Devin Townsend has checked in with the following update on his new album, The Puzzle / Snuggles:


"So, despite moving the release date back twice already we're still facing supply issues with some of the box set elements and with about half the Red Splatter exclusive vinyl on devintownsendshop.com that still haven't arrived. Any orders containing these items won't get shipped until they arrive, hopefully, next week latest.


Adding to the delays is the partial lockdown in The Netherlands where the main warehouse is based. It means that all the staff hired to help with packing up the thousands of orders were sent home and it's now operating with one (very stressed) man to do all the work on his own. The pallets with products going to the UK, USA, Finnish and Australian webshops are currently en-route, likely to arrive next week if customs decide to play it nice.




We decided to stick to the December 3rd release date though, so both The Puzzle and Snuggles are available tomorrow on all digital platforms worldwide for your listening pleasure.


We apologize for the ongoing hassle and appreciate your patience tremendously."





 The Puzzle / Snuggles, is available as a very limited (1000 copies worldwide) high-end box set made of thick cardboard containing several exclusive items:


- a 7” full colour HD screen that automatically starts playing The Puzzle / Snuggles Movie upon opening.


- the screen has a USB port for charging its internal battery or to swap its content manually.


- a custom The Puzzle USB Stick that contains: An interactive menu for navigating content, The Puzzle / Snuggles movie in 5.1 DTS, The Puzzle Documentary, The Puzzle in stereo WAV files, Digital Booklet, E-Book (PDF) Interactive Subtype Paperback Novel, the writing debut of Devin’s sister Merridith Townsend.


- a custom Snuggles USB Stick that contains: An interactive menu for navigating content, Snuggles in stereo WAV files, Digital Booklet, PDF of Making of the Artwork by Travis Smith and Devin Townsend.


- The Puzzle 96 page glossy graphic novel by Mark Leary & Devin Townsend.


- The Stick Men: 4 plastic figurines that play a leading part in the movie.


- a beanbag puppet of the Puddles caracter. Its soft tushy can act as a screen wipe. (he’s a total asswipe, basically).


- a Certificate of Authenticity signed and hand numbered by Devin





The tracklist is as follows:


The Puzzle
"Chromatic Ridge"
"Life Is But A Dream"
"Yucky Lung"
"Kittenhead"
"Shark In The Ice"
"Devil In The Details"
"Hammerhead Sugarplum"
"Me And The Moon"
"Anxiety in Pyjamas"
"The Yugas"
"Albert Hall"
"Star Chasm"
"Perfect Owl"
"Maybe Over The Void"
"Light Year Whale"
"Frog Flowers"
"Mother"
"Southern Sky Geometry"
"The Puzzle"
"Monuments Of Glitch"


Snuggles
"Beyond Measure"
"Blue Dot"
"Drifting And Dreaming"
"Sundance"
"Minds Are Changing"
"The Ocean"
"Distant, Elegant"
"Replikiss"
"I Agree"
"Tryst"
"Sunset Rump"
"The Option"


The Puzzle / Snuggles Movie (soundtrack differs from the audio)
"Chromatic Ridge"
"Yucky Lung"
"Shark In The Ice"
"Devil In The Details"
"Hammerhead Sugarplum"
"Albert Hall"
"Light Year Whale"
"The Puzzle"
"Mother"
"Anxiety In Pyjamas"
"Me And The Moon"
"Distant, Elegant"
"Life Is But A Dream"
"Monuments Of Glitch"
"Beyond Measure"
"Blue Dot"
"Drifting And Dreaming"
"Sundance"
"Minds Are Changing"
"The Ocean"
"Distant, Elegant"
"Replikiss"
"I Agree"
"Tryst"
"Sunset Rump"
"The Option"


The box set is available via Finland's Recordshop X here.

MEGADETH's new album, "The Sick, The Dying And The Dead" has been mastered and is "super close" to being released.

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine offered an update on the band's follow-up to 2016's "Dystopia" while filming a new video message on Cameo, which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.

Addressing a fan named Louie who is a budding bassist and saxophone player, Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're super close to having 'The Sick, The Dying And The Dead' out. We've been mixing and mastering it, and the mastering was done yesterday. So now it's off to the label, and pretty soon it's gonna be in your very talented hands."

In a recent interview with American Songwriter magazine, Mustaine said that "The Sick, The Dying And The Dead" would be released in the spring of 2022. The 60-year-old musician also said the LP's title track is about the plague, but not solely centered around the current pandemic. A broader, more historical scope of the diseases that have plagued humankind throughout time, "The Sick The Dying And The Dead" covers the current virus, swine flu, and other epidemics from centuries past.

"The song itself was a historical journey of how the plague started and where it went, starting with rats on ships carrying the disease, coming ashore in Sicily," Mustaine said.

