Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, has confirmed to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that the legendary rocker is continuing work on the follow-up to last year's "Detroit Stories" album. "I actually have a call with [the Cooper camp] this weekend to discuss the progress of it," she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "The last that I heard, we were in Nashville working on it. The band and I sat down and recorded quite a bit of music for this upcoming record. The band did also have a huge part in the writing this time, which is the first time that's happened in the eight years that I've been in the band. So it was really, really fun — really exciting for us to get to work with a legend like [produer] Bob Ezrin. [It was] a huge, huge honor to be in the studio with him and Alice creating what we hope will be some more Alice Cooper music to just add to his legacy."

She added: "I'm on the [Alice Cooper] live DVD. I'm on the live album releases, the live tracks that are bonus tracks and stuff, but [this is my] first studio album with Alice. I'm actually the only person in the [current lineup of Alice's] band that hasn't recorded anything with Alice before, so this is huge for me. [I'm] very, very honored."

Asked about a possible release date for Alice's new album, Nita said: "I don't have that information. I can tell you a lot about my [upcoming solo] record, but when it comes to Alice, I'm a hired musician, just like the rest of 'em. Right now we are still touring on 'Detroit Stories', which just came out last year. So I don't know that it'll necessarily be immediately that we'll see the next one. But please don't take my word for it. It's not my band. I don't wanna speak out of turn. But I know we are gonna be touring on 'Detroit Stories' a lot this year."

Less than a year ago, Alice told Australia's Heavy that he wanted to record his next album on the road with the current lineup of his solo band. "I like it — I like the idea," he said. "I brought up the idea because my stage band is so tight. They're not even on ['Detroit Stories']. But they're so tight that they can play anything. And I said, 'Well, then why don't we write the songs on the road about the road? Let's write the songs about what happens on the road.' Or just it could be funny, it could be tragic, it could be whatever. I said, 'But let's make this album rock, like you guys do. And I'd love to play it live during soundchecks.' Instead of playing 'Eighteen' or 'School's Out' or doing a soundcheck every day, I said, 'Let's rehearse these songs.' And then, at one point, somewhere on the road when we have two days off, we'll set up the next gig and record them all — record them live in a venue.' And I said, 'That would be unique. Nobody's ever done that. So let's do something nobody's ever done.'"

Alice went on to say that he had every confidence that the members of his current solo band — Strauss, Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Ryan Roxie (guitar), Chuck Garric (bass) and Glen Sobel (drums) — would be able to rise to the occasion and make an album while on tour. "If you get the right players, you can do anything," he said. "I've got Nita Strauss in there. Nita is just a monster guitar player. She was voted 'Guitarist Of The Decade' magazine in Guitar magazine, and my drummer was voted 'Best Drummer In Rock' last year. And the great thing about this band is they never have a bad night; they're good every night. And they're all best friends. I never hear an argument; I never hear an ego pop up; I never hear anybody yelling at anybody unless it's funny. All I hear backstage is laughing."

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

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

Boston’s Great American Ghost will kick off their US tour supporting Fit For An Autopsy tonight, January 5. The month-long journey will commence in Columbus, Ohio and run through February 12 in New York City. Additional support will be provided by Ingested, Signs Of The Swarm, and labelmates, Enterprise Earth.


 


Great American Ghost will be touring in support of their anticipated Torture World EP, set to drop on January 20 via MNRK Heavy. Produced by Will Putney (A Day To Remember, Knocked Loose, The Amity Affliction), who handled the band’s critically-adored 2019 full-length, Power Through Terror, with Torture World, the band directs old-school hardcore wrath at hypocrisy, apathy, and self-loathing, delivered in a dark cloud of relentlessly bludgeoning riffs.




Torture World will be released on CD, LP, cassette, and digitally. Preorder at tortureworld.com.


Tour dates:





January
5 — Columbus, OH — Skully's Music Diner
6 — Hamtramck, MI — The Sanctuary
7 — Chicago, IL — Reggies Rock Club
8 — St. Paul, MN — Turf Club
9 — Iowa City, IA — Wildwood
10 — Lincoln, NE — The Royal Grove
11 — Denver, CO — Bluebird Theater
12 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex
14 — Portland, OR — Dante's
15 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
17 — Sacramento, CA — Goldfield Trading Post
18 — Petaluma, CA — The Phoenix Theater
19 — Los Angeles, CA  —1720
20 — San Diego, CA — Brick By Brick
22 — Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater
24 — Austin, TX — Come And Take It Live
25 — Houston, TX — Warehouse Live
26 — Dallas, TX — Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
27 — Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma City Limits
28 — Memphis, TN — Growlers
29 — St. Louis, MO — Red Flag
30 — Nashville, TN — The Basement East


February
1 — Tampa, FL — Crowbar
2 — West Palm Beach, FL — Respectables
3 — Orlando, FL — Soundbar
4 — Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade
5 — Greensboro, NC — Blind Tiger
7 — Pittsburgh, PA — Crafthouse
8 — Baltimore, MD — Sound Stage
9 — Philadelphia, PA — The Foundry
10 — Worcester, MA — The Palladium
11 — Hartford, CT — Webster Underground
12 — New York, NY — The Gramercy Theatre





(Photo by Chris Klump)

During an appearance on yesterday's (Thursday, January 6) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Billy Idol's longtime guitarist Steve Stevens spoke about his recent battle with COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

"My wife and I, we've been so careful," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And I think now with this omicron [coronavirus variant], it's just so virulent, and we managed to get it. But not too bad… There was, like, one day that I kind of felt a little bit tired, a little fatigued.

"What had happened was we did a benefit show in Los Angeles that Dave Navarro [JANE'S ADDICTION] and Billy Morrison [Billy Idol] did — 'Above Ground' — [in late December] and evidently a lot of people got ill there," he continued. "So we weren't the only [ones]. The phone calls started, 'Hey, how're you feelin'? Because you might wanna get a test.' 'Oh, shoot.' But, yeah, nothing too bad."

When asked by host Eddie Trunk if he would have known that he and his wife had contracted COVID-19 had they not been tested, Steve said: "We would have known. My wife ran about a 102[-degree] fever one night. And I went, 'Something's up.'"

Recent studies of infections triggered by omicron — compared to that of the delta and beta outbreak — have indicated the infections caused by the new variant were more contagious, but not so severe.

"With Idol, we have really strict protocols, because we're out, and there's, like] 40 people [between the] band and crew and everything; we can't really afford to have it shut down," Steve said. "I've done two tours with Billy, and everybody managed to stay negative and everything. But I think this omicron is really… Everybody I speak to has been through it."

Based on early studies, those who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines are far less likely to be admitted to hospital with the omicron variant than the previous delta strain. However, the higher transmissibility of omicron means the risk of health systems being overloaded during the winter period is still quite high.

Omicron is reportedly killing an average of 1,200 people each day in the United States, and the fact that it is roughly twice as contagious as delta and four times more than the original virus means the less virulent virus can still cause enough hospitalizations to overwhelm health care systems here and abroad, especially among the unvaccinated who are elderly or have preexisting conditions.




Thanks to @Stevestevens for joining today from the Vegas studio on #TrunkNation . Replays tonight 10-Mid ET @siriusxmvolume 106 or anytime @SIRIUSXM app. pic.twitter.com/8E0ffGnNh2

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) January 6, 2022

conic folk metal outfit TROLLFEST are back! After releasing their Napalm Records debut EP, Happy Heroes, the kings of Norwegian Balkan metal return with their new single, “Dance Like a Pink Flamingo(Radio Edit)”, delivering an electrifying new track full of K.A.O.S. and over-the-top TROLLFEST madness – in full “pink flamingo” mode! The single will also be their entry for the Melodi Grand Prix, where the winner gets the chance to compete for Norway in the legendary Eurovison Song Contest.

