To celebrate the life and times of MÖTÖRHEAD's iconic leader Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, who passed away exactly six years ago — on December 28, 2015 — Revolver recently reached out to musicians who knew and/or admired him, including his old friend Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST. Speaking about his relationship with Lemmy, Rob said: "On a friendship level, I was always a little bit in awe of Lemmy because he was — and still is — this larger-than-life persona. When you talk to anybody about Lemmy, you see this mental picture in your head — the guy in the cowboy boots and the jeans and the bullet belt and the leather jacket and the mustache. His physical characteristics are really, really pronounced, so you've got all that wrapped up in his persona, as well."

Halford went on to say that people admired Lemmy as much for his attitude as they did for his music. "There should be a book of Lemmy quotes, because he never held back," Rob said. "That's what I loved about him. He epitomized this great virtue in rock and roll, which is not only music but speaking your mind. He always had an opinion on any matter in life, and it was always Lemmy-esque. [Laughs] He had a very unique way of looking at the world because he was a very smart man. He was a total bookworm and he loved his war history and memorabilia. His very astute way of talking and thinking made him remarkable."

Last month, Halford told the "SpeedFreaks" radio show that he was one of a number of Lemmy's close personal friends and associates who received bullet casings filled with his ashes after his death as a personal gift. He said: "When Lemmy passed away, I had this beautiful opportunity to speak at his memorial. We had a great get-together; all of us musicians from all over the world, we met in Hollywood and we talked about Lemmy and his great life and the things that he's left us. And then, not too far back, I get something in the mail from the Lemmy people; Lemmy's office, his manager and everybody still work tirelessly to keep his name with us, as he always will be. They sent me — it's a bullet [laughs], it's a bullet with some of Lemmy's ashes inside of it."

He continued: "This is nuts. This is the kind of thing that Lemmy would have loved to have done. However you choose to interpret what I've just said, that's entirely up to you. But to be thought of, to be brought into this small circle of friends where you actually own a little bit of Lemmy's ashes and you wear it around your neck on a pendant and he's close to your heart in the truest sense in terms of his mortal remains, that's just mind-blowingly powerful. To use an object like that to carry his remains is just so Lemmy — it's provocative, it makes you think, it makes you talk. But as far as having a beautiful part of Lemmy physically with me right now in my house, that's just magical."

Lemmy died at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

He had dealt with several health issues over the last few years of his life, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking habits.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete one final European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy will get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

"Lemmy" will follow Kilmister's life growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, becoming a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and a member of seminal psychedelic rock band HAWKWIND before forming MOTÖRHEAD.

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Legendary Canadian thrash metallers Razor recently completed work on the long-awaited follow-up to 1997’s Decibels. Cycle Of Contempt - the band’s ninth studio album - will be released sometime in 2022 via Relapse Records and will feature the following tracks:


“Flames Of Hatred”
“Jabroni”
“Off My Meds”
“A Bitter Pill”
“Crossed”
“First Great Hate”
“Cycle Of Contempt”
“Set-Up”
“Punch Your Face In”
“Fist Fighting”
“Darkness Falls”
“King Shit”


Upcoming Razor live show include:




May 
22 - Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, BC (with Sacrifice, Exciter, Witches Hammer)


June
3/4 - Very 'Eavy Festival - Stadskanaal, The Netherlands




Razor guitarist / founder Dave Carlo recently launched a fundraising campaign in support of his wife, Rose, who needs major help with cancer treatment.


A message from Dave follows...


"Hello, I am Dave Carlo. I am fundraising for my beautiful wife Rosanna. Rose is a fantastic wife, an even better mother to our two kids. Our son has autism and a number of extremely difficult challenges in his life. My daughter has Borderline Personality Disorder and OCD and she has attempted suicide three times over that last 5 years, thankfully without success. The last attempt was October 2020 where she jumped off a bridge and broke her back. Even though Rose was undergoing chemo at the time, she was at Patricia's bedside at the hospital at all hours during that time. Rose's devotion to her family is heroic.


In June 2020 Rose had a gallbladder attack and was scheduled to have her gallbladder removed. During that surgery they discovered cancer on the exterior of her gallbladder. Normally the prognosis for gallbladder cancer is very poor but because it was found incidentally, it was still at a very early stage. A follow up surgery to remove part of her liver and some regional lymph nodes unfortunately showed some cancer in her lymph nodes. She went through a year of chemo with limited results, and was referred for clinical trials at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto Canada. Unfortunately what appeared to be indifference to the need for Rose to get help in a timely manner led to constant delays and four months without any treatment whatsoever. Now the cancer has progressed from stage 2 to early stage 4 , completely because of the lack of action on the part of the people charged with her care.


Realizing that time was being wasted in a manner far more flippant that you would expect under these circumstances, I reached out to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota in October of 2021. Sending them all pathology slides, images and test reports (with the help of our fantastic GP doctor), we got a team of caregivers and doctors in place at the Mayo Clinic to provide guidance on what we need to do to help Rose.


Rose will likely have to go to Minnesota for treatment, but the costs are very high. The costs already incurred to cover all the reviews and analysis of reports at the Mayo Clinic has added up and will continue to increase as they get involved to help her moving forward. But their input and guidance is absolutely critical at this point to try and save my wife. My kids really need and depend on this wonderful lady (to speak nothing of what she means to me!!). We have reviewed the upcoming financial demands of her treatments and we are asking via fundraiser to try to raise around 50% of what is required. I honestly am a bit embarrassed to have to do this, but with my wife's life hanging in the balance, I have no choice. I would give my own life to save her if I could.


