Spanish death metallers Barbarian Prophecies have released a new music video for their song "Alpha", from the album Horizon.


In this video, which can be seen below, Barbarian Prophecies try to metaphorically represent the cycle of life and death with water (rain and ocean) as an element that connects everything.


Filmed by 60 Ráfagas Studio, "Alpha" features guest actresses Nora Xiana and María Lara.







Horizon artwork and tracklisting:





"Alpha" 
"Among Us" 
"Phi" 
"Supreme Vampire" 
"Morte Negra" 
"Horizon" 
"The Sign" 
"Psi" 
"Übermensch"
"Omega"


"Among Us" lyric video:





 

Acclaimed metal guitarist, Terry Syrek, released Story - his fourth full-length album - on December 21. Story is a progressive rock/metal concept album that outlines the journey of two fictional creatures through in a parallel world - told via adventurous compositions and virtuoso musicianship.





The cast of characters includes Marco Minnemann (drums), Bryan Beller and Mohini Dey (bass), Lalle Larsson (keyboards) and Florian Cristea (violin). Narration is provided by Keith Szarabajka and Terry’s son, Luke.




The official video for the track "Balloon Ride Over A Jigsaw Map" is a juxtaposition of live performance footage interspersed with animation styled after the CD artwork.


“I think that 'Balloon Ride Over a Jigsaw Map' is a good representation of the overall musical direction of Story. It features some great performance footage of the incredible musicians who were gracious enough to help me realize my vision,” said composer and videographer Terry Syrek. “This track was also a good vehicle to incorporate some animation to introduce people to the characters and larger concept of Story… and who doesn’t want to take a balloon ride?”


Story is available in physical digital formats. Visit terrysyrek.com for more information.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) is back with a new Star One album, titled Revel In Time. The new album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on February 18 via InsideOutMusic.


An update from Arjen, introducing Crobot's Brandon Yeagley, states: "Brandon sings the track ‘Revel In Time’ on the new Star One album. Check out this video to hear his amazing vocals and don’t miss his bodacious message at the end. Thanks for being part of this most excellent adventure, my non-heinous friend!"







The album will come as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Ltd. Deluxe 3CD+Blu-Ray Artbook (incl. a poster of the cover artwork), and as 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD & an LP-Booklet).


CD2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD1, but with different vocalists. Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind The Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.


Pre-order here.





Revel In Time tracklisting:


CD1:


"Fate Of Man"
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)"
"Prescient"
"Back From The Past"
"Revel In Time"
"The Year Of ’41"
"Bridge Of Life"
"Today Is Yesterday"
"A Hand On The Clock"
"Beyond The Edge Of It All"
"Lost Children Of The Universe"


CD 2 features the same songs as CD 1, but with different vocalists.


"Prescient" video:





"Fate Of Man" video:





"Lost Children Of The Universe" lyric video:

Epic instrumental metal band, Angels On The Battlefield, in celebration of their partnership with The You Rock Foundation, is recording a new single to raise funds for the organization. The band is currently working with composer and producer Lars Deutsch on the track.


Angels On The Battlefield is an epic instrumental metal band that encourages self reflection with the intention of finding inner confidence in order to remind people that, no matter what, they have the ability to conquer their literal and metaphorical battlefields. Through the power of music and the community of live performance, Angels On The Battlefield encourages audiences to share their experiences and feelings without fear of being ostracized.


The band was formed by ex-Nekrogoblikon mascot JD McGibney, who plays guitar for the project, as an artistic outlet to battle his own anxiety. Ex-Butcher Babies bassist Jason Klein, current Voodoo Kungfu drummer William Lierman, and film/tv composer and no:carrier keyboardist Chris Wirsig have recently joined the project. Having built friendships with each individual throughout his career in the music industry, JD invited these highly talented and equally compassionate individuals to join Angels on the Battlefield in an effort to actively give back to the world through a medium that has come to mean so much to all four musicians.




Angels On The Battlefield is currently partnered with The You Rock Foundation to help the organization as they continue to pull those suffering out of the dark and show them the possibilities of moving forward with life. Angels On The Battlefield firmly believes that, no matter what, we all have the strength to conquer our battlefields.


Stay tuned for updates.

In a recent interview with AndrewHaug.com, Australia's first-ever dedicated 24/7 rock and metal online radio station launched by Andrew Haug, the former host of Triple J Australia's "The Racket" radio show, CARCASS frontman Jeff Walker discussed how he has been spending the coronavirus downtime in his native United Kingdom. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're kind of lucky that we had some reserves in the bank, so we could survive that way. I'm a bit of a squirrel; I always make sure there's money in the bank to see us through hard times. And luckily, it was enough to tide us over for this period.

