In a recent interview with Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road, DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan was asked if he was good friends with legendary heavy metal frontman Ronnie James Dio. "Yeah, we were close. We were very close," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It was Ronnie Dio, Klaus Meine [SCORPIONS] and myself; we were on a tour together. And, of course, as you probably know, Klaus and Ronnie are diminutive figures — they're not very tall — and I'm just over six foot. And so we had a photograph taken together with me in the middle and the two little ones on either side of me. And it was hilarious. And we got the picture pinned up in the dressing room, and it was called 'the three fivers' as opposed to 'the three tenners.' It's an English joke.

"When I was buying some socks in Munich airport, [Ronnie and I] were on the same charter plane together, and Ronnie was opening for DEEP PURPLE, I think. And I was in the shop going, 'I've gotta buy some socks.' And they had packs of three pairs of socks hanging on the rack. So I was just looking through them, seeing which ones I want. And Ronnie's head appeared through the socks, and he said, 'Ah, socks, drugs and rock and roll.' [Laughs]

"Yeah, we were lovely mates," Gillan added. "We were good mates."

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Dio's long-awaited autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July via Permuted Press. It was written with longtime friend of 30 years and esteemed music writer Mick Wall, who took up the mantle after Ronnie's passing.

Mitch Malloy, who auditioned to replace Sammy Hagar in VAN HALEN in the summer of 1996, celebrated Eddie Van Halen's musical legacy with MITCH MALLOY'S VH EXPERIENCE on October 9 at Mattie Kelly Arts Village in Destin, Florida. Mitch was backed by a band featuring Pete Thorn (Chris Cornell, Don Henley, Melissa Etheridge) on guitar, Daniel Spriewald (Phil X of BON JOVI) on bass, and Wayne Killius (Keith Urban, BIG & RICH, Luke Bryan) on drums.

Multi-camera video footage of MITCH MALLOY'S VH EXPERIENCE performing the VAN HALEN classic "Jump" at the Destin concert can be seen below.

Malloy told the story of his day at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 studios to Melodic Rock: "A guy who worked for their management at the time used to be my road manager and he kept calling me and telling me they were going to fire Sammy and that I was going to be the next singer in VAN HALEN. And he was calling and calling and finally I got annoyed by this and told him to stop and that I didn't think I was a good fit in VAN HALEN and that if he was serious, he should have Ed call me. A week later, Desmond Child calls me and says he has just left Ed's house and was writing with them and that they were talking about me and that they were watching my 'Anything At All' video, and that he told them that I was perfect for them, and that they would be lucky to get me. And before I knew it, I was on a plane to L.A. Ed did call, a bunch of times. He was great."

According to Malloy, Eddie told him he was in the band on his third day in the studio. But when Eddie, Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen stepped onstage with their estranged singer David Lee Roth for the first time in 12 years at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, Mitch knew that his dream gig had fallen apart.

"I'm sitting, watching TV there by myself," Mitch told Rolling Stone. "It wasn't good. I think literally, my jaw dropped. So in that moment, I was shocked. And you know how sometimes as humans we just know some things? You just know it. You don't have to say it. Nobody has to say anything. People just know things. And that moment that Roth walked out behind them, I knew it was over. I am not going to be in VAN HALEN. I just knew somehow. And so that was it for me. I was just like, 'That's it. This can't happen now.' I just knew it. It was just … a wall came down. But it just felt like it was over, somehow. It was like, 'This can't work now.' Not because people won't accept me. But there's just something else going on that I didn't even fully understand at the time. You know what I mean? It was like a knife sliced through and just, it was over. I think it's the only time it's ever happened to me in my life, where it was that definitive. And I had a lot going on at the time, aside from VAN HALEN. Real promise with my career moving forward. So it wasn't, for me, my only thing. I wasn't like, 'Oh, my God! This has got to happen,' kind of thing. Of course, I really did want it to happen. But who wouldn't?"

VAN HALEN's next singer ended up being Gary Cherone, former frontman for the band EXTREME. His only album with the group was "Van Halen III", which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Hagar and Roth both rejoined VAN HALEN at various points since 2003, with the latter appearing on VAN HALEN's final album, 2012's "A Different Kind Of Truth".

Malloy's involvement with VAN HALEN is the focus of a short documentary, "Mitch Malloy: Van Halen's Lost Boy", which was uploaded to YouTube in 2013.

In 2018, Malloy joined GREAT WHITE as the replacement for Terry Ilous.

Mitch relocated to Destin, Florida from Nashville, Tennessee in 2019.
















pic.twitter.com/J1xXWm3faT

— Mitch Malloy (@mitchmalloy) September 9, 2021

On November 20th, Y&T performed the second of two shows at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, California. Fan-filmed video is available below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"Hang 'Em High"
"Lucy"
"Lipstick and Leather"
"Eyes of a Stranger"
"Midnight in Tokyo"
"Mean Streak"
"I'll Keep On Believin' (Do You Know)"
"Struck Down"
"Winds of Change"
"Contagious"
"Dirty Girl"
"Go for the Throat"
"Summertime Girls"
"I'm Coming Home"
"Rescue Me"
"Black Tiger"




Encore:
"Sail On By"
"Open Fire"
"Hell or High Water"
"Forever"














Y&T's tour schedule is currently as follows:


January
14 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV 
15 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV 
16 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ


February 
9 - Monster Of Rock Cruise 2022 - Miami, FL


April
1 - Whisky A Go Go - West Hollywood, CA
2 - Coach House Concert Hall - San Juan Capistrano, CA


For details and ticket information go to YandTRocks.com.


