German dark metal frontrunners, Agathodaimon, will release their seventh studio album, The Seven, on March 18 via Napalm Records. The band have released this guitar playthrough video for the first single, "Ain't Death Grand":





Agathodaimon’s exceptional new strike maintains the old-school spirit of its predecessor, but can’t be pigeonholed due to its dynamic and widespread musical styles, evoking a gloomy atmosphere fuelled by sharp growls, epic clear vocals and a gripping, exceptional sonic universe.




Formed in 1995 and entering the scene with their debut, Blacken the Angel, in 1998, bandleader Sathonys was temporarily forced to put Agathodaimon on hold in 2014 due to private circumstances. But the irrevocable fire of the band and their fans never went out, seeking a reawakening of this sonic, seething beast.


Now, the gates of darkness have opened once again with the massive first single “Ain’t Death Grand” as a mouth-watering harbinger, alongside a hard-hitting music video. The song breaks in with evil screams spit from the devil himself while evoking a hellfire of thundering drums and razor-sharp riffs to create an intense mélange fueled with heroic symphonic black metal passages.


Sathonys on the first single: “'Ain’t Death Grand' was the first song we’ve written together after our reunion, so it rightfully became the first video clip. Especially as it acts as an excellent teaser for what’s still to come: As usual, the songs of The Seven won’t be one-dimensional, there’s a wide range of styles you can expect, just like we did it in the past. BUT this one has a lot of elements in common with the other songs: Dark atmosphere, melody, aggression, intensity, groove, some old school-vibe and respect for our roots, but also the inevitable longing for new musical grounds and heartfelt music in general.”


Watch the official video for “Ain’t Death Grand” below.


Agathodaimon's massive new outburst, The Seven, reveals extreme soundscapes amid a captivating concoction of evil, provoking, cutting dark metal and heroic symphonic black metal in the style of bands like Cradle of Filth and Carach Angren, but with their unique and very own multifaceted take. Thematically, as hinted by the album’s title, the full-length is centered around the momentous and symbolically powerful number seven and the seven deadly sins - sloth, greed, lust, gluttony, pride, wrath, envy - on ten tracks total, all addressed with religious topics that contrast with human beings and its original nature.


Sathonys about the album: “Well, we took our time in creating this album. We had to make sure we (can) work together as a band after all these years, that the chemistry is there, that it feels organic to release another album after such a long break. To cut it short, we’re really looking forward to have The Seven out, as we’re very satisfied with it. More than that, we’re proud of it. Typically, you can point a finger at one or two songs that really stand out from the rest, but here, you’ll feel the effort that was put into every song and every aspect. Not only in terms of songwriting, there’s also the artistic concept and visual artwork/realization delivered by the team of Credo Quia Absurdum, or the excellent production under the supervision of our friend Kristian “Kohle” Kohlmannslehner (Powerwolf, Aborted, Benighted etc.). Usually you have to be prepared to make compromises. The Seven is far from that, as it is our most ambitious album to date.”


Diving into this exciting construct with opener “La Haine”, the track lures the listener into the freezing, dark world of Agathodaimon, produced by long-time companion Kristian “Kohle” Bonifer (Aborted, Powerwolf, Hämatom amongst others), by building up a dense wall of thunderous sound, accented by a multifaceted vocal interpretation. Songs like raging “Wolf Within” and haunting “In my Dreams” roam between dense soundscapes, crushing instrumentals and intense lyricism. “Kyrie / Gloria” on the other hand stomps more towards heavy doom metal, calling for a black mass with creeping darkness and desperate screams turning into harsh black metal parts, all topped by the guest appearance of Benighted frontman Julien Truchan. Amid the tracklisting there's another special treat for fans lurking with epochal orchestration that paves the war for the remarkable performance of Agathodaimon’s former vocalist, Romanian Vlad Dracul, on “Mother of all Gods”. It’s not only this very first collaboration since 1999, but The Seven as a whole, that showcases that Agathodaimon absolutely acing the balancing act of incorporating their past into a bright and exciting future.





The Seven will be available in the following formats:


- 1 LP Gatefold Ocean Blue
- 1 CD Digipak + T-Shirt Bundle (Napalm Records exclusive)
- 1 CD Digipak
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





The Seven tracklisting:


"La Haine"
"Ain't Death Grand"
"Wolf Within"
"Ghosts Of Greed"
"Mother Of All Gods"
"Estrangement"
"In My Dreams (Part 1 - Prelude)"
"In My Dreams (Part 2 - In Bitterness)"
"Kyrie / Gloria"
"The Divine"


"Ain’t Death Grand" video:





Agathodaimon are:


Sathonys - Guitar, clean vocals
Nakhateth - Guitar
Von Yanesh - Bass
Ashtrael - Vocals
Mortos - Drums


(Photo - Andrea Reitmeyer)

On August 14, 2021, Wargasm performed on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air festival. You can now see pro-shot video of the band's full set, below.


Setlist:


"Rage All Over"
"Pyro Pyro"
"Your Patron Saints"
"Backyard Bastards"
"Lapdance" (N*E*R*D cover)
"Salma Hayek"

German medieval folk metal force, Feuerschwanz, have released a guitar + violin playthrough video for "Ultima Nocte", featured on their Memento Mori album. Watch below:





Memento Mori continues the success story of the medieval rockers from Germany / Franconia! On the new album, Feuerschwanz finally take a step away from the simpler humor of earlier days to become one of the most important bands in German folk rock.