Following millions of cross-platform streams and performances at the likes of Wacken Open Air, 70,000 Tons Of Metal and Summer Breeze, TROLLFEST return with what might just be their zaniest hit yet! On “Dance Like a Pink Flamingo (Radio Edit)”, TROLLFEST jovially invites fans to shake their tail-feathers like there’s no tomorrow, quickly careening into a slamming, energetic jaunt rife with folk instrumentation, pummeling drums and gritty screams aplenty!

TROLLFEST on “Dance Like a Pink Flamingo”:
“Greetings to all!!! It is finally time to share the big news we have been hinting at. First, foremost and immediately noteworthy, our new single is out, it is called “Dance like a Pink Flamingo” and you should check it out a couple of times each day until the end of time in our opinion.

Secondly (although this does entail a few firsts for us) we are going to be on TV! Mainly in Norway but it is on the state channel none the less because we are participating in this year’s Melody Grand Prix!! Needless to say we are extremly honored, pleased and excited! We also want to be winners so if you could all vote for us three times each (that is the allowed number) we would be super duper happy! This will be broadcast live on NRK TV on Saturday January 15.

Thirdly, but perhaps most importantly, our new single is from our new album, it is completely finished and more information on that will follow… For now, we would love it if you all help us make everybody dance like a pink flamingo!

And vote to make us winners. We really want to win music!!!”

DISTURBED singer David Draiman has taken up a social media challenge dubbed the IDF Shirt Challenge which encourages people to post photos of themselves wearing Israel Defense Forces shirts in solidarity with two men who were allegedly victims of an antisemitic attack in Brooklyn, New York. Blake Zavadsky and Ilan Kaganovich were allegedly called "dirty Jews" on Sunday (December 26) before one of them was punched in the face for sporting an IDF sweatshirt.

"Jews are being attacked on the streets of the major cities of the United States on a regular basis right now, but it almost seems like a near-daily occurrence in New York," Draiman told The Jerusalem Post. "I was born in Brooklyn where those two young gentlemen were attacked, in Maimonides hospital in Flatbush. My father was in the IDF, my grandfather was in the IDF. They helped keep Am Yisrael safe, as the IDF does to this day. They keep the thousands of direct and indirect relatives I have in Eretz Yisrael safe and risk their lives to do so every day."

David added: "I will not stand idle while they are demonized, and I will not be silent in the face of those who long for us to go back to the days of being the 'fearful, groveling Jew.'"

New York's 48th District councilwoman Inna Vernikov has tweeted a call to march against antisemitism. The march will take place on Sunday, January 2 at noon and will begin at the spot on 86th Street where the two men were attacked. People are encouraged to show up in their own IDF hoodies.

"I wish I could fly out there myself," Draiman said. "I encourage everyone to mask up and get out there with their IDF t-shirts on. Or, just post a pic of yourself for the #IDFshirtChallenge to your social media."

According to the New York Post, Zavadsky and Kaganovich, both 21, were in a shoe shop in Bay Ridge when two attackers allegedly approached them.

"They asked us what we were doing in their neighborhood," Zavadsky told the New York Post.

Zavadsky, who was sporting an Israel Defense Forces sweatshirt, said the pair took particular issue with his hoodie.

"The one who punched me said if I don't take my sweatshirt off, he's going to rock me," Zavadsky said.

"'How can you support these dirty Jews?'" Zavadsky said the man allegedly asked.

When he refused, he got punched twice in the face and doused in iced coffee.

The NYPD said the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

Last week, Draiman said that he had lost thousands of social media followers since publicizing his trip to Israel in November.

On November 30, Draiman lit a candle at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel at the Old City site of the terror attack that killed South African immigrant Eli Kay.

At the time, Draiman, who is Jewish, took to his Instagram to share a few photos of his appearance, and included the following message: "A truly wonderful experience. Thanks so much to everyone who came out!"

On December 24, Draiman returned to Instagram to lament the fact that thousands of his fans had apparently taken offense to his decision to share pro-Israel content on his page and had unfollowed him on the platform.

He wrote: "Here's food for thought.

"Before my recent trip to Israel, I hadn't used my Instagram account since the DEVICE experiment. It was at 87k followers. I used it again specifically to make my trip and demonstration at the western wall public.

"Since the pictures of my trip and the demonstration were posted, I'm now down 4K followers.

"AND I'D DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT.

"Very telling isn't it? #AmYisraelChai".

A week prior to his visit to Jerusalem, Draiman told The Jerusalem Post that he wanted to make a statement by coming to Israel after seeing the coverage of the attack in which a Hamas gunman opened fire on pedestrians in the Old City.

"The coverage was reprehensible in the vast majority of American and European media," Draiman said. "It's scandalous how they presented it. Headlines like 'Palestinian shot dead.' Well, why was the Palestinian shot dead? Because he was perpetrating a terrorist attack. I love how the context is always flipped around."

Although David — who has some 200 relatives living in Israel — had visited the country many times before, DISTURBED's July 2019 show in Tel Aviv was the band's first performance in the Jewish state. Draiman addressed the crowd in Hebrew at many points during the show at Live Park Rishon LeZion and sang the Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah". Draiman proudly displayed his IDF t-shirt during the concert and at one point declared: "This is for all the IDF soldiers."

DISTURBED's song "Never Again", from 2010's "Asylum" album, was written about the Holocaust and calls out people who deny it.

The Tel Aviv show marked the first time DISTURBED performed "Never Again" since 2011.

Both of Draiman's maternal grandparents were survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while many others on his mother's side were wiped out by the Nazis.

The United States Holocaust Museum has featured Draiman in its "Voices On Anti-Semitism" podcasts.

In recent years, Draiman spoke out against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which calls for economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian land, grant Arab citizens equal rights and recognize the right of return to Palestinian refugees.

Nearly two and a half years ago, Draiman spoke to KAN radio, where he called BDS advocates "idiots" and "Nazis in suits."

Draiman has in the past battled with Twitter trolls who have harassed him about his sometimes-controversial views regarding Israel and its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. Draiman has had frequent heated exchanges with followers on Twitter, some of whom believe that Israel is not blameless in the ongoing conflict with Palestinians.
























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A post shared by David Draiman (@davidmdraiman)

Christian rockers SKILLET have released the the title track of their upcoming album, "Dominion". The LP is due on January 14 via Atlantic.

"Dominion", produced by Kevin Churko (PAPA ROACH, DISTURBED, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) with songs written by John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Kevin Churko and Kane Churko, was created 100% remotely between the band's tour dates, home studio in Wisconsin, and the Churkos' studio in Las Vegas.

"'Dominion' is about the celebration of freedom, a liberation from fear — to be who we want to be, say what we want to say, believe what we want to believe," SKILLET frontman John Cooper says. "In some ways, it's a reminder of the God-given rights that we were born with. It's time to regain some sort of control over our lives and not be a slave to fear. I hope this record is going to make people feel empowered, inspired, uplifted and want to rock their faces off."

"Dominion" track listing:

01. Surviving The Game

02. Standing In The Storm

03. Dominion

04. Valley Of Death

05. Beyond Incredible

06. Destiny

07. Refuge

08. Shout Your Freedom

09. Destroyer

10. Forever Or The End

11. Ignite

12. White Horse

SKILLET recently saw it RIAA certifications multiply yet again. Their latest milestones include the new triple-platinum status of their landmark album "Awake", with three of its hit tracks also accumulating more certs as "Awake & Alive" goes double-platinum, "Hero" triple-platinum, and "Monster", already one of the most-streamed rock songs in history with over four billion global audio streams, hits quadruple platinum status.

By 2019, SKILLET not only garnered a pair of Grammy nods and sold over 12 million albums worldwide, but they also took home a Billboard Music Award for the double-platinum "Awake". Its breakout single, "Monster", remains one of the most streamed rock songs of all time, with over three billion global audio streams.

2016's "Unleashed" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200. Hitting No. 1 on rock radio, the lead single, "Feel Invincible", cracked 643 million global audio streams and went platinum. Meanwhile, the gold-certified "Unleashed" became their fourth consecutive album to receive either a gold, platinum, or double-platinum status.

