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


Lucassen is pleased to share the third single and video for the album’s opening track, "Prescient", featuring Michael Mills (Toehider) and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena). Check it out below.


Lucassen: "For me, this is the most varied Star One album so far, every track has a totally different feel. The first single, 'Lost Children Of The Universe', is a big epic track; the second single, 'Fate Of Man', is a fast metal track, and 'Prescient' is definitely the most proggy on the album. With the video we tried to capture that vintage black and white Twilight Zone feel with a touch of David Lynch!"







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


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





Revel In Time tracklisting:


CD1:


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


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


"Fate Of Man" video:





"Lost Children Of The Universe" lyric video:

Lordi venture into the very danceable abyss of industrial metal and get out with Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular to start the machines digitally on February 11, 2022.


Just shortly after the physical release of their monstrous project Lordiversity (a boxset of 7 albums at once) and their very special Christmas single “Merry Blah Blah Blah”, the monster-group again is releasing another new single.







A new single called “Demon Supreme” is an industrial metal single with an electronic element and done the right way.


Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular gives off major Shotgun Messiah vibes, which comes as no surprise as Lordi are doing industrial metal on this album. After 2020’s Killection already featured one song, Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular is a whole album worth of danceable industrial metal songs. Even the title is as extravagant as most ‘90s industrial metal itself.





Order Lordiversity here.





“Merry Blah Blah Blah”:

Epic melodic death metallers Nothgard released a brand new single, "Dominion Of Cain", back in October. The band has now checked in with the following update:


"Our new, fully orchestrated and rearranged version of 'Dominion Of Cain' is out now! If you ever wondered how epic melodic death metal can sound in an orchestral version: Here it is, even more epic! At least we think so!"










Nothgard lineup:


Dom R. Crey - Vocals, Lead Guitar, Studio Keyboards
Skaahl - Guitars
Nico Kolja - Bass, Backing Vocals
Felix Indra - Drums

The Frequency Conspiracy, the new project by 24-7 Spyz, Seventrain, Shockhead drummer, Joel Maitoza, featuring members of Last in Line, Lynch Mob, Raven, Pat Travers Band, Tyketto and many others has officially announced the nine song track listing for the debut album titled Quarantine Covers which will be released worldwide on January 1, 2022 (New Year’s Day) through So Cal Records / Alliance Entertainment.


Joel explains, “When the pandemic hit, bands stopped touring and the world shut down. I decided to contact some musicians I’ve always wanted to work with and record an album of cover tunes with a hard rock/metal vibe. The songs are some “hand-picked” favorites of mine that I thought everyone involved could have some fun with and the fans would enjoy hearing. It all started releasing two videos in 2020 featuring Last In Line/Lynch Mob vocalist Andrew Freeman and it just took off from there. I recorded the drum tracks in the studio by myself without any music, just a click track and the arrangement in my head. Then I sent the tracks out to the individual musicians I wanted to have perform on the songs. The artists recorded their parts in their own home studios and sent them back to me. It was really cool to hear how each musician interpreted and performed their parts and the songs just evolved. The creative process was absolutely fascinating and I think we captured some amazing performances on this album.”







Tracklisting:


“Carry On Wayward Son” - Featuring Christophe Godin – Guitars / Jaimie Scott – Bass / Andrew Freeman – Vocals / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Hell Bent for Leather” - Featuring John Gallagher – Vocals, Bass / Joshua Jones – Guitars / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Locked Out Of Heaven” - Featuring Jason (JMR) Richardson – Vocals, Guitars / David Pastorius – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Words Get In The Way” - Featuring Craig Soderberg - Guitars, Vocals, Keys / Jaimie Scott – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Rock Candy” - Featuring Joshua Jones – Guitars / Andrew Freeman – Vocals / Rick Skatore – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Turning Japanese” - Featuring Craig Soderberg - Guitars, Vocals, Keys / Jaimie Scott – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Shapes Of Things” - Featuring Jason (JMR) Richardson – Vocals / Joshua Jones – Guitars / Miguelon Rodriguez – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Sailing” - Featuring Craig Soderberg – Guitars, Vocals, Keys / Jaimie Scott – Bass / Joel Maitoza – Drums
“Life In The Fast Lane” - Featuring Craig Soderberg – Guitars / Miguelon Rodriguez – Bass / Joey McCaw – Vocals / Joel Maitoza – Drums


Artist appearances include:


John Gallagher (Raven) – Bass, Vocals
David Pastorius (Pat Travers, Tech N9ne) - Bass
Jaimie Scott (Tyketto) – Bass
Joshua Jones (Poster Child) – Guitars
Christophe Godin (Morgibl, Metal Kartoon, The Prize) - Guitars
Andrew Freeman (Last in Line, Lynch Mob, Offspring) - Vocals
Craig Soderberg (-itis, Shockhead) – Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards
Jason (JMR) Richardson (Year of the Dragon, Patrick Gibson) – Guitars, Vocals
Miguelon Rodriguez (Paul Di'anno, The Worshyp) – Bass
Joey McCaw (Brick Bath, Shockhead) - Vocals
Rick Skatore (24-7 Spyz) – Bass
Joel Maitoza (24-7 Spyz, Shockhead, Elysian, Gangland, Seventrain) - Drums


The album was recorded at Exum Studios by Scott Exum (Stabbing Westward, Unwritten Law), Room 9 Studios by Jerry Whiting, DML Studios by Don Lithgow (RIP) and AJP Studios by Alex Pappas (Finch).