"As far as me getting by personally, I've just been looking for small joys in life — small things locally or whatever," he continued. "Living a jetsetting life and having exciting times traveling the world and playing gigs, it's one extreme to another. I'm just looking for small things to keep me happy and finding solace in the smallest things. I've been walking and cycling a lot more. There's a lot of local history that I never noticed before — railway tracks and lines and really boring stuff, middle-age stuff like that that I've kind of got interested in.

"I've enjoyed the hiatus, to be honest… We'd been touring for seven years without a break, and it's been healthy to step back and have a break. I'd also say it's been a bit detrimental because we haven't played together for 18 months now. So we're gonna be incredibly rusty if we ever get to play again.

"It's been positive, but now it's starting to drag a bit," Walker added. "The novelty's wearing off because we just had a to cancel a European tour which would have been great timing for promotion of the [new CARCASS] album ['Torn Arteries'].

"There's no real end in sight for me. I wanna see things happen before I commit CARCASS to anything. We have confirmed a gig that we're gonna play in November in the U.K. But as far as touring is concerned, I still see people booking tours and they still get canceled. I think it's a bit kind of crappy to give false hope to people."

CARCASS played its first pandemic-era concert on November 6 at the Damnation Festival in Leeds, U.K.

"Torn Arteries" was released in September via Nuclear Blast Records. Drummer Daniel Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo.

This unreleased demo of "Izabella / Machine Gun" was recorded during Band Of Gypsys rehearsals at Baggy Studios in New York City in late December 1969. As the new trio featuring Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles (drums) and Billy Cox (bass) prepared for their four historic shows at the Fillmore East on New Years Eve/Day, the group retreated to Baggy's to prepare.





In 2002, Dagger Records debuted the collection, Jimi Hendrix: The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions, that presents 12 songs from those rehearsals. Not included in that collection is this bonus track "Who Knows" which documents the trio working their way through this classic track.  







Jimi Hendrix: The Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions represents the fifth release by Dagger Records, the official bootleg label created by Experience Hendrix. This edition offers the fruits of the guitarist’s spirited rehearsals fronting the Band Of Gypsys as they prepared for their four unforgettable Fillmore East concerts.


These unpolished, direct to two-track recordings were made over the course of two long December 1969 evenings.  Hendrix had just returned from Toronto, Canada where he had been acquitted in a jury trial for narcotic possession. The verdict had lifted an enormous burden from the guitarist’s shoulders.  With the court case and all of its possible ramifications now behind him, Hendrix redirected his energy toward preparations for the recording of a live album at the Fillmore East with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles.


“We rehearsed at a place called Baggy’s in New York,” explains Cox.  “It was located down by Chinatown.  We were there prior to Christmas and then a little after, practicing and rehearsing.  We were working up a set with the songs we were going to perform for the [Fillmore East] concert.  Then we realized that we had to do four shows and we used quite a few of those numbers in each of the shows.”


To learn more and preview the album, head here.

When New Jersey metal icon Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non Fiction) and Type O Negative and Danzig drummer Johnny Kelly join forces to launch a joint project, you can already guess that something great is about to happen.


In addition, when you can get different singers like Karl Agell (ex-Corrosion Of Conformity), Dewey Bragg (Kill Devil Hill), Rob Dukes (ex-Exodus), Mark Morales (Sons Of Texas) and John Kosco (Dropbox) to lend their voices to this project for at least one song each, you inevitably ask yourself: "Shut up, where do I sign?" In this case, the answer is: at MDD Records!


Patriarchs In Black have done just that and will release their upcoming album next year via MDD. The band's first single will be released in January and a short teaser, which at least gives an idea of the stylistic direction of the journey, can be enjoyed below. Be prepared, more info soon.







 

Neo-classical power metal, Sartori, will be releasing their debut album, Dragon's Fire on January 28 via Rockshots Records. Today, the band is sharing their second single, "Devil In Disguise", in preview to the forthcoming full-length. Watch the lyric video below.


The epic record is nine tracks that are melodic, technical, and progressive. Led by main composer and guitarist Andy Sartori, with vocalist Scott Board, drummer Dino Castano and bassist Rod Viquez, the band sets the mood for something more than just singing over music.


With grandiose instrumentals and heroic vocals, Sartori creates complex, melodic tunes that command attention. They are heavily influenced by classical baroque music, so the band stands as the symphony behind Andy Sartori as the ‘maestro’. What sets these guys apart from other bands is their music composition.