Their 2019 release, "Victorious", included the Top 10 rock radio hit "Legendary", which lived up to its name with over 108 million streams. To date, nine original tunes earned RIAA recognition in tandem with high-profile syncs by everyone from WWE and Marvel to ESPN and NFL.

Photo by Jimmy Fontaine

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash says that "there were a lot of different issues" that prevented Izzy Stradlin from being involved with the band's reunion tour.

While GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" trek features the "classic era" lineup of Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and singer Axl Rose — with the occasional guest appearance by drummer Steven Adler — Stradlin has not taken part in any shows on the tour, with unconfirmed reports claiming that he turned down a five-figure fee to play with GUNS N' ROSES at the April 2016 reunion shows.

Now, in a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, Slash has offered more information on the circumstances that led to Izzy's absence from the trek. When Classic Rock writer Paul Elliott asked Slash if Stradlin ever explained why he didn't want to be a part of it again, Slash said: "I haven't really talked to him since then. There were a lot of different issues that I'm not really going to get into. We wanted it to work out, but we couldn't seem to meet eye to eye on the whole thing. So it just never happened."

More than two years ago, McKagan told Classic Rock that he doesn't think Stradlin "ever wanted to" be part of the GN'R reunion. "We tried to make it work, but it just didn't," he explained. "And in a situation like this, you're really in it, man. You either get on it or you don't, because the train's moving forward. The good thing is, Slash really likes playing with Richard Fortus [GN'R guitarist since 2002], and Slash is somewhat picky about that kind of stuff. They get on great as far as a two-guitar player relationship goes."

He continued: "To be honest, I haven't taken a lot of time to go back on the Izzy thing because we just move forward, and things are so good. And as I've found out many times in my life, things are supposed to happen as they happen."

In 2018, Izzy blamed his non-involvement with the GUNS N' ROSES reunion tour on the fact that he and the other guys in the band were unable "to reach a happy middle ground through the negotiation process." He also previously claimed that he stepped away from the reunion because the band didn't want to "split the loot equally."

Rose told Brazil's Globo TV in a 2016 interview that wasn't optimistic about Stradlin rejoining his former bandmates. "I don't really know what to say about Izzy," Axl said. "It's like you could have a conversation and think it's one way and the next day it's another way. And I'm not trying to take any shots at Izzy. It's just his thing is kind of his thing, whatever that is."

Stradlin, whose real name is Jeffrey Isbell, was born and grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, where he was high school friends and bandmates with singer William Bailey — later known as Axl Rose.

His first and only post-GUNS band, IZZY STRADLIN & THE JU JU HOUNDS, broke up in 1993 after recording one LP. He has since released 10 more solo albums between 1998 and 2

“Dødsfærd” (death's journey) is the first single and video from the forthcoming sixth album by Viking melodic death metal band Vanir. The song takes its inspiration from the Words of Hávi (the High One) as a reminder that all our actions echo in death for our legacies to be judged by. Cattle die, Kinsmen die, even you must die, I know one thing that never dies: the judgment of each death.  


“Dødsfærd” is the first track to be released from Vanir's upcoming album Sagas, due March 11th via Mighty Music. The digital single is available here. The video can be seen below.







From the sagas of old, to the halls of Valhalla, and across bloody battlefields, Danish warriors Vanir are back and have put together, without compromise, an epic new album, showcasing a fascination with our common origins, and the blood spilled throughout history.


Written and recorded during the pandemic, mixed and mastered by Rune Stiassny (Iron Fire, Saturnus), Sagas is mostly themed around Nordic mythology, but also has a song dedicated to one of the most important fantasy writers in history - J.R.R. Tolkien - who was himself greatly inspired by Nordic mythology and Denmark. On the other hand, a song such as “Black Clad” is a double-edge sword; written as a tribute to the Norse god Brage, but also as a tribute to the fans of metal.





The fans that support the scene and who will be the backbone of the live shows in the post-pandemic world. Martin Rubini, Vanir’s vocalist, comments: “During the pandemic, the world of music was turned upside down. This album has been our anchor in the creative part of our lives, in a period where all our shows were cancelled and we still needed to be creative and do what we enjoy, playing metal. With Sagas, we continue the route we laid out with Aldar Rök and Allfather and the vision we have for Vanir.”


Such is the Vanir approach to themes in 2021 / 2022: melodic and fierce soundscapes, with lyrical strings tied to mythology and heathen paganism, but not ending there. Sagas' artwork portrays this with a mixture of various Norse mythical imagery. It is inspired by the idea of fate and the Norns, which are here interpreted as a singular being, displaying various aspects of fate, while intertwined in its threads. It shows an elegant, feminine and strong imagery.


The artwork, which can be seen below, was done by bassist Lars Bundvad. “For this album, I didn’t write any music,” he explains. “Having been sidelined due to the pandemic - my immune system is not terribly robust - I wanted to go the extra mile and push myself for the artwork. The Norn portraits a strong feminine character and a sage who holds both wisdom and power. And I’m very happy with the result”.


Sagas will be released on CD, LP (two different colours, each limited to 300 units) and digital formats via Mighty Music on March 11th, 2022.





(Photo by Tine Hviid Roger)


 

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers VIO-LENCE have returned with "Flesh From Bone", their first song in 29 years. The track comes from their upcoming EP, "Let The World Burn", their first original release since 1993's "Nothing To Gain". The five-song collection will be available worldwide on March 4 via Metal Blade Records.

"This is the first VIO-LENCE song I had written in close to 30 years," admits founding guitarist Phil Demmel. "I wanted to keep some of those early 'Eternal Nightmare' [debut album, 1988] qualities intact but infuse a lot of what I've culled into my songwriting arsenal over the decades. 'Flesh From Bone' has the frenetic picking/fingering riffs and the solo trade-offs that are pretty old-school, and I'm also wearing my influences on my sleeve with a few EXODUS- and SLAYER-inspired riffs.”

Frontman Sean Killian adds: "'Flesh From Bone' reflects on the true suffering of man during the dark ages of history. Laws and rules of people like Vlad The Impaler were not to be broken. If you did, your sentence would be impalement, or worse. To die in battle was to suffer."

Killian continues: "For 34 years, a creation called 'Eternal Nightmare' has been making memories for people around the world. Now, it is time to create some new memories in 2022. I am very proud of the new music we created, and we are fortunate to have worked with some very creative people. Nothing too polished here, unless fragments of glass and broken razor blades are what you consider polished. I love to create, and we hope your heads explode when you hear the new VIO-LENCE."

Filling out the band's ranks on "Let The World Burn" alongside Demmel and Killian are original drummer Perry Strickland, former OVERKILL guitarist Bobby Gustafson and former FEAR FACTORY bassist Christian Olde Wolbers.

"Let The World Burn" was recorded with Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios (TESTAMENT, MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS), with mixing handled by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MESHUGGAH) and Grammy Award-winning engineer Ted Jensen (ALICE IN CHAINS, DEFTONES, PANTERA).

"Let The World Burn" track listing

01. Flesh From Bone

02. Screaming Always

03. Upon Their Cross

04. Gato Negro

05. Let the World Burn

In a recent interview with Mark Kadzielawa of 69 Faces Of Rock, Demmel stated about "Let The World Burn": "We had decided to write [some new material]. I didn't wanna do a full-length record. Ten tunes is just… I've got a baby at home. I've got a five-year-old who's just the highest of energies and exhausting. So my time is very valuable and I just don't have the time to write a full-length record. I just felt, let's take little baby steps with the band and see if we can write a couple of tunes — maybe do three or four. It ended up being a five-song EP."