Thomas Zwijsen has released a new video, featuring an acoustic guitar and violin cover of "The Writing On The Wall", featured on Iron Maiden's new album, Senjutsu. Watch below:





In a previous clip, Zwijsen performs the Senjutsu track, "Darkest Hour":

Finland's Amoth featuring Pekka Montin of Ensiferum on vocals are sharing their third single "Traces In The Snow" off their forthcoming album The Hour Of The Wolf due out on January 28, 2022.


"The ballad of the album. We are very pleased with how this turned out! I think many people will like this even if they don’t otherwise listen to metal music. Very strong lyrical content. Can’t wait for people to hear this," adds Amoth guitarist and main songwriter Tomi Ihanamäki.


Amoth is a melodic progressive heavy metal band with progressive elements from Helsinki, Finland. Their upcoming album The Hour Of The Wolf is a huge leap forward compared to their previous recordings Revenge (2016), Crossing Over (2011), and Wounded Faith (EP) (2008).




"This is by far our best album yet! Superior performances from all of the musicians. Much better production and songwriting. It’s not a fast-food album. Some of the songs are quite complex so it takes probably more than one listen to really get into!” comments Amoth guitarist and main songwriter Tomi Ihanamäki.


Amoth’s roots are strongly founded on ‘80s heavy metal, but branch out in different directions with elements from progressive rock, thrash, and even jazz brought to the table.


The new album features Pekka Montin of Ensiferum once again as the lead vocalist and for the first time, there are also keyboards on an Amoth recording. Fans can expect insane vocals and virtuoso-like playing from all members of the band. The nine songs are very diverse, taking sudden twists and turns into unexplored territory. Amoth even offers up two Steve Vai / Joe Satriani-style instrumentals on this new full-length with tracks "Wind Serenade Part I" and "Wind Serenade Part II".


Pre-order at Rockshots Records.





Tracklisting:


“Alice”
“The Man Who Watches The World Burn”
“Wounded Faith”
“Wind Serenade Part I”
“Wind Serenade Part II”
“We Own The Night”
“It Ain’t Over Yet”
“Traces In The Snow”
“The Hour Of The Wolf”


"Traces In The Snow":





"It Ain't Over Yet":





“The Man Who Watches The World Burn” video:





(Photo - Mia Bergius Photography)

SHADOWS FALL, the Massachusetts metal band which was at the forefront of the New Wave of American Metal scene that dominated the '00s, reunited to play a one-off show last night (Saturday, December 18) at The Palladium in Worcester in their native Massachusetts. Also appearing on the bill were UNEARTH, DARKEST HOUR, WITHIN THE RUINS, SWORN ENEMY and CARNIVORA. Fan-filmed video of SHADOWS FALL's performance is available below.

A few days before the concert, SHADOWS FALL singer Brian Fair told Heavy New York about the preparations for the gig: "Jon [Donais, guitar] and Jason [Bittner, drums] have been full-on touring full time with two legendary and super-professional bands in ANTHRAX and OVERKILL, so those dudes are at the top of their game in every way. I've been playing a bunch of shows, but I haven't done real touring type of stuff, so I had to make sure physically I was gonna be ready. So when I was practicing the set, I literally had headphones on and I would do cardio in between any of the vocals to just try to simulate the adrenaline and the chaos and that type of thing, and also to see if I could make it through an hour-and-a-half headlining set. And Paul [Romanko, bass] hadn't played, really, with anyone since we stopped, so he really went into the workshed and was playing a ton again. We got to practice and we were, like, 'Man, we sound better than we used to.' But also we were notoriously bad about rehearsing. We would do one rehearsal before an eight-week tour, and halfway through it we were, like, 'Ah, we know these songs. Do we really have to play 'Destroyer Of Senses' again? We know fucking 'Destroyer Of Senses'.' And looking back, we're, like, 'Man, we should have rehearsed. We're really good when we rehearse.' [Laughs] All the harmonies are in lock. And this whole week [of rehearsing] has just been, like, 'All right. We sound good. We're ready.' Hopefully, barring technical difficulties or any of the things that normally follow SHADOWS FALL around, we're definitely ready to come out and crush it. So now, if the gear can keep up with us, we're ready."

SHADOWS FALL released a statement in August 2014 in which the bandmembers explained that financial difficulties made it virtually impossible for the group to continue as a full-time concern.

