On the heels of the announcement of his 11th solo album "Shades", acclaimed KING'S X guitarist, songwriter, and co-vocalist Ty Tabor has released the album's first single, "Sister Genocide". The dynamic, mid-tempo rocker opens with a crash, and blooms with the help of Ty's heavy rhythms and tasteful solos. Originally slated for a future KING'S X release, "Sister Genocide" is a heavy, driving track that lays the foundation of what "Shades" has to offer, and is just one of the many colors on Ty's palette on his latest solo offering. The lyric video for "Sister Genocide" was created by Wayne Joyner and can be seen below.

"Shades" will arrive on March 4 via Rat Pak Records. The album features 10 brand new songs with three bonus tracks and follows the successful release of 2018's "Alien Beans". "Shades" is available for preorder in various configurations, including CD, vinyl and digital download.

"When it comes to what I write for solo material, I don't really think about bands or anything like that. These new songs explore different sides of life and death," Ty explains. "I was dealing with the recent loss of my dad when some of this was written. There are lighter moments mixed in to keep it from being too focused on loss or sadness. I also resurrected a couple of old ideas that weren't ready until now. I just write music that makes me happy, and I've ended up with an album I really love!"

From the opening chords of "Come Home", it is clear that Tabor's trademark guitar tone lays the bedrock for his latest solo release. Ty tackles a wide array of emotions and topics with layered harmonies, hooky pop sensibilities, and the total riffage that remains a crucial ingredient to the KING'S X sound. Songs like "What You're Thinking", "One Drop Of Water" and "Doesn't Linger" show Ty's penchant for crafting tunes with tremendous melodies, while songs like "Shallow" and "Your Fantasy" trend heavy and exemplify why Ty is one of the most influential guitarists of the last three decades.

"Shades" track listing:

01. Come Home

02. Shallow

03. Your Fantasy

04. What You're Thinking

05. Sister Genocide

06. Best Day In A While

07. Insane

08. One Drop Of Water

09. Doesn't Linger

10. Leaves Falling Down

11. Ashes (bonus track; CD and digital download only]

12. Political Nonsense (bonus track; CD and digital download only)

13. Ashes (Acoustic) (bonus track; CD and digital download only)

Photo credit: Reames Photography

Norwegian symphonic metallers Nergard have released a lyric video for their cover of Judas Priest’s epic song "Blood Red Skies", which was released through Pug-Nose Records on November 19th, 2021. 


Band leader Andreas Nergård explains why he chose to cover this particular song: 


"To me, 'Blood Red Skies' is THE standout track on Judas Priest’s 1988 album Ram It Down, and it’s a criminally underrated song. Priest themselves didn’t play this song live until 23 years after the release of the album. We wanted to shine a light on this amazing track and at the same time pay our tribute to the metal gods. I’m sure Judas Priest means as much to any fan of metal as they do to me. The music we play wouldn’t exist without them.




When I started working on this song I wanted to give it a different sound from our latest album, Eternal White, which was heavily dominated by symphonic orchestras and choirs. I wanted to put more focus on the keyboards and industrial elements giving the production a more open sound. I think the general atmosphere of the song is very epic on its own and didn't need the 'over the top' approach that EW had." 


"Blood Red Skies" is the follow up to the band's critically acclaimed album, Eternal White, which was released in May 2021 through Pride & Joy Music. Nergard is currently working on their next album.  

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has blasted Machine Gun Kelly, saying the rapper-turned-rocker doesn't get to "run [his] mouth about bands that have been doing this for 20 years."

The war of words started last September when Machine Gun Kelly and SLIPKNOT performed at Riot Fest in Chicago. "You wanna know what I'm really happy that I'm not doing?" Kelly — real name Colson Baker — said during his performance, according to a video shot by a fan. "Being 50 years old wearing a fucking weird mask on a fucking stage, talking shit.

"Let me see who chose to be here instead of with all the old weird dudes with masks," MGK added.

After Machine Gun Kelly's comments made the rounds, he tweeted "very odd that when an artist talks shit, and i respond, I'm the bad guy."

"corey did a verse for a song on tickets to my downfall album, it was fucking terrible, so i didn't use it. he got mad about it, and talked shit to a magazine about the same album he was almost on. yalls stories are all off. just admit he's bitter," he tweeted later.

