British heavy metal legends SAXON have released the third single, "The Pilgrimage", from their upcoming album, "Carpe Diem", due on February 4 via Silver Lining Music.

"Pilgrimage is a fantastic word," says SAXON singer Biff Byford. "People go on pilgrimages all the time, not just in a historical or religious sense, but it's about going and visiting either a place that you feel is special in your life or somebody that's meant something in your life. You can go on a pilgrimage to go see your great grandfather who died in the first world war, for instance. They're journeys of great weight and importance."

Produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) at Backstage Recording Studios in Derbyshire with Byford and Sneap mixing and mastering, "Carpe Diem" strikes the ear as one of the most essential British metal statements of the last few years and not lacking in pace or bite, an album which will ignite the joy in stalwart supporters and attract a whole new legion to the SAXON fold.

Sneap, himself a guitarist and producer of some metal repute, ensures that "Carpe Diem" does not lack one ounce of grit or sharpness. "Andy's obviously a very good guitarist," says Biff, "but he's not a blues-based guitarist like our guys are; he's more of a modern-style player. And that means the boys (Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt) love working with him because, again, it's all about the intensity. Andy's always pushing the envelope; he doesn't let them get away with anything. They have to play it for real, full speed. He gets great sound, and we want that Gibson/Marshall '80s sound even if they’re not Gibsons and Marshalls. We try and retain that British metal guitar sound that we created for SAXON, and he's definitely an '80s child."

Despite a career which has spanned 44 years with over 15 million albums sold, including four top 10 U.K. albums, and having played to hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide, SAXON are revving up for one of their busiest eras yet.

"We're gonna be quite busy this year," says Biff. "There are festivals which have been rescheduled from two years ago, we're looking to go to America, we're also going to tour U.K. and Europe later in the year and like everyone really, we're just keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out and we can do it all. We're also recording the second 'Inspirations' album, and as we do that, you never know, we might write a few songs for the next SAXON album…"

The genesis of "Carpe Diem"'s fierce intensity lies in two extremely significant life events.

"It's been a difficult two years," offers Biff with considerable understatement, "because I had the heart attack back in September 2019, so things went a bit pear-shaped for the band. And then COVID hit two or three months later, but luckily, we started writing and recording this album before COVID. We did the drums in Germany and we did the guitars in various places. I was doing a lot of writing while I was in the hospital bed, and we spent quite a long time writing and arranging the ideas that we all had. I do think it's a very intense album, and maybe some of that intensity comes from the frustration of not being able to do anything in the COVID period."

"Carpe Diem" track listing:

01. Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)

02. Age Of Steam

03. The Pilgrimage

04. Dambusters

05. Remember The Fallen

06. Super Nova

07. Lady In Gray

08. All For One

09. Black Is The Night

10. Living On The Limit

"We want every album we make to go platinum," says Biff defiantly. "We never make an album that we don't expect to be fantastic because there are no laurels around here, and as a band, we're always trying to do something a little bit new, a little bit daring. I love fast metal like 'Princess Of The Night' and '20,000 Feet', and I try and bring that style of SAXON into the music now, but in a more modern style. We don't sound like an old band on records because we're not sitting back on our past success, we're always trying to make a great album."

Produced by Andy Sneap and Biff Byford

Album mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap

Guitars recorded by Andy Sneap at Backstage Recording Studios, Derbyshire (U.K.); vocals recorded by Seb Byford at Big Silver Barn, York (U.K.); drums recorded by Jacky Lehmann (Audiosound) at Velbyproductions, Grünenplan (Germany).

All lyrics by Biff Byford. Backing vocals by Seb Byford

Sweden's classic death metal unit, Centinex, are sharing a new track and music video, "Armageddon". The song is taken from the band's upcoming EP, The Pestilence, due out April 1 via Agonia Records. Find the clip below.