In August 2015, SHADOWS FALL played a few reunion shows on the U.S. East Coast, one year after completing what was being billed at the time as the band's "final" European tour.

SHADOWS FALL's latest album, "Fire From The Sky", released in May 2012 via Razor & Tie. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.

SHADOWS FALL members Jon Donais and Matt Bachand recently launched a new project called LIVING WRECKAGE, in which they are joined by guitarist Matt LeBreton (DOWNPOUR), drummer Jon Morency (LET US PREY) and vocalist Jeff Gard DEATH RAY VISION.

Metallica kicked off their first of two livestreamed 40th-anniversary concerts at San Francisco's Chase Center on December 17th to a sold-out crowd in their hometown. The show - which began with "Hit The Lights" and ended with "Spit Out The Bone" - also featured "Trapped Under Ice" for the first time since 2012 and the live debut of Reload track "Fixxxer".


Pro-shot live video of "Fixxxer" can be viewed below.







Check out the set-list and fan-filmed footage below:


"Hit The Lights"
"Creeping Death"
"Trapped Under Ice"
"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
"Orion"
"The Shortest Straw"
"One"
"Sad But True"
“Nothing Else Matters"
"King Nothing"
"Fixxxer" (live debut)
"Breadfan"
"No Leaf Clover"
"Frantic"
"The Day That Never Comes"
"Spit Out the Bone"

In a recent interview with Spain's Mariskal Rock, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked who wore the "leather biker look" first — him or late QUEEN frontman Freddie Mercury. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I remember seeing a picture of Freddie with his leather jacket and a cap and a motorcycle, and I'm, like, 'What the fuck is going on, Freddie?' [Laughs]

"I love him. Freddie is a god — he's a god," Rob continued. "His music, his voice, his showmanship, his personality, his charisma. There'll never, ever be another Freddie Mercury.

"But as far as who wore it first, I think I did probably — maybe by a year or two," Halford added. "Yeah, if that's important. I don't know. Is it important? I'll tell you something: we both look good in leather. [Laughs]"

Three years ago, former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing was quoted as saying in Greg Prato's book "Long Live Queen: Rock Royalty Discuss Freddie, Brian, John & Roger" that Halford "definitely" pulled off the "leather biker look" better than Mercury. "Actually, that's probably one of the best questions I've ever been asked," Downing said. "Because both of the guys, obviously being gay and both obviously having donned the leathers — which is par for the course — I think the difference was it became Rob's ultimate and permanent image. Whereas Freddie did it for a bit of fun, I think. But [it is] a fun question — I like that a lot. Definitely Rob looked like the epitome — as I hope we all did, together, when we all eventually got into the leather gear — of an archetypal heavy metal band."

In his 2018 autobiography "Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest", Downing claimed to have come up with PRIEST black-leather look. Asked what inspired it in the first place, K.K. told Rolling Stone: "I don't know. I had some pretty cool looks in the early days. I started off with a black, swashbuckling look. There was a place called the Birmingham Reparatory Theatre and underneath it were massive alcoves of all these theatrical clothes. We found out we could rent those clothes, and that became me and Rob's spot. We looked through all these things, and that's why we wore some of these coats and boots; they were all rented from this theater. I think we eventually got told off because we didn't return the clothes in time. [Laughs] We just held on to them. Eventually, we got a little bit of money and started having clothes of our own made and the look just came piece by piece. [Laughs]"

Asked if it was easy to get the rest of the band on board, Downing said: "Some members in the band like to think everything's their idea. I thought, 'I'll get Rob on board to start with.' There were a couple of gay guys at the leather shop in London and Rob was in his element [laughs] with these guys fitting him out in all this leather gear. Gays were already wearing leather in London so it was an easy sell for Rob. He was on board with that but also because we weren't trying to do that; we were doing the leather-and-studs thing in a metal way. Then he started to design all of his clothes. 'I'm having the bullwhip. I'm having this cap made.' Rob was happy for them to know that he was a gay man, but at a certain point, it started to look like a gladiator, which was completely done in metal. It opened up a massive amount of doors for him to elaborate on throughout our career."

In his 2020 autobiography "Confess", Halford credited Downing with the idea of PRIEST dressing in black leather in 1978. He wrote: "The biggest myth about this new stage gear is that I had somehow masterminded the image as a cover and a vent for my homosexuality — that I was getting a thrill from dressing on stage as I'd like to dress in the street, or the bedroom. This is utter bollocks. I had no interest in S&M, domination or the whole queer subcult of leather and chains. It just didn't do it for me. My sexual preference was for men, sure, but I was — and still am — pretty vanilla."

Eyes of fire, lightin up your face. Stone Whiskey continues to promote their incredible debut album, Rebels Of The Sun, with the release of a seventh single and video, "Talkin' Dirty".





North Carolina hard rockers, Stone Whiskey, released their debut album, Rebels Of The Sun, a record chock full of hard-hitting rebellious rock ‘n’ roll, in May 2021.