The comment MGK was apparently referring to was from Taylor's appearance on "Cutter's Rockcast" a year ago. "I hate all new rock for the most part. I [hate] the artists who failed in one genre and decided to go rock — and I think he knows who he is," Corey said at the time.

In response to Machine Gun Kelly's September tweets, Taylor took to social media to share screenshots of what appeared to be an e-mail conversation he had with Travis Barker, who was a producer on MGK's "Tickets To My Downfall" album. He also included the following message: "I don't like people airing private shit like a child. So this is all I'll say: I didn't do the track because I don't like when people try to 'write' for me. I said NO to THEM. So without further ado…. #receipts This is all I'm going to say about it."

In his messages, Barker apparently included "notes" from MGK to Taylor about his verse on a song.

"Can u tell him he f****n killed it and im stoked and HONORED he is even on it wtf !!!" Kelly wrote. "I sent Corey an idea for the second half of his verse and he can obviously say fuck it but it would be sick to see if it inspired anything or if he could try it like that," one of the suggestions read.

"So I listened to the ideas and to be honest, I don't think I'm the right guy for the track. Nothing personal, I just think if this is what MGK is looking for, someone else is the guy to do it," Taylor replied to Barker.

"It's ALL good, and I'm stoked for him— I hope you guys find the right fit for it. Hope you guys understand and I wish you guys the best with it. If I can help in any way, let me know," he continued.

Kelly responded to Taylor on Twitter: "basically, your verse was really bad. respectfully, i was just telling you to rewrite it because it was really bad. respectfully. but let's do a britney spears song cover together."

During the question-and-answer portion of his show aboard this year's ShipRocked cruise, Taylor revisited his feud with Machine Gun Kelly, telling the audience (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For those of you that don't know, MGK doesn't like me very much. And let me follow that up by saying I don't care.

"I won't fill you in on the whole fucking story because you can go online and look it all up. However, I will say this: he maintains that I started it. The truth is he started it. Now, I will explain to you why.

"If you don't know, they asked me to do a tune with him," Corey continued. "They sent it to me. I didn't dig it. And I tried to do something with it because of my respect for Travis, because he and I worked together before. They sent me these really weird notes and they wanted me to sing his words. And I just said, 'I'm not gonna do it.' And I sent an e-mail. I posted that e-mail. And I didn't hear back from him. And I thought it was done. Fast forward about eight months, and Machine Gun Kelly is doing this weird Instagram Live interview with Allie from Spotify. And he goes off on this fucking rant about rock stars and comfortable shoes. It sounds as smart as you think it is. … I mean, spit was coming out of his face. And I'm watching it and I'm going, 'You fuck. You've been here for five minutes, basically, and you're gonna fucking run your mouth about bands that have been doing this for 20 fucking years, like in the mud, in the dirt. They're gonna wear whatever the fuck they want. You're gonna walk in here with your fucking black tongue and try to talk some shit on some bands that would fucking circle your ass? Fuck you.' So when I had my opportunity to say something, I did. And I didn't call him out. I just said what I said about people failing in one genre and sliding over to another. And that upset him. … Weirdly, we're in Chicago on the same show, and we're playing basically at the same time. And he wasn't happy that there were a lot of people at our show — and I do mean a lot.

"But he, to this day, maintains that I started it," Taylor added. "It's, like, the only reason I said what I said is because he said what he said. You don't get to walk into a genre with the history, with the work… The fact that this genre really doesn't get the fucking respect that it deserves. You don't get to walk in as some weird substitute teacher and pretend that you can tell us what to wear — boots, shoes, house fucking shoes, slippers. Why don't you suck every inch of my dick? You don't get to do that. And these are bands that maybe I don't even fucking know, but guess what? I fucking respect them because they get on fucking stage and they fucking give every fucking thing they've got."

"Tickets To My Downfall" was released in September 2020 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was the No. 1 contemporary rock album of both 2020 and 2021, and has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide with over 3.6 billion streams.






Corey Taylor’s Q&A. He was asked about the MGK situation. His answer…

Posted by Kris Sterbinsky on Thursday, January 27, 2022

Formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, melodic thrash metal band Incrypt have signed with Wormholedeath for the release of their new album, Thrashing Extinction, due on February 25th. Ahead of the street date, Incrypt has released a lyric video for the title track.





