During an appearance at the Texas Frightmare Weekend 2021 in Dallas, Texas in September, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor discussed his new mask which he debuted earlier that month at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma. "I spent three months designing that specifically," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "'Cause the last one was — it was cool but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. So this time around, I started early. I actually started designing this before the end of the 'We Are Not Your Kind' cycle, just to make sure that I was ahead of the game and making sure I could dial in all the details and whatnot. And I actually did it with a young man named Conor Deless, who's super cool. And he flew out. I walked him through everything that I wanted to have on it. And he was able to mock something up really quick, man. And he really got to the essence of what I was trying to configure. It was almost immediate. And then, really, it was just a matter of waiting for him to build the damn thing… We did the mold. We built it right to my face, so it fits like a glove. And it's hot as balls, but it's so rad on stage; it just looks really, really cool. I'm calling it the smiling skull mask."

This past May, Taylor spoke to Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the evolution of SLIPKNOT's masks and what fans can expect to see during the band's current touring cycle.

"The mask has been a part of us forever," he said. "The mask is king. And for us, especially people like me and Clown and the guys in the band that really allow those masks to evolve, it's important for it to be a reflection of who we are in that music. And I can tell you that the mask I'm working on is very disturbing. It's gonna be hard to look at. And it'll probably be my favorite mask that I've ever put together. It's little bits and pieces of things that have intrigued me, of masks that I've had in the past. And it's gonna have a devil-may-care kind of terror to it, let's put it that way."

Corey worked on his previous mask with special effects legend Tom Savini, whose extensive career in the film industry and especially the horror genre dates back to the late 1970s, including in such films as "Friday The 13th", "Dawn Of The Dead", "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" and many others.

The other members of SLIPKNOT performed with their current masks for the first time in May 2019 when they appeared as the musical guests on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

During a 2017 appearance on an episode of Viceland's "The Therapist", Taylor was asked about the significance of wearing a literal mask when he is performing with SLIPKNOT. He responded: "With SLIPKNOT, at least for most of us in the band, the mask is part of the art — it's not just the visual and the shock; it's a representation of who I am in that album. So, for me, it's as natural as having a different hairstyle for one album and tour cycle, wearing different clothes for an album and tour cycle. It's a part of the dynamic. It's one of the things that you look forward to. Not just writing the songs, not just putting the music together, not just putting the visuals together, but what… who am I in this album?"

Corey spoke about the changes in the SLIPKNOT bandmembers' masks in a 2014 interview with Metal Mania Radio. "With every album, some of us have evolved our masks more dramatically than others, but there's always a difference, they've always changed a little bit… This band evolves with every album, and it just makes sense that our masks [would as well], because we're not the same people. It's not something that we sit down and we talk about as a group, we just kind of do it. As unified as we all are, the mask is really something that we trust each other to do individually and we trust them to do the right representation."

SLIPKNOT recently completed the 2021 incarnation of the "Knotfest Roadshow". Support on the trek came from three Grammy-nominated heavy music luminaries, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE.

UFO guitarist Vinnie Moore has told Michael's Record Collection that he was very sad to hear about the passing of the band's guitarist/keyboard player Paul Raymond in April 2019.

"We were already out in the middle of [UFO's] big farewell tour," he said. "And right after we did England — like, one week later, man — we got the message that Paul had passed.

"Man, he was so happy," Vinnie continued. "We were really having some successful shows — good crowds; everything was going really well. I know he was very, very happy. It's kind of a shame that he had to kick off when things were going really well.

"When I first heard it, I thought, 'Okay, this is probably the end of the band,' but then there started to be some talk pretty quickly about Neil Carter, who had played in the band before, stepping in, which actually happened. I think he was with us for, like, a year — we did a year's worth of shows — and then COVID hit. So we had all these gigs lined up that had to be pushed back a year, and then they were pushed back a year agin. And so now we don't go out [until] June in Europe in 2022."

Raymond was recruited by UFO in 1976 to replace the band's first keyboardist, Danny Peyronel. When Michael Schenker left UFO, Raymond joined Schenker's MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP and later hooked up with Pete Way in WAYSTED.

Raymond appeared on more than a dozen of UFO's albums, including "Lights Out" and the live classic "Strangers In The Night".

UFO's current lineup includes original members Mogg and Parker, as well as Vinnie Moore (lead guitar), who joined in 2003, and Rob De Luca (bass), a member since 2012.

UFO recently announced that it will embark on its final tour featuring a series of exclusive concerts in summer 2022 to bid farewell to its fans in style. At the grand finale of an unprecedented success story, which began in 1969 and has spanned more than five decades, the band has announced a number of real highlights: The first one is scheduled to take place on Monday, June 20, 2022 at the Beatbox in Hannover, where UFO is planning a public rehearsal, with a strictly limited number of only 80 tickets available. One day later, on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, the band will perform a private open-air concert in front of an audience of 300, presenting the full set-list of the subsequent tour, and coming into exceptionally close contact with their fans. UFO will then play the very last concert of its long career on October 29, 2022 in Athens, Greece, where the band performed its first show featuring Moore in February 2004.

UFO is considered one of the classic hard rock acts, and was ranked No. 84 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."

UFO's latest release was the 2017 covers collection "The Salentino Cuts".

SMITH & MYERS, the duo comprised of SHINEDOWN's Brent Smith and Zach Myers, has been forced to cancel its concert tonight (Thursday, December 9) at the Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after Smith became ill with a sinus infection and strep throat.

Earlier today, Brent released a video message explaining the show cancelation and denying that he had tested positive for COVID-19, as some fans had speculated. He wrote in an accompanying message: "Hey everyone… If there is one thing that I NEVER, ever want to do, it’s cancel a show ESPECIALLY in Philadelphia… I know that there is speculation online that I might have tested positive for Covid-19… That is NOT the case. I have tested multiple times, and I am negative. I have a combination of strep throat, and a pretty gnarly sinus infection, and as much as I hate to admit this I would not be able to give you my 100% tonight. To everyone @933wmmr and @pierrerobertwmmr I promise I will make it up to you somehow in the very near future. This is not something that Myself nor @zmyersofficial takes lightly. We love you Philly, and like I said I promise I will make it up to you All."