“This album screams rock ‘n’ roll from start to finish,” says guitarist Bill Spears. “It's got all the key ingredients I want in a band... killer vocals, big guitars, catchy hooks and stories delivered with just the right amount of swagger and character.”


Stone Whiskey’s classic, time tested sound was bought to life by producer Anthony Focx, whose more than 500 releases include Buckcherry, Night Ranger, Vince Neil, Daughtry, Aerosmith and 17 gold and platinum awards.


“Quarantine really gave us the time to focus on writing songs and recording the album,” says vocalist Alan Rueda. “Being able to work with a producer like Anthony Focx was awesome. He took what we had and made it sound like a rock album should sound.”


There’s no filler on Rebels Of The Sun, with each of the record’s nine tracks delivering a hefty dose of high-energy rock. Drawing comparisons to Guns N’ Roses’ early recordings, Stone Whiskey has already garnered praise for their classic sound, with fans enthusing that the Raleigh-based quintet is carrying the old school rock ‘n’ roll torch for a new generation.


“This album is made to be played as loud as possible,” notes bassist Jim Hunter. “If you dig albums like Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction and The Cult’s Electric, Rebels Of The Sun just might scratch that rock n roll itch.”


Check out the videos for the first five singles from the release, the title track “Rebels Of The Sun”, “Into The Moonlight”, "Empty Eyes", "Feels Like Yesterday", and "Out On The City" below. 


Get your copy of Rebels Of The Sun here.





Tracklisting:


"Into The Moonlight"
"Empty Eyes"
"Rebels Of The Sun"
"Out On The City"
"Troublemaker"
"Mirror"
"Feels Like Yesterday"
"Talkin' Dirty"
"Livin' Wild"


"Livin' Wild" video:





"Rebels Of The Sun" video:





"Into The Moonlight" video:





"Empty Eyes" video:





"Feels Like Yesterday" video:





"Out On The City" video:





 


 

Charleston, West Virginia metal band Byzantine has shared the following tragic news: 


"We are deeply saddened to pass along word that our friend and ex-drummer Matthew Wolfe has passed away from a long battle with addiction. Matt was a phenomenal musician, songwriter and guitarist. Matt started playing drums only 8 months prior to joining Byzantine, quickly getting the band signed and performing on stages alongside some of his biggest idols in heavy metal. Matt loved the WV Mountaineers, the Green Bay Packers, loved animals and meeting new friends on the road. Matt’s biggest love was his son Ethan and Ethan’s two older sisters Kendall and CJ. Matt’s unwavering support of the local music scene and bands he shared the stage with will forever ensure Matt is remembered fondly. Matt Wolfe was 46 years old. WE LOVE YOU WOLFE!"







BraveWords sends our condolences to Matt's family, bandmates and friends. 


(Video by Screaming Butterfly Entertainment)


 

SIXX:A.M. vocalist James Michael, who is promoting the band's recently released compilation album "Hits", was asked in an interview with Australia's Rock Lives Here if there are any plans for SIXX:A.M. to record more new music or play live shows in support of the effort. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's funny — every time SIXX:A.M. made an album, we said to ourselves, 'This is the last album we're gonna make.' We said that on 'The Heroin Diaries' soundtrack. We said, 'This is a one-off. We'll never do this again.' Then we did 'This Is Gonna Hurt', and it was, like, 'Yeah, this is gonna be our last album, for sure.' And then we did 'Modern Vintage', [and it was], like, 'This is gonna be our last one.' So we've been saying that since the beginning.

"When we put together this 'Hits' album, of course, we had in mind that if this was the last thing that SIXX:A.M. does, we want it to be right and we want it to thoughtful and we want it to be meaningful," he explained. "And so we really set out with that intention; we wanted to kind of put a nice bow on this decade of music that we've created.

"So, as of right now, we don't have any plans for anything — no touring, no new music or anything. And that's why we're so excited to be sharing this 'Hits' album with everyone because it may be the last thing we do. I don't know. We'll see. That's one thing I've learned with SIXX:A.M. — I never say never."

In addition to Michael, SIXX:A.M. features MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx and former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist DJ Ashba. The name SIXX:A.M. is a combination of all of the members' last names (Sixx, Ashba, Michael).

"Hits" was released on October 22 via Better Noise Music. The album is a retrospective celebration of SIXX:A.M.'s biggest hits and fan-favorite songs that alsos include five previously unheard tracks and mixes, marking the band's first official album with new material since 2016.

Inspired by the release of Sixx's "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx", SIXX:A.M. members Michael, Ashba and Sixx made "Hits" available as a companion piece to the book.

To date, SIXX:A.M. has three U.S. Billboard top 20 albums and a string of hit singles, with its full catalog consisting of five studio albums — "The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" (2007), "This Is Gonna Hurt" (2011), "Modern Vintage" (2014), "Prayers For The Damned" and "Prayers For The Blessed" (2016) — and three EPs, "X-Mas In Hell" (2008); "Live Is Beautiful" (2008) and "7" (2011).

