Professionally filmed video of HEART's Ann Wilson and her solo band THE AMAZING DAWGS performing covers of classic songs by QUEEN, John Lennon, THE WHO, AEROSMITH and LED ZEPPELIN on August 18, 2021 at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire can be seen below.

Four months ago, Wilson and THE AMAZING DAWGS released a live EP called "Howlen Live". Joining Ann in the group are Tom Bukovac on lead guitar, Tony Lucido on bass, Paul Moak on guitar and keyboards, and Sean Lane on drums.

In April, Ann released another new single, "Black Wing". It is one of several songs the HEART frontwoman recorded in the fall of 2020 in Seattle with the help of local musicians, including current HEART bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker. In addition to "Black Wing", Wilson recorded "Tender Heart" as well as covers of Steve Earle's "The Revolution Starts Now" and ALICE IN CHAINS' "Rooster", all three of which have been released as singles, plus another original, "The Hammer", which came out in February.

Earlier in the year, Ann said in an interview that there are no plans for HEART to work on new music in the immediate future.

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after a nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

Ann's 2018 solo album, "Immortal", contained cover versions of classic songs by artists who have passed away.

ALTER BRIDGE and SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS frontman Myles Kennedy spoke to Chasta of the San Francisco radio station 107.7 The Bone about what it felt to step back on stage for his first pandemic-era concert this past June in Kansas City, Missouri. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't even know how to articulate it. I didn't know what to expect. I remember standing backstage — it was in Kansas City, at a theater there — and my manager's, like, 'Okay. We're ready to go.' And I just kind of walked out not knowing what to expect. The audience was so… just amazing, and they were so happy — I think for everybody to be in the same room together, experiencing music together. And it was a night I probably will never forget. It was extra special, obviously, because of the drought of live music."

He added: "I just have such a love for that interaction — when you put humans in a room together and there's just this magical thing that, like I said, you can't really articulate it. And it is spiritual — it is something kind of transcendent. So, yeah, it was legit."

Last month, Slash revealed that he and Myles were two of the four members of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS who contracted COVID-19 during the recording of their new album "4". Only guitarist Frank Sidoris managed to avoid being infected.

"4" will be released on February 11, 2022, via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG. "4" is Slash's fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Kennedy, Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass, vocals) and Sidoris (guitar, vocals).

Kennedy's sophomore solo album, "The Ides Of March", came out in May via Napalm Records. The LP was tracked at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with the same team that worked on 2018's "Year Of The Tiger", including producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, engineer Jef Moll, as well as drummer Zia Uddin and bassist Tim Tournier.

Last year, Kennedy told Consequence about the positive things that have come out of the pandemic: "I think a lot of us who are creative have been utilizing this time to basically write and create and reevaluate things, trying to figure out where things are going. For guitar geeks like myself, there's a lot of time to just sit and noodle and practice. I'm even noticing that with guys that I follow on Instagram, just how much time downtime they have because they're not touring. I'm noticing, man, that guy's technique was great before, but now he's doing things that are, like, 'Wow.' I'm assuming it's just like the rest of us, that he's got nowhere to go, so we just sit there with a guitar in our hands for 12 hours a day, and this is what happens. It's going to be exciting. I think in about three years, maybe less, there are going to be some real interesting, cool things that come from all of this, as far as bodies of work that are created and things that are attained from a technical standpoint on various instruments. I kind of feel like the sky's the limit, because what are we going to do other than just work on our craft?"

Whitechapel announced Alex Rüdinger as their new drummer back in September, about a month before the release of Kin. Rüdinger drummed on the new Whitechapel album Kin and had been filling in with the band live since 2019. Unfortunately Rüdinger has now announced his exit from the band.

According to Rüdinger, a "number of things didn't seem right to me, both professionally and personally" with the band. He also adds that he was never a full-time member of the band despite the announcement, and was "treated and compensated as a hired-gun the entire time, including the writing and recording of Kin." Still, Rüdinger wishes the band well and has also announced he'll be drumming live with Light The Torch.

"Whitechapel's first show since Covid began is right around the corner. Since I won't be there, it's probably time to make this known: A while back, I resigned from Whitechapel. I offered to keep this under wraps until sometime after the album was released. Despite the fact that I'm no longer with them, I'm immensely proud of the new album, and I didn't want anything to distract from the music / release itself.

"There were certainly reasons for this decision, but I've always felt that it's incredibly unprofessional for an artist to divulge all of their issues publicly. All I'm going to say is: A number of things didn't seem right to me, both professionally and personally, so I decided to move on.

"Additionally, for the record: Despite their semi-recent post, I was never a full-time member of the band. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone, but that announcement was made prematurely. It was discussed, but significant details were never addressed. I was never asked to sign anything, nor did I have any knowledge on the inner workings of the business itself. I was treated and compensated as a hired-gun the entire time, including the writing and recording of Kin.