The cover art and tracklisting for Thrashing Extinction can be seen below.







"Skulking"
"Thrashing Extinction"
"Ultimate Downunder Attack"
"Pushed Beyond Breaking"
"Open This Pit"
"Extermination"
"Point Evolution"
"Stars Of The Southern Land"
"Ghost Hour Chimes"
"Chaotic Freedom Remains"
"Declaration"


An album teaser has also been issued:





 

Greg Puciato has teamed with Carpenter Brut for the latest addition to Puciato’s ever-growing body of work, launching the single and video “Imaginary Fire” today.


“This came out of the blue,” explains Puciato about the collaboration. “My buddy and bandmate Ben Koller (Converge, Killer Be Killed, Mutoid Man) linked Carpenter Brut and myself. Peak excitement for me about this one. CB and I were already very familiar with, and fans of, each other's work, so he sent me the instrumental, and I wrote the vocals, and that was that. Straight to the point, no real crazy process with this one. Here's the music. Okay cool, here are the vocals to that music. Done. It came out really fast, one of the faster ones ever, for me at least, very lightning in a bottle feeling overall, where the melodies and phrasings and lyrics all sorta come through at once, in a really quick stream of consciousness burst. That's a special thing that doesn't happen too often, and you hope that it somehow now and then keeps happening.


One-off collaborations are great because you can really just focus all of your energy on one track; not an album, not a band, not ten songs on your fifth album, just one singular song-length intersection. I'm really proud of this one, happy to cross these musical paths. I love how the video turned out too. Lyrically the song is pretty to the point. Two people frustratingly trying to get rid of their fears and their made-up bullshit so they can move forward, together or separate, free of outcome.”







The track kicks off a year that will be one of the busiest to date for the former The Dillinger Escape Plan singer with the LA-based musician touring with Jerry Cantrell as well as slating a June release for his own sophomore solo album, Mirrorcell. Additional details about the collection will be unveiled in the coming weeks.


(Photo credit: Jim Louvau)


 

During the question-and-answer portion of his January 27 spoken-word show at Riffe Center Theatre Complex in Columbus, Ohio, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked to name his favorite female vocalist of all time. He said: "The one that rolls off the tip of my tongue is Ann Wilson from HEART. Although she didn't have the kind of — not charisma; notoriety or whatever of somebody like a Janis Joplin, an equally great voice and things like that, she's just a complete all-arounder. The most amazing voice… A beautiful folk singer, fantastic metal singer with a lovely edge to it, flawless technique. Honestly, not worthy. Amazing."

Dickinson is considered one of the world's most storied musicians. Aside from decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in IRON MAIDEN, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, his accomplishments include: pilot and airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and Sunday Times best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor, sports commentator and international fencer… to name but a few.

Bruce's spoken-word show is split into two parts. The first section sees him take a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of MAIDEN anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, as told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs, videos and sometimes even erupting into song a cappella, to illustrate a point. The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to the aforementioned question-and-answer session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce's answers are all completely improvised — the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be.

Dickinson, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

Bruce's second wife, Paddy was found dead in May 2020 at the home they once shared in Chiswick, West London, following a "tragic accident." London Ambulance Service confirmed that the patient was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bruce and Paddy had married in 1990 after two years of dating and shared three children: Austin, Griffin and Kia. They tied the knot after dating for two years following Bruce's split from first wife Jane.

Dickinson is believed to have split from Bowden privately in 2018, although their breakup wasn't made public until November 2019.

Bruce, 63, now reportedly lives in Paris with fitness instructor Leana Dolci.

KORN will celebrate the arrival of its new album, "Requiem", with a special record-release event this coming Thursday, February 3 at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California. "Requiem Mass" will see the Southern California heavy music pioneers perform an intimate set in front of a 300 attendees.

Tickets to attend the gig in person will be made available at Amoeba Music's Hollywood location tomorrow (Tuesday, February 1) at 11 a.m. PDT on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees are required to wear black funeral attire and will have to provide proof of vaccination. KORN-branded masks for all attendees will be handed out at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring an item of remembrance to honor a loved one who has passed. Fans will be able to leave those items in the casket as part of the ceremonial procession.

"Requiem Mass" will be livestreamed via KORN's YouTube channel and will re-air on Sunday, February 6 at 10 a.m. PT.