Regarding the songwriting process for "Let The World Burn", Demmel said: "Man, in the 16 years that I was in [MACHINE HEAD], it had thrash moments, but towards the end, there wasn't. And I had written thrash songs. I always have riffs, but it was exciting to… Fuck, [I'm writing an] all-out thrash song. I wanted to capture some moments of 'Eternal Nightmare' [VIO-LENCE's 1988 debut album], and there are some signature VIO-LENCE sounds that I wanted to perpetuate and continue. But also, since I've been playing thrash for a bit too, my right hand has gotten a lot stronger. I'm playing the best that I've ever played. And so I'm pushing the riffs. These aren't songs that you're picking up at Guitar Center and just playing in Guitar Center; they're pretty hard to play. I wanted to push everybody in that sense."

He continued: "I needed [Perry] to be able to accept this material in a language that I could speak with him. And I had to teach him how to understand my language. And it was hard. And it was grueling. It was me and him in a room… Mostly, this record musically was written… I wrote the music but with Perry for… 99 percent of it was just me and him in a room fucking hammering it out. So I'm super proud of him for what he played on the record. It's some of his best playing. It's definitely my best playing that's ever been recorded. Towards the end of my time in [MACHINE HEAD], I wasn't tracking rhythms, so it'd been a long time since I really tracked a metal record. I did a BPMD record and tracked those, but fuck, this is a thrash record, so tracking the rhythms was something refreshing and super cool to me. We did it with Juan Urteaga in his spot, and he's awesome to work with. I had a great time. It was just a great experience recording with Perry. And I kind of let Sean do his own thing 'cause he had his vocals down. Sean is just destroying it on these songs, man; his voice is so unique. And nobody sounds like him. It's sinister, man. 'Cause he had a real high register that he was singing in back in '88, and there's moments of that, really, now. But it's dark, man — he's singing dark. And I fucking love it. I love his lyrics. He's the favorite lyricist that I've ever worked with. He's smart and he's witty and he's colorful with what he does. I thoroughly enjoy his lyrics."

In August 2020, VIO-LENCE released a new digital single, "California Über Alles", a cover version of the DEAD KENNEDYS classic. The band also filmed a music video for the song with director Scott Kirkeeng.

VIO-LENCE released three studio albums between 1988 and 1993. The group reunited soon after Demmel left MACHINE HEAD in late 2018.

The band performed its first comeback concert in April 2019 at the Oakland Metro in Oakland, California and spent most of the ensuing months playing select shows in the U.S. and Europe.

Although MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE's classic incarnation and played on the band's debut album, "Eternal Nightmare", he wasn't approached about taking part in any of the comeback shows.

Killian underwent a successful liver transplant surgery in March 2018. The year before, Killian was diagnosed with stage four liver cirrhosis, which was caused in part by a genetic condition called hemochromatosis.

VIO-LENCE's last album, "Nothing To Gain", was recorded in August 1990, but wasn't released until 1993.

Photo credit: James Willard

Corey Taylor says that SLIPKNOT's new studio album will arrive this year. The follow-up to 2019's "We Are Not Your Kind" was recorded in 2021 with producer Joe Barresi, who has previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and CHEVELLE, among many others.

Over the weekend, the singer, who has kept busy with a variety of projects, including releasing a solo album and working on a movie called "Zombie Versus Ninja", tweeted: "Big Shit Coming, 2022 edition: ZvN updates, SK album, secret 'homecoming' plans, etc. Stay Tuned! 'Hold On To Your Butts'- Franklin D. Roosevelt".

Last November, SLIPKNOT released a new single called "The Chapeltown Rag". Taylor described the song to Knotfest.com as "a punisher," saying it documents what happens when the distortions of mass media circulate within the echo chambers of social media.

"It's classic SLIPKNOT," said Corey about the track, which is inspired by a Netflix documentary he watched about the Yorkshire Ripper serial killer who murdered multiple women in the West Yorkshire, United Kingdom suburb Chapeltown in the late 1970s. "And it's frenetic. But lyrically, it's coming from a point of talking about the various manipulations that can happen when social media meets media itself. And the different ways that these manipulations can try to pull us in different directions, in the fact that we're all becoming addicts to it, which is very, very dangerous."

"We Are Not Your Kind" was released in August 2019. The LP sold 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, the album made an impact worldwide with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Finland, as well as Top 5 debuts in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and New Zealand.

SLIPKNOT recently completed the "Knotfest Roadshow" tour, featuring support from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE. The 29-date run, produced by Live Nation, kicked off following the band's Knotfest Iowa hometown show in Des Moines in late September.




Big Shit Coming, 2022 edition: ZvN updates, SK album, secret ‘homecoming’ plans, etc. Stay Tuned!

“Hold On To Your Butts”- Franklin D. Roosevelt

— PANDEMIC! AT THE DISCO (@CoreyTaylorRock) January 8, 2022

Video footage of TOOL's final pre-tour rehearsal before the launch of the band's U.S. arena tour can be seen below.

The four-minute clip, which was originally shared via guitarist Adam Jones's Instagram account, features Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey playing the songs "The Patient" and "The Pot". Absent from the video is singer Maynard James Keenan.

TOOL's tour in support of 2019's "Fear Inoculum" will kick off tonight (Monday, January 10) at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.

On its most recent tour, TOOL had been playing two-and-a-half hour sets, with Keenan spending the entirety avoiding the spotlight, singing mostly from the shadows, on a set of risers at the back of the stage.

The setlist drew from all of TOOL's five albums, with 2019's "Fear Inoculum" and 2001's "Lateralus" getting around four songs each.

TOOL was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in January 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. TOOL was nominated for "7empest", a track from "Fear Inoculum".

TOOL already had three previous Grammy Awards under its belt: "Best Metal Performance" in 1997 and 2001 for "Ænima" and "Schism", respectively, and "Best Recording Package" in 2006 for "10,000 Days".

TOOL formed in 1990 and has released five studio albums thus far: "Undertow" (1993), "Ænima" (1996), "Lateralus" (2001), "10,000 Days" (2006) and "Fear Inoculum"; two EPs: "72826" (1991) and "Opiate" (1992); and the limited-edition boxset, "Salival" (2000). The band has won four Grammy Awards: Best Metal Performance (1998, "Ænima"), "Best Metal Performance" (2002, "Schism"), "Best Recording Package" (2007, "10,000 Days") and "Best Metal Performance" (2020, "7empest").

"Fear Inoculum" arrived in August of 2019, following years of anticipation. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200, shattering sales and radio records while also earning widespread critical praise.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

JUDAS PRIEST will perform as a four-piece on its upcoming tour as the band's former touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the British heavy metal legends' 2018 album "Firepower", plans to focus on production work.

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

Earlier today, PRIEST issued the following statement: "Hello maniacs! We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring… celebrating 50 years of JUDAS PRIEST as an an even more powerful, relentless four piece heavy metal band - with Glenn coming out on stage with us here and there as before. Big thanks to Andy for all you’ve done and continuing to be in the production team for our new album… See you all soon headbangers!"

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Singer Rob Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

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

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

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

In a recent interview with Metal Edge magazine's "Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley", Downing spoke about the fact that PRIEST didn't approach him to rejoin the band when Tipton announced he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". "I was shocked and stunned when they didn't give me a call, because I was sitting there waiting for an opportunity," K.K. said. "Okay, they got Richie in [to replace me in 2011] — they wanted him — but at some point, I felt that there would be an opportunity, whenever that may be. So when Glenn handed the guitar over to Andy, I was in disbelief. I consider Andy a friend — I'd been to his studio and worked up there, and we talk. And he will admit himself — even in his own band HELL, he wasn't a lead guitar in that band 'cause Kevin [Bower] was the lead guitar player. So I thought that was extremely odd because it has changed the course of history for the band, really. But I kept asking them, 'Are you sure the door [is closed]?' Because Andy always said that he would step down any time for me to [go] back [to the band], and he said in the press that he would do it as long as they asked him to do it. And they've since said that Andy is just their touring guitarist, so they only have one guitarist, it seems to me. But anyway, [it was] not to be. They set their lawyers on me and didn't want any part of me, so I just [decided to] move on."

Downing left PRIEST amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.