Chris Akin spoke with Y&T bassist Aaron Leigh for Aftershocks TV, and addressed why there hasn't been any new music released from Y&T since 2010's Facemelter.

After more than 30 years, Toronto-based Chyld - who were part of the scene that gave us Slik Toxik, Sven Gali, Winter Rose and Slash Puppet - made a comeback in 2019 with a new single, "Burning Alive". The band released a new single, "In The Field of Fire" in early 2021 and are now teasing new music slated for January 2022 with tghe following message: 


"A melding of two eras of metal history, a collaboration long overdue, and all will be revealed as the rats are banished to the back alleys of the world in 2022!"







Chyld recently released an official video for new song "Ride Out". The song features Famous Underground / ex-Slik Toxik frontman Nick Walsh on vocals. Check it out below.


Walsh: "After a hang with my old friend and Slik Toxik band mate Neal Busby, catching up and sharing stories, Neal talked about how he and another old friend of mine, Pete Dove (Slash Puppet), were resurrecting their traditional heavy metal band from the '80s, Chyld. That day and conversation led to what you are about to hear and see. A song that I believe was written in 1983 at the height of that 'new' sound called heavy metal is now primed up for 2020. When I had the opportunity to take part, I couldn't pass up feeling 16 yrs old again."





From that era Chyld was born after guitarist Glen Cunningham met singer Rob Villemaire and joined forces with drummer Neal Busby. After a lengthy search bassist Pete Dove joined the ranks after his departure from another band. Chyld began rehearsals in Toronto with a diligent schedule that produced results very quickly, and with an arsenal of original songs they were ready to take on the Toronto metal club scene centered around the infamous venue, Larry's Hideaway.


In 1986 they recorded three songs, which resulted in the debut 7 inch single "Lite The Nite / Ye Morlok" being released on their own independent label Chyldysh Records. Sadly, it never got the attention it deserved at the time, but later achieved legendary status in the European metal world and sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars. Sadly, Chyld packed it in sometime in 1986 for reasons even the band cannot remember.


In 2012, inspired by the surge of interest in the old 7" single, Chyld reformed and recorded one old song, "Burning Alive". Tragically, it was the last song that singer Rob sang, as he passed away in 2017. His vocals sat in a computer for 7 years until drummer Neal Busby took the reins and decided the song had to be finished and recruited super fret demon Todd Lefever to record the guitars and get the song ready to be released to the world.

Supreme Unbeing is a mysterious 5-piece metal band led by vocalist/prophet Zac Red, with his fellow prophets D.Vine (Lead Guitar), D.Sciple (Rhythm Guitar), Unknown (Bass) and Al Mytee (Drums). Although the band just recently transformed from animated characters into real flesh and blood entities, their impact has been felt in the physical domain since the release (October 2020) of their debut full-length album Enter Reality.


Letting nature take its course, Supreme Unbeing have released their new haunting and high-octane single, "Hide The Beast", from their upcoming, second, full-length album, Enduring Physicality, to be released in May).







"Hide The Beast" will get your blood pumping as it offers dual perspectives of the brutality, and anxiety, of our raw nature - the one of the beast, and the one of the victim - but which is really which? Being the first Supreme Unbeing song with a feature, "Hide The Beast" features a guest appearance from Eleine vocalist Madeleine Liljestam.


“We all have a beast inside of us which we are trying, oh, so hard to tame, but in the end we cannot – as the song goes – hide the beast. We can only find inner peace, and build a solid relationship with ourselves, when we understand, and trust, our inner beast in the same way that we understand, and trust, the person that others believe that they see when they see you," says Zac Red.


Continuing the success of the previous, daunting and ominous-sounding, single "Face Of Evil", which already amassed +600.000 views on YouTube in less than one month, Supreme Unbeing, with "Hide The Beast" will force you, yet again, to take a deep look inside of yourself after studying the lyrics to the song. With Swedish actor Dragomir Mrsic (known from “Snabba Cash”, and “Edge Of Tomorrow” where he co-starred along Tom Cruise) also continuing his portrayal of yet another character, in the music video for Hide The Beast, only the fearless will dare to follow where this “mini-series” will lead.


“I’ve played many parts, and characters, both in life and on TV. I’ve “killed” the most people throughout Swedish TV-history, allowing me to use my inner beast to portray all those parts. This time, I’m not sure who’s actually the real beast," says Dragomir Mrsic.


Mixed and mastered by Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann, singer/guitarist of German metal outfit Orden Ogan, the track is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and all major streaming services.


“You cannot hide or run away from nature,” concludes Zac Red of Supreme Unbeing.

Experimental metal outfit, Imperial Triumphant, have released their new live record, An Evening With Imperial Triumphant, via Century Media Records.


The new album was recorded last year at the infamous Slipper Room in New York City, and features tracks from the band’s previous two LPs, 2020’s Alphaville and 2018’s Vile Luxury. To celebrate the release, the band has posted the second single/music video from the record. Fans can check out the video for “Chernobyl Blues” below.


The album is available exclusively on 180-gram black vinyl and on all digital platforms. Find order options here.







Tracklisting:


Side A
“Rotted Futures”
“Atomic Age”
“Chernobyl Blues”


Side B
“Transmission To Mercury”
“Swarming Opulence”
“Cosmopolis”


"Chernobyl Blues" video:





(Photo - Alex Krauss)

Italy's False Memories have released a video for their cover of Lacuna Coil's "Our Truth", the first single from the band's upcoming Echoes Of A Reflection EP, available on December 3. Watch the video below.


Says the band: "Playing and making our own these songs on which we were, artistically speaking, born and raised was nothing short of exciting, even moving. On this five song journey, we started with deep influences rooted in gothic rock, to gothic metal, and then up to its most modern and latest variations. Considering the diverse influences we have, we deemed it dutiful to pay tribute to these bands."







Tracklisting:


"Our Truth" (Lacuna Coil cover)
"Forever Failure" (Paradise Lost cover)
"My Twin" (Katatonia cover)
"Strange Machines" (The Gathering cover)
"December" (All About Eve cover)


"Our Truth" video:

Season Of Mist have released Cynic's new album, Ascension Codes. Order the album here or here, and watch a video for the song, "Diamond Light Body", below:





Cynic's Ascension Codes is a remarkably far-reaching work, and if nothing else, a clear indication that they have landed in a place of mastery. The album, paradoxically, acts as both swan song and rebirth.




Michael Berberian, president and founder of Season of Mist: “I have, by now, released close to one thousand albums. None have been more dramatic, none have even been more difficult than this one. I can’t listen to Ascension Codes without goosebumps, a mixed feeling of pride – because it’s a musical milestone, but it also contains a lingering layer of sadness. I hear Paul’s pain on this record. I can feel it, I can touch it. But it’s transcended. 'Art is to console those who are broken by life,' said Van Gogh. Here is a demonstration of that.”





Tracklisting:


"Mu-54*"
"The Winged Ones"
"A'-va432"
"Elements And Their Inhabitants"
"Ha-144"
"Mythical Serpents"
"Sha48*"
"6th Dimensional Archetype"
"DNA Activation Template"
"Shar-216"
"Architects Of Consciousness"
"DA'z-a86.4"
"Aurora"
"DU-*61.714285"
"In A Multiverse Where Atoms Sing"
"A'jha108"
"Diamond Light Body"
"Ec-ka72"


Album stream:

Michael Müller's brainchild, Basement Prophecy, have released the video for their brand new single, “Metal Zeit”.


Michael enlisted an impressive collective of musicians to contribute to the song:


- Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear)
- Michael Ehre (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray, The Unity, Uli Jon Roth)
- Martin Motnik (Accept)




The video is a work by Michael Vetter. Watch the clip below, and stream/download the song here.


“Metal Zeit” was originally written and performed by Claus Wiechert and Marco Lietke under the name Daalschlag.

German thrash metal gods, Kreator, are proud to announce a very special re-release of their 2001 masterpiece, Violent Revolution, for its 20th anniversary. The reissue of Violent Revolution is scheduled for a January 21 release through Nuclear Blast Records and it will include a huge selection of assorted live bootleg recordings, grouped together under the name Bootleg Revolution.


The 20th-anniversary edition of Violent Revolution will be available in various formats, including Digital Album, CD Jewelcase, CD Digipak, Double LP, Cassette, and a limited Edition 4LP+2CD Boxset, which will also include an exclusive Kreator comic book called Graphic Violence - Chapter 1.


To give you a taste of the Bootleg Revolution material, which has been recorded in countries like Brazil, Korea, and Istanbul & on German Festivals like Wacken and Waldrock - check out the visualizer video for "Reconquering The Throne" (Live In Istanbul), below.







This Violent Revolution re-issue will be available in the following formats:


- Digital Album "Bootleg Revolution"" (Live In Brazil, Korea, Wacken / Live In Istanbul / Live At Waldrock)
- 2 CD Digibook incl. Live Bonus CD (Brazil, Korea, Wacken)
- 1 CD Jewelcase
- 2 LP Gatefold
*  Gatefold Solid BlackGatefold Solid Red
*  Marbled Clear/Red (EMP Exclusive)
*  Splatter Red/Black


- Box Set
*  2 CD Digibook (Album & Live Bonus)
*  2 LP (Album)
*  2 LP" (Live Bonus; Brazil, Korea, Wacken)
*  1 CD Slipcase" (Live In Istanbul), 1CD Slipcase" (Live At Waldrock)
*  20-page Comic Book "Graphic Violence - Chapter 1"


Pre-order Violent Revolution in a format of your choice, here. Listen to Violent Revolution on a digital service of your choice, here. Pre-save Violent Revolution on a digital service of your choice, here.


Listen to the single "Servant In Heaven - King In Hell"" (Live In Brazil), here and watch a visualizer below.





Violent Revolution tracklisting:


"Reconquering The Throne
"The Patriarch
"Violent Revolution
"All Of The Same Blood
"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell
"Second Awakening
"Ghetto War
"Replicas Of Life
"Slave Machinery
"Bitter Sweet Revenge
"Mind Of Fire
"System Decay


Live Bonus:


"Violent Revolution" (Live in Brazil)
"Reconquering The Throne" (Live in Brazil)
"Extreme Aggression" (Live in Korea)
"People Of The Lie" (Live in Korea)
"All Of The Same Blood" (Live in Korea)
"Phobia" (Live In Korea)
"Pleasure To Kill" (Live in Korea)
"Renewal" (Live in Korea)
"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell" (Live Brazil)
"Terrible Certainty" (Live in Korea)
"Riot Of Violence" (Live in Korea)
"Terrorzone" (Live in Brazil)
"Betrayer" (Live in Brazil)
"Lost" (Live in Brazil)
"Coma Of Souls" (Live in Brazil)
"Flag Of Hate" (Live at Wacken)
"Tormentor" (Live at Wacken)





Bootleg Revolution tracklisting:


"Violent Revolution" (Live in Brazil)
"Reconquering The Throne" (Live in Brazil)
"Extreme Aggression" (Live in Korea)
"People Of The Lie" (Live in Korea)
"All Of The Same Blood" (Live in Korea)
"Phobia" (Live In Korea)
"Pleasure To Kill" (Live in Korea)
"Renewal" (Live in Korea)
"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell" (Live Brazil)
"Terrible Certainty" (Live in Korea)
"Riot Of Violence" (Live in Korea)
"Terrorzone" (Live in Brazil)
"Betrayer" (Live in Brazil)
"Lost" (Live in Brazil)
"Coma Of Souls" (Live in Brazil)
"Flag Of Hate" (Live at Wacken)
"Tormentor" (Live at Wacken)
"Violent Revolution" (Live in Istanbul)
"Reconquering The Throne" (Live in Istanbul)
"Extreme Aggression" (Live in Istanbul)
"People Of The Lie" (Live in Istanbul)
"All Of The Same Blood" (Live in Istanbul)
"Phobia" (Live in Istanbul)
"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell" (Live in Istanbul)
"Terrible Certainty" (Live in Istanbul)
"Riot Of Violence" (Live in Istanbul)
"Betrayer" (Live in Istanbul)
"Flag Of Hate" (Live in Istanbul)
"Tormentor" (Live in Istanbul)
"The Patriarch" (Live at Waldrock)
"Violent Revolution" (Live at Waldrock)
"Reconquering The Throne" (Live at Waldrock)
"Extreme Aggression" (Live at Waldrock)
"People Of The Lie" (Live at Waldrock)
"All Of The Same Blood" (Live at Waldrock)
"Phobia" (Live at Waldrock)
"Pleasure To Kill" (Live at Waldrock)
"Renewal" (Live at Waldrock)
"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell" (Live at Waldrock)
"Flag Of Hate" (Live at Waldrock)
"Tormentor" (Live at Waldrock)


"Reconquering The Throne" (Live In Istanbul) visualizer:





"Servant In Heaven - King In Hell" (Live In Brazil) visualizer:





As the 21st century was born, so Kreator underwent what was nothing less than a seismic creative rebirth. By this time, the iconic German band had released nine studio albums in the 1980s and '90s, which had established them as one of the most important metal names of these decades. In the first period, they had helped to shape and pioneer the thrash scene through such releases as Pleasure To Kill (1986), TerribleCertainty ('87), and Extreme Aggression ('89). During the following decade, the band had opened up exciting horizons of experimentation on albums like Coma Of Souls (1990), Renewal ('92), and Endorama ('99). Now, though, it was time to move into a fresh era, as vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza explains. “During the 1990s, we were definitely experimenting with what the band was doing. But (drummer) Ventor and I decided that for this album – our first of the new millennium – we wanted to go back to the sort of sound that we had at the start of Kreator. In other words, to get back to the reason why we began the band in the first place.”


There were some significant changes for this album, one being the fact that the band signed to SPV/Steamhammer. There was also a new guitarist introduced, as Sami Yli-Sirniö (who had made his reputation with Finnish band Waltari) took over from Tommy Vetterli. The latter (also known as Tommy T. Baron) had joined in 1996 and played on the Oucast (1997) and Endorama albums.


As usual, it was Petrozza who did all the writing for the album.


The producer for this album was Andy Sneap, who was now making a name for himself as one of the pre-eminent masters of this art in the modern metal world. Pre-production was done in Essen at KKS Studios, before the band went to Area 51 Studios in Celle, near Hamburg where they recorded the drum and bass (handled by Christian Giesler).


The album title came from something Petrozza had read. “In a book, I came across a comment that John F. Kennedy said (in 1962). This was: 'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.' I thought 'Violent Revolution' would make a good title for an album. So, I kept it in my mind for this record. I think 'Violent Revolution' is a title that makes a real impact."


For the cover, Kreator turned to Andreas Marschall, who had done such a striking job on the 1990's Coma Of Souls album sleeve.


Violent Revolution was released in September 2001, and became the band's highest-charting album to that point in Germany, as it reached number 38. “We knew we had a good album, so in that way, it wasn't a surprise to see this do so well in the chart. But however good you might think your album is, you can never be certain how people will react to what you've done, and whether you can pick up new fans, as well as satisfy the older ones. So, I suppose there was an element of us being pleasantly surprised when we got into the Top 40 for the first time. But I have to give a lot of credit to our label. They knew exactly how to market and promote the album, and showed we had made the right choice in signing to them.”


Violent Revolution is without question an excellent album. While in some ways it does hark back to the glories of the band's earlier days, nonetheless it does not sound at all nostalgic. The performances and production values are very much part of the contemporary era, and the strength of the compositions themselves are of the highest values. Rising to the challenge offered by a new generation of ambitious metal bands, Kreator proved they were far from being a spent force. Unlike so many of their peers, here was a band who still had so much creativity to offer, and were also clearly excited themselves by what they were doing. And when you hear the band themselves enjoying the entire process, then you know this is a bona fide revitalization.


“I feel this is one of our strongest albums,” says Petrozza with conviction. “We took what we'd done on 'Coma Of Souls' and 'Extreme Aggression' but this wasn't a case of repeating it. No, we added in modern metal elements to the sound as well. It was a new era for Kreator. A rebirth if you want to put it that way. And the start of what I would call our second career.”


Kreator's Violent Revolution lineup, 2001 (pictured at top):


Mile Petrozza - Vocals, Guitars
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitars
Christian Giesler - Bass
Ventor - Drums

Canadian powerhouse vocalist, Lee Aaron, has released a lyric video for "Almost Christmas", the title track of her brand new Christmas album, released today via Metalville Records. Watch the clip below:





Lee and her band (Sean Kelly - guitar, Dave Reimer - bass, and John Cody - drums) had tossed around the idea of a Christmas album over the years, but there was always something - tours/recording/life etc. - that kept the project on the backburner. 2020 and COVID-19 brought a new reality.




With their shows around the globe cancelled, there was suddenly an abundance of time. Over the summer, the band began releasing a series of Rockin' From Home videos for fans, which escalated, so when the Christmas idea came up again in mid-September, it was a definite go.


"Each of us had upgraded our home studios, so we thought, Heck yeah!," says Aaron. "We'd always wanted to do this; the only issue was that we should have started sooner! Realistically, we only had about a month to get all the tracks done, but it became a fun mission - and it kept us all from going stir crazy during this downtime! …and the last thing we wanted to create was a rehash of the same old songs so many other folks have already recorded. One or two classics maybe, but if we were going to do this, we wanted to make it really unique and different. It was such a blast putting it all together!"


Almost Christmas contains lovingly curated tunes - from the foot-stomping rock 'n' roll ride of the feature track "It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas" (Pet Shop Boys) to the classic "Baby Please Come Home" to a sassy version of Louis Armstrong’s "Zat You Santa Claus?" - winding down with the introspective "All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue" (Over The Rhine) and an a capella rendition of Joni Mitchell’s timeless "The Fiddle And The Drum". You've never heard Christmas done quite like this.


She also presents a brand new version of her 1991 hit "Peace On Earth", which likewise is as relevant now as it was when it was first released.


Aaron explains: "There's a ton of passion and joy that went into these recordings. The album represented something really positive and hopeful that we could all focus on during this unprecedented downtime. It was a gift that lifted our spirits, and we hope it has the same effect on others."


Last year, the album could only be ordered via Lee Aaron's own shop and is now be available in stores for the first time with the addition of two new songs.





Almost Christmas tracklisting:


"Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"
"Baby Please Come Home"
"Run, Run, Rudolph"
"It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas"
"Zat You Santa Claus?"
"I Don't Believe In Christmas"
"Merry Christmas Everybody"
"All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue"
"Peace On Earth"
"The Fiddle And The Drum"
"Almost Christmas" - new song
"More Fun On The Naughty List" - new song


"Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas" video:

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss recently released their first new album in fourteen years, Raise The Roof, via Rounder Records. In celebration, the've released the video below, featuring "Searching For My Love", performed live from Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios.





Like its platinum-selling 2007 predecessor, Raising Sand - which won six Grammys, including Album and Record of the Year - Raise The Roof delivers new takes on songs from legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music.




Recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, sessions for Raise The Roof began in late 2019 and wrapped just weeks before the world went into lockdown. “One of my favorite parts of this is the songs and songwriters that I had never heard of,” says Alison Krauss. “Working with Robert, and with T Bone, is always a great education in music history.”


Raise The Roof includes deep cuts by Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch, Calexico and more. “It’s such a far cry from everything I’ve done before,” says Robert Plant. “I love the whole kaleidoscope of music that I’ve explored, but this is a place where you can think within the song, you can decide how to bring home an emotion. It’s another blend that we’ve got, and long may we have more of them.”


Order Raise The Roof here.





Raise The Roof tracklisting:


"Quattro (World Drifts In)"
"The Price Of Love"
"Go Your Way"
"Trouble With My Lover"
"Searching For My Love"
"Can’t Let Go"
"It Don’t Bother Me"
"You Led Me To The Wrong"
"Last Kind Words Blues"
"High And Lonesome"
"Going Where The Lonely Go"
"Somebody Was Watching Over Me"


"Somebody Was Watching Over Me":





"It Don't Bother Me":





"Can't Let Go" lyric video:





"High And Lonesome":

Ravenclaw have announced the upcoming release of their new album, Vitam Vivere. The album was recorded live with special guest on lead vocals, Kai Hansen (Helloween, Gamma Ray).


It was 2017 and concerts were still in full swing. It was recorded on a multitrack, so every single track that went from the speakers to the audience passed through a digital recording device.







Ravenclaw pulled out recordings at a time when live concerts are very rare. The result is Vitam Vivere, a live album with a total of 11 songs, 4 of which feature the special guest.


As the album will be released on January 1, it will be the first news Ravenclaw will bring on the occasion of the band's 20th anniversary. The booklet of the album is therefore filled with various rare photographs that capture the memories of the "twenties generation" on several pages.





But... Christmas is approaching and Ravenclaw is offering fans the opportunity to get to the physical album before Christmas, to give gifts and make themselves and their loved ones happy now. The interesting thing is, that every CD ordered before Christmas will be signed by band members and guest. The album is released on a classic physical CD with a booklet, but also in digital form in more than 250 online stores worldwide.


Order here.

"Paramount to life is the acceptance of death, and to lead a life facing our inevitable end head-on”, says the band about “Revel In Fear”, the latest song taken from Mass Worship’s upcoming album, Portal Tombs,  due for a release on February 4.


In true DIY style the band has self-produced the video with their live guitarist Niklas Sandin, check out “Revel In Fear”:







First Portal Tombs pre-sales, including bundles, are already online with the following formats available:


- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Gatefold black LP
- 300x Gatefold transparent green-black marbled LP available from Trust No One Recordings, Impericon and the band
- Digital album


Click here for options.





Tracklisting:


"Specular Void"
"Portal Tombs"
"Revel In Fear"
"Orcus Mouth"
"Unholy Mass"
"Dunes Of Bone"
"Scorched Earth"
"Empyrean Halls"
"Deliverence"


“Portal Tombs” video:





Mass Worship are:


Gustav Eriksson - Guitar
Dadde Stark - Bass
Claes Nordin - Vocals
Fred Forsberg - Drums

This past Wednesday (November 24), Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas threw an epic drink-fest and block party encompassing the entire destination with its inaugural DrinksGiving celebration and free concert featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman Vince Neil. Tourists, locals, and rock fans alike were invited to celebrate DrinksGiving on Blackout Wednesday in Downtown Las Vegas with drink specials, pub crawls, drinking games and more.

Fan-filmed video footage of Vince's concert can be seen below.

Fremont Street Experience marked Neil's return to the stage after he reportedly broke his ribs while performing with his solo band at the Monsters On The Mountain festival at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on October 15. Fan-filmed video of that gig showed the 60-year-old rocker walking to the front of the stage with his guitar strapped around him. He encouraged the crowd to clap along while playing the 1989 MÖTLEY CRÜE hit "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" when he suddenly fell and dropped out of the camera's view almost instantly. TMZ later reported that there was a small gap between the speaker and the stage that Neil didn't notice. His roadie and a security guy helped him get to his feet, and Vince "limped away."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A former Las Vegas resident, Vince served 10 days of a 15-day DUI sentence in 2011 in connection with a June 2010 incident when he was speeding and weaving between lanes on Desert Inn Road west of Paradise Road, near the Las Vegas Strip, authorities said.

In 1984, Neil smashed his car into another vehicle in Redondo Beach, California, killing HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley and seriously injuring two other occupants.

Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol. His blood alcohol level was 0.17, which was over the legal limit.

Neil served half of a 30-day jail sentence, received five years probation and had to pay $2.6 million in restitution, as well as perform 200 hours of community service.

Fremont Street Experience, a six-block entertainment district located in historic downtown Las Vegas, is an open-air promenade of gaming, dining, entertainment, and shopping. Fremont Street Experience offers free live entertainment on three stages 365 days per year and features Viva Vision, the world’s largest single video screen — 1,500 feet long, 90 feet wide and suspended 90 feet above the urban pedestrian mall.














Thanksgiving is for family; #DrinksGiving is all about friends tying one on for a good, old-fashioned drink fest...

Posted by Fremont Street Experience on Friday, November 19, 2021

SION, the new project featuring former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones and modern guitar virtuoso/content creator Jared Dines, has just released its self-titled debut album. The 12-song effort was "almost two years in the making" and "was funded independently out of Jared and Howard's own pockets," according to a statement released by the group.

The official music video for SION's third single, "Drown", can be seen below. It is the follow-up to "More Than Just Myself", which came out two weeks ago.

"Sion" track listing:

01. The Blade (03:39)

02. Drown (04:13)

03. More Than Just Myself (03:30)

04. The Worst Way (03:18)

05. Buried Alive And Wide Awake (03:50)

06. Skyfall (03:58)

07. Endless War (03:06)

08. A Constant Reminder (03:57)

09. Something To Live For (04:10)

10. Great Deceiver (03:50)

11. Dying Of The Light (03:25)

12. Inside The Hollow (03:49)

Speaking about how their collaboration came about, Dines told Rock Feed: "Way back [in] 2018 was the TRIVIUM tour that I filled in for that Howard was on with his band LIGHT THE TORCH. And, of course, we met and we talked and we just kind of randomly started talking [about working together]. I think Howard mentioned, 'Down the road, let's maybe talk about doing something.' And, of course, I was, like, 'Yeah, that sounds awesome.' So that's kind of where it started. And then maybe just until [early 2020], I think [he] reached out and had said that [he] had some free time, and I had some free time, so we figured why not start now and start writing some songs. So that's kind of how it started. It was just very casual, and it's just been that way — very natural, and not, like, [with] any type of real plan."

Regarding SION's musical direction, Dines said: "I think there's a lot of natural influence I have from bands like KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, AS I LAY DYING, et cetera, et cetera, because that's the era I grew up on, so that's kind of imprinted into my playing as it is. So it's very natural for me just to flow out these very, you could call it KILLSWITCH ENGAGE-sounding songs, but that's not the intent, what we were going for. But, yeah, they're going to sound, when you hear them, of course, because of Howard and because of my influence and my style, they will be similar to that sound — just naturally. [KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's third album, 2004's] 'The End Of Heartache', of course, for me, was my favorite and what influenced me the most, so I would say it's probably gonna sound more like that, as far as instrumentally. And whatever Howard wants to do with it, it's gonna sound like Howard. It's gonna sound like me and Howard, whatever that sounds like."

Jones left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2012 and battled manic depression and bipolar disorder before forming a new project, DEVIL YOU KNOW, with guitarist Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and drummer John Sankey (DEVOLVED). Along with bassist Ryan Wombacher (BLEEDING THROUGH), they recorded and toured behind two well-received albums, 2014's "The Beauty Of Destruction" and 2015's "They Bleed Red". In 2017, the band changed its name to LIGHT THE TORCH following a bitter dispute with Sankey, a part owner of the name.

Asked what made him get back into music after leaving KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, Howard told Heavy New York: "Honestly, I think it was because I was just kind of tired of doing nothing and I don't do much else other than music. I felt like I needed to venture out because I was basically agoraphobic for three years. It's kind of well known. I went off the grid. I didn't have a cell phone for three years — I was gone. It felt, like, 'Okay, maybe I should dip my toe in. I don't have to do it full time. I don't have to do what I don't want to do.' That's all I was thinking. I started moving, I started doing things. It was definitely a struggle, especially for the first few years. I was, like, 'What am I doing?' There's been few things in my life that has been consistent other than music. I just did it. It just took some time, then all of the sudden, the spark showed up. I fell back in love with what I was doing. I really can't explain it. It just sort of happened."

In a 2014 interview with Fishing World, Jones stated about his musical influences: "Well, just about anything I can listen to. AC/DC and KISS were the first bands that introduced me to heavy music. After that, I just absorbed anything I could get my hands on. Some favourites are FAITH NO MORE, HIM, ALICE IN CHAINS, PORTISHEAD ... My taste is kind of all over the place."

Jones makes an appearance on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's latest album, "Atonement", contributing guest vocals to the song "The Signal Fire".

Dines has redefined the very idea of a guitar hero online. His YouTube channel boasts a staggering 2.92 million subscribers and more than 700 million views. He also has collaborated with everyone from Post Malone to BREAKING BENJAMIN. His recorded output includes "Rest", "Repose", "Daddy Rock" and "Dissimilator", to name a few. He made history as "the first YouTuber" to grace the cover of Guitar World magazine. Meanwhile, he teamed up with Music Man for a signature Stingray guitar.

POISON frontman Bret Michaels will auction his 2007 Bentley Continental GT car at Barrett-Jackson's 2022 event in Scottsdale, Arizona in January. In addition to the car, Michaels is including a VIP package for two to POISON's 2022 "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE and a signed, custom "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" guitar for the new owner.

Michaels told 12 News about the car: "It is like having the most comfortable chair you've ever sat in, with incredible sound going on around you, quiet, but it is fast. It's probably the most comfortable car I've ever driven.

"I hope that whoever is to take this car next — and be part of their family — enjoys it as much as I did because I've driven this car a lot, and I love it," he added.

While much of the money from the Bentley will go to charity, a 1973 DeTomaso Pantera will also be auctioned off, and all of the money from it will go to Barrow Neurological Institute.

"I am living proof that Barrow's works, I had a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage, and they saved my life," Michaels said. "And then not long after that, went back in to have heart surgery, and they saved my life there too. So it was incredible. And we're going to donate from hammer down, all the proceeds will go to benefit Barrows."

As a reality TV star, Michaels has appeared in an extensive library of hit shows including VH1's smash show "Rock Of Love", winning the highest-rated season of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" and Travel Channel's "Rock My RV", currently featured on the Discovery+ streaming platform. Fans have eagerly binged his TV hits on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Tubi, PlutoTV and AppleTV.

Bret was born in Butler, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1963. Rising to fame as the frontman of POISON, one of rock's most iconic and enduring bands, he helped define rock 'n' roll on the Sunset Strip. POISON's massive success includes selling over 30 million records worldwide and numerous hit singles. Bret's solo career has charted its own course with multiple solo albums. His "Custom Built" album included guest appearances by Joe Perry (AEROSMITH) Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Buffett, Ace Frehley (KISS), Michael Anthony (VAN HALEN) and members of LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

POISON's "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tony Iommi has confirmed that he appears on one song on the upcoming studio album from his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Ozzy Osbourne. "I wrote the whole track and played on it and played the solo on it," the guitar legend told Rolling Stone in a new interview. "It's horrible, really. … No. I'm joking. No, it's good. It's really good. And I like what Ozzy sang on it. I think he did a really good job. And I think they had Chad [Smith, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS] play drums on it. I've left it in their hands now."

Asked how frequently he keeps in touch with Ozzy, Tony said: "We're in touch quite a lot. We don't really speak because we are useless on the phone, the pair of us. I think we stopped that when he used to phone me at 2 o'clock in the morning and I'd go, 'Oz, it's 2 o'clock in the morning.' 'Oh, oh, sorry. All right. Bye.' He forgets about what time it is in England, and of course when the phone goes at that time of the morning you think, 'Oh, Christ. What's that? Somebody's died or something has happened.' And of course it's him going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh, sorry. I didn't know it was that time.' So we tend to sort of just text now."

Ozzy recently confirmed that 15 songs have been recorded for his follow-up to 2020's "Ordinary Man". He is once again working with producer Andrew Watt on the "work-in-progress" effort, which will include additional guest appearances by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Robert Trujillo and Zakk Wylde.

Last month, Ozzy told Metal Hammer magazine that his new album will be "similar in tone to 'Ordinary Man', but I can't describe it completely. I've not heard it for a while because it keeps going over to the next person to add their parts — we're fucking around with it all the time," he said.

Watt connected with Osbourne after meeting Ozzy's daughter Kelly at a friend's party and pitching her on the idea of Post Malone and Ozzy collaborating together.

In December 2020, Watt told Guitar World that he and the BLACK SABBATH legend were "halfway through" the new LP. "There's some songs on there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these really crazy journeys. I'm really excited about it," he said.

Like "Ordinary Man", which featured Watt on guitar, Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) on bass and Chad Smith on drums, Ozzy's next album will feature guest appearances by a number of other notable musicians. "There's a bunch of people involved," Andrew told Guitar World. "I can't say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in Ozzy's band. And Taylor Hawkins [FOO FIGHTERS] also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair — it kind of harkened back to Ozzy's '80s era, in a great way. And I think it's so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins. And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we're achieving th

David Coverdale has revealed that WHITESHAKE is planning "a very special project" to coincide with the band's farewell tour which kicks off in spring 2022. The WHITESNAKE leader also said that there is little chance of John Sykes appearing with the band, even in a one-off capacity during the tour. Coverdale made the comments while speaking to Eonmusic about the band's just-released 25th-anniversary edition of the "Restless Heart" album.

Speaking to Eamon O'Neill about the farewell dates, which kick off in Dublin on May 10, 2022, Coverdale said: "We have this farewell tour, and when I say that I'm retiring, I'm retiring from touring at this level. It's so huge and it takes months and months and months to set up. I was hoping, actually, to retire at 69 which is absolutely the best age for the lead singer of WHITESNAKE to step down."

He continued: "I have to do this tour of appreciation and gratitude so I can achieve completion. I'm coming up to 50 years of people supporting my work; it's just extraordinary, it's a magical life, and, as the song 'Don't Fade Away' says, 'all in all, it's been a rocky road,' but we've still got the passion to move forward."

It was then that the former DEEP PURPLE fronman revealed that he's planning to put out something to accompany the tour. David said: "We have, next year, a very special project for spring which I can't talk about that's going to be a nice surprise for people to accompany the world farewell tour. When this was signed, sealed, delivered, we said, 'I don't think we can just put a box set out. It's my farewell tour. So we've worked on a very special project to accompany the tour. It's not a box, but it's a really great project."

Elsewhere, Coverdale admitted that there is little chance of seeing John Sykes on stage with WHITESNAKE again. When asked if there was perhaps, some unfinished business between the pair, he replied: "Not for me. I admire John, I wish him well in everything, but it was interesting that we were so successful in writing together, so successful, but as people, we weren't. There was a constant rub."

Expanding, he shared that efforts to reunite the pair were made nearly two decades, but ultimately came to nothing. "A mutual friend put us together in, I think it was '02 or something like that," he said, "and we talked and stuff for a long time and it was lovely, but the more and more I spoke with him, I thought, 'I feel the same as it was 30-odd years ago, and the last thing I want to do is make a commitment and then be calling my wife from Tokyo, saying, 'What the fuck did I agree to this for?'"

He added: "When we lost Jon Lord [DEEP PURPLE keyboardist], I reached out to a lot of people — including Ritchie [Blackmore], god bless him — to bury whatever potential hatchet, and I put out feelers, and it wasn't particularly positively received, so what I can tell you is I wish everyone well who I've worked with, because they all brought something amazing to the party."

Read the entire interview at Eonmusic

Fan-filmed video footage of OPETH's entire November 24 concert at The Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia can be seen below.

OPETH played its first show with drummer Sami Karppinen (THERION) on November 16 at ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, North Carolina at the opening date of the band's tour with MASTODON and ZEAL & ARDOR.

Karppinen stepped in to play with OPETH after the Swedish progressive metallers parted ways with their longtime drummer Martin "Axe" Axenrot due to what they called "a conflict of interests."

When Axenrot's exit was first announced earlier yesterday, OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt said in a statement: "However sad it is to not have Axe in the band anymore, we're not in a position to linger on anything that is going to hold us back. We need to soldier on.

"Needless to say, we're incredibly thankful that Sami is helping us out, making this tour possible and all. On top of that, he's quite outstanding, really!

"All of us wish the best for Axe in all and any of his future endeavors. He has been a incredibly important part of the band for many years now, and we're all heartbroken it didn’t work out in the end. But that's life, I guess…"

Axenrot officially joined OPETH a decade and a half ago as the replacement for Martin Lopez, who left the band in May 2006 after being plagued by illness and anxiety attacks, which forced him to miss several of OPETH's tours.

Shortly after he first started playing with OPETH, Axenrot told Drummerzone about how he landed the gig: "During OPETH's tour in the U.S., Martin Lopez got ill. The band temporarily used the services of Gene Hoglan [who is also featured in OPETH's video for the song 'The Grand Conjuration'] but needed someone else for their European trek. While they were still in the U.S., I received a phone call from singer Mikael Åkerfeldt whom I already knew from our mutual project BLOODBATH. Soon after we all met in OPETH's rehearsal studio in Stockholm and here I am today."

Back in 2007, Åkerfeldt slammed the "new breed of idiot OPETH 'fans'" for questioning the abilities of Axenrot when compared to that of Lopez. Responding to a discussion on the band's forum regarding Axenrot's more "straightforward" playing technique compared to the "jazzy" style of his predecessor, Åkerfeldt wrote in an online posting, "Wow, looks like we got ourselves a new breed of idiot OPETH 'fans' on our tail, huh? Mindblowing guys...really!" He then added: "Axe is in the band now and we all fucking love playing with him.

"When somebody picks on [Martin's] drumming I can't help but to feel that that person is a deaf moron who knows nothing about music or drumming," Mikael continued. "I get defensive not only because I brought him in the band, but mainly because he's a fucking fantastic drummer."