Andy Sartori explains further: “We use a lot of arrangements that you won’t find any other bands doing. Lots of vocals, lots of guitar quartets, duets, and harmony arrangements. My writing is based on positive vibes, positive lyric content, no criticism, no anger, and I write sometimes about spiritual content in the matter of being a better human and about life experiences, personal and in general along with influence from movies and stories I enjoy... sometimes."





Tracklisting:


"Evil Hearts"
"One Distant Heart"
"From Hell To Heaven"
"Little Aria In G Major" (Instrumental)
"Devil In Disguise"
"Through The Eyes Of My Soul"
"Castles Of Lost Souls" (Instrumental)
"Battles In The Distant Lands"
"Dragon's Fire"


"Devil In Disguise" lyric video:





"Dragon's Fire" visualizer:





Lineup:


- Andy A Sartori: Guitars
- Scott Board: Vocals
- Rod Viquez: Bass
- Dino Castano: Drums

Terry Ilous says that GREAT WHITE did him a favor by firing him from the band.

Ilous, who previously played with '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after replacing touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was shown the door in July 2018 and replaced with Mitch Malloy.

Ilous discussed his exit from GREAT WHITE during a new appearance on "The Classic Metal Show" with host Chris Akin. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "To be honest with you, it was a good thing because I was able to move on. At first, when somebody dumps you like that, like an old girlfriend, you feel like an old pair of shows. You're, like, 'Really? What did I do? I didn't do anything wrong.' Which, honestly, I didn't do anything wrong. I never fucked anybody's wife. I never stole money or anything like it. I'm a songwriter, and I'm a strong personality. And I know what I don't want in life. So, I guess, obviously, it bothered someone in that band and they decided to do what they did. But I had great years with them; I thank 'em so much for the opportunity. I thank the fans. And they did me a huge favor because I was able to move on. I was able to dig inside myself. I was kind of sad at first 'cause I lost money and I didn't know what I did wrong. I said, 'What did I do wrong?' Which I never knew, because I never talked to anybody. I just received an e-mail; it's what I received. They just sent me an e-mail [saying], 'Have a nice day. You're fired.' Long story short.

"I've gotta be honest with you, they did me a huge favor, because I was able to dig inside of me and said, 'Okay, Terry, you can do it. You've been through hell. You can do it again.' So I did it," he continued. "And I released this [LAND OF GYPSIES] album. I have lots of things coming up with XYZ, with JK [Northrup] and I'm doing a voiceover for a new film. I'm doing that, so that's big money.

"You move on. It's like having a girlfriend that dumps you. What are you gonna do? Just think about her every day? No. You're gonna find another girlfriend that's pretty, that's nice and that treats you right.

"The important thing in life is to be treated right and to treat other people right," Terry added. "If you feel like you're lesser, if you feel like you're never the number one, then why would you wanna stay with that person anyway?"

Last month, GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall confirmed that Ilous was fired from the band via e-mail. Kendall went on to say that Ilous initially found out online that he no longer had a job with GREAT WHITE. "It got released on the Internet before we could tell him," Mark said. "It wasn't our publicist's fault. She released this information. So we hadn't told him yet, and she didn't know that. So he heard the information, and he's going, 'This is a hell of a way to tell [somebody he is out of the band].' And we were just [made out to look like] the bad guys all the way around. And so what do we do now? Go, 'Meet us somewhere, and we'll talk about it.' It was, like, 'He already knows.' So that was a tough situation. We're not bad people. We don't wanna hurt anyone."

Mark also defended GREAT WHITE's decision to part ways with Terry and hire Mitch, saying: "We had to look out for our music and make sure it's delivered the best it can be. We felt like with Mitch we could do it a little bit better. It's not that Terry is not awesome; nothing against him."

This past April, Ilous told Waste Some Time With Jason Green that he always made it a point to tell people that his primary focus was GREAT WHITE and not his solo career. "I was doing a lot of interviews, and I always said one thing, I said, 'I am the lead singer of GREAT WHITE. My priority is GREAT WHITE,'" he said. "I always made sure to say that, 'cause sometimes people can misinterpret what you wanna say. So I said, 'No. I am the lead singer of the band GREAT WHITE. My priority is GREAT WHITE. I'll be touring with GREAT WHITE. And if the band is not touring, then I will be doing that on my own. And that's it.' And that is the truth. But apparently someone got upset. I was touring, and eventually one day, I received an e-mail saying, 'Thank for for a great service. You're a great singer. Have a good life.' And that was it."