According to Mustaine, the music for "The Sick, The Dying And The Dead" was assembled from riffs and music he has had archived for years, some as far back as his teens. "A lot of the riffs have been saved over time," he said. "A brand new song can be made up of something I wrote when I was 15 or 55. If It's a good riff, I'll save it."

Mustaine added that guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Dirk Verbeuren were both involved in piecing together the songs on the album, which was recorded mostly in Nashville, with Loureiro working on his parts from his home in Finland.

Mustaine has yet to reveal who played bass on the new MEGADETH album after David Ellefson's tracks were removed from the LP following his dismissal from the band in late May.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

In July, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl through videos and online messages. David has denied the allegation and has repeatedly said the woman in question had been a willing, consenting adult at the time of their virtual sexual encounter. Ellefson accompanied his denial with an alleged screenshot of a statement from the woman with whom he was supposedly involved at the time. In it, the woman admitted to recording the alleged intimate communications she had with Ellefson and called herself "naïve" for sharing them with a friend without the musician's permission.

MEGADETH recently completed "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and HATEBREED.

For "The Metal Tour Of The Year", MEGADETH was rejoined by bassist James LoMenzo for the first time in nearly 12 years.

LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with a returning Ellefson.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest departure.

Dark Star Records announce that The Spacing Effect have just released their new single, "Cosmic U" on all music streaming platforms. This is the first single off the new album, Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, out now.


Watch the video for "Cosmic U" below, and purchase / stream here.


"Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars by The Spacing Effect is a great example of what a great album should sound like. Great vocals, great musicianship, great songwriting and great production." - Jeffrey A. Swanson / President of Dark Star Records




“After our first EP was released, we had a real fire in our bellies that carried right into this year-and-a-half journey. We focused on writing cool guitar riffs, melodic choruses, and express honest questioning/observations of the world and personal experience. This album was self produced in every way. Each song was written, recorded, and mixed by the band in their home studios with additional contributions from Max Wasa and Max Norman.”


The Spacing Effect is a Northern California alternative rock band whose members include Aaron Cabral and Scotty Bussey.


In March of 2018, they both were looking for a recording project/band and found that with one another on a musician website. They connected creatively and immediately began recording ideas. Their songs have powerful drive, like Spectacle and rock anthem melodies like Killing Time. Their debut 6 song EP was produced by long-time industry pro, LA Music Award winner for Life time achievement record producer Max Wasa. And British record producer and recording engineer Max Norman - Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Megadeth, Strung Out, and more, mastered their album.





Tracklisting:


"Cosmic U" (Radio Edit)
"Floating Orbs"
"Playing With Scissors"
"Carbon To Crystalline"
"Saturn Street"
"Fight Or Flight"
"The Only Light Left In The Sky"
"Pass The Lighthouse"
"Hindsight is 2020"
"Can’t Break Me"
"Tremors"
"Cosmic U" (Full Version)


"Cosmic U" video:

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Don't Tread On Me" live during the band's second headlining set at the Welcome To Rockville festival on November 14 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida can be seen below.

Welcome To Rockville, a four-day rock festival, kicked off its 10th edition on November 11 at a new home in Daytona Beach.

METALLICA played another show at Welcome To Rockville with a different setlist on November 12.

Along with two nights of METALLICA, this year's Welcome To Rockville featured DISTURBED, SLIPKNOT, A DAY TO REMEMBER, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, LAMB OF GOD, SOCIAL DISTORTION, MASTODON and many others. The event was also livestreamed on Danny Wimmer Presents's Twitch channel, featuring select performances, interviews and behind-the-scenes content at twitch.tv/DWPresents.

This past July, METALLICA announced details of its massive 40th-birthday celebration: The band will mark this milestone by inviting the worldwide METALLICA family to join them in their hometown of San Francisco for two unique live shows featuring two different setlists December 17 and 19 at Chase Center. Tickets for these shows were made available only to registered members of METALLICA's Fifth Member fan club.

The 40th-anniversary shows see METALLICA return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 "S&M²" concerts that also served as the venue's grand opening. It was impossible not to notice that fans from more than 60 countries traveled to the City by the Bay and completely took over San Francisco for "S&M²" weekend. That outpouring of positive vibes from around the world inspired METALLICA to invite those Fifth Members back — and this time, in addition to the two shows at Chase Center, METALLICA will be curating other live music and comedy events, Blackened Whiskey tastings, and so much more all around the city during the long four-day weekend of celebrations starting on Thursday, December 16.

Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, 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. METALLICA's newest release, the "S&M²" album and film, arrived in August 2020 on the band's own Blackened Recordings label. "S&M²" chronicles METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony's September 6 and September 8, 2019 "S&M²" concerts that served as the grand opening of San Francisco's Chase Center and reunited the band and Symphony for the first time in 20 years. "S&M²" brings those historic shows back to life, capturing more than two and a half hours of James, Lars, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo joining forces with the nearly 80-strong San Francisco Symphony, legendary music director of the orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas and conductor Edwin Outwater.

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner returned to Instagram Live on Sunday (December 5) to livestream himself playing guitar for nearly a couple of hours. You can watch video of the session below.

Faulkner'a latest Instagram Live jam took place ten weeks after he suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during a performance at the Louder Than Life festival, just a short distance from Rudd Heart and Lung Center at UofL Health - Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. It took the hospital's cardiothoracic surgery team, led by Dr. Siddharth Pahwa and also including Drs. Brian Ganzel and Mark Slaughter, approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery, an aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement with hemiarch replacement.

Faulkner, who is now recovering at home in Nashville, offered an update on his condition in a social media post in mid-November. He wrote: "I was able to return home from hospital 10 days after my surgery to continue recovery at home. It has now been 7 weeks since the night it all happened and I'm feeling very strong and positive. My incisions have healed very well and I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm walking well and moving freely, I'm pretty active and I'm starting cardiac therapy very soon. I'm playing guitar everyday and with the love and support of my family, the continued support from you guys and the inspiration that I get from the guitar, I'll be back on stage in no time! My surgeons are very pleased with my progress and have all reserved front row tickets for the next PRIEST show haha."

Faulkner's medical episode happened while he was performing the closing song of PRIEST's set on the final day of Louder Than Life on September 26. Faulkner later said in a statement: "As I watch footage from the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky, I can see in my face the confusion and anguish I was feeling whilst playing 'Painkiller' as my aorta ruptured and started to spill blood into my chest cavity."

Two weeks after his surgery, Faulkner told reporters about how he felt while performing "Painkiller" with his bandmates at Louder Than Life: "I became a bit light-headed. It didn't go away. I've never fainted before. I've never passed out, but I knew that this felt like I was going to pass out in a minute.

"Luckily, it was about half way into the song," he continued. "So obviously, I had to finish the song. If I had known how important it was, maybe I would have got off there a bit quicker. But I think that's the whole point for me. I had no idea whatsoever what it was."

Faulkner said that he experienced a sharp pain as he was stepping off the stage. "That's when it exploded," he said.

"The more I read about it, the more astonishing it is to me to think that I even made it to the hospital," he added. "The amount of time when I actually go the pain and when I turned up in the hospital and when we were actually operating, it was quite a lot of time. The more I read about it, the more unbelievable — that amount of time — I don't know how I'm still around today."

Aortic aneurysms are "balloon-like bulges in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Dissections happen when the "force of blood pumping can split the layers of the artery wall, allowing blood to leak in between them."

After Louder Than Life, JUDAS PRIEST postponed the remainder of the U.S. dates on its 50th-anniversary tour, dubbed "50 Heavy Metal Years". The shows have since been rescheduled for March and April 2022.

Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, ex-Spock’s Beard), Neal Morse (Transatlantic, NMB, ex-Spock’s Beard), and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena)  announce their debut album, Troika, to be released on February 25th.  


Today, the band is also sharing the album’s first single, “Julia”. You can watch the video by Christian Rios below.


Ross had this to say about the track: "With my original demo clocking in at around the 8-minute mark and possibly leaning too close to 'prog epic' than the singer/songwriter vibe we were attempting to present on this record, Neal arranged my lengthy ballad into something more concise, in-keeping with the album’s essence and writing in a powerful new chorus in the process! This one was all about the 3-part vocal harmony interplay and ‘pull-at-the-heartstring’ lyrics which deals with themes of regret and forgiveness in the context of a broken father-daughter relationship.”







Recorded during lockdown, the process began with Neal Morse writing some acoustic songs that he thought would be enhanced by strong vocal harmonies. He already knew how well his voice blended with former Spock's Beard band-mate and Big Big Train drummer/ vocalist, Nick D'Virgilio who came on board and, considering a third man, the Americans sought out Haken's Ross Jennings from the UK to complete the trio. All three found they had songs that would benefit from the three part harmonic blend, and so they pooled their resources, inputting creatively into each others compositions.


Neal comments: “What a great pleasure it’s been to work on this album with these amazing artists! It was kind of funny… We had been working on the songs remotely for several months before I finally heard all of us singing together at the same time. The first time I brought the faders up, I knew we had the magic!“


Nick adds: “I've known and worked with Neal for over 30 years and I've been a big fan of Ross and the music he makes for a long time. I felt confident right away that this would be a fun project to be a part of. I was so right.”


Ross comments: "Receiving ‘The Call’ from Neal to participate in this project was somewhat of a prayer answered… As a long time fan of their work, I’ve been singing along to Neal’s & Nick’s records for years, so it felt really natural for my voice to slot right in."