"At any rate – to any Whitechapel fans, fret not. They were a band long before I came into the picture, and I've no doubts that they'll find a suitable replacement and keep truckin' right along. I'm still incredibly thankful that I got the opportunity to play and write with them, and I wish them well.

"I'm not entirely sure what's next for me. In the immediate, I'll be playing with Light The Torch on the upcoming U.S. tour supporting Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red. I've worked with Light The Torch periodically in recent years, and I'm quite looking forward to performing live with 'em. Past that, I guess we'll see!

"And if you're still reading: Big love to all you people that've followed my work over the years (regardless of where I've gone)! Things haven't always panned out the way I imagined, but I'm still so thankful for all of these experiences – good and bad alike. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience ANY of it without you all, so for real – thank you."

Former METALLICA bassist Ron McGovney has dismissed SAXON singer Biff Byford's anecdote about the first show the two bands played together nearly four decades ago as "total fiction."

During a new appearance on "The Chuck Shute Podcast", Byford recounted a funny incident that allegedly happened when METALLICA was the support act for SAXON at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California in March 1982. "I think we were out having dinner or something before the gig or doing something," he recalled. "And METALLICA was setting up on stage. And I wasn't there. I was there later for their show, but I wasn't there [when they were setting up]. And I had a huge electric fan there in front of me, and I think METALLICA asked if they could use it, and our tour manager said 'No.' So they didn't use it. They didn't talk to us for a long, long time because of that. [Laughs]"

He continued: "I wrote a book, an autobiography, a few years ago, and in the book, I said, 'Look, if you wanna use the fan anytime in the future, it's no problem. You can use it guys.' And they got in touch with me after that. They must have realized that it was a bit stupid. And we got on [and became] big friends after that. So, that was pretty cool."

A day after BLABBERMOUTH.NET published a story based on Byford's comments, McGovney — who was METALLICA's bassist at the time of the Whisky show — took to his Twitter to share the article and he included the following message: "Wow. What a story. Total fiction."

Seemingly backing up Ron's claim is the fact that METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich didn't mention anything about wanting to borrow Byford's electric fan when he wrote about his band's experience opening for SAXON at the Whisky in an Instagram post back in March 2019. At the time, he said: "On March 27th in ’82, we played our 2nd & 3rd shows at the legendary Whisky a Go Go in LA, supporting SAXON. For us at the time, this was like winning the lottery. Not only was this our first Hollywood gig, but in the early 80s, SAXON were one of the biggest, most exciting & influential hard rock bands in the UK & Europe. I had actually seen them six months earlier on their Denim & Leather tour in Brighton, where I even managed to sneak backstage. Haha…

"Back then, our set consisted mostly of cover songs & most of those were DIAMOND HEAD songs. Funny story… after the 1st set, this guy on SAXON's crew comes into our dressing room & asks us, in a very matter-of-fact tone, whether we had ever heard of a band from England called DIAMOND HEAD. I snapped back at him, 'Of course we have, we just played a bunch of their songs!!' It turned out that apart from being SAXON's monitor engineer, he was also DIAMOND HEAD's monitor engineer. His name was Paul Owen & he eventually became METALLICA's monitor engineer, playing more than 1,300 shows over 22 years with us. Take that with ya.

"All in all, an incredible night for 'TALLICA & a mind fuck for us to see our logo occupying the same space on a flyer as the mighty SAXON & the celebrated Whisky a Go Go."

McGovney was a member of METALLICA during 1982 and appeared on the band's early demos. Tension between McGovney and then-METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine led to the bassist quitting the band and being replaced by Cliff Burton. He later told "Talk Is Jericho" that his exit from METALLICA wasn't upsetting to him because he was less into the band's thrash style, plus he was interested in being a motorcycle mechanic.

In December 2011, Byford joined METALLICA on stage for the first of four intimate shows at the 1,200-capacity Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. The iconic metal vocalist performed the SAXON classic "Motorcycle Man" with METALLICA.

It wasn't the first time Biff and METALLICA had surprised their fans with a live rendition of the song: in 2009, Byford joined the San Francisco heavy metal giants in Paris, at Palais Omnisport de Bercy.




Wow. What a story. Total fiction. What do you think @DAVIDMARRS_ ?

— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) December 15, 2021








Yes. We played two shows that night. pic.twitter.com/N2u1cd3B9u

— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) January 3, 2021




























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A post shared by Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich)

The Finnish power quartet MegaSnake has released a new single, "Don't". Check out the official video below. 


The band comments: "We're not re-inventing the wheel or anything like that. Our influences go back to 1970's and 80's rock music and that is surely easy to hear. We are just making the kind of music that we personally love to play."







MegaSnake's debut album is scheduled to be released on March 2022 via Inverse Records.


"MegaSnake is a four piece Rock band from Finland, who carry their name with dignity and pride. They are out to have a good time, putting smiles on people's faces (and their own) with high energy rock n' roll. As far as previous history goes (former bands / projects, etc.) the MegaSnake gentlemen have it and then some.


Having been around the block several times the guys also know how to take their music seriously, while not themselves too seriously. We might grow older but we’ll never grow up.


