don't feel anything. But on top of that, I'm a rock drummer in a rock band, and you've got the green light to drink.

"From 2008 to 2011, I didn't drink," he explained. "I just woke up one day and said, 'I just don't wanna drink anymore.' I didn't go to rehab; I didn't do any of that stuff. I just didn't wanna drink anymore.

"If you have any knowledge of A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] or any type of program or rehab, it only lasts so long and then you have what we call in recovery a relapse. I would go through these phases of a year or maybe two years of no drinking, and then you gradually…

"SCORPIONS, we play our show, we go back to the hotel, [and] 45 minutes later, we're all downstairs having dinner," he continued. "And everything's just the right price — free. All these flights back and forth from Europe, from L.A. — I was just flying constantly. Which I'm not complaining about, but it's always business or first class, and once again, all the booze is at the right price. I'm going, 'I've got the next two days off. I might as well have a drink.' And that's what triggered me to start drinking again sometimes.

"It's a typical alcoholic way of thinking: 'Well, I may as well have a drink. Why not?' And that's typical alcoholic disease thinking. 'Cause it is a disease."

Kottak, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996, recalled one particular turning point when he spent three months at Eric Clapton's Crossroads drug and alcohol treatment center on the island of Antigua.

"I've been to hundreds — I won't say thousands — I've been to hundreds of A.A. meetings," he said. "I spent 92 days in rehab down at Eric Clapton's rehab place. I was only supposed to stay there 30 days. They offered me, they said, 'Hey, if you wanna stay another couple of weeks, it's okay.' And I'm, like, 'What? Well, do I have to pay?' 'Cause it's expensive — it's, like, 30 grand a month. They go, 'No. You can just stay if you want.' So I stayed another two weeks, then another two weeks. And long story short, I was there 92 days, which it changed my entire life and my whole way of thinking."

James went on to say that he is "still very good friends" with members of the SCORPIONS. "Me and Matthias e-mail, and me and Klaus e-mail regular, like, maybe once every few weeks. And I just say, 'Hey, man, how are you?' And Klaus will write back, 'Hey, everything is great here. What's going on with you?' It's that kind of a thing.

"I saw them [in 2019] down in Orange County, which, from here, it sounds close, but it was like a two-hour drive. I went and visited with the guys, and I said hello to the crew, and I went backstage, and I went and visited with Klaus privately.

"They're my friends, man," Kottak added. "Just 'cause you're not in a band [together] anymore doesn't mean you can't be friends. And these guys are my friends."

Asked if he had any regrets about the way his time with SCORPIONS came to an end, Kottak said: "Of course, there's always a regret with any change. But 21 years in rock and roll might as well be 150 years."

Three and a half years ago, Jabs said that he and his bandmates "had to make" the decision to fire Kottak, explaining that they gave the drummer "all the chances" to get better. "We reached the point — or he reached the point — where it was just not worth it," Jabs said.

Kottak has spent much of the last four years touring with a revamped version of KINGDOM COME, also featuring guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, and bassist Johnny B. Frank, along with singer Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB). Original frontman Lenny Wolf declined to participate in the reunion.

SCORPIONS' 19th studio album, "Rock Believer", will be released on February

Following their formation in 2017, Canadian quartet SPIRITBOX has continually possessed the charts with its dynamic blend of metal and block-leveling live shows. The group will now channel the story behind its 2021 debut, "Eternal Blue" (topping at No. 13 in the Billboard 200), in a new graphic novel co-created alongside veteran comic scribe Jim Krueger ("Earth X", "Justice") and artist Amilcar Pinna ("Poppy's Inferno", "Generation X"). The graphic novel unspools the eerie tale of Eva, a brilliant painter on the verge of unbelievable acclaim and success. But her inability to reconcile her public perception with her true self allows a Spiritbox — a device used to communicate with the dead — to transport her to an ethereal world. Here, she finds herself trapped in a realm where false shadows become real and dangerous.

"I am in love with this story and artwork. I cannot wait for you to discover Eva and the world that she has been thrust into," explains SPIRITBOX vocalist Courtney LaPlante. "It truly is an extension of my feelings and the state of mind I held while writing our album, 'Eternal Blue', and the lyrics that resonate with me still. Although we are very different, I can't help but let a lot of myself seep into Eva's personality and experiences. I care about her so much. Jim and Amilcar are brilliant and we are so happy to share this with you after keeping it to ourselves for so long."