The tracks took shape with the musicians recording all of the music and vocals separately, yet the eclectic performances burst with the energy and excitement of the collaboration. Acoustic anthems, charged rockers and sensitive ballads are all part of the mix, and the unique blend of Ross, Neal and Nick's voices and styles have created an album in which you will encounter these musicians in a way you've never heard before.


Troika will be available as Ltd. CD Edition / Gatefold 2LP+CD / Digital Album. Each format includes a bonus alternative version of the track "Julia" and is available for pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Everything I Am"
"Julia"
"You Set My Soul On Fire"
"One Time Less"
"Another Trip Around The Sun"
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
"If I Could"
"King For A Day"
"Second Hand Sons"
"My Guardian"
"What You Leave Behind"


"Julia" video:

Former Overkill drummer, Sid Falck, has released new music under his own name, Falck. This is not a new project, this is simply music Sid creates in-between ongoing hospitalizations and treatments.


According to Falck, the criteria for the music is quite simple: “It has to be something I, myself, enjoy listening to. Since I don’t expect others to like it, as long as I can stand listening to it more than once, it’s all good.”







The music is touching various styles, hard rock/metal’ish, to techno dance/rock/pop.  A number of tracks have been released to his studio YouTube channel (No Gain, No Pain Studio) under Bob Falck, The Klamphuggers (featuring Pete West of Paul Di’Annos Battlezone on
bass), and under the synonym SnappSack.


After being embarrassed by the failure to complete the Infectus 13 project, which is still on hold, there had been no intention of letting more than a few trusted friends hear his creations.  However, having been encouraged to make his newest composition, "Afraid" by Falck, available  for others to possibly enjoy, it’s been made available via Distrokid on Amazon Music, Apple Music, and will soon be made available on all streaming music platforms.  


A video can be seen below. For more information head here, or simply look for it on your favourite platform.

UK hard rock stalwarts, Ten, used the downtime during the worldwide pandemic to work on not one, but two new albums. The first album to be released, Here Be Monsters, will land on February 18. A new single, 'Fearless" is out today. Listen to "Fearless" below, and pre-order/save Here Be Monsters on CD/LP/Digital here.


Following the success of the recent string of albums, from Albion to Illuminati, Hughes is joined once again by guitarists Dann Rosingana, Steve Grocott and John Halliwell along with bass player Steve McKenna, and keyboard maestro Darrel Treece-Birch. Drums on the album have been handled by Markus Kullman (Sinner, Glenn Hughes, Voodoo Circle). Ten continue to raise the musical bar higher for themselves, a goal they push on every release. Stunning guitar work, rich keyboards, excellent bass and drum interplay along with Hughes’ rich vocals are the order of the day here.


Here Be Monsters was produced by Gary Hughes and mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward. Ten’s longstanding professional association with Dennis has been ongoing since he mixed their 2011 album, Stormwarning and has always guaranteed albums with stunning sound and production




Fans should note that there are no ties between this and the next album, ie. Here Be Monsters is not a "Part One" or anything of this nature. The band has simply crafted two high quality releases and decided to put them out separately, in a fashion not too dissimilar to what happened to the amazing first two records which were recorded one after the other in a very short period of time.


Ten have an outstanding history of releases in their storied and revered catalog. Starting out as a sort of solo project built around singer and songwriter Gary Hughes, Ten found their audience playing a hard rock sound influenced by such giants as UFO, Thin Lizzy, Magnum, Giant, and Whitesnake in a time when playing this particular sound was considered ommericial suicide. The band's early records such as The Name Of The Rose, The Robe, Spellbound, and Babylon established the band as mainstays in the melodic hard rock genre, which has continued throughout their now 26 year career over the course of 14 studio albums.





Tracklisting:


"Fearless"
"Chapter And Psalm"
"Hurricane"
"Strangers On A Distant Shore"
"The Dream That Fell To Earth"
"The Miracle Of Life"
"Immaculate Friends"
"Anything You Want"
"Follow Me Into The Fire"
"The Longest Time"


"Fearless":





Lineup:


Gary Hughes - Vocals
Dann Rosingana - Guitars
Steve Grocott - Guitars
Darrel Treece-Birch - Keyboards
Steve McKenna - Bass


Special Guest: Markus Kullman - Drums

Malta-based metal band, DiggerThings, have released their new single, "Ruby Eyes", featuring former Iron Maiden singer, Blaze Bayley. A video for the song can be found below.





DiggerThings is a music collaboration between David Cassar Torreggiani (also guitarist and songwriter with Scar, ElderWater, and TodaMusica) and David Depasquale (also producer and guitarist with ClubMurder, and Abysmal Torment). This studio project has David CT as songwriter and guitars, and David D on drums and production, where guest singers collaborate to create varied mix of edgy rock and metal.