During an appearance on a recent episode of the GUNS N' ROSES-centric "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro once again spoke about the fact that he nearly became a member of GN'R two decades ago after Izzy Stradlin's departure from the Axl Rose-fronted group. "Axl really wanted me to join the band," Dave said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And we talked nearly every day about ideas and the way the band could work with me in it. [But] at that time in my life, I was just simply not present enough to do it. I had an audition with the band that I actually didn't show up to because I was immersed in my drug addiction and I just simply couldn't show up in that shape. But it happened the way it happened. I went on to go and be in the [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS. And, oddly enough, [CHILI PEPPERS bassist] Flea ended up joining JANE'S ADDICTION for a tour, and [GUNS N' ROSES bassist] Duff [McKagan] ended up joining JANE'S ADDICTION for a tour. So at this age now, it's all water under the bridge and we're all part of this collective musical family and we all played together a myriad of times. But the degrees of separation with those guys and us are way less than six."

Although Navarro never performed live with Rose, he played on the GUNS N' ROSES song "Oh My God" which was a featured track on the soundtrack to the 1999 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "End Of Days".

Regarding how his appearance on "Oh My God" came about, Navarro told "Appetite For Distortion": "Axl called me one day and said, 'I'm working on this record. It's for the 'End Of Days' soundtrack. Do you wanna come and play guitar on it? And I was, like, 'Fuck yeah! Of course I do.' So I was given a location and a time and a studio and I showed up with my gear. And there was 10 people in the studio. And I was, like, 'Where's Axl?' And they were, like, 'He's coming. He's coming. But let's get started anyway.' I said, 'Okay.' And I sat down and I plugged in. They played the track. I said, 'This fucking sounds great.' And I recorded a couple of passes. And then, I shit you not — I swear — all of a sudden I hear in the background, 'Yeah, that sounds really good. Why don't you keep that one?' And what it was was Axl on speaker phone from his home listening in the whole time. I was, like, 'What?' It was just Axl's voice out of nowhere — like out of a fucking speaker. Then he kind of gave me some direction, and I was, like, 'Okay, cool.' And then we were stoked, and that was that. It was a very strange [experience] but I love that it was strange. You know what I mean? Because it makes the story so much juicier and more fucking just memorable and fun."

Navarro, best known for his longstanding role in JANE'S ADDICTION, joined RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS in 1993 following the departure of John Frusciante. He played lead guitar on RHCP's 1995 album "One Hot Minute" before leaving the band in 1998. He has also released two solo records, including 2001's "Trust No One".

Navarro and Billy Morrison (Billy Idol) are currently promoting the third "Above Ground" benefit concert, set to take place on December 20 at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California. Proceeds from the event will be donated to MusiCares, the leading music charity that acts as a safety net for the music community.

Orginally, "The Chase" was intended to be part of Pat Reilly's album Path To Transcendence, released January 3rd of 2020. However, at that time, Pat Reilly couldn't find a vocalist that fit what he was looking for.


Opportunity knocked in 2021, and Pat Reilly, a huge fan of Evergrey, was able to bring Tom S. England (also of Silent Skies) aboard. The lyrics written by Tom S. England were inspired by two concepts: finding comfort in isolation and seeing in the dark through the depths of confusion ( metaphorically ).


"It is an incredible honor to have had the opportunity to work with Evergrey's Tom S. Englund, whom I believe to be one of the best vocalists in modern metal," says Pat Reilly, "I knew his vocals would be just perfect for this song."




Tadpole Jones from the band Meridian Parkway had actually laid the drum tracks for "The Chase" during the recording session for Path To Transcendence. Pat Reilly produced "The Chase" as well as playing guitar and bass. He also wrote all of the piano, synth and choir parts.





"The Chase" was mixed and mastered by Kevin Antreassian (The Dillinger Escape Plan) of Backroom studios whom Pat Reilly previously worked with while recording with band Fellahin Fall.


The lyric video was created by John Kaimakamis, (Fate's Warning, Badd Kharma) who is well-known audio engineer, video editor, digital designer and a photographer for Metal Hammer in Greece.


Order music here.





(Photo - Karen Naqvi)

Swedish progressive rock outfit, Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side, recently signed with InsideOutMusic for the release of the upcoming new album, Miles From Nowhere, due out on February 18. The band have released a video for the song "Oceans Of Time", which can be found below.


Led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jonas Lindberg, the new album consists of seven songs which spans the full range of the progressive rock landscape - from the soaring ”Summer Queen” (led by Jenny Storm), to the folksy instrumental ”Astral Journey” to the closing title track; a sprawling 25 minute epic which features none other than Roine Stolt Pale Rider (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic) on lead guitar.


Jonas Lindberg on signing with the label: “It’s a great honor to be on this label alongside such great acts like Dream Theater, Yes, Jethro Tull among others! Being a fan of the genre myself, many of the bands on the label are big influences and longtime favorites of mine.”