Rose just turned 61 years old. Her mother is alive and about to turn 88 years old, so if we can get Rose into remission, she has a strong chance of many years ahead of her.


If you are in a position to help and are willing to, we would be beyond grateful. Those of you who know me as a professional musician know I have committed to doing something to give back in any way I can to thank you for your help."


Visit the GoFundMe page here, and see a video message from Dave below:

In a new interview with Bass Musician Magazine, former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Matt Snell discussed his involvement in KILL DEVIL HILL, the band that once featured former PANTERA bassist Rex Brown and legendary drummer Vinny Appice.

"We did a record during 2020. And it's done," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "There's a couple of little tweaks left, so we're working on the release plan for that. [Producer] Chris Collier actually did that record. He got a little bit busy doing the [new] KORN record, so we got put back for a couple of weeks, but he's finishing it up right now. So the record is amazing; it sounds actually fantastic. I'm super excited about it."

Regarding how he came to play bass for KILL DEVIL HILL, Matt said: "[KILL DEVIL HILL guitarist] Mark [Zavon] had reached out to me to play bass for him. And I've known [KILL DEVIL HILL singer] Dewey [Bragg] for 20-something years. We used to jam together in public storage back in the day, which is the same place… IN THIS MOMENT practiced there. We practiced there. DEADSETT, which became IN THIS MOMENT, and then FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, we were all this little village we had going on. So it was a no-brainer for me to join that band. It's fun, and playing with Johnny Kelly is a blessing. He's just a fantastic drummer. It's that slower kind of sludgier rock for me, so [there are] huge, fat bass grooves that I get lay down instead of having to play fifty thousand notes a second. It's a really fun vibe for me."

Snell added: "I remember I was listening to an old DOWN record [while I] was driving to work, and I'm, like, 'Man, I'd really like to be in a band like this.' I guess that was something I put off to God, 'cause he gave it to me."

Shortly after he left KILL DEVIL HILL in early 2014, Vinny said that the band's inability to gain significant traction with its music was a major factor in his decision. However, more recently, Vinny has suggested that he exited the group because he "couldn't deal with" the fact that some of his bandmates were consistently tardy for KILL DEVIL HILL activities by an hour and a half or even longer.

Vinny, who had previously played with BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL, left KILL DEVIL HILL in March 2014. He has since been replaced by the aforementioned Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE).

KILL DEVIL HILL released its sophomore album, "Revolution Rise", in October 2013 via Century Media Records.

Back in 2019, Zavon confirmed that KILL DEVIL HILL had recruited Nico D'Arnese to play bass following the departure of Brown.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH parted ways with Snell in December 2010 but didn't announce his exit until April 2011. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory later told Gun Shy Assassin that Matt was fired, adding that the bassist "wasn't a writing member," ensuring that the band's sound wouldn't be affected.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's current bassist, Chris Kael, officially joined the band in June 2011.

U.S. melodic death metal band, Beyond Shadows, have announced the release of their new digital single “Tears Of Rain” on January 3, 2022.


Former Midian Drummer Chris Hawkins & Guitarist Daniel Shepherd’s self-produced single was once again recorded at Hellhound Studios in Rahway, NJ by Jerry Ramos who recorded their first EP “Wolf’s Blood” in 2020. This single will be on their next EP release Tears Of Rain coming out sometime in fall 2022.







“Recording this new song has been a difficult task,” says drummer Chris Hawkins. “With the Covid-19 pandemic and busy work schedules, it’s been rough getting together to work on new music.” But that all changed for the band in February 2021 when the stars and schedules aligned, and Daniel and Chris entered Hellhound Studios to record the track “Tears Of Rain”. It was perfect timing, Daniel Shepherd says: “On this new song, we wanted to deliver a sound that combined a contemporary death metal style, punctuated with melody and harmony, a beautiful intro, and include influences of old school metal. I think we achieved that as we bring listeners along our storied journey.”


In 2008, Shepherd spent time with top metal producer Fredrik Nordstrom at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he honed his skills, enabling the band to self-produce “Tears Of Rain”.


The band’s influences include Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, Death and Carcass. Next, Beyond Shadows will finish recording their new EP Tears Of Rain in the coming months.

Steve Perry's new holiday album, The Season, recently landed at #1 on Billboard’s Seasonal Chart. The former Journey’s singer’s album also hit at #3 on Billboard’s Current Pop Album Chart, # 6 on Billboard’s Current Album Sales Chart, and #80 on the Billboard Top 200.


With the closing of 2021, Perry has debuted a visualizer for the song "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve":







An unboxing video for the vinyl edition of the album can be viewed below:





Co-produced by Perry and engineer Thom Flowers, The Season embodies an immaculately arranged and richly nuanced sound inspired by such time-honored holiday albums as Nat King Cole’s The Magic of Christmas. “All the songs on this record were my favorites growing up,” says Perry, who hails from Central California. “I used to hear them on the Philco radio that my grandmother always had on in the kitchen when she was cooking the most amazing holiday food, and because of that they hold a very emotional place in my heart. I wanted to make sure to record them all in a simple way that honors how I first heard and fell in love with them as a child.”