Guest singers so far have been... Mark Parlato Trigona, singer in a band with David CT in the 90's called NightWing; Nigel "In Noogie" Buttigieg, Kersten Graham, and Gianni Zammit. There have also been guest bass players, such as Antoine Tonna, Robert Galea,and Philip Bagigu.


DiggerThings gained ground with their initial song releases, and hooked up with Blaze Bayley (Wolfsbane 1984 / 1994, and then replacing Bruce Dickinson with the mighty Iron Maiden 1994 till 1999) who recorded his awesome vocals on "Three Days Of Judgement". This track was well received and promoted on many world wide metal and heavy mock music platforms.


Since then, Blaze Bayley was inducted in the "Metal Hall Of Fame", and is touring with his band. During which time, David CT wrote another track with Blaze in mind, also inspired by the loss of the studio mascot "Ruby". She was a kind natured dog, and belonged to David D. She was always in the studio to pay us a visit during recordings. Her loss inspired the song "Ruby Eyes", to which Blaze laid down his "blazing" vocals once again, with lyrics and lines penned by Nigel "In Noogie" Buttigieg, and bass duties taken good care of by Bazaz, with blistering drums... as always... by David D.


More collaborations are ahead, but this time it's ....."Ruby Eyes".

The Georgia Thunderbolts have uploaded their version of the Christmas classic “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”. Stream it here and listen now:





The Georgia Thunderbolts version of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" is from the Mascot Records Christmas Rock Vol. 2 Digital EP.




Check out The Georgia Thunderbolts debut album, Can We Get A Witness, at this location.





Catch The Georgia Thunderbolts live, opening for Black Stone Cherry, at the following shows:


December
8 - Jergel's Rhythm Grille - Warrendale, PA
10 - The Machine Shop - Flint, MI
11 - The Electric Ballroom - Angola, IN
12 - The Forge - Joliet, IL
14 - Lafayette's Music Room - Memphis, TN
15 - The Loft - Atlanta, GA














(Photo courtesy of T. Dean Images & Music Entertainment)


 

Crown Compass guitarist Joe Tal has filmed a playthrough video for the song "Gilbert".





“Gilbert” is the debut single by Crown Compass.







The band, featuring vocalist Daniël de Jongh (ex-Textures and Cilice), guitarist Joe Tal (ex-Textures), bassist Robin Zielhorst (ex-Cynic, Exivious and currently with Our Oceans) and drummer Yuma van Eekelen (ex-Pestilence, Exivious and currently with Our Oceans) offers a unique blend of progressive thrash metal and alternative rock.


Their debut album is expected in 2022.





 

In a new interview with Metal Wani, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy recalled meeting two metal legends, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson and RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH vocalist Ronnie James Dio, on separate occasions a decade and a half ago. He said: "We were interviewed on Bruce Dickinson's radio show in 2006, [when we were promoting] 'The Crusade'. And I remember I was, like, 'I've gotta talk to this guy about vocals. I asked him all these questions about vocals, and what he told me in the end was, like, 'I believe someday your voice will develop to be something like Ronnie James Dio.' That's what Bruce Dickinson said to me. I was, like, 'Thanks, man.' It stuck with me forever. Then, [in October] 2007, we're playing [a show in Japan opening for] HEAVEN & HELL and I'm able to meet Dio. I told Dio that same story. I said, 'Bruce Dickinson said someday I'd have a voice like you.' Ronnie James Dio laughs, smiles and he goes, 'You know, Bruce finally admitted I'm one of his heroes.' And that was kind of the end of that. And we shared a glass of wine together. And that was just a very trippy night."

Back in 2015, Heafy told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show that seeing Ronnie James Dio with HEAVEN & HELL really had a profound impact on him and his bandmates. He explained: "At that time, I was a casual fan of the DIO material. I'd known the big hits. I don't really know much aside from the 'Holy Diver' record. And I definitely missed his SABBATH-era material. So when I saw that set, specifically the song 'Heaven And Hell', it showed me how else I wanted to depict the metal that I was creating. Like the same way when I first heard METALLICA and I never heard metal in my entire life. I never heard metal delivered in that way. And to be able to hear Dio live and be able to hear Tommy Iommi live, to be able to hear how that was portrayed with that band, it really just blew my mind and blew all of our minds.

"When we met Dio afterwards, it was pretty life-changing to be able to meet one of the greatest metal singers of all time and really be welcomed by him," he added. "And he treated us so well and he was very humble and very polite. It was amazing. It was really, it was one of those moments where, looking back at it, it doesn't seem real. And after that night, I picked up my guitar and inevitably started writing some that sounded like the song 'Heaven And Hell', I feel. Well, I wasn't trying to make something that sounded like it. The first thing that came out is something that was obviously inspired by that song."