Terry said that he "had no idea at all" that he was going to be replaced. "Last time [I played with GREAT WHITE], we did a string of sold-out shows," he recalled. "In fact, one of the last shows we did was actually on a Thursday in Wisconsin. We did a summer fest, and there were 10 thousand people [there]. The crowd went crazy — 10 thousand people going nuts. And that day I sang so well. You know, sometimes you sing better than other days — that's the way it is as a singer — but that day I was really good. Not to be pretentious, but I was happy. I was, like, 'Ah, man. Great performance.' Friday and Saturday, we did two other shows — one in Las Vegas. We did a show with SLAUGHTER, and everybody gave me a big hug. 'Hey, brother, see you next week.' That's the last time I talked to anyone in the band. On Monday morning, I get an e-mail… The leader of the band, Mark, sent me the e-mail, but it [was] on behalf of everybody in the band. 'We think that you should be replaced by somebody else. And we wish you the best.' The e-mail was polite. 'Good luck to you. You will have no problem finding another band. Please don't say bad things about us. We will never say bad things about you.' And that was it."

Regarding his initial reaction to the e-mail, Ilous said: "I was surprised — I was a little surprised — because I said, wait a minute, I did three albums. I helped rebuild the brand. I gave my best for nine years. When I joined the band, I was not getting paid very well, and I said, 'I'm gonna do it anyway, because I wanna prove to myself, and I wanna prove to those guys I can do it.' So I did what I could do. I would have loved to get a phone call, at least, or maybe a meeting with the band, and said, 'Hey, it's not working out. Can you work on this? And maybe we'll give you another chance.' 'Okay.' I think it's fair — when you're a dedicated worker, and you do all that stuff, I think it's fair. You need a second chance. But second chance for what? I didn't do anything wrong. It's not like I had sex with any one of their wives. I'm not that type of person."

Terry went on to say that there were some personal differences within GREAT WHITE, but not enough to create a major issue when he and his then-bandmates were living in close proximity to one another on the road.

"For me, I was always in GREAT WHITE," he said. "I would say to myself, 'GREAT WHITE is GREAT WHITE. I love the band. I love the music, and I'm happy to be in the band.' I didn't expect anything. I knew I had an issue with one guy in the band, like a lot of people have issues with the same guy in that band. But I knew that. And I didn't think the guys would decide to say, 'Screw Terry, and let's get somebody else.' I didn't expect that at all. I was completely taken by surprise, to say the least. I was beside myself. But I didn't post anything negative. I didn't make stupid comments online; I didn't do anything like it. I said, 'Well, it is what it is. They have somebody else. I don't wish him anything bad,' which I would never do anyway."

Ironically, the first time Malloy performed with GREAT WHITE was on the Monsters Of Rock cruise in 2018, just a few short months before Terry was fired from the band. At Terry's invitation, Mitch got up on stage and joined GREAT WHITE for a rendition of their cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy".

"I'm the one who introduced Mitch to the band," Ilous recalled. "And I will never forget that day. I introduced Mitch to the band, and Mitch tried to upstage me on stage. I'm a stage performer, but I don't need to overdo things. It's like sex. Music is sex — the same thing. You don't need to try all different positions to please your partner. You do what you do, and that's it. But I realized that Mitch was trying to go crazy on stage, one side to the other, to prove that he was a great performer. And I have nothing against Mitch, by the way; I wish him the very best. But I said, 'Okay. Good for him.' I didn't expect that… It's okay. They did what they had to do. And honestly, to this day, I don't wish them anything bad at all. Even Mitch — I'm happy he's got the gig. It's not his fault. He just got hired."

Ilous relocated to Hollywood, California from Lyon, France in 1986, forming the metal band XYZ along with friend and bassist Pat Fontaine. Ilous quickly became a favorite on Sunset Strip scene in the late '80s before getting signed to Enigma/Capitol. After selling over 1.5 million records worldwide and touring with artists such as FOREIGNER and ALICE COOPER, Ilous continued to release albums well into the 2000s, along with film, songwriting and television work.

In 2009, Terry was contacted to play a handful of dates with GREAT WHITE, and within a couple of years, the lineup was made official. GREAT WHITE immediately headed out on an extensive year-long tour, followed by a new album, "Elation", in 2012 that was highly praised by the media and fans alike. "Full Circle" arrived five years later.

Canadian hard rock legends, Triumph, have shared the new video below, in which Canadian bashers Sven Gali perform the classic "Spellbound", originally featured on Triumph's 1984 album, Thunder Seven.