With chanting violin playing, Memento Mori starts its heroic journey with its eponymous opener. The song turns out to be a melodic rock anthem with a well-known medieval character, a blazing guitar riff and life-affirming lyrics. On "Untot im Drachenboot", the squad around Captain Feuerschwanz sets off for new musical shores in a Viking ship full of undead warriors. "Rausch der Barberei", on the other hand delivers a violent, raw voice and driving drumming that send its listeners into unbridled frenzy. On "Krampus", Feuerschwanz sing in a canon of vocals and instruments about the ancient legend of the demonic companion of St. Nicholas, who is dressed in fur and a horned mask. On the ballad "Das Herz eines Drachen" (The Heart of a Dragon), the medieval folk rockers show their sensible side. In a fire lit by burning guitar sounds and flute melodies, a warrior mourns his fallen father with his head held high. "Hannibal" on the other hand embarks on a raging battle of powerful choirs, swirling violin and guitar solos and driving drums, led by army commander Hannibal. The crowning finale of the almost 40-minute adventure is provided by "Skaldenmet" with its proudly advancing bass.


In typical Feuerschwanz manner, Memento Mori is about great adventures, past battles and outstanding heroic deeds. Feuerschwanz manage to stay true to their trademarks and at the same time venture into new musical realms. Fans of the band can look forward to an extensive deluxe edition of the album, which extends the running time of Memento Moriby almost double! Two additional CDs feature instrumental versions of all eleven tracks as well as the cover CD Die Glorreichen Sieben (The Magnificent Seven), which includes seven epic reissues from Amon Amarth to Die Ärzte and The Weeknd.


Feuerschwanz on the new album: “You take nothing with you to your grave, except your coffin... Memento Mori is the direct successor to Die Letzte Schlacht! The world of Hauptmann Feuerschwanz is in flames, overrun by the living dead and scourged by religious zealots... All of this sounds frighteningly real, even in Anno Domini 2021, so it's time to defy the storm once again and celebrate life. Let's live here, let's live now - until death sharpens his knife!”


As a special highlight, some versions of Memento Mori feature a bonus CD with seven cover songs by Manowar, Amon Amarth, but also O-Zone, among others.


Memento Mori is available in the following formats:


- 2CD Mediabook + 40 pages booklet
- 1CD Jewel Case + 20 pages booklet
- Digital Album
- Digital Deluxe Album


Order here.





2CD tracklsiting:


Disc 1:
"Memento Mori"
"Untot im Drachenboot"
"Ultima Nocte"
"Rausch der Barbarei"
"Krampus"
"Feuer & Schwert"
"Das Herz eines Drachen"
"Rohirrim"
"Am Galgen"
"Hannibal"
"Skaldenmet"


Disc 2:
"Blinding Lights"
"Warriors of the World United"
"Twilight of the Thunder God"
"The Bad Touch"
"Dragostea Din Tei"
"Square Hammer"
"Der Graf"


"Dragostea Din Tei" video:





"Ultima Nocte":





"Memento Mori" video:





“Untot im Drachenboot” video:





"Warriors Of The World United" video:





Feuerschwanz are:


Hauptmann Feuerschwanz - vocals, guitar
Johanna von der Vögelweide - violin, hurdy-gurdy
Rollo - drums
Jarne Hodinsson - bass
Prinz Hodenherz - flutes, bagpipe, vocals, guitar
Hans der Aufrechte – guitar


(Photo - Nikolaj Georgiew)

Former FOZZY drummer Frank Fontsere has opened up about his departure from the band, saying he no longer wanted to spend time away from home.

Fontsere's exit from FOZZY was officially announced this past Monday (January 3). The band also named his replacement, former THROUGH FIRE drummer Grant Brooks.

Earlier today, Frank took to his Instagram to write: "Hello, As you may have already heard, I have decided to step down as the drummer for FOZZY. This was a very painful decision to make even though it was the correct one. Getting on stage with guys I love and making music I love is something I will miss terribly. I will also miss getting to meet and interact with all the wonderful people who came to see us over the years. FOZZY has the best fans in the world.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reached out with positivity and support over the last few days," he continued. "Your messages of encouragement mean more to me than you can imagine. I also would like to wish the guys in FOZZY and GUARDIANS OF THE JUKEBOX all the success they deserve. I admit it will be hard to watch from the sidelines, but it's the way it needs to be.

"As was mentioned in the post on Monday, the reason I need to step away is I no longer want to spend time away from home. If I'm honest, traveling was always my least favorite aspect of being in a band. Having a wife and son, especially a son who just turned 7 and is growing and changing day by day; touring was getting increasingly hard. It was affecting my mood and I was having a negative impact on the people around me. In a band situation, this is not good. It was also affecting my love of drumming. Drumming was starting to feel more like a job than a passion. In a band situation, this is lethal. I need a change.

"This is not the last you will hear from me however," Frank added. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I have lots of plans for the future which include creating art and making drumming videos. In a lot of ways, I feel as though my life is just beginning.

"I sincerly hope you will continue forward on this journey with me. Much love to all and you'll be hearing from me again soon. Frank."

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with singer Chris Jericho and guitarist Rich Ward.

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

In a separate statement on his personal Facebook page, Brooks said that he was "super excited" about his new gig. He wrote: "So thankful for this amazing opportunity! Huge shoutout to Rich Ward, aka The Duke and Chris Jericho for reaching out to me and offering me the gig.