So, what’s in a name? The guys in MegaSnake choose A and B. Maybe playing covers by Megadeath and Whitesnake explains everything. Or then again nothing."


The band's line-up features vocalist Richard ”Tipe” Johnson (Leningrad Cowboys, Gringos Locos, Apocalyptica's live line-up), drummer Twist Twist Erkinharju (Peer Günt, Leningrad Cowboys, Los Bastardos Finlandeses), guitarist Samuel Hjelt (Kings of Modesty, ex-Ancara) and bassist Henrik Tuura (Kings of Modesty, Killer Kachina)

Rolling Stone is reporting that a dozen previously unreleased Pink Floyd albums quietly surfaced on streaming services this week. All of the concerts occurred between 1970 and 1972, covering the period in which the band released Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), and Obscured by Clouds (1972), and had already begun playing songs from Dark Side of the Moon (1973).


One recording — a March 1972 Tokyo gig — features a near-complete performance of Dark Side in sequence, a full year before its release. The songs are loose and jammy in a way not heard on the studio version. Many of the record’s well-known sound effects are completely different and “Money” features some unusual percussion.


All of the recordings are copyrighted to Pink Floyd Music Ltd., suggesting these are official releases from the band. Their release may be timed to extend the rights of the recordings. In 2013, a rep for Sony explained Bob Dylan’s release of uncirculated music by telling Rolling Stone, “The copyright law in Europe was recently extended from 50 to 70 years for everything recorded in 1963 and beyond. With everything before that, there’s a new ‘Use It or Lose It’ provision. It basically said, 'If you haven’t used the recordings in the first 50 years, you aren’t going to get any more.'"




Read the complete report here.


Ultimate Classic Rock has published a list of the live albums. Check it out below.


They Came in Peace - Leeds University 1970 Washington University
Live at Grosser Saal, Musikhalle, Hamburg, West Germany - Feb 25, 1971
Mauerspechte Berlin Sportpalast - June 5, 1971
Live, Lyon 12 June 1971, Tokyo - March 16, 1972
Live in Rome Palaeur - June 20, 1971
Amsterdamse Bos Free Concert - June 26, 1971 
Live in Montreux - Sept 18 & 19 1971
KB Hallen, Copenhagen - Sept 23, 1971
KB Hallen, Copenhagen, Vol II - Sept 23, 1971
Over Bradford Pigs on the Groove Bradford University - Oct 10, 1971
Embryo, San Diego - Oct 17, 1971
The Screaming Abdabs Quebec City - Nov 10, 1971

Alice Cooper guitarist, Ryan Roxie, has released his version of "Merry Christmas Everybody" (originally titled "Merry Xmas Everybody") by iconic UK rock band, Slade.


Says Ryan: "The ‘Official’ YouTube release is finally here! We really hope you enjoy ‘our’ version of Slade’s Christmas classic "Merry Xmas Everybody". (Hint: Watch in 1080p Hi-Def to get the most out of the video experience by hitting the YouTube ‘wheel’ on the video player.)


"NOW… It’s up to YOU to promote it to ALL your friends and send everyone to this site OR the Ryan Roxie Official YouTube Channel.  THANK YOU SO VER MUCH, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and above all… Enjoy the Sleigh-Ride!!"




On how to be an even bigger part of it, Roxie continues: "Even if you were not able to submit a video, you can STILL be part of the celebration by donating directly yourself to Crisis Aid by clicking on the logo below or going directly to the PayPal Donate link …THANK YOU for being part of this, and know that we appreciate you SO MUCH being part of the R.G.A. aka the Roxie Guitar Army. Enjoy the Holidays, and above all… ENJOY THE RIDE!!!"


Proceeds from purchased downloads and donations for the song will all go to Crisis Aid International. Further details here.

Graham Mitchell, who was MOTÖRHEAD's tour manager in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was also an avid photography enthusiast. A new large-format tabletop book, "Fast & Loose: Snapshots From The Graham Mitchell Archive, 1977-1982", collects nearly 100 of his snapshots, including many that have never been published before.

"I somehow knew how important it all was," Mitchell says. "I knew I needed to capture at least some of those moments. I'd see the band to the stage and then immediately go out into the house, jostle with the punters, and get what I could."

One of the most influential hard rock bands of all time, MOTÖRHEAD mixed rock, punk, and heavy metal into an aggressive blend of pure explosive energy. During the era documented in "Fast & Loose", the classic "three amigos" lineup of the band (Lemmy Kilmister, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, and "Fast" Eddie Clarke) toured relentlessly and recorded a half dozen classic albums that continue to impact the music world today. All three of their estates participated and gave their blessing for "Fast & Loose".

In the period covered in the photographs, Mitchell was not only the band's tour manager but, in his own words, "their babysitter, their procurer of women, their procurer of drugs, procurer of everything." Somehow, in the midst of the whirlwind, when Graham picked up his camera he snapped amazing images of the group that document the raw power of MOTÖRHEAD with an unparalleled intimacy that only a trusted member of the inner circle could capture.