For both artist and audience alike, The Season ultimately serves as a form of emotional time travel, a direct conduit for the kind of memories that sustain the spirit and restore a sense of joyous serenity. “Music has always been something that rescues me in difficult times,” says Perry. “I hope when people hear this record, they’re teleported in the same way I was when I recorded all these songs—I hope it brings them back to those golden moments with their loved ones, and gives them that feeling of joy and connection and comfort that we all need so much.”


Order here.





Tracklisting:


"The Christmas Song"
"I’ll Be Home For Christmas"
"Auld Lang Syne"
"Winter Wonderland"
"What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve"
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
"Silver Bells"
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"


"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" visualizer:





"The Christmas Song" visualizer:





"Winter Wonderland" visualizer:





"I'll Be Home For Christmas":

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bassist Robert DeLeo has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The 55-year-old musician revealed his diagnosis in an Instagram post earlier today. He shared a photo of a positive COVID-19 test and he wrote: "Well, like so many others this virus has come to pay me a visit. Yes, double lines… Jackpot! Except this time you don't win anything but a nice chunk of time by yourself doing the 'q' word. Omicron, Robotron, Lexicon, whatever they wanna call it, it's the CRUD! A new year is upon us and I hope and pray everyone stays healthy and safe. Let's all make this new year a positive and forward moving experience filled with everything we all love!"

Last month, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS scrapped the remaining shows on their tour — including an appearance at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida — after a "member" of the band's "organization" tested positive for COVID-19.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS features three original members — Robert DeLeo, guitarist Dean DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz.

Singer Jeff Gutt, a 45-year-old Michigan native who spent time in the early-2000s nu-metal act DRY CELL, among other bands, and was a contestant on "The X Factor", joined STONE TEMPLE PILOTS after beating out roughly 15,000 hopefuls during an extended search that began more than a year earlier.

Original STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland, who reunited with the group in 2010 after an eight-year hiatus but was dismissed in 2013, died in December 2015 of a drug overdose.

Chester Bennington, who joined STP in early 2013, departed nearly three years later to spend more time with his main band LINKIN PARK. Bennington committed suicide in July 2017.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS released their first all-acoustic album, titled "Perdida", in February 2020. The disc was Gutt's second with STP. His recording debut with the group was on its self-titled seventh album, which arrived in March 2018.
























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by Robert DeLeo (@stprobertdeleo)

VOLBEAT's "Shotgun Blues" single, which is taken from the band's latest album, "Servant Of The Mind", recently topped both the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Mediabase Active Rock charts, the Danish/American group's tenth top-charter, and cemented VOLBEAT's record for having the most No. 1 singles on the Mainstream Rock chart by an artist based outside of North America.

VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen told 93.3 WMMR about the achievement (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's crazy. We don't understand it. There are so many European bands out there, so many great bands, and it's tough to understand that we are the band who has the most No. 1 hit singles over there in America. It's crazy. And yeah, I don't know what to say about it. I'm just very thankful that the fans are aware of VOLBEAT and the radio stations play our songs. I'm very thankful for it. It's a good feeling, because it's tough times these days. We appreciate it."

Revolver called "Servant Of The Mind" "excellent… the darkest and heaviest VOLBEAT offering yet." For the LP, the band, which consists of Poulsen, Jon Larsen (drums), Rob Caggiano (guitars) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass), took its signature heavy metal, psychobilly and punk 'n' roll sound up a notch while showcasing Poulsen's keen ability for songwriting and storytelling. "Rarely has such a successful band sounded so ravenous," says Kerrang! magazine of the album.

"Servant Of The Mind" was written and recorded during the shutdown and quarantine necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The LP includes the "double barrel" of summer songs the band released this past June: "Wait A Minute My Girl" and "Dagen Før" (featuring Stine Bramsen), the former of which became the band's ninth number one single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

VOLBEAT has racked up nearly three billion cumulative streams over the course of its career, notched a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nomination for "Room 24" (featuring King Diamond) from 2014's acclaimed (and gold-selling) "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", and has grabbed multiple Danish Music Awards.

Since forming in 2001, VOLBEAT has gone from the clubs of Copenhagen to headlining stages around the world, including the famed Telia Parken stadium in Denmark (becoming the only domestic artist to ever sell out the venue). Over the course of seven record-breaking albums the band has picked up number one songs (including nine No. 1s on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and counting, the most of any band based outside of North America), multi-platinum certifications, awards and accolades all over the planet. Most recently, they contributed a cover of "Don't Tread On Me" to "The Metallica Blacklist", with all proceeds from the track benefiting METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation and the Børne Cancer Fonden of Denmark.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

The clip below features Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen performing an acoustic version of "Nemo" at her solo show at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands on September 1st, 2021. She did this once before at het Muziekcafé with the Marcel Fisser Band, but she took the opportunity to perform this track once again during her sold out live shows.





The setlist was as follows:




Set 1:


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


Set 2:


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


"Storm In A Glass"





"Ever Dream"

Pennsylvania based rock band Sick Century has released the official music video for their gritty cover of the iconic 1995 White Zombie hit single, "More Human Than Human". Produced by Paint The Light Productions, "More Human Than Human" is the band's sixth release.





