Korpiklaani released their 11th studio album, Jylhä, back in February. The album was hailed by critics and fans alike as the most elaborate and mature Korpiklaani album to date.


Continuing the series of entertaining playthrough videos they have been putting out since the release of Jylhä, Korpiklaani have released another drum playthrough video by Samuli Mikkonen, for the single "Mylly", which you can watch below.  


Samuli comments: "This song is one of my favourites from the Jylhä album. Demo version was also good but I missed something. I was hesitating for half a second before I had the courage to tell Jonne it was lacking a proper chorus. He said to me that in that case he will make it. After sleepless night he sent me the new riff early in the morning. It was perfect. Just like I imagined it! This is one of the many examples why this record was so inspiring to make. Jonne was very open to take my suggestions to the songs and I really got the feeling that my ideas were welcome and I can make a difference. Jonne is a talented composer and a great dude! Markku Kirves did an amazing job with the video. He’s got a good sense of knowing what looks cool and he is good at directing people. He’s also a master of great ideas...This time he wanted to destroy my drums with milled grain...There was a lot of work in cleaning afterwards but DAMN IT LOOKS COOL!"







Order Jylhä here.





Jylhä tracklisting:


"Verikoira"
"Niemi"
"Leväluhta"
"Mylly"
"Tuuleton"
"Sanaton Maa"
"Kiuru"
"Miero"
"Pohja"
"Huolettomat"
"Anolan Aukeat"
"Pidot"
"Juuret"


"Tuuleton" video:





"Niemi" video:





"Mylly" video:





"Leväluhta" video:

Thomas Zwijsen has released the new video below, featuring an acoustic cover of Iron Maiden's "Heaven Can Wait". The song originally appeared on Maiden's 1986 album, Somewhere In Time.





Thomas previously released acoustic covers of the tracks "Hell On Earth", "Stratego", and "The Writing On The Wall", from Iron Maiden's new album, Senjutsu. Watch below:

Frontiers Music Srl has announced the release of Seminole, the upcoming new album from Edge Of Forever, on January 21. Today, the band has released a new single and video, "Shift The Paradigm:. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Seminole on CD/Limited Edition Color LP/Digital here.


Edge Of Forever returns with a new record Seminole, following two years after their fourth album, Native Soul. The last album saw a "rebirth" for the band with new members guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Archon Angel) and drummer Marco di Salvia (Hardline) joining with band founder and vocalist/keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio and bassist Nik Mazzucconi (Labyrinth). Seminole continues the band’s tradition of combining inspirational and positive lyrics with powerful riffs, anthemic vocals, and skilled musicianship inspired by the heart and depth of Native American culture.


Once again produced by main songwriter and vocalist Alessandro Del Vecchio,Seminole" lifts every element the band is known for to the next level. With songs like “Get Up On Your Feet Again”, “Breath Of Life”, “Shift The Paradigm”, and “Our Battle Rages On", the album is a reflection of our times with a positive and deep outlook. The album reaches its peak with the ending mini-suite “Seminole”, a four part piece featuring everything distinctive element you would expect from Edge Of Forever: intricate vocal harmonies, soaring choruses, powerful rhythms, and blistering solos set to a story that everybody can relate to. A story of resilience, perseverance, love, and positive mental attitude.




For their last album, the band should have left on tour for a few months, hitting the road with the likes of Harem Scarem, but pandemic hit and, like every other band, they were left with no gigs for a year and a half. So, the band took the time to write and dig down deep to find their best songs. With the majority of the album written by Alessandro Del Vecchio, the final four piece suite “Seminole” sees, for the first time, writing contributions from drummer Marco Di Salvia.


“I didn’t wanna just write another album, another batch of songs. Being a prolific songwriter makes it easy and natural for me to sit down and write, channel the inspiration and translate that idea into music and lyrics. But Edge Of Forever is different for me. It’s my island where I don’t wanna just write songs that I sing. I want to tell stories that can inspire people to reach their goals, live for their dreams, face adversities, and win over all the odds that life throws at us. Native Soul could have easily been a solo record since I wrote it with a band torn apart by personal issues. Then I was lucky when Aldo and Marco entered the picture and could turn it into such a strong album. Still, today I pride myself with Native Soul, but when I put myself in my EOF-mode for Seminole, I wrote every single note for my bandmates. I wanted them to shine and have a blueprint where they could weave our canvas with their personality and definitively be themselves. They were the main drive and inspiration to write these songs and I can’t thank them enough for making these songs what they have become now. We pushed everything beyond our limits: songwriting, production, arrangements, performances, but especially what we delivered in all songs is beyond, beyond us, beyond what my vision was when I wrote these songs. Seminole is a conceptual album about my life, everybody’s life. I tell the story through the lenses of a Seminole warrior and how from a defeat you can still come out stronger and even more resilient, only if you want to. Sit down and enjoy how my story began, in the land of the Seminole…," says Alessandro Del Vecchio.