TRIVIUM's tenth album, "In The Court Of The Dragon", was released in 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.

In a recent interview with RadioactiveMike Z, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire", Sebastian Bach was asked about the first METALLICA record he ever bought. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I bought [METALLICA's debut album] 'Kill 'Em All' when it was an import when it first came out [in 1983], when it was first released. I lived in a little town in Canada called Peterborough and there was a heavy metal section [at a local record store] with imports. And I was flipping through the albums, and this was in total glam days of MÖTLEY CRÜE and WRATCHCHILD and all these glam bands. I was flipping through, and I saw METALLICA 'Kill 'Em All', and it didn't have a picture on the front. So I picked it up, turned it around and I looked at the picture on the back of 'Kill 'Em All' and I go, 'Holy fuck. These are the ugliest [bunch of guys] I've ever seen in my life.' [Laughs] 'Look at these guys.' I go, 'How can this be their picture of their band?' [Laughs] And I bought it right there because I thought they looked so terrible. I go, 'This is the craziest shit I've ever seen.'

"So I bought that right when it came out, dude, and I was a real fan," he continued. "I saw them at the concert hall Masonic Temple in Toronto on that tour, and then I bought 'Ride The Lightning' when it first came out — right away; the first day — so I've been a METALLICA fan since before they were big. When I bought that METALLICA album, ANVIL was 20 times bigger than METALLICA. So, fathom that. [Laughs]"

Bach recently returned to the stage for a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of SKID ROW's double-platinum, acclaimed album "Slave To The Grind". The trek kicked off on September 25 in Waterloo, New York and will wrap in San Diego, California on December 17.

Back in 2018, Bach told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF 101.1 FM radio station that he was going to ink a deal with a U.S.-based heavy metal record label that would help him make a "career-defining" new solo album.

Bach hasn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in 2014. Like its predecessor, 2011's "Kicking & Screaming", the disc was released through Frontiers Music Srl, the Italian label which specializes in what's commonly called AOR, a term that once signified a popular radio format ("album-oriented rock") but nowadays applies to acts whose airplay is marginal.

Bach fronted SKID ROW until 1996, when he was fired. Instead of throwing in the towel, the remaining members took a hiatus and went on to play briefly in a band called OZONE MONDAY. In 1999, SKID ROW reformed and, after a bit of shuffling over the years, featured a lineup consisting of bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarists Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scotti Hill, alongside drummer Rob Hammersmith and singer Johnny Solinger. SKID ROW fired Solinger over the phone in April 2015, a few hours before announcing ex-TNT vocalist Tony Harnell as his replacement. Eight months later, Harnell exited the band and was replaced by South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart, who previously fronted DRAGONFORCE, TANK and I AM I.

Two YouTube channels, XJthatsAmore!! and The Fox Accord, have uploaded separate unboxing videos for BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi's new signature cologne, a collaboration with Italian luxury perfume house Xerjoff. Check them out below.

"Scent Of Dark" is the product of a recent friendship struck up during the pandemic between Iommi and Sergio Momo, acclaimed perfumer, and designer for Xerjoff, well known for its unique and individual creations and collaborations in the fragrance world. Sergio is also an accomplished guitarist, and his fine fretwork can be heard on "Scent Of Dark", a new song Iommi released to promote the cologne.

While the realm of high-end fragrancies and the uncompromising heavy music that Iommi is known for might not at first seem to make viable bedfellows, the guitarist's interests in fragrances actually stretches far back to the early days of BLACK SABBATH. "It's something I've always been interested in, ever since the early days of products like Brut and Old Spice, which I'd always get given for Christmas," remembers Tony. "Once I started touring the world with SABBATH though, I started discovering different sorts of fragrancies from other countries and began collecting them on tour.

"I met Sergio through another friend of mine Jimmy Crutchley (who plays bass on 'Scent Of Dark') and Sergio kindly sent me a box of his fragrances and asked if I'd be interested in creating my own, which I certainly wasn't expecting," laughs Iommi. "I had no idea how that would work, but Sergio suggested I come up with a list of things I like the smell of, which I did. He developed some different samples made up from my suggestions and I picked the one I liked; the project moved forward from there."

Tony brought in the aromatic reminiscence of rock in the 1960s and 1970s, festivals and gatherings, amber and patchouli. The final result harmoniously characterizes the dark sound of Iommi's original famous '64 Monkey Special guitar with the spicy and seductive scents.

"Sergio is a really creative chap, he plays great guitar on 'Scent Of Dark' and has one of my collectable models, the 64 Gibson with the cartoon monkey image," Tony says. "He said it would be great to incorporate that, and he's even managed to get it onto one of the bottles."

