Rival Sons returned to the road in North America on the Pressure And Time Tour this fall. The six-week headline run saw the band celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 2011 album, Pressure And Time, by performing the landmark long player live in its entirety.





The tour kicked off on September 29 at Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and came to a close on November 13 at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA.




For the first time, Rival Sons performed their critically acclaimed and cult favourite second full-length album, Pressure And Time, from top to bottom. Upon its arrival in 2011, Pressure And Time garnered the band worldwide recognition and has since amassed over 40 million-plus streams and garnered widespread praise with the BBC affirming it is “simply stuffed with rollicking tunes.”


The band have released a recap video from the tour, stating: "Our own Todd Ogren put together this awesome highlight reel of the tour to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Pressure and Time. We'll never forget it."





(Photo - Rick Horn)

Bucksttabu, the Rammstein fan channel on Youtube, has shared multi-camera footage from the band's 2019 European tour. Check out the clips of "Deutschland", "Puppe" and "Radio" below.













Speaking with 24HoursWorld.com about his work with Rammstein and his Emigrate solo project, guitarist Richard Kruspe revealed that Rammstein will release their highly anticipated new album before the band's next world tour. The band is due to hit the road beginning in May 2022.


Following is an excerpt from the interview.


Q: The planned European tour with Rammstein was postponed to 2022. How much do you miss the stage?


Kruspe: "Of course you miss something especially when you are not allowed to or when it is not possible at the moment. So yes, I’m looking forward to the upcoming tour with Rammstein."


Q: Do you think concerts with 2G or 3G rules make sense?


Kruspe: "I always think concerts make sense."


Q: Rammstein has an album in the pipeline. Are you allowed to reveal something about it?


Kruspe: "The album is expected to be released next year before the tour."


Read the complete interview here.


Rammstein pushed their 2021 European tour - initially planned for summer 2020 - to 2022 due to the ongoing global pandemic. Dates are available below.


Check the band's official website here for updates.


May
15 - Prague, Czech Republic - Airport Letnany
16 - Prague, Czech Republic - Airport Letnany
20 - Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena 
21 - Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena 
25 - Klagenfurt, Germany - Wörthersee Stadion 
26 - Klagenfurt, Austria - Wörthersee Stadion
30 - Zürich, Switzerland - Stadion Letzigrund 
31 - Zürich, Switzerland - Stadion Letzigrund


June
4 - Berlin, Germany - Olympiastadion 
5 - Berlin, Germany - Olympiastadion 
10 - Stuttgart, Germany - Cannstatter Wasen 
11 - Stuttgart, Germany - Cannstatter Wasen
14 - Hamburg, Germany - Volksparkstadion
15 - Hamburg, Germany - Volksparkstadion 
18 - Düsseldorf, Germany - Merkur Spiel-Arena
19 - Düsseldorf, Germany - Merkur Spiel-Arena 
22 - Aarhus, Denmark - Ceres Park 
26 - Coventry, UK - Ricoh Arena 
30 - Cardiff, UK - Principality Stadium


July
4 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Goffertpark
5 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Goffertpark
8 - Lyon, France - Groupama Stadium 
9 - Lyon. France - Groupama Stadium 
12 - Turin, Italy - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino 
16 - Warsaw, Poland - PGE Narodowy 
20 - Tallinn, Estonia - Song Festival Grounds 
24 - Oslo, Norway - Bjerke Travbane 
29 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadium 
30 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadium


August
3 - Ostende, Belgium - Park De Nieuwe Koers 
4 - Ostende, Belgium - Park De Nieuwe Koers

French modern metal band Disconnected has released their official music video for "Life Will Always Find Its Way".


“'Life Will Always Find Its Way' is a statement to raise ecological awareness, and the urgency to act. It is a clear shout out for ecology," says Disconnected.










Directed by Laurent Hart, "Life Will Always Find Its Way" is the second video / single off of Disconnected's upcoming, sophomore album, We Are Disconnected, following the 2020 release of "Unstoppable", which garnered over 1.5 million streams across various platforms.





In live news, Disconnected will be joining Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, and Nine Inch Nails at the upcoming HellFest Open Air Festival in Clisson, France June 15 - 26, 2022.


 

Cat Unwrapped of the "Collision" radio show on Australia's Voice FM recently conducted an interview with ARCH ENEMY drummer Daniel Erlandsson. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the reaction to their 2017 "Will To Power" studio album:

Daniel: "It's going pretty well, I have to say. We released the album in September and started touring for it pretty much on the day of release. Yeah, I'm really happy with how it's been received so far. We've released a couple of videos, the shows are going great, so everything is going pretty well in ARCH ENEMY right now. [Laughs]"

On why he temporarily departed ARCH ENEMY in 1997:

Daniel: "Actually, I was pretty busy with another band that's called EUCHARIST, which was my first band. We were working on what became the second album of that band ['Mirrorworlds']. I also had like a bit of a turbulent personal life at the time and ARCH ENEMY just released an album and they were offered a couple of tours. One of them was in Japan. I felt like I didn't have time to do it. They just found another guy to fill in for the tour and he [DARKANE drummer Peter Wildoer] ended up playing on the second album ['Stigmata'] as well. The rest is history. They recorded the second album and then they had the material recorded and decided they want to get a couple of fast songs as well on the album. Actually, Michael [Amott, guitar] called me then and asked me if I was interested in playing on those songs. That's how I came to play in ARCH ENEMY again after the little break."