Rather than posed promotional images, these are gritty and off-the-cuff shots that catch the band in the studio, on stage, in rehearsals, partying in dressing rooms, clowning around in the van, and even getting into a shaving cream fight with fans. From side-stage performance shots, to up close images of band gear, to Lemmy wearing a slice of turkey as an eye patch, what's presented in "Fast & Loose" is a true insider's view.

"Most of my images," Graham reveals, "are one-shot photos, and there's no flash on any of them. They were done at 400 ASA to speed up the film and take advantage of whatever natural light I could get, so I was always flying by the seat of my pants whenever I clicked the shutter." Through it all, he managed to capture the harsh realities of the road (band members washing their hair in a tiny sink), the inevitable fun (living it up with members of the band WEAPON backstage in Glasgow), and even the tender moments (spending time with Phil Taylor's dad).

Rather than cleaning and sanitizing the photos, each one is presented with the gritty immediacy of the moment. There are scratches and blemishes, but that's the point. It preserves an era. "You know, there used to be a MOTÖRHEAD saying," Graham reflects. "Take no fucking prisoners. It always made sense to me, and I like to think these photos capture that in all its (occasionally grotty but never boring) glory."

"Fast & Loose" is an up-close-and-personal look at a one-of-a-kind group that is essential for any diehard fan. Published by BMG, it's available now in the U.S., and will be released in the U.K. on December 30.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there are plans for the band to reschedule band's second Las Vegas residency after the shows were canceled in October. "Definitely, oh definitely," he said.

"Our original plan was to come in just before New Year's, but it was just too busy," Simmons said. "When I came into town and joined my friend Dave Grohl [and FOO FIGHTERS] onstage [on December 4], that same night you could see George Strait at T-Mobile Arena, literally across the street. You go down the street and you can see many more artists. I mean, it's packed. There are more artists per square inch in a city that never sleeps than anyplace on the planet."

Simmons added that he would like to revisit the idea "in a year, maybe half a year. With all due respect to other all the other artists who are terrific, and who are great and iconic, we'd rather wait for the traffic to die down and bring the best show on Earth, period," he said.

Ticketmaster notified ticket holders of the 12-date residency's cancelation via e-mail last month. The Las Vegas Review-Journal's initial report cited "soft ticket sales" as the reason behind the scrapped concerts, although an amended version of the article no longer gives an explanation for the shows being called off.

Last month, KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee was asked by The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn what the real reason was for the residency cancelation. He said: "When we did it, I said we're gonna go until November 1st and see if we can get the people in from Europe. We have one chance for people to come to Vegas to see us because Gene and [KISS co-founder] Paul [Stanley] will not tour after [2022]; they're gonna be done. So when we couldn't get the people in, and the restrictions were there, I said, 'We don't have to do it now.' We talked about it: 'Let's do it later down the road when everybody gets a chance to see a different section of KISS.' This isn't KISS, the stage show that we have today, this isn't KISS 2.0 or any of that stuff — this will be a whole different vibe that people wanna come [and see]. And we're gonna do 12 shows. Let people be able to come and see 'em for the last time in Vegas. It was hard enough on the [recently completed Kiss Kruise] — 174 people couldn't come [due to COVID travel restrictions]; 174 cabins, [which was] like 300 people."

As for when he expects the second KISS Vegas residency to finally happen, Doc said: "I think it's gonna be in, like, August [of 2022]. It'll be either August or October. We're checking it out now."

In August, Simmons spoke to Rolling Stone about KISS's then-upcoming residency, saying: "There are matters of the heart and then there are matters of the pocket and it’s nice when they both converge. So it's a very nice payday. They pay well and that's reason enough. But it's also easier for the band because you don't have the wear and tear of traveling."

KISS's residency cancelation came a day after Rolling Stone magazine published a story in which a group of KISS roadies suggested that the lack of COVID protocols enforced on "End Of The Road" led to the death of a longtime guitar tech, 53-year-old Francis Stueber. Stueber died of coronavirus in his Detroit hotel room on October 17, just two days after being quarantined. The crew members claimed the tour didn't take strict enough safety measures, including not testing everyone regularly. In addition, some crew members allegedly disguised their illness and/or faked vaccine cards.

The legendary rockers previously set up shop in Sin City in November 2014 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel And Casino. The nine-show run was captured for the "Kiss Rocks Vegas" DVD and Blu-ray set, which arrived in August 2016.

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Simmons and Stanley, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lin

New York City prog rockers Four Trips Ahead have premiered their new video, “Higher”, the third single from their Remnants EP.





Four Trips Ahead’s roots date back to 2003 when the seasoned New York City musicians first came together in search of a new creative outlet. Instantly, the quartet recognized common musical interests—creating heavy rock with killer melodies and progressive oscillation. The band’s last full-length, ...And The Fire Within, charted consistently in Metal Contraband’s National Top 50 Radio Charts for eight consecutive weeks, with its highest placement at #34, garnering heavy rotation on American college, commercial, and specialty Hard Rock/Metal radio formats. Moreover, their video for the single "Bring Me Down" debuted on AXS.com to an enthusiastic response and was featured in PROG's summer 2020 new music sampler. The band's latest EP, Remnants, continues their anthemic social call to action.







