British guitarist Will Wallner and Croatian singer Vivien Vain have teamed up to record a Thin Lizzy tribute EP, titled The Legend Never Dies, featuring four ‘deep cuts’ from four different Thin Lizzy albums.


The EP features guest musicians Vinny Appice, Derek Sherinian, and Tony Franklin. It was mixed and mastered by Chris Collier. The Legend Never Dies will be released on November 2.


Comments Wallner: “We were in the process of trying to record our new album, Duel, but I felt like we weren’t quite ready yet. I thought recording some fun covers might help us get prepared, like a warm up. We started with the song ‘Do Anything You Want To’ and recorded the whole song in literally an hour. It sounde

Canadian heavy metal powerhouse, Striker, is back from the grave. With rumours running rampant of the band calling it quits after they posted an image that was titled "RIP Striker 2007-2021" on their social media earlier this week, the award-winning shredders are excited to reveal that it was all just an ambiguous post that got fans speculating on the band’s future and was made to prepare them for the new music.





“We are finally ready to share our new single 'Deathwish'. Inspired by 1980s AOR with a modern twist, 'Deathwish' is a heavy metal banger we can’t wait to play live someday soon!,” says vocalist Dan Cleary.


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The single is the first taste of new recordings since releasing their JUNO award-winning album 2018's Play To Win, along with it being Striker's introductory track with new drummer Jonathan Webster and bassist Pete Klassen who joined the band in 2019.


"Deathwish" can be heard on Spotify, and below.

This summer, Hammer King dropped a hammer strike with its Napalm Records debut, Hammer King. Now, the German keepers of the hammer surprise their fans with a fiery music video for “Ashes To Ashes”. On “Ashes To Ashes”, the kings from Kaiserslautern, Germany set everything ablaze with an epic battle hymn, leading the journey of their latest chapter Hammer King to its glorious finale.


Kicking off with heavy, burning guitar riffs, “Ashes To Ashes” delivers massive drum play, mighty echoing choirs and the powerful vocals of Titan Fox V that prove the track as a strong, anthemic flagship, bursting with bite and catchiness. Hammer King knows how to get your head banging.


Titan Fox V about “Ashes To Ashes”: "Hammerous Folks! Here it is - our new video 'Ashes To Ashes'! A live favorite of our latest album Hammer King. Needless to say that it was a damn hot video to shoot. Let it be a cleansing fire of pure Heavy Metal! God bless the King, may the King bless you."


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Hammer King keeps it heavy with speedy riffs, energic grooves and fist-pumping choruses, devoting their existence to the one and only myth of the godly Hammer King. The new self-titled album starts off with blasting drums and brisk guitars on “Awaken The Thunder”, with frontman and guitarist Titan Fox V showing off his incredible vocal range, whereas tracks like “Atlantis” prove Hammer King’s ability to write catchy and memorable choruses. Hammer King tells the lore of the Hammer King himself, a wrathful and mighty war god, who is praised in tracks like anthemic “Baptized By The Hammer”, energetic and double-bass driven “In The Name Of The Hammer” and the hard-hitting “Hammerschlag”. Kneel before the king of kings, the Hammer King!


Oder here.





Hammer King tracklisting:


"Awaken The Thunder"
"Baptized By The Hammer"
"Onward To Victory"
"Hammerschlag"
"Atlantis" (Epilogue)
"We Are The Kingdom"
"Into The Storm"
"Ashes To Ashes"
"In The Name Of The Hammer"
"Kings Of Kings"
"Holy" (Outro)
"Hammerschlag" (HK Version) Bonus Track (physical only)


“Awaken The Thunder” video:

The Lurking Fear, the old-school death metal group from Sweden featuring members of At The Gates, Disfear, God Macabre, Skitsystem, Tormented and The Haunted in their illustrious lineup, are soon to release their sophomore album, Death, Madness, Horror, Decay, worldwide on November 19 via Century Media Records.





Consequently, The Lurking Fear are launching a second single off the upcoming album today. Check out the rabid and ripping 1:11-minute track “Death Reborn” in a video by Max Ljungberg below.


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The Lurking Fear vocalist Tomas Lindberg Redant commented about the track as follows: “’Death Reborn’ was one of the last tracks to be finished for the album. A pure old school death metal storm, that main riff just blew me away when I heard it, and I knew we had to make space for it on the A-side of the album straight away. The lyrics were quite instant as well, as the track had a certain attitude that needed to be conveyed in the lyrics as well. Still drawing main influence from the Lovecraft universe, but with an added extra aggressive twist. And, I know it is short...approx. one minute, but if you have three great riffs like these, why make it complicated?”