"We didn't really plan this one," admits Sick Century. "It was more like a fun idea in between tracking originals. The song turned out so good, we scheduled a video shoot the next week where we got all our friends together in a little barn spot in the woods and just rocked it. We love White Zombie / Rob Zombie and that entire era of heavy music, so it's a huge honor to be able to do something like this. The video's definitely got that whole 'creep show' vibe to it. It was shot around Halloween so everyone was feeling the spirit, plus we're all fans of the Z. Dude pretty much created a whole genre, or at least assigned himself the wizard of the funky macabre."




Purchase / stream Sick Century's cover of "More Human Than Human" at this location.





 

Milan, Italy’s Sick Society have released a new video for “Lobotomized”, taken from their 2020 debut URNØ1.





The band states “Lobotomized” is “dedicated to the Sick Family all around the world!”




In 2016 The Preacher and The Saviour locked themselves in a dark and humid cellar and started to compose songs of an extremely violent nature.


After a few weeks, an old friend, The Planner, joined the band as bass player. His great musical culture brought a new and strange direction to the Sick-Music.


Last but not least, The Executioner joined the band in 2019, in order to give a different approach and the fundamental contribution of an old school thrasher.


Now, from the bowels of city turmoil, tired of a decadent and mediocre humanity governed by false values, money and power, Sick Society think it’s time to get out from their offices and bring people their original primitive metal.

This month marks 20 years since the untimely passing of visionary Death guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. To celebrate his profound influence on the history of death metal and on guitar-playing, Chaos Rising have made a cover version of the classic Death track “Trapped In A Corner”, taken from Individual Thought Patterns.   





Founded by French multi-instrumentalist Stéphanie Nolf (Unsafe, Syrinx), Chaos Rising is a unique project that brings together female metal musicians from across the globe. This release is another truly international collaboration, with guitars from Barbara Teleki (UK/Hungary) and Victoria Villareal (USA), drums from Siddhi Shah (India/Dubai), and vocals/bass from Stéphanie herself (France).




Chuck Schuldiner was a huge influence on Barbara Teleki’s guitar-playing and life philosophy, and she chose this particular song, “Trapped In A Corner”, because of the solo section. “It’s just so cool and long, and it was the coolest thing sharing it with Victoria. We had wanted to collaborate for ages, but it never worked out, and finally the time has come!”


This is the second cover version for Chaos Rising, following their take on Napalm Death’s “Greed Killing” in October 2020, and it also marks their own twentieth song release. Chaos Rising’s trail-blazing model, with the ambitious vision of releasing a song every month in different metal subgenres, means that the girls are constantly writing, recording and innovating. With a double album on the way, the project continues to go from strength to strength.

German power metal legends Helloween have released a lyric video for “Down In The Dumps”, a track from their self-titled album. The lyric video was created by Ingo Spörl / Hard Media. Helloween's Helloween was #8 on our BravePicks 2021 countdown.





Helloween's new self-titled album is available via Nuclear Blast. Head here to order Helloween in your format of choice.







Tracklisting:


"Out For The Glory"
"Fear Of The Fallen"
"Best Time"
"Mass Pollution"
"Angels"
"Rise Without Chains"
"Indestructible"
"Robot King"
"Cyanide"
"Down In The Dumps"
"Orbit"
"Skyfall"


Bonus tracks Mediabook & Vinyl:
"Golden Times"
"Save My Hide"


Bonus tracks Earbook:
"Golden Times"
"Save My Hide"
"Pumpkins United"


"Robot King" lyric video:





"Indestructible" lyric video:





"Rise Without Chains" lyric video:





"Angels" lyric video:





"Mass Pollution" lyric video:


   


"Best Time lyric video:





"Fear Of The Fallen" lyric video:





"Skyfall" video:

During a recent appearance on "The Jasta Show", the video podcast hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello recalled a time when he got sick from eating meat that was not properly cooked while on tour with PANTERA nearly 25 years ago.

"I had to give up coffee," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I had to — because of my gut. And this happened way back when. Years ago, we were on tour with PANTERA. We went out and we got loaded one night in Mexico City. On the streets of Mexico City, PANTERA and ANTRAX, just loaded off our asses… You know those street carts you're not supposed to eat the fucking food out of? Sausage… Who knows? It was fucking red. I shouldn't have eaten it. I was starving. I wanted to soak up the juice that was in me, the booze… So this red sausage went into my body. And I was fine for that moment. But then the next day, I started, and it was non-stop — dude, I couldn't hold anything. For that whole year, every specialist in New York — every specialist — I went to the city and I [tried to figure out] with everybody, 'What the hell is wrong with me?' This one doctor, this one specialist, a renowned dude, finds that I have two — not one — two parasites underneath my liver that were just destroying everything for a year. So this really heavy strong medicine, antibiotic, blah blah blah, got rid of it, but the after-effect of all that good stuff, it really made me not drink coffee — stuff that I love. So I've gotta be really careful with my diet.

"My wife's a vegan now — my wife's a full-on vegan," he continued. "And she's a great cook, and she cooks me whatever I want, which is awesome. But I kind of follow her path now. That's what I'm doing, because I kind of see what's going on. And look, I'll eat but I'll be really careful about what I'm putting in. The sugar stuff is out of my… I'm out of sugar, man. I'm done with sugar."

Bello went on to say that it took a while for the doctors to make the correct diagnosis and catch the disease in time for treatment.