Ushering the cursed device from the pages of "Eternal Blue: A Spiritbox Graphic Novel" to reality, deluxe versions of the book will include a fully functional Spiritbox replica. This machine cycles through the radio frequency spectrum, creating a din of white noise that lost souls harness to communicate from beyond the veil. This limited-edition Spiritbox is a precise replica of the mysterious artifact that allows Eva to escape from the shadow world. When activated, the box gives off a blue glow as it emits the noises of the spirit world. From the top of the box, an image of Eva is projected onto the ceiling.

For the last four-plus years, SPIRITBOX has sent tremors through the metal establishment; singles "Holy Roller" and "Secret Garden" respectively charted on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs at 25 and within Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart Top 40. Following its release, the record peaked at 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and topped both Billboard's Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Album charts. To date, SPIRITBOX has received more than 100 million digital music streams and has graced the covers of Revolver, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Pollstar and had the number one song on SiriusXM Liquid Metal for two consecutive years — the first artist in the history of the program to achieve this.

"SPIRITBOX has such a precise concept of their aesthetic, and how it ties into their music, that it makes the process of collaboration and creative exploration a joy," editor Rantz Hoseley explains. "The result is an ambitious and haunting journey that pulls you down through the 'Eternal Blue' darkness into a surreal realm of deeply personal exploration. For me, this is one of those books where it's thrilling to get to read the story before everyone else, and I cannot wait for everyone to be able to experience Eva's journey."

"When I took on this job, I had no idea what it was going to become. I loved the poetry and metaphoric mysteries of SPIRITBOX (the band)," writer Jim Krueger says. "I loved their music and the chance to finally work with Z2. But again, I was unprepared for the magic that happened creatively with this one. Or the places I was going to be allowed to go. And the art, the art. I cannot wait for people to see this. But grab quick, I might be buying all the copies."

"I couldn't wish for a better script to draw! Jim's writing on 'Spiritbox' is weird, nightmarish, and surrealist! All things that I love to draw!" artist Amilcar Pinna elaborates.

Z2 and SPIRITBOX present "Eternal Blue: A Spiritbox Graphic Novel" by writer Jim Krueger, artist Amilcar Pinna, and colorist Treonna Farrell in both softcover and hardcover formats, with covers courtesy Justin Cherry available in comic shops, as well as deluxe, super deluxe and platinum editions packaged with a Spiritbox device, exclusive vinyl variant LP of "Eternal Blue", gallery-ready prints by Jason Levesque, and more available exclusively through Z2's webstore.

SLIPKNOT has released an official performance video for the single "The Chapeltown Rag", which is available on all streaming platforms.

The M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan-directed visual frames the visceral experience of the band's unparalleled live performance. True to form, heavy music's generational ambassadors in SLIPKNOT set the community ablaze late last year with the launch of a brand new offensive packaged with cryptic fanfare.

Within the span of about a week's time, the band methodically disseminated veiled messaging from the then unreleased music, fueling speculation that their plan of attack was imminent.

Launching an all-out blitz, "The Chapeltown Rag" surfaced as SLIPKNOT's first showing of new material since "We Are Not Your Kind" and emphatically punctuated a monumental 2021 — a year that included the band's triumphant live return following the unprecedented stall in the wake of a historic pandemic.

Thematically, the song utilized the true crime lore of the Yorkshire Ripper and the ensuing mania of the media during the murderous spree to draw parallels to the current social climate of the online era. From Corey Taylor's tortured howl, "When everything is God online, nothing is" a loaded statement can be deduced about modern day misinformation and the kind of divisiveness that mares the digital age.

The intensity of the track was underscored when SLIPKNOT opted to debut "The Chapeltown Rag" ceremoniously to a capacity audience just days later during the band's historic showing at Knotfest Los Angeles at Banc of California Stadium. A sight to behold, the collective delivered a relentless rendition of the track in a performance that illuminated the L.A. skyline and further cemented the band as the undisputed champions of heavy culture.

Documenting the vehemence and volatility that has become synonymous with the band's live experience, the latest SLIPKNOT music video boasts a collection of "Knotfest Roadshow" 2021 live tour footage featuring "The Chapeltown Rag".

The clip captures the contrasting pageantry and pummel synonymous with SLIPKNOT in the flesh, while framing the significance of live music's return led by one its most powerful innovators.