In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

In his 2018 autobiography "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", Downing wrote that he told Tipton and PRIEST manager Jayne Andrews that he had "hated" them both "since 1985." Last year, he explained his outburst to Classic Rock magazine. "I was angry," he said. "Glenn had formed a relationship with Jayne from day one, and it felt a bit like a John-and-Yoko situation. I didn't like that."

Last summer, Downing spoke to Sonic Dorms how the two-guitarist formation in JUDAS PRIEST came about. "The two-guitar-player thing generally came across as quite kind of commercial and kind of a bit lightweight with the harmonies," Downing explained. "And I say that in the nicest possible way, because WISHBONE ASH was a great — not a favorite band of mine at the time. I was probably listening to the GRATEFUL DEAD and the JAMES GANG and different guys. [There were] lots of dual guitar players in the States, [but] not so much in the U.K. I always thought there was an option to do a heavy version of a two-guitar band, so I wanted to research that. And that's what we did, with myself and Glenn."

Last November, JUDAS PRIEST announced the rescheduled "50 Heavy Metal Years" North American tour dates for March-April 2022. Support on the trek will come from QUEENSRŸCHE

In a new interview with Loudwire, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked whether there are any plans for him to work on a new solo album to follow up 2005's "Tyranny Of Souls". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I am obviously coming over to [America to] do the one-man [spoken-word] show [beginning in late January]. When I get to the end of the one-man show thing at the end of March, then the idea is I've got about three weeks cooling my heels somewhere. I'll lie down in a darkened room for a couple of days and recover from the tour and then put my singing head on and go and have a chat with [longtime collaborator] Roy ['Z' Ramirez]. 'Cause we've already got a bunch of material, but we need to organize it a little bit. We have demos and everything, but we need to organize it a bit more properly and be a bit more serious about it — maybe write a few more tunes. And then basically leave it down to Roy. [Once] we've got what we wanna do, he can go off and start doing backing tracks and things like that. Obviously, I'm gonna be going out on tour with MAIDEN [later in the year], but we made 'Tyranny Of Souls' that way. 'Tyranny Of Souls' was done not exactly remotely — well, kind of remotely in that I wasn't physically present when some of the backing tracks were done but he sent me the backtracks and I listened to them and went, 'These are cool.' And some of them I wrote the words to the backtracks, and the tunes and everything. And some of them we had already done. So mixing and matching like that sometimes gets great results."

Back in December 2017, Dickinson said that his next solo LP would likely include a reworked version of "If Eternity Should Fail", the opening track on IRON MAIDEN's 2015 disc "The Book Of Souls". At the time, he said that he had about "half" of his seventh record already written and he also confirmed that "If Eternity Should Fail" was originally penned as a Dickinson solo track.

He told Finland's Kaaos TV that the original plan was for his next solo record to be "a whole concept album, which was gonna be called 'If Eternity Should Fail'. And 'If Eternity Should Fail' was the title track to my new solo album," he said. "And a bit like [Dickinson's 1989 solo song] 'Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter' [laughs], it got commandeered for IRON MAIDEN. So if I did do another solo album, which I think I will, I might just stick to my original plan and have that as the title track. I mean, I did write it — it was the first track that I wrote for it. So, yeah, I'd probably still include that song. But it would be… the feel would be slightly different — not very much, though — from the MAIDEN version."

In 2015, Dickinson told France's Hard Force magazine that "If Eternity Should Fail" ended up being used by IRON MAIDEN after bassist Steve Harris heard the demos that Bruce was working on for what was supposed to be his next solo album. "And [Steve] went, 'That's a really cool song. Can we use that? That's gonna be the opening song on the album,'" he recalled. "And I went, 'Yeah, okay.' And he was already writing, I think… He was already thinking of 'The Book Of Souls' as being the title, so he told me about the Mayan thing. And I'm, like, 'Yeah, that's cool. Okay. Yeah, I see where you're going.' But in my case, that song was written as part of a story. So the spoken word at the end is the beginning of a story that goes through the whole album. And one of the characters is Dr. Necropolis; he's the bad guy. And the good guy is Professor Lazarus; he raises people from the dead. So that introduces Necropolis in the spoken-word thing. And I asked Steve… I said, 'Look. Okay. I get having the song…' 'Cause it opens up with, 'Here is the soul of a man.' 'Yup. Get that. But what about the end?' I said, 'Will people understand what this is about? Because this is nothing to do with the Mayans or anything. This is to do with… I'd come up with a concept album that doesn't happen.' [Laughs] And he [went], 'No, no, no. It's just talking about souls and everything, and it sounds great.' I went, 'Okay.' [Laughs]"

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith. Since then, Dickinson has only released one more solo album (the aforementioned "Tyranny Of Souls") but has previously said that his solo career is not over.

In a new interview with Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf, former ICED EARTH and current ASHES OF ARES singer Matt Barlow said that we must try to get along better, regardless of political, religious or socioeconomic differences. "We're very divided as human beings right now," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And it's somewhat disturbing. Well, actually, it's very disturbing — it's very disturbing that people profit off of it. That's probably, to me, the more disturbing thing, is the idea 'if it bleeds, it reads' [sic], that old [expression] from the media, we see that every single day, man — every day — and it's horrifying; it's really horrifying to me."

He continued: "[We have to be] open to the other side. That's kind of the point of it. We all don't have to agree on everything. Let's agree on that. Let's agree that we don't have to agree, and be honest about it and be true about it. Because the thing is I can't know what your life experience is; I can't know what background you come from or really anything about that… So we have to find common ground as humans for each other and understand that just because I feel a particular way, it's okay that I feel that way. I don't feel that way because I'm slighting you; I feel that way because this is my experience. And much in the same way I have to understand that, hey, I don't know what your background is, I don't know what anybody's particular life is about. So I have to be less judgmental, and I have to understand that I have to be. And everybody needs to be that way — everybody needs to be a lot less judgmental of everybody else's position, man, because otherwise we're doomed. That's all there is to it."

ASHES OF ARES, which also features former ICED EARTH member Freddie Vidales, will release its third studio album, "Emperors And Fools", on January 21 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels. The LP ends with the eleven-minute-long epic "Monster's Lament" which includes the long-imagined joining of forces between Barlow and another former ICED EARTH singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens.

"Emperors And Fools" was produced by ASHES OF ARES, and mixed and mastered by Byron Filson at Villain Recording in Phoenix, Arizona. The cover artwork was created by Kamil Pietruczynik.

A little over a year ago, Barlow reunited with ICED EARTH founder, songwriter, guitarist and producer Jon Schaffer to celebrate the holiday season with an EP called "Winter Nights". Released under the SCHAFFER/BARLOW PROJECT banner, the effort contained the duo's unique spin on five Christmas classics and two ICED EARTH songs.

Last April, Schaffer pleaded guilty to his role in the January 6, 2021 U.S. 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.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows has confirmed to Metal Hammer that the band will complete the recording of its eighth studio album next month. "In January, we're going in to finish the strings on the record," he said. "The record's been recorded for a year, but we haven't been able to put the real strings on it, because we couldn't fly out to Prague. When an orchestra have to social distance and they aren't sitting next to each other, they can get out of tune, and we have just finally got to a place where we can use this 70-piece orchestra as we intended. We finish the record in February, mix it in March."

Regarding the musical direction of the follow-up to 2016's "The Stage", M. Shadows said: "There are so many influences… We're very influenced by Kanye West. The thing about Kanye is that he is pulling from such great soul music. I didn't grow up with that stuff — my dad listened to BOSTON and Alice Cooper [and] I didn't get that taste of black music and old soul. So, diving deep into jazz musicians… We're not trying to do a jazz record, but the chord changes and progressions are so eye-opening to us."

Back in February 2021, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told Detroit's WRIF radio station that he and his bandmates had done "lots and lots of writing — at a lot slower pacer than usual" — during the coronavirus pandemic. "Now that we are a little bit older, we move around a little bit slower, but [we've done] tons of writing," he said. "We've gone to the studio. It was kind of a weird time to do anything in 2020, but that's when we felt like it was a good time to go out there and start tracking all the stuff that we had in us.