The Pestilence adds five raging compositions to the deathly metallic annals of Centinex, which hold a wealth of reputable installments since 1990. The songs serve as a bridge between the band's latest offering from last year, Death In Pieces, and the next, yet unannounced full-length album. As the older sibling of the lauded underground group Demonical, Centinex operates within a familiar sonic sphere, yet is more inclined to a less melodic and more conventional death metal approach, that accentuates austereness, brutality and distinctive riffing. The two bands are linked by bassist and founder Martin Shulman, key songwriter for Centinex, who had this to say about The Pestilence:


"Our new MLP - yes we prefer to label it as an MLP, as everyone did in the '80s, instead of calling it an EP - represents the band's current direction and can be seen as a beginning of something new. Drawing influences and inspiration from the old thrash scene, especially the German one, this release does also bring us closer to our past and the early days of Centinex. The whole recording process was also like a blast from the past, with the whole band together in the studio catching the vibe, both when the rec-button was on and off. Production wise, we aimed to get an old-school sound, organic and breathing, a production which is pretty much in strict contrast to what is standard in today’s scene. We even wanted the album layout to remind us of the glory days, of a time when the tracks were the main thing and what defined if something is good or bad instead of production, musical accuracy, or glossy packaging. As stated, this MLP represent something new for us and a direction we most likely will explore even more in the future. We will dwell in the past and crawl even deeper into the history (of extreme metal) as in our opinion the past was brighter than the future."




The Pestilence EP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jonas Arnberg between June and July 2021 at Sellnoise Studios in Sweden. The photo which graces the cover artwork was taken by Susan Wicher. The artwork was created by Dwi Nugraha.





It will be available in the following formats:


- MCD
- Tape
- Black MLP
- Green MLP
- German Pilsner MLP
- Picture MLP





Tracklisting:


"Armageddon"
"Evil Is Evil"
"Tremble In Fear"
"Torture"
"Afraid Of The Light" (CD bonus)


"Armageddon" video:





Lineup:


Henka Andersson - vocals
Jorgen Kristensen - guitars & backing vocals
Martin Schulman - bass
Florian Rehn - drums


(Photo - Susan Wicher)

Norwegian black metal outift Old Man's Child, led by Dimmu Borgir guitarist Galder, have uploaded the following video to social media, simply titled "Some New Riffs":





Old Man's Child have been dormant for more than a decade, releasing their last album, Slaves Of The World, in 2009 via Century Media. The official video trailer for Slaves Of The World can be seen below. In total, Old Man's Child has released seven studio albums. Is there a new album on the way? Only time will tell.




 

Damon Johnson & The Get Ready have released their new video for the third single from Battle Lessons, “Can’t Clap Any Louder”. The clip was directed by Damon's friend Rob Arthur (who is also the keyboardist for Peter Frampton). 










Videos for the previous two singles from Battle Lessons, "Talk Yourself Into Anything" and "Battle Lessons", can be seen below. Order your copy of the album now at this location.








 

The Nightwish virtual live show from the Islanders Arms, which took place on May 28th and 29th, 2021, will be released on DVD and is now available for pre-order. It is available only at Finland's RecordShop X and the official Nightwish webstore.


The RecordShop X version includes a 24-page booklet with unreleased Making Of photos. The bundle includes a special A2 sized poster. Limited edition. Street date is March 11th.







The tracklist is as follows:


"Noise"
"Planet Hell"
"Alpenglow"
"Élan"
"Storytime"
"How’s the Heart?"
"Harvest"
"Dark Chest of Wonders"
"I Want My Tears Back"
"Ever Dream"
"Nemo"
"Sleeping Sun"
"Pan"
"Last Ride of the Day"
"Ghost Love Score"
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
"All the Works of Nature Which Adorn the World: VIII. Ad Astra"

Death metal legends, Nile, have announced the addition of Vital Remains frontman, Scott Eames, on guitar/vocals.


A message from Nile states: "Congratulations to Brian Kingsland on the arrival of his newborn son! While Brian takes time for family, veteran metal guitarist Scott Eames will be joining us on guitar and vocals. Scott is an exceptionally talented motherfucker who has worked his ass off and earned his spot on stage with Nile. The band is as strong as ever and we are primed and ready to bring metal to the fans on our upcoming tour starting in Nashville, TN on February 3rd! See you on the road!" \m/


Scott Eames adds: "NEWS IS OUT! I'm doing guitar & vocals for the legendary Nile! Tour starts Thursday! Get your tickets now!!!" 🤘🏻





Tour dates:


February
3 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
4 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Heaven)
5 - Orlando, FL - The Haven
6 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
8 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
9 - Dallas, TX - GMB&G
10 - San Antonio, TX - Vibes Event Center
12 - Phoenix, AZ - Nile Theater
13 - San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick
15 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720
16 - Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone
18 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
19 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
21 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
22 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
23 - Lincoln, NE - Royal Grove
24 - Iowa City, IA - Wildwood
25 - Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze
26 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
27 - Sauget, IL - Pop's


March
1 - Fort Wayne, IN - Piere's
2 - Detroit, MI - El Club
3 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
4 - Pittsburgh, PA - Crafthouse
5 - Reading, PA - Reverb
6 - Worcester, MA - Palladium (Upstairs)
8 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
9 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
10 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club
11 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger
12 - Spartanburg, SC - Ground Zero

Dawn Of Solace, the solo-project by Wolfheart's Tuomas Saukkonen, have released their anticipated third studio album, Flames of Perdition, via Noble Demon. With eight brand new tracks and two bonus songs, the album delivers exactly what you would expect to get from the death and goth metal icon: beautiful melodies and a breathtaking atmosphere of incomparable class. Together with Mikko Heikkilä of Kaunis Kuolematon as vocalist, the two once again invite you to a dark journey through the spheres of melodic doom.


To celebrate Flames of Perdition finally being available worldwide, Dawn Of Solace have released a brand new lyric video for the album’s title track.


Tuomas Saukkonen comments: "The title track is definitely the most beautiful song on the album carrying the bleakest message. Lullaby to the world in the cradle of ashes."







Tracklist:


"White Noise"
"Erase"
"Flames Of Perdition"
"Dying Light"
"Event Horizon"
"Black Shores"
"Skyline"
"Serenity"
"Lead Wings" (bonus track)
"Dead Air" (bonus track)

Ex-Meliah Rage guitarist Anthony Nichols and co-conspirators Jon Hardy (vocals, bass), Steve Fry (drums), and Dan Dykes (lead guitar) have released Burn Pit, a sumptuously menacing four-song EP. Listen to the song, "Snakehead", below, and find the EP on Spotify.





Burn Pit is Mexican Ape-Lord’s third release on Unable Records, following the acclaimed albums The Late Heavy Bombardment and Survival Cannibalism. Audio-savant producer Peter Rutcho is once again at the controls.







The tried-and-true Mexican Ape-Lord themes are all represented here: apex predators, ritualistic bloodshed, dangerous work, and inner demons. Through it all, the boys hammer out non-stop riffs, diabolical drum work, and insanely catchy leads. “We operate like an expeditionary force,” says Hardy. “Every member is a specialist.”


A lyric video for the song “Keep Hammering”, produced by Brandon Maxham, can be viewed below:




"Horrible Folktale":



Nichols, a prime mover of metal for over three decades, says, “We’re not about to stop making loud music just because the world is coming to an end.”


The band is currently working on its third full length album, Blunt Instrument, to be released in early 2023.

EVANESCENCE's music video for the group's breakthrough 2003 hit "Bring Me To Life" has surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Philipp Stölzl-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2009, was filmed in Romania in January 2003. It features singer Amy Lee in a night gown and barefoot, in her room, inside a tall building in the city at night. The rest of the band is playing on a higher floor of the building.

The album version of "Bring Me to Life" — which featured guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 STONES — was included on the soundtrack of superhero film "Daredevil".

Stölzl previously stated about the video: "On the one hand, it brings out the most catchy part of the song, the bridge, the duet with the male and female vocals. On the other hand, it reflects the ['Daredevil'] soundtrack background of the song. I did not know if I would have to use a stunt double for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul's arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong."

Last year, Amy spoke to Germany's Sonic Seducer about the lyrical inspiration for "Bring Me To Life". The song reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was EVANESCENCE's first U.K. No. 1 single.

"I remember what I wrote 'Bring Me To Life' about, because I wrote it about my current husband before we were married," she said. "There was this moment — I was in a tough place and in a bad relationship. And my husband now, Josh, at the time was just a friend and a person that I barely knew; it was maybe the third or fourth time we'd ever met. And we went in to go grab a seat at a restaurant while our friends parked the car. And we sat across from each other, and he looked at me and he just said, 'So, are you happy?' And it took me so off guard, and I just felt like it pierced my heart, because I felt like I had been pretending really well, and it was, like, somebody could see through me. And then that whole first verse came out of it: 'How can you see into my eyes, like open doors.' It really made me feel and recognize the sense of yearning that I had to get to a better place. And it really kind of set me out on a journey. And it's amazing that that became the song, the first song that broke us on to the scene and made everyone hear of us, because it was about something — I don't know — something so personal that I was recognizing in my life."

Last March, Lee told Alternative Press that EVANESCENCE's original record label Wind Up threatened not to release the group's debut album, "Fallen", if she and her bandmates didn't add a male voice to lead single "Bring Me To Life" to make it more palatable for radio.

"Fallen" sold 17 million copies and won two Grammys, including "Best Rock Performance" for "Bring Me To Life".

EVANESCENCE joins other hard rock and heavy metal artists who have made it to the Billion Views Club: AC/DC (""Thunderstruck"), METALLICA ("Nothing Else Matters"), GUNS N' ROSES ("Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain"), LINKIN PARK ("Numb") and QUEEN ("Bohemian Rhapsody").

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", arrived in March 2021 via BMG. It was EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in ten years.

Kissin’ Dynamite has entered the official German album charts at #2 with their new album Not The End Of The Road. This marks the highest chart entry in the career of the Germans and continues the unique success story they started about 20 years ago as a school band in their hometown.





For some time now, Kissin’ Dynamite have fought against childhood cancer through the power of their music. They donated their full income for the song “Good Life” plus the proceeds of the sale of a charity t-shirt to the Förderverein für krebskranke Kinder Tübingen e.V., a charity organization that supports children with cancer in their hometown. The engagement was supported by German company Intense AG, and resulted in a 6000€ donation.







Founded in 2007, German heavy metal formation Kissin' Dynamite have made more than just a name for themselves in the scene: With six studio albums and various chart entries, the band established their trademark style - characterized by modern sound, massive anthems and catchy hooks paired with an 80s stadium rock attitude and eccentric look. Now, the five piece is ready to release their Napalm Records debut, Not The End Of The Road, and usher in heavy metal in 2022.


The new studio album was produced, recorded and mixed by vocalist Hannes Braun (Südland Music) himself, who has also worked with bands like Santiano, The Kelly Family and Beyond The Black. Mastering was completed by Grammy Award winning producer Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, known for his work with bands like Volbeat and many more.


Ande Braun on the new album: "Not The End Of The Road is an album, which accurately describes our experiences as a band since Ecstasy 2018. First and foremost, we highlight with songs like “Not The End Of The Road”, “What Goes Up”, “Yoko Ono” and “Only The Dead”: We're up for it, we're pulling together and we want to reach the rock Olympus! Titles like “Coming Home”, “Gone For Good” and “Scars”, on the other hand, deal with real feelings like loneliness, homesickness and sadness, which are also part of life."


Hannes Braun adds: "With Ecstasy we already didn't make any compromises and just wanted to compose music that speaks from us. Not The End Of The Road seamlessly picks up exactly here."


With Not The End Of The Road, Kissin' Dynamite set another milestone in their successful discography: In guitar-driven power metal fashion, the tune of the intro and title track “Not The End Of The Road” prepares the listener for a thrilling road trip and new anthems straight from the heart of the Kissin' Dynamite universe. Crusher “What Goes Up” takes its listener into the truly spectacular soundscapes that make stadiums shake and convinces with Aerosmith-like guitar attacks and an anthemic hook. But Kissin' Dynamite are also not afraid to show their mellower side, as heard on delightfully tranquil tracks like “Good Life” and “Gone For Good” - not only showcasing the almost calm touches pervading the melodies, but also presenting the softer side of Braun’s vocal repertoire. While tracks like “No One Dies A Virgin” and “Yoko Ono” symbolize catchy party hymns, standouts “Coming Home” and “Defeat It” underline their origins of stadium rock without being pigeonholed. “Voodoo Spell” manifests the variety of the band and their different influences - starting with strong dark rock elements, the song becomes an opus that easily competes with the biggest stadium giants. The album’s closer, “Scars”, proves once again that Kissin' Dynamite can reach the depths and showcase lyrical vulnerability - an impressive ending that screams to be played live.


Order the new album here.





Not The End Of The Road tracklisting:


"Not The End Of The Road"
"What Goes Up"
"Only The Dead"
"Good Life"
"Yoko Ono"
"Coming Home"
"All For A Halleluja"
"No One Dies A Virgin"
"Gone For Good"
"Defeat It"
"Voodoo Spell"
"Scars"


“Coming Home” video:





“Yoko Ono” video:





"Good Life" video:





“What Goes Up” video:





"Not The End Of The Road" video:





Lineup:


Hannes Braun - vocals
Ande Braun - guitar
Jim Müller - guitar
Steffen Haile - bass
Sebastian Berg - drums


(Photo - Holger Fichtner & Patrick Schneiderwind)

The second single from Outlanders (Tarja Turunen and Torsten Stenzel), "The Cruellest Goodbye" featuring Al Di Meola, is out now. Order/listen here, and below.





A message from Tarja states: "The song was written together with Harry Sommerdahl, co-writer of 'I Walk Alone', in 2008. Nevertheless, I didn’t quite feel that the song was having the character nor spirit for one of my rock album releases, but since I loved the song very much, I kept it always present for a later use. 'The Cruellest Goodbye' is a sad story about a forbidden love.




"Even though it was originally composed and arranged as a piano song, I always imagined it with acoustic guitars. Friday Night In San Francisco is a live album by three of the best acoustic guitar players in the world: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía and it was the main reference and source of inspiration for the sound I was hoping for.


"I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina back in 2013 when I got the news that Al Di Meola was having a concert in October the 2nd at the Gran Rex Theater. I took a chance to meet him and talk about my song. I visited him at his superb concert, and we had a glass of wine at the backstage after the show was over. Al was very kind and showed immediate interest to take part in our project. It was early stages for the whole idea, so I still didn´t have many references to give him, but one: to be himself.


"It’s amazing how openminded he was about the recordings and the outcome shows you the great effort he put on to the song. He is outstanding, virtuoso musician and made the song feel like there has always been a guitar involved since the birth of it.


"Not only he played several tracks with his acoustic trademark guitar sound, but also delighted us with an additional synthetized guitar that blends totally in synch with the programmed background.


"I am so grateful for Al to trust his talent with us.


"'The Cruellest Goodbye' went through few difficulties during the production process. Torsten’s computer hard drive really crashed several times, so I ended up recording vocals for the song 4 times spread though 13 years! Anyway, every time I did, it felt refreshing and new to me, so I didn’t mind about it and definitely enjoyed the process.


"I am very happy that 'The Cruellest Goodbye' finally find its home with Outlanders.





Outlanders was created by Finnish soprano legend Tarja Turunen and EDM pioneer Torsten Stenzel. Both were able to recruit some of the most influential guitar players of our time to feature as guests on their songs.


They previously released the official visualizer for, "Closer To The Sky" featuring guitarist Trevor Rabin, best known as guitarist of prog rock icons YES, as well as a top Hollywood blockbuster movies score composer.





To learn more, visit Outlanders on Facebook, or their official website, tarja-outlanders.com.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced today the following nominees for 2022 induction:

BECK

PAT BENATAR

KATE BUSH

DEVO

DURAN DURAN

EMINEM

EURYTHMICS

JUDAS PRIEST

FELA KUTI

MC5

NEW YORK DOLLS

DOLLY PARTON

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

LIONEL RICHIE

CARLY SIMON

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

DIONNE WARWICK

JUDAS PRIEST was previously on the ballot for Rock Hall induction in 2020, but failed to receive enough votes to make that year's class.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, PRIEST was also on the ballot for the 2018 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but was ultimately left out of the inductee list.

Once again, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has named the individual bandmembers that will enter should their group get inducted.

For JUDAS PRIEST, they picked current members Rob Halford (vocals), Ian Hill (bass), Glenn Tipton (guitar) and Scott Travis (drums), along with former members K.K. Downing (guitar), Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

The NEW YORK DOLLS members selected were singer David Johansen, bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane, drummer Billy Murcia, drummer Jerry Nolan, bassist Sylvain Sylvain and guitarist Johnny Thunders.