Last month, SLIPKNOT announced the 2022 iteration of its infamous "Knotfest Roadshow" tour. The trek will take place over two legs, both headlined by SLIPKNOT. The first leg will feature special guests IN THIS MOMENT and JINJER. The second leg will feature special guests CYPRESS HILL and HO99O9.

The first leg of the 38-date tour, produced by Live Nation, kicks off in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday, March 16 and hits a further 17 cities before wrapping up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Sunday, April 17. The second leg kicks off on Wednesday, May 18 in University Park, Pennsylvania and hits a further 17 cites before culminating on Sunday, June 18 in Chula Vista, California.

"Knotfest Roadshow" 2022 will be part of Live Nation's Live Stubs initiative which provides digital collectible NFT ticket stubs to ticket holders. Live Stubs will automatically be included with tickets purchased for the tour. Fans will also be able to view, share, gift, trade, and resell their live stubs on LiveNation.com.

Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA have released a performance video of their collaboration with Ismo Alanko on a reworked version of the song "Peltirumpu", a track originally written and recorded by Alanko's former band SIELUN VELJET.

In a statement accompanying the release of the song, APOCALYPTICA said: "This is a big one for us! By being part of Laulu Rakkaudelle (Secret Song Suomi) on MTV, we were recently able to collaborate with the Finnish rock legend Ismo Alanko on a recreation of his legendary track 'Peltirumpu'.

"It was really an honor to get to work on this with a guy who has spearheaded Finnish rock since the 70s! The track itself has a slow build before turning into a bonafide Finnish rocker!"

In May 2018, Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett played a cover version of the song "Rappiolla", originally written and recorded by Alanko's '80s band HASSISEN KONE, during METALLICA's concert at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

Last April, APOCALYPTICA released the official music video for its collaboration with PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix on a cover version of the CREAM classic "White Room". The track was produced by Howard Benson at West Valley Recording Studios in Woodland Hills, California and mixed by Chris Lorde-Alge.

"White Room" was the first release from APOCALYPTICA since "Talk To Me", which arrived in August 2020. That song was a collaboration with HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale.

APOCALYPTICA's latest studio album, "Cell-0", came out in January 2020. The effort was the band's first fully instrumental record in 17 years.

Southern death metal band Guillotine A.D. - whose music blends the sounds of old-school Florida death metal, Scandinavian black metal, and New Orleans sludge into a wholly unique brew - have signed with M-Theory Audio. The group's as-of-yet-untitled second album and label debut is slated for a Summer 2022 release.


In the meantime, you can experience the initial taste of the pummelling to come with the lyric video for “Hammer”, the first single off of the upcoming record.


Says bassist/vocalist Adam Miller, “'Hammer' is the first song we wrote after our first album was released. It is pure head-on aggression and shows in a straightforward way what we’re about. It’s a fun violent song about burning witches. It wasn’t intentionally written as such, but it could be a prequel to that Diamond Head song. Raf Ortega made a fantastic lyric video that perfectly captures the essence and intensity of the song. Play it at MAXIMUM VOLUME, soak it all in, and then get ready, because we have so much more to show you.”




Says, guitarist/vocalist Lance Miller, “We are thrilled to be a part of the M-Theory Audio family alongside such a talented and exciting roster of bands! It is a huge honor to work with Marco Barbieri, and with his guidance we will continue to grow and push ourselves further. We look forward to what we can accomplish with him and the rest of the M-Theory team.”





The early roots of what is now known as Guillotine A.D. first took shape in 2003, when brothers Adam & Lance Miller first formed the band, then known as Guillotine, in their rural southwest Georgia town. The brothers initially grew up on ‘70s hard rock legends such as ZZ Top, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and came of age during the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, cutting their metal teeth on Shadows Fall and Lamb of God. Life saw the brothers soon head on different paths for the next decade, with Guillotine going on pause during that time.


Guillotine was reformed by the brother duo in 2015. Adam & Lance now took inspiration from the classic death metal of Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under, the New Orleans sludge of Crowbar and Eyehategod, and the Scandinavian black metal of Mayhem and early Enslaved. The duo soon followed that reformation with a re-location to Athens, Georgia, where they met drummer Evan Posey. The newly-materialized incarnation of the band became the perfect outlet for the updated direction that their music had taken. The band self-described the motivation of their new sound as wanting “to sound like if Obituary moved to New Orleans and tried to play down-tuned versions of Satyricon songs.”


