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."

MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor has described the recent Astroworld concert tragedy as "a horrible situation."

Ten people, including a 9-year-old and two teenagers, died while many more were injured after a crowd surge during Travis Scott's performance at the Houston music festival. The rapper has since been critized for appearing to keep the show going despite pleas of help from the crowd. Although he paused a few times, many are saying this response was not enough. In the weeks the incident, dozens of lawsuits have been filed and a slew of questions remain unanswered about what went wrong.

Dailor addressed the deadly event in a recent interview with "The What" podcast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's kind of an anomaly. Fortunately, it's not something that happens a lot; it's pretty rare. So that aspect of it is… It's not like it's rampant: 'Oh my God. People are just being crushed at every show. There's people dying. Oh my God. This is insane. What's going on? And something needs to change.'

"I guess the writing was on the wall," he continued. "I haven't read super deep into what exactly went on. And I think that there's an investigation into what was happening there, so I don't know all the ins and outs of it. It's a horrible, horrible tragedy.

"I trust the people that come out to our shows to be mindful of each other. And I trust the security at the venues that we play. They're a little smaller than probably what that show, what was happening there at that festival. The festival seemed a little further out of control of what we can do.

"Our tour manager has a security meeting every show and they talk about what needs to go down and how we want things done. So it's a little more in our control when it's our show. When it's a festival, it's a little bit out of our control.

"I can see how easily it could happen," Brann added. "I remember myself, going to see… I was in the pit for RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE in 1993 at Lollapalooza, and a bunch of people's legs just kind of got locked. There was a bunch of people in front of me that were trying to get out of there because it just got real tight real fast and a whole bunch of people fell down and I was one of them. I remember my face just going right into the dirt and people were just stepping on my head. I'm, like, 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die in this pit. This is insane.' I finally pulled myself up out of there. Nobody helped me. It was really scary. So you can see how it can happen. It can happen like that in an instant. And then there's nothing anybody can do. What a horrible, horrible situation."

All ten victims' cause of death was listed as "compression asphyxia," according to documents from the Houston medical examiner's office. One victim had a contributing cause of "combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine, and ethanol." All deaths were ruled accidental.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Live Nation Entertainment, the concert promoter behind Astroworld, is now under investigation by a congressional panel.

Seattle heavy metal practitioners Dark Meditation will release their Polluted Temples full-length via Satanik Royalty Records January 28, today unveiling the record’s first single, artwork, and preorders.


Dark Meditation may hail from Seattle, but their sound is steeped in traditions associated with other corners of the globe — England’s working-class cities, frosty Scandinavian towns, Southern California meccas of the ‘80s. Or as the band puts it, Dark Meditation sounds like the bastard amalgamation of Venom and Judas Priest fighting it out on the Sunset Strip while Danzig and King Diamond cheer them on. While such reference points may suggest a nexus of evil kitsch and arena-level theatrics, the band’s debut album Polluted Temples comes from a place of down-and-out urgency and punk ethics, adopting the gloomy anthems and riff worship of heavy metal titans for their sonic exorcisms rather than their rock n’ roll panache. It’s an album that basks in big hooks, righteous guitar work, and an arena-level stomp without compromising any grit, grime, or guts.


Comments the band of first single, “Haunt Of Fear,” “‘Behold the Devil and He appears’… ‘Haunt Of Fear’ deals with the concept of creating a ‘devil’ or a problem you may fixate on to serve as an invented boogeyman, where fear governs your mindset and instills hatred or provides a scapegoat on why you can’t move forward with your life. Musically, it’s a thunderous foundation of first-wave black metal riffage, wailing pinch harmonics, and dueling guitar solos.”




Originally conceived by vocalist A.D. Vick, guitarist Rane, and guitarist/synth player Ian as a recording project intended to provide personal catharsis, Dark Meditation came to serve as a crucial artistic outlet for the entire five-piece band — a salve during trying times. Along with compatriots JW Mullett (bass), and Will Klintberg (drums), the founding trio poured four years of blood, sweat, and equity into Polluted Temples, though the inner-band relationships go back even further. The members of Dark Meditation all cut their teeth and crossed paths in various niches of the underground, churning out visceral and vitriolic bangers in acts like Emeralds (SEA), O.S.S., R.I.P., and Wildildlife. A punk ethos permeated their earlier acts, and while they may have excised some of that primitivism in their current project, the members of Dark Meditation have not skimped on the aural punishment and physical intensity.


Recorded over two weeks during Seattle’s record-breaking heatwave of June 2021 by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword, Soundgarden), Polluted Temples is the culmination of nearly half a decade’s worth of work. Not only does it represent a triumph over recent adversities, it serves as a negation of ingrained prejudices and social mores. “Most of our songs deal with personal consequences of our actions and how it effects the world around us,” Vick says of his lyrics. “But there is also the looming specter of evangelical Christianity that I was brought up in and trying to break away from the dogmatic concepts that were pushed upon me in childhood.”