"But, like I said, we're doing it at a slow pace, so we're still in the process of recording," he explained. "We're taking it really, really slow, making sure everything is the way we like it. We're not in a big rush to get anything out, mainly 'cause we wanna get on the road, and we wanna be able to bring it to life. We wanna tour, we wanna travel, we wanna play songs that people wanna hear; we wanna expose them to some new stuff. 'Cause I just feel like rushing to put something out right now and letting it dissipate because of the void, while people are worried about where their next meal is coming from or the paycheck, the last thing in the world on people's minds is, 'AVENGED SEVENFOLD's gonna put out a new album, and that's gonna be the saving grace for us all.' And I feel like we'll take it slow, let the world get a little bit back to normal, and when people are ready, we'll know — we have a good sense of that. We'll slowly finish it up, and then unleash it when the world's ready."

In December 2021, M. Shadows told Kerrang! magazine about the musical direction of the new AVENGED material: "The [new] record sounds nothing like 'The Stage' — it's a completely new direction, and it sounds nothing like anything we've done. That's all I'll say about it: it's over the top, and it's very eclectic and wild."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD kept a low profile during 2019. A blood blister on M. Shadows's vocal cords forced the band to cancel a summer 2018 tour with PROPHETS OF RAGE and THREE DAYS GRACE.

"The Stage" was surprise-released in October 2016. The release of the disc, which was announced the night it went on sale, earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in 11 years. It sold 76 thousand copies in its first week, 73 thousand of which were physical.

"The Stage", AVENGED's debut for Capitol, sold less than half as many copies in its first week as the group's two previous efforts, 2010's "Nightmare" and 2013's "Hail To The King".

AVENGED SEVENFOLD recently announced the Deathbats Club, a new level of connecting with fans based around non-fungible tokens, or NFTs — digital assets (free tickets for life, free meet-amd-greets for life, airdrops over the course of each year, drum lessons, guitar lessons, golf lessons, giveaways, skip the lines at shows, poker nights, movie nights, etc.) that can't be replicated. After an initial drop of 101 free NFTs to whet fans' appetites, they released 10,000 at the end of November via avengedsevenfold.io, with everyone who buys one becoming part of the commun

Volbeat have released a lyric video for "The Scared Stones", featured on their new album, Servant Of The Mind, out now via EMI Records. Watch the clip below:





Servant Of The Mind is available in standard/digipack CD, deluxe 2LP vinyl (with various limited-edition variants, more info below), a deluxe digital edition, plus a special box set (including 2CD digipack, 28pg booklet, bandana, and hip flask, housed in a metal box, available from the official Volbeat store). Order the album here.







Tracklisting:


"Temple Of Ekur"
"Wait A Minute My Girl"
"The Sacred Stones"
"Shotgun Blues"
"The Devil Rages On"
"Say No More"
"Heaven’s Descent"
"Dagen Før" (feat. Stine Bramsen)
"The Passenger"
"Step Into Light"
"Becoming"
"Mindlock"
"Lasse’s Birgitta"
 
Deluxe 2 CD/2 LP and Digital Deluxe bonus tracks:


"Return To None" (Wolfbrigade cover)
"Domino" (The Cramps/Roy Orbison cover)
"Shotgun Blues" (feat. Dave Matrise from Jungle Rot)
"Dagen Før" (Michael Vox Version)


"Temple Of Ekur" lyric video:





"Shotgun Blues" video:





"Becoming" lyric video:





"Shotgun Blues” lyric video:





"Wait A Minute My Girl" video:





"Dagen Før" lyric video:





Volbeat have announced a special, intimate show in London ahead of their June 2022 Download Festival performance, where they play directly underneath headliners Biffy Clyro and Korn on Sunday's main stage.


The one-off London date will take place at the 800-capacity O2 Academy Islington venue on May 21, a giant underplay for the band who have previously sold out the 48,250 capacity Telia Parken stadium back home in Denmark.

Respected Danish hard rock singer/songwriter, Ronnie Atkins of Pretty Maids, has released a video for his new song, "Rising Tide", featured on his upcoming studio album, Make It Count, out March 18. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Make It Count on CD/LP/Digital here.


The electrifying melodic hard rock masterpiece Make It Count will be released almost one year to the day after the release of Atkins' last solo album, the critically acclaimed One Shot. Rather than hyperbole from the record label, we'll let Ronnie tell the story of Make It Count in his own words....


"Me and my great team of musicians followed exactly the same procedure as we did with One Shot, since I still feel a bit like I am racing against time because of my diagnosis. So, I basically sent my songs to Chris [Laney, producer], who would then work on a demo. When we were satisfied with the arrangements, I would then record the vocals and then the individual musicians laid down their tracks. I already had quite a few ideas from when One Shot was released back in March 2021 and continued writing on and off through the spring and summer of 2021. The album was then recorded between April and October 2021," explains Atkins.




"Let me also state that I felt pretty good during the whole process, at least physically. And this time, I had the chance to actually meet with some of the musicians in-person because the Covid-19 restrictions were not as tough as they were back in 2020 when we recorded the last album," adds Atkins.


As for the music, Ronnie says, "Once again it was quite an easy going process!! Some of the songs were written on piano and some of them on guitar. I write the way I write, which means that the melodies and toplines are the first priority. If I feel I got a good song with the right chord structure and a strong melody that sticks in my head, then I know I’m on to something good and from there it can only get better. And that’s when I send it on to Chris Laney, who then listens to it with a new set of ears and comes back with his input about the arrangement and additional little bits and pieces. As said, it is an easy going process since we’re on the same page and that’s a great way of collaborating. Style wise, it’s basically just melodic pop/rock songs, so to speak, that we turn into something suitable for those who followed me all those years. To me, a good song is a good song and then it’s a matter of how you wrap it up."


He continues, "Finally, the great thing about doing this is that I don’t have to argue with anyone whether it’s too pop or too lightweight, etc. I do what I do, 'cause that’s what I like and I’m my own boss for these solo albums and therefore, also the only one to take responsibility if it doesn’t live up to people's expectations. But, this is what I wanna do at this stage of my life and I think I’m convinced that “Make It Count“ is a great melodic rock album and I hope the fans won’t be disappointed."


As to the lyrical themes on the album, Ronnie says, "The lyrics are always the hardest part of an album from my perspective!! It’s way easier for me to write a song than a lyric, to be honest. But of course it varies. Sometimes you already have the title and the topic when you’re writing the song and at other times you’re just out of ideas. This time, it was tough at times since my health issues are somehow in my subconsciousness 24/7. No matter what I do, I’m being confronted with it everyday one way or the other. So, some of the songs are touching on this issue of course, can’t help it. That said, I’m also trying to give it a positive twist, meaning that we just have to get the best out of life and love the one we’re with while we’re here. It’s just impossible to write about sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll or whatever living with a life threatening disease and a dagger hangin' above your head!!! Or it is for me, at least! So, bottom line, I guess the lyrical content on this album is partly about the aforementioned topics, the climate, and in general, topics that make sense to everyone without being political."


Since the start of his rock 'n roll journey with Pretty Maids, Ronnie Atkins has consistently gifted fans with quality, melodic rock and Make It Count delivers again in spades.





Tracklisting:


"I've Hurt Myself (By Hurting You)"
"Unsung Heroes"
"Rising Tide"
"Remain To Remind Me"
"The Tracks We Leave Behind"
"All I Ask Of You"
"Grace"
"Let Love Lead The Way"
"Blood Cries Out"
"Easier To Leave (Than Being Left Behind)"
"Fallen"
"Make It Count"


"Rising Tide" video:





"Unsung Heroes" video:





Lineup:


Ronnie Atkins: Lead and backing vocals
Chris Laney: Rhythm & Lead guitar, keyboards
Allan Sørensen: Drums
Pontus Egberg: Bass
Morten Sandager: Keyboards
Linnéa Vikström Egg: Backing vocals
John Berg: Guitars
Oliver Hartmann: Guitars
Pontus Norgren: Guitars
Anders Ringman: Acoustic guitars


(Photo - Tallee Savage)

Cyhra guitarist Euge Valovirta has shared some new music along with the following message:


"Happy 2022 everyone! Let's start the year with a brand new song called 'The Boogie Boy' by yours truly. Available now on all major digital platforms.