Miles From Nowhere is available for pre-order here on CD, Gatefold 2LP+CD & as Digital Album.


Lindberg had this to say about the new album: "Miles From Nowhere is my fourth release and second full length album with my progressive rock project Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side. It was recorded between 2019 and 2020, in part during the pandemic, and is a followup to my 2016 release called Pathfinder. This album is much more "symphonic" in a way with much longer songs and it even features a couple of epics. The lyrics are also much more personal in a way, and reflects a lot upon things happening in my life between both albums. While I considered Pathfinder to be a band effort at the time, on this one I'm playing a lot of the instruments myself and even singing lead vocals on a couple of tracks. In part due to logistical difficulties caused by the pandemic. It also features some more guest musicians than just the lineup of my original project members, with one of my biggest influences in the genre, Roine Stolt guesting on the epic title track."


”It’s such an honor to have one of my biggest influences in the genre playing on one of the tracks! I’m so happy that he wanted to do it. Roine’s solo follows one of Jonas Sundqvist’s strongest vocal tracks ever, and he somehow managed to top that. Such a great guitar player,” says Lindberg.





Tracklisting:


"Secret Motive Man"
"Little Man"
"Summer Queen"
"Oceans Of Time"
"Astral Journey"
"Why I’m Here"
"Miles From Nowhere"
PT I - Overture
PT II - Don’t Walk Away
PT III - I Don’t Know Where You Are
PT IV - Memories
PT V - Miles From Nowhere


"Oceans Of Time" video:





Album teaser:

Styx have released a lyric video for "Sound The Alarm", featured on their latest album, Crash Of The Crown, released back in June via the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Find the clip below.


Styx’s holy mission for cutting Crash Of The Crown was crystal-clear to its co-creator from the get-go. “Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album,” Shaw concludes about the herculean recording efforts of his fellow COTC makers. “And everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.”







Tracklisting:


"The Fight Of Our Lives"
" A Monster"
"Reveries"
"Hold Back The Darkness"
"Save Us From Ourselves"
"Crash Of The Crown"
"Our Wonderful Lives"
"Common Ground"
"Sound The Alarm"
"Long Live The King"
"Lost At Sea"
"Coming Out The Other Side"
"To Those"
"Another Farewell"
"Stream"


"Sound The Alarm" lyric video:





"Save Us From Ourselves" lyric video:





“Reveries” lyric video:





"Crash Of The Crown" lyric video:





It’s been four years since legendary rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx joined forces for a summer co-headlining tour. While the world has changed since then, fans’ desire to rock out hasn’t. Styx and REO Speedwagon are telling you to close those laptops and get out of your sweatpants, because they’re set to once again bring their rock & roll classics to the masses, this time with special guest Loverboy for the Live & UnZoomed tour that kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena.


Below you can find the complete routing, as well as a video with more info about the tour. Tickets on sale now.


Styx’s Tommy Shaw agrees, “I can’t think of a better way of touring the USA next year than with good friends we’ve known for years and performed with on many a stage. What a great night of music this will be!”


REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin said, “Tommy (Shaw) and I have done a number of Zoom performances together during the pandemic, and REO and Styx are ready to go get UnZoomed, and out on the road for our fifth U.S. tour together. Add our great friends Mike Reno and the Loverboy guys, and I am totally psyched. If I wasn’t performing in it, I would totally come out to see this show. See you all, LIVE and UNZOOMED!”


Loverboy’s Mike Reno proclaimed, “We can’t wait to take the stage and rock this summer, it’s gonna be awesome. These are all the groups I grew up with, and I’m there too. Best tour of the summer…guaranteed.”





Tour dates:


May
31 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena


June
1 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
3 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amp.
4 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amp.
7 - Milwaukee, WI - American Family Insurance Amp.
8 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
10 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
11 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
13 - Rogers, AR - Walmart Amphitheatre
14 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
17 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
18 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp.
19 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre


July
8 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
9 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
12 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
13 - Ridgefield, WA - RV Inn Style Resorts Amp.
15 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
16 - Irvine, CA - FivePoint Amphitheatre
19 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amp.
20 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion
22 - Austin, TX - Germania Insurance Amp.
23 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
24 - Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion


August
5 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amp.
6 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
8 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
10 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park
12 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
13 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion
16 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
17 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
19 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
20 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
21 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

In a new interview with "The Scotty Mars Show", THREE DAYS GRACE singer Matt Walst weighed in on the online feud between fellow Canadian rockers Danko Jones and MONSTER TRUCK frontman Jon Harvey. Danko has been very critical of Jon's contribution to Kid Rock's new single, "Don't Tell Me How To Live", in which Kid — whose real name is Robert "Bob" Ritchie — rants against "woke" culture and the mainstream media at a time when "every opinion has a millennial offended."

Speaking about whether he and his bandmates ever voice their political views publicly in order to sway their fans one way or the other. Matt said: "I feel like that has become a thing now, where either you're left or right. We tend to just stay in the middle and listen to everybody. I feel like everybody's choosing sides. Man, we don't care. If you believe this, that's your thing. Yeah, we don't get into that."