"I went to the most renowned people," he said. "And I was spending thousands [of dollars] on doctors — thousands — going everywhere in the city. 'Cause I live in Westchester [county in New York]; there's not a lot of people up here that you can go to. So I went to [New York City]. And they kept [telling me], 'You have to go to see this guy. You have to go see this girl.' It was all like that. And finally I found the right one. And it was not fun, man. That stuff, when you're searching… I lost all this weight. People were [wondering] am I dying. What's going on? And they finally found these two parasites. And it just screwed me up. Now I have to be careful on this specific diet. I can eat but I have to be really careful. Like, sugar is completely out for me, man. Which is probably good for my life anyway. I miss it — I miss a good pastry and stuff like that — but I watch other… I live through other people now."

Frank's memoir, "Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax", was released on November 2 via Rare Bird. The foreword was written by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons.

ANTHRAX is working on material for the follow-up to 2016's "For All Kings" album, tentatively due in 2022.

In a brand new interview with Knotfest.com's "Talk Toomey" podcast, DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce said that he still marvels at the cultural impact of the band's song "Bodies". The lead single from DROWNING POOL's debut album, "Sinner", which came out in 2001, "Bodies" is the group's most popular track which has been featured in various films, TV programs and advertisements since its release. The song remained DROWNING POOL's highest charting single until "37 Stitches" premiered in fall of 2008.

"I have to say that was very unexpected," Pierce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I appreciate it and I love it. Every time it comes up, I crack up. I've seen some really funny, crazy renditions of that song.

"It was just a song that came along naturally," he explained. "We were rocking out in the room, drinking a couple of beers and writing what [we] feel. And the song 'Bodies' just took on a life of its own, man, and it keeps coming up and getting used for different stuff. It's the 'Jelly Of The Month Club'; it's the gift that keeps giving."

When asked if DROWNING POOL has ever received an offer to put "Bodies" in a commercial in a way that he and his bandmates deemed inappropriate, Pierce said: "It's been in a few movies, which has been great. It's been used in some promotional stuff. Never really any commercials like 'let the bodies hit the floor,' 'Hey, the clothes are dirty. Wash 'em.' I wouldn't say no to that. It [would be] kind of funny. But just what everybody knows, what's out there — mostly just people having their own fun with the song."

He continued: "To be honest with you, man, I'll sit around the house. I don't know if other artists do this. I know some artists get weird about their single or what they're known for, and they're, like, 'Oh, I hate that song. I don't wanna play it live anymore,' which is nuts to me. I love playing that song; I can't wait to get to it. But I'll sit around the house myself and I'll bust out… I've got the mandolin over here and I'll do just like a mandolin version of 'Bodies'. I'll do my own wacky versions of it 'cause it's just a fun song to mess with.

"It's still making new fans," C.J. added. "People come up [to me and say], 'Oh, man, I just heard that song 'Bodies' for the first time.' [I'm, like] 'You just heard it just now?' But it's cool that it keeps going. Obviously, we have other songs and other records, but I love that song. I can't believe how far it's come and how it keeps going."

"Bodies" was DROWNING POOL's first big hit back in 2001. The band's original singer, Dave Williams, died that August of heart disease.

Despite being a huge rock radio smash, it was removed from radio playlists for a while later that year in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"Bodies" was reportedly used by interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in 2003. It was repeatedly played over a 10 days period to "stress" Mohamedou Ould Slahi during interrogations while he was "exposed to variable lighting patterns" at the same time.

Three months ago, DROWNING POOL announced that its fall 2021 "Brothers In Arms" U.S. tour with ILL NIÑO and (HED)P.E. was being rescheduled for early 2022. The trek was scheduled to kick off on September 29 in Abilene, Texas and conclude on November 3 in Hidalgo, Texas.

More than two years ago, it was reported that DROWNING POOL had commenced the recording process for the follow-up to its 2016 album "Hellelujah".

During a summer 2021 appearance on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" show, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis discussed his controversial solo single "Am I The Only One". The track, which takes aim at liberals and touches on American flags burning and statues that have been removed in the country, was written by Lewis with Ira Dean and Jeffrey Steele.

Speaking about the inspiration for the song, Lewis said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I lived through the last year and a half with you and everybody else in this country, and I found myself on many occasions, just like all of you, sitting and scratching my head and wondering what is going on in this amazing country that we have."

Aaron went on to say that the key to connecting people from both sides of the political aisle is to open a dialogue in the first place.

"I think that we're not talking enough," he said. "I think that we're not communicating enough with each other. I think that together we stand and divided we fall. And this country has done some pretty amazing things going on those words."

When asked how we can find common ground with those with whom we disagree, Lewis said: "Just the simple thread that connects us all, which is that we're Americans. And that means something — that means we're a part of something greater than any human experiment that's ever taken place. And we're blessed and we're lucky to be able to wake up in the morning and call ourselves American. It doesn't matter what side of the fence you stand on."

The "Am I The Only One" chorus sees Lewis singing: "I'm not the only one, willin' to fight / For my love of the red and white / And the blue, burnin' on the ground / Another statue comin' down in a town near you." Lewis also criticizes Bruce Springsteen at the end of the track, singing: "Am I the only one who quits singin' along every time they play a Springsteen song."