Guillotine's self-titled and self-released debut album was released in October 2017. The group soon took their new sound to live stages all over the Southeast United States, supporting bands such as Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse, and Hate Eternal. The band also participated in Slaughter Que 2019, which was headlined by acts such as Exodus, Kataklysm, Exhorder, and more. The trio also shared stages alongside fellow rising extreme metal acts such as Cloak, Frozen Soul and Sanguisugabogg.


The band began working on what would become their upcoming new album in 2019. The group officially changed their name to Guillotine A.D. in December 2021 and signed with M-Theory Audio to formally usher in a new era for the band along with the new album, set to be released in Summer 2022.


More information on Guillotine A.D. and their upcoming sophomore full-length will be revealed in the weeks to come.


Live dates:


February
25 - Southern Brewing Company - Athens, GA


March
11 - The Warrior On The River - Tallahassee, FL
12 - The Brass Mug - Tampa, FL
17 - The Odditorium - Asheville, NC
18 - Sabbath Brewing - Atlanta, GA
19 - The Milestone Club - Charlotte, NC





Guillotine A.D. is:


Adam Miller - bass/vocals
Lance Miller - guitars/backing vocals
Evan Posey - drums

Record Store Day 2022 is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, and the list of available product for this year's event has just been released. Of interest to BraveWords readers are limited edition titles from Judas Priest, Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard, Dio, Bad Company, Black Label Society, Udo Dirkschneider, and many more.


A message states: "In 2022, there is one Record Store Day, April 23. We feel strongly that stores have learned and adapted in the past few years and are ready to bring back elements of a “traditional” Record Store Day, bands and beer and fun and people and whatever parts of the party they like, in ways that make them, and their customers, comfortable.  We also feel strongly that it’s important to focus on those stores themselves, and celebrate what they do year-round, in their communities.


As we’ve all learned in the past few years, it can be hard to make any plans in permanent ink, so it’s always a good idea to have a sort of contingency plan. A safety net for anything a few months still down the road. In the last few years, our plans for RSD Drops helped record stores around the world get through the pandemic, by marking a change in the way Record Store Day was focused. In “normal” times, the list of releases is a part of the celebration as a whole, but for RSD Drops, the focus became the releases themselves, and getting them into stores, and then into customer homes as safely as possible, bringing much-needed revenue and stock in a very unpredictable time. Importantly, those dates weren’t called Record Store Day, because they weren’t. They were release dates –important release dates, but not the party that Record Store Day is.  That was an important distinction.




But we’re well aware of where we are in terms of manufacturing, shipping, etc. etc. We help the stores deal with it every release day, and we know that our Saturday in April is no exception to issues. We worked proactively with artists, labels and distribution to push back by several months the planning for Record Store Day 2022, some of these titles have been worked on for more than a year. We’re also being proactive with designating an RSD Drops date on June 18. That will serve as a street date safety net, for titles that are part of the Record Store Day celebration, but for any number of reasons beyond controlling, can’t make it into stores on April 23. The List includes titles that are coming to record stores on Record Store Day in April and those that will be coming in June. As we become aware of issues for any specific title, that title will move to the RSD Drops date and you’ll see that on the List on the website."





A partial list of titles available on Record Store Day 2022, in alphabetical order, follows (quantity in brackets where available):