In September, SHINEDOWN was forced to play two concerts as a three-piece after bassist Eric Bass tested positive for COVID-19. A month earlier, SHINEDOWN drummer Barry Kerch missed a few shows on the band's tour after contracting the novel coronavirus. He was temporarily replaced by Dustin Steinke of SIXX:A.M.

Smith recently confirmed that the first single from SHINEDOWN's seventh studio album will arrive in January 2022. The follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention" was recorded in part at a new studio in Charleston, South Carolina spearheaded by Bass, who is the group's bassist and producer.

Last year, Brent told Forbes that SMITH & MYERS allows him and Zach to cover new territory, exploring sounds and ideas not frequently traversed by SHINEDOWN.

"I think there was no real instruction manual for I," he said. "I think it was more about me and Zach looking at it and approaching it. We weren't trying to make a carbon copy of SHINEDOWN. If we wanted to go in and make an acoustic SHINEDOWN record, that's what we would've done. That's not what SMITH & MYERS is. Yes, it's me and Zach. It's Zach playing guitar and piano and both of us singing. But it's a different adventure more than anything."
























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The popular vinyl collectible company Funko — best known for its big-headed Pop! figures — has announced its latest artist collaboration: Eddie Van Halen.

Due in January 2022, the vinyl figure is approximately 3.75 inches tall. It comes packaged in a window display box.

Earlier today, Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang took to his Instagram to write: "Pop signed off on this way back in 2019 and it's wonderful to see it finally come to fruition. So stoked with how it turned out! #Funko"

Other artists who have gotten the Pop! treatment in the past include KISS, IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, DEF LEPPARD, Rob Zombie, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, GHOST, MOTÖRHEAD and Joan Jett.

A Funko vinyl Pop! figure, or popularly known as a "Pop!", is packaged carefully inside a box with a transparent front. The figurine is made out of vinyl and may come as a bobblehead.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop culture consumer products company. Funko designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including vinyl figures, toys, plush, apparel, board games, housewares and accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with their favorite pop culture brands and characters.

Funko reportedly holds more than 150 licenses, including Lucas Films, Marvel, Hasbro, Disney and more. The company reported having 777 full-time employees at the end of 2020, 617 of which were based in the U.S.

After Funko's Q3 results were announced on November 4 — beating expectations on revenue and earnings per share (EPS) — CEO Brian Mariotti said: "As a credit to our brand, we are continuing to expand our product categories and fan base, increasing fan engagement and bringing innovative new products to market."

According to InvestorPlace, Funko also got into the non-fungible token market, releasing limited-edition digital card packs that include rare cards. Buyers can trade these rare cards to profit from the collectibles market.




Coming soon: Pop! Rocks – Eddie Van Halen w/Guitar. Pre-order today for your collection. https://t.co/OkcK2voGv3 #Funko pic.twitter.com/wcm9Ts33O2

— Funko (@OriginalFunko) December 9, 2021






























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Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Sad But True" during the band's "intimate" concert on November 4 at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida can be seen below.

Tickets (priced $130-$380) for the 7,000-seat-theater show went on on July 30 and quickly sold out.

Support at the Hollywood gig came from Orlando metallers TRIVIUM.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Whiplash

02. Ride The Lightning

03. Harvester Of Sorrow

04. Seek & Destroy

05. Through The Never

06. One

07. Sad But True

08. Moth Into Flame

09. No Leaf Clover

10. For Whom The Bell Tolls

11. Fuel

12. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

13. Master Of Puppets

Encore:

14. Blackened

15. Nothing Else Matters

16. Enter Sandman

This past September, METALLICA's Lars Ulrich said that it was "way too early" to talk about a new studio album from the band. The 57-year-old drummer touched upon a possible follow-up to 2016's "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" while speaking to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked if there is a new METALLICA LP in the works, Lars said: "We're on that path. I don't know if it's cohesive enough to call a record, but we're dipping our toes. We've been trying to stay busy. We did the drive-in thing last summer. We did an All Within My Hands event in November. We did '[The Late Show With Stephen] Colbert'. We're doing '[Jimmy] Kimmel [Live!]' tomorrow. We're engaged. And we are creating at some level. It's way too early to talk about a record or a timeline or anything. But we're staying busy. And it's exciting to just think of the possibilities. Right now we're so rejuvenated and just ready to get back in."

Earlier this year, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told "The Fierce Life" podcast that he and his bandmates had written "quite a few songs" during the coronavirus quarantine. "We'll see how many we like first, and then we'll put 'em out," he said. "We're pretty selfish that way; we like what we write as well."

This past July, guitarist Kirk Hammett told Classic Rock magazine that he and his bandmates have been staying creative during the pandemic. "We've tried to make the most of the COVID year and a half, and we've been pretty successful," he said. "We've got together remotely and worked, and we've got together [properly] and worked. Things are moving really well. I would say that the music we're coming up with is very appropriate for the times."

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

Hamburg death metallers Rise Of Kronos, still known to many under their former band name Surface, have signed with MDD and expect to release their new album in the first quarter of 2022.


The renaming took place at the beginning of this year, among other things to connect the band's concept even more strongly with the dark-antique world of Greek mythology, which thus becomes more central. Originally, the band's fourth album was supposed to be released in 2021, but as is often the case, things turned out differently, and as we all know, good things come to those who wait.


In August, the quartet released "Cycles", an official video clip for the new material, in which they engage in a fierce guttural battle with Hiraes / Critical Mess frontwoman Britta Görtz. 







 

Swedish doom and groove merchants Hazemaze share a second track taken from their upcoming album Blinded By The Wicked, to be released on January 28th on Heavy Psych Sounds. Get ready for another headbang-worthy ritual with "Ceremonial Aspersion".


Hazemaze bassist Stefan Carillo comments: "'Ceremonial Aspersion' is a straight forward, bone-crushing Goatsnake-inspired doom hymn that opens up the B-side of our new record, Blinded By The Wicked. The theme of song is inspired by the morbid and bizarre ritualistic acts within the infamous Australian cult, Satan’s Children. This is also the first song to incorporate a Hammond organ to emphasize the gloomy and ritualistic experience. 'Ceremonial Aspersion' is a caravan of Sabbathian riffs and it’s meant to be played at eleven."







As the pandemic progressed and the world got darker, so did Hazemaze's songwriting. Their third album, Blinded By The Wicked, explores cults and their leaders' malevolent intentions that corrupt vulnerable people. The band has taken their dark thematics to the next level, delivering their most multifaceted, pulverizing and groove-infused album to date, describing it as "rock'n'doom." Blinded By The Wicked was recorded by Timmy Ternestål at Studio Ingenstans in their hometown of Strängnäs, and mastered at Studio Humbucker by Robert Pehrsson (Death Breath, Dead Lord, Imperial State Electric). 


Listen to the previous single "In The Night Of The Light, For The Dark":





According to Hazemaze: "'In The Night Of The Light, For The Dark' tells the grim and sinister acts of Marcus Wesson where his family paid the ultimate price for his God complexitality. It was the first song that we wrote together, right after our last show with The Gates Of Slumber, which was also our last show before the pandemic turned the world upside down. We wanted to capture that early '80s Trouble and Saint Vitus, but with a touch of modernity. The result became a Sabbathian hymn that will take you on a morbius and riff-worshipping trip like no other song that we have ever written."


Blinded By The Wicked artwork and tracklisting:






"In The Night Of The Light, For The Dark"
"Devil's Spawn"
"Ethereal Disillusion"
"Sectatores Et Principes"
"Ceremonial Aspersion"
"Divine Harlotry"
"Luciferian Rite"
"Malevolent Inveigler"


Hazemaze is:


Ludvig Andersson - guitar / vocals
Nils Einéus - drums
Stefan Carrillo - bass


 

Portuguese blackened death metal group Nihility has unveiled a lyric video for the song "Will To Power", from their second full-length album Beyond Human Concepts, which is set for release on January 8, 2022 via Vicious Instinct Records.





Beyond Human Concepts can be pre-ordered now at this location. See the cover art and tracklisting below.







"Martydom For The Herd" 
"Hubris"
"Destory The Shackles Of Prejudice"
"Human Stupidity"
"Conflicting Vanities"
"Will To Power"
"The Religious Dogma"
"Beyond Human Concepts"
"Sea Of Thoughts"


"Martydom For The Herd" video:





 

In a new interview with Sofa King Cool, Ted Nugent spoke about his involvement with DAMNOCRACY, the short-lived project he formed with ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach, ex-BIOHAZARD bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld and drummer Jason Bonham (BONHAM, UFO, FOREIGNER).

DAMNOCRACY was featured in the 2006 VH1 "reality" television show "SuperGroup". The premise of the series, which was filmed in February and March 2006, was to lock several musicians in a house for 12 days and get them to write and record some new original music. In addition to the five musicians, manager Doc McGhee (KISS) was in charge for the duration of filming/recording. The all-star band also performed a headlining set at the Empire Ballroom in Las Vegas.

Asked why DAMNOCRACY never continued beyond the TV show, Ted said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Sebastian Bach, I love the man, but what a goofball. He is so dedicated to hiding from Sebastian Bach. I mean, he's made some really nasty, stupid falsehoods against me. [Laughs] And I still love the guy; he's gifted with one of the most amazing voices in the history of the world. But his propensity to scramble to escape himself with the drugs and the alcohol. It's a self-inflicted curse I've just witnessed my whole life that is inexcusable.

"DAMNOCRACY — Jason Bonham, monster talent. Great man, work ethic, And all the guys… Scott — super human," Ted continued. "Super musical force. All of 'em — fun to be with. Even Sebastian, even though he was always losing it. But it was fun. And it didn't happen because it was too programmed.

"With those powerful talents — [Evan], Jason, Scott and all of us — we loved the music. We wanted to make music. I think in the case of Sebastian, I think he wants to be more of a pop star than a music guy. And so he was like a kid in a candy store surrounded by all these musical forces. And, again, he's a musical force. It's just that he tends to go on the transparent, poppy rock and roll star side. And if you wanna be a rock and roll star, you're not gonna be. If you wanna make great music, you're probably gonna be a rock and roll star. Big difference.

"I've played Jason since then, and I've spent time with Scott since then," Nugent added. "Great guys, and it was fun. But I can't go to a city and produce a TV show like that ever again. It's just too much hurry-up-and-wait stuff."

Bach previously addressed his involvement with DAMNOCRACY during a 2019 question-and-answer session at the Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, Tennessee. Asked if there were any proper DAMNOCRACY recordings available to be released, Bach said: "That session exists on my laptop. Ted Nugent didn't wanna make that a real thing. He's got way too many animals to kill. On top of his list are squirrels, rabbits, birds. Get 'em all. That's important. You can't go buy one at the store; you've gotta kill your own. I'm not against that, but… you know. I remember when he focused on the music more than that. That was the Ted I listened to. I've gotta go kill squirrels, grandpa. And then post a picture with a little kid, and the kid's like this [gives a horrified look]. 'I don't wanna kill a buddy.' Like, God, chill out on the murdering, dude. Ease up on the murders." He then added: "Okay, I'm gonna get in trouble for everything I just said."

Back in June 2006, DAMNOCRACY released rough demo versions of three songs — "Take It Back", "UltrAlive" and "Edge Of The World" — on the band's MySpace profile. At the time, Bach said that it was "more than a little frustrating to watch the show and see little to no footage of the band actually playing music. When I say on the show, 'Well, we jammed for six or seven hours today,' but they show none of it, it drives me nuts!" he explained. He added that the demos were "extremely low quality" with "zero production" and predicted that "f we ever cut these tunes, they would probably sound nothing like these demos."

In his 2016 memoir, "18 And Life On Skid Row", Bach wrote about how Nugent, whom he considered to be one of his musical idols, allegedly went on a racist tirade on the set of "SuperGroup", causing Sebastian to step into the role of unlikely hero to the African-American crew by walking out and going to the producer, refusing to continue working with the Nuge.

The following year, Nugent slammed Bach for his comments, saying: "He falls in the 'inconsequential' column. It's true — the guy smokes so much dope. People like Sebastian Bach will literally listen to me praise Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and James Brown and Wilson Pickett, they'll listen to me praise these black artists and literally call it racist. I mean, how much dope do you have to smoke to be that stupid?"

He continued: "Literally, I'm the one during that TV show that pounded home that we cannot lose touch with our black founding fathers, that if you don't have that groove of the black artists, if you don't have the Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and James Brown groove, your music is worthless. That's what I drove home. And he would call that being a racist? This is funnier than Richard Pryor's afro catching fire. I mean, how stupid can you get?"

Italian thrash band Xenos have recorded their own version of the classic Annihilator anthem "King Of The Kill".


Here's what Ignazio Nicastro, vocalist and bassist of the Italian trio, had to say: "We are very satisfied with our version of 'King Of The Kill'. We all love Annihilator. Jeff, and his band is a constant source of inspiration for Xenos and this is a homage to thank him for the great music he has given us through the years. We changed some little detail and played the song in a more violent way and the result is actually awesome, we hope you all will enjoy it. Follow Xenos on our official pages and don't forget to grab a copy of our new album The Dawn Of Ares, 100% technical thrash metal."







"King Of The Kill" is the title track to Annihilator's fourth studio album, released in 1994 via Hypnotic / CMC. The official music video for "King Of The Kill" by Annihilator can be seen below.





 

In the 30-second video below, Slash discusses "Fill My World", a song from SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS' upcoming album, titled "4". Due 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 Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass, vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar, vocals).

Slash states about "Fill My World": "Musically, I came up with it at my studio. It was just the opening riff, and then the underlying chord changes started to come out in my mind. I wasn't sure if I was going to pursue it or not, but I had to record it and make a demo. I thought, I don't know what the guys are going to think… Because it has a certain sentimental kind of feel to it. But I sent it to Myles, and he came back with these heartfelt lyrics. I thought it was about the loss we've all been suffering during this dark period, and then he told me it was about his dog. [Laughs] I said, 'Well, you know, everybody has had somebody that they love affected by this, so…'"

Kennedy adds: "So, I have this little Shih Tzu named Mozart. He tries to act all tough, but he's really not. And on one occasion, we couldn't get home, our flight was delayed, and there was a really intense storm over our house. We have one of those little camera systems to keep an eye on the dog when we can't be there, and we saw him just freaking out. It was heartbreaking to watch. It terrified the little guy. So, the narrative of the song is inspired by what I imagined he might have been thinking as it all went down. And his plea to us to come home. When you listen to it, it could apply to a relationship between humans. But I thought it was interesting, at least for me, to sing it from Mozart's perspective. And to be really honest, as I was singing the song in the studio, at one point you can hear my voice crack a little bit. It was getting to me. So, it's definitely sung from the heart. And I'm man enough to admit it."

In October, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS released the official music video for the LP's first single, "The River Is Rising", shot on location in downtown Los Angeles with Gibson TV director Todd Harapiak.

For "4", Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band's desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

The band's previous albums over the last decade — "Apocalyptic Love", "World On Fire" and "Living The Dream" — have continued on an upward trajectory, all achieving Top 5 Billboard charting debuts in the U.S. and reaching the Top 10 on 12 major charts across the globe. To date, the three SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS albums have now garnered 10 consecutive Top 5 Radio singles, spawned sold-out world tours, and have earned Slash and the band the best critical acclaim of their career with their latest album "Living The Dream" (2018) singled out by the Los Angeles Times, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Loudwire, LA Weekly, and more, as their best songs to date.

The new album "4" has the added history-making distinction of being the first-ever album to be released on the new Gibson Records label, which is headquartered in the iconic American instrument brand Gibson's hometown of Music City, Nashville. In light of the 30-year partnership between Gibson and the Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Slash, it makes sense the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS' album "4" will be released via Gibson Records.

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS will kick off a North American headlining tour on February 8, in Portland, Oregon and hit 28 major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and more, before wrapping up March 26 in Orlando, Florida.

The Haunted guitarist Ola Englund has shared a new video via his YouTube channel, this time offering a list of Christmas gift suggestions for the metal guitar player in your life.


Englund: "Christmas is getting closer and you're getting stressed out about what to get to your guitar playing friend! I got you covered, ranging from cheap gadgets to really expensive shit!"










Englund released his second solo album, Starzinger, earlier this year. Mixed and mastered by Clawfinger’s Jocke Skog, Starzinger follows-up Englund’s debut solo album, Master Of The Universe, released in early 2018 and features Delta Empire on drums along with a number of guest appearances, including guitar virtuoso Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Nevermore).


Check out a playthrough video of "Balegmah" from the album featuring Loomis in action.





Portraying the artwork of Costin Chioreanu (Paradise Lost, At The Gates, Emperor), Starzinger sees Englund merging influences of prog with '80s rock and metal.





Tracklist:


"Stars & Ponies"
"Cringy AF"
"Space Invaders"
"Demon(etized)"
"Bane of Skeletor"
"Bluesy McBluesface"
"Balegmah"
"Sun & The Moon"
"A Bid Farewell"


Stream Starzinger in full below:





"I’m extremely excited to see the release of my second solo album Starzinger, this album being a little bit more metal oriented than my first Master Of The Universe album. It’s a weird feeling because it’s basically just showing the current state of me and where I am in life. Hoping that the people that follow what I do can see the parallels. This one is for you," says Englund about this new effort.


With over 300K subscribers on his tech/music Youtube channel, over the last few years, Ola Englund has also built a strong reputation in the music scene by playing in several bands, most prominently in Feared and The Haunted. Just recently Englund also founded his own guitar company called Solar Guitars, which was meet with great success and currently sponsors artists like Exhorder, The Haunted and At The Gates.

5-0-1 is exactly the score that has to be thrown out in the classic game of darts until a round is finished. In the best case, you need nine throws to get to zero. German thrashers Eradicator have dedicated the song of the same name, including a brand-new music video, to this perfect game. In the music video, the band takes itself for a ride and performs the song in an unusual ambience. But can the "gentlemen" of thrash keep up with the attraction of sharp, precisely thrown arrows?



The song is taken from the current Eradicator studio album, Influence Denied, released this past July by Metalville Records. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:







Influence Denied tracklisting:


"Driven By Illusion"
"Hate Preach"
"Echo Chamber"
"Influence Denied"
"5-0-1"
"Jackals To Chains"
"Mondays For Murder"
"Hypocrite"
"Descent Into Darkness"
"Anthropocene"


"Echo Chamber" video:





"Mondays For Murder" video:





Eradicator lineup:


Sebastian Stöber "Seba" - guitar / vocals
Sebastian Zoppe "Zoppe" - bass
Jan-Peter Stöber "Pitti" - drums
Robert Wied "Robb" - guitar


(Photo - Tom Row)


 

ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti has told MetalTalk in a new interview that the band is still on track to reconvene in 2022 to record a new album. "We are planning to go to the studio in April and May to record the next ALTER BRIDGE record," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "But at this point, me and Myles [Kennedy, ALTER BRIDGE singer] haven't put together ideas; we're just kind of working separately. Scott Phillips [ALTER BRIDGE drummer] was actually gonna come over today and I was gonna go over some ideas with him. What I'll do is I'll write songs and then I will get with Scott Phillips and go over arrangements with him. I'll just get demos made, and I think me and Myles will just get together and compare demos and hopefully be ready by April. We're working as hard as we can to get there. It's kind of a short turnaround in between solo records and ALTER BRIDGE records."

Last March, Myles told the "Lipps Service With Scott Lipps" podcast that ALTER BRIDGE hadn't yet started working on material for the follow-up to 2019's "Walk The Sky" album. "I think everybody's kind of hunkered down in their own solo project," he said. "I know Mark Tremonti is in that world right now. Obviously, I've got [my second solo album coming out]. So I would say we'll start thinking about that more towards the end of the year, early next year. Speaking for myself as a writer, I need to refill the creative well. Having done the ALTER BRIDGE record, and then the second solo record, I need to get those creative juices built back up again."

ALTER BRIDGE released a seven-song EP, "Walk The Sky 2.0", in November 2020 via Napalm Records. The effort contained live versions of a few of the band's favorites from "Walk The Sky" — "Wouldn't You Rather", "Pay No Mind", "Native Son", "Godspeed", "In The Deep" and "Dying Light" — as well as one new studio track, "Last Rites", which was written, recorded and completed entirely during the COVID-19 lockdown.

"Walk The Sky" came out in October 2019 via Napalm Records.

Tremonti issued the fifth album from his solo band TREMONTI, titled "Marching In Time", in September via Napalm Records.

Myles released his sophomore solo album, "The Ides Of March", in May via Napalm Records.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "The Memory Remains" live during the band's first headlining set at the Welcome To Rockville festival on Friday, November 12 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida can be seen below.

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

METALLICA played another show at Welcome To Rockville with a different setlist on Sunday, November 14.

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

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

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

Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band's several multi-platinum albums include "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album), "Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden's Polar Music Prize. METALLICA's newest release, the "S&M²" album and film, arrived in August 2020 on the band's own Blackened Recordings label. "S&M²" chronicles METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony's September 6 and September 8, 2019 "S&M²" concerts that served as the grand opening of San Francisco's Chase Center and reunited the band and Symphony for the first time in 20 years. "S&M²" brings those historic shows back to life, capturing more than two and a half hours of James, Lars, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo joining forces with the nearly 80-strong San Francisco Symphony, legendary music director of the orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas and conductor Edwin Outwater.

They toured with every major metal act - from Iron Maiden to Scorpions to KISS to Mötley Crüe - at the height of those bands’ popularity, electrifying stadium-sized audiences with the fierce determination and fiery spirit of a rock’n’ roll underdog. Signed to MCA Records, they built a cult following on the strength of their superb studio albums, beginning with the classic 1979 self-titled album. They are Axe and although they seem to fly under the radar of mainstream audiences, the band continues to be rediscovered by new generations of classic rock fans. 





Now, a deluxe 4CD box set seeks to re-introduce the band to modern music fans, collecting the ‘79 debut and the subsequent albums they released before a long 13-year hiatus. Those albums include the slickly produced Living On The Edge (1980), the 1982 album Offering that spawned the band’s best known song “Rock ‘N’ Roll Party In The Streets,” and 1983’s Nemesis, which was the last album to be released with founding guitarist Michael Osborne who was tragically killed in a car accident shortly following the album’s release. Each album comes in its own sleeve reproducing their iconic album covers and is packaged with a full-color booklet featuring rare photos and extensive liner notes written by rock journalist Dave Thompson.




Order the box set at cleorecs.com.


Each of the albums will also be reissued on vinyl; starting with the first two. Order the Axe LP here and Living On The Edge here.

Bay Area thrash legends, Death Angel, recently release their new live record, The Bastard Tracks, via Nuclear Blast.


Recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in their hometown of San Francisco on May 22, 2021, and streamed live soon after, The Bastard Tracks is a deep cuts collection of rarely and never performed songs from the band's celebrated catalog that's available now digitally and on CD, Vinyl and Blu-Ray, and will be released on vinyl on April 29. Order here.


Watch a new video trailer:







Commenting on the record, Mark Osegueda states: "When we performed and filmed the songs for The Bastard Tracks it was such a crazy time and having missed being able to perform live for so long was taking it’s toll on me to a certain degree as I have been a live performer for the majority of my life. I must say, it was a pretty dark time. I know it was for so many of us... But! Music once again helped to pull us through it. It was a bit odd performing to no crowd. But! It felt great re-learning some deep tracks and getting on stage with the guys and unleashing this pent up aggression! And the response from everyone who tuned into it suggesting that we release it as an album was overwhelming! Well… Thanks to them here it is! I hope you enjoy it!”





Adding to that, guitarist Rob Cavestany says: "Choosing and sequencing the songs for The Bastard Tracks set list was quite a different trip. All of them had rarely (and in some instances never) been played live. We hadn’t performed in front of a live audience for over a year, the longest ever for this band. It was to be filmed live at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and then broadcast worldwide on the good ol’ inter-web! I could get into that... From basically re-learning most of these songs to getting them as tight as they should be, we put our energy together and made it happen! I’m thankful for having had this goal to focus on during those (still) crazy earth crisis days. It gave us an important reason to get together at DA Studio and JAM! Literally the only time I’ve felt “normal” since 2020 was while we were jamming! Fortunately we’ve been able to do it a lot. Now, we proudly present the audio and visual recordings of those sessions. Turn it up! P.S. - We cannot wait to exchange live energy with you as soon as possible!!"








Death Angel will perform shows throughout the fall and winter, including their 2022 run on The Bay Area Strikes Back Tour featuring Testament and Exodus. Tickets are on sale here.


Death Angel tour dates are listed below.





April
9 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater
10 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
12 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
15 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
16 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
19 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
20 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
21 - Austin, TX - Emos Austin
22 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live
23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
26 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Heaven
27 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
30 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom


May
1 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
2 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
3 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
5 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
6 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
7 - Covington, KY - Madison Theater
9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
10 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater & Ballroom
11 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
12 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
17 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
19 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot

French / Irish alternative/progressive rock outfit, Molybaron, have released a video for "Animals", from their latest album, The Mutiny. Watch below:





Morybaron recently signed a worldwide deal with InsideOut Music / Sony Music Entertainment. The sound of the band is multifaceted and ranges from influences from Tool, to Mastodon, Gojira and Muse. With a big partner behind them, they are now ready to take the next big step.







The band comments their new deal as follows: “We’re over the moon. Every kid who picks up a guitar dreams of joining a big label one day and after 6 years of hard grind, we’ve finally done it! We want to give a massive thanks to our formidable manager Richard Gamba (Sphere Manage), who saw something special in this band and made this deal possible. We are so excited about our future together! To Thomas Waber and InsideOut Music for putting his trust and faith in us. To our publisher Nicolas Ramaget (Editions Hurlantes), for his tireless support and counsel. But of course, none of this could happen without the unbreakable support and belief of our families, friends and our fans! Thank you all and let’s get to work!”





The Mutiny tracklisting:


"Animals"
"Lucifer"
"Amongst The Boys And The Dead Flowers"
"Prosperity Gospel"
"The Lighthouse"
"Slave To The Algorithm"
"Something For The Pain"
"The Hand That Feeds You"
"Twenty Four Hours" (feat. Whitfield Crane)
"Ordinary Madness"


"Lucifer" video:





"Slave To The Algorithm" studio session video:





"Amongst The Boys And The Dead Flowers" studio session video:





“Prosperity Gospel” studio session video:





Molybaron is


Gary Kelly - Guitar/Vocals
Steven Andre - Guitar
Sébastien de Saint-Angel - Bass
Camille Greneron - Drums

British Lion, the ‘up close and personal’ side project band of Iron Maiden bassist & founder Steve Harris, conclude their UK headline club & pub tour tonight in Colchester.


The band have released this new video, stating: "Thanks to all the fans for making this winter tour one to remember! Merry Christmas and a happy new year!"







Previous recap videos can be seen below:








British Lion have announced a European club tour for summer 2022.


Says the band: "We're thrilled to announce a nine date European headline club tour in summer 2022, in addition to the three festival shows already announced for Finland, England and Belgium, working in conjunction with the routing for Maiden’s 2022 Legacy Of The Beast tour. Five of the cities are there to make up for the shows that were cancelled back in 2020."


Tickets are on-sale now, here.





Dates:


June
3 - Hyvinkaa, Finland - Rockfest Festival
10 - Donington, England - Download Festival
17 - Dessel, Belgium - Graspop Festival
19 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Theatre
25 - Paris, France - Trabendo


July
1 - Cologne, Germany - Kantine
3 - Berlin, Germany - Hole 44
8 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
19 - Bremen, Germany - Aladin
23 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
25 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
30 - Lisbon, Portugal - LAV Lisboa ao Vivo


The support for each show will be advised shortly.


British Lion's official video for "Bible Black", the fifth single from their 2020 album, The Burning, can be seen below:

Danish black/heavy metal outfit, Slaegt (aka Slægt, meaning "lineage” / “heritage" in Danish language and pronounced /slɛɡt/), one of the most vital and exciting bands to come out of the Scandinavian metal scene, announce that they’ve signed a new deal with Century Media Records. The first studio offering with their new label, and fourth full-length overall, is entitled Goddess and is set for a worldwide release on March 18.


“It is with utmost pleasure we can announce that we have signed a deal with Century Media. Century Media is a huge force within the metal world - their history speaks for itself and their roster of current and former acts is a sight to behold. The label is made up of passionate and professional people, whose work is very impressive in regards to how they maintain to be such a successful label while still understanding and respecting their artists’ creative process and work. So it would be an understatement to say, that we are truly looking forward to where this collaboration will take us, our music, and our listeners,” states Slægt about signing to Century Media.


Century Media Records Vice President Phillipp Schulte adds, “We are happy to announce a worldwide partnership with Slaegt. The band’s vision, their passion and courage to create dark and timeless music as well as their breathtaking live performances have made a huge impression on us. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome this great band to Century Media Records.”




The first single and video, as well as further details for the Goddess album, will be launched on January 14, with the start of the album’s pre-order. Stay tuned for more details.


Additionally, Slaegt have just announced their European tour with fellow Danish group Demon Head, to promote the new album. Tickets are available to purchase, here.





Slaegt is:


Adam “Ccsquele” Nielsen (Drums)
Oskar J. Frederiksen (Lead Vocals & Guitar)
Anders M. Jørgensen (Guitar)
Olle Bergholz (Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals)


(Photo - Peter Troest)

The Temperance Movement have released an unheard live version of their song “Modern Massacre”, featured on the upcoming collection Caught On Stage: Live & Acoustic, and recorded at the legendary Metropolis Studios in London. You can listen to "Modern Massacre" (Live At Metropolis) below, and on your favourite streaming service.


The Temperance Movement are one of Britain’s finest rock bands of the last 10 years. Formed in London but with a Glaswegian singer, The Temperance Movement are simultaneously anthemic, defiant and cathartic. It bears echoes of the great rock ‘n’ roll icons of the ’60s and ’70s – The Faces and Led Zeppelin, Free and The Rolling Stones. The band have released three studio albums since 2012 each one registering on the UK album charts Top 20 with a higher and higher position each time, culminating in #6 Official UK Chart position for their 2018 album A Deeper Cut.


This special release, Caught On Stage: Live & Acoustic, features a collection of rare live tracks recorded from various locations including intimate acoustic live shows, radio sessions with Planet Rock and rehearsal room recordings, compiled with the help of founding member and guitarist Paul Sayer. Simply a must-have for any fan of The Temperance Movement.




Get four tracks instantly, including "Modern Massacre" (Live At Metropolis), when you pre- order your copy here.





Tracklisting:


"Magnify" (Live Bear)
"Modern Massacre" (Live Bear)
"The Sun and Moon Roll around Too Soon" (Live Bear)
"I Hope I'm Not Losing My Mind" (Live Bear)
"Midnight Black" (Amazon Session)
"Only Friend" (Amazon Session)
"Ain't No Telling" (Live at Kore)
"Modern Massacre" (Live at Metropolis)
"Smouldering" (Planet Rock Session)
"Stay With Me" (Planet Rock Session)
"Take It Back"
"Lovers And Fighters" (Live in the Living Room)
"Only Friend" (Rehearsal Session)
"Battle Lines" (Acoustic)
"Do The Revelation" (Acoustic)
"Get Yourself Free" (Acoustic)
"Three Bulleits" (Acoustic)
"Time Won't Leave" (Acoustic)
"White Bear" (Acoustic)


"Modern Massacre" (Live at Metropolis):

Bruck Kulick recently announced: "Each week I will be sharing a video of the second set at the Stardust Theater, filmed by my wife Lisa from the balcony. It's a great way to 'be there.' Enjoy!"


Today he releases "Tears Are Falling" from the show, which can be viewed below:







Kulick and his band have performed on the last three KISS Kruises: KKXIII, KKIX, and KKX. His band plays songs from the '80s and '90s that aren't usually performed by KISS. Joining guitarist Bruce Kulick in his band are: Todd Kerns - lead vocals / guitar, Zach Throne - vocals / bass, and Brent Fitz - drums / vocals.


Watch previous videos from the Kruise:











"December 30th, I will be live at Vamp'd in Las Vegas with my amazing KKX band," states a recent message from Bruce. "Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz and Zach Throne will join me for an exciting set of music. Tickets are on sale, and VIP packages are limited, so visit the links on my site. It will be a special Bruce Kulick set of great music!"

Swedish progressive metal juggernauts, Evergrey, have released an official live video for "Weightless", taken from the album Before The Aftermath - Live In Gothenburg, out on January 28 on Digpak BluRay/2CD and vinyl editions via AFM Records.


Watch the video below, and pre-order Before The Aftermath - Live In Gothenburg here.


Evergrey, like every other artist, suffered heavily from the pandemic in 2020 and after much deliberation decided to stream a concert live from Gothenburg.




"We want to bring some music and positivity back into our lives, because we miss playing live, and we miss playing music for YOU. Playing is our life, and it has been for quite some time," says Tom Englund.


The result is now almost two hours of pristine live material with classics and treasures that in great Dolby 5.1. Surround quality pull the listener directly deep into a great concert experience.





Tracklisting:


BluRay
"A Silent Ark"
"Weightless"
"Distance"
"Passing Through"
"The Fire"
"Leave It Behind Us"
"Mark Of The Triangle"
"The Masterplan"
"Solitude Within"
"Black Undertow"
"My Allied Ocean"
"All I Have"
"The Grand Collapse"
"Recreation Day"
"A Touch Of Blessing"
"King Of Errors"


CD1
"A Silent Ark"
"Weightless"
"Distance"
"Passing Through"
"The Fire"
"Leave It Behind Us"
"Mark Of The Triangle"
"The Masterplan"
"Solitude Within"


CD2
"Black Undertow"
"My Allied Ocean"
"All I Have"
"The Grand Collapse"
"Recreation Day"
"A Touch Of Blessing"
"King Of Errors"  


"Weightless" live video:

The story of Tankard’s rise to one of the most revered thrash metal bands from their humble beginnings in Frankfurt Germany, began under their first name of Avenger in the early 1982. It was their Heavy Metal Vanguard and Alcoholic Metal demos changing hands in the era’s bustling underground tape-trading network that exposed them to the international metal community.


Positive word of mouth soon attracted the attention of Germany’s own metal start-up, Noise Records, which signed the newly re-christened Tankard (beer mug) to a deal. Tankard’s tenure at the label spawned seven studio albums, one live record, a live video and a compilation and established them as one of the most enduring on the thrash scene. One they still tour globally to this day, to their hordes of maniac forces fans.


Never taking themselves too seriously and fuelled by a love of beer, their unique take on ‘fast thrash-punk’ is pure anarchy with lots of fun. Their ’86 debut Zombie Attack was fast, furious and chaotic fun which set the table of what was to come. Following hot on the heels of their debut, 1987’s Chemical Invasion sealed their thrash chops, with 1988’s The Morning After cementing the band on the global scene. The Alien EP kept momentum in ’89 until the 1990’s dawned with the reflective, The Meaning Of Life. 1991 saw their live fury documented in Fat, Ugly & Live and also a legendary thrash fest in East Berlin was committed to film in the form of Open All Night. Tankard remained prolific through the tough times for thrash of the 1990’s, keeping the faith with the introspective Stone Cold Sober (1992), Two-Faced (1993) saw them bare their teeth against social injustice and The Tankard’(1995) took them back to the familiar surroundings of the pub.







For A Thousand Beers is a deluxe 40th anniversary celebration of Tankard’s Noise Records discography and is the definitive collection of their decade of recorded work and contains :


- Zombie Attack (splatter vinyl)
- Chemical Invasion (swirl vinyl)
- The Morning After (including Alien EP) (splatter vinyl)
- The Meaning Of Life (paint drop vinyl)
- Stone Cold Sober (splatter vinyl)
- Two-Faced (half/half colour vinyl)
- The Tankard (including Tankwart EP) (splatter vinyl)
- Fat, Ugly & Live DVD – containing ‘Open All Night’ concert film, ‘Fat, Ugly & Live’ album plus previously unreleased video concert from the Dynamo, Eindhoven 1987 and audio concert from Frankfurt 1988.
- 12” x 12”, 40 page hardback book of photography, quotes and lyrics from the first decade of the band’s existence. Contains rare and previously unseen photos from the era.


All housed in a case of beer box.





For A Thousand Beers will also be available as a 7xCDs and DVD clamshell box set containing all the studio albums, EP’s and the DVD with all the live concert bonus material.


Available on February 25, you can pre-order here, and watch a new video for "(Empty) Tankard" below.





(Photo - Axel Jusseits)

Conquest the Pure Breed of Modern Heavy Metal have announced Lee Skyles as their new drummer to the band’s current lineup.





Lead singer / guitarist Derrick Brumley on Lee Skyles joining Conquest, "Tim Fleetwood has left the band Conquest due to some personal choices. Tim will always be a brother of the band Conquest. We've done great things together and he will always be a part of the Conquest legacy; at this time Conquest welcomes Lee Skyles to the band, Lee brings in his powerful style of heavy metal drumming and we are looking forward to the new record next year, Lee is a veteran of the St Louis music scene. Mike, Rob and myself look forward to many good shows and a great record with Lee Skyles on drums."




Conquest is:
Derrick Brumley
Mike Crook
Rob Boyer
Lee Skyles

Metal Assault Records has announced the signing of North Carolina based melodic hard rock/metal band Infinity Dream. Their forthcoming debut album, Memories, will be released in early 2022. 


The band features past and present members of traditional metal band Widow, alongside a classically trained keyboardist and vocalist. The album has a dark, melodic atmosphere, with harmony guitars and vocals layered with lush classical passages. It is inspired by the likes of Fates Warning, Candlemass, Warlord, Tony Martin era Black Sabbath, Paradise Lost, Dio and Savatage all while creating a unique sound and expression.


Guitarist and frontman Chris Bennett said this about the signing: "I am so excited that after two years of hard work, Memories will see the light of day in 2022. Metal Assault Records is a like-minded label that wants the same thing we do, to reach everyone who appreciates this type of music. It's the perfect label for us. These songs expose some trauma and vulnerability we have survived in life and the fear and questions that surround it. The music is dark, but it has hope. These songs are totally from the heart."




Album art by Chris Harris:





Metal Assault Records owner Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal has this to say about signing Infinity Dream: "It feels great to finally break this news to the world. I've had this signing in the bag for quite a while now, because Infinity Dream is a band I wanted to sign before anyone else could. This band brings something fresh, unique and beautiful to the table, while still being reminiscent of some of my favorite melodic metal and classic doom metal bands. I have no doubt that the Dream will prove to be an 'instant classic' and will quickly capture the imagination of listeners everywhere. Get ready for the Dream to come alive!" 


Infinity Dream's debut single, "The Future Past", will be released in January 2022. Upon the release of the single, the album will be available for pre-order through Metal Assault Records. Check out a short teaser of what to expect from the album:





(Photo by: David Rodgers)

New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION will release their new album, "Acts Of God", on February 18, 2022 via Nuclear Blast.

With five long years passed since "Atonement", "Acts Of God" showcases IMMOLATION's ability to consistently create fascinating sounds while still keeping its feet firmly rooted in the old-school New York death metal for which it is renowned.

The official music video for the first single from "Acts Of God", a song called "Apostle", produced, directed, and edited by the band's own Robert Vigna, can be seen below.

IMMOLATION vocalist/ bassist Ross Dolan comments: "After five long years, we are very excited to finally announce the arrival of our 11th full-length album, 'Acts Of God', on February 18th, 2022!

"This time around, we have 15 tracks of some of the darkest and most haunting IMMOLATION material to date!

"For the first single, we chose the song 'Apostle' because it's a very dark song that offers the listener all the elements of the IMMOLATION sound. It's a heavy and explosive track that ebbs and flows from start to finish, with dark and creepy soundscapes and extreme bursts of dark energy that will take the listener on a dark journey that is just a small glimpse of what the album has to offer. Enjoy!"

"Acts Of God" saw the return of longtime friend and recording counterpart Paul Orofino of Millbrook Studios while final touches were brought about on the mixing and mastering by Zack Ohren of Castle Ultimate Studios. For the cover artwork, the band enlisted Eliran Kantor to create the haunting new masterpiece that featured the muted colors and ethereal images that are hallmarks for IMMOLATION's artwork. The artwork pieces inside the booklet were created by Santiago Jaramillo of Triple Seis Design.

"Acts Of God" track listing:

01. Abandoned

02. An Act Of God

03. The Age Of No Light

04. Noose Of Thorns

05. Shed The Light

06. Blooded

07. Overtures Of The Wicked

08. Immoral Stain

09. Incineration Procession

10. Broken Prey

11. Derelict Of Spirit

12. When Halos Burn

13. Let The Darkness In

14. And The Flames Wept

15. Apostle

IMMOLATION is:

Ross Dolan - bass/vocals

Robert Vigna - guitar

Steve Shalaty - drums

Alex Bouks - guitar