Asked why he chose to call out Springsteen in the song's lyrics, Lewis told The Daily Wire's "Candace" show: "Because he's always portrayed himself as the all-American middle-class guy. And during all of this craziness, he said that if one man is re-elected to the office of presidency that he was gonna move to Australia. How American is that? You're gonna bail on America just because you don't like the guy that may have gotten into office?"

This past July, Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Label Group's founder and president-CEO, defended the company's decision to release "Am I The Only One". Borchetta's comments came in response to industry blogger Bob Lefsetz, who slammed Lewis's song as "heinous." Lefsetz went on to call Lewis a "middle-class, right-wing wanker" whose divisive track "should have been played at CPAC, in between speeches by nitwits like saying to refuse the 'Fauci ouchie.'"

Lewis told "Candace" that there was initially some pushback from people about him wanting to record and release such a blatant conservative political protest song. "There might have been a little tinge of that in the beginning, but I think everyone successfully saw through that," he said. "And I even got support from some places that I didn't expect to get support from — like my record label. Come to find out Scott Borchetta is pretty big on the First Amendement, freedom of speech."

Springsteen can best be described as Lewis's political polar opposite, having been a vocal opponent to former U.S. president Donald Trump on many occasions. In August 2020, Bruce went as far as to allow the use of his song "The Rising" in a video that aired during night one of the Democratic National Convention.

Lewis, who is widely considered to be one of the most politically conservative musicians in rock, made headlines in September when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.

Aaron told the Anchorage Press in a January 2020 interview that he considered the first Donald Trump impeachment by the House Of Representatives as the clearest representation of what's wrong with America these days.

Lewis was a staunch critic of President Barack Obama, telling a crowd at one of his solo concerts in 2016: "Barack Obama should have been impeached a long fucking time ago. Every fucking decision he makes is against the Constitution, it's against what's good for our fucking country, and he is truly the worst fucking president that we have ever had in the history of this fucking country."

That same year, Lewis told Billboard that he would support Trump in the U.S. presidential race, even though he was "disappointed" by the real estate mogul "with the bickering and the name-calling." Lewis added that he voted for Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's closest competitor in the Republican nomination race, in the Massachusetts primary.

In June, Lewis made headlines when he accused the U.S. Democratic Party of fighting against every major civil rights initiative and of having a long history of discrimination.




Country singer #AaronLewis discusses what inspired his new song ‘Am I the Only One’ that calls out those who are disrespecting the American Flag.

Lewis says he wants to remind the nation, “We're blessed and we're lucky to be able to wake up in the morning and call ourselves American."

Posted by We Love Staind & Aaron Lewis on Monday, July 5, 2021

FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares, who has yet to publicly reveal the identity of the band's replacement for Burton C. Bell, spoke about the singer change in a recent interview with El Lado Oscuro. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The future is gonna be definitely very challenging for sure. Everything is — life is. Every day we wake up can be a new challenge. But it's how we take on those challenges. And for me, it's been very positive.

"I've had a lot of people around the world contact me regarding the position of singing for FEAR FACTORY, and I look forward to it," he continued. "I look forward to where this new person can take us — to a different chapter of FEAR FACTORY."

Regarding what he was looking for in Bell's replacement, Cazares said: "I don't want to get somebody who can't necessarily represent the past; I want somebody who can do that. But I also want this person to have his own identity moving forward in the future — just as when we have to step into the past that he's able to handle that as well as what we create moving forward."

FEAR FACTORY will release the first song featuring the band's new lead singer prior to the group's North American tour with STATIC-X. The 37-date "Rise Of The Machine" run, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on February 21 in Portland, Oregon and run over five weeks, wrapping up on April 3 in San Francisco, California.

Cazares told This Day In Metal about his decision to showcase FF's new frontman with a new song: "I really want people to hear it and judge it by when they hear it. Because if I announce who it is right now, then it's gonna be, like, everybody is gonna give their opinion before they even hear anything. So I'd rather people give their opinion of when they hear it than before they hear it."

This past August, Dino told Bucketlist TV that FEAR FACTORY's new frontman has experience and is "kind of known" within the metal scene.

Asked about his previous comment that he was open to hiring a female vocalist for FEAR FACTORY, Dino told Bucketlist TV: "That was true. I auditioned a few women, yes. But it didn't work out — not because they were female or anything like that. Because I wanted to pick whoever was best for the position, and it turned out to be a guy."

Dino also addressed his statement from earlier this year that he wanted to give an "unknown guy a shot" at fronting FEAR FACTORY. He said: "Well, it wasn't like I was only looking for somebody that nobody knew. I was looking for all different [types of singers]. Sure, if the guy turned out to be, or the girl turned out to be, someone that nobody knew and I gave 'em that shot, yeah, great. I was open to all of it, is what I'm saying. Male, female, whatever, known, unknown — I was open to all of that. And it turned out to be somebody who is kind of known, I guess. Kind of known. He does have experience."

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's new LP.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

In October 2020, Dino issued a statement in which he said that the door for Burton to come back to FEAR FACTORY wouldn't "stay open forever." The guitarist also revealed that Burton "lost his legal rights" to the FEAR FACTORY name "after a long court battle" with drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers. "I had the opportunity to do something right, and I felt that obtaining the name in full was the right thing to do for the both of us, so after nearly four years we can continue as FEAR FACTORY, to make more records and to tour," he said. "That is why it is sad to hear that he decided to quit and, in my opinion, for whatever issues he has it seems like it could've been worked out."