"My first shows will be on the Jericho Cruise setting sail from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas on March 14-18!"

FOZZY will release its new album, "Boombox", on April 15. The LP, which includes the top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane", was once again produced by Johnny Andrews.

FOZZY's "Save The World" 2022 U.S. tour, featuring special guests GFM, KRASHKARMA and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, starts on March 31 in Detroit, Michigan and wraps on May 16 in Sauget, Illinois. Additionally, to celebrate the arrival of "Boombox", FOZZY will play an album-release party on April 11 at Irving Plaza in New York City, where fans will be able to purchase and listen to the full album exclusively in advance of the release.

FOZZY debuted a brand new song, "Purifier", during its September 2021 concert in Flint, Michigan and has been performing it live ever since. Back in July, FOZZY played another new song, "The Vulture Club", during its concert in Iowa City, Iowa. The band also performed its latest single, "Sane", live for the first time.

In May, FOZZY dropped a video for its first new song in two years, the aforementioned "Sane", which hit one million views in its first two weeks. This first-of-its-kind video was filmed on the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet today.

In the summer of 2020, Chris revealed that FOZZY's next LP would contain 12 songs, including one cover.

Ward and Andrews once again did "the lion's share" of the songwriting for the new LP, which was recorded primarily in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to producing "Judas", Andrews previously co-wrote FOZZY's "Lights Go Out" track back in 2014. He has also written songs with the likes of ALL THAT REMAINS, THREE DAYS GRACE and HALESTORM.

In November 2020, FOZZY appeared in its first global live streaming event from Madison Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals), Rich Ward (guitars, vocals), Grant Brooks (drums), Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).
























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by Frank Fontsere (@frankfontsere)

Kid Rock says that Donald Trump is "proud" of him over the success of his profanity-laced new single that bashes President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci over vaccine mandates and other policies.

"We The People" features the chorus of "Let's go, Brandon," conservative code for "Fuck Joe Biden" (born when a NASCAR reporter misheard a crowd, reporting that they chanted in support of racer Brandon Brown when they were actually chanting expletives toward the U.S. president), and also takes aim at the mainstream media, CNN, TMZ, Twitter and Facebook. The track was released on Monday, along with two others, to promote Kid Rock's upcoming "Bad Reputation" tour, which he claims could be his last.

Earlier today (Wednesday, January 26), Kid Rock took to his Twitter to write: "Oh, and by the way…. I just got off the phone with our 45th President (hopefully 47th) and he expressed how proud of me he was over 'We The People' being the #1 song on Itunes! Suck on that you trolls, critics and haters!" He added: "Thank you to all the fans, I can't wait to see you on tour! Pedal to the fuckin' metal, LETS GO!!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




Oh, and by the way…. I just got off the phone with our 45th President (hopefully 47th) and he expressed how proud of me he was over “We The People” being the #1 song on Itunes! Suck on that you trolls, critics and haters! Continued… (1/2)https://t.co/nlmw7vA1dS

— KidRock (@KidRock) January 26, 2022








(2/2)…. Thank you to all the fans, I can’t wait to see you on tour! Pedal to the fuckin’ metal, LETS GO!! -Kid Rock

Check out all THREE new songs herehttps://t.co/OYpJwCwFNz

— KidRock (@KidRock) January 26, 2022

HALESTORM's previously announced European "An Evening With Halestorm" European tour has been canceled. The trek was scheduled to kick off on February 1 in Frankfurt, Germany and run through March 13 in London, United Kingdom.

Earlier today, HALESTORM released the following statement: "We've got good news and we've got bad news. Due to the different restrictions in all of the countries we were planning on traveling to, it is logistically impossible to bring our Evening With Tour to mainland Europe this February. These shows have been canceled. Check your inbox for refund information or at point of purchase. The Good News is that we are still planning on coming to the UK + Ireland.

"We hope all of our European Freaks understand that this was out of our control and we are looking forward to announcing shows soon!"

Last month, HALESTORM finished mastering its new album for an early 2022 release. The follow-up to 2018's "Vicious" was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz who first helmed HALESTORM's 2017 effort "ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP" and was previously described by Lzzy as the group's "fifth member."

Earlier in December, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale told Brandy Richey of Pittsburgh's 105.9 The X radio station about the band's upcoming LP: "During the time that we were writing it, I got a lot of inspiration by just the stories and just people living their lives and survival stories and literally just conversations that I've had with these people. So, in turn, I feel like even just as an artist, it was a really neat way for me to find myself again and see myself in them, but also in turn I feel like everyone's going to see some of themselves on this album. So, yeah, it's a beautiful thing."

In November, Lzzy told the 105.7 The Point radio station about the musical direction of the new HALESTORM material: "This album is absolutely a banger. It's on eleven. We have really just kind of exceeded all of the energy that has come before on these albums, both technically, music-wise, vocally, drum, lyric-wise. I think because of the roller-coaster ride when we were making this record, and just through the pandemic and all the different phases of that, we just kind of looked at each other, like, if the future is unknown and we don't know whether we're actually going to be out and playing these things, everything has to be, like I said, at eleven. It's HALESTORM elevated.

"It was kind of funny. My bass player, Josh [Smith], he was showing some new songs to his parents. And his dad is, like, 'Wow. You really just grabbed on to your sound.' And I'm, like, 'We have a sound?' [Laughs] I didn't really think about it that way before. But, yeah, it's very us."

According to Lzzy, she and her bandmates recorded the new HALESTORM album in a different way. "This is the first time that we've ever had dual producers," she explained. "We went back with Nick Raskulinecz [who helmed 'Vicious']. And then I ended up doing my vocals with Scott Stevens from THE EXIES. He's like a brother from another mother with me. We've written together before, and we've known each other for probably just shy of a decade now. He and I, we produced and did all the vocals for [HALESTORM's recently released single] 'Back From The Dead' with each other, because I went out to L.A. And then we ended up sending it to Nick, and Nick's, like, 'This is just absolutely amazing. We have to do every song this way.' So we kind of did it differently. We ended up with the bare bones of a demo. I ended up finishing all of my vocals — like dunzo — before we ended up building the track musically. So it's kind of like building a pyramid upside down. But it ended up really just having this different energy, because what we were able to do with the lyrics and melody and all the vocals being done would really accentuate all of that — matching the theme to whatever I was singing about, but also just kind of really supporting the vocals musically when we went in to do the guitars and drums and bass. It's so crazy — it definitely has this very forward, very aggressive nature to it because of the way that we did that."

"Back From The Dead" was released in August. The official music video for the track, directed by Dustin Haney (Noah Cyrus, Luke Combs) and produced by Revolution Pictures, features Lzzy and the rest of the band in a morgue and cemetery somewhere between life and death.

Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)".




Check your inbox for refund information or at point of purchase.

The Good News is that we are still planning on coming to the UK + Ireland.

We hope all of our European Freaks understand that this was out of our control and we are looking forward to announcing shows soon!

— Halestorm (@Halestorm) January 28, 2022

Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen's project SMITH/KOTZEN played the second show of its U.S. West Coast tour last night (Saturday, January 22) at Count's Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joining Smith and Kotzen as part of their touring band is Richie's wife, internationally acclaimed bass player Julia Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock band BARRA DE SAIA. With a strong pedigree in rock, Lage has played alongside the likes of Pat Travers, Elliot Easton (THE CARS), Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY). In addition, SMITH/KOTZEN has enlisted drummer Bruno Valverde of ANGRA for the U.S. West Coast dates.

Fan-filmed video footage of the Las Vegas concert, including SMITH/KOTZEN's rendition of the IRON MAIDEN classic "Wasted Years", with Smith on lead vocals, can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Metal Edge magazine's "Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley", Richie stated about how the short tour came together (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "What happened was it was all just by timing. Nathalie [Dufresne-Smith, Adrian's wife] and Adrian came into town, and Adrian said, 'Hey, we're gonna be there for a couple of months. You wanna write some more songs?' And we did get together and we did about seven things that are in the works; we have some demo stuff that are in the works. And then we started thinking, 'Man, we're here. Why don't we play?' Julia was in the house and we were talking about it. And it just kind of — boom. It just made sense. 'Let's go. Call Bruno.' And we put it together. It was real easy."

Adrian added that fans can definitely expect to hear more music from SMITH/KOTZEN, which released a full-length album and an EP during 2021.

"We started writing with a view to doing another album, and then we got sidetracked on dates," Smith said. "Like Richie said, we've got six or seven things. It's just taking where we left off with the EP — just writing as we do.

"I don't wanna change the world," he added. "I just wanna make good rock music. It's n there, and you've just gotta do it. You just have to do it, really. It's one of those things."

SMITH/KOTZEN remaining West Coast tour dates:

Jan. 23 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA

Jan. 26 - Goldfield Trading Post - Roseville, CA

Jan. 27 - The Siren - Morro Bay, CA

Jan. 28 - Ventura Theatre - Ventura, CA (postponed from Jan. 15)

SMITH/KOTZEN's eponymous debut album was released globally through BMG in March 2021 to media and fan acclaim, charting No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart in the U.S., Top 20 in the U.K. as well as in other major markets such as Germany, Japan and Canada. A follow-up EP, "Better Days", featuring four new tracks was released on November 26 in conjunction with international Record Store Day's Black Friday event.

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.

German black thrash unit, Desaster, have released an official video for "Learn To Love The Void", the opening track of their latest album, Churches Without Saints, released in June last year via Metal Blade Records.


Comments Desaster guitarist Infernal: "Enjoy our new video clip, filmed at one of the rare live concerts in 2021, PartySan Herbstoffensive in Weimar, Germany. It was great to enter the stage again, we hope you can feel the hellfire burning and learn to love the void!"







Since 1989, Germany's Desaster have been churning out their unique and unholy blend of extreme metal, and in 2021 they return with perhaps their most powerful album to-date, the towering Churches Without Saints. "It's a typical Desaster old school black-death-thrash metal album, with a lot of aggression, but also great atmosphere and epic tunes!" enthuses guitarist and founding member Infernal. With a simple remit of making an album full of "neck-breaking songs", the quartet have once again proven themselves leaders in their chosen genres, giving their faithful and newcomers alike plenty to salivate over.


With a five-year gap elapsing since they dropped last album The Oath Of An Iron Ritual, fans have had to be very patient, but will find the results more than worth the wait. This new effort also features Hont taking over behind the kit from previous drummer Tormentor, bringing a welcome change to the way they work. "He's a very skilled drummer and can play really anything. Whereas in the past the songwriting was a lot of 'trial and error' with testing many rhythms, we nowadays can work much more efficiently. Hont knows what rhythms fit to the riffs immediately. He has studied Desaster's music in detail and knows what works best, but he is not just copying Tormentor's style - he brings his own skilled style into the music, and also some new rhythms and figures. That of course brings some fresh wind into the songs."


The record was tracked in the band's rehearsal room and was recorded, mixed and mastered by their live mixer Jan "Janosch" Gensheimer. This led to a very relaxed atmosphere throughout the whole process, having rehearsed a lot prior to recording and also doing a full pre-production demo with their own equipment, meaning they could record very fast and without many mistakes. They did however change things up a little, sonically speaking. "It was a big goal for me to change the sound a bit," says Infernal. "Whereas the last albums had a very harsh sound, where the mid and high frequencies were dominating, I wanted a warmer and smoother sound this time. I always liked the sound of our 'Tyrants of the Netherworld' album from 2000 very much, and the new album is an effort to develop this sound with more details and different instruments. On 'Tyrants', we had the rough mud of deepest hellish caves, now we present you the black lava which is flowing around the throne of Satan himself!" And having achieved everything they set out to, Churches Without Saints definitively starts a new and exciting chapter in one of extreme metal's most consistently thrilling bands.


The record can be ordered here.





Churches Without Saints tracklisting:


"The Grace Of Sin"
"Learn To Love The Void"
"Failing Trinity"
"Exile Is Imminent"
"Churches Without Saints"
"Hellputa"
"Sadistic Salvation"
"Armed Architects Of Annihilation"
"Primordial Obscurity"
"Endless Awakening"
"Aus Asche"


"Endless Awakening" lyric video:





"Learn To Love The Void" visualizer:





Desaster lineup:


Infernal - guitar
Sataniac - vocals
Odin - bass
Hont - drums


(Photo - Diana Mennicke)

Following their powerful single “The Last Crossing”, Dagoba’s brand new track, “On The Run”, marks a melodic moment for the French modern metal upstarts on their upcoming album, By Night, out February 18 via Napalm Records. A harmonic duet of soothing juxtaposed vocals shows Dagoba breaking free from genre limitations once more, proving them to be on the cusp of entering the hall of fame of modern metal.


The band have released a drum playthrough video for "On The Run". Watch below:







Dagoba on the single “On The Run”:  “I always wanted to release a track which verses only contain a piano and vocals and now it’s done! The main idea was to create a contrast between the calm of the vers and the huge chords leading to the chorus, where the voice is the main line. From the begining of the writing process, I knew that a female vocalist would join me on that track, and that is also brand new for us. On The Run is a daring track, but it will make you want to play it on repeat!”


After putting their stamp on the metal scene with their unique blend of metal and neckbreaking grooves, and relentlessly touring and sharing the stage with legendary acts like Metallica, Machine Head and In Flames, the French four-piece is gearing up to reach the next level with their most ambitious material yet.


Watch the music video for “On The Run”:





Dagoba deftly aces the balancing act between harsh breakdowns, dense walls of sound and grooving passages with ease. Even in its hardest passages, the album never gets too overwhelming - one smashing track is followed by the next, moving breathlessly with ease. By Night is a beast of an album showcasing how far Dagoba can take a multitude of influences and styles and combine them effortlessly. This is a must-have for true fans of searing modern metal.


Dagoba on the creation process of By Night: “We live in challenging times, and that’s not only because of the strength-sapping pandemic. Sometimes the world seems to be a dark place. We know it’s an ambitious project, but we really want our fans to feel good, and contribute to their happiness. Therefore, we deliver our blend of metal music. During the weeks and months in the lockdown period we had so much time to have a focus on the album production. We could look at every detail in each track, and after all By Night has become our most accomplished album so far. We are really happy with the new record and cannot wait to share it with our fans and the world.”





Varying in individual territories, By Night will be available digitally, as a CD (bundled with an exclusive t-shirt), as well as black and exclusive red transparent vinyl. Order here.





Tracklisting:


"Neons"
"The Hunt"
"Sunfall"
"Bellflower Drive"
"On The Run"
"Break"
"City Lights"
"Nightclub"
"Summer's Gone"
"The Last Crossing"
"Stellar"


"The Last Crossing" video:





"The Hunt" video:





Dagoba is:


Shawter - vocals/machines
Ritch DM - guitar
Kawa - bass
Theo - drums





(Photo - Morgane Khouni)

Reunited thrashers, Mantic Ritual, have unveiled a visualizer video for their cover of the Mercyful Fate classic, “Black Funeral.” The video was created by Raf Orteaga of Ecliptic Visions.


The track is the B-side of the 7" vinyl release for their recently-revealed single, “Crusader”. The limited-edition of 300 collector’s 7" vinyl with “Crusader” - the band's first new music in 12 years from the reunited group featuring original members Dan Wetmore (vocals/guitars), Jeff Potts (guitars), and Ben Mottsman (bass) alongside new drummer Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Machine Head, Power Trip) - as the A-side and “Black Funeral” released January 28.


"I can't think of a metal band I like more than Mercyful Fate; melodic, dark, and shockingly heavy at times," explains guitarist/vocalist Dan Wetmore. “We've covered ‘Doomed By The Living Dead’ and ‘Gypsy’ in the past, but I wanted something direct and short. ‘Black Funeral’ really delivers. Heavy as hell, straight to the punch and then it ends with two beautiful leads. Perfect. We wanted to do this largely note for note, true to the original, just a bit faster. My vocal style has changed a bit. I scream less, and I sing more. And my range is much bigger. This seemed a challenge, but it came out in just a few takes. All hail Satan!!”

Former CANNIBAL CORPSE singer Chris Barnes says that watching a recent video discussion about the state of death metal featuring some of the genre's top vocalists, including his CC replacement, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, made him "physically ill."

On January 19, Knotfest livestreamed "A Death Metal Round Table" hosted by Staypuft Mallow and featuring appearances by Fisher, Trevor Strnad from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, Chase Mason from GATECREEPER and Alex Jones from UNDEATH. According to Knotfest, the four singers discussed "their early influences, the accessibility of the genre, inspiration from the weirdest places, live show between-song patter, their upcoming releases and tours and much, much more."

Earlier today, Barnes — who exited CANNIBAL CORPSE in 1995, one year after the release of the band's "The Bleeding" album — took to his Twitter to write: "I just watched a 'death metal' podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the 'top' death metal vocalists .. it made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become." A short time later, HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, who hosts a popular video podcast called "The Jasta Show" and who co-produced Fisher's upcoming debut solo album, replied: "come on the podcast & discuss". Chris responded: "No thanks brother. I have no need to jump on that bandwagon you guys got that". Jasta fired back with "Weak", to which Barnes said: "Ain't here to play that game. You have fun tho bro." Jasta then wrote: "you're the one playing games, you 'hate what the genre has become' but do you ever promote or discuss new bands or try & help build anything in the genre?" This prompted Chris to respond: "Lol promote lol hahahahaha". Jasta then countered: "Oh right that’s beneath you lol", to which Barnes said: "Nah I'm just not a shill..."

After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by Fisher.

Five years ago, Barnes spoke about the possibility of SIX FEET UNDER and CANNIBAL CORPSE one day touring together, telling "The Chainsaw Symphony" radio program: "That would be a tough one to put together, my friend. [Laughs] You wouldn't have any problems from my side of things, but I don't think other people would be agreeable to that."

He continued: "I don't think there's animosity [between us]. I think there's just protecting other people's feelings. I think that everyone knows certain things about everything and they'd like to see things a certain way, and that wouldn't portray things a certain way that they would wanna portray them. So… I'm being very general and trying to be diplomatic about it."

Barnes also talked about the circumstances behind his departure from CANNIBAL CORPSE. He said: "I just didn't like being around them, because I was being ridiculed, and I just didn't feel comfortable being in the same room with people that weren't very nice to me personally. And I was part of that too, so we had all of our own type of differences, personally, and I don't think it was gonna be able to be worked out. You know, mutual respect goes a far way when it comes to being in close quarters with people."

He continued: "I'm sure we'd do things differently [today] — I mean, I know we would. It's just the way things worked out. And I don't have any animosity towards those guys at all, and I don't think they do towards me. It's just that… It would be too confusing for things [if we were to tour together], I think, from their perspective."

Barnes added: "I'd do anything. I just like to see a lot of people out there with smiles on their faces; that's the only thing that's important to me, man. Like, seriously, if I see a big crowd of people that everyone's smiling, like, 'Oh, yeah! This is what we've been waiting for,' I'm ready then, man. If I see a small room of people that are just fired up to go, man, it just gets me going on stage, you know. And that's all I'm there for — that feeling, that sharing of energy, man. And I'll go for it any which way to get that any way I can with any person I can get it with. And if it gets to that means to an end, that's all that's important, man — that transference. And some people just don't see it that way, man, and it's cool.

"I'm not gonna be mean to anybody, and I never wanted to be. I'm my own person, and sometimes I'm put at fault for that, and I think we all are in our own way. And that's just life; those are the things we deal with as people."

SIX FEET UNDER's current lineup also includes another former CANNIBAL CORPSE member, guitarist Jack Owen.

SIX FEET UNDER's latest album, "Nightmares Of The Decomposed", was released in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.

Fisher's solo album, titled "Corpsegrinder", will be released on February 25. The 10-song effort was co-produced by Nick Bellmore (DEE SNIDER, KINGDOM OF SORROW) and Jasta and will be made available through Jamey's new label, Perseverance Music Group.






I just watched a “death metal” podcast on YouTube that was done about a week ago with the “top” death metal vocalists .. it made me physically ill. I despise what this genre has become.

— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022








No thanks brother. I have no need to jump on that bandwagon you guys got that

— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022








Ain’t here to play that game. You have fun tho bro.

— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022








Lol promote lol hahahahaha

— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022








Nah I’m just not a shill...

— Chris Barnes (@sixfeetofficial) January 27, 2022




























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by George CorpseGrinder (@georgecorpsegrinder)

Jazz Sabbath's 50-year-streak of misfortune ended in 2020 when their long-lost debut album was finally released; proving the songs made famous by a metal band from Birmingham were actually written by this jazz trio.


Now, reunited after 52 years, Jazz Sabbath entered the studio and finished their sophomore album, which was also being recorded in 1969, but due to legal disputes with a session player had to be abandoned and never saw the light of day... until now.


With the theft by the band from Birmingham exposed, Milton Keanes and colleagues can now present these songs in their original form, replenished with 52 years of experience, vigor... and rage.




The tranquil "Symptom Of The Universe", the full 8-minute version of "Paranoid" (not that metal afterthought version everyone knows), and of course the song that other band so blatantly named themselves after.





Jazz Sabbath Vol. 2 will be released April 22 through Blacklake Records on Vinyl, CD, Cassette and all streaming/download platforms. The track "Black Sabbath" is streaming on all digital platforms (and below) now.


Pre-order as LP, CD, Tape or Digital here.





Tracklisting:


"Paranoid"
"Snowblind"
"Behind the Wall of Sleep"
"Sabbra Cadabra"
"Symptom of the Universe"
"N.I.B."
"Black Sabbath"


"Black Sabbath":





A promo interview with Milton has surfaced on YouTube. However, the interview was cut short when the interviewer, despite Milton's protests, showed a clip from a TV show appearance in 1985.





The reunited Jazz Sabbath will embark on their first EU/UK tour since 1969 in October; fittingly closing the tour in Birmingham on November 26. Tickets here.





Tour dates (with more to be announced):


October
27 - Tilburg, NL - Paradox Jazz Club
29 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg


November
16  - London, UK - PizzaExpress Live
18 - Fletching, UK - Trading Boundaries
20 - Devizes, UK - Corn Exchange
21 - Cardiff, UK - Acapela Studio
24 - Milton Keynes, UK - The Stables
26 - Birmingham, UK - The Crescent Theatre


Since 2020, many news sources have stated Milton Keanes is actually the alter ego of long-time Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath keyboard player Adam Wakeman. Adam even has openly claimed in interviews that he made up the character. When confronted with these claims Milton Keanes merely replied: “Plagiarism, identity theft... these things seem to be a constant in my life since 1970, so I tend not to pay much attention to them these days.”

Toronto-based heavy metal unit, Skull Fist, has more guts and balls than the police allow. Since their leg-busting beginnings in 2006, dungeon keeper Zach Schottler and his shredding gang of reckless accomplices have released three archetypal heavy metal almanacs, eaten more dust than is good for their health, endured hardships, and propped up countless beers in countless bars in countless cities. Now, after fifteen years on behalf of steel, the trio signs a worldwide record deal with Atomic Fire Records.


Schottler comments, "Pretty stoked about this. The world and music industry is sketchy as hell so its nice to be working with someone that isn't considering stabbing me for a few bucks. Markus and Flori are rad dudes and so far, the rest of their team are genuinely more interested in music than dollars. It's nice to see, so let’s see."


Florian Milz, label manager of Atomic Fire Records, adds. "I've known Zach and the band for a long time and have worked with them in the past. I love their music and am very happy that we get to release the new upcoming album through Atomic Fire Records. The Fist is the law!"




The new Skull Fist album will be released this April with further details to be announced in the coming weeks.


Skull Fist lineup:


Zach Slaughter - vocals, guitar
Casey Guest - bass
JJ Tartaglia - drums


(Photo - Sharon Ehman)

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash says that he was "blown away" by Axl Rose's performance as the fill-in singer for the end of AC/DC's "Rock Or Bust" tour.

AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after frontman Brian Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with the GUNS N' ROSES frontman as a "guest vocalist."

In a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, Slash said about Axl's pairing with AC/DC: "I came out to a gig in London, and it was phenomenal. I was blown away, especially when he sang the Bon Scott stuff. That was a very proud moment, actually."

Asked by Classic Rock writer Paul Elliott if it felt weird seeing Rose fronting another band so soon after GN'R launched its reunion tour, the guitarist said: "Not at all. It was AC/DC, man.

"The fact that he got asked to do that was very cool," Slash continued. "And he worked his ass off doing it, too. He really adhered to the whole AC/DC regimen and pulled it off.

"In the moment, when it first came up, it was a little jarring, I have to say," the guitarist admitted. "I was super-proud that he was doing it, but how that was gonna happen and go right into the GUNS thing, I really didn't know. But anyway, it worked out. So it wasn't like a big deal.

"In all these years that we've been apart, he's become super-fucking professional. And he's never missed a beat during this whole time. So it's been great. There has been a sort of synergy that's been happening this last six years that we never had in our first incarnation."

AC/DC's North American tour ended in Philadelphia in September 2016, and despite initial fan trepidation, Axl got generally good reviews for his performances. Guitarist Angus Young said at the time: "I mean, under the situation that we had, it was very good that he volunteered and said, 'Hey, if I can help, let me try.' So he's been very good. And he had to learn a lot of songs very quickly, and he's done a great job."

Duff McKagan, who is one-third of the reunited partial classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES, got a chance to watch Rose and AC/DC play in June 2016 in London, England and in September 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Duff spoke about Axl's collaboration with AC/DC during a 2019 appearance on "The Church Of What's Happening Now" podcast. He said: "The way [Axl] did that was amazing. He was, like, 'If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go try out. They need a hand here.' [Late AC/DC frontman] Bon Scott's his all-time [hero]. [We said], 'Dude, you know you don't really have to try out for AC/DC.' But he was really nervous. 'I'm gonna go try out. It fits in with our touring perfect.' And Slash and I were, like, 'You've got the gig.' But he went to Atlanta and tried out, quote-unquote, and got the gig. I saw him twice on that tour. I flew to London to see him, and I flew to Cleveland to see that. It was great."

McKagan added: "I think what it did for [Axl]… We got to know Angus through that. Angus has now come out and played with us a bunch of times. That was that thing when he was 14 or 15, 'Man, one day, if I ever got to be in AC/DC…' He was singing with a broom, and he finally got to do it. Amazing."

AC/DC released its long-awaited comeback album, "Power Up", in November 2020.

TNT guitarist Ronni Le Tekrø will release his first solo album in six years, "Bigfoot TV", on March 18 through TBC Records via Cargo Records.