These themes are displayed on songs like “Haunt Of Fear,” where Vick explores the idea of the devil as an invented boogeyman used to govern by fear and instill hatred in the populace while the band lays down a thunderous foundation of first-wave black metal riffage, wailing pinch harmonics, and dueling guitar solos. On a similar tip, the album’s title track—a perfect blend of melodic gloom and pounding force bolstered by synth-colored choruses and heroic guitars—uses the biblical metaphor of the body as a temple to examine how physical pleasure-seeking turns people inward and away from the rest of humanity. This kind of social commentary manifests in the relentless chug of “Babalon.Money.Magick,” where the increasing disparity between the haves and have-nots is reflected Seattle’s new construction and tent cities. And it pops up again in the mid-tempo death rock strut of “Desolation Days,” where manipulative institutions and power-hungry people are brought to task for valuing the dollar over human lives.


Ultimately, Dark Meditation’s true power lies in their razor-sharp musicianship, addictive songwriting, and fist-pumping instrumentation. It’s no small wonder that the band’s early demos warranted an official release by Austria’s boutique black metal label Doctrina Carnis before they’d even played their first live show. Polluted Temples marks a substantial progression in both performance and production, and with that evolution comes the requisite support of a strong stateside label.


Polluted Temples will be released on LP and digital formats. Preorder at the Satanik Royalty webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Horus Rising (Prelude)”
“Babalon.Money.Magick”
“Haunt Of Fear”
“Strange Caress (Of The Night)”
“Masters Coil”
“Desolation Days”
“The Howling Wild”
“Drink Of The Blade”
“Nocturnal Forever”
“Polluted Temples” 


“Haunt Of Fear” video:





(Photo by: Sarah Hammel)

In honor of the 40th anniversary of iconic thrash metallers Anthrax, Finland's Oceanhoarse have released a cover version of the band's classic, "Only". Coming along as a lyric video and in the unmistakable and groove-laden style of Oceanhoarse, this version should not only please die-hard fans. 


The band comments:


"James Hetfield once called 'Only' a perfect song. Well, we wholeheartedly agree! As huge fans of the John Bush-era Anthrax, we wanted to record our version of this 90’s classic, to celebrate Anthrax’s 40th anniversary. We stayed pretty loyal to the original, but did Hoarse-fy it just a bit to make it our own. Enjoy!"







 Oceanhoarse released their critically acclaimed full-length album Dead Reckoning on August 20th via Noble Demon. Anofficial lyric video for the new single "Fields Of Severed Dreams" is available below.





With former and current members of well-known acts like Amoral, Warmen and others, Oceanhoarse have delivered exactly the kind of debut studio album one would hope to get for from such experienced people - Dead Reckoning features 13 tracks, loaded with crushing riffs, vocal harmonies and high voltage arrangements and shows a band willing to explore things in their very own style, instead of sticking to any kind of average formular.


In support of the new album and to celebrate the release in glorious style, Oceanhoarse recently unleashed a brand new video clip for the melodic and groove-laden heavy metal anthem "From Hell To Oblivion".


The band comments: “‘From Hell To Oblivion’ represents Oceanhoarse at its most melodic, and it just might feature the biggest chorus on the album. The lyrics talk about false lighthouses, the inability to see warning signs in advance and how history keeps repeating itself, usually in pretty depressing ways.”


Oceanhoarse have amassed an impressive two million plus streams on Spotify alone, and all this before their first studio album has even been released. The band's previous single "One With the Gun" was released in late February, and has already hit the 100,000 stream mark.





Tracklisting:


"Headfirst"
"Locks"
"Betrayed By Light"
"One With The Gun"
"Reaching Skywards"
"Fields Of Severed Dreams"
"Submersed"
"The Intruder"
"Fight For Tomorrow"
"From Hell To Oblivion"
"REW"
"Dead Reckoning"
"The Damage"
"Fading Neons"


"From Hell To Oblivion":





"The Damage" lyric video:





"One With The Gun":





(Photo - Jony Karlsson)

Swedish hard rockers Dead Lord have announced the details for their upcoming EP release, Dystopia. A continuation and closing chapter for the band’s 2020 full-length LP, Surrender, the Dystopia EP starts off where that record ended, with the title track serving as a front bookend. 


The remainder of its tracklisting features a collection of cover versions from acts like D-A-D (“Sleeping My Day Away”), Winterhawk (“Ace In The Hole”), Moon Martin (“Hands Down”) and Rory Gallagher (“Moonchild”), before closing out with the Swedish version of “Letter From Allen St.”. The Dystopia EP, which features front cover artwork by Juan Machado, will see a March 11, 2022 release via Century Media Records.


Speaking on their new EP, Dead Lord guitarist and vocalist Hakim Krim finds the following words:




“Wax is the only thing that's eternal! We know this as well as do you. So at last, here's our latest single-gone-ep release, for you to enjoy. 6 tracks of something new, something old, something borrowed and something ice cold. A couple of unreleased tracks, homages to our fellow rockateers, if you will, along with some nuggets previously only digitally released, finally make their way to a face melting platter of rocking grooves. So even in the most dystopian of potential futures, where computers have long since lost to the nuclear storms, your record player will keep spinning. And rock will prevail!”


Preorder starts January 7, 2022 with the launch of a next single.





Tracklisting:


“Dystopia”
“Sleeping My Day Away”
“Ace In The Hole”
“Hands Down”
“Moonchild”
“I staden som aldrig slumrar till”


In addition to the release of their new EP, Dead Lord are also pleased to announce a next run of European live-shows for March 2022, supported by fellow Stockholmers The Riven.