I’ve been publishing videos on my YouTube channel quite often for the past two years since we haven’t been able to tour with Cyhra for the obvious reasons. Most of my videos starts with an intro song written specifically for that video about a certain amp, effect pedal etc. and 'The Boogie Boy' started as one of those. 




The title comes from the amps I used on the song; my Mesa/Boogie Mark V and my old Marshall JCM800 2203 (The Bad Boy). It’s also a reference to John Sykes, one of my all time favourite guitarists, since he was/is also known to use Boogie & Marshall amps and blend them (in the studio), like I did with this one, to get that pretty huge tone. 


I’ve been asked quite many times that are those intro songs available anywhere and ten of them are on my second solo album ‘Shooting From The Hip’ (2020). But I’ve written so many songs after the release of that album so I just thought that I’ll start to put them out every once in a while which someday will lead to the release of my third solo album. And some of the songs will appear on the next Cyhra album which we’ll start to record in early 2022."


"The Boogie Boy" is available here.

Guitarist Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth) has confirmed the release of early recordings from his old band Damn The Machine. Titled Day One, the compilation is available on CD and LP. Damn The Machine was founded by Poland and David Judson Clemmons in 1991 and released a self-titled album in 1993 before disbanding shortly after.





Poland says, “The tracks on Day One are the incredibly preserved and remastered 8-track demos, recorded in 1991 and 1992. All 12 Tracks, with light variations, raw and personal, David Judson Clemmons guitar left, Chris Poland guitar right. An example of the band in its purest form, before signing to A&M Records.”




Order at damnthemachine.com.

On March 11, rock icons KISS will release the next installment of their "Off The Soundboard" official live bootleg series with "Off The Soundboard: Live In Virginia Beach", recorded live at the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre on July 25, 2004. This is the second in a series of live releases by the band and will be available to stream and download, with a three-LP standard black vinyl set, a two-CD set, and a limited edition three-LP set pressed on 180-gram opaque green vinyl, all available exclusively through the official KISS online store.

"Off The Soundboard: Live In Virginia Beach" finds the legendary band in the midst of their "Rock The Nation" tour, which is notable for being the first full U.S. tour of the longstanding Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer lineup. The career-spanning 20-song set includes classic KISS tracks such as "Lick It Up", "I Love It Loud" and the worldwide smash and No. 11 1979 U.S. Billboard-charting "I Was Made For Lovin' You", as well as perennial KISS fan favorites "Makin' Love", "King Of The Night Time World" and "100,000 Years" that dig deep into the band's astonishing 40-plus-year back catalog.

KISS is globally recognized as one of the greatest live bands of all time and are the creators of what is universally considered the best live album ever, 1975's gold-certified and No. 9 Billboard-charting "Alive!" The "Off The Soundboard" series continues KISS's storied legacy of groundbreaking live albums with a document of the spectacular, larger-than-life extravaganza that is a KISS concert.

Known for their trademark performances, KISS has proven for decades why they are hands down the most iconic live show in rock n roll. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and are America's No. 1 gold record award-winning group of all time in every category. Peerless as a live act, the band's illustrious legacy has been marked by record-breaking global tours during a remarkable 48-year career.

"Off The Soundboard: Live In Virginia Beach" track listing:

2CD

Disc 1

01. Love Gun

02. Deuce

03. Makin' Love

04. Lick It Up

05. Christine Sixteen

06. Tears Are Falling

07. She

08. Got To Choose

09. I Love It Loud

10. I Want You

Disc 2

01. Psycho Circus

02. King Of The Night Time World

03. War Machine

04. 100,000 Years

05. Unholy

06. Shout It Out Loud

07. I Was Made For Lovin' You

08. Detroit Rock City

09. God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II

10. Rock and Roll All Nite

3LP

Disc 1

01. Love Gun (Side A)

02. Deuce (Side A)

03. Makin' Love (Side A)

04. Lick It Up (Side A)

05. Christine Sixteen (Side B)

06. Tears Are Falling (Side B)

07. She (Side B)

08. Got To Choose (Side B)

Disc 2

01. I Love It Loud (Side A)

02. I Want You (Side A)

03. Psycho Circus (Side A)

04. King Of The Night Time World (Side B)

05. War Machine (Side B)

06. 100, 000 Years (Side B)

Disc 3

01. Unholy (Side A)

02. Shout It Out Loud (Side A)

03. I Was Made For Lovin' You (Side A)

04. Detroit Rock City (Side A)

05. God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II (Side B)

06. Rock And Roll All Nite (Side B)

The clip below features Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen performing rhe ReVamp song "Sweet Curse" with singer Henk Poort at her solo show at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands on September 1st, 2021.


Floor: "The ReVamp track that originally features Russell Allen from Symphony X on vocals! Now this ReVamp classic performed with Henk Poort live at AFAS Live together with the Marcel Fisser Band. We're starting to get deeper and deeper into the live show in Amsterdam."







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"

With six weeks since the physical release of their latest project, Lordiversity, and only a mere three weeks since their latest single, "Demon Supreme", Lordi is now back with another single, this time… in a different style, one might say.


The new single, "Day Off Of The Devil", finds its influences in '70s hard rock. With the roots found in the early works of legends such as KISS and Alice Cooper, Lordi doesn’t simply reproduce - but rather take it and make it their own, not to say the least with the unique voice that sets Lordi aside from the rest.







Lordi is also releasing another album from Lordiversity digitally, Humanimals. Set in 1989, the album takes us back in time to an era that was dominated by a mindset "The bigger the hair, the better" and "The bigger the choruses, the better." This AOR / hair metal inspired album will most definitely make you wanna break out those spandex pants you know you have hidden in your closet. Admit it. You do.





Order Lordiversity here.


"Demon Supreme"

Guitar-shredding virtuoso George Lynch has reteamed with former DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson for a set of new studio recordings that turn pop music classics into powerful metal anthems. The follow-up to 2020's "Heavy Hitters", tentatively titled "Heavy Hitters 2", will be released later in the year via Deadline Music, a subsidiary of Cleopatra Records, Inc.

In a new interview with Tone-Talk, Lynch confirmed that "Heavy Hitters 2" will contain 11 songs, including a cover of Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" and "an original Christmas song."

Pilson told Tone-Talk about the upcoming effort: "It's us doing covers, which is really fun. We kind of get to experiment a little bit. So we're doing another one of those. And I don't know when it'll come out. But it'll probably be done in the next couple of months."

Regarding how far into the recording process they are at the moment, Pilson said: "We just did the seventh song. But we're only doing musical beds right now. We haven't done vocals. And there's only a few bass tracks. Brian Tichy is gonna add the drums when we're done with the 11 songs. So we're seven songs in with musical beds, if that makes sense."

As for how they approach the material that they are covering, George quipped: "Basically, what we did is we took stupid songs that guys like THE ROLLING STONES and CROSBY, STILLS & NASH and guys like that, but we fixed them. Now we did them right, like they should have been done originally."

"Heavy Hitters" featured guest appearances by BULLETBOYS' Marq Torien, FISHBONE's Angelo Moore, EARSHOT's Wil Martin and the aforementioned Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE). The effort contained Lynch and Pilson's renditions of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "You Got The Love", Carole King's "I Feel The Earth", DURAN DURAN's "Ordinary World", Madonna's "Music", ONEREPUBLIC and Timbaland's "Apologize", Martha Reeves and THE VANDELLAS' "Nowhere To Run", Prince's "Kiss", R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and OASIS's "Champagne Supernova", among others.