KORN will kick off a short of shows with SYSTEM OF A DOWN tonight (Monday, 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.

"Requiem" will be released on February 4, 2022 via Loma Vista Recordings. Due to the effects of COVID-19 and the inability to play live shows for the first time in KORN's illustrious career, the LP was conceived out of very different circumstances than the majority of the band's catalogue. It is an album born of time and the ability to create without pressure. Energized by a new creative process free of time constraints, KORN was able to do things with "Requiem" that the past two decades haven't always afforded them, such as taking additional time to experiment together or diligently recording to analog tape — processes which unearthed newfound sonic dimension and texture in their music.

"Requiem" was produced by Chris Collier and KORN.


























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by Korn (@korn_official)

Super7 Toys has released a new Paul Baloff ReAction figure in honor of the late EXODUS frontman who passed away 20 years ago, on February 2, 2002.

Official figure description: "This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Paul Baloff's death. Baloff personified the violent energy of the early San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 80s with the band EXODUS on their 'Bonded By Blood' album. Baloff's uncompromising lifestyle and attitude are immortalized with this 3.75" ReAction figure. Comes with a microphone and shattered baseball bat accessories."

On January 31, 2002, Baloff suffered a major stroke and was brought to Highland General Hospital in Northern California, where he remained in a coma until he was declared brain dead. On February 2, 2002, his doctors shut off his life support, leaving him to die in his sleep. He had no previous known health problems, and the stroke was a complete surprise to everyone around him.

On the fifth anniversary of Baloff's passing, guitarist Gary Holt stated about his late bandmate: "His contribution to metal lives on. How else can you explain how a guy can record one album (twice!) and still be remembered as a thrash legend to this very day?"

In a 2015 interview, EXODUS drummer Tom Hunting said about Baloff's passing: "That was a rough time for us, 'cause we weren't really a good-functioning band at that time. We all had some drug problems going on, or most of us, anyway — myself included. And Paul had two strokes. And we knew something was going on with Paul, but we never realized that he'd had a stroke until he had the big stroke that killed him. And we got an education about strokes right then. But even his dying break our will to do drugs. It took awhile. Gary did it first… you know, he got sober first, and I soon followed, and the rest is history. We haven't touched the shit ever since then. I mean, there's a pretty cliché saying: you get to a point where you're a musician dabbling in drugs, and then you become a drug addict that's dabbling in music. And that's kind of where we were. We thought we were doing stuff, but we weren't really progressing. We were just kind of spinning the wheels."

Last year, ex-EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt told Heavy Culture about firing Baloff and replacing him with Steve "Zetro" Souza before the release of 1987's "Pleasures Of The Flesh" album: "I think losing Paul was a big deal back then. I think that maybe we made a mistake by firing Paul. And this is just looking back on everything for me; this is just my personal thought. This is the stuff that I think about sometimes. What would have happened if we didn't fire Paul? I just think that maybe we would have gotten a little bit more traction if we didn't have that lag in between.

"People love Paul," he continued. "And Paul was… he's a legend. He was going through a bad time in his life, and I guess, at the time, we felt that maybe he was holding us back; I think probably that's what we were thinking. I think that probably we might have thought about getting him better instead of firing him."

Rock band Plush has unveiled its brand new single and video “Better Off Alone”, a track from their self-titled debut album. This song follows the previous single “Hate,” which hit # 24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and camped out there for a total of 17 weeks straight.


“Better Off Alone” is charged with energy and is a song of empowerment. It’s the kind of rock that resonates with listeners of all ages and has an unforgettable chorus. The video was directed by Dale “Rage” Resteghini.







Vocalist Moriah Formica says, “‘Better Off Alone’ is a song about realizing what’s best for you and then doing it. I really hope everyone connects with this song and enjoys it!”


Drummer Brooke Colucci adds, “I love the musicality of ‘Better Off Alone’! The tom groove during the verses is a lot of fun to play. I’m very excited to play this song live, as I believe the crowd will really be able to get into this song!”


Guitarist Bella Perron notes, “I feel ‘Better Off Alone’ represents our chemistry as a band and showcases our vision of empowerment while also highlighting each of our own musical personalities. I hope you all love it as much as we do!”