On whether he and his brother Adrian (drummer of AT THE GATES and THE HAUNTED) grew up in a household geared toward drumming:

Daniel: "We are actually six years apart. He's six years older than me. When I was growing up, I saw him play and he started joining bands in his teenage years and that whole thing was really cool for me to see. The age difference, the thing it did to us, the thing was we didn't actually jam together. If we were closer in terms of years, maybe we would have started a band together and then somebody would have had to play guitar or bass or sing. When I started playing drums seriously myself, he was already about to move out of the house. I was about 12 or 13 when I got serious. By that time, he was already off to a university during the week. I had the drumkit all to myself in the cellar, in the basement. [Laughs]"

On whether he has any bands active other than ARCH ENEMY:

Daniel: "Yeah, I've kind of reformed that band I mentioned before, EUCHARIST. We have been working on some demos, but I really don't have time for that right now. It's been pretty heavily focused on ARCH ENEMY at the moment."

On when ARCH ENEMY will start working on new material:

Daniel: "It's usually, I have to say, it's usually seamless. It's like we already have a little bit of demos from the touring cycle, those long days in the tour bus when you are humming into your iPhone or something. We stop touring for an album and at some point, you just have to say 'Okay, that was the last show in support of that album. Now we're going to focus on this and that.' Yeah, there's usually not much of a break in between, I have to say."

ARCH ENEMY recently completed a North American co-headlining tour with TRIVIUM. The group is in the middle of a European headlining run with support from WINTERSUN, TRIBULATION and JINJER.

"Will To Power" was released in September via Century Media Records. Co-produced by Amott and Erlandsson, the disc was mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator and friend Jens Bogren (OPETH, AT THE GATES, DIMMU BORGIR). The LP's cover artwork was designed by Alex Reisfar.

EUCHARIST reunited for a headline performance at the 2016 Metal Reunion PTD3 festival in Varberg, Sweden. One of numerous groups involved in establishing the very melodic style now known as the "Gothenburg sound," EUCHARIST did not fare particularly well in the face of the era's stiff competition, resulting in personnel eventually joining rival bands. The band released two albums, 1993's "A Velvet Creation" and 1997's "Mirrorworlds" before dissolving in 1998.

An outfit created in the midst of chaos, erected from an earth in mourning and the universal struggle to reclaim our humanity... Uncertainty of the collective future remains, but even in darkness there is light. A new challenge emerges from the shadows and a new hope begins to dissipate the pain. A powerful connection that binds us to the universe and a deep desire for spiritual illumination exists within us. We introduce to you, Seventh Storm.


Five musicians from Portugal who aspire to play music full of emotion and character, the members of Seventh Storm are fighters seeking a new path in life. Comments drummer and band leader Mike Gaspar (ex-Moonspell), "We come together with one goal: to stay strong so that there may be a chance of freedom to come, to never give up even in the most troubling times. Our crusade starts now. May our paths cross; may we one day visit the seven continents and navigate through the seven seas, in the hope of creating the perfect storm: the Seventh Storm. May the light and fire return to this forgotten art. Let the horns be heard once more. Join us."


Atomic Fire Records is proud to announce the signing of this promising dark metal outfit who are working on their debut album, slated for release in August 2022.




"Seventh Storm signing to Atomic Fire Records is the best thing that could have happened to us,” says Gaspar. “We are so proud to be a part of this amazing team that truly believes in metal. Together, our mission is to set fire to your hearts once more. Get ready for the best label ever because we are here to stay."


Adds Atomic Fire Records co-CEO and founder Markus Wosgien, "Our common friend Esa Holopainen of Amorphis introduced us and there was magic in the air right away. Within twenty-four hours, it was clear that we would experience this adventure together. The group's demo songs, brimming over with inspiration and all their emotions, really touched us. Our whole team fell in love, and we are fully convinced that this Storm will become nothing but a hurricane."


Seventh Storm emerged from Gaspar's strong desire to continue making music after his departure from Moonspell in 2020. "I was at a crossroad in my life, feeling a bit lost and unsure of my artistic future," notes Gaspar, who was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and moved to Portugal in 1988. "Then a good friend of mine got me together with musicians that he thought could fulfill my vision."


