U.K. rock band DARE will release its 10th studio album, "Road To Eden", on April 1 via Legend Records. The LP's first single, "Born In The Storm", will arrive on Friday, January 14.

To support the release, DARE will embark on a 12-date U.K. headline tour in October 2022.

"Road To Eden" follows DARE's critically acclaimed albums "Sacred Ground" (2016) and "Out Of The Silence 2" (2018). Both albums reached No. 1 in the Amazon Classic Rock charts in four countries, including the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain. DARE entered the top No. 5 in the official U.K. Rock chart, No. 6 in the U.S. Amazon Classic Rock charts and No. 1 in Japanese rock imports.

"Road To Eden" is destined to be another modern DARE classic. Produced by lead singer/songwriter Darren Wharton (ex-THIN LIZZY) at his studio the majestic mountains of North Wales, the LP has a harder rock edge than previous albums, while still retaining the atmospheric sound, and anthemic melodies that has become the band's signature trademark.

"We wanted to write an album that translated well to live performance," says Darren. "'Road To Eden' has some great anthems, energy and power. We can't wait to play the new songs live."

DARE is:

Darren Wharton - Vocals, Keyboards

Vinny Burns - Guitars

Nigel Clutterbuck - Bass

Kev Whitehead - Drums

Marc Roberts - Keyboards

"Road To Eden" track listing

01. Born In The Storm (4:45)

02. Cradle To The Grave (4:21)

03. Fire Never Fades (3:51)

04. Road To Eden (4:07)

05. Lovers And Friends (3:43)

06. Only The Good Die Young (4:37)

07. I Always Will (4:24)

08. Grace (3:44)

09. The Devil Rides Tonight (3:49)

10. Thy Kingdom Come (4:30)

11. Born In A Storm (Romesh Remix) (4:21)

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the release of Lionville's fifth studio album, So Close To Heaven on February 11. Over the course of their previous four albums, Lionville have come to be held in extremely high regard by fans of melodic rock/AOR and So Close To Heaven further cements the band's standing as one of the premiere acts of the genre.


The new single and lyric video, "True Believer", is out today. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save So Close To Heaven on CD/LP/Digital here.


Two special highlights, among many, on So Close To Heaven include a duet between vocalist Lars Safsund and revered melodic rock singer Robbie LaBlanc on the track "This Time" and the band's cover of Richard Marx's "Arrow Through My Heart". The latter track was written by Richard Marx, Bruce Gaitsch, and Fee Waybill during the sessions of Marx’s hit album Repeat Offender.







Lionville was started in 2010 by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in Genova, Italy and his brother Alessandro. Thanks to the incredible songs Stefano had managed to write, he got none other than Lars Säfsund (Work Of Art, Enbound) involved as the lead vocalist, which was a true coup for the band. After two indie releases, in 2017 Lionville signed with Frontiers, who gave the band’s releases larger support, distribution, and thus brought them to a new audience of melodic rock fans. Since signing with Frontiers, Lionville has released two highly praised albums, A World Of Fools and Magic Is Alive, and in the process, has become one of the most well-respected acts dedicated to pure AOR on the label's roster.


So Close To Heaven showcases the band's ongoing winning combination of strong songwriting, stellar musicianship, and of course magnificent lead vocals. A must hear for all AOR/melodic rock fans.





Tracklisting:


"This Time"
"Cross My Heart"
"The World Is On Fire"
"Can't Live Without Your Love"
"True Believer"
"We Are One"
"Only The Brave"
"Angel Without Wings"
"I'll Be Waiting Tonight"
"Arrow Through My Heart"
"So Close To Heaven"


"True Believer" lyric video:





"Cross My Heart" video:





Lineup:


Stefano Lionetti - Guitars, Backing vocals, Keyboards
Lars Säfsund - Lead & Backing vocals
Michele Cusato - Guitars
Fabrizio Caria - Piano & Keyboards
Giulio Dagnino - Bass
Martino Malacrida - Drums

All-Canadian cover band Toque, featuring Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz - both of whom play in Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators - along with Cory Churko (Shania Twain) and Shane Gaalaas (Michael Schneker Group), played the Edmonton Rock Fest in August 2021. The band were joined on stage by the legendary Darby Mills for a memorable version of her classic, "Don't It Make Ya Feel". Professionally filmed video has just surfaced:





"Don't It Make Ya Feel" originally appeared on Turn It Loud, the debut album from Headpins, featuring Darby Mills on lead vocals, released in 1982. By 1983, the album had been certified double platinum in Canada, selling in excess of 200,000 copies. The original video for "Don't It Make Ya Feel" can be seen below.




 


 

Florida metal titans Trivium - Matt Heafy (vocals, guitar), Corey Beaulieu (guitar), Paolo Gregoletto (bass), and Alex Bent (drums) held two special livestream performances over two weekends in December 2021, live From The Hangar. They performed their landmark In Waves album in its entirety on December 11th, and a special set from In The Court Of The Dragon and What The Dead Men Say, titled Deadmen & Dragons, on December 18th.


Check out "Like A Sword Over Damocles" from the Deadmen & Dragons set below.