Bassist Ashley Suppa shares, “This song is not only representative of heartbreak and anger, but also the independence of those feelings and the person who is causing you pain. Leaving is never easy but at times it is necessary. These are the moments in which you truly will be ‘Better Off Alone’.”


Stream Plush's self-titled debut album here. The release is also available on CD, and will be on vinyl in Spring/Summer of 2022 at this location.





Tracklisting:
 
"Athena"
"Champion"
"Hate"
"Found A Way"
"I Don’t Care"
"Sober"
"Better Off Alone"
"Sorry"
"Why Do I Even Try"
"Bring Me Down"
"Don’t Say That"
"Will Not Win"
"Walk Away"


"Athena":





"Hate":





Plush has been electrifying audiences during recent live performances across the United States supporting Evanescence, Halestorm, Seether, Mammoth WVH, Daughtry, and Sevendust. The ladies have upcoming tour dates starting in February with legendary guitarist Slash, as well as an official album release party in Albany, NY. For full tour details, check out the dates listed below.


February
11 – Albany, NY – Empire Live (Plush Album Release Party)
12 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena (w/ Daughtry)
25 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theater (w/ Slash)
26 – Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Hotel Casino (w/ Slash)
28 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater (w/ Slash)


March
2 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theater (w/ Slash)
4 – Windsor, ON – Caesars Windsor (w/ Slash)
5 – Waterloo, NY – The Vine (w/ Slash)
7 – Boston, MA – House of Blues (w/ Slash)
9 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring (w/ Slash)
11 – Atlantic City, NJ – Tropicana Atlantic City (w/ Slash)
12 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre (w/ Slash)


May
19 – Daytona, FL – Daytona International Speedway (Welcome to Rockville Festival)





 

METALLICA is preparing deluxe remastered versions of its "Load" (1996) and "Reload" (1997) and is reaching out to its hardcore fans for help to get content for the new editions.

Says the band in an e-mail blast to members of its fan club: "We're working our way through the catalog to bring you the comprehensive Deluxe Box Sets we've come to love. And now it's time to get started on 'Load' and 'ReLoad'!

"As you may remember, we asked you for help in putting together the first five box sets and, to make sure there's a fan footprint on all of these releases, we'll be doing that again!

"We're looking for anything and everything you might have from August 1995 through September 1998: live photos (taken by you!) or snaps from a meet & greet, flyers, ticket stubs, backstage passes, and whatever other mementos you may have from that time.

"Make your mark on these albums by emailing us at [email protected] to share your story and receive more info about submitting these little pieces of history. Nothing is too small or trivial; share your archives with your fellow fans and have some fun walking down memory lane with us!"

Released in 1996, "Load" marked a new direction for METALLICA, featuring what one critic has described as "a fresh take on LYNYRD SKYNYRD-tinged boogie rock for the 1990s."

Although "Load" and 1997's "Reload" were warmly received by critics at the time, they've since taken their place among the most reviled work of METALLICA's career.

In a 2013 interview with Revolver magazine, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said that "Load" and "Reload" are "great records" that "are creatively on par with every other record we've made. Obviously, they're bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after," he said. "And I understand that there are people who couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that's fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — 'Load' and 'Reload' were intended as one double-record — it's a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we've done creatively."

METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield has repeatedly expressed his dislike of the "Load" album cover and its inspiration, telling Classic Rock magazine in a 2009 interview: "Lars and Kirk [Hammett, guitar] were very into abstract art, pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of 'Load' was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid shit that they felt they needed to do."

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR will release a new single, "Hate Über Alles", tomorrow (Friday, February 4) at 10:00 CET / 1:00 a.m. PST / 4:00 a.m. EST. A short teaser for the song's official music video is available below, along with the single cover artwork, which was created by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

KREATOR will release its new album in the summer of 2022. The follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" was recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany. Helming the sessions was Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.

Last year, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza told the official podcast of Italy's Metalitalia.com about the musical direction of the band's new LP: "It's definitely different. It's hard for me to describe, but I think it's definitely more thrash again. It has a lot of melody, and it has a lot of traditional parts, and it has a lot of ingredients of the last four or five albums. But it also has some very old-school moments. I think it's definitely the next step."

KREATOR's next album will mark the band's first with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

In September 2020, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."

In March 2020, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios.

The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.

KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.

KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for November/December 2022 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.
























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by Mille Petrozza (@mille.petrozza)