Death, Madness, Horror, Decay follows up The Lurking Fear’s acclaimed debut album Out Of The Voiceless Grave (2017) and was recorded at Welfare Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden with Per Stålberg and Kalle Lilja. The album features epic artwork once again conceived by Stefan Thanneur, who already worked on The Lurking Fear’s debut album, and also includes a special guest appearance by Chris Reifert (Autopsy, ex-Death) on vo

Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) is back with a new Star One album, titled Revel In Time. The album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on February 18 via InsideOutMusic.


The album will be available for pre-order on December 17, and it will come as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Ltd. Deluxe 3CD+Blu-Ray Artbook (incl. a poster of the cover artwork), and as 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD & an LP-Booklet).


CD2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD1, but with different vocalists. Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind The Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.


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For this Star One release, Arjen has decided to use a different singer for each song, and those singers as well as the instrumentalists are slowly being revealed on Arjen’s Facebook page.


Arjen has checked in with the following teaser:


"Irene Jansen sings in the track 'A Hand On The Clock' on CD2 and also many backing vocals all over the new Star One album, Revel In Time. Check out this video to hear a part of the song and don’t miss Irene’s lovely video message at the end. It’s so great to have Irene aboard again, giving the album that typical powerful Star One sound!"


Jansen is the younger sister of Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen. She sang backing vocals on Star One's European tour in 2003 and has appeared on the Ayreon releases The Human Equation (2004), The Final Experiment (2005 re-release), The Theater Equation (live DVD, 2016) and Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live (live DVD, 2018).





Arjen explains the decision to return with a new Star One album: “Ayreon is like the mothership for all my music. It contains all the different musical styles that I like to listen to and

Arch Enemy are teasing their return to the spotlight with a new promo photo by video director Patric Ullaeus and 15 second video clip. The photo is accompanied by the question "Ready?" and the clip with the statement "Soon." Check it out below. 


Arch Enemy's latest album, Will To Power, was released in 2017 via Century Media. It was the band's second record with Alissa White-Gluz, the former singer for Canadian bashers, The Agonist.





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Arch Enemy’s thunderous co-headlining The European Siege tour with Behemoth is regrettably forced to postpone to fall 2022 due to the ongoing global situation. However, Arch Enemy can comfortingly announce that they will have a brand-new album for you by then. Expect nothing but an outstanding tour with a massive LP behind their back.


Michael Amott comments as follows: "Nobody’s more disappointed than us about this, that’s for damn sure. But it is what it is, and we’re already looking forward to getting back to it in 2022! Stay healthy, stay metal!"


Nergal further adds: "As Michael says, it is what it is - we go again for 2022! Behemoth are coming with new music and new stage shenanigans…a spectacle worth waiting for. We’ll see you there!"


The tour retains its special guest slot from Behemoth and Arch Enemy's longtime friends and metal legends Carcass, and opening the evening’s momentous proceedings will be Portland, OR's hotly-tipped gothic metal newcomers, Unto Others (formerly known as Idle Hands).   


The rescheduled dates are listed in full below. All tickets will remain valid for the new dates, so keep them safe.





2022 tour dates:


September
27 - Dublin, Ireland - Olympia Theatre
29 - Glasgow, Scotland - O2 Academy Glasgow
30 - Manchester, England - O2 Apollo


October
1 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy Birmingham
2 - London, England - O2 Academy Brixton
4 - Paris, France - Le Zénith
5 - Toulouse, France - Le Bikini
7 - Lisbon, Portugal - Coliseu de Lisboa
8 - Madrid, Spain - Palacio Vistalegre
9 - Barcelona, Spain - Palau Sant Jordi
11 - Lyon, France - Le Radiant
12 - Milano, Italy - Alcatraz
14 - Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
15 - Prague, Czech Republic - Tipsport Arena
16 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
18 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
19 - Katowice, Poland - Spodek
21 - Ludwigsburg, MHP Arena
22 - Den Bosch, Netherlands - Mainstage Brabanthallen
23 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest National
25 - Zurich, Switze

Canadian thrash act Infrared has a new video out for their track “No Master, No Gods”, which comes from their recently released album From the Black Swamp. Birthed back in 1986, their music is an experience that brings the listener back in time to the ‘80s, but with an ever so slight hint of modern metal bolstered by solid, high-quality production.