The footage was filmed at Metalworks Studios, the legendary recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, established in 1978 by Triumph's Gil Moore. And yes, that is him watching!







Fans of Triumph were recently given a special treat - the launch of the Triumph Vault website. By accessing triumphvault.com, fans will be able to discover artifacts from the band’s career beginning with a celebration of Triumph’s classic 1981 album, Allied Forces.


This inaugural collection will feature a selection of newly discovered artifacts personally curated by Mike, Gil and Rik in collaboration with Definitive Authentic. Several pieces are partnered with new audio commentary directly from the band.





New collections will be added to the Vault regularly for fans which will unlock over 45 years of Triumph’s illustrious rock & roll history through rare photos, audiograms, video, behind the scenes content, and exclusive collectables.


Commemorating the launch, the Triumph Vault will offer signed and numbered limited-edition memorabilia that have never been made available until now. And as part of the celebration and in keeping with the iconic Allied Forces cover, fans who sign up for updates via the site are automatically entered to win a Dean Flying V guitar with a personal note from the band!





“We’re super excited to have our loyal fans experience the launch of the Triumph vault. Finally, after years of touring and recording, we’re able to unearth and display rare elements and artifacts from Triumph's history. We can now share with our fans what we’ve  been stowing away for years at Metalworks Studios.” –Gil Moore


The Triumph lineup - Rik Emmett, Gil Moore, and Mike Levine - rocked the world, and in the process, gave us countless classic hard rock anthems (“Fight the Good Fight,” “Hold On,” “Magic Power,” “I Live For The Weekend,” “Lay It On The Line,” and of course, “Rock & Roll Machine,” and albums (Just A Game, Progressions Of Power, Allied Forces, Never Surrender, Thunder Seven, etc.).


Originally formed in 1975 and hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the trio was always proud of their Great White North roots. And seemingly ever since their inception, Triumph was on the cutting edge of technology when it came to their live show - particularly lighting, sound, and effects. Sophisticated lasers, pyrotechnics and moving lighting rigs, all computer-controlled - Triumph was one of the first arena rock bands to incorporate all of these elements into their shows.


Triumph’s headlining tours were legendary, and the band was featured on many memorable stadium/outdoor shows - including the US Festival, the World Series of Rock, the American Rock Festival and Texxas Jam, Day on the Green, to name but a few. And earlier this year, the band was the focus of a documentary, Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine, directed by Banger Films’ Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli.


And now, Triumph fans will be able to celebrate the history of the band - with the launch of triumphvault.com.

Former ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens says that Jon Schaffer will "pay for a long time" for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Owens, who joined ICED EARTH in 2003 and stayed in the group for four years before being fired in December 2007, addressed his time with the band in a new interview with "The Loaded Radio Podcast".

Asked if he was surprised to see Schaffer involved in the Capitol riot, Owens said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I really lost contact [with him]. I didn't leave on good terms. We weren't friends when I left. I never burn bridges, but the way he fired me, the way he let me go, we never were on good terms.

"We never talked politics when I was in the band," he continued. "I know when I was in ICED EARTH, I was a Democrat and he was a Republican at that time. And we never talked politics. He never talked politics — ever, ever — did he. But I just noticed when I did leave and seeing things that people talked about, I could see that something had changed with him from when I was in the band. But we never talked about things.

"I didn't know what was going on with him and his personal life and his political stuff, so I didn't follow him too much because we didn't run in the same circles.

"Listen, he messed up," Owens added. "In my opinion, you mess up… He'll be paying for it for a long time. But I'm certain for Jon, I'm certain there's still a lot of people out there buying his records, so he's probably still paying the bills."

Owens previously discussed Schaffer's involvement in the Capitol riot a couple of days after the insurrection. Asked by a fan on Instagram what it was like "working with a terrorist," Owens said: "crazy what he did wasn't if. All I can say is wow. See we never talked politics while I was in ICED EARTH because at that time we where on totally opposite sides. LOL. But I gotta say could of been way worse for me I could of been in a Band with Sebastian Bach".

When the fan expressed his incredulity over the fact that Owens and Schaffer never talked politics, especially considering the fact that Tim's first album with ICED EARTH, "The Glorious Burden", was a concept album exploring various moments in military history, the ex-JUDAS PRIEST frontman replied: "yea that was more of history and I actually learned a lot More then I did in school. Taking about politics at the time wasn't something I would get into. Opposite sides of the fence and I was working! I got fired anyways so it didn't matter. Haha".