Initially, he was just eager to get back to drumming with a band and to feel inspired by music again, but after Seventh Storm's first rehearsal, he realized how powerful their connection was. "Most of the members had a more hard rock background and not such an extreme metal underground influence like mine, but this diversity in musical styles is what made the energy in the rehearsal room so magical. Some of the first riffs we played reminded me of early Darkthrone and Emperor. It almost felt like I had gone back in time and was reliving my youth, but with thirty years of experience! The driving force was to save and honor my past and being able to share that with a new metal family - to hopefully make epic, meaningful music full of soul and emotion."


Don't miss out on Seventh Storm's journey. Expect further travel details to be revealed in the weeks to come.








Seventh Storm:


Mike Gaspar - drums
Rez - vocals
Ben Stockwell - lead guitar
Josh Riot - guitar
Butch Cid - bass guitar


(Photo by Sara Vilhena)


 

Goth-pop duo, The Haxans - Ash Costello (New Years Day) and Matt Montgomery (Rob Zombie) - have released an official music video for their spooktacular cover of the David Bowie classic "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)". Shot during their residency at the legendary SoCal Halloween attraction, Knott's Scary Farm, the track sees a rare lead vocal from Matt on a song by The Haxans. Watch the video below, and stream the track on your platform of choice here.


Speaking on their new track and music video, guitarist and vocalist, Matt Montgomery shares: "We picked our covers for our Knott's this year from Halloween playlists we've created over the years. One song that has been a staple ever since I could make playlists, was this Bowie song. The original version has such a unique vibe, that it really took some years to figure out how to bring our own thing to it. It's surely a fun one for me to sing on a little more than I do most of our other tunes. It's certainly become a song that defines us and our audience and gets a party started!"










A Goth-pop duo, decked out in creep kitsch high fashion, and named after a silent film from the '20s about a 15th-century German guide to hunting witches, The Haxans sound exactly like everything those images conjure. It’s the psycho-saccharine music of a fiendish creep’s fever dream… Classic art-house cinema, B-movie horror, spooky decadence, vintage American myth, and black roses dripping with blood are all tossed in The Haxans cauldron.


The Haxans are Ashley Costello, subcultural style icon and leader of Warped Tour screamo stars New Years Day, and Matt Montgomery, better known by his aliases Piggy D. and Count D., bassist for over a decade with multiplatinum shock rocker Rob Zombie, guitarist with horror punks Wednesday 13, and sometimes visual and musical collaborator with rock icon Alice Cooper.


The Haxans isn’t a side project. It’s the irrepressible, irresistible, and inevitable exorcism of the party centric Halloween costume shop kicking around inside the brains and bodies of the group’s two coconspirators.


Those who spell magic with a “k” and vampire with a “y,” who invoke ancient spirits in pursuit of a superstitiously serendipitous good time – all denizens of darkness will find sanctuary in the warm boudoir-­like atmosphere of The Haxans, both on record and on the stage.





(Photo Credit - Dustin Genereux)


 

Nervosa have released a guitar playthrough video for "Genocidal Command", featured on the band’s latest record, Perpetual Chaos. Watch below:





Perpetual Chaos is available in the following formats:




- Deluxe Edition: LP Gatefold Vinyl Splatter Blue/Red + 7 Inch incl. Bonustrack, Sticker and Patch - strictly limited to 300 copies  
- LP Gatefold Vinyl Red Transparent - limited to 500 copies
- LP Gatefold Vinyl Blue Transparent
- CD Digipack
- CD Digipack + Shirt Bundle
- Digital Album





Order here.





Tracklisting:


"Venomous"
"Guided By Evil"
"People Of The Abyss"
"Perpetual Chaos"
"Until The Very End"
"Genocidal Command"
"Kings Of Domination"
"Time To Fight"
"Godless Prisoner"
"Blood Eagle"
"Rebel Soul"
"Pursued By Judgement"
"Under Ruins"


"Genocidal Command" lyric video:





“Under Ruins” video:





"Guided By Evil" video:





“Perpetual Chaos” lyric video:





Lineup:


Diva Satanica (Vocals)
Prika Amaral (Guitar)
Mia Wallace (Bass)
Eleni Nota (Drums)

Los Angeles hard rockers, Slizard, have premiered a video for their song, "Slow Motion Suicide", featured on their self-titled debut album, released back in May via Mega Metal, a sub-label of Canadian label Maple Metal Records.


"Slow Motion Suicide" is a 'tongue-in-cheek Song about binging'! The video was produced by Raj Kavaserri of Pink Cactus Films, West Fargo, North Dakota.







Slizard is produced & mixed by Chris Wood, a 3-time Grammy Award nominated L.A. producer, & mix engineer. Chris Wood has worked with a variety of artists in multiple music genres, but in the rock world most notably with Slash, Lenny Kravitz, Vivian Campbell guitarist of Dio & Def Leppard.


The album is mastered by Chris Crerar at Metalworks Studios (Guns N' Roses, Rush, Triumph) in Toronto, Canada. John Belrose (Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac) is executive producer for this album.