Seminole is a band effort, a mirror of a group of preeminent musicians feeling as one, ready to conquer with their anthemic vocals, extraordinary musicianship, and inspiring stories.





Tracklisting:


"Get Up Your Feet Again"
"On The Other Side Of Pain"
"Made It Through"
"Shift The Paradigm"
"Another Salvation"
"Breath Of Life"
"Wrong Dimension"
"Our Battle Rages On"
"Seminole Pt.1 In The Land Of The Seminole"
"Seminole Pt.2 Mistake Reality"
"Seminole Pt.3 Rewrite The Story"
"Seminole Pt.4 The End's Starting To Begin"


"Shift The Paradigm" video:





Lineup:


Alessandro Del Vecchio - Vocals, keyboards
Aldo Lonobile - Guitars
Nik Mazzucconi - Bass
Marco di Salvia - Drums

Exodus return with their eleventh studio album, Persona Non Grata, out November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. In this new video trailer, singer Steve "Zetro" Souza talks about the making of the album:





Literally translating to “an unwelcome” or “unacceptable” person, Persona Non Grata touches on themes of modern societal disgust and degradation. The band gathered at Tom Hunting's house in the mountains where they produced and recorded Persona Non Grata from three home-built studios . Steve Lagudi was at the helm of engineering while the band enlisted Andy Sneap of Backstage Studios to mix the album. For the third time in the band’s history, they returned to Swedish artist Par Olofsson to create the album artwork.







Persona Non Grata will be available in the following formats:


- CD Jewel + Blu-ray Bonus Disc (Jam Camp!)
- T-Shirt + CD Jewel + Blu-ray Bonus Disc (Jam Camp!)
- T-Shirt
- Cassette – Tinted Red
- CD Jewel + Blu-ray Bonus Disc (Jam Camp!) Long Box (Decibel Magazine Exclusive)
- Double LP
 * Black
 * Red & Mustard Swirl W/ Black Splatter
 * Electric Blue W/ Black & Bone
 * Gold & Bone Swirl W. Black and Mint Green Splatter
 * Green in Mustard W/ Red Splatter
 * Mint Green & Brown W/ Cyan Splatter (EMP Exclusive)
 * Purple & Yellow Swirl W/ Mint Green & Bone Splatter (UK Indie Exclusive)
 * Bone & Beer Swirl W/ Red & Brown Splatter (Revolver Magazine Exclusive)
 * Red & Mustard Swirl W/ Black Splatter (Rebellion Republic Exclusive)
 * Blue Swirl W/ Bone * Black Splatter (U.S. Indie Exclusive)
- Mail Order Boxset – Limited to 2,000 pieces worldwide
 * Orange, Red Swirl W/ Black Splatter
 * 20 page booklet
 * Slipmat
 * CD + Blu-ray Bonus Disc
 * Patch
 * Flag


Pre-order here. Pre-save here.





Tracklisting:


"Persona Non Grata"
"R.E.M.F."
"Slipping Into Madness"
"Elitist"
"Prescribing Horror"
"The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)"
"The Years of Death and Dying"
"Clickbait"
"Cosa Del Pantano"
"Lunatic-Liar-Lord"
"The Fires of Division"
"Antiseed"


"The Years Of Death And Dying" lyric video:





"Clickbait" lyric video:





"The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)":





"The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)" video:





Trailers:

In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage death metal, on January 24th, 2022, Memento Mori in conspiracy with Rotted Life present Ectoplasma's fourth album, Inferna Kabbalah. Memento Mori will release the CD version, while Rotted Life will handle the vinyl and cassette versions.


Check out the brand-new track "God Is Dead, Satan Lives (Rosemary's Baby)":







Hailing from Greece, the band was initiated by Giannis Grim (Carnal Dread, Humanity Zero, Death Trap, Vultur) and George Wolf (Forced In, Dismal Chant, Vultur) when Carnal Dread and Forced In shared the bill at a local show back in the grip of winter of 2012. Both musicians being real zealots of what death metal was known for back in the late '80s and the early '90s - in other words, no tech wankery and no crystal-clear production - they rapidly entered the studio just to start jamming, and ultimately gave birth to Ectoplasma.


Shortly after, the Everlasting Deathreign demo was discharged upon mankind, granting the band some following among diehard fans of unpolished death metal. On subsequent releases (the Spitting Coffins debut album and the split tape with Hatevomit), the band kept on perfecting their craft and obtaining more adherents of their underground creed, reaching a more mature sound by the time the Skeletal Lifeforms EP was released in late 2016 (tape format) / early 2017 (CD format), in which Ectoplasma shamelessly manifested their devotion to muddy, organic, disgusting, bone-breaking, and rotten-to-the-core death metal influenced by the early offerings of bands such as Autopsy, Baphomet, Asphyx, Morta Skuld, Grave, Demigod, Gutted, Death, and Judecca, only with their own personal twist.


With the addition of Dion K. Alastor (Vultur) on guitars and Giannis Botsis (Embrace Of Thorns, Thou Art Lord) on drums, it was with 2018's Cavern Of Foul Unbeings - released to international acclaim by Memento Mori, the band's current label home - that Ectoplasma kicked their crusade against inane, overproduced "death metal" into overdrive. Reeking of the same characteristic grime and decrepitude of that album, the band's third, absolutely gutsfucking full-length, 2019's White-Eyed Trance, saw Ectoplasma entering concept-album territory - but only in lyrical concept, as the musical side of the album stayed true to their their now-signature world-eating sound. Justifiably so, White-Eyed Trance reaped international acclaim as an unabashed statement of classic death metal songwriting.


Naturally, 2020 also threw the world of Ectoplasma into upheaval, as their lineup was pared back to the duo of founder Giannis Grim on vocals & bass and guitarist / drummer Dimitris Sakkas, who holds a wealth of experience in the metal underground, currently maintaining the bands Inhibitions, Humanity Zero, and Slough Of Despair, among many, many others. Thankfully, the latter is a fine fit for Ectoplasma, as the resultant Inferna Kabbalah is arguably the band's most polished and punishing record yet. It's a curious balance - the execution sounds razor-sharp and precise when placed within such a soundfield, with the more frequent bouts of speed given extra devastation and the breakdowns even more so - but one that pays off in spades, as their songwriting continues to thrive within strictly traditional parameters, and this relative "refinement" only makes it that much more powerful. Thus, it's not unreasonable to view Inferna Kabbalah in the same headspace as Bolt Thrower's righteous ...For Victory, except Ectoplasma surely have their own tank-treaded crush!


Delving ever deeper into the realms of horror, Ectoplasma receive yet another stunning cover art by the masterful Mörtuus. Read their Inferna Kabbalah or weap!





Tracklisting:


"God Is Dead, Satan Lives (Rosemary's Baby)"
"Appalling Abomination"
"My Medieval Urges Materialized"
"Infestation Of Atrocious Hunger"
"Inferna Kabbalah"
"Gruesome Sacred Orgasms"
"Filth-Ridden Flesh"
"Desecration Of The Christian Existence"


 




 

North Carolina hard rockers The Fifth, who just issued their new self-titled EP, have released the first video from that record, for the song “Shake Little Sister”, which can be seen below.


Filmed at Pitcher’s Bar in Benson, NC and directed by fast rising new cinematographer Jaiden Frost, the clip was produced by Jonathon Hermosillo with Chad Soundart.


The video revolves around a typical East Coast hole in the wall biker bar, complete with biker gang members, strippers, sideshow performers, a live band and, umm, well, a dog and features the type of craziness the general public assumes goes on daily in a biker bar. 







"Shooting this video was the most creatively fulfilling experience I've ever been involved in," relates The Fifth singer, Roy Cathey. "Director Jaiden Frost made this song come to life and working with him fulfills a longtime wish of mine to work with this talented up & coming director. We brainstormed and we - creatively as a team - came up with some amazing shots and moments. Jaiden bringing in the freakshow/contortionist and dancer added the ‘icing on the cake’ to give the video the gritty, anything goes attitude that is the running theme of the song and video.”





The Fifth EP artwork and tracklisting:





"Shake Little Sister"
"Calm Before The Storm"
"Home"
"Coming To Get You"
"Roll The Bones"


For further details, visit The Fifth on Facebook.


(Photo credit: Chris Formont) 

Maryland rockers CLUTCH have announced the fourth installment of their live stream series, "Live From The Doom Saloon". Set to take place on Friday, November 26 at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST live from the band's rehearsal space, "Live From The Doom Saloon Vol. 4" will feature a special set list of old songs, deep cuts, some classics and something brand new. Ticket holders will be able to re-watch the show on demand until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 28.

Tickets and merch bundles are on sale now from www.clutchmerch.com with proceeds benefitting the Lustgarten Foundation pancreatic cancer research.

CLUTCH commented: "We just wrapped up tracking our new album so we're ready to play a show! Come hang with us on November 26 for 'Live From The Doom Saloon Vol. 4'. We'll stream this show live from our rehearsal pad. We're gonna play something from every one of our albums and maybe even something brand new!"

The previous three iterations of the "Live From The Doom Saloon" series were staged throughout 2020 during lockdown. "Live From The Doom Saloon Vol. 1" was held in May 2020, with support from CROWBAR, BLACKTOP MOJO and SAUL, with proceeds benefitting MusiCares and Angel Flight West. "Live From The Doom Saloon Vol. 2" took place in August of 2020 and featured a huge fan component as the band encouraged fans to submit their dream 14-song setlist. The winning submission was not only performed by the band during the livestream but also received a plethora of massive prizes. Show donations from "Vol. 2" benefited the Innocent Lives Foundation, a charitable organization that combats the trafficking and exploitation of children, of which singer Neil Fallon is a board member. "Live From The Doom Saloon Vol. 3" happened in December and featured a setlist of the 15 most requested songs from the submissions sent in for "Vol. 2" and raised money for Save Our Stages, a charitable organization that raises money for over 3,000 independent venues in 50 states.

CLUTCH will hit the road for the third and final leg of its "30 Years Of Rock & Roll" tour on December 27, stopping in five cities beginning in Baltimore, Maryland and wrapping in Cincinnati, Ohio on New Year's Eve. Special guests on this leg will be STÖNER (featuring Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri) and NATIVE HOWL.

Earlier this year, CLUTCH drummer Jean-Paul Gaster told the Chicago-based webzine Metal Kaoz that he and his bandmates have "written a lot of songs" for the follow-up to 2018's "Book Of Bad Decisions" LP. He said: "We've been writing now for our new album that we will record in the fall, and I think we're spending more time than ever in the studio, just trying out different ideas. And most of the ideas don't ever really make it to the end; we try 10 things and we keep one.

"I think we are even more selective than we were before as to which ideas we really decide to focus on. And I think it is because we have so much more time. Before, we would come home for a tour and maybe we would have three weeks off. So, the first week, we don't do really much of anything — everybody goes back home to their families and we rest — and then the next two weeks we would get together and we would just jam really hard and get a bunch of ideas, and then on the road and play those ideas, and then come back and do it again. And that process might go on for a year and a half. This has been different. This is the first time where we've had so much time at home to work on ideas and never really tried them in a live setting. So I'm not sure how it's gonna impact the record. But I think it's gonna make for a different album — whether it's good, bad or otherwise, it's too early to tell. But, for sure, it's a different dynamic, and it requires more of us.

"So often, when we have new ideas and we put them in front of an audience, you can really tell right away — we know right away if the song is the right tempo, we know right away if the riffs are where they need to be, if the chorus is the way it needs to be," Gaster added. "It's a testing ground. And we don't have that right now. So, for that reason, I think we are being a lot more careful about what ideas we really wanna focus on, and which ones we think, 'You know what? We've done that before. Let's do something a little different.'"

Gaster went on to say that the new CLUTCH album will likely arrive in early 2022 — "hopefully before we start really hitting the road again. And it'll be fun to get back out there," he said. "Man, I just miss it so much."

"Book Of Bad Decisions" was recorded at Sputnik Sound studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Vance Powell. The record sold 26,000 copies in America during its first week of availability, giving the group its third consecutive Top 20 album on the Billboard 200.

AEROSMITH's 1975 album "Toys In The Attic" has been certified nine times platinum on by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of nine million copies. In addition, five of the band's singles have also been officially certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA.

The RIAA developed its gold and platinum awards program in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard by which to measure the commercial success of a sound recording. The program trademarked the gold record and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements.

Presently, the RIAA awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for 1 million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold.

In the streaming age, each permanent digital album or physical album sale count as 1 unit for certification purposes, 10 permanent track downloads from the album count as 1 unit for certification purposes, and 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album count as 1 unit. For songs, 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams count as 1 unit for certification purposes.

Newly certified AEROSMITH titles:

Album:

* "Toys In The Attic" (1975) (nine times platinum)

Singles:

* "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" (1998) (five times platinum)

* "Sweet Emotion" (1975) (three times platinum)

* "Walk This Way" (1975) (platinum)

* "Jaded" (2000) (gold)

* "Pink" (1997) (gold)

This past August, AEROSMITH and Universal Music Group (UMG), announced a worldwide alliance spanning the iconic group's entire discography, merchandise and audio-video projects. For the first time, in 2022 all of AEROSMITH's iconic recordings will be unified in one place to coincide with the band's 50th anniversary through a new multifaceted partnership with UMG. In addition to supporting the band's consolidated catalog, this partnership will also make use of unprecedented access to the storied "Vindaloo Vaults" and personal archives of bandmembers Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford, who will actively help curate their collections of music, photos, video footage, artwork, journals, set lists and memorabilia. Future releases will offer fans access to never-before seen and heard gems, that will further cement the band's position as one of rock's most ground-breaking and reverential groups in history.

AEROSMITH was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001.

As the band was founded in Boston in 1970, April 13 has been declared "Aerosmith Day" in Massachusetts by former governor William Weld

British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH have released a music video for the song "Contagion". The clip, which was directed by Marc Nickel and Ljuba Generalova, can be seen below.

NAPALM DEATH frontman Mark "Barney" Greenway stated: "Although we can only hope to provide a snapshot in four minutes, what we wanted to try to illustrate with the 'Contagion' video is how difficult it has been made to do something as fundamental as moving freely as a human being. There is downright absurdity in that some people have to resort to mortal danger doing things like riding atop trains whilst others can move seamlessly and freely without a second thought. We advocate for an end to borders of all description. Complementing that, the sweaty live footage was shot brilliantly by Ljuba Generalova in NAPALM DEATH's virtual second home of Berlin and the music, you might say, just motors along like a train."

Bassist Shane Embury, who wrote the music and the lyrics for "Contagion", added: "Musically, 'Contagion' is geared towards manic intense live mosh pit action but with an added 4AD noise quirk homage chorus! Also, having so many friends in the Latin community, through a couple of them I learned and read about the perilous journeys that families embark on for the chance at a better life. As a parent, I think of my children's future all the time — the things we take for granted I wanted to reflect lyrically."

NAPALM DEATH is currently on the road in North America with GWAR and EYEHATEGOD for the "Scumdogs 30th Anniversary Tour". The band has also just announced the next edition of its "Campaign For Musical Destruction" tour in Europe this February and March 2022. This run will feature support from DOOM, SIBERIAN MEATGRINDER and SHOW ME THE BODY.

NAPALM DEATH is continuing to promote its latest album, "Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism", which is still available to purchase in various formats. The band's 16th studio LP was recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.

Wolverine and METALLICA's All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH) are coming together to celebrate and support America's future workforce with a new collaboration collection benefiting the Metallica Scholars Initiative. The collaboration will feature an all-new limited-edition assortment of three Wolverine boots, a hoody, and beanie, as well as a graphic t-shirt with art by METALLICA collaborator Brandon Heart. Available for pre-sale today, the collection will be available on Giving Tuesday (November 30) on wolverine.com/metallica.

Wolverine, the 138-year-old boot and clothing brand, has a long-standing commitment to supporting the next generation of skilled trades, and 50% of all sales from the Wolverine x Metallica Scholars collection will support the Metallica Scholars Initiative — a major workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs, providing skills and services to students who are looking to enter a traditional trade or other applied learning program. Since launching the partnership in 2019, Wolverine has contributed more than $300,000 to the Metallica Scholars Initiative.

"We are grateful to be part of helping the world's workforce stay strong through the Metallica Scholars Initiative, and Wolverine shares our passion for supporting and celebrating the people who are the future of the workforce," said METALLICA's James Hetfield. "This partnership will continue to shine a light on the opportunities in the skilled trades and support students as they work toward establishing rewarding, sustainable careers."

Inspired by the renowned rock band, the limited-edition Wolverine x Metallica Scholars collection features three fresh boot designs:

* Wolverine 1000 Mile Plain-Toe Rugged ($400): Handcrafted in the U.S.A. with matte black Horween leather, this classic boot has a heavy metal edge with AWMH blue stitching, limited edition tongue-tag, metal toe-kicker, and a rugged Vibram outsole.

* Wolverine Hellcat UltraSpring Work Boot ($150/$155): Designed with trade workers in mind, this boot is available in both a soft and safety toe, featuring metallic and AWMH blue details.

* Wolverine Hellcat UltraSpring Wedge ($165): This every-day-appropriate boot features metallic and AWMH blue details in a casual wedge style.

The collaboration also includes a custom hoody and beanie featuring the Metallica Scholars logo, and a graphic t-shirt featuring artwork by METALLICA collaborator Brandon Heart. The custom-designed art is inspired by METALLICA's signature aesthetic and features a skull and tool cross bones in tribute to the trades programs the collection is supporting through Metallica Scholars.

Each one of the more than 900 Metallica Scholars students across the country this year will receive a pair of the collaboration work boots and a graphic t-shirt as part of the partnership to celebrate and thank them for pursuing training in the trades.

"We're proud to continue celebrating and supporting the next generation of skilled tradespeople through partnerships with exceptional organizations and initiatives like Metallica Scholars," said Tom Kennedy, global brand president for Wolverine. "We hope METALLICA fans will love and wear this collection with pride knowing they are joining us in supporting the future American workforce."

This year's Wolverine x Metallica Scholars collection is available now for pre-sale on wolverine.com/metallica.

Founding TYKETTO guitarist Brooke St. James "came very close to death" during his recent battle with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

St. James, who played on TYKETTO's first four albums before exiting the group in 2014, opened up about his experience with the respiratory disease while appealing to his fans and friends on GoFundMe for help with costs associated with medical expenses and lost income.

Brooke wrote in part: "In mid late September 2021 my now 17 year old daughter returned home from school ill. Within a few days most everyone in my home was sick. The kids tested positive first, then my wife. Ok, no need to panic.. from what we all knew at that point, we, as relatively healthy individuals should be fine. The kids bounced back immediately. My wife was sick for about 5-6 days with typical cold symptoms. I, however, after experiencing my first symptoms on September 23, 2021 tested positive on September 24th and began a frighteningly rapid decline. Unfortunately, this virus affected me very differently than it did my family.

"I was hospitalized Oct 4 and finally, by the Grace of God, discharged on Oct 30. During my stay I came very close to death according to my doctors and while I was moved to ICU at one point somehow some way I managed to skirt intubation and ventilator status.

"That brings us to here and now. I am currently at home recovering from Covid and double pneumonia. This is a game of patience unfortunately. For now I am tethered to an oxygen machine and moving around with the assistance of a walker. I have every reason to believe things are improving daily although it's difficult to measure in such small increments."

COVID-19 affects everyone differently — while one in three people are asymptomatic and won't develop any symptoms at all, 5% of people become critically unwell. Some of those people still have symptoms months later. Older adults are more likely to fall seriously ill, particularly if they smoke, are obese or have diabetes. Exposure to a high concentration poses a higher risk for infection.

St. James began playing at age nine. A self-taught musician, St. James grew up listening to and playing along with records by AEROSMITH, JOURNEY, QUEEN, CHEAP TRICK and KISS, among many other classic rock acts, and joined his first working band at age sixteen. A few years later, St. James moved to Milwaukee and found regional success with popular 1980 rock act MOXY ROXX, but major label interest fizzled. St. James then went to New York and formed TYKETTO, with whom he took part in numerous tours. After St. James left the band, he went on to a three-year stint in Las Vegas with classic rock act YELLOW BRICK ROAD. St. James currently lives in Milwaukee where he plays with several popular local rock acts and is pursuing a solo career.


ATTENTION TYKETTO FANS NEAR AND FAR:

We've kept this quiet for the past month out of respect for his privacy but after...

Posted by Tyketto (The Official) on Friday, November 5, 2021

American veterans Bloodgood confirmed via their Facebook page that their drummer Kevin Whisler has passed away. Kevin was diagnosed with Lymphoma followed by testing positive for COVID-19, formed a blood clot on his brain, causing him to have a stroke a week ago.

Statement from Kevin Whisler's wife Elaine: ''Dear Family & Friends, Iit is with a heavy heart that I share the loss of our dear Kevin. My loving husband, best friend, loving father, grandfather, brother and faithful friend to all. Kevin's fight was a witness and testimony to all. His stellar strength, dignity and warrior spirit was conveyed through this entire journey. This journey has been challenging and at times unimaginable, yet he continued to reflect a level of strength and peace that continued to build on our faith every day. Kevin continued to witness to staff at both Seattle Cancer Care and St. Joseph’s and through his entire journey and even last week as he would ask to pray with care staff.

"Kevin fought the good fight with dignity and warrior strength. I am honored and forever grateful for the time, the years and the battles that we fought together with swords drawn. I am honored to have experienced life with this mighty man of God. Out of respect for the family we ask that you limit your questions, however, feel free to express any thoughts, memories or words of
encouragement that you may have. We will follow up with our plans to celebrate this mighty Man of God.

"Please know Kevin loved you all dearly and found peace from all your prayers. Love, Elaine and our entire family.''

After 23 years of silence, Finnish cult black/epic metallers DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED, who feature in their ranks NIGHTWISH keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, are making their long-awaited comeback with a new full-length album, "Angel Of Carnage Unleashed", to be released on November 12 via Napalm Records. The LP sets free a unique blend of brutal, fast-driven black metal and epic anthems in which eerie screams merge with heroic clean vocals, monumental choirs and majestic keyboards along with gory stories of famine, war, plague and the inescapable brutality of Finland's nature in the era of the Great Northern War (1700-1721). It features the old horde from the original 1993 lineup, now augmented by Holopainen as a full member of the band and Kai Hahto (also of NIGHTWISH) as session drummer.

The record's final song, "Black Fog And Poison Wind", offers an appropriate, hard-hitting and thunderous ending to the album. The track, which can be streamed below, features mad, high-pitched screams, evil riffing, mind-blowing blastbeats and eerie choirs.

DARWOODS MY BETROTHED on their new single: "This is one of our favourite songs from the new album. Lyrically, it tells the story of the so-called 'Death March of the Carolinians' where 3000 soldiers of the Swedish army froze to death when withdrawing from Norway across the fells in the winter of 1718. We chose to approach this topic from an anthropomorphic perspective: the storyteller is the poisonous icy wind which — in the service of the Angel of Carnage — mercilessly murdered the soldiers in the snowy mountains. The story is accompanied with a black metal anthem that combines brutal blastbeat-driven passages with slower and melodic eerie parts featuring choirs and female vocals. We feel that the song captures the atmosphere of the lyric perfectly."

The new full-length contains eight songs written by the three musicians who founded the band in 1993: Pasi Kankkunen, Jouni Mikkonen and Teemu Kautonen (with substantial creative inputs from Holopainen). The lyrics are based on the human history of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721: how Finns experienced the many manifestations of the Angel of Carnage, sent by God to punish them for their sins.

Bassist Teemu Kautonen on the album: "The lyrics are based on the work of the renowned Finnish historian Teemu Keskisarja. His research inspired us both to carefully embed all lyrics in the appropriate historical context and to bring forth the human dimension by focusing on stories of individual people and how they experienced this perhaps darkest period of Finnish history."

Vocalist/guitarist Pasi Kankkunen adds: "It was very important for us to have the original lineup on the comeback album. We also agreed right at the beginning of the process to share the songwriting in equal proportions — just as we did on the 1996 classic album 'Autumn Roars Thunder'."

The album opener "Name The Dead" sets off with atmospheric organ tunes but leaves no scope for weakness, as only a few seconds later storming drums, aggressive riffs and raging growls set the stage for everything that is about to come: brutal soundscapes spliced with epic accents! The second track, "In Evil, Sickness And In Grief", pierces through the core with a poisoning vocal attack and contrasting operatic female background layers. "Murktide And Midnight Sun" marks folk and Viking reminiscence with its clean and catchy vocal presentation, grand choirs and mystic atmosphere, followed by the heavily stomping "You Bitter Source of Sorrow" and "Where We Dwell" with its haunting, all-consuming keyboard passages. "In Thrall to Ironskull's Heart" showcases the multifaceted character of DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED with an almost balladic start, which evolves into an uptempo, epic journey into the Battle of Napue (1714). The title of the penultimate track "Massacre" conveys the track's musical direction with precision: expect in-your-face blastbeats and gory lyrics. The final song, "Black Fog And Poison Wind", unleashes a sonic monster once more, combining aggression, haunting soundscapes and evil melodies, before "Angel Of Carnage Unleashed" ends with the tunes of a soundtrack-like outro.

"Angel Of Carnage Unleashed" track listing:

01. Name The Dead

02. In Evil, Sickness And In Grief

03. Murktide And Midnight Sun

04. You Bitter Source Of Sorrow

05. Where We Dwell

06. In Thrall To Ironskull's Heart

07. Massacre

08. Black Fog And Poison Wind

09. Outro

DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED is:

Pasi Kankkunen - vocals, guitar

Jouni Mikkonen - guitar

Teemu Kautonen - bass, backing vocals

Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards

Kai Hahto - drums (session)

Photo credit: Antti Ilvonen

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to Spain's Mariskal Rock about his decision to go public with his battle with prostate cancer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's in remission. I count my blessings — thanks to God. It was a time when… You know, timing is everything in rock and roll and heavy metal. And, of course, this was going on during the pandemic — the initial stages of the pandemic — so the world was completely closed down. PRIEST would have been on a bit of a hiatus anyway, because we had just been around the world three times with [PRIEST's latest album] 'Firepower', so we were gonna be on a kind of a break although we were writing for the new album. And so I was able to take care of three things, really — promote [my autobiography] 'Confess', do some writing with the band before I came back [home] to Phoenix, and then get this cancer business sorted out."

Rob, who previously mentioned his cancer battle in the new chapter added to the updated paperback edition of "Confess", continued: "It's just a miracle what they can do with health care these days; it's absolutely remarkable. So in my story, my main message is to guys everywhere around the world, when you get to a certain age, it's very important that you get your prostate checked, your bloodwork checked, get a colonoscopy. It's all these things that old blokes like me go, 'Wait, wait, wait.' That's the worst thing to do. So that was part of the reason I wanted to push the message out. And the fact that it's been out for a while anyway — it's been out since last September in the final edition of the 'Confess' paperback — so it was gonna surface anyway."

Halford also touched upon Richie Faulkner's recovery after the PRIEST guitarist suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band's performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

"Along with my issues and just talking about the way that incredible things have happened in my lifetime with medical science especially, when you think about what Richie has just been through recently and the miracle doctors, surgeons, nurses, everybody that have brought him back to us, these people are just unbelievable," Rob said.

"Everything's relative in life. And you never get through life by yourself; you've always got people with you helping you along the way. The fans have helped PRIEST along the way for our entire 50 years. And in other areas of your life, particularly with your health, people are there ready to help, people are there ready to fix you, to get you released for the road again and do all the things that you wanna do.

"So, yeah, I feel good," Halford added. "I feel positive. Richie feels good. He feels positive. I spoke with him just a couple of days ago. He sounded great on the phone. We had a long chat about the tour and all the things we've gotta do still with PRIEST. The journey never ends."

In "Confess", Halford revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer after experiencing symptoms for at least a couple of years.

"I felt a combination of shock, horror, and oddly, relief — at least now I know!…'Am I going to die?'" he wrote. " It was all I could think of. I know blokes who've died of prostate cancer. 'No, you're not going to die, Rob,' said Dr. Ali."

In July 2020, Rob underwent prostatectomy, an operation where the entire prostate gland is removed plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles. After more cancer was found earlier this year, he went through radiation treatments in April and May and eventually got then all-clear in June. He also had an appendectomy after a tumor was discovered on his appendix.

"It's been a draining year, I can't deny it, but I'm delighted to have come through it," Halford wrote in the book. "I feel like I've had the most thorough MOT that a Metal God can have."

The 70-year-old said that his outlook on his cancer battle changed after watching a commercial for the Phoenix Children's hospital. "It showed kids with cancer," he said. "Some only babies. They were lying there, with tubes coming out of them, fighting for their lives. They didn't know what was going on…It made me feel totally ashamed of myself; Rob, how dare you be so selfish? And from that second, I change my entire mental attitude towards my disease."

Halford's cancer battle and Faulkner's acute cardiac aortic dissection are not the only health scares the members of PRIEST have had to deal with in recent years. PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". He was replaced by "Firepower" producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

"Confess" was released in September 2020 via Hachette Books. It was written with Ian Gittins, co-writer of "The Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx.

EXODUS's Steve "Zetro" Souza talked to The Razor's Edge about his band's decision to postpone the North American leg of its "The Bay Strikes Back Tour" to 2022. The 30-date trek — also featuring TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL — was originally scheduled to kick off on October 6 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California and make stops in Austin, New York, and Detroit before concluding on November 27 at The Fox in Oakland.

Speaking about EXODUS's plans to play shows in support of its new album, "Persona Non Grata", which will be released later this month, Zetro said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think what we're gonna try to do is do regional stuff. There are areas that in the United States especially that are not necessarily playing by the rules that other places are — the South especially. Florida, Alabama — [I] love you, guys. There's places to go play where the restrictions aren't as stringent as, say, here in California. In California, you cannot go — in San Francisco [and] Oakland, you cannot go to a movie, you cannot go to a concert, you cannot go to anything without showing proof of vaccinations. Not just proof of a negative test — proof of vaccination. So, there's a lot of people torn about the Constitution and 'the government tells us what to do' — there's a lot of that going back and forth.

"For now, we're playing it by ear," he continued. "For now, we're just gonna play it by ear and just hopefully something will pop up. But I think the next actual thing other than… We're gonna play [at the end of November] here in Oakland with 'The Bay Strikes Back Tour'; that was the only thing that was safe. And then the next thing will be April 9th with 'The Bay Strikes Back Tour', unless we do something in January, February, March — which I'm told we are. Again, we're playing it by ear. Who knows? It changes every day."

"The Bay Strikes Back Tour" dates have been rebooked beginning in April and will include additional cities not originally scheduled for the tour.

Earlier this month, Souza railed against the federal and local vaccine mandates that have been implemented across the U.S. over the past few weeks, telling Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast: "They're forcing you to get a vaccine. Do we live in a socialist society? What happened to 'my body, my choice'? I don't understand it. And it's not about the vaccine not being effective or whatever; it's about the choice that you're telling me to. We're playing a concert with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL in Oakland, California [at the end of November]. You have to show proof of vaccination to even come in. I think that's socialist right there. That's bullshit. What about people that have AIDS? What if people have Hep C? How come they don't have to show [any kind of proof]…? To me, it's like anything else — why is this all of a sudden [something that] the government can mandate you?"

Souza clarified that he is not denying that COVID-19 exists and he is not denying that it's transmissible. "Yes, it's real. Yes, it kills people," he said. "It's no worse than the flu, though. You can't shut the world down. You can't ruin people's businesses that they built. Little mom-and-pop donut shops, how are they supposed to survive? I'm just using that as an example. My take is you cannot run from something. You need to hit it head-on. And once you hit it head-on, you're gonna beat it. You're gonna beat it. [But instead they are, like], 'Let's keep locking it down. Let's not do it anymore. Let's [postpone] the festivals till next year, and then the next year, and then the next year.' Just do it. What are you gonna do? Hide from this thing your whole life? It's been two years now — two years. It's fucking November. The shit hit in fucking December '19. I know 'cause I was in Europe when it went down. I had to fly home in the beginning of March [2020].

"Get it together, people," he concluded. "I just don't think our governments or our officials or the heads of the world really know what they're doing or know what to do with this. I wish they would just say they don't instead of trying to act like they do."

"Persona Non Grata" will be released on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records.