In a 2012 interview with Australia's Loud, Owens said that his departure from ICED EARTH wasn't executed properly. 'It was handled poorly, I think, the situation," he said. "It could've been handled good and everybody could've looked good in the situation. But it was handled poorly, I think… I started getting all the blame when things weren't the same. Or things weren't what Jon thought they could be. And then, of course, it all came down on me. None of the blame ever came down on Jon. I'm fine with that, but the funny thing is that nothing really changed when I left anyway. I read numbers and I talk to agents, and the crowds are the same or smaller now. I think it was also me wandering a bit, knowing that ICED EARTH was kind of like a solo project. It's really Schaffer's band, and I knew that. And I started having my own: I started doing BEYOND FEAR, and pushing BEYOND FEAR when probably I should have been talking about ICED EARTH. I think Jon read a lot of that and he read into it that my heart and soul wasn't into ICED EARTH."

Schaffer discussed Owens's exit from ICED EARTH in a 2008 interview with Metal Exiles. At the time, he said: "Tim was great to work with in the studio, and from a standpoint of performing live, he was great as far as being an incredible vocalist, but he was not a true believer in this band. It was a job for him, and ICED EARTH is not about that… He was more interested in doing his solo thing — that was where his head was at — and it was becoming more and more obvious. This band was a means to an end for him."

In April, Schaffer pleaded guilty to his role in the Capitol riot. As part of the plea deal, Jon entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.

Following the initial reports that Schaffer was involved in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates distanced themselves from his actions. Singer Stu Block and bassist Luke Appleton later posted separate statements on social media announcing their resignations. BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch also quit DEMONS & WIZARDS, his long-running project with Schaffer. The allegations also apparently affected Schaffer's relationship with his longtime record label Century Media, which had released albums from both ICED EARTH and DEMONS & WIZARDS. As of mid-January, the Century Media artist roster page did not list either band.

Although Schaffer was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in an act of physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, he pleaded guilty to only two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress; and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while the second carries up to a 10-year prison term.

According to CNN, prosecutors and Schaffer's attorneys agreed to recommend that he get between three and a half and four and a half years in prison, based on how fruitful his cooperation is with the government.

The government agreed not to oppose Schaffer's release during the sentencing phase.

As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. In return for Schaffer's assistance, the Justice Department might later urge the judge to show leniency during his sentencing.

As part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.

Eric Clapton's management has released a "clarification" regarding the musician's lawsuit against a German widow after she posted a listing for a pirated version of his "Eric Clapton - Live USA" album for $11 on eBay.

Last week, Clapton won the lawsuit against the woman, who claimed she was unaware that her dead husband's CD was pirated and removed the listing a day after posting it. The judge in the case said that the fact that she didn't acquire the CD herself was irrelevant and ordered her to pay for both parties' legal fees (about $3,900).

Now Clapton's management has issued a statement to the guitarist's fan club clarifying the 76-year-old's role in the situation, as well as why they pursued legal action in the first place.

The statement reads as follows: "Given the widespread and often misleading press reports about a recent bootleg case involving a woman in Germany, the following provides clarification to set the record straight.

"Germany is one of several countries where sales of unauthorized and usually poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs are rife, which harms both the industry and purchasers of inferior product. Over a period of more than 10 years the German lawyers appointed by Eric Clapton, and a significant number of other well-known artists and record companies, have successfully pursued thousands of bootleg cases under routine copyright procedures.

"It is not the intention to target individuals selling isolated CDs from their own collection, but rather the active bootleggers manufacturing unauthorised copies for sale. In the case of an individual selling unauthorised items from a personal collection, if following receipt of a 'cease and desist' letter the offending items are withdrawn, any costs would be minimal, or might be waived.

"Eric Clapton's lawyers and management team (rather than Eric personally) identifies if an item offered for sale is illegal, and a declaration confirming that is signed, but thereafter Eric Clapton is not involved in any individual cases, and 95% of the cases are resolved before going to Court.

"This case could have been disposed of quickly at minimal cost, but unfortunately in response to the German lawyers' first standard letter, the individual's reply included the line (translation): 'feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands'. This triggered the next step in the standard legal procedures, and the Court then made the initial injunction order.

"If the individual had complied with the initial letter the costs would have been minimal. Had she explained at the outset the full facts in a simple phone call or letter to the lawyers, any claim might, have been waived, and costs avoided. However, the individual appointed a lawyer who appealed the injunction decision. The Judge encouraged the individual to withdraw the appeal to save costs, but she proceeded. The appeal failed and she was ordered to pay the costs of the Court and all of the parties.