The EP is brimming with electricity, capturing the band’s passion, intensity, memorable songwriting, and bold musicianship, standing apart from much of today's contrived rock releases. Musically, Remnants is daring, dynamic, and demanding—hard rock like it's meant to be played.

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, CANNIBAL CORPSE drummer and founding member Paul Mazurkiewicz was asked how long he thinks the band can keep going. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "As long as we're all healthy, then who knows how long we can take it. I wouldn't have ever thought when I started that I'd still be doing this still at 53 years old. So, how long can we take? You've just gotta look at it, at this point, day by day. You never know. If you stay healthy and you keep active and you keep doing it, it's just gonna come down to that — it's gonna come down to the health factor. Because everybody knows — the older you get, anything can go wrong at any given time, whether it's a disease or an injury or whatever that you just go, 'I can't do it anymore. No matter how much I practice and how much I do the right thing, it doesn't matter.' So we've gotta just take it day by day at this point. There's no denying — we're more at the end of our career than we are in the beginning. Can we go another 30 years? Well, I highly doubt it. I would be 83 doing this… That would be incredible [if we could still do it at that age], but I would have to almost think that would slightly be impossible. I guess it's possible — who knows? We don't know. Nobody's done it in that sense in the extreme form.

"When you had [THE ROLLING STONES drummer] Charlie Watts still doing it at 80 years old, that's amazing," he continued. "So the fact that he's still drumming and he's on stage at 80 is incredible. I just met Carmine Appice the other day, and he's 75. And the guy is still up there and playing and doing his thing — albeit it's not maybe extreme death metal, but still, he's up there playing drums…

"So, you never know. You take it day by day," he repeated. "As long as we're healthy and we're feeling good and everything is going good in those ways, then who's to say we can't last another 20 years. But who knows?"

CANNIBAL CORPSE's 15th studio album, "Violence Unimagined", was released in April via Metal Blade Records. Erik Rutan, one of the death metal's most acclaimed guitarists who is known for his time as part of MORBID ANGEL throughout the '90s and early 2000s, as well as handling vocals/guitars for HATE ETERNAL, lent his guitar as well as production skills to the effort, which was recorded at his Mana Recording in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rutan previously produced four CANNIBAL CORPSE albums (in addition to "Violence Unimagined"), alongside the likes of GOATWHORE, SOILENT GREEN and BELPHEGOR. Filling in live on guitar since 2019, in 2020 he became a full member, contributing to the writing process.

In a 2017 interview with Aesthetic Magazine, Mazurkiewicz stated about CANNIBAL CORPSE's longevity: "It's about the love of the music. We're very fortunate to start out 30 years ago and have success right off the bat where everything was going great. We all just love to play and write songs, and after fourteen records, we just want to keep moving forward and we feel like we always have, and the popularity just grows with the band. We love to create and write the perfect brutal death metal CANNIBAL CORPSE song and I think we obviously must have achieved that to have this sort of longevity."

"Como Un Titán" is the new single from Metal Against Coronavirus. Watch a lyric video below.


A message states: "If you thought we were winding down, well, that is further from the truth. We are back with a new dose of Metal Against Coronavirus for you. This time around Pánico Al Miedo presents 'Como un Titán'. Throw your horns up and crank up the volume on whatever device you use to satisfy your metal cravings. You won’t regret it until you realize the damage you have caused while head banging this new Metal Against CoronaVirus tune.


"This is a Pánico Al Miedo song featuring King Diamond's Andy La Rocque and Matt Thompson, Tony Choy (ex -, Cynic, Pestilence), produced and mixed at Morrisound Recording (Death, Sepultura, Morbid Angel) and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Voivod, Mayhem, Halford) Are you ready?"







Support Metal Against CoronaVirus. All funds raised go towards the fight against COVID-19. Purchase, donate, listen here.





Metal Against Coronavirus is a creative project that requires the participation of the entire international metal community. Metal Against Coronavirus was created to raise funds for the fight against coronavirus. With the aim that all nationalities feel comfortable within the project, we decided to allocate the money generated to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund of the United Nations Foundation for the World Health Organization.

DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie spoke to Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show about his upcoming solo album "Beautiful Shade Of Gray", which is due on May 20, 2022 via InsideOut Music. Unlike previous LPs "Elements Of Persuasion" (2005), "Static Impulse" (2010) and "Impermanent Resonance" (2013), which were written and recorded as a collaboration with LaBrie's songwriting partner for over a dozen years, Matt Guillory, the new effort was tracked with Scottish musician Paul Logue, bassist and founding member of the multinational melodic metal band EDEN'S CURSE.