"We Die Young" - Alice In Chains - Legacy - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (14,350)
Cream Of The Crop 2003: Highlights - Allman Brothers Band - Peach Records  - 3 x LP - 'RSD First' (9,500)
XXX - Asia - BMG  - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
Live 1979 - Bad Company - Rhino  - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (3,000)
Moving Pitchers - Charlie Benante - Megaforce - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,500)
Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live - Black Label Society - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (2,600)
Brutal Planet - Alice Cooper - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (5,000)
Dearly Beloved - Daughtry - Dog Tree Records - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
High 'n' Dry - Def Leppard - Mercury  - LP - 'RSD First' (6,000)
Dissociation - Dillinger Escape Plan - Cooking Vinyl - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
Double Dose of Donington - Dio - BMG - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (2,700)
My Way - Udo Dirkschneider - Atomic Fire - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (2,250)
L.A. Woman - The Doors - Rhino/Elektra     - 4 x LP - RSD Exclusive (11,000)
"Making A Fire" (Mark Ronson Re-Version) b/w "Chasing Birds" (Preservation Hall Jazz Band Re-Version) - Foo Fighters - RCA Records - 7" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (9,500)
Hardware [Deluxe Edition] - Billy F Gibbons - Concord - CD Box Set - RSD Exclusive (2,000)
Live at Brixton Academy - Gojira - P & C 2013 Roadrunner Records, Inc.     - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (3,500)
Waking The Dead - L.A.Guns - eOne - LP - 'RSD First' (4,000)
The Tokyo Tapes - Steve Hackett - Esoteric Antenna - 3 x LP - RSD Exclusive (1,500)
Portals - Kirk Hammett - Blackened Recordings - 12" Vinyl - 'RSD First' (6,500)
Portals - Kirk Hammett - Blackened Recordings - CD - 'RSD First' (7,500)
Vol. 2  - Jazz Sabbath - Blacklake - LP - RSD Exclusive (4,000)
Acoustics - Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - Legacy - LP - RSD Exclusive (6,550)
Hero Hero - Judas Priest - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First'  (4,700)
Waterloo Sunset EP - The Kinks - BMG - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (3,150)
Spit - Kittie - eOne - LP - 'RSD First' (1,700)
Lost Tapes Vol 2 - Motörhead - BMG - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (2,250)
Somewhere in California - Night Ranger - M-Theory Audio/Postseason Records - LP - RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus (1,000)
Wasted Time - Night Ranger - Frontiers Music - 7" Vinyl - 'RSD First' (1,500)
My Arms, Your Hearse - Opeth - Spinefarm - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (1,500)
Live on Two Legs - Pearl Jam - Legacy - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (20,600)
Unlimited Love - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Warner Records - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (5,000)
More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) [50th Anniversary] - The Rolling Stones - ABKCO - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (7,200)
Revolusongs - Sepultura - BMG - LP - RSD Exclusive     (1,800)
Live At Studio 60 - Slash - BMG - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (2,250)
Kings & Thieves - Geoff Tate - Svart Records - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (1,000)
Polaris - TesseracT - Kscope - LP - RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus (900)
Face The Face - Pete Townshend - Mercury Studios - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (3,500)
It's Hard (40th Anniversary) - The Who - Polydor - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (6,000)


View the complete list here.

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Hardcore Humanism With Dr. Mike" podcast, CLUTCH frontman Neil Fallon was asked if he would agree that there is something unique about the fervor of CLUTCH fans. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I would. And it's always hard for me to comment on, because I've been to every single CLUTCH show, but I've never seen CLUTCH in the capacity that they have. And I've never listened to CLUTCH in the same way like a song done out of the box; I'm so over my head with it, it's hard to be objective about it.

"I think there's some parallels that I've kind of thought about over the years with us and RUSH in some ways. RUSH — we may be very musically different on the spectrum of rock and roll, but there's a sense — and I heard Geddy Lee say this, or I think it was Geddy Lee — that RUSH fans have a sense of ownership in the band. Almost like they're shareholders — emotional shareholders.

"Sure, RUSH has had hits. We've had a couple of things that might have remotely resembled a hit, but not played on radio or anything like that. And I think because of that, it took a lot longer to build up a fanbase, mostly because of word of mouth.

"And I've said this before in other interviews — I think one of the worst things that can happen to any artist or band is a huge hit right out of the gates. More often than not, it destroys a band, because the bar gets so high, and then they wanna meet that, and more often than not, they never do.

"With us, it's been a marathon and not a sprint. And our fans have kind of been along for the ride. I mean, I've seen people that have met and married, people that met at CLUTCH shows, and now they're bringing their kids. And it's pretty gratifying.

"I think sincerity, too. What you see if what you get. I would hope that that honesty is what a lot of people latch on to."

Last December, CLUTCH guitarist Tim Sult told the WSOU radio station that the band will likely enter the studio this fall to record the follow-up to 2018's "Book Of Bad Decisions" album.

Regarding CLUTCH's musical approach this time around, Tim said: "We're just gonna do what we always do — we're gonna write songs and just keep playing them until every member of the band likes it and agrees on it.

This past September, Gaster confirmed to the "Cobras & Fire" podcast that he and his bandmates have slowly commenced the songwriting process for the next CLUTCH album.

"Book Of Bad Decisions" was recorded at Sputnik Sound studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Vance Powell. The record sold 26,000 copies in America during its first week of availability, giving the group its third consecutive Top 20 album on the Billboard 200.

The latest edition of CLUTCH's "Live From The Doom Saloon" streaming concert series took place in December. The event saw the band playing a 15-song set of its classics as voted by the fans.