"However, when the full facts of this particular case came to light and it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton, or his record company, wish to target, Eric Clapton decided not to take any further action and does not intend to collect the costs awarded to him by the Court. Also, he hopes the individual will not herself incur any further costs."

If the woman tries to sell the CD again, she could face a fine of $282,000 or six months in prison.

This past summer, Clapton made headlines when he announced he will no longer perform at any venues that require attendees to show proof of vaccination. The announcement came after U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson's mandate that "vaccine passports" be required for entrance into nightclubs and venues.

Clapton previously criticized the lockdowns instituted around the world in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and stoked fear and conspiracy theories after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Clapton recounted his negative experience with the AstraZeneca shot, suggesting the side effects had been so "severe" that he was afraid that he would "never play again." He also said he was inspired by another musician-turned-anti-vaccine activist, Van Morrison

Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE spoke to AndrewHaug.com, Australia's first-ever dedicated 24/7 rock and metal online radio station, about it's going to be like for the band to embark on its first pandemic-era international tour.

"I think the best thing that we can do now, as far as the band and the crew, is just get double vaccinated and just kind of do what we need to do if we need to travel," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It's not a huge ask to do a test before getting on a flight, for example — it's not really a big ask — and if that's what it takes for us to be able to continue on with our life and our musical journey and our career, that's what we'll do.

"The world is a big place, and, unfortunately, we're not all on the same page, for whatever reasons — politically, medically, whatever it is. It's tricky," he continued. "So we can only really focus on what we're in control of at the moment, and that's a U.K. tour which is on sale and doing really well. We've got a European run at the end of January [going] into February, which is looking okay. But we've got the double hit here in the U.K. of, obviously, COVID and Brexit, which is making our lives doubly horrible. For touring musicians, it's an absolute nightmare because that freedom of movement that we once had to go through Europe and travel through Spain and France and Portugal and Greece — all throughout the continent — has been taken away from us. And we don't really know what that means yet because we've had COVID get in the way as well. So, yeah, it's not looking good short term. I'm sure it'll sort itself out. But all we can do at the minute is really just focus on what's directly in front of us rather than too far into the future 'cause there's just so many hurdles right now, it's not worth stressing ourselves out about it. And we'll just let management and promoters and agents globally try and work it out between them on how we can make this work."

Many countries in the EU reportedly still require expensive visas for U.K. artists to tour.

The U.K. government has been heavily criticized for jeopardizing the future of touring for U.K. artists when the Brexit deal secured with the EU failed to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's latest, self-titled album arrived on November 5 via via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. The LP was written beginning in September 2019 with longtime producer Carl Bown, who co-produced the band's 2015 album, "Venom", and produced and mixed 2018's "Gravity".

"Gravity" saw BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's catalog surpass one billion streams in the U.S. That accomplishment solidified BULLET's status as one of the most elite bands in the hard rock scene.

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo discussed the band's two 40th-anniversary concerts, which were held in at San Francisco's Chase Center on December 17 and December 19, during a recent SiriusXM Mandatory Metallica and Liquid Metal live call-in roundtable, hosted by Jose Mangin, Steffan Chirazi and Spider Dan. Speaking about what it was like to go up on stage for the first of the two shows, Robert said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Here's something that's very helpful, and a lot of people may not know this. But James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] and I actually, before the show, a couple of hours before, we went up in the nosebleed seats and we watched all of the film content that was transitional into the songs for the evening. So we saw all the film content — it was like a half hour of content — and we were so excited by what we saw that when we got on the floor preceding the show, there was a certain feeling of confidence, I think, and a bit more of the right kind of relaxation. And what I usually do is all the fans that are kind of behind me in my area, I [give them] fistbumps and all that kind of stuff, so I'm getting their energy already and we're already communicating with the crowd in that way. It's kind of like an athletic event — you're getting ready to take the pitch, getting ready to take the field — so you get that nervousness, but it's a good nervousness. And fueled with the idea that we had seen the transitions on film and we knew what we were gonna celebrate was really, really cool, and that helped James and I immensely. We talked about it a little bit. We were kind of, like, 'Oh, this is cool.' 'Cause you see how it was put together and how well the edits are and the flow and the celebratory aspect of it was really, really cool. Now you're excited, now you're, like, 'Yeah! Let's do this.' I think that helped us a lot. And then once we got up there, we were pretty confident in at least having a great time."

Robert admitted that one of the most "challenging" parts of the event was "the sound." He explained: "At least from where we are on stage, you get to certain pockets, like on the outer edges of the stage, some of those mics in the corner, the sound is bouncing around, so if you're going to sing a backup part, you don't hear your voice very well. So that was a little weird. There's not time to find the sweet spots, so you've gotta kind of roll with it and just do the best you can and try and have a great time. And we did."

METALLICA's two 40th-anniversary shows featured different setlists. They were part of METALLICA's "San Francisco Takeover", a four-day citywide celebration of the band's 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.

The 40th-anniversary shows marked METALLICA's return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 "S&M²" concerts that also served as the venue's grand opening. Those two shows grossed more than $4.1 million over the course of its two nights, according to reports submitted to Pollstar's Boxoffice, and the band ranked at No. 4 on Pollstar's worldwide touring chart that same year with a global gross of $175 million.

Fans who missed METALLICA's pair of 40th-anniversary concerts this past weekend can enjoy rebroadcasts of both shows on-demand exclusively on The Coda Collection this Christmas weekend in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime internationally.

The shows will be available to stream from Friday, December 24 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT / 2 a.m. JST through Monday, December 27 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET / 4:59 a.m. GMT / 1:59 p.m. JST.

For information on how to stream both shows, click here.

Following the initial viewing period, both concerts will return to the The Coda Collection and Prime Video with enhanced bonus footage and additional exclusives as part of an extensive partnership between The Coda Collection and METALLICA, which will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band's career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022.

Formed in 1981 by Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band's several multi-platinum albums include "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album), "Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden's Polar Music Prize.

On December 16, San Francisco mayor London Breed presented Ulrich and Trujillo with a special declaration marking the day as "Metallica Day" in the city.

"When you talk about San Francisco," Breed said at the news conference, "you talk about cable cars and then you talk about METALLICA."

In a recent interview with "The Five Count" radio show, legendary drummer Carmine Appice looked back on his involvement with "Stars", the 1985 charity single for famine relief released under the HEAR 'N AID banner.

On May 20 and May 21, 1985, 40 artists from the metal community gathered at A&M Records Studios in Hollywood, California to participate in the making of a record called "Stars" as a part of a very special fundraising project spearheaded by Ronnie James Dio. The "Stars" single and a video documentary on the making of the record was used to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. These 40 artists — including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, QUIET RIOT, TWISTED SISTER, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and even SPINAL TAP — along with hundreds of other volunteers, donated their time and talent over four months to make HEAR 'N AID a reality. "Stars" was a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.

Speaking about his experience recording "Stars", Appice told "The Five Count" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was fun. I was out on the road with KING KOBRA when Ronnie did that. 'Cause my brother [Vinny] played with Ronnie, Ronnie really had no family, especially when him and [his wife and manager] Wendy broke up. So Ronnie was always involved with coming to my family's Christmas parties and birthdays and Thanksgiving and all that stuff. So we were really close to Ronnie. So when Ronnie did that thing, they definitely requested that I be in it. I was on the road, so my brother Vinny cut the tracks with Frankie Banali [QUIET RIOT]. And then they flew me in, or I flew in — I think I flew in at my own expense; I was in the Midwest and I flew back to L.A. — and spent two or three days in the studio doing that. And at the time, 'We Are The World' was big, with Michael Jackson and all that stuff, so this was like the heavy metal version of 'We Are The World'. So I definitely wanted to be involved in it, 'cause I've always been involved in different charities and all that stuff. In 1983, when I got fired from Ozzy [Osbourne's band], one of the reasons I got fired was because I was doing masterclasses and getting a lot of press and Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] didn't like that. But those masterclasses, at the end of it, I gave fifty thousand dollars that year to UNICEF. I always like to be involved in charities and help people and all that. I [spent] one day flying out there, [another day] in the studio with them, doing that stuff, I sang on the background, I did an interview for the video, and then the next day I flew back. So it was three days. Luckily, I had off on those three days from playing gigs. But the rest of KING KOBRA was out on the road."

Due to contract differences with the labels, the "Stars" song and album weren't released until New Year's Day, 1986, and were only ever made available on vinyl and cassette. But Wendy Dio has said in recent years that she is continuing her efforts to correct that.

Wendy previously revealed that one of the reasons the HEAR 'N AID reissue was taking so long to come out was the "legal stuff" that needed to be taken care of. "You can always get the bands to do something, but it's the legal licensing of talking with the record labels they're on and the management and so on, to get something off the ground," she said. "So we're hoping to do that."