From the start, Tony has been instrumental in creating the "Scent Of Dark" fragrance. "I wouldn't put my name to something that I haven't been involved in and didn't personally like or use," he explains. "That's been the same with all of the projects I've done from guitars onwards, this is no different."

Made with the finest materials, handpicked rare ingredients and exquisite packaging, this exclusive edition Xerjoff blends for Tony Iommi is the world's first multisensory experience between sound, scent, and spirit. Tony wanted to encapsulate in a bottle the evocation of emotions, alongside a new music track and video, and even a bespoke cocktail.

The various aspects of this multi-sensory experience successfully inspired the musical visualization of "Scent Of Dark", developed at Iommi's home studio with longtime collaborator and producer Mike Exeter, and recorded at Gospel Oak and Pig Music Studios.

"I've had the riff for 'Scent Of Dark' for quite a while and I'd never done anything with it, but it gave us a base to start from," explains Tony. "We built up the track with programmed drums at first and then Mike Exeter demoed bass and keyboards on it, and I added my guitar solos, just to give us an idea of how it was going to sound. Eventually Jimmy [Crutchley] added his bass. Jimmy knew drummer Ash Sheehan and he fitted in perfectly, adding the final real drum track on top of our work. Then we added the strings. I'd worked with string sections on SABBATH albums before, but this was a whole new experience."

The blend of the beautifully played cello and violins and Iommi's colossal guitar tones elevate "Scent Of Dark" into a whole new realm that incorporates and complements every taste, smell and sound of this exciting new union. The video for 'Scent Of Dark' captures the musicians at work in the studio, crafting the music, alongside footage of Tony and Sergio sampling the fragrance, shot at the grand Sudley Castle in Winchcombe, near to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. The film conveys the mood of the music and tells the story of the project perfectly.

"It's been a really interesting project for me that has combined many of my different interests and a direction I'm really enjoying gong in," concludes Tony. "I've got so many riffs; it would be great to do more instrumental and soundtrack work."

Tony Iommi Signed Crystal by Xerjoff Blends with a limited edition of 200 flacons, are available in selected retails and at Xerjoffuniverse.com. Tony Iommi Monkey Special by Xerjoff Blends are available in selected retails and at Xerjoffuniverse.com

East Coast Rock Apparel has teamed up with Florida-based death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE to create the CC-branded "Butchered Body" beard oil. Made with argon, jojoba, sweet almond oil and a secret concoction of essential oils, the scent is clean with an earthy, woodsy smell.

For more information, click here.

CANNIBAL CORPSE is not the first metal artist to collaborate with East Coast Rock Apparel on beard oil. Other musicians who have gotten their own bottles include Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR, DOWN), Marc Rizzo (SOULFLY), KILL DEVIL HILL and HATRIOT.

Last year, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci launched his first-ever signature range of specialty beard and mustache products, Nebula, created in collaboration with the grooming company Captain Fawcett.

In an interview with Japan's Young Guitar, Petrucci was asked about his beard styling and grooming techniques. He responded: "I, for most of my career, have had some sort of beard. I started out just clean-shaven in the beginning, but even, I guess, from the 'Awake' days, which was pretty early on, I had a beard, I had a goatee. It wasn't until… I don't know how many years now, I've got the full kind of epic beard and mustache style — it's been many years now. But I've always been into that kind of thing — how it influences your look. And I just kind of fell into this thing where having a big old-school beard, I thought, looked good on me, and I got really into the lifestyle and the bearding culture — all the products and things like that; beard oils and bums; learning to trim your beard; experimenting with different shapes. It's actually a fun hobby, honestly.

"The important thing, to me, always is to have a look that it looks like you're doing it on purpose, where there's a style to your beard, even if it's a long beard and mustache, and not something that just looks like you got lazy and decided not to shave," he explained. "So I always try to have some sort of sense of style. I let it grow to varying lengths. It's pretty long right now. Will I let it grow all the way to [my belly button], like a wizard beard? I don't know. Sometimes when it gets that long, it becomes harder to handle. But it's all about, I think, if you're interested in growing a beard like this, it's kind of what goes well with your face shape, as far as the length and the style.

"If you at all do any research on this, you'll find that there's a lot of information out there — videos, tutorials, photos, blogs. Forget about it; you could really get into it. Products as we