FEAR FACTORY's new album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller. It was produced and engineered by Damien Rainaud (DRAGONFORCE, ONCE HUMAN), with keyboards by Igor Khoroshev (ex-YES), and programming on two songs from longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY). "Aggression Continuum" was mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM), who also mixed FEAR FACTORY's previous album, 2015's "Genexus".

Digging through old boxes you find stuff you’ve totally forgotten about – and every once in a while, you find old nuggets well worth rediscovering again. Being an active band for a long time, you end up with bits and pieces of music that doesn’t fit within the album format you usually work with.


 


For obvious reasons The Quill ended up with a lot of free time during this last year, and there was suddenly a window to review what leftover tracks they had in storage. The band decided to put together the best stuff they could find and make a special release which will make for some interesting listening while waiting for the next studio album.




 


The Quill recorded tons of stuff during the Earthrise sessions – some still left to be finished, but the musicians thought it would be cool to share some of the tracks here. This version of "Keep On Moving" is almost 1:30 longer than the album version and contains a lengthy midsection which they all were really fond of but in the end decided had to go. The other two tracks, "Children Of The Sun" and "Burning Tree", were left off the album mainly due to time constraints.


Next on, there’s a bunch of cover tunes – they all hail from the same time period – the late ‘90s – when tribute albums were a big thing for a short while. All those albums are now long out of print, so the four guys thought it would be a nice idea to include them here to have them all at the same place. What’s also interesting is that they match up great with the material written and recorded much more recently.


 


Last off is a couple of live-tracks from The Quill's show at Sweden Rock Festival 2019 – the recording turned out really well, except for the fact that there was a lot of musical interference from other stages, which made it difficult to release the whole show – but two of the tracks turned out fine and are included here as a reminder of a fantastic show.


Live, New, Borrowed, Blue will be released via Metalville on January 28th, 2022.


 





 


The tracklist is as follows:


"Keep on Moving" (extended version)
"S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
"Children of the Sun"
"Where Eagles Dare"
"Keep it Together" (live)
"Mount Everest"
"Burning Tree"
"Frozen Over"
"Hole In My Head! (live)

SABATON frontman Joakim Brodén spoke to Germany's Radio Bob! about the stage production for the upcoming tour in support of the Swedish metallers' tenth studio album, "The War To End All Wars". Due on March 4, 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records, the concept LP of 11 brand-new songs was written and recorded during the COVID-19 global pandemic and once again dives deep into the atrocities, miracles, and events tied to the early 20th century's World War I.

Brodén said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I can give some hints [about the live show]. I don't wanna be secretive, but at the same time, I don't wanna spoil the surprise, because that should be something for the concertgoers to discover in a way, so they get that 'wow' effect. But yeah, we are expanding on what we already had with [2019's] 'The Great War' [album] since we're moving in the same era and time. There is, actually, a whole bunch of people in Sweden right now as we are speaking building new parts of the stage set. And I've seen some pictures and hints of what's coming. Both for the Swedish tour we have some special stuff being built, but especially, of course, the European tour. Yeah, I think there are things that are gonna be very familiar but there are also things that are gonna be — a few places where it's gonna be, 'What the…?'"

In a recent interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, Brodén said about the musical direction of SABATON's new material: "It's very much a SABATON album in that way. We've been an evolutionary band always and not a revolutionary band. There's always surprises on a SABATON album but we're never gonna flip the coin and do something totally different on every song on a new album. There's gonna be surprises on every album.

"It's always subjective," he continued. "I think it's pathetic when an artist goes, 'It's the best album we've ever made,' and they keep promoting the same tired line. I say it's up to the listener to decide that, but I know for a fact that everybody in the band, without even sitting in the same room together, because I sort of shipped out the pre-mixes to everyone, and everybody — this is the only time in our history this has happened — everybody came back with, 'Fuck. That sounds great.' Everybody is super happy with the production. We were always happy before, but it was, like, 'Maybe this, maybe that.' Now it was more like, 'Okay, yeah, I have some suggestions and ideas, but wow.' We're really happy with the sound."

SABATON is considered to be one the most important bands to emerge from the Swedish modern metal scene, having been honored with five Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (including "Best Live Band" three different years) and nominated several times for the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards, the Grammis. In 2016, SABATON's "The Last Stand" album debuted at No. 1 in three different European countries and cracked the Top 3 in four others. Joakim Brodén (vocals), Pär Sundström (bass), Chris Rörland (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums) and Tommy Johansson (guitar) curate a festival of their own, Sabaton Open Air, that started back in 2008, as well as their own forward-thinking Sabaton Cruise which has been held since 2009.

In the latest issue of Guitar World, Zakk Wylde looked back on writing the riff for Ozzy Osbourne's "I Don't Want To Change The World", which appears on the No More Tears album from 1991.


Zakk: "We were at Joe's Garage, Frank Zappa's old place, and we were jamming. I remember I was playing the main riff, and then I'd get through it and just stop. And then we'd say something into the mic, like, 'How not to ever get a date,' or 'I have no job and I live with my parents.' And then we'd go back into the riff. It was just us on the floor, crying-laughing and coming up with all this stuff that we kept saying in between that riff. Then Ozzy comes walking into the room and he goes, 'What is that?' I'm like, 'What are you talkin' about?' And he says, 'That thing you're playing. That riff.' I go, 'Oh, it's just a joke...' And he goes, 'We're going to use that.' Next thing you know, it won a Grammy!”


Pick up the new issue of Guitar World here.







News recently surfaced that guitar legend Zakk Wylde will not be making a mere guest appearance on Ozzy Osbourne's next studio album, as previously reported. The as-yet-untitled album will feature Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Tony Iommi, and according to a Diary Of The Madmen - The Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Podcast chat with Ozzy himself, Wylde will in fact play on the entire album.


In a new interview with The Cassius Morris Show, Zakk talks about the upcoming Black Label Society album and tour, as well as Ozzy's forthcoming record, and much more.


In regards to Ozzy's next album, Zakk reveals: "On this one, I didn't have anything to do with… Basically, everything was already written. I would change a few things here and there, going into certain riffs or something like that, but you know, do my own thing to 'em. But it was pretty much already done. But kind of how we did Down To Earth, I think, was more like that where everything was pretty much written before I got in there. So I just do my thing,  and then put my solos and everything like that. But it was great in regards that Eric Clapton is on it, Jeff Beck and Tony Iommi. So, if you have told 14-year-old me growing up in my parents' house practicing in my bedroom that I was gonna be on a record with all my heroes, you would have been, 'Forget about it.' So, it was definitely an honor playing rhythm guitar on those tracks with the guys. But, yeah, I'm really happy with the way it came out."

SCORPIONS have released the second in a three-part series of short documentaries — directed by Thomas Noehre — focusing on the making of the band's 19th studio album, "Rock Believer". Check it out below.

When the series was first launched, SCORPIONS said in a statement: "For our new album 'Rock Believer', we all came back together in the studio like in the old days and captured that journey on camera. Maybe you discover some unreleased music snippets from our new album in it…"

Last month, SCORPIONS released the official music video for their new single, "Peacemaker". The track, which features music courtesy of guitarist Rudolf Schenker and bassist Pawel Maciwoda and lyrics by singer Klaus Meine, is taken from "Rock Believer", due on February 25, 2022.

Asked in a new interview with Chile's Radio Futuro what fans can expect to hear on "Rock Believer", Meine said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, you can expect an album that is dedicated to all the rock believers in the world. And we're very excited after all these years. We thought, when you think about all the touring we did the last 10 years, after the release of 'Return To Forever' in 2015, the time was right to go back into the studio, to write new material, to write new songs and check out if the creativity is still working. The big aim was, the goal was to make a rock album — to make an album with lots of attitude, power and focus on the good old times and really enjoy the music and have some fun with the music. And that feels really good."

Speaking about the "Rock Believer" album title, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker said: "Look, we are around the world since 50 years or more. And when somebody can say he's a rock believer, then this is us. And of course, we meet our rock believers in front of us, our audience.

"So many people said rock is dead. It's not dead," he continued. "It's always coming back — sometimes, okay, more stronger [or] less strong — but in the end, it's great to play around the world in over 80 countries we've played so far, and all rock believers. It was always great to share the music with them together and be in connection with them. I mean, that's so amazing and so fantastic, that we are very happy to come out with a new album. And yeah, let's see what's happening."

Asked if "Peacemaker" is representative of "Rock Believer" as a whole, Klaus said: "It is an uptempo rock song, and this album really rocks. There are some heavy songs on the album, like when you think about 'China White' and 'Animal Magnetism', there's a track on the record that is really in the best way of those songs. There are many uptempo songs and, believe it or not, there are even faster songs than 'Peacemaker'. [Laughs] There's also a very beautiful ballad on the album, and I'm sure there are fans out there especially love the SCORPIONS ballads, and they will enjoy this record as well very much. 'Peacemaker' is the appetizer for what the album is all about. It rocks."

"Rock Believer" was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

"The album was written and recorded in the SCORPIONS DNA with core Schenker/Meine compositions," said Klaus. "We recorded the album as a band live in one room, like we did in the '80s."

SCORPIONS' new album will mark their first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Meine previously told Talking Metal that the goal with using Fidelman to produce "Rock Believer" was to bring "the old vibe from albums like 'Blackout', 'Love At First Sting' or even 'Lovedrive'. We try to focus on those albums and this attitude," he said. "If we get there, who knows — it's so many years later. But it's the spirit and it's the whole vibe around this album. This time, the focus is on the harder songs."

According to Meine, SCORPIONS' new LP features "no outside writers at all," unlike 2015's "Return To Forever", which was largely co-written by the album's producers, Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen.

SCORPIONS will kick off their "Rock Believer" world tour in March 2022 in Las Vegas where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows In Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen's new band MAMMOTH WVH.

SCORPIONS' last full-length collection of new recordings was the aforementioned "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

A new band called Petit Brabancon was just unveiled today.

The group's line-up features DIR EN GREY vocalist Kyo, L'Arc-en-Ciel drummer yukihiro, MUCC guitarist Miya, Tokyo Shoegazer guitarist antz and THE NOVEMBERS bassist Hirofumi Takamatsu.

Petit Brabancon's first release will be a double A-side single titled Koku / Kawaki that will hit digital platforms on December 24th. It will contain three tracks, all composed by Miya, with lyrics by Kyo.

The band will make its live debut at the popular annual MAVERICK DC GROUP event JACK IN THE BOX, which will be held at Nippon Budokan on December 27th this year.