Trivium's tenth album, In The Court Of The Dragon, is out now via Roadrunner Records. The record was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur and recorded in autumn 2020 at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Order In The Court Of The Dragon here.


The album cover is an original oil painting by French artist Mathieu Nozieres (@mathieunozieres on Instagram).





In The Court Of The Dragon tracklisting:


"X"
"In The Court Of The Dragon"
"Like A Sword Over Damocles"
"Feast Of Fire"
"A Crisis Of Revelation"
"The Shadow Of The Abattoir"  
"No Way Back Just Through"  
"Fall Into Your Hands"  
"From Dawn To Decadence"  
"The Phalanx"


"The Phalanx" video:





"Feast Of Fire" video:





"In The Court Of The Dragon" video:

The world’s favourite Pirate Metal Drinking Crew, Alestorm, has checked in with the following update, bound to please the band's fans:


"Oh wow! Today we are thrilled to announce that we have extended our contract with Napalm Records for three more albums, and we have just entered the studio to record our 7th album, which will be called Seventh Rum Of A Seventh Rum. We'll be spending the next month with our long-time producer Lasse Lammert at Middle Farm Studios in sunny Devon, England, recording all the instruments and vocals and having a very silly time. Of course we will have a bunch of updates for you coming later on, with the tracklist, album art, release dates, and all that nonsense. Stay tuned!"


(Photo courtesy of Alestorm's official Facebook page)




 

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello returned to Rock City Music Company in Livonia, Michigan on November 20, 2021 for an intimate question-and-answer discussion, acoustic performance and book signing in celebration of his memoir, "Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax", which was released earlier that month. At the event, which was hosted by Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF, Frank took questions from the audience, shared stories about auditioning for ANTHRAX, learning how to play the bass, touring with METALLICA, his last memory of late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton, and even took part in a rare, acoustic performance of the ANTHRAX classic "Only". Frank then took time to sign copies of the book as well as other memorabilia for all fans in attendance.

Bello, whose book includes the story of his father's abandonment of their family when he was 11 and the damage it did to Frank emotionally, said that he was partly inspired to write about the experience by METALLICA's James Hetfield, whose father left his family when he was 13. Hetfield previously opened about his family history in a 2011 documentary called "Absent", a movie directed by Justin Hunt, which examines the impact on society of growing up without a father.

"We were playing with METALLICA on Sunday [November 14, 2021 at the Welcome To Rockville festival at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida]," Frank said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I bought the book for James. I wanted to hand it to him and say 'thank you.' After the ANTHRAX set, I was ready. I made a beeline for my friend James. And I said, 'I wanna let you know this book would not have been possible without getting the 'go' from you, without getting that 'okay, I can talk about abandonment from my father' by what the words you said in 'Absent'.'"

Bello also talked about the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — who played together for the first time in history on June 16, 2010 in front of 81,000 fans at the Sonisphere festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland and shared a bill again for six more shows as part of the Sonisphere series that same year. They reunited again for several dates in 2011, including the last "Big Four" concert, which was held on September 14, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Since then, METALLICA, SLAYER and ANTHRAX had played a number of shows together, including the 2013 Soundwave festival in Australia. They also performed at the 2014 Heavy MTL festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

"METALLICA didn't need to do the 'Big Four,'" Frank said. "They could sell out those stadiums on their own. They're arguably the biggest band in the world. [When I spoke to James at Welcome To Rockville], I told [him], 'Look, if nobody's told you this before, and I don't know if they have, thank you. Straight out, thank you. Dude, thank you. You didn't have to do that.' And he goes, 'I get it, man.'

"James is one of those great humble guys," Bello continued. "He knows what he has and he knows he's the deal, but he's humble enough to say, 'I get it, dude. It's a celebration.' That the 'Big Four' was a celebration of this thrash movement coming up. That's what it was for all of us; it really was — the bands and fans. So, yeah, man. I said, 'Thank you, dude. You didn't have to do that. I know you guys didn't have to do that. You did it to celebrate. Now, I just wanna let you know, from Frank Bello talking to my friend James…'"

The "Big Four" touring rock festival was immortalized on the "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" DVD, containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria stop of the trek.

Three years ago, Bello said that he believed SLAYER would come out of retirement to play more "Big Four" concerts.

"I think if you ring up my friends in SLAYER [and tell them], 'We're doing the 'Big Four,'' I think they'd play some shows," he told Graspop Metal Meeting. "I think they would work it out. I think [they would come out of retirement for it]. The 'Big Four' is special enough that we all rise to it. I would hope they would do that. I mean, I would certainly try to talk them into it."

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett said in a 2017 interview that he believed that the "Big Four" idea would be revisited again. He explained: "I see those shows as kind of like a celebration — a real celebration of each other, and a real celebration of the music that we all make, and a real celebration of the audience embracing [what] we've done. And why not have more of that?"




All my metal head friends…in case you haven’t heard, Rock City Music Company will be welcoming back legendary Anthrax…

Posted by Nick Marocco on Monday, November 15, 2021



WOW! We mean WOW! On behalf of the entire staff at Rock City Music Company we would like to thank each and everyone of...