Tracklisting:


"Monsters"
"Mr. Hyde"
"Caught Up In The Gears"
"Crack The Whip"
"Skinwalker"
"Watch N' Listen"
"Vampire Zombies"
"Runnin' Towards The Zombies"
"Madness Of The Queen"
"Neverland"
"Down By The River"
"Spooks In The Trees"
"Broken Dreams"
"Will You Still Be There"
"Slow Motion Suicide"


"Down By The River" video:





"Will You Still Be There" video:

Danish death metallers, Livløs, have released an unboxing video for the vinyl and CD editions of their new full-length album, And Then There Were None, out now via Napalm Records. Watch below:





And Then There Were None is available as a digipak CD and digital album, as well as 1LP gatefold black vinyl and an exclusive transparent red 1LP gatefold (limited to 200). Order here.







Tracklisting:


"And Then There Were None"
"Serpentine Supremacy"
"Mortal Severance"
"Pallbearer"
"Kistefjael"
"Drenched in Turmoil"
"Seize the Night"
"Gallows"
"The Purest Black"


“Seize The Night” video:





"The Purest Black":





"And Then There Were None" video:





Livløs are:


Niklas Lykke - vocals
Franz Aleksander Posch - guitar
Kenneth Breinbjerg - guitar
Thomas Dannemand Jensen - drums
Søren Frambo - bass


(Photo - Nikolaj Bransholm)

John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues, and inductee of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, has released a live version of his classic hit, "Gemini Dream".


The song was recorded live in Las Vegas on The Royal Affair Tour, and appears on John’s new album, The Royal Affair And After, due for release on December 3 (vinyl on January 28), and available for pre-order here. Stream the track here, and watch the video below.







"Gemini Dream" was originally released on the 1981 Moody Blues album, Long Distance Voyager, and reached #12 in the Billboard Hot 100 charts, earning John Lodge and Justin Hayward an ASCAP award for song-writing. The song deals with the relationship between performer and audience, and you can see and hear the electric connection between John and his audience when he performs this song. John and his 10,000 Light Years Band bring an incredible energy to this recording, and it was a fan favourite on the Royal Affair Tour, never failing to get the audience up and dancing.


“‘Long time no see’… those opening words to Gemini Dream resonate even more with me today - what was true in 1981 has become true again in 2021. The song is about balancing ‘twin’ lives – touring musicians, and non-touring musicians. I finished my tour on March 8, 2020, and was in lockdown within days, but I never expected to be off the road for this long… Although this was a forced ‘sojourn’, it was a creative time, writing and recording new songs and a time well-spent with family, but as the song says, “the time is right” to get back on the road. Let’s keep that Gemini Dream alive for all of us…..and thank you for keeping the faith.” - John Lodge





Joining John on stage is his 10,000 Light Years Band; Alan Hewitt (Music Director and Keyboards), Billy Ashbaugh (Drums), Duffy King (Guitars) and Jason Charboneau (Cello) and together they capture the heart of this classic Moody Blues song, a song that is so relevant again today for John and the band as they wait to get back on the road in 2022.


Stream the track: https://orcd.co/JohnLodgeGeminiDream





Tracklisting (CD and Digital):


"Steppin’ In A Slide Zone"
"Saved By The Music "
"Legend Of A Mind"
"Sunset "
"Late Lament" (with Graeme Edge)
"Nights In White Satin" (with Jon Davison)
"Gemini Dream"
"Isn’t Life Strange"
"I’m Just A Singer" (In a Rock and Roll Band)
"Ride My See-Saw" (with Jon Davison)

Metal/doom band, Sidewalk Mafia, have released a new single, "Cruel Sacrifices". Listen to the song on Spotify here , and watch a lyric video below.





The single opens a promotion for the album to be released in late spring 2022. The single is available via German record company Blood Rite Records.




The band operates as a duo, but in a gig situation, the band is a trio with a guest bassist. The band's sound is ultra-heavy but also melodic with low-tuned guitars.


The band says: "We released our first single, 'This Frozen Paradise' in early 2021. It was really well received around the world and actually
defined our style. 'Cruel Sacrifices' continues with it and represents everything we want to be. It is extremely heavy, melodic and oppressive, but at the same time atmospheric. This is a good song to start promoting our upcoming album."





(Photo - Mira Tiinanen)

Yesterday (November 21), Broken Hope celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of their first full-length, Swamped In Gore - which subsequently launched the band out of the underground and into the mainstream.


As a forward-thinking, fledgling act, Broken Hope's Swamped In Gore was not only ahead of its time musically, but it was also the first digitally-recorded death metal album. To learn more about this seminal record, watch guitarist Jeremy Wagner recall their debut - and other notable events throughout the years:







Wagner comments: "This past weekend, Broken Hope celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of our first album, Swamped In Gore. I mentioned in a video for This Day In Metal that it only seems like yesterday that I was writing music and lyrics for this first album. It was exciting to be so young and have a record deal and to quickly be signed to the greatest metal label on earth: Metal Blade Records.


Swamped In Gore is part of my heart and always a part of Broken Hope's live concerts. I'm extremely proud of this album and the life that it's taken on over these last 30 years, This record - like all records in the world - is immortal. Here's to generations of death metal fans to come, discovering this debut album by a youthful Broken Hope.


I'd like to add, for those who are wondering when Broken Hope is going to have a new album out, the answer is, we hope to have something out in 2022/2023. Mike (Miczek) and I have written around five new songs for our 8th studio album. As long as I'm here and burrowing in for winter, I'm going to keep writing my ass off...the riffs and the lyrics are flowing quite nicely. Cheers!"


To commemorate this milestone, Broken Hope has released a special collection of 30th anniversary merch, which can be purchased here.


Stay tuned for more news from Broken Hope and Jeremy Wagner coming soon!


(Photo - Corey Soria)

In a new interview with Heavy Consequence, Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen, more than one year after the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist's passing. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He changed the world. Jimi Hendrix was basically the Jesus Christ of electric guitar. That's the ceiling — you can't do anything more with guitar. And all of a sudden — if this was a Catholic hierarchy, Eddie was the second coming of Christ. If Jimi is the Jesus Christ of guitar, Eddie was the second coming. It was just, like, a whole new bag of tricks and all this other stuff that no one thought was possible. And the way he changed amplifiers and everything like that. Not only just his playing technique, but down to pickups, tremolo bars, with the Floyd Rose, amplifiers, the way amps are designed, with more high gain and everything like that — I mean, he changed everything across the board. Not just because of his doing taps and everything like that. Even the way guitars are made and the way amps are made, he changed everything. And on top of it, he was just a complete package. Aside of the playing and the tone, his songwriting [was] just phenomenal — just amazing. We're really truly blessed that we had him till he made it to 65. If you really think about it, after those first two records — I mean, after the first record, if he would have retired from music, he already changed the game. After the first one, if he pulled a Howard Hughes and just walked away and never picked up a guitar again, there's that first album alone — with 'Eruption' and everything he did on that record — he changed everything. But we're just blessed that we had him around for as long as we did. He was just a really great guy too — he was a sweetheart."

Earlier this year, Wylde spoke to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the first time he saw VAN HALEN live and got to hang out with Eddie. "The first time I saw them live was with at the Budokan in Japan, getting hammered with King Edward the night before," he said. "I had to do press all day, and the next day I went and saw them. Just sitting with King Edward in my room, him just chainsmoking and just jamming on my guitar down on his knees playing Jimmy Page licks the whole time, playing 'Heartbreaker' ... I'm just like, 'This is insane, I have god sitting in my room playing Jimmy Page licks.' So yeah, it was pretty mind-blowing."

Eddie and his brother Alex Van Halen formed a band called MAMMOTH in Pasadena, California in 1972, then renamed it VAN HALEN when singer David Lee Roth joined the group and, later, bassist Michael Anthony.

VAN HALEN was one of the biggest rock bands in the country in the 1980s, with hits like "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dance The Night Away", "Hot For Teacher", "Panama" and "Jump". The group, which later featured Sammy Hagar on vocals, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

The Van Halen family moved to Pasadena after emigrating to the U.S. from the Netherlands in 1962.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

In a brand new interview with the "Iron City Rocks" podcast, legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen spoke about the recording process for his latest album, "Parabellum", while the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The whole thing is very surreal. Because in an estimated hundred thousand years of human civilization, this has never happened before. There's been many, many, many, many pandemics — I mean, countless: the European plague and the 1918 [flu pandemic] and whatever — but there never, ever has been a situation where every event, every… At one point, even restaurants were closed. That never happened before; this is the first time in human history, as long as humans have existed. So, obviously, not only for me, but for everybody, this was very surreal.

"Personally, I've always been the kind of person that's kind of, like, if you get lemons, you make lemonade," he continued. "So I was, actually, in March 2020, I was on a world tour; I was all over the place. And at the time exactly, in late February, early March — the second of March, actually, I think it was — we played in Mexico City. And agents called and they said, 'We're gonna push back the gigs two, three weeks or so.' [Laughs] So I went home and very much enjoyed doing certain things. So it was fine. I went into the studio and started recording some songs and writing some songs, which I always do anyway. And this thing just dragged on and dragged on. I just said, 'Okay, I'm just gonna record and write songs.' So, basically, I spent a year in the studio.

"Having said that, I've learned from many years of doing this that too much time is also not good because you start second-guessing things," Yngwie added. "It's not good. So, basically, I only would go into the studio when I [was] very inspired and I would do first takes and stuff like that. When a riff or a melody came to me, I would capture it; that's what I did. Then, of course, I got the schedule with the engineer. And before I knew, I had, like, 80, 90, almost a hundred [ideas]. And I started weeding them out — listening in the car a lot, just cruising around and listening to the stuff. So that's what I did.

"Obviously, I wanted to go out on the road… But, as I said, me personally, I feel bad for everybody that had bad things happen and so on, but for me, it was kind of like — I don't know… It was a long vacation or something. That's a bad description… It obviously was a bad thing for everybody. I'm glad it's almost over."

"Parabellum" was released in July via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Brian Wilson.

Yngwie has just kicked off a month-long fall 2021 U.S. tour — his first major run of shows in 20 months.

David Coverdale has lamented the politicization of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it "heartbreaking."

The WHITESNAKE leader touched upon the pandemic's devastating impact on artists' ability to perform, to create and to earn a living from their music while discussing his upcoming "farewell" tour, which is scheduled to launch in 2022.

"This very much is gonna be me standing there in a very highly charged emotional moment, probably sobbing, as you've seen me do many times, my thank-yous to people and wishing people to stay safe and well and thanks for the journey," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

"For me to achieve completion, which is why I'm signing off on this, I'm so concerned for the welfare of the people coming to see us — for my crew, my band. Strict health protocols will be applied.

"I'm a target for this virus," Coverdale continued. "I can't understand politicians who've made this a political issue as opposed to a health issue. It's a health issue. And the only way we're gonna get out of it is if people adhere to the advice of the scientists, the doctors, whatever.

"I'm so familiar with seeing community. When I look into my audiences, they're different ages, different colors. I have a very healthy balance of male/female… So, that sense of community is like every show I do. How come we can't take it out of there?

"This was the perfect opportunity for the world to come together and get this virus, kick its ass, but instead there was so much divisiveness," David added. "It was heartbreaking to see."

Earlier this year, Coverdale told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he has been forced to delay his retirement tour due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

"People, as you can imagine, are extraordinarily desperate to go to shows and to perform shows," he said. "It's just not safe, and it's not gonna be the energy, the atmosphere that we're familiar with. We have to make sure [to] work as a global community, and, for me, as a global artist, work together and be, as they would say, in solidarity with each other and support each other and respect each other. It's a global pandemic — it's not just us. And mask up. Let's get out of this. Get vaccinated, and let's get out of this thing.

"I don't think it's ever gonna be the same," he continued. "I think society has changed. This has been a really challenging time for people who have been alone, I think. And that's a lot of my target audience with my social media — to try to uplift people's spirits, until I can get out there and truly do my appreciation and gratitude tour. And hopefully while I'm still physically able to do it and not just farting dust."

Early last year, WHITESNAKE was forced to cancel its U.S. tour with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE and NIGHT RANGER so that Coverdale could undergo surgery for bilateral inguinal hernia. Eventually, all of the shows were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coverdale, who turned 70 this past September, had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has opened up about his recent COVID-19 diagnosis, saying that he beat the virus by taking ivermectin, a drug with no evidence of being a safe or effective treatment for COVID-19. He said he also used Z-Pak, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.

Lewis touched upon his COVID-19 battle publicly during his solo performance last night (Saturday, November 20) at the The Event Center at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, West Virginia. Addressing the sold-out crowd at the 1,200-person-capacity venue, Aaron said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "So, I really… I wasn't very vocal about it 'cause at this point I think it's just an attention ploy. But it's important to share information with people. That's the foundation of this country, is communicating.

"So I just had COVID," he continued. "And it was in my body for a week. It took a week for me to go from testing positive to testing negative. And at the risk of being called a conspiracy theorist, I took ivermectin and a Z-Pak — two things readily available. And if they weren't locking up all the ivermectin, you could get it from any doctor. It won awards for its applications on humans long before it ever went to a veterinarian application. It's not just a horse dewormer.

"So, yeah, I took ivermectin and a Z-Pak and a whole bunch of supplements, and I sat in an infrared sauna and I sat in one of those hyperbolic or hyperbaric oxygen chambers. And I got a bunch of I.V. stuff. And in a week, it was gone. It worked a hell of a lot better than the vaccine seems to be. But that makes sense because it's readily available drugs that are cheap and don't make anybody any money."

Vaccines against COVID-19 have proven to be a safe and effective tool in fighting the virus that's killed more than 770,000 Americans.

In recent months, ivermectin has become a popular medication to treat COVID-19 among people who oppose vaccinations.

While ivermectin is used to treat horses for parasites and worms, it has been approved for human use to treat infections such as head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.

The Food and Drug Administration has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans and has warned against taking the veterinary form of the drug. The FDA said clinical trials are ongoing but currently available data does not show ivermectin is safe or effective against the virus.

Back in May, fellow conservative rocker Ted Nugent revealed that he also used ivermectin, along with hydroxychloroquine and various vitamins, to beat COVID-19. He added that he "took intelligent, professionally guided care" from the Frontline Doctors, a group of doctors who made a video in July 2020 calling for the use of hydroxychloroquine to battle the novel coronavirus, despite warnings from public health experts.

Podcaster Joe Rogan recently sparked backlash when he said that he had taken Z-Pak, prednisolone and ivermectin following his own coronavirus diagnosis.

There are only three vaccines approved by the FDA to prevent COVID-19: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

In a recent interview with RadioactiveMike Z, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire", MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor was asked about the first time he heard METALLICA's music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think my entry point to METALLICA was 'Ride The Lightning'. That's where I started with them, and I think it was my cousin Randy who showed me my first METALLICA tape, which was 'Ride The Lightning'. He just gave it to me. And so thanks, cousin Randy, for showing me the way. And, man, the title track, 'Ride The Lightning', that's the one for me. I was already into [JUDAS PRIEST] and [IRON] MAIDEN, and he was, like, 'This is the next step.' So I was, like, 'Okay. Cool.'"

Calling METALLICA's Lars Ulrich "one of my main influences growing up," Brann went on to discuss the impact of the band's mega-selling self-titled album, better known as the "Black Album," which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. He said: "That album solidified them. Any time that they wanna go play at any stadium in the world, they can do it, and it's because of the 'Black Album.' So kudos to them."

Dailor previously singled out Ulrich as one of his musical inspirations during a 2017 chat with the "Let There Be Talk" podcast. He said at the time: "Lars was one of my guys, I love Lars and I love his playing. I don't know why [he is constantly being criticized for him playing ability]. It really bothers me. If someone talks shit about him — I stuck up for him in middle school and I'll stick up for him now.

"I once got in a fight in middle school for him. We went to see METALLICA [on the '…And Justice For All' tour]. QUEENSRŸCHE was opening, and their drummer was Scott Rockenfield — [a] great drummer. The next day, some kid talked smack about Lars: 'Scott Rockenfield's way better. Lars sucks.' I was, like, 'Fuck you!' We got into it, tussled a little bit. I told Lars about it. He was proud of me. [Laughs]"

Dailor is not the only member of MASTODON who has publicly praised METALLICA. Back in 2015, MASTODON bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders told ARTISTdirect: "METALLICA is a giant reason why I picked up the bass and why I'm where I'm at today. [We later supported] them in front of a hundred thousand people at Wembley Stadium. That was magnificent. If you flashback and told 13-year-old Troy this information, my head would've exploded."

MASTODON's new album, "Hushed And Grim", was released on October 29. The follow-up to 2017's "Emperor Of Sand" was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others.

Last month, BRITISH LION, the side project of IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder Steve Harris, withdrew from the previously announced U.K. tour with THE DARKNESS, citing "completely unacceptable" tour "protocols."

THE DARKNESS's U.K. trek kicked off on November 17 in Brighton and will conclude on December 17 in London.

Asked in a new interview with TotalRock about BRITISH LION's decision to pull out of the tour, THE DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's very important that we remain COVID-free. We don't wanna end up having to cancel shows. So we're testing every day and bubbling very strictly. Nobody's allowed their wives, girlfriends, partners, lovers. So it's very much an insular experience. It's unusual for us; we're normally the party band."

"The thing about BRITISH LION is I think that they were… [Steve] very successful with his other band. We can't afford to walk away from a tour because of disagreement about COVID measures, but he obviously can, and that's their prerogative. I think they're doing their own stuff now. I'm just really pleased that we've got [fellow British rock band] MASSIVE WAGONS on [the tour as BRITISH LION's replacement], who don't mind testing themselves every day. That's all we're asking, really."

When BRITISH LION first announced that it was withdrawing from THE DARKNESS tour, the Harris-led band said in a statement: "Due to circumstances beyond our control BRITISH LION are really sad and disappointed to announce that we will not be able to participate in the tour with THE DARKNESS. Very recently we received their own protocols that are not Government protocols which are completely unacceptable to us. Therefore, we have no alternative but to withdraw from the tour."

Last month, BRITISH LION announced that it would stage its own U.K. headlining tour in November/December 2021.

BRITISH LION's second album, "The Burning", came out last year.

The band completed its first U.S. tour in January and February 2020.

"The Burning" was released on January 17, 2020 in digipack CD, double gatefold vinyl and digital download formats via Explorer1 Music (E1). The LP was recorded, engineered and mixed at Barnyard Studios by Tony Newton and produced by Steve Harris.

BRITISH LION comprises singer Richard Taylor, guitarists David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie, Harris on bass and keyboards, and drummer Simon Dawson.

SEETHER guitarist/vocalist Shaun Morgan was the featured guest on BBC's "The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker" during the "Rock God" segment. Shaun picked NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain and stated about his choice: "I first heard of NIRVANA in 1993, because, growing up in South Africa, there were sanctions against the country up until '92, so a lot of American music didn't make it through to us. But a friend of mine's parents had been to England and they brought me the CD one day, and there was this naked baby on the front. I went home and put it on and immediately fell in love with the opening to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and felt this real ethereal visceral rage that was being spoken about for me. Kurt's voice, the anger with which he played, the lyrics that he wrote all spoke to me as a teenager, and it was perfectly timed with my teenage self and my father not getting on very well. I felt like Kurt's music was speaking for me. I immediately listened to the CD from start to finish and I think I put it on repeat and it must have played 10 or 12 times till I eventually fell asleep that night. The very next day, I went to school and I asked the kid who gave me the CD if I could keep it for a while. And then I said, 'Okay, now I need to find a guitar.' I went and bought myself my first guitar and immediately started teaching [myself how to play]. After I learned how to play 'Polly' through a friend of mine who taught me to play, I started teaching myself the rest of the album, just kind of fumbling about, trying to figure out how to play guitar at the same time.

"That music was so powerful to me as a child that I didn't feel like I was alone anymore," he continued. "'Cause we lived out on a farm and my brother was a bit younger, my parents and I weren't getting on very well, I wasn't particularly popular at school. It felt to me like somebody had my back. And I'd always spent my childhood wishing I had an older brother, so it kind of fit the whole picture for me. And I was a fan for a really long time of the band, right up until [Kurt] died. I remember when he died, I was about 16, and it was a traumatic experience for me. I really felt like I'd lost a friend and a voice. For all those reasons and for being the inspiration for me to pick up a guitar and become a musician, Kurt Cobain was, at the time, my rock god."

SEETHER's eighth album, "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" ("If You Want Peace, Prepare For War"), was released in August 2020. An EP, "Wasteland - The Purgatory", was issued digitally and on CD in July. The five-track set, which was written and produced by Morgan, engineered by the band's newest member Corey Lowery, and mixed by Matt Hyde, also included three never-before-heard songs, and an alternate/stripped down version of "Wasteland".

In July, SEETHER joined 3 DOORS DOWN on the latter band's "The Better Life" 20th-anniversary tour as special guests on select dates throughout the sum

David Draiman of DISTURBED, which recently played its first pandemic-era shows, spoke to Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Evolution" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's on in a big, big, big fucking way. It really, really is. I mean, we are so genuinely excited.

"They asked me going in, 'Where do you wanna go with this?' And I'm, like, 'I wanna go back. I wanna go back to our meat and potatoes. I wanna go back to where we came from.'

"The week in between the Indiana shows and the [Welcome To Rockville] show was amazing," Draiman added. "We pumped out six new DISTURBED songs. They are rhythmic, they are anthemic, they are polysyncopated, they are meat-and-potatoes DISTURBED. It's somewhere between 'The Sickness' and 'Ten Thousand Fists' as far as vibe. And it's can't-stop-but-bob-your-head kind of thing. I couldn't be more happy. And we're so genuinely excited that we don't wanna wait. We're gonna track it after the New Year. We're guns blazing right now."

Asked if DISTURBED has already decided on a producer and studio for its upcoming sessions, Draiman said: "We're still trying to suss all that out. We've written with a couple of guys. We're trying to just kind of go wherever we're gonna be able to find a little spark of inspiration here and there. So we're still trying to suss everything out.

"The way that I see it happening is we're probably not gonna put out something in the traditional full-length; we're probably gonna be doing two separate releases," he explained. "So we'll probably have one geared for release — if everything works as planned — by the fall, and then maybe something the following year as well."

When Brutus asked Draiman to clarify if that means that the next DISTURBED release will be an EP, David said: "Define it what you want, but it would like five or six songs at a pop — something like that.

"We live in an environment right now and in an age where people's consumption of music has been very soundbitish and very track-driven and very single-driven," he continued. "And there's definitely some beauty towards continuing to try and [make] things like concept records and telling a long story over the duration of a series of songs — there's huge merit to that — but I think that when you write 10 songs and three of them actually get worked at radio and maybe, if you're lucky, the fans are really familiar with half the record and the rest ends up sitting on a shelf, and if you do end up pulling it out one day, it's like an obscure, weird moment during the set, and it's almost like gratuitous for yourself. I don't wanna do that anymore. I wanna make everything count. I wanna make sure that we get the biggest bang for everything we're putting out there. I think that that should be easily attainable. It seems to be where the environment is going, and it seems to be — whether we like it or not — what the digital age has funneled us into."

In October 2020, Draiman told "Loudwire Nights" that DISTURBED's new music would be "blisteringly angry" and added that he was "dying" to sink his teeth into "new, original, angry, ferocious, brutal material."

DISTURBED performed live for the first time in nearly two years on September 25 as one of the headliners of the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

In March, DISTURBED's "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was officially canceled. The amphitheater tour, with very special guest STAIND and BAD WOLVES, was originally slated to take place in the summer of 2020 but was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was eventually scrapped altogether.

"The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DISTURBED's seminal album "The Sickness". On this tour, the band was expected to perform songs off the album, as well as tracks from "Evolution" and DISTURBED's extensive catalog.

In September 2020, DISTURBED released a cover version of Sting's 1993 single "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You".