Backed by Ronni's tight band, "Bigfoot TV" sounds inspired and vibrant, with Le Tekrø's brilliant guitar work threading through the album and a musical nod to everyone from TNT to THIN LIZZY, THE BEATLES, David Bowie and Ronni's own progressive rock albums.

Le Tekrø is considered one of the world's most influential metal guitarists, first and foremost with his band TNT, but also in collaboration with jazz guitarist Terje Rypdal and as a diligently used studio musician. Le Tekrø has sold over four million albums with TNT and was named one of the world's 25 best guitarists in its genre in 2009.

The lyrics on "Bigfoot TV" are about Ronni's own life and values and is a musical evolution of his progressive rock sound, a continuation from his solo albums "Mein Ampf" 1 and 2.

Le Tekrø's new single, "Life On Long Island", will be released on February 18.

Ronni said: "My life on Long Island was in Bayshore from 1984 to 1993. Since then, I haven't been there. The song is about the summer of '85 when everything seemed possible and hard rock ruled the world. My tribute to my American family."

Ronni Le Tekrø's band lineup:

Ronni Le Tekrø - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals

Markus O. Klyve - Keyboards

Henrik Fossum - Drums, Percussion

Ove Husemoen - Bass

Jon Johannessen - add Guitar

Leif Knashaug - Additional Vocals, Backing Vocals

Guest appearances:

Rodmar Johansen - Lead vocals on "Not Today"

Bjørn Kristiansen - Guitar solo on "New Day In The Morning"

Tim Scott McConnell - backing vocals on "Life On Long Island"

Produced and mixed by Ronni Le Tekrø & Kjartan Hesthagen

Engineered by Kjartan Hesthagen

Recorded and mixed at Studio Studio Nyhagen

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature new vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Tony Harnell. Baol is a Spanish vocalist whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.

LAMB OF GOD has recruited Phil Demmel (VIO-LENCE, ex-MACHINE HEAD) to play guitar for the band on this year's ShipRocked cruise, which set sail from Galveston, Texas on January 22 and includes stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. Demmel is filling in for LAMB OF GOD's regular guitarist Willie Adler who was unable to make the trip for reasons that have not been disclosed.

Since Carnival Cruise Line's Have Fun Be Safe protocols and procedures currently require that guests are fully vaccinated and tested before their cruise on all sailings through February 28, 2022, some fans have speculated that Adler's COVID-19 vaccination status was the main reason he was excluded from this year's ShipRocked.

Fan-filmed video footage and photos of LAMB OF GOD's January 24 performance aboard the Carnival Breeze ship can be seen below.

Last October, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe urged everyone coming to see his band perform to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I believe in fucking science," he said during an appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast. "And I have friends who are doctors and scientists and nurses, and these are people I'm going to listen to — not someone on social media, not another musician, not a talking head on CNN, Fox News, USA Today, PBS; none of this stuff. I talk to my friends who are molecular biologists, immunologists, emergency room doctors, and I have friends who are nurses, one of whom works in a COVID ward — and someone very close to me. These are not my friends' neighbors' second cousin's buddy [saying], 'I heard this or that or the other'; these are people who are friends of mine I talk to directly. They're, like, 'This is real. This is the science. This is the data. This is what I see. These are the people I see dying.' So I'm going to listen to my friends 'cause they're a lot smarter than me.

"For me, everybody has to quote-unquote do their own research, I guess," he laughed. "My research involves talking to friends of mine who spent years of their lives pursuing degrees that cost them thousands and thousands of dollars, or who dedicate their lives to the service of others in the medical profession. And this is what these people are telling me. So I don't have to filter through all this data, through all these different media sources; I just talk to my friends. 'Are you vaccinated?' 'Yes.' 'Tell me about this vaccine. Tell me about the technology.' And I've had these conversations.

"When the vaccine came out very rapidly, comparatively, like anyone else, I was, like, 'Well, that's quick,'" Randy admitted. "But then some friends of mine explained to me, 'This is old technology. They've been working on this for 15 fucking years. It's not new. So cut it out with that.' And also, this is not just an American or one country's or one corporation's push; this is a massive international effort to get this vaccine ready — different ones ready — for distribution.

"I have a friend who works in intelligence — pretty high-level intelligence — and one of their jobs right now is helping out with COVAX, which is the international vaccine distribution arm. And he [was] talking to one of his co-workers from COVAX, and it was just, like, it's very frustrating with certain places where the vaccine is available and people don't wanna take it, and there are countries that are begging for it.

"All that aside, for me, like I said, it's a matter of talking to my friends and being, like, 'What's the deal with this?'" Blythe added. "Because these are people I trust, and they're a lot smarter than me… So I'm going to listen to them — I'm just gonna."

LAMB OF GOD's latest, self-titled album was released in June 2020 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The follow-up to "VII: Sturm Und Drang" marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

"Lamb Of God" was recorded with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) and includes special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).

Photo: Bryce Hall






Lamb of God for Mike Buchan

Posted by Orville Acton on Monday, January 24, 2022



Ship Shows with Lamb of God

#ShipRocked

#LambOfGod

Posted by James Nichols on Monday, January 24, 2022



Lamb of God on the main stage, absolutely insane set

Posted by Steve Damerell on Tuesday, January 25, 2022



Lamb of God closing their set with Redneck as the rain went nuts

Posted by Steve Damerell on Tuesday, January 25, 2022



Then the rains came and Lamb of God plowed thru it and the audience was dancing and it was tribal. One of my favorite...

Posted by Justin Press on Monday, January 24, 2022