Walst went on to say that while he hadn't yet heard Kid Rock's "Don't Tell Me How To Live" at the time of the interview, he was an admirer of his music and performance style.

"Kid Rock, he's got this raspy, cool — it's almost old, Southern-type rasp to it," he said. "I'm a big fan. I actually got to hang out with Bob a few times. I watched him fly a helicopter to Chad Kroeger, the singer of NICKELBACK's yard and land in the yard and then come up to the studio. And he started listening to songs that we were working on for [my pre-THREE DAYS GRACE band] MY DARKEST DAYS stuff. And then he played the Commodore in Vancouver and we got to go hang out and party with him before and then watch his show. It was a lot of fun. And he flies. So he was actually piloting the thing — with somebody else with him. I remember him just landing right in the yard. 'Oh, Bob's here.'"

THREE DAYS GRACE will release its seventh studio album, "Explosions", on May 6 via RCA Records. The official Jon Vulpine-directed music video for the LP's first single, "So Called Life", was released last month. The song is the first new original music from THREE DAYS GRACE since the Juno Award-nominated "Outsider" album came out in 2018.

THREE DAYS GRACE recently announced more than a dozen U.S. dates for April and May 2022, including a number of headlining concerts and radio shows as the support act for GODSMACK.

In 2019, THREE DAYS GRACE extended its record for the most No. 1s in the 38-year history of Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart, with "Right Left Wrong" its 15th No. 1 single on the tally.

"Right Left Wrong" is featured on "Outsider", THREE DAYS GRACE's sixth full-length album and fifth consecutive Top 40-charting LP on the Billboard Top 200.

THREE DAYS GRACE's other No. 1 singles include "Misery Loves My Company", "Chalk Outline", "World So Cold", "Never Too Late", "Just Like You", "Animal", "Pain", "Home" and "Infra-Red".

"Rucker", a new horror film starring SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, will be released on VOD on January 4, 2022 via Giant Pictures. The movie's official trailer can be seen below.

The film's official synopsis, courtesy of ComingSoon, which premiered the trailer: "For the past 30 years Rucker the trucker has devoted his life to traveling the road as a mass serial killer. When Rucker picks up unsuspecting Maggie, she makes him the subject of her trucker documentary. But her life takes a dangerous detour when Rucker recruits her to complete his masterpiece: A connect-the-dots roadmap portrait of his ex-wife comprised of the women he's killed who resemble her."

"Rucker" was previously described as a genre-bending terror film about a serial killer trucker who attempts to salvage family relationships. Olympic College film professor Amy Hesketh serves as the film's director and fellow OC professor Aaron Drane produced the film. Both are credited with co-writing the screenplay.

Corey portrays the titular character's trucking buddy. Taylor had previously appeared in the film "Fear Clinic", which was written and produced by Drane.

"It was as easy as Aaron reaching out to me," Taylor said of how he ended up involved in "Rucker". "He and I worked together on 'Fear Clinic', and apparently I left a lasting impression. He sent me 'Rucker' and we were able to make the time work, and it was boom, boom, boom — the rest is history."

Drane was thrilled to have Corey involved with the "Rucker" film. "He's a rock star," Aaron said. "I mean that in every sense of the word. He is one of the coolest guys I know, and he's somebody who has to function at a very high level, yet really goes far out of his way to help other people achieve their art."

Taylor said he had "a great time" working on the film in Bremerton, Washington and added that they even "found a role" for his now-wife Alicia.

Drane said that "Rucker" is not your typical slasher flick. It relies less on jump scares and more on leaving the viewer with a lingering sense of dread.

"When you watch a horror film, when you participate in the content and the characters, you feel a sense of shared vulnerability," Drane said. "What we tried to do with this film was tap into the human experience and the underlying fears associated with real-life issues. It's real-life horror."

A longtime fan of horror films, Taylor was featured prominently in the "In Search Of Darkness" documentary, which came out in 2019.

Corey told Syfy network's "Metal Crush Mondays" how he first got into horror movies: "My mom took me to see the 'Buck Rogers [In The 25th Century]' movie when I was a kid. I must've been four or five, but the trailer before the movie was John Carpenter's 'Halloween'. You've just got these incredible visuals, this sense of it's autumn, it's Halloween and there's just this dude in the background of every shot. I can remember as a five-year-old just being transfixed. Like, I suddenly didn't care about Buck Rogers. I think it was the one moment in my life that really galvanized my taste in what my young mind thought was cool. It was actually a couple years later that I actually got to watch it and to this day it's one of my favorite movies."


