The MC5 lineup of bassist Michael Davis, guitarist/singer Wayne Kramer, guitarist/singer Fred "Sonic" Smith, drummer Dennis Thompson and singer Rob Tyner was picked.

To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Seven out of 17 of the nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Beck, Eminem, DURAN DURAN, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and A TRIBE CALLED QUEST. This is Eminem's first year of eligibility.

"This year's ballot recognizes a diverse group of incredible artists, each who has had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture", said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation. "Their music not only moved generations but also influenced the sound of countless artists that followed."

Nominee ballots are sent to an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, historians, and members of the music industry. Factors such as an artist's musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation, and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame offers fans the opportunity to participate in the induction selection process with the 2022 Induction Fan Vote sponsored by Ohio. Today through April 29, fans can vote every day at vote.rockhall.com or at the museum in Cleveland. The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a "fans' ballot" that will be tallied along with the other ballots to select the 2022 inductees.

Inductees will be announced in May 2022. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony will take place this fall. The date, venue, and on-sale information will be announced later.

The nominees were announced on Rock Hall social channels and live on SiriusXM Volume channel 106's "Feedback" morning show with hosts Nik Carter and Lori Majewski.

Select Rock Hall donors and members get exclusive induction ticket opportunities. Donate or join by June 30 to be eligible. Visit rockhall.com/support to learn more.

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

The Rock Hall didn't induct BLACK SABBATH until 2006, and METALLICA followed three years later.

SAXON frontman Biff Byford says that it was "crazy" for JUDAS PRIEST to announce its plan to embark on the next leg of its 50th-anniversary tour as a quartet.

On January 10, JUDAS PRIEST revealed that it would perform as a four-piece when it returns to the road in early March. A few hours later, the band's touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the group's 2018 album "Firepower" and has helmed several SAXON LPs in the past, released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was "incredibly disappointed" by PRIEST's decision to carry on as a quartet and thanked the Rob Halford-fronted outfit for the "mind-blowing" opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands. Meanwhile, PRIEST fans were understandably upset about the band's decision to forgo its classic twin-guitar attack sound and made their feelings known on social media. Some even called for the return of guitarist K.K. Downing, who joined PRIEST in 1970 and remained in the group until 2011.

On January 15, JUDAS PRIEST released a statement announcing that it was reversing its decision to tour as a four-piece, explaining that the bandmembers "decided unanimously" to continue their live shows "unchanged" with Rob, Ian Hill (bass), Richie Faulkner (guitar), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy.

Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT, began touring with PRIEST four years ago after longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton — who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower".

Byford weighed in on PRIEST's four-piece plans in a new interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked if he was keeping track of what was going on with Sneap and PRIEST, Biff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I was talking to Andy about it. Andy lives quite close to where I live, so we talk all the time. Yeah, he was really disappointed 'cause he loves PRIEST. Andy is a child of the '80s, really, so he loves PRIEST. But he didn't take it too bad; he was just really disappointed. And then, a week later, he was back in. It was, like, 'Yeah!' [Laughs]"

Biff went on to lightheartedly speculate as to why PRIEST would contemplate touring as a quartet. "I don't know. Maybe they'd been drinking. I don't know," he said. "Maybe they were having a party in the room once and somebody said, 'Hey, that doesn't sound bad with one guitar.' Sometimes these things are like that. One guy says one thing. Maybe some engineer was in there saying, 'Have you heard this?'

"I don't know why," he repeated. "I thought it was a little bit crazy when I heard it. I was, like, 'Really?' [Laughs] It's crazy. It's like THIN LIZZY having one guitarist. It's impossible."

Byford previously talked about PRIEST's decision to tour as a quartet two weeks ago in an interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station. At that time, he said: "Yeah, it's a bit strange that they decided to go out as a four-piece. It's a bit of a wacky decision. I don't really understand it; I don't really understand the motives behind it. Obviously, if you play loud enough, it can sound like a five-piece band. Richie is a great guitarist. Looking at the stage and not seeing two guitarists is a bit strange for me. I mean, we have done it. Back in the day, Paul [Quinn] has done gigs — not recently, but back in the '80s — without Graham [Oliver], the other guy. We have done it, but it's not really the same."

He continued: "Yeah, it's a bit of a wacky one, that. It's obviously their decision — it's their band — so you can't really question their motives behind it. But I think it's a bit odd. I didn't expect it — put it that way. It's a bit of a curveball. I mean, the time to have done it was when K.K. left; that would have been the best time to do it. And then Andy's been in the band now for four years, hasn't he? It's a bit wacky, I think."

When Meltdown suggested that PRIEST's decision could have been down to some kind of a scheduling conflict, Byford said: "I don't think it's anything with Andy; I think Andy is [producing] the next [PRIEST] album. So I can't see that. I don't think it's a problem with Andy or anything like that. I just think it's a decision they've made. I don't know… Honestly, I don't have any inside track on it, really."

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. Downing parted ways with the band more than a decade ago and was replaced by Faulkner.

Earlier in the month, Downing said in an interview that it was "very, very strange" for PRIEST "to even think about" the possibility of going out as a quartet. "I'm like everybody else. I'm totally bemused," he told the "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen" classic rock show. It was just so extreme and insulting in a way, I guess, and insulting to Glenn as well. It was kind of a slap in the face, saying, 'Okay, you two guys did it, but we think just one guy could do what…' It kind of made us and everything that we've done and created, saying it was all superfluous, really, and didn't really have the value that… I'm sure Glenn will agree with me that it does have a value."

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

King Diamond has revealed that he is working on lyrics for the long-awaited new album from his namesake band. Titled "The Institute", the group's first studio LP in 15 years is tentatively before the end of the year via Metal Blade Records.

On Tuesday (February 1), King took to his Instagram to share a photo of several stacks of handwritten lyric sheets, and he included the following message: "In my lair working on lyrics for the new album. The words may be blurred for now but in due time the madness will unfold, you have been warned.."

Back in November 2019, KING DIAMOND released its first new song in 12 years, "Masquerade Of Madness". A month later, guitarist Andy La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."

La Rocque, whose real name is Anders Allhage, told The Metal Voice that the tentative plan is to release "The Institute" as "a single album" as part of a two-LP horror concept story, with the second part arriving at a later date. Andy also discussed his vision for the new KING DIAMOND album, saying that it will be filled with great "melodies, of course. Super important. Without melodies, there is no music," he explained. "I'm also envisioning a more organic sound of the album. If you look back to the older albums, when Mikkey [Dee] played [drums for the band], for example, it's, like, a little bit up and down in tempo, and that makes it dynamic and also organic. So that's one thing that I would like to hear on the next album, for sure. But building up a dynamic, kind of organic feel, the drummer is a really important thing here, of course. And I know that Matt Thompson [current KING DIAMOND drummer] is the right guy to do this, for sure."

In March 2019, King told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show that the next album from his namesake band will be "absolutely gruesome" with a story set in a 1920s mental institution. "I chose that because I think it's a very creepy scenario," he explained. "And some of the things that go on that we're gonna show onstage is also things that certainly was going on back then, when medicine was beginning to take a beneficial turn in history and actually being able to help human beings live longer. But there was some experimentation going on, too, that was absolutely gruesome. Some of that is involved in the story, but it's something totally different. Once you get to the second part of the story, you will begin to suddenly understand that, 'What the hell is going on here? What is this really about?' 'Cause there's a whole different story that will not come to you till second part. But in the first part, you're gonna get to know a lot people at a certain place… Some of it takes place here, this world, and some of it takes place in a parallel world. And there's a correlation between what happened to me and what happens to some people in this place and where they suddenly appear. And you will find out why they are there, how they appear there and the places down the road. I won't say too much right now, but it's gonna be very creepy."

KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".

"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captures 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances feature KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Thompson.
























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Fan-filmed video footage of Bruce Dickinson belting out a cappella versions of the IRON MAIDEN songs "The Writing Of The Wall" and "Revelations" during his January 29 spoken-word show at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall in Munhall, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

"The Writing Of The Wall" was the first single from MAIDEN's latest album, "Senjutsu", which came out in September. Clocking in at a hefty 82 minutes, it marks MAIDEN's second consecutive double album behind 2015's "The Book Of Souls" which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.

IRON MAIDEN's first album in six years, "Senjutsu" was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.

For "Senjutsu" — loosely translated as "tactics and strategy" — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.

"Senjutsu" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band's early classics like "Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast". Nearly 90 percent of the LP's 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", which both peaked at No. 4.

"Senjutsu" was MAIDEN's 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.

According to Billboard, "Senjutsu" logged the second-largest week of 2021 for a hard rock album in both equivalent album units earned and in traditional album sales.

"Senjutsu" topped the charts in several European countries upon its release, including in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.

Alice Cooper kicked off his 2022 U.S. tour last Friday night (January 28) at The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The legendary rocker's setlist was as follows:

01. Feed My Frankenstein

02. No More Mr. Nice Guy

03. Bed Of Nails

04. Hey Stoopid

05. Fallen In Love

06. Go Man Go

07. Under My Wheels

08. He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)

09. Rock & Roll (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND cover)

10. I'm Eighteen

11. Poison

12. Billion Dollar Babies

13. Roses On White Lace

14. My Stars

15. Devil's Food

16. Black Widow Jam

17. Steven

18. Dead Babies

19. I Love The Dead

20. Escape

21. Teenage Frankenstein

Encore:

22. School's Out

Joining Cooper as part of his touring band are guitarists Tommy Henriksen, Ryan Roxie and Nita Strauss; drummer Glen Sobel; and bassist Chuck Garric.

Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube user Doug Towne).

Regarding how he chooses the setlist for his concerts, Alice told CityBeat: "It's the hardest thing in the world. It's the same for THE WHO or THE ROLLING STONES or anyone who's been around for 50 years. All of our records are the soundtrack to somebody's life. I hear a STONES song and go, 'Oh, I know what car I had.' But I'm not really thinking, 'Well, Alice, you've been around that long. People will want to hear something from 'Easy Action'.' We can't go that far back, but we do try to find good stage songs that fit this show.

"This show has a storyline in it, so I have to go, 'What's a good stage hook?'" he explained. "A song like 'Generation Landslide' is a great record, with a great lyric, but we've tried it onstage and audiences don't react to it. They give it a nice polite clap. But a song like 'Feed My Frankenstein', that's a stage song."

Cooper added: "Out of the 25 songs we do, 18 to 20 of them are must-dos or the audience will get pissed off. If we leave without 'Under My Wheels' or 'Poison', we'll get killed. We only have about five we can play with there. We fit in a couple from the new album, and there are theatrical bits where I go, you know, 'Roses On White Lace' would be exactly right to get from A to B here,' so we put that in. But then every e-mail is, 'I can't believe you didn't play...' I have to go for pleasing 80% of everybody."

During an appearance on last Thursday's (January 27) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Cooper confirmed that he is putting together ideas for the follow-up to last year's "Detroit Stories" LP. "I'm working on two albums right now, actually — two studio albums," he said. "And all I can say is that one is written — totally written — and we'll be doing bed tracks for that one pretty soon. And then the other one is just a touch in the future, but that's being written right now too. They're two entirely different kinds of albums, but they're Alice Cooper pure rock and roll albums. The two albums will really be hard rock albums."

The 73-year-old singer went on to say that his longtime producer Bob Ezrin will once again be involved with both LPs, the first one of which will arrive later this year.

"It's kind of like the old days when you're touring and putting out records at the same time," Alice explained. "It kind of takes me back to when you're doing 'Love It To Death' and then you tour for 'Love It To Death'. While you're doing 'Love It To Death', you're writing 'Killer'. When 'Love It To Death' is over, 'Killer' comes out and then you go support that. And while you're doing 'Killer', you're writing 'School's Out'. So we're kind of piggybacking everything. And I kind of like that. It keeps everything moving. I don't like those big chunks of time when there's nothing going on."

Released in February 2021, "Detroit Stories" was recorded with Ezrin, mostly in Royal Oak with Detroit musicians and featuring a mix of original material alongside covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder's DETROIT and OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY.

In 2018, Cooper issued "A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris", a recording of his December 7, 2017 concert at the world-renowned Olympia venue in France. The effort captured Cooper and his current bandmates performing a choice selection of classic Cooper hits, in addition to some highlights from 2017's "Paranormal" album. Alice later said that he wanted to release a document of his band's onstage prowess because they "deserved a live album."