Speaking about how 1970s rock music influenced and inspired his new solo album, James said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm a huge [LED] ZEPPELIN fan. I'm a huge [fan of] PINK FLOYD and AEROSMITH and DEEP PURPLE and all that. These bands were so iconic back in the '70s. So a lot of the inspiration, when I sat down with Paul Logue, who's the other musician that I wrote the album with, and he's from Scotland, I said, 'Paul, I just want us to think more about…' If you think about the acoustic end of ZEPPELIN and their organic approach to their songs, it was still beautiful, it was still powerful, extremely melodic, and it just kind of reached deep within, it resonated deep within each and every one of us that listened to any ZEPPELIN. So that was the catalyst to set things in motion. It became a full ensemble. I mean, I have keyboards, drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar and then myself doing all the vocals. So it's somewhat acoustic but it's also a full ensemble as well. So it still has the full band kind of sound and orchestration."

Regarding the lyrical themes covered on the LP, James said: "'Beautiful Shade Of Gray' has a lot to do with the lyrics that I wrote for this album. And a lot of my lyrics are dealing with the human condition and all the dynamics of life in itself that each and every one of us experience and, to a certain degree, it's common for most of us to go through the same experiences. So I wanted to write a lot about that. So that's kind of what inspired this whole venture."

LaBrie went on to say that he was "really excited for everyone to hear" "Beautiful Shade Of Gray". "It came out fantastic," he said.

Two months ago, James told "The Everyman Podcast" about how his collaboration with Logue came about: "I sang on one of [EDEN'S CURSE's] songs back in 2010 called 'No Holy Man'; so I guest on that. And I really liked Paul's writing. To me, Paul's writing was more from a classical era — like the '70s; that classic rock approach. And I had a lot of ideas in that vein.

"Paul and I actually bumped into each other — you think fate isn't there with you; holy shit… The day after we finished the show — DREAM THEATER in Glasgow [on] February 23rd [2020]. I'm waiting for my flight on the 24th to go to London and then Toronto, and Paul walks by me and he goes, 'James!' I'm, like, 'Oh my God!' He goes, 'You know I was at the show last night.' He kept trying to e-mail me on my old e-mail address. And he goes, 'Listen, let me know. You wanna get together? You wanna do some writing?' And I said, 'I'd love to.' At the time, I said, 'I don't know. Some freaky shit's going on. You're hearing about this virus?' 'Yeah. Yeah.' [I said] 'We've gotta go to Asia, then we've gotta go to freakin' South America and North America and all that.' I said, 'So we're probably not gonna be done till October, but why don't we start writing then? Or why don't we start throwing ideas back in the meantime, and I can even be on the road and working on it?' And he goes, 'Great.' All of a sudden, the world closes down. So we got on it… It was probably… Everything closed down March 15th, I believe, and by March 20th, him and I were already passing ideas back and forth."

Elaborating on the songwriting process for "Beautiful Shade Of Gray", LaBrie said: "We started as, we said, 'Let's just keep it real raw and acoustic-based — that'll be the fundamental of this album,' and then it kind of morphed into more of an ensemble, so [with] keyboards… Marco Sfogli is playing lead guitar on all the tracks. Paul is playing all the rhythm acoustic guitars and bass. And then [my son] Chance [LaBrie] is doing drums. Christian Pulkkinen is the keyboard player, who's a fantastic keyboard player, piano player. All the lyrics, except one, I penned.

"It was really interesting how it came together, whether I'd be throwing [Paul] a riff or I'd be throwing him a melody idea that became a chorus to one of the songs or verses," he continued. "And then he'd throw me back his ideas musically. And we slowly but surely put it all together. We had everybody fully involved. And it came out fantastic. The label is really stoked about it. It has that kind of ZEPPELIN-esque feel to it, but still the modern-day aspects of it as well are there. So it's great."

"Impermanent Resonance" was released in August 2013 via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to "Static Impulse" saw Guillory not only taking the leading role in composing the material, but also handling all of the keyboards and background vocals. The album's lineup was intact from the previous recording, featuring Marco Sfogli from Italy on guitar, Ray Riendeau (HALFORD, MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE) on bass and Swedish drummer Peter Wildoer (DARKANE, MAJESTIC), who was a finalist in the DREAM THEATER drum auditions. Additionally, former SOILWORK guitarist Peter Wichers came into the fold to contribute songwriting and studio guitars.

In 2014, LaBrie released a digital EP, "I Will Not Break", via InsideOut Music. While the opening title track was the album version taken from the "Impermanent Resonance" release, two other songs were previously only released physically as digipak bonus tracks, one tune was an alternate mix version, and two other songs were special demo versions, all previously only released physically as bonus tracks on the digipak and the Japanese edition for the "Static Impulse" album in 2010. The last three tracks were special dub step / electronica remixes of "Static Impulse" songs, previously unreleased. The remixes were done by U.S.-based DJs Jason Miller, Mutrix and NeonGenesis. The cover artwork for the EP was once again designed by Gustavo Sazes of Abstrata.net (ARCH ENEMY, KAMELOT).

Professionally filmed video footage of German thrash metal veterans KREATOR performing the song "Terrible Certainty" during their August 14 appearance at the Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom can be seen below.

This past summer, KREATOR entered Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany to begin recording its new album for a tentative early 2022 release. Helming the sessions is Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP and SOULFLY, among others.

Earlier this year, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza revealed to the official podcast of Italy's Metalitalia.com that the band would wait until the coronavirus pandemic has subsided before releasing an album.

"Last [year], in August, we felt that we were done [writing], and we were very enthusiastic about, like, 'Okay, this is almost an album. We have 12 songs. And we take the 10 best, or whatever we come up with.' And we already planned on going into the studio in February," he said. "Now it's February, and the world is still kind of fucked with the COVID. So we have to wait and be patient… I think going on a tour, the artwork, everything has to connect. So we'll wait until that's possible again, and then we'll put out the album."

On the topic of the musical direction of the follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" album, Mille said: "It's definitely different. It's hard for me to describe, but I think it's definitely more thrash again. It has a lot of melody, and it has a lot of traditional parts, and it has a lot of ingredients of the last four or five albums. But it also has some very old-school moments. I think it's definitely the next step."

KREATOR's next album will mark the band's first with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

In September 2020, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."

In March 2020, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios.

The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.

KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.

KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for November/December 2022 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.

EVANESCENCE has released a studio recording of its cover version of THE BEATLES' "Across The Universe". The track, which was previously covered by Amy Lee and her bandmates on their 2018 "Synthesis" tour, was also featured on disc two, "A Live Session From Rock Falcon Studio", of the limited box-set version of EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", containing 10 live studio session songs. The song has now been made available as a digital single via all digital music service providers.

Upon its release, "The Bitter Truth" charted at No. 4 in the U.K., making it the band's fourth Top Five album in the country. EVANESCENCE's first full-length release of all-new material in a decade, "The Bitter Truth" also debuted as the top-selling rock and alternative album in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music Connect.

Shortly after its arrival on March 26, "The Bitter Truth" rose to the top of the iTunes album charts in 22 countries. Recorded during the pandemic, it confronts the dark realities of the world head-on. Yet its resounding message is one of light, and that pushing through is better than giving up.

A kiss-off to the naysayers and the cheats in the rearview mirror, "Better Without You" explodes with the "metal catharsis" that runs through 'The Bitter Truth'" (Los Angeles Times). The official music video for the track was directed by filmmaker Eric D. Howell ("Ana's Playground", "Voice From The Stone"), who also directed the video for EVANESCENCE's "Use My Voice".

EVANESCENCE's new music was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked on 2011's self-titled LP.

Chris Cornell's daughter Toni Cornell performed her late father's Grammy-nominated cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" on last night's (Thursday, December 16) episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". The 17-year-old singer was joined on acoustic guitar by Pete Thorn, who had performed with Chris Cornell on tours supporting the SOUNDGARDEN frontman's "Carry On" and "Scream" solo albums.

Last month, Chris Cornell was nominated for two Grammy Awards: "Best Rock Album" for his covers collection "No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1", and "Best Rock Performance" for his version of "Nothing Compares 2 U".

"No One Sings Like You Anymore", Chris Cornell's handpicked collection of 10 cover songs, which he personally selected and sequenced to celebrate artists and songs that inspired him, was released in December 2020. Recorded by Chris in 2016, the album, which is his last fully completed studio LP, also features his renditions of John Lennon's "Watching The Wheels", GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY's "Sad Sad City", Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into The Fire", Carl Hall's "You Don't Know Nothing About Love", ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's "Showdown", Terry Reid's "To Be Treated Rite", Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me Baby" (originally released for HBO's show "Vinyl"), and "Get It While You Can", popularized by Janis Joplin. Chris's cover of GUNS N' ROSES' "Patience", which was released on his birthday this year, and earned him his first solo Billboard No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, is also included on the album.

Three and a half years ago, Toni shared a recording of her and her late father covering "Nothing Compares 2 U" to mark Father's Day.

"Daddy, I love you and miss you so much," she wrote at the time. "You were the best father anyone could ask for. Our relationship was so special, and you were always there for me. You gave me courage when I didn't have any. You believed in me when I didn't. I miss your love everyday. Recording this song with you was a special and amazing experience I wish I could repeat 100 times over and I know you would too. Happy Father's Day daddy, nothing compares to you."

In April 2020, Toni performed an acoustic cover version of TEMPLE OF THE DOG's "Hunger Strike" from her father's home studio during LiveXLive's "Music Lives" global digital music festival.

In August 2017, Toni Cornell joined the band ONEREPUBLIC onstage on ABC's "Good Morning America" to perform the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah". The performance was a celebration the lives of Chris Cornell and late LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington, both of whom died within months of each other.

Chris Cornell was found hanged in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017, following a SOUNDGARDEN show at the city's Fox Theatre. His body was found soon after he had spoken with a "slurred" voice to his wife, Vicky Cornell, by phone. The death was ruled a suicide. But his family has questioned the medical examiner's ruling, saying that he had a prescription for Ativan and that a higher than recommended dosage may have caused him to experience suicidal thoughts.

Swedish high-energy rock and rollers THE HELLACOPTERS will release a new studio album, "Eyes Of Oblivion", on April 1, 2022 via Nuclear Blast. It will mark their first full-length collection of new material since 2008's "Head Off".

THE HELLACOPTERS guitarist/vocalist Nicke Andersson states: "The album has 10 songs, and although it's obviously not easy to be objective at all, I think musically it sums up everything we've touched upon from the start in 1994 up until now. Some of the songs date back as far as 10 years or more, and some were written more recently. It's rock and roll played with high energy, so for lack of a better term, I say high-energy rock and roll. You could say it sounds like THE BEATLES meets JUDAS PRIEST or LYNYRD SKYNYRD meets the RAMONES but the best way to describe this album is that it sounds like THE HELLACOPTERS today."

To celebrate the kick-off of this new chapter for THE HELLACOPTERS, the Swedes are sharing with you a band new single, the anthemic album opener "Reap A Hurricane". The song presents itself as a potential future fan-favourite with all of the juicy riffs and in-your-face swagger you could've possibly hoped for, topped off with a captivating chorus that won't leave your head any time soon.

"Reap A Hurricane" continues the good old HELLACOPTERS tradition of releasing physical seven-inch singles in each album cycle. The seven-inch vinyl of "Reap A Hurricane" will be released on February 4, 2022, and it features an exclusive song called "Done Fighting" as a B-side. The seven-inch is available in two different color variants, red and green, which applies to both the vinyl and the respective cover.

THE HELLACOPTERS were formed in 1994 by ENTOMBED drummer Andersson and BACKYARD BABIES guitarist Dregen.

THE HELLACOPTERS' second album, 1997's "Payin' The Dues", was the band's last studio effort to feature Dregen before his departure to focus full-time on BACKYARD BABIES.

In October 2007, THE HELLACOPTERS announced that they would be breaking up after the release of their seventh full-length album, "Head Off", a collection of cover songs. Eight years later, the band reunited, initially for an exclusive performance at the Sweden Rock Festival to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album, "Supershitty To The Max!"

Robert "Strängen" Dahlqvist, who played guitar for THE HELLACOPTERS for nearly a decade, died in February 2017 at the age of 40.

Dahlqvist was a member of THE HELLACOPTERS from 1999 until the group disbanded in 2008.

THE HELLACOPTERS achieved two gold certifications, won the Swedish Grammy equivalent and a Kerrang! award, and have amassed 100 million streams to date.

Canadian thrashers Hyperia, formerly of Calgary, AB, now residing in Vancouver, BC will be self-releasing their new album, Silhouettes Of Horrorm in March 2022. The full-length follows 2020's Insanitorium (Sliptrick Records) and their 2019 EP, Fish Creek Frenzy.


Silhouettes Of Horror sees guitarist Colin Ryley behind the soundboard, producing and mixing the record, with mastering done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland (Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, Battle Beast). Album artwork was created by Andrei Bouzikov (Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Toxic Holocaust).


“We think that we have polished our sound and pushed ourselves to create what we believe is a newly refined vision. This record has pushed the whole band to their limits, and the songwriting, performance, and the production value is a huge step up. We feel the fans will enjoy this new album even more than our first full-length,” adds guitarist Colin Ryley.




The band even included a cover of Abba's “Gimme Gimme Gimme”. For the recording of Silhouettes Of Horror, Hyperia also recruited good friend and session drummer Gord Alexander (Tessitura, Tides Of Kharon, Immunize).


Most of the lyrical themes on Silhouettes Of Horror revolve around inhumane government experiments, sleep disorders, and night terrors. 


In the lead-up to the release of Silhouettes Of Horror, Hyperia is sharing their new music video for the first single “Operation Midnight”, a hard-hitting track with melodic vocal lines and sporadic guitar riffs. It's a catchy and memorable song that portrays what the whole new album is about.


“'Operation Midnight' was a song that we wanted to be fast, punchy, and hard-hitting the whole way through. It's accompanied by a music video filmed by City Zero Films that was shot a few hours northeast of Vancouver in a secluded foresty area. It's a good song to set the pace of the album, lyrically and musically. The lyrics focus around nightmarish hallucinations and terrors; seeing black hooded figures at the side of your bed. It has melodic and heavy parts that showcase the diversity of our new album,” the band comments.





Silhouettes Of Horror is due out on March 18, 2022 and is recommended for fans of Exmortus, Arch Enemy, Unleash The Archers, and Havok.





Tracklisting:


"Hypnagogia" 
"Intoxication Therapy" 
"Experiment 77" 
"Severed" 
"Prisoner Of The Mind" 
"Terror Serum" 
"Whitecoat" 
"Silhouettes Of Horror" 
"Operation Midnight" 
"Pleonexia" 
"Gimme Gimme Gimme" (Abba cover)