A litte over a year ago, George and Jeff's former bandmate in DOKKEN Don Dokken criticized "Heavy Hitters" during an appearance on "The Classic Metal Show". After co-host Chris Akin named some of the songs which were reimagined by Pilson and Lynch, Don said: "But those are not heavy hitters. No offense, they are good songs, but those are vanilla tunes. [Sings 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)'] Did they rock 'em up or put some shredding guitar solos [in them]?

"They must be really bored," Dokken continued. "But, you know, everybody's got their mantra; everybody's got their financial things, I guess. If a record company is willing to give you money to put out pablum, then put out the pablum. But I hope my standards as a songwriter are a little higher than that. If I'm gonna do a remake, I'm gonna do something that was super cool, like 'Paint It Black' by THE [ROLLING] STONES or 'Revolution' by THE BEATLES or something that's awesome and do something like that. I'm not gonna do Carole King."

A few weeks later, Pilson responded to Dokken's comments during an interview with the "Rock 'N' Roll Icons With Bode James" podcast. He said: "First, let me give Don his due here. I'm sure he didn't hear it, and honestly, I'm not really concerned if he does or doesn't. But having not heard it, if I saw that list of tunes, I would say, yeah, there's some vanilla tunes in there. So that critique of his is true. The whole idea was to take tunes like that and make them cool, which I believe we did.

"I don't wanna go into Don's mind right now," he continued. "Yeah, I know him really well, and, yeah, I have an opinion of his modus operandi and what he's thinking. Let's put it this way: I wouldn't expect Don to say something nice about somebody he views as competition. I don't view him as competition. We're all musicians trying to do our thing. So I'm not gonna second-guess Don or try and get into his mind, 'cause I still love the guy — I really do. But he's always been like that; he will always critique things. That's his thing. That's fine. I wasn't so flattering of some of his DOKKEN records that he's done in the last [couple of decades]."

He added: "I still love Don, but I'm not doing this to please Don. [Laughs]"

Longstanding Brazilian death / thrash metal trio Claustrofobia has signed with Metal Assault Records for a two-album deal. Formed in 1994 by brothers Marcus and Caio D'Angelo, the band boasts a career spanning nearly three decades, a discography comprising six full-length albums and a DVD release, a multitude of international tours, high-profile live performances sharing stages with the likes of Iron Maiden, Slayer and Anthrax... and countless fans all over the world.


Now headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Claustrofobia has completed their seventh full-length studio album. Produced by Adair Daufembach and Claustrofobia, recorded, mixed and mastered by Adair Daufembach in August 2020 at Northwood Sound Studio in Los Angeles, Unleeched, will be released by Metal Assault Records on March 11, 2022 on digital and physical formats.


The album's second single, "Corrupted Self", featuring guitarist Marc Rizzo (Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy) has premiered, along with a lyric video, which can be seen below. 




"It was great working with Claustrofobia. I have been a big fan of this band for a long time. They are one of the best metal bands out there today and from Brazil," said  Marc Rizzo.





"It's an honor to have Marc as a guest on our album, he's a guitar master and spent many years playing alongside Brazilian metal icons. He knows very well how metal runs in our veins. We've known each other for a few years in Brazil when we played with Soulfly and we've kept in touch ever since. Our last show before the pandemic was with Soulfly in Las Vegas, and that day he offered to do a guest appearance and we were flattered by his attitude. Most brutal song on the record," said Claustrofobia vocalist / guitarist Marcus D'Angelo.


Unleeched artwork and tracklisting:





"Stronger Than Faith" 
"The Encrypted" 
"Neuro Massacre" 
"Psychosapiens" 
"Corrupted Self" - feat. Marc Rizzo 
"Unleeched" 
"Snake Head"
"Crawling Back To Yourself" 
"2020 (March To Glory)" 


"Neuro Massacre" video:





 

TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy has collaborated with TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy on a new song called "Behold Our Power". The track, which was released under Heafy's name via his YouTube channel, was apparently written as the theme song for the 2022 installment of Poland's Mystic Festival. The event, which is scheduled to take place in June, will be headlined by JUDAS PRIEST, OPETH and MERCYFUL FATE.

TRIVIUM's tenth album, "In The Court Of The Dragon", was released last October via longtime label Roadrunner Records. The record was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur and recorded in the fall of 2020 at Full Sail University in Orlando. The album cover is an original oil painting by French artist Mathieu Nozieres.

Last fall, TRIVIUM completed a U.S. tour with MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD and HATEBREED.

TESTAMENT's latest album, "Titans Of Creation", came out in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by Billy and guitarist Eric Peterson, while Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios handled co-producing, recording and engineering. Andy Sneap was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Eliran Kantor stepped up once again to create new artwork for the cover of this release.

In early 2020, TESTAMENT completed "The Bay Strikes Back" European tour with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.

The North American leg of "The Bay Strikes Back" tour was originally scheduled to kick off on October 6, 2021 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding on November 27, 2021 at The Fox in Oakland, California. The trek has since been rescheduled for April and May 2022.

Blacktop Mojo guitarist Chuck Wepfer has put together a playthrough video of how he plays "Do It For The Money", from his band's self-titled, fourth album. In the video below, Chuck is playing the song the way he plays it live, along to the album track. 





Order your copy of Blacktop Mojo at this location. Cover art and tracklisting are as follows:







"Wicked Woman"
"Bed Tundy"
"Latex"
"Rewind"
"Jealousy"
"Make Believe"
"Darlin' I Won't Tell"
"Do It For The Money"
"Hold Me Down"
"Cough"
"Stratus Melancholia"
"Tail Lights"











 

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current SIXX:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba says that he played all the rhythm guitars on MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Saints Of Los Angeles" album.

The 49-year-old musician and producer, who is credited as a songwriter on all but two of "Saints Of Los Angeles"'s 13 tracks, discussed the extent of his involvement with the record during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" earlier this week.

When host Eddie Trunk asked Ashba about the session work he has done over the years, including recordings he might have done as a "ghost" musician on albums hard rock and heavy metal fans might be familiar with, DJ responded "MÖTLEY," referencing "Saints Of Los Angeles", before adding (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET), "I played all the rhythms on it. But Mick [Mars, MÖTLEY guitarist] was awesome. Mick was actually in the hospital at the time."

Mars spoke about the "Saints Of Los Angeles" songwriting and recording process in a 2008 interview with Ultimate Guitar. At the time, he said: "Mostly what we did was, I would come in with some riffs and things like that. We would record them, I would record them on Pro Tools because everybody was kind of doing their thing, you know? Like Tommy [Lee, drums] and Vince [Neil, vocals] already had their schedules already pre-planned so we had to kind of plan around that because they had already committed to doing that before. Doing what they needed to do, that is. And so what we did was, Nikki [Sixx, bass] and I would record some things, put them down on Pro Tools, cut 'em up, splice 'em together, put 'em together, however you want to call it. And had Tommy and Vince do their parts when they had time to do it. And it worked out pretty well.

Asked if the process felt a little disjointed, Mars said: "I like more like live-off-the-floor kind of thing. But we didn't really have the choice but to do it this way this time, and I think it turned out really, really well."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's first studio album since 2000's "New Tattoo", "Saints Of Los Angeles" sold 99,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release to debut at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Saints Of Los Angeles" was loosely based on the band's memoir "The Dirt", which was published in 2001.

In June 2008, CRÜE performed the "Saints of Los Angeles" title track on CBS's "The Late Show With David Letterman".

Over the years, Mars has publicly discussed his battle with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful form of chronic arthritis that causes vertebrae in the spine to fuse together, but has always said that the condition had never kept him from touring with CRÜE.




Thanks to @DjASHBA for dropping by my Vegas studio today to talk rock on #TrunkNation . Replays tonight 10-Mid ET @siriusxmvolume 106 or anytime @SIRIUSXM app. pic.twitter.com/n4S8ZnLzhG

— Eddie Trunk (@EddieTrunk) January 5, 2022