New rock supergroup SOMETHING UNTO NOTHING (S.U.N.) — featuring multi-platinum Canadian vocalist and Juno Award winner Sass Jordan, with Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, OZZY OSBOURNE) on guitar, Michael Devin (WHITESNAKE, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD) on bass and Tommy Stewart (GODSMACK, LO PRO, EVERCLEAR, FUEL) on drums — has released a follow-up single and video for the "Nomad (Rock Radio Edit)", along with three new songs on Robo Records, wherever digital music is sold. The "Nomad" EP features a new "rock radio" version of the single "Nomad". James Wood of GuitarWorld.com raved about the music, calling it "reminiscent of the classic big album sounds of the 1970s. It's raw, real music from the days when records were played on a turntable and cranked up to 10." The EP also features two stunning cover songs of core classic rock artists, the Neil Young classic "Hey Hey My My" and a live acoustic guitar version of Paul McCartney's monster piano ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed", "one of the best songs ever written," according to Tichy and Jordan. The other new song on the EP is the explosive "Going Going Gone". Tichy describes it as "all melody and power chords. It's old JOURNEY meets Joe Walsh." He adds: "And the snare drum sounds killer!" S.U.N. released its debut album, "Something Unto Nothing", to rave reviews in 2013 and is currently working on its sophomore release. "We've already completed about six songs, but have decided to release this EP in the meantime due to popular demand," says Jordan.

The members of S.U.N. are grateful for all the support and positive feedback. "All of us in S.U.N. are psyched the album and new EP are both available in stores and that we have been getting great reviews from the media and fans alike," says Brian. "You would have thought we were paying people to write this stuff! I had to ask Sass if she was mailing out checks for all these great words of support and high accolades!" "Nomad" EP track listing:

01. Nomad (Rock Radio Edit) 02. Hey Hey My My (Into The Black) 03. Going Going Gone 04. Maybe I'm Amazed (Sass Jordan & Brian Tichy - Live Acoustic Stomp)

Ace Frehley (KISS), Orianthi, Ed Roland (COLLECTIVE SOUL) and Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY) are among the musicians who took part in Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding this past Saturday (December 4) at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Alice also performed at the event, along with members of his touring band with the exception of guitarist Nita Strauss. According to Arizona Republic, Frehley performed the KISS classics "Shock Me", "Parasite" and "Cold Gin". There were also performances from the Solid Rock Dancers, The Bucket Brigade, and the winners of this year's "Proof Is In The Pudding" musical talent search, Alice's own version of "American Idol".

Christmas Pudding didn't take place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Proceeds from Alice Cooper's 19th annual Christmas Pudding fundraiser directly benefit the free music, dance, arts, and vocational programs for teens 12-20 at Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers.

Since its launch in 2001, Alice Cooper's annual Christmas Pudding concert has been a way for Alice and his wife Sheryl to raise enough money to open up the center, dubbed "The Rock," where teenagers could be taught dance, music and art in a safe place.

Christmas Pudding's original mission was finally achieved in May 2012, when Alice Cooper's Rock Teen Center opened.

"I'm not a teacher, but I have a great Rolodex," Cooper told the Phoenix New Times back in 2013. "So for Christmas Pudding, I can go through that Rolodex and call different people and they will show up and do a few songs."




Space Ace

Takes the stage

Alice Cooper'S Christmas Pudding at Celebrity Theatre

www.alicecoopersolidrock.com

#alicecooper

#acefrehley

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021



Ace Rocks The House at

Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

#alicecooper

#acefrehley

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021



Pudding last night - so fun , posting a few pics here @acefrehleyofficial @alicecooper @ryanroxie @beastoblanco @disvicious1 @glen_sobel @calicocooper @tutufoodot

Posted by orianthi on Sunday, December 5, 2021



New band “Sugar Beast”. ?????

Always a good hang with @therealmarkmcgrath @disvicious1 and @ryanroxie @alicecoopersolidrock

Posted by Chuck Garric on Sunday, December 5, 2021





Another Rockin Clip

Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

Alice Cooper's Solid Rock

More to come

#alicecooper

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021





Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

Alice Cooper Band

Chuck Garric

Ryan Roxie

Glen Sobel

Tommy Henriksen

Nita Strauss ... on Tour

www.alicecoopersolidrock.com

www.alicecooper.com

#alicecooper

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021





Feast Your Naked Steaming Eyes

On this next clip

From The

Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

www.alicecoopersolidrock.com

www.alicecooper.com

#alicecooper

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021





Alice Cooper's Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

The Olympus Guitars I donated is Auctioned off in this clip, Thank you Orianthi for signing the Olympus Guitar for the auction.

Alice Cooper

Orianthi Panagaris

Chuck Garric

Ryan Roxie

Tommy Henriksen

Glen Sobel

#alicecooper

#Orianthi

#acefrehley

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021





Alice Cooper's Alice Cooper's 19th Annual Christmas Pudding

The Roof was on ?

Stay Tuned

#alicecooper

www.alicecoopersolidrock.com

www.alicecooper.com

www.celebritytheatre.com

Posted by Michael Coco on Sunday, December 5, 2021



Great meeting / jamming out with @acefrehleyofficial ?✨

Posted by orianthi on Monday, December 6, 2021



Here are some pics from the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding.

Get ready for some Big Things from Almost Cooper coming...

Posted by Bobby Jensen on Monday, December 6, 2021