Posted by Rock City Music Company on Sunday, November 21, 2021

Paradise Lost drummer Waltteri Väyrynen has filmed a drum playthrough video for the song "Hope Dies Young".


Waltteri uses Pearl Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Wincent Drumsticks, Evans drumheads, Lime Ears, Sennheiser Microphones and Roland Electronics.







"Hope Dies Young" appears on Paradise Lost's 16th studio album, Obsidian, released in 2020 via Nuclear Blast.





In live news, next month Paradise Lost will embark upon a tour of The UK, confirmed dates are as listed:


February
5 - The Warehouse - Leeds, UK - Obsidian performed in its entirety - SOLD OUT
6 - Colchester Arts Centre - Colchester, UK
7 - The Waterfront - Norwich, UK
8 - Concorde 2 - Brighton, UK
9 - The Sugarmill - Stoke-on-Trent, UK
11 - The Garage - Glasgow, Scotland (with Moonspell)
12 - Riverside - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK (with Moonspell)
13 - KK's Steel Mill - Wolverhampton, UK (with Moonspell)
14 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, UK (with Moonspell)
16 - Manchester Academy - Manchester, UK (with Moonspell)
17 - Marble Factory - Bristol, UK (with Moonspell)
18 - Electric Ballroom - Camden, UK (with Moonspell)


 


 

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have reversed their recent decision to perform as a four-piece on their upcoming tour.

Last Monday (January 10), JUDAS PRIEST announced that it would perform as a quartet 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", released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was "incredibly disappointed" by PRIEST's decision to carry on as a four-piece 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.

Earlier today (Saturday, January 15), JUDAS PRIEST released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "Hello metal maniacs…given all that has recently evolved and transpired we have decided unanimously as a band to continue our live shows unchanged with Rob, Ian [Hill, bass], Richie [Faulkner, guitar], Scott [Travis, drums], Andy and Glenn [Tipton, guitar] joining us whenever he's able...so see you all soon as we forge ahead celebrating 50 massive heavy metal years of JUDAS PRIEST together!"

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 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".

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.

Two and a half years ago, Sneap said that he would continue to play guitar for JUDAS PRIEST "as long as they want me to." During an appearance on the "Talking Bollocks" podcast, Sneap stated: "It'd be great if Glenn was up there doing it. That's the thing that really… it's always in the back of my mind; it really is. But it's just nice that he asked me to do it. As long as they want me to help out, I'll help 'em out. That's kind of the way I'm looking at it, really."

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

In 2019, Hill said that it was up to Sneap to decide if he wanted to carry on playing guitar for JUDAS PRIEST after the completion of the "Firepower" tour. "It is something to be discussed, really," he told "Talking Metal". "I mean, Andy is now, these days, first and foremost a producer. Whether he wants to go back and do that full time or not, it'll be a mutual decision when the time comes. Andy will be more than welcome to stay. He's done a tremendous job over the last year or so, really. He's done a great job stepping in for Glenn. It would have been very difficult if he hadn't been there, on such short notice, because we didn't realize that Glenn couldn't handle the intensity of touring anymore until… We were only about three weeks away from starting the tour [laughs], and Andy stepped in and did a great job. He pulled a real rabbit out of the hat in learning a complete setlist of songs in such a short period of time. He pulled it off anyway. And as time's gone on, obviously, his stage presence, he got more comfortable with that, and he's performing great now. So when the time comes… We'll give it to the end of this run and then see what everybody wants to do. As I say, he'll be more than welcome to carry on with us if that's his plan."

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.

earMUSIC has released the latest single from ANNIHILATOR's upcoming "Metal II" album, a cover of VAN HALEN's "Romeo Delight".

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

"There was something about 'Women And Children First'," muses ANNIHILATOR's Jeff Waters. "It was massively brutal attitude meeting aggression — meets a David Lee Roth-fronted party. You have to remember when this came out. 'Romeo Delight' is the most 'heavy' song from VAN HALEN, in my (and Kerry King's!) opinion. The photos on the cover/back cover of 'Women And Children First' were impactful. It was a green cover and it was a photo of the band posing for a record cover shot and instead of blowing that photo up to the full size of the LP, they cropped it so it was a third the size of the record and everything around it was green. I would stare at the front and back pics for hours! Eddie was like a second father in a way. Millions [of others] probably feel that way too and only fans of his from back then could understand this."

He continues: "His playing, writing, performance, and smile were second to none. EVER. He was a superb writer, lead guitar innovator, genius rhythm player, and was able to build a gear empire. He took chances. Did his own thing. It worked. Millions and more will mourn him as long as the future world likes music. But we also will be celebrating forever, as musicians will continue to hand down the 'EVH-influenced-musical-genes' to future generations!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Metal II" track listing:

01. Chasing The High (ft. Willie Adler)

02. Downright Dominate (ft. Alexi Laiho)

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

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

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

06. Haunted (ft. Jesper Strömblad)

07. Romeo Delight

08. Detonation (ft. Jacob Lynam)

09. Clown Parade (ft. Jeff Loomis)

10. Smothered (ft. Anders Björler)

11. Kicked (ft. Corey Beaulieu)

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

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

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