Infrared starts with a riff, from which the rest of the music spawns. The songs may have an energy that conveys a certain feeling which can lead to a lyrical topic or sometimes they just come up with a cool song title and then write lyrics to go with it. They share their thoughts on the energetic and fast “No Master, No Gods”.


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“With blistering drums and riffs coupled with mid-tempo verses and slow grinding choruses, No Masters, No Gods is about the power of truth. When you have it, you will bow to no one; not to gods, profits, leaders, or even people in your interpersonal life.”


The songs on the album are a collaborative effort between the band members, it was produced, mixed and mastered by Kamal and the album artwork was done by Nate MacDonald. Infrared has shared the stage with bands such as Anvil, Sacrifice, Razor, and Venom Inc., and looks forward to supporting this album with a tour as soon as possible.


Staying true to their roots, this album i

Guitarist Toby Knapp has issued the following update:

"The release date for my instrumental solo album has been confirmed for 1/21/22. The artwork has also been finalized. I wouldn't call this a shred album, just a good traditional heavy metal album with some cool guitar solos. No vocals necessary.”



From The Aether will be released on Moribund Records worldwide.

Knapp's band, Onward, is also on track to release their new album Of Epoch and Inferno in mid-2022 on Cruz Del Sur Music. This is Onward's first official studio release since the 2002 album Reawaken issued by Century Media Records.

Knapp is scheduled for live shows both as a solo artist and with Onward in 2022. More details soon.

Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro has shared a new video taking fans backstage in Phoenix and Los Angeles while on The Metal Tour Of The Year with Lamb Of God and Hatebreed.





Says Kiko: “In this video you will see the Phoenix backstage and soundcheck before going on stage. As I walked around the whole house, Lamb Of God was on stage and I went there take a look before getting ready to go on stage. After that, straight to the next city, Los Angeles.


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“Fivepoint Amphitheatre, that's where we played. Showing the whole place with a drone, you can check closely teams preparing all the equipment for the night's shows. During this preparation time there was an epic table tennis kombat with James Lomenzo (Megadeth bassist). Who was the champion?! Watch to see!”


Loureiro recently released the new video bel

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, along with the other three members of his new project THE LUCID, were interviewed on the latest episode of "Aftershocks TV". Asked if he now feels the "freedom" to do whatever he wants to do musically which he didn't have prior to his most recent exit from MEGADETH, Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, look, [MEGADETH is] always gonna be my legacy, just because I helped start that… So that's a different kind of entry point. But honestly, I've always been free and I've always been exploring. I think probably the first 20 years, up until 2002, when that band officially disbanded, everything was always for that one singular cause. And then one day, unexpectedly, that ended. And I think my exploration of what does life hold next started in 2002. I didn't wanna put another band together after that. I actually swore off bands. [Laughs] I was, like, 'That's it. I'm done.' I did one. We went to the top. I know what it takes to get there. It's a lot of hard work, a lot of just dumb luck, a lot of landing in the right place at the right time and just a lot of really unexplainable elements that make any of that happen. And I just thought, 'That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It'll never happen again. If I get asked to join something, I'll consider that. But otherwise, I think now I'm just gonna make music for music's sake and just do it because I enjoy it, because I like it.' And that was when the F5 thing came together, about a year later. Then those guys kind of invited me over to jam with them, to be honest with you, and we hit on something and made some great music together. I told those guys, 'Don't ever plan on making any money in this. Let's just do this for free and for fun and just 'cause we love making music.' And I neeed that, to be honest with you. I needed to just kind of get the joy back into music and playing and just kind of connect with why I fell in love with rock and roll and playing bass and getting in a room with dudes and making music again. And then, the last years or so, back at the big dance and doing that."

He continued: "But, honestly, the 2000s, having that time away to just kind of reinvent and just, again, fall in love with making music again, to me, that has always been there. And I've been active — I've been active making records and doing stuff these last bunch of years anyway. And I wouldn't say out of necessity, because, honestly, I've been okay to not have to just go make music for money, but to make music for fun, which has been nice… To work with various people around the world, making music, honestly, I just really do it for the enjoyment of it. That's been a blessing, to be able to do that.

"I think when you're young and your back's against the wall and you don't have any other options, that's a great motivator to really lock in and kick ass," Ellefson added. "And I think we all needed that when we were younger. I think now to be able to do it because we like doing it and to maybe be a little bit more selective of the things that we do is kind of the freedom that you're allowed because you spent those earlier years nose to the grindstone.

"For me, look, I'll always make music. And to be honest with you, I don't force it. I leave a bass and some guitars and a piano and stuff out here in the house. Some days I'll walk by and go, 'Eh, I'm not in the mood for that tonight,' and just go on. And I'll feel no regret. And other days I'll walk in and I've got this bass plugged into a little Marshall stack and I'll just pick it up and I'll just freakin' thrash and rock out and I'll just write stuff and I'll record it on my phone. And I'll just catalog ideas or sit around and write lyrics and just kind of keep ideas flowing. 'Cause whenever I go into a session or any kind of a writing environment, I like to walk in with some stuff, to have some things.

"It's fun to create for creation's sake and not because it has to be motivated from anything else," David said. "So I guess I'm kind of glad to just be right where I'm at. To be honest, I'm perfectly content and happy where I am right now. I'm not gonna lie — it's perfectly fine. So I'm all good."

THE LUCID's lineup is rounded out by vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (SPONGE), guitarist Drew Fortier and drummer Mike Heller (RAVEN, FEAR FACTORY). The band's self-titled debut album was released on October 15 via SpoilerHead Records.

Ellefson was dismissed from MEGADETH in late May, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving him were posted on Twitter. A short time later, he released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

In July, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist's departure from the band.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

Gary Holt says that he "highly doubts" there will ever be a SLAYER reunion.

The EXODUS leader, who spent almost nine years touring with SLAYER, discussed the possibility of the latter band coming back while being interviewed by Australia's "Scars And Guitars" podcast.

Asked what the most enjoyable part was of being part of SLAYER's final tour, Holt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Just the amount of people that came out to see it, especially the amount of people who flew in for the final two shows was epic. And it was emotional. Tears were shed while playing 'Angel Of Death', and who would have ever thought that would happen? Who plays 'Angel Of Death' [while] trying to keep the tears at bay for the last fucking time? But it was an awesome, awesome, moving thing — an amazing part of my life."

As for the possibility of SLAYER ever returning for more live shows, Holt said: "I highly doubt it… To my knowledge, it'll never happen again. To my knowledge, I don't know at the same time. Maybe someday someone just offers so much money that it changes people's minds. But the band went out on a fucking super-high note, on top, and why sully that? I mean, we've already outlasted MÖTLEY CRÜE's retirement. [Laughs] Well, theirs has gone a little longer because of the pandemic, but it took them — what? — a year to decide they'd tour again."

Holt began filling in for SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. Holt played on SLAYER's final album, "Repentless", which came out in 2015.

Back in March, Holt told Headbangers Con that he would be open to playing with SLAYER again if the band ever decided to come back. "Look, if the powers that be ever — like, in a year or something — said, 'Hey, you know what? We feel like playing some shows,' I'm there to do it," Holt said. "But those aren't decisions for me to make, or even me to really speculate on. As far as my knowledge, the band is over, and the final show was November 30th, 2019. And I'm full speed ahead with EXODUS now."

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King made headlines earlier this week when he said that the band retired "too early." While recording a short video message to congratulate MACHINE HEAD on the San Francisco Bay Area act's 30th anniversary, he said: "So, I hear congratulations are in order for my friends in MACHINE HEAD. Apparently, it's 30 years, which is quite an achievement. Not a lot of bands get there. We did, and then we quit too early. Fuck us. Fuck me. I hate fucking not playing."

SLAYER played the final show of its farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry's wife Ayesha King said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more live appearances. In August 2020, she once again shot down the possibility of her husband and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya sharing the stage ever again under the SLAYER banner.

After Ayesha shared three photos of Kerry holding their cat in slideshow-type Instagram post, a fan wrote: "No Tom, No SLAYER Kerry. Stop thinking SLAYER without @tomarayaofficial". Ayesha then replied: "don't worry, they'll never be SLAYER again! You can rest easy".

SLAYER's final world tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band's intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last SLAYER show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wrapped at the Forum, the band had completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30 countries and 40 U.S. states.

Last year, SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph confirmed that he is involved in a brand new project headed up by Kerry. The duo spent much of the last year and a half working on music with the hopes of recording it properly once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.

Even though the world is slowly opening up and shows are starting to take place, there is still too much uncertainty with the ever-changing rules between the different European countries. As a result of this, SEPULTURA has postponed its European "Quadra" tour to 2022.

SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser comments: "It's really hard to postpone another tour once again, due to the COVID-19 restrictions. We are forced to do this to make sure everyone is safe to enjoy the concerts. We are very happy and thankful for the ticket sales and so anxious to jam for you all! It will take a little longer but we will see each other soon in a safe environment for all of us. Take care and listen to 'Quadra'."

Purchased tickets will remain valid for the new tour dates.

SEPULTURA with SACRED REICH and CROWBAR fall 2022 tour dates:

Oct. 20 - DK - Copenhagen - Amager Bio

Oct. 21 - DE - Leipzig - Hellraiser

Oct. 22 - CZ - Zlin - Hala Datart

Oct. 23 - PL - Wroclaw - A2

Oct. 25 - AT - Vienna - Arena

Oct. 26 - HU - Budapest - Barba Negra

Oct. 27 - DE - Munich - Backstage

Oct. 28 - DE - Cologne - Essigfabrik

Oct. 29 - CH - Pratteln - Z-7

Oct. 30 - CH - Lausanne - Les Docks

Nov. 01 - UK - Glasgow - QMU

Nov. 02 - UK - Manchester - O2 Ritz

Nov. 03 - IE - Dublin - Academy

Nov. 04 - UK - Wolverhampton - KK's Steel Mill

Nov. 05 - UK - London - Electric Brixton

Nov. 06 - BE - Antwerp - Trix

Nov. 08 - FR - Toulouse - Le Bikini

Nov. 09 - ES - Madrid - But

Nov. 10 - PT - Porto - Hard Club

Nov. 11 - ES - Pamplona - Totem

Nov. 12 - ES - Barcelona - Razzmatazz 2

Nov. 14 - LU - Esch/Alzette - Rockhal

Nov. 15 - FR - Paris - La Machine du Moulin Rouge

Nov. 16 - DE - Stuttgart - Im Wizemann

Nov. 17 - DE - Berlin - Astra

Nov. 19 - DE - Hamburg - Markthalle

Nov. 20 - NL - Haarlem - Patronaat

Nov. 21 - DE - Wiesbaden – Schlachthof

Formed in 1984 in Brazil, SEPULTURA has gone on to sell over millions of records and solidify its legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Today, SEPULTURA is still going strong, 15 albums deep into one of the hardest-hitting discographies in history.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, Latin America's biggest metal export SEPULTURA refused to sit back and feel like animals trapped in a cage. Therefore, in early 2020, the band seized the moment to start its own weekly "SepulQuarta" video podcast in which they invited other famous musicians from all over the world to not only discuss important topics but also perform a track from SEPULTURA's massive catalog together with the group. The resulting full-length compilation was released in August, with the album containing 15 classics featuring internationally renowned guests and friends.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

Original CARCASS drummer Ken Owen is auctioning off his drum kit which he used on, among other recordings, the band's classic albums "Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious" (1991) and "Heartwork" (1993). The purpose of the auction is to raise funds for Ken to buy a new computer to enable him to carry on creating music. Included with the drum kit is a framed certificate of authenticity signed by Owen, a framed photo of Owen signing the certificate, a framed photo of Ken behind the drum kit, and a framed CARCASS t-shirt as worn by Ken in the photos.

In February of 1999, Owen suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, leaving him in a coma for over 10 months. As a result, he is unable to play the way he used to. When CARCASS reunited in 2007, the drum stool was filled by Daniel Erlandsson and later Daniel Wilding.

Ken reportedly gave his approval to bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker and guitarist Bill Steer to continue with CARCASS and was supportive during the recording process of the band's 2013 comeback album "Surgical Steel".

Walker told Metal Underground in a 2014 interview: "We did rehearsals with Ken. Ken had come on stage and had done some drum solos. So there's no real baggage about if Ken is no longer involved because from 2008 to 2010 we included him as much as we could in CARCASS.

"Bill actually went to see Ken to tell him that we were in the process of doing an album and Ken's response was, 'I thought you guys would have done it sooner,' so as you can see, we got a Ken's blessing to do this.

"We've included him as much as we could in the album. There's still a Ken influence in this album even if Ken is not playing on it. It's there in the drumming, it's there in the lyrics, it's there in the fact that he was a large part of CARCASS and the fact that we managed to record an album after 17 years and it still sounds like CARCASS.

"We were definitely aware of what makes CARCASS tick and Ken was a large part of that, so we have done our best to pay homage to the spirit of Ken."

The title of CARCASS's latest album, "Torn Arteries", references an old demo created by Owen back in the 1980s.

InsideOut Music has announced the signing of legendary SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo for the release of his upcoming album, "War Of The Worlds, Part II". The follow-up to 2018's "War Of The Worlds, Part 1" will arrive on February 4, 2022.

For "War Of The Worlds, Part II", Romeo welcomed a couple of returning players — drummer John Macaluso and bassist John "JD" DeServio — but the album marks the first time he worked with Croatian singer Dino Jelusick.

"I go way back with John and JD, so they were the obvious choices, but this time I wanted to try something different with the vocals," Romeo says. "Dino came highly recommended, and he totally nailed it! He really brought an exciting element to the music."

The new album proves again that Romeo is one of the most renowned songwriters in progressive metal. His new studio effort is a mind-blowing return that till take every progressive metal enthusiast on a journey!

"War Of The Worlds, Part II" recording lineup:

Michael Romeo - Guitars, Keys/Orchestra, Cello, Saz

Dino Jelusick - Vocals

John "JD" DeServio - Bass

John Macaluso - Drums

Photo credit: Danny Sanchez

Steel Mountain Crossing recently released their Undercover EP, featuring their cover versions of Mountain, Fastway and Black Sabbath.


The band is now rejoined by original bassist Rocky Lyon. After a short stint with former W.A.S.P. bassist Johnny Rod, the band decided that after too many creative differences with him it would be better to part ways.


Producers Jason Futterman and Alex Santiago sonic style make for a quality demo experience. Re

The official trailer for "Metallica: The Black Album In Black & White", the newly released book from Reel Art Press, is available below.

This coffee table book is a collaboration with METALLICA and photographer Ross Halfin and is an epic celebration of one of the best-selling albums of all time, featuring classic and previously unpublished photographs. It includes introductions by Ross, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo.

Said Ulrich: "By the time the songs and the recording were coming together, the confidence level was at an all-time high and we felt better than ever about who we were and how we viewed ourselves with regards to being photographed."

"Metallica", the self-titled fifth studio album released in 1991, became known by fans as the Black Album. The landmark record turned METALLICA into global megastars. To date it has sold in excess of 35 million copies worldwide.

Halfin was with the band during the album sessions at One On One studios in North Hollywood and shot thousands of film rolls during the 300-date tour that followed between 1991 and 1993. He intimately documented the hectic performing schedule, backstage, rehearsals, interviews, band meetings and travel, alongside unique portrait shots of the band.

Said Hammett: "We wanted to give these songs and this album the highest profile we could give them, and Ross was ready and willing to do that. To this day, I still think he's one of the best live concert photographers ever."

Halfin is one of the world's leading photographers. He has been working with METALLICA since 1984 and has traveled with the band to every continent and almost every country in the world, photographing all aspects of the band’s career: in the studio, backstage, on the road and at home. He has photographed almost every major artist and continues to work and travel as first choice photographer for the biggest bands in the world.

There is also be an accompanying deluxe, limited, signed edition of the book available. The book and accompanying limited edition marks the 30th anniversary of METALLICA's self-titled fifth album — a.k.a. The Black Album — along with two landmark releases, the Black Album Remastered and "The Metallica Blacklist", an unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.

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.

More fan-filmed video footage of the 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.
















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— Mitch Malloy (@mitchmalloy) September 9, 2021

German death thrashers Messiah confirmed that their vocalist Andy Kaina has decided to leave the band to focus on his personal life. Andy was part of the band in two different time periods, from 1989 to 1993 and from 2018 to 2021.

Statement from the group: "This summer, Andy told us that he wanted to focus more on his personal life. In other words, Andy is leaving Messiah. He was our singer from 1989 to 1993 and from 2018 to the end of 2021, so he was a part of the band for 8 years. We're proud and grateful that we could record the albums Choir Of Horrors, Rotten Perish and our new album Fracmont together. We part as friends and thank Andy for his time with Messiah and wish him all the best for his new chapter!

"He will perform his farewell show on November 20 in Langenthal at Old Capitol (Switzerland). Special guests: Requiem. DON'T MISS IT, let's say goodbye to him with a big party! See you there!"

"We will and are already intensively looking for a successor and hope to present him to you soon. We are extremely motivated and look forward to everything the future holds for the band and also to the already planned live shows!"