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In a new interview with Metal Wani, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders was asked to what he attributes the band's longevity. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I attribute the longevity to two main things, I believe. Number one is that we have, thankfully, over time continued to grow together. In any human relationship, you always hope for the best, but it's very natural for people to grow apart. And that's very normal — a normal thing to happen. So the good fortune and fate that we've stuck together and continued to grow together. And number two is that we're all still incredibly passionate about creating music. Thankfully, none of us have a personal writer's block where… We're not the main songwriters, so if someone's only coming up with one or two ideas for this album, well, don't worry — the other guys have you covered because we're a band in the true sense of the word, I believe. So the two points is that we've thankfully grown together, and we've all continued to share this… The fire in our bellies to create has yet to be extinguished. So those two things are keeping us together."

Last month, MASTODON — which was formed in Atlanta in 2000 and has eight studio albums to its credit — was announced as one of the "Best Metal Performance" nominees at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on January 31, 2022, at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. The progressive metallers were nominated for their song "Pushing The Tides", the first single from their latest album, "Hushed And Grim", which came out in October.

The follow-up to 2017's "Emperor Of Sand", "Hushed And Grim"was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others.

The "Hushed And Grim" artwork was created by longtime MASTODON collaborator Paul Romano, who also designed the sleeves for "Crack The Skye", "Blood Mountain", "Leviathan" and more.

"Emperor Of Sand" debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. That LP was nominated for the 2018 Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album," and its opening track, "Sultan's Curse", won the Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance."

Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess has shared a portuion of his December 12th Patreon livestream performance dedicated to The Beatles. Check it out below. 


To listen to the entire stream and enjoy lessons, live chats and more, join Jordan's Patreon here.







Dream Theater's new album, A View From The Top Of The World, is available in a limited Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, Special Edition CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD+LP-booklet. The Blu-ray contains a 5.1 surround sound mix with full album animations, plus ‘Digging For A Spark - A View From Inside DTHQ’, a specially filmed documentary that gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the band’s new home-base and the making of the new album.


A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and is available for pre-order here.


Dream Theater - comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini - was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release Distance Over Time and the 20th anniversary of Scenes From A Memory when a Global Pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) - a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via ZOOM on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.


“We just love to play our instruments,” observes Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”


“We approach every album like it’s our first,” adds LaBrie. “It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”





A View From The Top Of The World tracklisting:


"The Alien" (9:32)
"Answering The Call" (7:35)
"Invisible Monster" (6:31)
"Sleeping Giant" (10:05)
"Transcending Time" (6:25)
"Awaken The Master" (9:47)
"A View From The Top Of The World" (20:24)


"Invisible Monster" video:





“The Alien” video:





Deluxe Box Set trailer:

NHC - comprised of guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer / vocalist Taylor Hawkins, and bassist Chris Chaney - have released a video for their new song “Lazy Eyes”. Directed by Todd Newman, it was filmed at the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood, California on November 23rd.





NHC is the result of pure, unharnessed creativity and the world’s biggest Mutual Appreciation Society; the guys – who all knew each other socially as staples of the Los Angeles rock world – came together over the last year and just played, giving themselves no rules or limits. For Hawkins, who had played alongside Chaney in the mid-'90s in Alanis Morissette’s band, it was a chance to play with the one and only Dave Navarro, whom Hawkins calls “the best lead guitarist in alternative rock.” For Navarro, it was an awakening of everything he loved about playing – feeling his own playing had plateaued, NHC’s song creation brought him back to his instrument in new and inspiring ways.




Indeed, “new and inspiring” are the best adjectives to describe these three legends when they are together in the same room. Often finishing each other’s sentences, the trio have found unfettered joy working on music together, and could not be more excited to get two more songs from this project out into the world.   


“Lazy Eyes” follows three previously released songs from NHC: “Devil That You Know”, “Feed The Cruel” and “Better Move On”.

Concordance is the latest EP from Canadian melodic death metal act Varius and now, their single “Lament Of Dissonance” has a lyric video to go with it.


Varius (various in Latin) pride themselves on being experimental, and constantly challenging the constraints of existing genres. This track was originally written as piano parts by drummer Vlad Prokhorov, and then reworked for guitar and bass.


Lyrically, the song describes a brilliant creative person cracking under the pressure of expectations of his audience. The band explains the premise behind the EP and further detail the track:




“We think this album represents a diverse but consistently heavy listening experience. All four songs are distinct in their approach and theme; they are almost representative of four different subgenres of metal. All four songs are consistently heavy and sound like they are related, as they should. We can thank our recording engineer Eddie Lucciola (414 Recordings) for the consistency in production. The song structures, riffs, and lyrics are where most of the diversity lies. The lead single, 'Lament Of Dissonance', is both a straightforward and experimental listening experience. The song has a simple, catchy structure and some different grooves by our standards. That song also has an interesting twist at the end. 'Lament Of Dissonance' definitely represents both the heaviness and the diversity of Concordance.”





Concordance artwork and tracklisting:





"Golden Crown" 
"Concordance Of The Legionfall" 
"Lament Of Dissonance" 
"Gut Shoveler" 
"P.I.S.S." (CD bonus track)


"Golden Crown" lyric video: