Guitarist  Thomas Zwijsen has released the new video below, featuring an acoustic performance of Iron Maiden's "Purgatory" on classical fingerstyle guitar and violin by Thomas and Wiki Violin. "Purgatory" is featured on Iron Maiden's Killers album, released in 1981.





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

Barry Kuzay has released a lyric video for “The Virtues Of Greed”, which features an epic shredfest of a guest appearance by Joe Stump.


The song is from the new Barry Kuzay album, The Movers Of The World, an epic concept album inspired by the infamous and iconoclastic Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged. The album features Barry Kuzay on vocals and guitar, Matt Thompson (King Diamond) on drums, and Ben Kuzay (ex-Monstrosity) on bass guitar, along with a guest appearance by Tim Ripper Owens (ex-Judas Priest, KK’s Priest, ex-Iced Earth, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen).







The Movers Of The World album is available on CD and digital download. Order at barrykuzay.com, iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp. A lyric video for for "Wyatt's Torch" featuring Tim "Ripper" Owens, can be seen below.





Tracklisting:


"Overture 2021"
"The Movers Of The World"
"Alone In The Mountains"
"The Virtues Of Greed"
"The Pirate"
"The Twentieth Century Motor Company"
"Who Is John Galt?"
"Enigmatic Engine"
"Wyatt’s Torch"
"Superspreader" (Bonus Track)


"Wyatt’s Torch" lyric video:





"Superspreader" video:





This is the second studio release from Barry Kuzay. Production on this album began in January 2020 and concluded in June 2021. Barry explains, “When world tours were needlessly made illegal by pathetic loser tyrants controlled by the CCP, I took full advantage and collaborated with some of my favorite musicians and influences on this album. I’m incredibly proud of the results, and it was a thrill to work with such highly skilled musicians.”





Barry Kuzay is a civil engineer in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin who works with steel by day and metal by night. He is the monarch of a micro-nation that has surrendered militarily to a foreign occupying power. The ceasefire agreement allows him to remain on the land with his family in exchange for paying protection money to the criminal gangs that claim dominion over that territory. He considers The Movers Of The World to be an artistic knife to the heart of those gangs of looters.

Iron Maiden are among a list of artists credited in helping Warner Music Group’s recorded music revenues top $1 billion for the fourth straight quarter, reports Music Business Worldwide.


Published today (November 15), WMG’s fiscal results for the three months to end of September (its fiscal Q4, but calendar Q3), reveal that the company’s quarterly recorded music revenues - including streaming, digital and physical sales, plus ancillary income - hit $1.172 billion, up 22.3% year-on-year (or up 21.1% at constant currency).


Major sellers across the quarter included Iron Maiden, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Masked Wolf and Ava Max.




In the previous quarter - calendar Q2 - WMG’s quarterly recorded music revenues from streaming, digital and physical sales, plus ancillary income reached $1.152 billion, up 34% year-on-year (or 27.6% in constant currency). And in calendar Q1 (the three months to end of March), WMG generated recorded music revenues of $1.059bn, up 16.8% (or 12.9% in constant currency). In calendar Q4 2020 (WMG’s fiscal Q1 2021), the company’s recorded music revenues were up 4.5% at constant currency YoY to $1.16bn.


Read the full report at Music Business Worldwide


Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson, will be taking his spoken word tour, An Evening With Bruce Dickinson, on an extensive US and Canada run early next year.


Split into two parts, the first section of the show sees Bruce taking a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of Maiden anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs and sometimes even erupting into song a-capella, to illustrate a point.


The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to a Q&A session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce’s answers will all be completely improvised – the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be!


Tickets on sale now.





Dates:


January
17 - Ft Lauderdale, Florida - Parker Playhouse
18 - Orlando, Florida - Plaza Live
20 - Tampa, Florida - Theatre
21 - Jacksonville, Florida - Florida Theatre
23 - Atlanta, Georgia - Tabernacle
24 - Raleigh, North Carolina - Meymandi Concert Hall at Duke Energy Center
26 - Nashville, Tennessee - Polk Theater
27 - Columbus, Ohio - Jo Ann Davidson Theatre
29 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
30 - Detroit, Michigan - The Fillmore


February
1 - Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York - Buffalo State Performing Arts Center
2 - Albany, New York - The Egg
4 - New York City, New York - The Town Hall
5 - Boston, Massachusetts - Schubert Theatre at the Boch Center
7 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Fillmore
8 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre
10 - Cleveland, Ohio - MGM Northfield Park
11 - Chicago, Illinois - Vic Theatre
13 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Pantages Theatre
14 - Milwaukee-Racine, Wisconsin - Pabst Theater
16 - Des Moines, Iowa - Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre
17 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Rose State College Hudiberg Chevrolet Center
19 - Kansas City, Kansas - Uptown Theater
20 - Denver, Colorado - Paramount Theatre
22 - Dallas, Texas - Majestic Theatre
23 - Houston, Texas - Stafford Centre
24 - Austin, Texas - Paramount Theatre
26 - Phoenix, Arizona - Mesa Arts Center
28 - San Diego, California - Balboa Theatre


March
1 - Los Angeles, California - Orpheum Theatre
3 - San Francisco, California - Palace of Fine Arts
4 - Portland, Oregon - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
6 - Seattle, Washington - The Moore Theatre
12 - Las Vegas, Nevada - House Of Blues
14 - Vancouver (New Westminster), British Columbia - Massey Theatre
16 - Victoria, British Columbia - Royal Theatre
18 - Edmonton, Alberta - Winspear Centre
20 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
21 - Calgary, Alberta - Jack Singer Concert Hall
23 - Montreal, Quebec - MTELUS
26 - Ottawa, Ontario - Algonquin Commons Theatre
27 - Quebec City, Quebec - Palais Montcalm
29 - Hamilton, Ontario - FirstOntario Concert Hall
30 - Kitchener, Ontario - Centre in the Square

Metallica have released this new live video, featuring their performance of "Master Of Puppets" from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on November 4.





Sonic Perspectives previously uploaded footage of Metallica performing "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" at the same show:







Metallica are set to perform during Triller Fight Club's debut of "Triad Combat" on Saturday, November 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.





Says Metallica: "Here’s something different for you and is definitely a first for us! We’ll be hitting the stage before the main bout at the Triller Fight Club debut of Triad Combat on Saturday, November 27, 2021, at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas. We hope you can join us in person that night, but if you can’t be there, enjoy the event from the comfort of your own sofa as the show and the fights will also be live on pay-per-view.


Triller’s first major event was held in April of this year, with a main bout between Jake Paul and Ben Askren along with performances by The Black Keys, Diplo, Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Major Lazer, Saweetie, and Mt. Westmore - a supergroup featuring Snoop, Ice Cube, Too Short and E-40. That’s some incredible company we’ll be keeping!


Advance tickets on sale now through TrillerFightClub.com and Ticketmaster.com.


For those not familiar with Triad Combat, it’s a new team sport incorporating boxing and MMA rules in an aggressive, fast-paced manner. Professional boxers compete against professional mixed martial arts fighters in a specially designed, triangular ring over two-minute rounds. It’s sure to be a wild, exciting, and unique evening no matter where you watch!"


For complete details, head here.





Metallica's Vinyl Club is back.. and it’s bigger and better than before. Bigger, literally, as in all releases for Vinyl Club 2.0 will be on 12” vinyl instead of 7”. Better, as in pressing on 12” vinyl allows them to give you more consistent, higher quality audio and the opportunity to include more music in each release. Subscriptions are open to Fifth Members for year two: Vinyl Club 2022!





Says the band: "When we launched the Vinyl Club in March of 2020, it was a labor of love as we are huge music fans ourselves and are so excited about the resurgence of vinyl. Those of us who love the look, feel, and sonic warmth of vinyl are sorta in our own little, exclusive club. So with that in mind, we thought it would be fun to start adding to our collections on a regular basis, and the Vinyl Club was born. We had a few delays along the way in year one, but we learned a ton. We’ve been working behind the scenes to improve everything about our Vinyl Club and are psyched to finally be back for year two.


The 2022 Vinyl Club Subscription will be available exclusively to Fifth Members between now and the end of this year. It will include four 12” singles featuring music that has never been released on vinyl before. As with year one, you’ll have the option to receive your four singles one at a time in quarterly shipments, or we’ll hold them and ship them to you all at once at the end of the year to save you a little coin on postage.


Join The Metallica Vinyl Club now; membership sign-ups for year two are open through Friday, December 31 at 11:59pm ET. Don’t wait! New memberships won’t be available again until the 2023 subscription year.


We’re excited to kick off a new chapter. Whether you get the subscription for yourself or a friend (it makes a great gift, and we have a nifty certificate to print up for your recipient!) we hope you have a blast collecting some good old-school vinyl.


More details: As you may have encountered elsewhere, vinyl production around the world is severely delayed. There are very few quality vinyl presses out there, demand is high, and making really cool vinyl records is a slow, manual process. With all of this said, even though we’re planning for these inevitable delays, the first release of 2022 will likely not hit your mailboxes until April of 2022. The following three releases will come a little faster, and our goal is to ship all of them to you before November 1 of 2022.


Also, behind the scenes, we have completely rebuilt our registration/subscription software. This will make for a more seamless experience for shipping your records and for tracking your membership. However, this means that all current Vinyl Club members will need to re-register for year two. When you register, you’ll have the option to set up automatic renewal for future years.


We can’t wait to get rolling and share what we have in store for you this year!"


Subscription includes:


- Four 12” vinyl singles featuring music that has never been released on vinyl before, made to play at 45 RPM

- Digital Download Card

- The opportunity to purchase exclusive Metallica Vinyl Club merch


Join here.

Today, Lord Of The Lost once again provides a music video of the utmost quality and direction, arriving just before their upcoming Christmas store livestream on November 18. With the surprise music video for "My Constellation", Lord Of The Lost present a gripping, cinematic Christmas blockbuster that first spreads contemplation through frontman Chris Harms' mesmerizing voice before subsequently ending in a shockingly unusual case, unraveled by the expertise of famous forensic biologist Dr. Mark Benecke.


This summer marked the release of their most successful album to date, Judas (#2 on the German album charts), and Lord Of The Lost is set to publish their nearly two-hour Sinister Summer streaming concert, The Sacrament Of Judas, on BluRay, out December 10. Their latest video for "My Constellation" joins a great lineup of impressive videos released by Lord Of The Lost this year. Foremost among them are the successful videos for "Viva Vendetta", of which the Hamburg-based band has released in two versions, each with a brand new respective production.


Chris Harms from Lord Of The Lost about the new video: "This video is so absurd, I can't even add anything to it."







The Sacrament Of Judas will be available on December 10 in a limited edition format exclusively via Napalm Records Mailorder, as well as the band’s store as a digipack including BluRay, DVD and 2 CDs.





Pre-order here.





The Sacrament Of Judas tracklisting:


"Priest"
"For They Know Not What They Do"
"Born With A Broken Heart"
"2000 Years A Pyre"
"Viva Vendetta"
"The Heartbeat Of The Devil"
"The Gospel Of Judas"
"Euphoria"
"A World Where We Belong"
"Your Star Has Led You Astray"
"In The Field Of Blood"
"And It Was Night"
"My Constellation"
"Loreley"
"Morgana"
"Drag Me To Hell"
"Die Tomorrow"
"One Day Everything Will Be Okay"
"Dry The Rain"
"Prison"
"Six Feet Underground"
"Sex On Legs"
"La Bomba"
"Ordinary World"


"Viva Vendetta" video:





 Lord Of The Lost are:


Chris Harms - vocals, guitar, cello
Pi Stoffers - guitar
Class Grenayde - bass
Gared Dirge - piano, synthesizer, percussion, guitar
Niklas Kahl - drums

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they take on Metallica's "Master Of Puppets". Watch below:





A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:

Nightwish finally returned to the stage on November 14th in Oslo, Norway at Spektrum. Fan-filmed video from the show is available below.


The setlist on the night was as follows:


"Noise"
"Planet Hell"
"Tribal"
"Élan"
"Storytime"
"She Is My Sin"
"Harvest"
"7 Days to the Wolves"
"Dark Chest of Wonders"
"I Want My Tears Back"
"Ever Dream"
"Nemo"
"How's the Heart?" (Acoustic)
"Shoemaker"
"Last Ride of the Day"
"Ghost Love Score"
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
















Remaining tour dates are as follows:


November
22 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome (SOLD OUT) 
23 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome (SOLD OUT) 
30 - Budapest, Hungary -  Budapest Sportaréna


December
10 - Antwerp, Belgium - Lotto Arena
13 - London, England - SSE Arena Wembley
19 - Vienna, Austria - Stadthalle
20 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
29 - Tampere, Finland - Uros Areena (SOLD OUT)
30 - Helsinki, Finland - Ice Hall


Nightwish: "These are the only shows for 2021. Due to various Covid restrictions, we have had to postpone the rest of the European tour dates to 2022 and we will announce the new dates as soon as possible. Hold on to your tickets!


We would also like to kindly remind you that proof of vaccination and / or recovery will be required to enter these shows. We heartily thank you for your patience in these peculiar times and hope to see as many of you as possible very soon!"

Alestorm guitarist Máté “Bobo” Bodor has completed work on his debut solo album Oh Wow! to be released on November 26 via H-Music Hungary. Máté has been an integral part of Alestorm in the last 6 years, playing on the albums No Grave But the Sea (2017) and Curse of the Crystal Coconut (2020) and also formed the band All But One with Heaven Shall Burn drummer Christian Bass and singer Joe Carter-Hawkins. 


He has used the free time given by the lockdowns to write and record his first instrumental solo album, which he recorded with bass player Soma Schiszler (of the 2018 Eurovision participant band  AWS) and drummer Márk Maczák (Leander Rising, AMIGOD). The album is now available for preorder, and the first song and music video is out now, check out The Forgotten Ones below. Preorder at merch.alestorm.net.







Máté’s comments about his album:


“The idea of an instrumental solo album was born around 4-5 years ago, but the continuous touring with Alestorm and Leander Kills has made it unrealistic to make time for it, so it remained a vision only, for a long time. After we’ve completed work on the 2020 Alestorm album and I got home, the first Covid lockdowns started immediately. Because of that I was stuck at home, and for the first time after 5 years I’ve felt I have nothing to work on. In May 2020 I’ve deliberately started working on instrumental songs, initially one or two at a time, to see where this is going. I’ve completed the songs and recorded the demos all by myself, but eventually I found myself constantly coming up with new ideas and completing new ones. I thought I should do this only as long as this “natural flow” is there, and I will stop as soon as I feel it’s forced. By the end of the year I’ve completed the songwriting part of the project.


“With the finished demos I’ve contacted Soma Schiszler (AWS), who I toured together with before, so I knew he was a professional producer and is very adapted when it comes to guitar music. Together we have started discussing this album more seriously. We’ve started working with Márk Maczák, who recorded all the drums by the end of spring, so the second half of summer was about recording all the other instruments. The main concept was not to involve many people so that I could supervise the whole process and I can learn from it to improve my skills for the next albums. Eventually Soma and I recorded all guitars and bass over a few weeks. The album was also mixed and mastered by Soma. 





“I really wanted to make an instrumental album that is not about ‘over-playing it for the sake of over-playing.’ The main aspect was to deliver songs with good, well-built structures, and not some kind of improvised mass that someone just played something on top of. The order of songs was not changed, they can be heard in chronological order so there is an arc to the album that can describe my feelings of that one year period. If I had to characterize this album, I’d say I’ve managed to put together songs with a certain ‘feelgood / travelling’ mood where there are only technical / complex parts where it’s really needed and has a place naturally. 


“The main concept behind the album’s cover art was to include as many of my favourite things in life as possible: guitars, sea animals, basketball and donuts. Basically these are the things that make me happy, so it was clear these are the elements to make my dream world from. Polish artist Aleksandra Klepacka made this imaginary idea into reality, who had an extremely good perception of what was in my head, and delivered the basic design for the album in merely a few days.”





Máté is a Hungarian guitar player, known as the member of the internationally touring pirate metal band Alestorm, the melodic metalcore band All But One and formerly of Hungarian metal band Leander Kills.


Máté started touring at a young age with various bands internationally supporting bigger bands in the UK scene. After joining the power metal band Wisdom they were part of multiple major tours across Europe with acts such as Sabaton, Powerwolf and Eluveitie.


Joining Alestorm in 2015 brought on more performing around the globe on a much larger scale. The band has since played main stages at most of the biggest festivals in the world such as Wacken, Summer Breeze, Hellfest, Graspop, and Heavy Montreal. All accompanied by tours in Russia, Australia, South America, Asia, the United States and Canada. 


Máté has been endorsed by Ibanez guitars since 2016 and mostly plays his LA Custom Shop “Bobo” model, loaded with EMGs. Since the relationship with Ibanez and EMG started, Máté has done two workshop tours around Europe to promote their products.

Albert Bouchard is best known as a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult, along with his brother and bassist Joe Bouchard. The original lineup sold millions of albums for Columbia Records, with such classic songs as “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” and the #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart “Burning For You”, with both contributing to songwriting, and lead vocals on some of their greatest songs, such as “Cites On Flame With Rock and Roll” and “Hot Rails To Hell”.


Albert Bouchard is back with Imaginos 2 - Bombs Over Germany (minus zero and counting), continuing the Trilogy of Imaginos, a concept album about an alien conspiracy that is brought to fruition during the late 19th and early 20th century through the actions of Imaginos, an agent of evil. The album weaves scripts and poems by the late Sandy Pearlman.


Albert has just released a video for the track “OD’d On Life Itself” and describes it as follows, “This video was made with the invaluable assistance of Kenny the puppet, the evil sock monkey (who has traveled all over the world with me), flying violins, the Shadow, two years worth of prescription bottles and homemade special effects. It tells the story of those people with too vivid imaginations mashed up with bad cases of insomnia.”







To celebrate this new release and all things Blue Öyster Cult, both Albert and Joe will be making a rare in-store appearance at Blue Raven’s Art Rock Revival in Frenchtown, NJ on November 20 from Noon - 2 PM where they will be on hand to meet with fans and sign memorabilia. This will be followed by a special free livestream event at 3:30 PM (EST) hosted by Sirius XM’s Keith Roth and presented by Deko Entertainment and Volume.com. The guys will premier a recently recorded Bouchard Brothers show covering new material and all the BÖC classics, and will take questions in a Live Q&A that you will not want to miss.


In-store appearance details here. Free tickets to Bouchard Brothers livestream, here.


To celebrate Imaginos II, there are limited edition bundles (while supplies last), which can be ordered here.


Product includes:


- One CD Album of Albert Bouchards - Imaginos 2
- One Imaginos II Tee
- One Albert Bouchard Guitar Pick
- One Imaginos II Poster (Autographed)





Tracklisting:


"When War Comes"
"Independence Day"
"7 Screaming Dizbusters"
"O'D On Life Itself"
"II Duce"
"Bombs Over Germany"
"Before The Kiss (A Redcap)"
"Three Sisters"
"Quicklime Girl (Mistress of the Salmon Salt)"
"The Red and the Black"
"Dominance and Submission"
"Shadow of California"
"Cities on Flame (With Rock and Roll)"
"Half Life Times"


"Independence Day" lyric video:





"OD'd On Life Itself" lyric video:

In a recent interview with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito of TVK's "Rock City", JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" LP. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This next PRIEST album will be just as full of separate character. JUDAS PRIEST is 'Painkiller'; JUDAS PRIEST is 'British Steel'; JUDAS PRIEST is 'Screaming For Vengeance'; JUDAS PRIEST is 'Sin After Sin'. Every album has its own legs, its own metal boots.

"We've always said that even though we're a heavy metal band, we don't let that confine us; we don't let heavy metal put us in a box," he continued. "We think heavy metal is freedom — musical freedom. So when we played [the] Bloodstock [Open Air festival in August] and twenty thousand metal maniacs were singing 'I'm your turbo lover,' it's metal. And then, twenty minutes later, twenty thousand metal maniacs are going, 'He is the painkiller,' it's metal. From two different worlds — from the 'Turbo' world and from the 'Painkiller' world — but it's still heavy metal. And this, I feel, has always been what sets JUDAS PRIEST in a place that no one else explores. And that's why I feel that when our Japanese fans hear that JUDAS PRIEST is making a new metal album, they know they're going to get something that they have never heard before, they're going to get the sounds, they're going to get the songs, they're going to get the compositions and the arrangements in a way that, again, is new; it's fresh.

"I feel that's also a part why we've lasted 50 years in own world, in the PRIEST world — is because when we start to sit down and write, like I've been writing with Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] and with Richie [Faulkner, PRIEST guitarist], internally, we know, we think about our fans, we think about the excitement that our fans are feeling, we think about what our fans are wondering this next PRIEST album will contain. And we know that our fans are also as full of adventure and acceptance and open-mindedness and freedom as JUDAS PRIEST is when we [come together] to make these new metal songs.

"So, yeah, every single PRIEST album — if you look at the cover of 'Point Of Entry', you can hear the songs in your head; if you look at the cover of 'Firepower', you can hear the songs in your head. It's the same band, but they're two different dimensions. And this is what makes JUDAS PRIEST, again, unique. There is no other band in heavy metal like JUDAS PRIEST, and we're very proud of that."

This past March, Halford confirmed that PRIEST's next album will see the band reuniting with the "Firepower" production team consisting of British producer Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

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

PRIEST was forced to cancel the remainder of its fall 2021 U.S. tour after Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band's performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

Sweden’s power metal masters, Insania, return with their fifth album, the aptly titled V (Praeparatus Supervivet), which is their first with Frontiers Music Srl. Order/save V (Praeparatus Supervivet) here, and watch a lyric video for "Entering Paradise" below.


After a 14 year hiatus and feeling energized and inspired, Insania are back with a powerful new record full of speedy, soaring tracks in the classic European power metal style with double-bass drums, great hooks, and amazing solos. The band's current lineup consists of Mikko Korsbäck (drums), Tomas Stolt (bass), Niklas Dahlin (guitar), Ola Halén (vocals), Dimitri Keiski (vocals), and Peter Östros (guitar).


The first version of Insania was formed in 1992 by drum player Mikko Korsbäck and guitar player Henrik Juhano. Bass player Tomas Stolt was added to the line-up shortly after and a few other musicians were also part of the band for short periods of time. The band initially started off playing covers of their favorite bands such as Helloween and Iron Maiden, but eventually Mikko´s classmate Niklas Dahlin joined as a second guitar player and they started writing their own tunes. The band then added keyboard player Patrik Västilä and began to pursue a more melodic style. Mikko took it upon himself to sing, even if he was playing the drums at the same time, as the band had not found a vocalist to match their ambitions.




In 1997, the band approached singer David Henriksson to join the band. The union between the band's ambitions and David’s vocals were a match made in heaven. The band felt complete now and sought to find a way to reach a bigger crowd. Later, the band was offered a deal with House of Kicks (later known as MNW and then Sound Pollution) and their debut album "World of Ice" was released in 1999. The band would go on to release three more albums over the course of the coming years while enduring some line-up changes and eventually going on hiatus in 2007.


Now the band has reformed and is ready to bring their power metal stylings back to metalheads around the globe!





Tracklisting:


"Praeparatus Supervivet"
"Solur"
"Prometheus Rise"
"Moonlight Shadows"
"My Revelation"
"We Will Rise Again"
"Like A Rising Star"
"Blood, Tears And Agony"
"Entering Paradise"
"Power Of The Dragonborn"
"The Last Hymn To Life"


"Entering Paradise" lyric video:





"Solur" lyric video:





"Praeparatus Supervivet" video:





Lineup:


Ola Halén – Vocals  
Dimitri Keiski - Vocals
Peter Östros - Guitar
Niklas Dahlin - Guitar
Mikko Korsbäck - Drums
Tomas Stolt - Bass

The At The Movies project - launched by Pretty Maids guitarist Chris Laney due to the COVID-19 pandemic - caught fire over the course of 2020, featuring movie soundtrack cover songs from the '80s and '90s performed by members of Soilwork, Therion, HammerFall, Pretty Maids and King Diamond.


The core At The Movies players are:


Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork) - lead / backing vocals
Linnéa Vikström Egg (Therion) - lead / backing vocals
Chris Laney (Pretty Maids) - guitars
Allan Sørensen (Royal Hunt, Pretty Maids) - drums
Morten Sandager (Pretty Maids) - keyboards
Pontus Norgren (HammerFall) - guitars
Pontus Egberg (King Diamond) - bass




They have checked in with the following update:


"We are proud to finally announce the release of our second baby, Soundtrack Of Your Life - Vol. 2, on January 7th, 2022 through our partner - the new founded label Atomic Fire. You have been asking for this second album for a long time but as you know good things take some time. 


On the same day we will officially reissue our first album Soundtrack Of Your Life - Vol. 1  with the bonus track 'Last Christmas'. As the world seems to go mad again these days we strongly hope we will give you the chance to escape reality with our takes on some movie hits from the last century.


Today we are kicking of the pre-order for both albums as well as for the limited 7" coloured vinyl single 'Last Christmas' (B-Side: 'Waiting For A Star To Fall'), which is available from November 19th, 2021 on at the Atomic Fire Records webshop.


Both albums are available as CD/DVD digipak (DVD with all tracks as video clips), coloured vinyl, digital."





The Soundtrack Of Your Life - Vol. 1 (Re-Release) tracklist:


"Intro"
"No Easy Way Out"
"Maniac"
"St. Elmo's Fire"
"A View To A Kill"
"(I've Had) The Time Of My Life"
"Wouldn't It Be Good"
"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)"
"The Power Of Love"
"The Heat Is On"
"The Neverending Story"
"Far From Over"
"Last Christmas" (Bonus Track)


Pre-order Vol. 1 (re-release)





The Soundtrack Of Your Life - Vol. 2 tracklist:


"Waiting For A Star To Fall"
"King Of Wishful Thinking"
"The One And Only"
"When You Say Nothing At All"
"(I Just) Died In Your Arms"
"(You Drive Me) Crazy"
"Heaven Is A Place On Earth"
"Crush"
"I've Been Thinking About You"
"Venus"
"I Want It That Way"


Pre-order Vol. 2

L.A. Guns have released their new album, Checkered Past. Order / save your copy on CD / Color Vinyl / Digital here, and listen to the song, "If It's Over Now", below:





Written and recorded during late 2020 and early 2021, Checkered Past sees Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, and company continuing with the darker lyrical tone of the preceding studio albums, The Devil You Know and The Missing Peace, while incorporating their classic rock influences into the mix. Heavier songs are mixed with bluesier, boogie inducing tracks and dark, introspective ballads, often harkening back to the first three albums the band made, but also pushing the band forward. When fans absorb the album as a whole, they'll see that the tracklisting is divided up into 'sets' or 'suites', where a sonic style is explored across multiple songs before moving on to the next, making for a remarkable listening experience.




Feeling inspired and excited like they did when they first started out, but with many years of wisdom and experience under their belts, and most importantly, a renewed and stronger creative and personal relationship, Guns and Lewis are maintaining a creative peak that started with The Missing Peace. Checkered Past shows a band invigorated and ready to bash you over the head, as well as “wow” you with some epic, slower songs, and even make you dance a bit to some rock 'n roll.


Since their self-titled debut in 1988 to the widely praised comeback albums The Missing Peace and The Devil You Know, L.A. Guns, led by Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis, have always delivered solid rock ‘n roll to their fans. This current incarnation of the band has been touring non-stop, with a notable break coinciding with all other touring bands, and the cohesiveness of the unit, not to mention Phil’s stunning and unique vocals and Guns’ mind-bending guitar playing, are on full display here. A must hear and listen for all fans of the band, both new and old.


L.A. Guns never looked like the pretty poster boys that so many of their peers did, but more the band that you would be terrified to bump into in an alley as they would likely be carrying switchblades and ready for a fight. But despite having many songs to back up that image, the band could also write powerful ballads (see the smash hit, “The Ballad Of Jayne” for Exhibit A of this argument) that showed there were some serious songwriting chops in the band. Those chops are on full display on the band's two most recent studio albums and the upcoming new album, Checkered Past, arguably one of the most vital and exciting releases in the band’s catalog.





Tracklisting:


"Cannonball"
"Bad Luck Charm"
"Living Right Now"
"Get Along"
"If It's Over Now"
"Better Than You"
"Knock Me Down"
"Dog"
"Let You Down"
"That Ain’t Why"
"Physical Itch"


"Get Along" video:





"Cannonball" video:





"Knock Me Down":





Tour dates:


November
12 - Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
26 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House
27 - Long Beach, CA - Gaslamp


December
3 - Las Vegas, NV - Count's Vamp'd
4 - Las Vegas, NV - Count's Vamp'd
31 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go


February
9-14 - Port of Miami, FL - Monsters of Rock Cruise 2022


Lineup:


Phil Lewis - vocals
Tracii Guns - guitar
Ace Von Johnson - guitar
Johnny Martin - bass
Scot Coogan - drums


(Photo - Dustin Jack)

Frontiers Music Srl has released the sophomore album from Groundbreaker, entitled Soul To Soul. The melodic rock project centered around the vocal talents of Steve Overland (FM) are streaming the song, "Captain Of Our Love". Listen below, and order/save Soul To Soul here.


Groundbreaker's new album, Soul To Soul, is once again centered around the fantastic vocal talents of Steve Overland (FM) with stunning production by Alessandro Del Vecchio. While the self-titled debut was a collaboration with Robert Sall (Work of Art, W.E.T), on the songwriting side, joining Steve and Alessandro this time are Stefano Lionetti (Lionville), Pete Alpenborg (Arctic Rain), Jan Akesson (Infinite & Divine), and Kristian Fyhr (Seventh Crystal). The resulting album is simply everything that a melodic rock fan could hope and dream for. Expect nothing less than soaring hooklines, magnificent melodies, and amazing instrumental performances. Mixing the best of the European melodic rock traditions, Soul To Soul is easily one of the melodic rock highlights of the year.


The lineup on the new album includes Sven Larsson (ex-Street Talk) on guitars, Nalley Pahlsson (ex- Vindictiv, Therion) on bass, Herman Furin (Work of Art) on drums, and Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards. Steve Overland plays lead guitar on the track “Wild World” too.




Groundbreaker started with a conversation between Frontiers President Serafino Perugino and Overland. Perugino was eager to start a top notch collaboration with well-respected musicians from the European melodic rock scene and highlight Overland's absolutely stunning vocal talents. Robert Sall of Work of Art was brought into the picture to craft the songs and to be paired with Alessandro Del Vecchio’s production. Overland immediately loved the material that was submitted to him and consequently, they started to work on finishing the songs. The band's debut album was greeted warmly by the melodic rock community and now, those same fans can prepare themselves for another delightful entry into the melodic rock realm.





Tracklisting:


"Standing On The Edge Of A Broken Dream"
"Soul To Soul"
"Captain Of Our Love"
"Evermore"
"Wild World"
"Carrie"
"Fighting For Love"
"It Don't Get Better Than This"
"There's No Tomorrow"
"When Lightning Strikes"
"Til The End Of Time"
"Leap Of Faith"


"Captain Of Our Love":





"There's No Tomorrow" video:





"Soul To Soul":





"Standing On The Edge Of A Broken Dream" video:





Lineup:


Steve Overland - vocals, lead guitar on Wild World
Sven Larsson - guitars
Nalle Pahlsson - bass
Herman Furin - drums
Alessandro Del Vecchio - keyboards

Gypsy Pistoleros, the swashbuckling renegade flamenco rock rumba punk 'n' roll pioneers are aiming for the Christmas #1 spot with a cracking version of the world anthem and Ricky Martin hit, “Livin’ la Vida Loca”.





These sleazers are unashamedly going for a Christmas hit, with a “Day Of The Dead” inspired video. The single will be fully released on December 17. It is backed by the Guru of XMas Hits Jon Morter. With all proceeds going to Shelter.




Morter is best known for his gatecrashing of the music industry in 2009 with his phenomenal Rage Against The X Factor campaign, sweeping rap/metal band Rage Against The Machine into the sought after UK Christmas No.1 spot.  This success opened the door for Jon to work on campaigns for some big artists in the industry including Nirvana, Sex Pistols, Rod Stewart, David Essex, a No.1 album for The Rolling Stones, AC/DC's highest-ever chart placing in the UK singles chart, Rik Mayall's 2010 World Cup single (which incidentally Jon campaigned for again after Rik's death making the UK No.7 in 2014), and the 2012 Christmas No.1 campaign for The Justice Collective.


Gypsy Pistoleros may be best described as being the ideal house band for the fictitious Titty Twister bar of Rodriguez's From Dusk Til Dawn. Between the nods to Morricone's tense, tumbleweed atmospheres and the Gypsy Kings' manic Mediterranean energy, a New York Dolls raw glam spark and a surplus of prime G 'n' R attitude.


The sound is flamenco & rumba in a head-on collision with punk/rock riffs, pounding bass and thrashing drums. The songs span madly in the best rock 'n' roll tradition with big hooks, attitude, and sleaze. Yet those flamenco breaks got into your head and refuse to leave - this unique hybrid rocks.

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


Arjen has issued the following update: "Joe Lynn Tuner sings lead vocals on the track ‘The Year Of ‘41’ of the new Star One album Revel In Time. Check out this video to hear part of his vocals and don’t miss his wonderful message at the end! I’m so excited about this, I’ve been a fan of Joe’s soulful melodic voice ever since I first heard the Rainbow album Difficult To Cure back in 1981. Another dream come true!"







Revel In Time 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).


CD 2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD 1, 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.





Revel In Time tracklisting:


CD1:


"Fate Of Man"
"28 Days (Till The End Of Time)"
"Prescient"
"Back From The Past"
"Revel In Time"
"The Year Of ’41"
"Bridge Of Life"
"Today Is Yesterday"
"A Hand On The Clock"
"Beyond The Edge Of It All"
"Lost Children Of The Universe"


CD 2 features the same songs as CD 1, but with different vocalists.


"Lost Children Of The Universe" lyric video:

Enuff Z’Nuff's fondness for the legendary rock 'n roll band The Beatles has been more than well documented over the years. The band, now led by co-founder Chip Z'Nuff, decided to go all in on that fandom and have released Enuff Z’Nuff’s Hardrock Nite, a covers album of some of their favorite Beatles songs as well as songs from Beatles’ members post-Beatles bands.


Another taste of music from the album is available with the release the cover of the Paul McCartney & Wings classic, "Jet". Listen below, and order/save Enuff Z'Nuff's Hardrock Nite on CD/Color Vinyl/Digital here. Please note, due to worldwide delays with the manufacturing of vinyl, the LP version will be released on December 10.


On Enuff Z'Nuff's Hardrock Nite, the band offers their reinterpretation of tracks from the world famous Liverpool musician's repertoire with no samples, no synthesizers, no wizards behind the curtain, just four cats in the studio paying respect to their heroes. Enuff Z’Nuff’s Hardrock Nite is a colorful Cadillac Escalade driving 100 mph on the freeway without rules or regulation and just livin' the dream.




When the band first emerged on the wider scene, Enuff Z’Nuff were acclaimed as rock’s 'Next Big Thing'. They were power-pop princes in glam-metal clothing and aptly described as The Beatles and Cheap Trick combined and reinvented for late 80’s US hard rock musical landscape. Long-time fans of the band have yearned, begged, and wished for a Beatles covers album from the band and now, finally, Enuff Z’ Nuff pay tribute to their main inspiration and musical heroes with Enuff Z’Nuff’s Hardrock Nite in their own inimitable and rocking fashion. Enjoy the ride!


Enuff Z’nuff are the living, breathing example of what a rock ‘n roll group should be. Now centered around bass player and vocalist Chip Z’nuff, Enuff Z’nuff are still delivering the band’s patented power pop melded with hard rock stylings. Originally formed in 1984 in Chicago, IL, the band received their big break in 1989 when they signed to Atco/Atlantic Records. Founding members, Chip Z'Nuff and Donnie Vie were joined by guitarist Derek Frigo and drummer Vikki Foxx and they commenced work on their major label debut. The self-titled album was a monster hit and spawned two evergreen singles, “New Thing” and “Fly High Michelle”. Both received constant airplay on radio and heavy rotation on MTV, spending over 60 weeks in the Top 10. 1991 saw the band release their sophomore album, Strength. The album had more of a hard rock overtone and sustained the success achieved on the first album. The band made high profile television and radio appearances on the likes of David Letterman and Howard Stern and were featured in Rolling Stone’s Hot Issue as ‘The Next Big Thing'. The band soldiered on during the new musical climates of the ‘90s and have since gone on to release over a dozen more studio records.





Tracklisting:


"Magical Mystery Tour"
"Cold Turkey"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Live And Let Die"
"Dear Prudence"
"Helter Skelter"
"Jet"
"Revolution"
"Back In The U.S.S.R."
"With A Little Help From My Friends"


"Jet":





"Back In The U.S.S.R." video:





"Cold Turkey" video:





Lineup:


Chip Z’Nuff – Vocals, Fender bass, & electric guitar
Tony Fennell – Rhythm & lead guitar, vox, keyboards, & strings
Tory Stoffregen - Lead guitar, slide
Daniel Benjamin Hill – Drums & Percussion

Led Zeppelin have released Episode 4 of the new video series, The History Of Led Zeppelin IV.


A message states: "This is Zeppelin's all-time classic and undoubtedly one of the finest tracks by any group this year." - NME, November 1971







Watch Episodes 1 - 3 below:

Helloween have released a lyric video for the song "Indestructible", featured on their new self-titled album, available via Nuclear Blast. Watch the clip below, and head here to order Helloween in your format of choice.





Tracklisting:




"Out For The Glory"
"Fear Of The Fallen"
"Best Time"
"Mass Pollution"
"Angels"
"Rise Without Chains"
"Indestructible"
"Robot King"
"Cyanide"
"Down In The Dumps"
"Orbit"
"Skyfall"


Bonus tracks Mediabook & Vinyl:
"Golden Times"
"Save My Hide"


Bonus tracks Earbook:
"Golden Times"
"Save My Hide"
"Pumpkins United"


"Indestructible" lyric video:





"Rise Without Chains" lyric video:





"Angels" lyric video:





"Mass Pollution" lyric video:


   


"Best Time lyric video:





"Fear Of The Fallen" lyric video:





"Skyfall" video:





(Photo - Martin Häusler)

Norway’s avant-garde black metal innovators, Borknagar, have released a special 25th Anniversary reissue of their pioneering self-titled debut album Borknagar, out for the first time ever worldwide via the band’s longtime label partner Century Media Records.


Check out a visualizer clip for the track “Dauden" (Remaster 2021), created by Wanderley Perna / W Designer, below.


Borknagar founder and mastermind Øystein G. Brun commented about “Dauden” as follows: “If there is one song that has shaped my sound and inspired my career as a musician that is 'Dauden'. Even though this was not the first song written for the debut, 'Dauden' was the first song I carved out on my, then newly bought, Fostex multitrack recorder. This opened a new world to me, to be able to sit in solitude and work out layers of guitar arrangements without the typical fuzz and chaos of a rehearsal room. I still remember the grandiose feeling of musical excitement when the mid-section of this song fell into place. A notion that music can derive from “nothing” to become an entity bigger than life. This exact notion has kept my flame burning throughout all these years. Furthermore, when first talking with Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg about him doing the vocals and joining the band, 'Dauden' was the song we were talking about, this was the musical trigger so to speak. He was seriously into this song. And I can clearly remember as if it was yesterday, Garm dancing around in studio in awe doing choirs. There was something magical about this one…And still is!”







Øystein G. Brun previously commented on this special re-release: “Throughout the years I have received countless requests for a re-release of this album…but because this album represents such a personal and treacherous part of my life, I wanted it to be done with dignity. And here we are: This is the definitive re-release of the debut album of Borknagar. This release contains a genuine re-master of the debut album, based on the original mix tapes. This has been done with the uttermost care and love by yours sincerely to maintain the original sound and flavour of the album, and solely to improve the listening experience. Working on this re-release has been an emotional ride. While always maintaining a good feeling about the project it has been times of frustration and technical obstacles. Hours has been spent finding and compiling old pictures, dealing with tapes and equipment that has not been played or used in over 25 years. But now it is done, and I hope you all enjoy and appreciate this release as much as I do.”


Initially released in 1996, "Borknagar" saw Øystein G. Brun recruiting a phenomenal cast of like-minded musicians such as Garm (Ulver, ex Arcturus) doing the vocals, drummer Grim (ex-Immortal, Gorgoroth and Ancient), Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) on keyboards and bassist Infernus (who played in Gorgoroth) to enter the notorious halls of Grieghallen Studios with the goal of rupturing the peripheries of what was then deemed “traditional” black metal.


The new deluxe edition of the album, now entitled Borknagar (25th Anniversary Reissue 2021) marks the definitive version of this pioneering Norwegian metal classic, as it includes a careful remaster of the 10 album songs courtesy of Øystein G. Brun himself, a makeover for the original artwork, profound liner notes, exclusive photos and a bonus disc full of previously unheard material from the band vaults.


The limited Digipak 2CD (with 12 bonus tracks / 60 min.) and the limited Gatefold 2LP on 180g black vinyl (with 8 bonus tracks / 37 min.) can be ordered here.


Below are the tracklistings of the Anniversary release.





2CD Digipak & Digital Album:


CD1 – Borknagar (Remaster 2021):
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Remaster 2021) (06:47)
"Tanker mot Tind - Kvelding" (Remaster 2021) (03:43)
"Svartskogs Gilde" (Remaster 2021) (05:52)
"Ved Steingard" (Remaster 2021) (02:18)
"Krigsstev" (Remaster 2021) (02:02)
"Dauden" (Remaster 2021) (05:49)
"Grimskalle Trell" (Remaster 2021) (05:39)
"Nord Naagauk" (Remaster 2021) (03:07)
"Fandens Allheim" (Remaster 2021) (06:22)
"Tanker mot Tind - Gryning" (Remaster 2021) (03:01)


CD2 – Borknagar (25th Anniversary Bonus Material):
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (06:46)
"Svartskogs Gilde" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:51)
"Krigsstev" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (02:02)
"Dauden" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:51)
"Grimskalle Trell" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:45)
"Fandens Allheim" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:53)
"Ved Steingard" (Alternate Mix) (02:13)
"Nord Naagauk" (Alternate Mix) (03:28)
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Rehearsal 1994) (06:59)
"Grimskalle Trell" (Rehearsal 1994) (06:14)
"Ved Steingard" (First ever recording 1994) (02:18)
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Alternate Mix) (06:49)


Gatefold 2LP:


LP 1 – Borknagar (Remaster 2021):


Side A:
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Remaster 2021) (06:47)
"Tanker mot Tind - Kvelding "(Remaster 2021) (03:43)
"Svartskogs Gilde" (Remaster 2021) (05:52)
"Ved Steingard" (Remaster 2021) (02:18)
"Krigsstev" (Remaster 2021) (02:02)


Side B:
"Dauden" (Remaster 2021) (05:49)
"Grimskalle Trell" (Remaster 2021) (05:39)
"Nord Naagauk" (Remaster 2021) (03:07)
"Fandens Allheim" (Remaster 2021) (06:22)
"Tanker mot Tind - Gryning" (Remaster 2021) (03:01)


LP 2 – Borknagar (25th Anniversary Bonus Material):


Side C:
"Vintervredets Sjelesagn" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (06:46)
"Svartskogs Gilde" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:51)
"Krigsstev" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (02:02)
"Dauden" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:51)


Side D:
"Grimskalle Trell" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:45)
"Fandens Allheim" (Live Session at Grieghallen Studios 1995) (05:53)
"Ved Steingard" (Alternate Mix) (02:13)
"Nord Naagauk" (Alternate Mix) (03:10)


Borknagar will be joining the Devastation On The Nation North America Tour 2022. The band will be direct support to Rotting Christ and will be joined by Wolfheart, Abigail Williams starting April 21 in Berkeley, CA and wrapping on May 22 in Los Angeles. Tickets are available to purchase, here.





Tour dates:


April
21 - Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone
22 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
23 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
24 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
27 - Denver, CO - The Roxy Theater
29 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
30 - Chicago, IL - Reggies


May
1 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary
3 - Toronto, ON - Lees Palace
4 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electriques
5 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial
6 - Manchester, NH - Jewel
7 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar
8 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
10 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger
11 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In
12 - Birmingham, AL - Zydeco
13 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Hell)
14 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
16 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
17 - Fort Worth, TX - Haltom Theater
18 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
19 - El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Bar
20 - Phoenix, AZ - Nile Theater
21 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
22 - Los Angeles, CA -1720


(Photo - Jørn Veberg)

New York death metal pioneers, Suffocation, have released their new live album, Live In North America, via Nuclear Blast Records.  In celebration, the band releases the track video for the single, "Infecting The Crypts", which can be seen below.


Terrance Hobbs comments, "'Infecting The Crypts' happens to be one of the earliest Suffocation songs. It stood the test of time for us and our fans, it just seems fitting to highlight this song off this album as it has become a classic Death Metal favorite. We hope our fans enjoy the Live in North America release as we think this represents Suffocation's strengths as a live performing band as well as the energy the fans give to us and we give back to them in return."







Suffocation created the template for the brutal death metal genre in the early 90s. Landmark albums such as Effigy Of The Forgotten and Pierced From Within also went on to inspire the birth of the tech-death and slam death metal genres. With the departure of original vocalist Frank Mullen, the band marks an end of an era with a live album recorded live during his last North American tour. Mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (Beyond Creation, Cryptopsy) this release plays like a “best of”, and is the perfect farewell to one of the most influential singers in extreme music. The artwork for the album was created by Jon Zig.





Live In North America is available in the following formats:


- CD Jewel
- Double LP
 * Gold W Black Splatter (Limited to 1200)
 * Gold (Limited to 300)
 * Silver/Black/ Marble (Limited to 200)
 * Black
- Tinted Black Cassette (Limited to 250)


Order your copy here. Save the album and listen here.





Live In North America tracklisting:


"Thrones Of Blood"
"Effigy Of The Forgotten"
"Funeral Inception"
"Pierced From Within"
"Surgery Of Impalement"
"Dismal Dream"
"Jesus Wept"
"As Grace Descends"
"Liege Of Inveracity"
"Breeding The Spawn"
"Catatonia"
"Souls To Deny"
"Infecting The Crypts"


"Pierced From Within" track video:





"Funeral Inception" track video:





Suffocation is:


Frank Mullen - Vocals
Terrance Hobbs - Guitar
Charlie Errigo - Guitar
Derek Boyer - Bass
Eric Morotti - Drums

Sixx:A.M. have released a new lyric video for their track “Penetrate”, taken from their recently released Sixx:A.M. Hits album via Better Noise Music. The new lyric visual captures the dark and emotional desperation painted by the song. The song is about trying to reconnect with somebody, going in deeper, penetrating their soul. Musically it is a throwback to some of Sixx:A.M.'s heavier music.





Sixx:A.M. - featuring Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, vocalist James Michael, and former Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba - are releasing the album as a companion piece to Sixx’s memoir The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx, available via Hachette Books.




After 21 years of sobriety, Sixx, also a founding member of the legendary music group Mötley Crüe, is incredibly passionate about his craft and an open book about his life in rock and roll. In the memoir, Sixx fills in the earlier parts of his fascinating true-life story, telling the inspirational story of his first 21 years, how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx. Combining his work as a writer and a musician, The First 21 continues Sixx’s tradition of setting the soundtrack to his own life, offering multi-layered pieces of art.





In 2007, Sixx:A.M. released The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, alongside Sixx’s best-selling memoir The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star, introducing the concept of a book soundtrack into popular culture. Both the book and the album were successes upon release, with the book instantly becoming a New York Times-best seller in its first week, selling out in bookstores around the U.S. The album spawned the #1 single “Life Is Beautiful”, eventually achieving Gold certification in the U.S. Expanding this artistic signature move, The First 21 now get its own soundtrack with the Hits album.





Tracklisting:


"Life Is Beautiful"
"This Is Gonna Hurt"
"Lies Of The Beautiful People"
"Pray For Me"
"Rise"
"Stars"
"Maybe It's Time"
"Skin"
"Belly Of The Beast"
"Are You With Me Now"
"Girl With Golden Eyes"
"Accidents Can Happen"
"Gotta Get It Right"
"We Will Not Go Quietly"
"The First 21" (previously unreleased)
"Talk To Me" (Radio Mix - previously unreleased)
"Penetrate" (previously unreleased)
"Waiting All My Life" (previously unreleased)
"Skin" (Rock Mix -  previously unreleased)
"Life Is Beautiful" (piano / vocal - previously unreleased)


Waiting All My Life" lyric video:





“The First 21” lyric video:





“Pray For Me” lyric video:





"Skin" (Rock Mix):





(Photo - Dustin Jack)

Japanese thrash metal combo, Shady Glimpse, recently signed a licensing deal with Wormholedeath for the reissue of their album, Supreme Gift, which is due for re-release on December 17 via Wormholedeath worldwide. A new video for "Shocking!" is streaming below.


Shady Glimpse' music is based on the 80's Bay Area: digests and absorbs punk, funk, disco, hard rock, and death metal. As the name Shady Glimpse suggests, it will be a light that gives color to the underground.







Tracklisting:


"The New World"
"DIOVig-C"
"S.S.D -System Shakedown-"
"Solar & Green"
"Killing After Midnight"
"Shocking!"
"Silver & Gold"
"Route 56"
"Liar's Desire"
"Stairway To Stupid"
"One Night Magician"
"H8! I'm D1"
"G.G Blues"


"Shocking!" video:





"DIOVig-C" video:





Shady Glimpse are:


Shinya Sakai - Guitar
Yuichi Takei - Vocals
Tomohide Shimizu - Bass
Yasuhiro Nishiyama - Drums

Power metal newcomers Northtale have released their new album, Eternal Flame, via Nuclear Blast. Produced by Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Unisonic), the album features 12 brand new tracks and a whole range of new influences, from thrash metal, classical citations, and Brazilian traditional music, all fused into Northtale's own brand of melodic power metal.





To celebrate the occasion, the band also reveal a lyric video for their new single, "Future Calls", which features Kai Hansen (Helloween, Gamma Ray) and his son Tim Kanoa Hansen (Induction). Get the single digitally, here, and watch the clip below.




Bill Hudson states: “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s finally time to unveil Eternal Flame to the world. Two years of hard work, a lineup change, a global pandemic but we did it! This baby is now out there and I can’t wait for all of you to hear it! And to celebrate, we chose 'Future Calls' as the new single! There’s a very special reason for this: Kai Hansen is a childhood hero of mine and a few years ago we had a chance to become friends. It only made sense to me to have him as a guest on the album, and when he suggested his son Tim Kanoa Hansen came along too, I thought I’d sure love to host a family reunion! I hope the fans enjoy this album as much as we did!”





Eternal Flame also features guest appearances from Jonas Heidgert (Dragonland), and Mary Zimmer (Helion Prime). The album artwork was created by Gustavo Sazes (Machine Head, Amaranthe, Kamelot). Order here.





Tracklisting:


“Only Human”
“Wings Of Salvation”
“Future Calls” (feat. Tim and Kai Hansen)
“The Land Of Mystic Rites”
“Midnight Bells”
“Eternal Flame”
“In The Name Of God”
“Ride The Storm”
“King Of Your Illusion”
“Judas Be My Guide” (Iron Maiden cover feat. Jonas Heidgert)
“Nature’s Revenge”
“Ivy (Outro)”


“Midnight Bells” lyric video:





“Only Human” lyric video:

At every stop on HALESTORM's recently launched U.S. tour with EVANESCENCE, HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale has been joining EVANESCENCE on stage to perform a cover version of LINKIN PARK's "Heavy". Lzzy spoke about the decision to cover the track in a new interview with the 105.7 The Point radio station. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee and I] were lobbing a couple of ideas back and forth and then, all of a sudden, we landed on LINKIN PARK. And [we thought], you know what? That would be really cool because inadvertently it would be a tribute to [late LINKIN PARK singer] Chester [Bennington], but also, everything that this song has been about, we've all been through that — everybody. And so it's almost this like very church moment where you walk out onstage and you're, like, 'All right. This is my church. These are my people. We're all doing this together.'"

Hale also talked about her musical chemistry with Lee, saying: "There's something otherworldly that happens when I sing with her live onstage. And it's something that I can't necessarily put my finger on, that feeling. I've done thousands of other collaborations in my life, and this is very, very special. She is, obviously, a phenomenal singer; that's not even cutting it — phenomenal. But there's something that happens when we sing together because of the different personalities; it's almost like this dance that happens. Amy has likened it to a well-matched tennis match where we both have that trust because we both know that no matter what, both of us bring it; we're always on a hundred and ten. And so to be able to feel that again with her after so many years of not touring together and doing this… I don't know — I think I leave my body. When I'm onstage when that happens, all of a sudden the song's over and I'm, like, 'Wait. Did I just blank out? What happened?'"

EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM's U.S. co-headlining tour will run through December 18 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM first toured together in 2012. Lee later guested on the track "Break In" on HALESTORM's 2020 "Reimagined" EP and Hale lent backing vocals to the EVANESCENCE song "Use My Voice" and appeared in the accompanying music video.

EVANESCENCE is on tour supporting this year's "The Bitter Truth" album. HALESTORM is promoting its latest single, "Back From The Dead", which recently became the band's sixth No. 1 at rock radio.

Former QUIET RIOT bassist Chuck Wright has shared a six-and-half-minute video tribute to the band's late drummer Frankie Banali, who died in August 2020 after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer. You can watch it below.

As previously reported, a public funeral service for Banali — who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on the group's breakthrough album, 1983's "Metal Health" — will be held on Monday, November 15 at 2:30 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California.

SiriusXM personality Eddie Trunk shared the invite on his Instagram and wrote in an accompanying message: "Honored to have been asked to host this. If you are in the LA area 11/15 you are welcome to attend this service for our dear departed friend @fbanali @quietriotband".

One day after Banali's passing, his wife Regina spoke about plans for his memorial service during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". She stated at the time: "Funnily enough, he had already bought and paid for and planned his entire services at Forest Lawn [cemetery in Los Angeles] before his [cancer] diagnosis. He was gonna get the same kind of funeral that Ronnie [James Dio] got and Jimmy Bain and all those funerals that we've been to many times. He was saying we're gonna rent the [legendary West Hollywood restaurant and bar] Rainbow and have laminated passes and [have a] send-off in the rock and roll way that he arrived in L.A.," she continued. "He had a lot of history with the Rainbow."

Regina went on to say that there would likely be a large-scale memorial event in Frankie's honor once the coronavirus pandemic had subsided.

"I think it's better to go big, even if it's later," she explained to "Trunk Nation". "'Cause I think people will still care. And I think he deserves the honor and recognition that he's earned."

Frankie was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer on April 17, 2019 and given six months to live. He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18 p.m. on August 20, 2020 in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.

Banali was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas. He had been in treatment since the spring of 2019 and completed his 21st round of chemotherapy not long before his death with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer.

Banali's history with QUIET RIOT spanned over 37 years and he had the distinction of being the only member of the band to have recorded on every single QUIET RIOT release from 1983's "Metal Health", which was the first heavy metal album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart, through 2019's "Hollywood Cowboys". He also recorded seven albums with W.A.S.P. between 1989 and 2004.

Banali resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of singer and founding member Kevin DuBrow.

QUIET RIOT's latest studio album, "Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

A month after Banali's death, QUIET RIOT announced that it would carry on. The group, which now features drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) and returning bassist Rudy Sarzo, has a number of dates scheduled in late 2021 and early 2022.

QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded "Metal Health".

Prior to Sarzo's return, Wright had been a part of QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the "Metal Health" recordings (he played bass on the tracks "Metal Health" and "Don't Wanna Let You Go"). Guitarist Alex Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before Kevin passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010.

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of "American Idol" finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.


























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Ted Nugent has released the official lyric video for his new song "Come And Take It". The track will appear on Nugent's recently completed new studio album called "Detroit Muscle", which is due on April 29, 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's current band, which includes bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

"Detroit Muscle" track listing:

01. Detroit Muscle

02. Come And Take It

03. Born In The Motor City

04. Just Leave Me Alone

05. American Campfire

06. Driving Blind

07. Alaska

08. Leave The Lights On

09. Winter Spring Summer Fall

10. Feedback Grind Fire

A snippet of "American Campfire" is available at this location.

In recent months, Nugent has been selling hats emblazoned with the words "Come And Take It", a slogan which originated in the Texas Revolution in 1835 and is now used as a symbol of gun-rights advocates and the NRA.

"Come And Take It" lyrics:

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Go ahead and try go ahead and die

Come and take it

Welcome back to the Concord bridge

Don't you even try it, don't you tread on me

You can do or die it in the land of the free

Come and take it

Come and take it

No more kings, no tyrants, no more jackboot thugs

We will unleash violence for the freedom that we love

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Go ahead and try go ahead and die

Come and take it

Welcome back to the Concord bridge

Come and take it

Go ahead and try go ahead and die

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it

Come and take it [End of lyrics]

"Feedback Grind Fire" features such lyrics as: "Tell me what you want, tell me what you need, tell me all your wildest dreams. Give me some feedback grind fire. Tell me what all of this means. Did it feel good? Did it feel right? Did I set your soul on fire? Did you fall in love? Did you live your dreams? Give me some feedback grind fire."

Back in April, Nugent said that his next album would be titled "Handsome Devil" after a public compliment paid to him by former President Donald Trump, of whom Ted is an ardent supporter.

Nugent has repeatedly said that he is "very proud" of his new album as well as the LP's "musical integrity and the spirit and the attitude."

Released via Round Hill Records, "The Music Made Me Do It" was Nugent's first studio album in four years. Accompanying the CD was a bonus DVD, "Live At Freedom Hill", a full-length concert captured at Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Frontiers Music Srl will release Swedish prog metal band Mercury X's new album, Imprisoned, on December 10. The band has released a lyric video for the song "Sound Of Nothing". Watch the clip below, and pre-order/save Imprisoned here.


Mercury X is an outstanding progressive metal band hailing from Sweden. Mercury X's music and sound takes inspiration from the early '80s progressive metal bands as well as modern metal. The new album, "Imprisoned", is based on their lives during the making of the album, taking the listener through different emotional stages with simple and beautiful melodies accompanied by rough riffs.


Mercury X originally formed in 2013 in Norrtälje, outside of Stockholm. Guitarist/lead vocalist/violinist Martin Björklund, bassist Alfonso Flores, guitarist Jonas Vedin, and drummer/lead vocalist Denis Diaz met for the first time when they were studying music together in high school. They soon formed a band together, but eventually everyone followed their course of studies in different cities. When they all came back home, they decided to start a band again and thus formed Mercury X. Since then, the band has made two albums, both released independently.




More recently, they started writing an epic twenty minute long song called “Imprisoned,” which was originally supposed to be a stand-alone EP release. After it was written, they decided to record an additional four songs and make a proper (for progressive metal) full length album.


As the album neared completion, they started to realize that it was a big step up from their previous releases, both in musical and songwriting quality in general, so they started to shop themselves around for a record deal. Eventually, they got in contact with Frontiers, who were deeply impressed with the quality of the material and signed the band.





Tracklisting:


“Until The Break Of Day”
“The Light In Your Eyes”
“Lonely”
“Imprisoned”
“The Sound Of Nothing”


“The Sound Of Nothing” lyric video:





“Lonely” video: