Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has signed on to produce the recently unearthed "drum riffs" from late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza. Ellefson will enlist "a handful of different" musicians from around the world to record new riffs and add new parts to Menza's existing riffs — an expected 13 tracks which are being touted as "the heaviest and fastest drum material Nick ever created."

In a video announcing his involvement in the project, Ellefson said: "We're actually recording some new riffs and parts to some existing Nick Menza drum riffs that he has — some parts that are brand new. So posthumously, we're actually forming a new band with Nick. I've got a handful of different people from our industry around the world participating in this. And I'm gonna be writing some new riffs and some new things."

This past September, Screaming Butterfly Entertainment announced a partnership with Ellefson and his Ellefson Films on the upcoming feature-length documentary "This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza". Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late MEGADETH drummer's life.

In conjunction with the announcement of Ellefson's attachment to the film, an Indiegogo campaign has been launched to raise funding for the completion of the film. Fans have the opportunity to support the production of the film directly, as well as obtain some rare official Nick Menza memorabilia. These items include various touring laminates personally owned, and authentically signed by Menza himself and Ellefson. In addition to memorabilia, fans can purchase brand new Nick Menza merchandise, including hats, posters, and even Nick Menza skateboard decks. Fans can even have their names and a message added to the end credits of the film.

The campaign can be found at this location.

"This Was My Life" will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic 'Rust In Peace' lineup."

"This Was My Life" will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with. A screenshot from the film was recently released that featured an interview with former LAMB OF GOD/MEGADETH drummer Chris Adler.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Irish melodic death metal band, For Ruin, have released the debut single, "Wake", from the forthcoming remix of their debut album, entitled December 2021.   


Says the band: "December is our debut album and was originally released on September 15, 2007. The album contains many of the songs that featured on the band's three demo releases but the debut album was performed by the English / O' Sullivan / Myers / Murphy lineup of the band at that time. The album was recorded during March-May of 2007 but the production of the album was never what the band had wanted as it masked the quality of the songs. In the summer of 2021, John Murphy began the process of remixing the album - all of the original 2007 performances have been preserved for this remix and some additional guitar & new vocal/synth parts were recorded to strengthen the mix, before being mastered by Marko Tervonen (The Crown) at Studio MT in Sweden.







Ten tracks featured on the original 2007 release, but 15 songs were recorded in 2007 by the December lineup; the five bonus tracks are now included with this release. Some of the bonus tracks were re-recorded by the Last Light lineup a few years later, but these are the originals and have never been released until now."


The December 2021 remix will be available digitally and on limited Digipak CD (via Bandcamp) from December 2. In the meantime, here's "Wake" (2021 Remix):

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe has confirmed that the band's already completed new album will be released before the launch of the group's next world tour.

The German industrial metallers are scheduled to kick off the European leg of the band's 2022 tour on May 15 in Prague, Czech Republic. A North American stadium run will begin on August 21 in Montreal and end on October 4 in Mexico City.

Asked in a new interview with Spot On News if he can reveal something about RAMMSTEIN's new LP, Kruspe, who is promoting the latest effort from his EMIGRATE project, said: "The album is expected to be released next year before the tour."

Last month, RAMMSTEIN drummer Christoph Schneider said that European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet was one of the first people to hear a song from the band's upcoming album.

A year and a half ago, RAMMSTEIN postponed its 2020 North American stadium tour due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. The trek was then moved to the summer of 2021 before being postponed once again, this time to the summer of 2022.

RAMMSTEIN's seventh, untitled album came out in May 2019 via UME/Spinefarm in Europe and Caroline Records in the U.S. The band's first studio disc since 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" debuted at No. 1 on the album charts in 14 countries and was the band's tenth No. 1 in Germany. The LP was produced by Olsen Involtini with RAMMSTEIN and was mixed at a Santa Monica, California studio with Rich Costey, an American producer who has previously worked with MUSE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and FRANZ FERDINAND, among others.

EMIGRATE's fourth LP, "The Persistence Of Memory", was released on Novembe

NHC, the new band featuring JANE'S ADDICTION members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney alongside FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins, has released two new songs. The tracks, titled "Devil That You Know" and "Lazy Eyes", feature Hawkins on lead vocals/drums, Navarro on guitar, and Chaney on bass. The songs come on the heels of the band's first headlining show at the Troubadour on November 23 selling out almost instantly.

"Devil That You Know" and "Lazy Eyes" follow the release of "Feed The Cruel" and "Better Move On", both of which arrived in September.

Hawkins and Chaney previously played together in Alanis Morisette's band in the mid-1990s and are bandmates in Hawkins's solo project, TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS.

Last month, NHC — an acronym for Navarro, Hawkins and Chaney — played a seven-song set at Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival. The trio delivered five songs off its yet-to-released debut album and covers of QUEEN's "Keep Yourself Alive" and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' "My Friends".

Hawkins told Forbes about NHC's upcoming LP: "The thing I take musically from this record is a lot of times the records me and Chris made, with COATTAIL RIDERS and stuff, I had to use some form of comedy or some form of, 'This sounds like QUEEN, kind of, but it's not.' We had amazing musicians, but when you hear Dave play guitar, you're just, 'It's Dave.' And he's one of the last, dare I say, cool shredders; he can really rip. And there was a time, after 1992, guitar solos became extinct, for a long time. And they creep up now and then, [on] FOO FIGHTERS albums and stuff. And we had that, we had Dave's guitar sound to hang our hat on as far as the style of music. We didn't need to have funny tricks. This is just what it sounds like when me and Dave and Chris get together and make music. Very democratic, all the songs were written differently. Chaney wrote bass lines. But also there was none of this, 'This is my song, this is how I want it to be' bullshit at all."

Hawkins, who plays drums and sings in NHC, previously called Navarro "the best lead guitarist in alternative rock," while Dave referred to NHC as an "awakening of everything he loved about playing." He told Forbes: "Honestly, these two guys, Chris and Taylor, are probably the two best musicians I've ever met just in terms of musicianship, being able to write on the spot, coming up with just a hundred ideas, keep going, no stopping. It's amazing."

According to Navarro, NHC's debut album will contain 12 tracks. He added: "The record has such an emotional range throughout it."

This past January, Hawkins, Navarro and Chaney teamed up with SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor in a supergroup called GROUND CONTROL, which performed at "The Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day" in tribute to the late David Bowie.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

BORN THROUGH FIRE, the new project featuring AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis, has released its first two songs, "Reintroduction" and "Bone By Bone", via Modern Music Empire.

Lambesis recently stated about the musical direction of the group, on which he has apparently collaborated with WOLVES AT THE GATE guitarist Joey Alarcon: "The best description of the material that I've heard from a close friend who has heard it is this… It's cinematic, heavy, and modern, but it still has classic metal throwback elements at the same time."

The BORN THROUGH FIRE launch comes six months after Lambesis was sued by a woman who claimed she suffered second-degree burns when he sprayed a flammable liquid into a fire pit at his parents' house at the end of last year. Tim himself sustained burns to 25 percent of his body in the incident, which he first revealed in an Instagram post on December 16, 2020. At the time, the 40-year-old singer claimed that he was pouring gas into a bonfire when the top slipped off and the liquid ended up getting all over his clothes. He later said that he lost 20 pounds from being bedridden for almost three weeks and suffered some nerve damage. He also assured fans that his "man parts" were not harmed during the incident.

Tim was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

In September 2019, AS I LAY DYING released its seventh full-length album, "Shaped By Fire", via Nuclear Blast.

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern spent the last week Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with producer Zack Ohren working on the band's as-yet-untitled tenth album, tentatively due next summer. According to Flynn and MacEachern, they are "making great progress on at least six different new songs, including a 10-minute-plus epic."

This past June, MACHINE HEAD released the "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single. Featuring the tracks "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky", the effort was recorded at Sharkbite. Joining Flynn and MacEachern during the sessions were drummer Navene Koperweiss (ENTHEOS, WHITECHAPEL, ANIMALS AS LEADERS) and Ohren.

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a new single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

According to Flynn, all three tracks from "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single — "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and the title track — as well as "My Hands Are Empty", will be included on the band's next full-length studio album. "And the other stuff is just gonna stay kind of in whatever void it came out in — and probably be released on a collection of songs with a bunch of other B-sides at some point, a physical version," he told the "Behind The Vinyl" podcast in June. "But for now, these four songs, and then some future songs, are gonna make up the next record."

Asked if the "turbulent" nature of the last couple of years was a good thing for him creatively, Flynn said: "Oh, totally. I'm an impatient man. [Laughs] I want it, and I want it now. And the music business can be mind-numbingly slow at times. And certainly with the pandemic now, just the lead time to set up a record is, like, seven months. Vinyl is fucking seven months. If I turned in a record today — done, mastered, finished, artwork, everything — we're not gonna get the vinyl until seven months from now. I'm, like, 'This is fucking crazy.' And I don't wanna wait; I just wanna put it out.

"When I started in the [1980s] thrash scene, bands put out demos and fucking rehearsals and new songs every month or two," he explained. "I had every EXODUS song released just from bootlegs and from demos and stuff like that. Same with METALLICA. And it was just so much faster. And the world has just kind of shifted into this extremely slow — certainly the metal world has. And I wanted to bring it back to that… Yes, I'm not releasing a cassette tape, but yeah, I'm putting it out so that if the diehards wanna hear it, you can fucking hear it. And consistently do that — consistently put out music so that it's constantly giving the fans, the diehard fans, the Head Cases, the ones who fucking live and breathe this shit, something to chew on every three or four months. And I really dig it. I think it's amazing. And I think that we have the technology — thanks to Spotify and all the streaming services now — [so that] we can do this shit. So why not?"

Five months ago, MACHINE HEAD announced that it was abandoning plans to resume its "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour now that the pandemic is slowing down. Flynn said that the "Burn My Eyes" tour, which saw him and MacEachern play the band's classic debut album in its entirety for the first time ever, with original "Burn My Eyes"-era drummer Chris Kontos and Mader joining in, would not pick up at such a time as MACHINE HEAD can continue touring. Flynn also confirmed that MacEachern is still a member of MACHINE HEAD alongside new recruits, guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston.

MACHINE HEAD will team up with Sweden's Viking metal overlords AMON AMARTH for a co-headline "Vikings And Lionhearts" European arena tour in September and October 2022. Support on the trek will come from THE HALO EFFECT, the new band featuring five former members of IN FLAMES: Peter Iwers, Daniel Svensson, Jesper Strömblad, Niclas Engelin and Mikael Stanne.


IN THE STUDIO PHOTOS NOV 2021. Robb and J-Mac spent the last week in the Sharkbite Studios with producer Zack Ohren ...

Posted by Machine Head on Friday, November 12, 2021

FAILURE, the Los Angeles-based trio of Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards and Kellii Scott who've been dubbed "cult heroes" by Rolling Stone and hailed for their "jaw-dropping, visceral space rock" by Entertainment Weekly, return with their highly-anticipated sixth album, "Wild Type Droid", on December 3 via Failure Music.

A preview of the 10-song collection arrives with today's release of "Headstand".

"The lyrics come from my earliest memory of spacing-out in my room when I was seven, trying to conceive of infinity and watching the dust falling through the bars of sunlight pouring through my blinds," explains Edwards. "I had heard that a lot of that dust was made up of skin cells and that really stuck with me. It's kind of a love song to those bizarre innocent moments of solitude."

"To me, it captures a lot of the new musical approaches and techniques we were going for on this album, but somehow is still quintessential FAILURE," adds Andrews. "We've been together long enough to know that some of our best ideas come directly from these experimental sessions. For this album, we simply cultivated that methodology for a much longer time than we have in the past. It brought out the trio aspect of the band. There was a feeling we could really push the individual parts further away from each other and let the more interesting and challenging combinations take center stage."

Beeple, the American visual artist whose March 2021 NFT broke international sales records, lends his "Innerspace" to the album cover.

"This feels like a good place and time to abandon the space iconography and theme once and for all," Greg states. "In a lot of ways, this album feels like a return to earth. All minds have been called back to their bodies. There's a lot to attend to right in front of us."

"Wild Type Droid" track listing:

01. Water With Hands

02. Headstand

03. A Lifetime Of Joy

04. Submarines

05. Bring Back The Sound

06. Mercury Mouth

07. Undecided

08. Long Division

09. Bad Translation

10. Half Moon

Formed in early 1990s in Los Angeles, FAILURE has released five albums: "Comfort" (1992), "Magnified" (1994), "Fantastic Planet" (1996), "The Heart Is A Monster" (2015) and "In The Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind" (a series of EPs released as an album in 2018). The group is considered one of the era's most influential rock bands with Vice, in an all-encompassing retrospective upon the band's return, saying: "While many of their contemporaries became prolific by releasing an ungodly amount if materials, FAILURE's [initial] three-record catalog is minuscule, but just as important in terms of content, style, and music texture."

Photo credit: Priscilla C. Scott

earMusic has announced a remarkable reissue series of (almost) the entire ANNIHILATOR catalog. "Metal II" kicks off this extensive catalog campaign that will give you special editions, bonus material, exclusive and previously unreleased tunes.

And "Metal II" is only the first taste, ahead of a huge catalog campaign covering studio records and long-lost rarities. In total, 18 records are going to be released over the next few years, including the original 2007 version of the "Metal" album.

"Metal II" has been given an incredible overhaul with the one and only Dave Lombardo (SLAYER) killing the drums and lead vocals "re-invented" by the great Stu Block (INTO ETERNITY, ICED EARTH). The guest list on the album is huge: Willie Adler (LAMB OF GOD), Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM), Steve "Lips" Kudlow (ANVIL), Dan Beehler (EXCITER), Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES), Angela Gossow (ARCH ENEMY), Jeff Loomis (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE), Anders Björler (THE HAUNTED, AT THE GATES) and Corey Beaulieu (TRIVIUM).

Waters passed over mixing duties to legendary engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, VAN HALEN) and it was remastered by Maor Appelbaum.

When Waters was asked, "Which record would you re-do, if you could and why?," with no hesitation it was "Metal". So, what we have now is a 2021 record that is called "Metal II", appropriately, featuring all the original guest tracks from 2007 with Jeff Waters at the helm.

"One of greatest engineers/mixers on the planet, Mike Fraser, was my first choice to mix this one," Jeff says. "It was a challenge as Mike was not brought in to make a record; he was simply there to mix a big mess of tracks that were recorded in 2006 and 2021 and with over 14 players on it. After this difficult mix, I promised Mike that I would do another record with him, from the ground up."

"Dave was in my favorite band ever (SLAYER)," Waters says, "and continues to evolve and play in many diverse bands, like MISFITS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, DEAD CROSS, MR. BUNGLE and many other projects. It was an honor to be on the same record as Lombardo. And he uses the 'Reign In Blood' ride cymbal!! Yes! The ACTUAL ride cymbal we hear on that classic record."

Waters reveals that "Stu has been the vocalist that I have (publicly) wanted to be ANNIHILATOR's singer, ever since I heard him in the Canadian band INTO ETERNITY, but I never got the opportunity to get him! He is the next generation of amazing vocalists that is grabbing the microphone from such icons as [Bruce] Dickinson and [Rob] Halford. And our paths SHOULD have crossed a long time ago, but we are here now!

"So I got a hold of them both," Waters continues, "and they both loved the tunes and both said 'FUCK YES'! And I said to Stu, 'You've got three takes', so there's blemishes and warts and fuck-ups everywhere. And I said the same to Dave, 'get it done'. And watching pros do this is mind-blowing because you don't have the best sounds, but you have the best players."

Waters closes, "Although Alexi Laiho's shredding in 'Downright Dominate' and the VAN HALEN song 'Romeo Delight' were recorded a while back, adding Stu and Dave to these songs gave us all the feeling that 'Metal II' is also a fitting tribute to our two fallen guitar heroes. Ed and Alexi, R.I.P."

"Metal II" track listing:

01. Chasing The High (ft. Willie Adler)

02. Downright Dominate (ft. Alexi Laiho)

03. Army Of One (ft. Steve "Lips" Kudlow)

04. Couple Suicide (ft. Danko Jones and Angela Gossow)

05. Heavy Metal Maniac (ft. Dan Beehler and Allan Johnson)

06. Haunted (ft. Jesper Strömblad)

07. Romeo Delight

08. Detonation (ft. Jacob Lynam)

09. Clown Parade (ft. Jeff Loomis)

10. Smothered (ft. Anders Björler)

11. Kicked (ft. Corey Beaulieu)

"Downright Dominate" can now be streamed below.

Canada's ANNIHILATOR is the lifework of Waters. Founded in 1984, the band took the metal scene by storm with its debut 1989 release "Alice In Hell", upped the ante with 1990's "Never, Neverland" and has continued a non-stop career-pattern of releasing records and touring with many of the biggest bands in the metal genre (mostly all outside North America), ever since; cementing ANNIHILATOR as the biggest-selling metal act in Canada's history.

ANNIHILATOR has given the metal world a sound that is one of the clearest, most tasteful mixtures of huge, metal riffs with the idea of the perfect song and some legendary solo shredding as the icing on the cake. Waters and ANNIHILATOR have been a major influence on countless well-known metal acts and musicians around the world. In fact, countless, successful non-metal acts and musicians cite Waters and Co. as an influence in their careers.

Waters is the guitarist, vocalist and writer for ANNIHILATOR as well as a studio owner, producer, engineer and mix and mastering engineer. Waters formed the band with singer John Bates.

Two-times-Grammy-nominated band CODE ORANGE has returned with a brand-new single, "Out For Blood". Available today on all streaming platforms, "Out For Blood" is joined by an official music video directed by Max Moore. Check it out below.

CODE ORANGE frontman Jami Morgan stated about the track: "When they go right, we go left. CODE ORANGE is out for blood and we are just gettin' started."

Produced by Rob Cavallo (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, GREEN DAY), "Out For Blood" follows CODE ORANGE's critically lauded 2020 album "Underneath" which earned the band their second Grammy nomination in the category of "Best Metal Performance" for the album's title track. Released in March 2020 via Roadrunner Records, the LP was produced by Morgan and Nick Raskulinecz with co-producer Will Yip. "Underneath" features the singles "Swallowing The Rabbit Whole", "Underneath" and "Sulfur Surrounding". In its wake, the band performed multiple livestream experiences, including "Back Inside The Glass" an all-immersive environmental experience placing CODE ORANGE's live show at the center of awe-inspiring virtual landscapes. It marked CODE ORANGE's third livestream of 2020, following their empty-venue record-release show "Last Ones Left: In Fear Of The End" and "Under The Skin", their first-ever stripped down performance, which is available now as a digital album on all streaming platforms. Additionally, CODE ORANGE has continued to reach fans across the globe through its "You And You Alone" livestream series, which features collaborative performances, playthroughs, and in-depth discussions and fan question-and-answer sessions broadcasting regularly on the band's official Twitch channel.

In 2019, CODE ORANGE made headlines in the professional wrestling world with the release of "Let Me In", their official entrance theme for WWE superstar "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. CODE ORANGE previously featured at WWE's NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III performing a rendition of wrestler Aleister Black's entrance theme alongside Incendiary's Brendan Garrone. "Let Me In" followed CODE ORANGE's 2018 release of "The Hurt Will Go On", a digital EP featuring "3 Knives" and "The Hunt" featuring Corey Taylor, as well as "The Hurt Will Go On" (Shade Remix), an official remix of CODE ORANGE's "Hurt Goes On" helmed by the band's guitarist and vocalist Shade.

In 2017, CODE ORANGE flipped the heavy music world on its head with their breakthrough album "Forever", a collection that masterfully mixed hardcore aggression with urgent industrial textures, earning the band a breakthrough Grammy nomination and top placement on several "Best of 2017" lists, including Rolling Stone's "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017", Revolver's "20 Best Albums of 2017" and The Independent's "Top 20 Rock & Metal Albums of 2017."

Photo credit: Jim Louvau

FEAR FACTORY will release the first song featuring the band's new lead singer prior to the group's North American tour with STATIC-X. The 37-date "Rise Of The Machine" run, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on February 21 in Portland, Oregon and run over five weeks, wrapping up on April 3 in San Francisco, California.

FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares, who has yet to publicly reveal the identity of the band's replacement for Burton C. Bell, discussed FF's new frontman in a brand new interview with This Day In Metal. Asked if FEAR FACTORY is planning on showcasing its latest addition before the launch of the STATIC-X tour, Dino said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes. We plan on showcasing him with a new song. I really want people to hear it and judge it by when they hear it. Because if I announce who it is right now, then it's gonna be, like, everybody is gonna give their opinion before they even hear anything. So I'd rather people give their opinion of when they hear it than before they hear it."

Cazares also confirmed that FEAR FACTORY's new singer will be stylistically similar to Bell's output on the band's earlier records. "Oh, yeah. It's not gonna change," he said.

This past August, Dino told Bucketlist TV that FEAR FACTORY's new frontman has experience and is "kind of known" within the metal scene.

Asked about his previous comment that he was open to hiring a female vocalist for FEAR FACTORY, Dino told Bucketlist TV: "That was true. I auditioned a few women, yes. But it didn't work out — not because they were female or anything like that. Because I wanted to pick whoever was best for the position, and it turned out to be a guy."

Dino also addressed his statement from earlier this year that he wanted to give an "unknown guy a shot" at fronting FEAR FACTORY. He said: "Well, it wasn't like I was only looking for somebody that nobody knew. I was looking for all different [types of singers]. Sure, if the guy turned out to be, or the girl turned out to be, someone that nobody knew and I gave 'em that shot, yeah, great. I was open to all of it, is what I'm saying. Male, female, whatever, known, unknown — I was open to all of that. And it turned out to be somebody who is kind of known, I guess. Kind of known. He does have experience."

In September 2020, Bell issued a statement officially announcing his departure from FEAR FACTORY, saying that he "cannot align" himself with someone whom he does not trust or respect.

Bell's exit from FEAR FACTORY came more than two weeks after Cazares launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist him with the production costs associated with the release of FEAR FACTORY's new LP.

Bell later told Kerrang! magazine that his split with FEAR FACTORY was a long time coming. "It's been on my mind for a while," he said. "These lawsuits [over the rights to the FEAR FACTORY name] just drained me. The egos. The greed. Not just from bandmembers, but from the attorneys involved. I just lost my love for it.

"With FEAR FACTORY, it's just constantly been, like, 'What?!' You can only take so much. I felt like 30 years was a good run. Those albums I've done with FEAR FACTORY will always be out there. I'll always be part of that. I just felt like it was time to move forward."

In October 2020, Dino issued a statement in which he said that the door for Burton to come back to FEAR FACTORY wouldn't "stay open forever." The guitarist also revealed that Burton "lost his legal rights" to the FEAR FACTORY name "after a long court battle" with drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers. "I had the opportunity to do something right, and I felt that obtaining the name in full was the right thing to do for the both of us, so after nearly four years we can continue as FEAR FACTORY, to make more records and to tour," he said. "That is why it is sad to hear that he decided to quit and, in my opinion, for whatever issues he has it seems like it could've been worked out."

FEAR FACTORY's new album, "Aggression Continuum", was released in June via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP, which was recorded primarily in 2017, features Cazares and Bell alongside drummer Mike Heller. It was produced and engineered by Damien Rainaud (DRAGONFORCE, ONCE HUMAN), with keyboards by Igor Khoroshev (ex-YES), and programming on two songs from longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY). "Aggression Continuum" was mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM), who also mixed FEAR FACTORY's previous album, 2015's "Genexus".

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

Finnish melodic death metal act Re-Armed release their new single and visualizer video for "Monoeyes". The track follows the release of "As the Stars Align", which is taken from their upcoming 20th anniversary EP, XX, out on January 27th, 2022 worldwide via Inverse Records. Purchase the track on all digital platforms and watch the visualizer video, which was made by Joona Jaakkola.





The band comments on the new single: "The lyrics paint the landscape with black and white - just as polarization erodes the democracy of our society. Some people tend to filter 'answers to all questions' too much through their own social media bubble. In a nutshell, there's always a way out; instead of fighting each other, we should be finding solutions together. Soundwise, the tension builds up as the song proceeds, creating a feeling of urgency and frustration, but yet still the track is more colorful than monochromatic vision that the lyrics paint at the first sight, just like life is in a reality – different kind of layers upon layers, catchy hooks here and there, without forgetting strong emotions.




And what about the anniversary and upcoming EP release? Well, during the 20 years, the band has seen better and worse, but almighty Finnish 'sisu', aka willpower, has pushed us through these years and keeps us still on the move. We want to thank everyone who has been involved in this band somehow at some point of this adventure - meaning each and everyone who brought something to the table at that point of trip.


Anyhow, the best thing about the past is that it shows us what not to bring into the future - which is clearly visible and heard in the great outcome today. On the upcoming EP new winds are blowing and there will be some, let’s say 'adjusted' echoes from the past."





XX EP tracklist:


"As the Stars Align"
"Monoeyes"
"Beyond the Horizon" (acoustic version)
"Tomorrow"
"Ode to Life" (symphonic version)
"Evolve Cycle" (arcade version)


"As The Stars Align"





Photo by Allan Välimaa

Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the release of the self-titled debut album from Land Of Gypsies, on December 10. Today, the band, featuring vocalist Terry Ilous, gives fans a look at the album with the release of the album opener, "Believe". Listen below, and pre-order/save Land Of Gypsies here.


Land Of Gypsies, formerly known as Gang Of Souls, is a new L.A. based band featuring an artistic union between vocalist Terry Ilous (XYZ, ex-Great White), together with producer and bassist Fabrizio Grossi (Glenn Hughes, Supersonic Blues Machine, Eric Gales, etc.). Rounding out the lineup are Serge Simic on guitar (The Slam, Supersonic Blues Machine) and Tony Morra on drums.


The band spent a wealth of time during the pandemic in 2020 working on and developing their sound. Their target was to write music leaning towards a classic hard rock sound with unforgettable melodies and a solid bluesy background to compliment Ilous' stellar vocals.




Terry Ilous says, "My entire career has been about creating the best music I possibly can for the fans. Land of Gypsies allows me to focus on the music and to grow as an artist, while also being able to expand my work both nationally and internationally. I am extremely honored to join such an amazing roster of talent. Expect to hear a lot more from me and Frontiers moving forward.”


Fabrizio Grossi adds, “I am really excited to work with my buddies Serge, Tony, and Terry on this new adventure called Land of Gypsies. Terry is the centerpiece and I am sure he’ll turn even more heads than what he’s been admirably doing since XYZ’s debut and when he was with Great White. He’s an amazing singer and a hell of a funny guy. I am glad the public will be able to get to know this other side of him. This record represents the type of straight ahead rock music that really makes us move. There won’t be any frills and sweetness, that I can promise, but lots of balls out groove, loud guitars, and soulful melodies.”


Musically, Land Of Gypsies music leans toward a classic hard rock sound with unforgettable melodies and a solid bluesy background. Think Bad Company meets early Foreigner, but with more current production.





Tracklisting:


"Believe"
"Shattered"
"Trouble"
"Give Me Love"
"Somewhere Down The Line"
"Rescue Me"
"Ordinary Man"
"Run Away"
"Long Summer Day"
"Rambling Man"
"Get It Right"


"Believe":





"Shattered" video:





Lineup:


Terry Ilous - Lead & backing vocals
Serge Simic - Lead and Rhythm Guitars
Fabrizio “Fab” Grossi – Bass
AJ Morra - Drums & Percussions
Eric Ragno - Hammond, Wurly & Rhodes
Jeff Northrup - Additional guitars on “Somewhere Down The Line”

Following the release of "Can’t Hold Me Down" in November 2020, Collateral are back with a reissue of their first single, "Midnight  Queen", but this time with a twist. Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) features as the lead vocalist alongside the band’s frontman, Angelo Tristan.


Released Friday (November 12), you can pre-save the single here. Watch a lyric video below.







"Tyketto was one of my inspirations growing up," says Angelo. "To have Danny on one of our tracks is unbelievable. When one of your idols says how great your track is, it makes you feel like you're doing something right. I can't wait for all the Tyketto fans to hear it.”


“I was overwhelmed when Danny said that he wanted to be part of this,” says Collateral’s lead guitarist Todd Winger. “One of the all-time legendary rock voices digging our tunes, let alone wanting to join us on one is inspiring beyond belief! He is one of the nicest guys in the business. Thank you, Danny.”





Collateral is busy in November 2021 with festival appearances at Planet Rockstock, Hard Rock Hell, and Winterstorm. Before heading off to tour Europe, Collateral  return to the UK in February and March 2022, as special guests on Dan Reed Network and Reckless Love's co-headline UK tour that includes London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff, and Southampton.


Collateral will release their album Re-Wired in spring 2022.


(Photo - Rob Nankivell)

Sweden's Amaranthe checked in with the following announcement earlier this week:


"Boot up your computers, grab your controllers and get ready for a brand-new Amaranthe song! This Friday, November 12th we will release 'PvP', the official hymn for the Swedish national e-sports team!"


Today is the day. Check out the single below and watch for it on all digital platforms.







The die is cast: 2021 won't be the year Amaranthe and Beyond The Black unleash their monster of a tour to take Europe by storm. The European co-headline tour of the Swedish modern metal heroes and Germany's melodic metallers has been pushed back to 2022.


Amaranthe issued the following statement: "We are absolutely crushed, but unfortunately not surprised that we will have to postpone our European tour with Beyond The Black once again. We were so very much looking forward to finally be on stage to play the new Manifest songs for you! However, we feel very hopeful about doing this tour in 2022 instead - let time fly by quickly, and see you again on stage again before you know it!"


Beyond The Black vocalist  Jennifer Haben adds: "By rescheduling this tour we believe to create the safe and high quality live experience our fans all over Europe deserve! And be sure: after this hard period of restriction Beyond The Black and Amaranthe will come back even more intense and louder than ever!"


Purchased tickets remain valid for the new dates. For refunds, please contact your ticket seller.


The new schedule is as follows:


January 2022
5 - Munich, Germany - Zenith
7 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
8 - Offenbach, Germany - Stadthalle
9 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
11 - Bordeaux, France - Rock School Barbey
12 - Madrid, Spain - Sala BUT
13 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz II
15 - Lyon, France - Ninkasi Kao
16 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
18 - Manchester, UK - O2 Ritz
19 - London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town
21 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle I
22 - Ludwigsburg, Germany  - MHP Arena
24 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Metropole
25 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex
26 - Milano, Italy - Live Club
28 - Budapest, Hungaery - Barba Negra
29 - Vienna, Austria - Arena  
31 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja


February 2022
1 - Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle  
2 - Hamburg, Germany - Sporthalle  
4 - Zlin, Czech Republic - MOR Cafe
5 - Geiselwind, Germany - Event Hall 
6 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Ronda
8 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
10 - Göteborg, Sweden - Pustervik
11 - Stockholm, Sweden - Klubben Fryshuset 
12 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene

Leslie West passed away on December 23, 2020. Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group has announced the release of "Legacy: A Tribute To Leslie West" on March 25 in celebration of the guitarist. Friends, and many whom were influenced by the loved West, have contributed to this special release. Amongst those who performed are Dee Snider and TWISTED SISTER bandmate Eddie Ojeda, Robby Krieger, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy and Tal Bachman, JETHRO TULL's Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, BLACKBERRY SMOKE's Charlie Starr, THE CARS' Elliot Easton, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, DIRTY HONEY's Mark Labelle, Mike Portnoy and West's band members Bobby Rondinelli and Rev Jones. The release will be available as a limited-edition box set, on LP and CD, digitally, and as a web shop exclusive limited LP variation manufactured with digital.

When Leslie West passed away in December of 2020, he left behind a towering legacy of epic recordings that few rock guitarists can match. But there was more to West than great songs (although, to be sure, he created a ton of them); there was his brilliant, idiosyncratic sound, a gargantuan earth-mover that razed arenas and stadiums across the globe. More than just paralyzing tone, though, he also had a touch nobody could beat. Stinging, swooning and sensual melodies leapt from his fingertips — with a deft flick of his wrist, he sounded like a Delta bluesman had picked up a violin. These elements and more helped to make West one of the most significant, influential and irreplaceable guitarists of the rock era.

"There was nobody on earth quite like Leslie," says the guitarist's widow, Jenni West. "The second you heard him play, you knew it was him. He loved playing the guitar and making music. He lived to make people feel good — it was his passion. He was famous to his fans throughout the world, but he was adored by other musicians. Everybody from country stars, rappers and heavy metal players — they all loved Leslie. He found it surprising, but I think he was also pleased to know how much he inspired other musicians."

West's longtime manager Bob Ringe agrees, saying: "I've worked with some of the greatest guitarists on the planet, and nobody could hold a candle to Leslie. He was so unique and special — his sound, his style, his power and warmth. Any guitarist I talk to has been influenced in some way by him. They broke the mold when they made him, and he took it with him when he passed away. He was a true one of a kind."

An astonishing array of West's admirers — who also happened to be friends and peers — came together to celebrate the trailblazing musician on "Legacy: A Tribute To Leslie West". Executive produced by Jenni West, Bob Ringe and John Lappen, the album was originally intended to be a retrospective celebration of West's music on which the guitarist himself would perform some of his best-loved cuts with notable guests, along with a collection of new tracks. Two weeks before recording was set to commence, however, the guitarist passed away. Once Jenni West, Ringe and Lappen changed gears and put a tribute album in motion, they discovered that the process was far easier than they could have imagined: "We really didn't have to reach out to many people," Jenni says. "They came to us. What's really amazing is, if Leslie himself had whispered into my ear and told me who he would want on this record, these would be the people he would have requested."

West's longtime rhythm section of bassist Rev Jones and Bobby Rondinelli laid down brilliant basic tracks for the guest artists to contribute their talents. One of the two exceptions is the dramatic retelling of "Theme For An Imaginary Western" (which West recorded with MOUNTAIN for the band's 1970 debut, "Climbing!"), which features the walloping drumming of Mike Portnoy and commanding bass work by legendary QUIET RIOT / OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Rudy Sarzo. Two TWISTED SISTER alums — singer Dee Snider and guitarist Eddie Ojeda — turn in poignant performances on this grand and sweeping track.

"Leslie was a hero, friend, amazing guy and a guitar god," says Snider. "I always wanted to sing this song. It's my favorite Leslie West guitar solo. It resonates with me and speaks to me on so many levels. I'm honored to have gotten a chance to do it on this record."

Unquestionably, West's most famous song remains "Mississippi Queen" and who better to tackle such a historic sonic behemoth than GUNS N' ROSES' guitar titan Slash? Joining the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer on an absolutely ripping, rifftastic rendition is singer Marc LeBelle, currently riding high as the front man for the band DIRTY HONEY.

Former DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW vocalist Joe Lynn Turner tips his hat not only to West, but also to the late MOUNTAIN co-vocalist Felix Pappalardi on not one, but two cuts: On a standout version of "Nantucket Sleighride", the bluesy, prog-flavored title track of MOUNTAIN's second album from 1971, he's joined by international guitar star Marty Friedman; and a haunting take of the psychedelic rocker "For Yasgur's Farm" (from "Climbing!"), he teams with guitarist Martin Barre, best known as the longtime lead axeman for JETHRO TULL.

"It was an honor to do this tribute to Leslie," says Turner, "especially to sing 'Yasgur's Farm'. I'll never forget seeing MOUNTAIN at the Fillmore East. Felix had done the verse and when it came to that B section, Leslie was hit with a white spotlight in his buckskin. It still chills me to the bone today."

In 1969, West had left his band THE VAGRANTS and began what was to be a solo career, but his album "Mountain" turned out to be the unofficial debut of the power trio of the same name. From that record, Zakk Wylde chose the tour de force stomper "Blood Of The Sun", and like West himself, he's a formidable, show-stopping double threat on guitar and vocals.

In later life, West befriended Charlie Starr, singer and guitarist for the band BLACKBERRY SMOKE. Starr was in in awe of West, and he selected the soulful gem "Silver Paper" (from "Climbing!") as his way of remembering his late pal. Responding to the muscular rhythm section of Rev Jones and Bobby Rondinelli, as well as the bravura keyboard playing of Mike DiMeo, Starr laser beams on the song's joyous spiritual center and doesn't let go.

"I love 'Silver Paper', and it's got one of the coolest guitar licks of all time," says Starr. "Leslie played exactly what the song needed; his timing was impeccable. He played way back in the pocket, and it was so nasty and so great — the kind of things that you aspire to. I'm very proud to be part of this project. God bless Leslie West."

THE DOORS legend Robby Krieger also knew West well — the two had shared numerous concert bills through the decades.

"The coolest thing about Leslie was the way he played blues – it was just very natural," Krieger says. "He and Clapton were the best at the time. They just had the feel for the blues. Maybe in their former lifetimes they were blues guys." Krieger picked a deep cut for his tribute — the ripping barn burner "The Doctor", from the 1972 album "Why Dontcha" by West's power trio supergroup WEST, BRUCE AND LAING (featuring CREAM's Jack Bruce and MOUNTAIN's Corky Laing) — and he burns spectacularly on the song's dizzying, slippery lead lines. Rising to the occasion, singer Ronnie Romero, a veteran of bands like LORDS OF BLACK, RAINBOW and the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, howls with grit and grace.

As the album unfolds, more treasures are revealed: The celebrated father/son duo BACHMAN AND BACHMAN seamlessly splice two tracks from 1976's "The Leslie West Band" — "Money" and "By The River" — and fold them into one feisty, good-time flame thrower. CARS' guitar star Elliot Easton is paired with singer Ronnie Romero on a sparky and frisky take on "Sittin' On A Rainbow" (from "Climbing!") — Easton's fluid style is a spot-on fit for West's country-flavored solo. "Climbing!" is revisited once more with "Never In My Life", which features a go-for-the-throat repeat performance by Dee Snider and the paint-peeling guitar work of former DOKKEN lead picker. And DIXIE DREGS/DEEP PURPLE guitar god Steve Morse (along with a return trip by Ronnie Romero) heads into the outer limits, firing off leads that are by both spacey and fiery, on the gnashing title cut of "Why Dontcha".

"Leslie could take a simple two- and three- note phrase and just sell it with that gritty determination," says Morse, who shared many a stage with West. "What was not to like about him? He knew everything to do. Just the phrasing of the solos and the commitment and the tone — it was really awesome to stand next to him and experience that."

"Long Red" is one of the most fascinating songs of West's career. First featured on the guitarist's 1969 solo album, it was also a highlight of the 1972 MOUNTAIN album "Live: The Road Goes Ever On". Over the years, the psychedelic-funk groover has grown in stature thanks to the mind-boggling number of hip-hop artists — everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Kanye West to Ice-T — who have sampled it on mega-selling hits (even Mariah Carey used it on her 2014 cut "Money"). Here, international guitar icon Yngwie Malmsteen (backed by the ace rhythm section of drummer Bobby Rondinelli and bassist Rev Jones) locks into the bluesier aspects of the song and injects his own inimitable shred madness — and the results are wicked. With singer Teddy Rondinelli flooring it full-throttle, it's a stone-cold slam dunk.

Jenni West sums the album up thusly: "Nobody in this world has ever made me feel loved as much as Leslie, and I feel so honored and grateful that I could give him this gift." She laughs. "He would often say, 'If it doesn't make my balls rumble, it's not right.' And I think there's some balls-rumbling tones on this record! When you're listening to it, you might even think it's Leslie playing — and that's a good thing. He really believed that adage of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. Even when some of the players do their own twists on the music, they're still doing it in a way that's authentic and respectful, and Leslie would have appreciated that."

The first single, "Blood Of The Sun", featuring a guest appearance by Wylde, can be streamed below.

Track listing:

01. Blood Of The Sun (feat. Zakk Wylde)

02. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (feat. Joe Lynn Turner & Marty Friedman)

03. Theme For An Imaginary Western (feat. Dee Snider, Eddie Ojeda, Rudy Sarzo, Mike Portnoy)

04. For Yasgur's Farm (feat. Joe Lynn Turner & Martin Barre)

05. Why Dontcha (feat. Steve Morse & Ronnie Romero)

06. Sittin' On A Rainbow (feat. Elliot Easton & Ronnie Romero)

07. Never In My Life (feat. Dee Snider & George Lynch)

08. The Doctor (feat. Robby Krieger & Ronnie Romero)

09. Silver Paper (feat. Charlie Starr)

10. Money (Whatcha Gonna Do)/By The River medley (feat. Bachman & Bachman)

11. Long Red (feat. Yngwie Malmsteen & Teddy Rondinelli)

12. Mississippi Queen (feat. Slash & Marc LaBelle)

Danish/American rock and rollers VOLBEAT have released a music video for the song "Shotgun Blues". The clip, which was directed by Adam Rothlein and produced by by Ghost Atomic Pictures, can be seen below.

"Shotgun Blues" is an anthemic track in which frontman Michael Poulsen explores the ghostly events he recently experienced upon moving into a new home.

"Every time you move into a house, you bring dead people with you," he explains. "Weird stuff happens when I move into a [new] house… it's very otherworldly."

"Shotgun Blues" is taken from VOLBEAT's eighth studio album, "Servant Of The Mind", which will arrive on December 3 via Republic Records. The effort will be available in standard CD, deluxe 2LP vinyl (in various limited-edition variants) and a deluxe digital edition.

For "Servant Of The Mind", the band, which consists of Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Jon Larsen (drums), Rob Caggiano (guitars) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass) took their signature heavy metal, psychobilly and punk 'n' roll sound up a notch while showcasing Poulsen's keen ability for songwriting and storytelling.

"I wrote the whole album in three months," recalls Poulsen, "I was in a good place and mood while at home, and had a captive audience of myself… There are a lot of VOLBEAT signatures in it. If you go back to the first record and compare it to where we are now, you can hear how the band has developed its style, while keeping the signature sound."

The album also includes the "double barrel" of summer songs the band released this past June: "Wait A Minute My Girl" and "Dagen Før" (featuring Stine Bramsen), the former of which became the band's ninth number one single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

Other songs on the album weave intricate and fascinating tales. "The Sacred Stones" tells the story of "an earthly being who has committed himself to the dark side. He is on a mission, speaking to darker forces and fallen angels." Meanwhile, "The Devil Rages On" looks at the idea of the devil taking human form. Album opener "Temple Of Ekur" returns to the ancient themes explored in past songs such as "The Gates Of Babylon", while the epic album closer "Lasse's Birgita" explores the story of the first witch burnings to occur in Sweden in 1471.

"Servant Of The Mind" standard edition track listing:

01. Temple Of Ekur

02. Wait A Minute My Girl

03. The Sacred Stones

04. Shotgun Blues

05. The Devil Rages On

06. Say No More

07. Heaven's Descent

08. Dagen Før (feat. Stine Bramsen)

09. The Passenger

10. Step Into Light

11. Becoming

12. Mindlock

13. Lasse's Birgitta

Deluxe 2 CD/2 LP and digital deluxe bonus tracks:

14. Return To None (WOLFBRIGADE cover)

15. Domino (THE CRAMPS/ROY ORBISON cover)

16. Shotgun Blues (feat. Dave Matrise from JUNGLE ROT)

17. Dagen Før (Michael Vox Version)

Vinyl variants (North America)

* Standard 180g black vinyl 2LP

* Translucent Rust 2 LP – Volbeat.dk exclusive, limited to 550

* Transparent Yellow 2 LP – Revolver magazine exclusive, limited to 400

* Mystery Color LP2 – indie retail exclusive, limited to 100

Vinyl variants (Europe)

* Standard 180g black vinyl 2 LP

* Crystal Clear 2 LP, volbeat.dk exclusive, limited to 2,000

* Glow In The Dark 2 LP, EMP exclusive, limited to 2,000

* Orange and Blue 2 LP, UMG exclusive, limited to 3,100

* Danish Red and White 2 LP – only available in Denmark, limited to 2,000

VOLBEAT is two decades deep into a career that has found them sharing stages with genre legends like BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD, SLIPKNOT, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and more. They have racked up nearly three billion cumulative streams over the course of their career, notched a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nomination for "Room 24" (featuring King Diamond) from 2014's acclaimed (and gold-selling) "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", and have grabbed multiple Danish Music Awards. Not ones to rest on their laurels, their forthcoming album "Servant Of The Mind", which was written and recorded during the shutdown and quarantine necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is introspective but pulls no punches and is no less raucous or driving than their previous efforts.

Since forming in 2001, VOLBEAT has gone from the clubs of Copenhagen to headlining stages around the world, including the famed Telia Parken stadium in Denmark (becoming the only domestic artist to ever sell out the venue). Over the course of seven record-breaking albums the band has picked up number one songs (including nine No. 1s on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and counting, the most of any band based outside of North America), multi-platinum certifications, awards and accolades all over the planet. Their latest album, "Rewind, Replay, Rebound", was released in August 2019 and has spawned the hit singles "Last Day Under The Sun", "Die To Live" (featuring Neil Fallon) and "Leviathan". A live album featuring songs recorded during the subsequent world tour, "Rewind, Replay, Rebound: Live In Deutschland", was released digitally in November 2020. Most recently, they contributed a cover of "Don't Tread On Me" to "The Metallica Blacklist", with all proceeds from the track benefiting METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation and the Børne Cancer Fonden of Denmark.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, the ensemble led by TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, has shared a music video for its new single, "Florida Man Blues".

Skolnick, who emerged in the late 1980s as the teenage lead guitar virtuoso of San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band TESTAMENT, has also made a name for himself in multiple genres, including jazz guitar with his trio, featuring drummer Matt Zebroski on and Nathan Peck on bass. This is the band's first full-fledged blues song, and their debut of Alex in the role of both lead vocalist and guitarist.

Directed by Adam Dubin, who helmed BEASTIE BOYS' legendary videos "Fight For Your Right To Party" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", "Florida Man Blues" could only be brought to life by Dave Hill as an alligator-carrying booze enthusiast, with cameos by Brian Posehn and Dean Delray (of the podcast "Dark Fonzie With Marc Maron"). In an homage to Adam Yauch, Alex smashes a TV.

"It gives me great pleasure to finally release this video," says Skolnick, who wrote "Florida Man Blues" in 2019, based on real news stories from the Sunshine State. "In the two years since we tracked this tune, so much has happened." Although he made news himself in 2020 for commenting on current events in written essays and even political rap tunes, here he casts politics aside with a song and video that is non-partisanly entertaining. "We can all use a good dose of solid blues and good humor during these times," Alex continues. "I'm grateful to everyone involved, from tracking to filming, especially Adam Dubin, who believed in this song and felt it deserved a video as big as, well… Florida."

"Florida Man Blues" features a swampy riff reminiscent of John Lee Hooker with over-the-top soloing, inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Skolnick says: "The blues has always been a big component of my playing, across genres. In high school, BB King was on my turntable as much as VAN HALEN. And I've always loved the lyrical humor of folks like Junior Brown, Frank Zappa and early Tom Waits. 'Florida Man Blues' presented an opportunity to fully display these influences for the first time on a recording."

Recently, Dubin's music video for METALLICA's "Nothing Else Matters" topped one billion views on YouTube. Dubin quips: "I expect Alex's video to do half that number."

"Florida Man Blues" credits

Directed by Adam Dubin

Edited by Sean Fullen ("Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story")

Cinematographer Robert Kassabian

Band Shot at Complete Music Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Cast (in alphabetical order):

Alex Skolnick

Alyx and Nella Dubin

Brian Posehn

Dave Hill

Dean DelRay

Maddy Sámaddar

Matt Zebroski

Nathan Peck

Riley "Kirwan" Thompson

Trevor Thompson

The Thompsons' Parents (as Florida Police)

Recorded at Spin Studios, Long Island City, NY

Producer: Alex Skolnick

Engineer: Nik Chinboukas

Mixer: Nik Chinboukas & AST

Mastering: Andy VanDette for Evolve Mastering

Additional Background Vox: Viv Petillo & Ava Peklinsky

Scream: Ava Peklinsky

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO is:

Alex Skolnick - Guitar & Lead Vocals

Nathan Peck - Bass Guitar & Background Vocals

Matt Zebroski - Drums & Background Vocals

Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X) and The Players Club / Mascot Label Group recently announced the release of a new seasonal offering titled 'TWAS. Gilbert’s 17th solo album features a dozen recordings, two of which are new, original compositions. The global release date for digital and CD is November 26. The LP will follow on December 10. Pre-order here.


Today, Gilbert and the label share the third instant gratification track, “I Saw Three Ships”. A video can be viewed below.


Gilbert states: “It was 104°F in Portland, Oregon, on August 12th, when the band and I recorded 'I Saw Three Ships'. I was trying to get extra sounds from my A/DA Flanger by attaching a foot-operated, mechanical knob-turning device. But the device kept coming loose, and I kept getting angrier and angrier at it. I finally decided to give up on the knob-turning, and convert my frustration into pure guitar playing energy. The result was a slightly worried band, subtle flanging, and a good take! Thanks to Nat King Cole and George Thorogood for the arrangement inspiration. And thanks to England for the song.”







Gilbert adds: "Many will agree that in recent times, challenging events have been pouring down upon our heads like an Exploding Waterfall of Molasses. At least it sometimes feels like that to me.  But while I was jamming Christmas songs with my friends, playing an assortment of red, green, and white Ibanez electric guitars, I felt like life was THE BEST.  I hope that this music can put a smile on your face as well.  


"Ten of the songs are classics. I was inspired by the Christmas recordings of Nat King Cole, Loretta Lynn, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, and The Ventures. And of course, inspiration came from my guitar heroes, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, to name a few. I also wrote some of my own new Christmas songs. As I have been doing recently, I begin with lyrics and a melody. Then I let my guitar take over, as it sings better than I do."


He continues. "'Three Strings For Christmas' refers to the 3-string guitar that I used on my double-neck. I tune the strings in octaves, which allows me to play ridiculously fast arpeggios, and very little else (which is why I have a normally strung guitar for the other neck.) 'Every Christmas Has Love' was written quickly, inspired by my panic-driven mental state of album making. When I know that the recording sessions are coming, my brain shifts into survival mode, and melodies start popping out. Then I take all the chords I learned by listening to 70s AM radio, and build a song. The lyrics are nice too. I'll be printing those in the liner notes of the album. Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good night."


Gilbert formed a band of Portland, Oregon's finest jazz and blues musicians for these sessions. The players are Dan Balmer (guitar), Clay Giberson (keyboards), Timmer Blakely (bass), and Jimi Bott (drums). He reflects, “All brought supreme musical goodness to these arrangements and performances. They certainly steered me to make wiser musical choices than I would have made on my own. And as you will hear, my metal guitar instincts still breathe fire when they get the chance.” The album was recorded in Jimi Bott's studio, who also engineered and mixed the recordings. The approach was to record two songs every day, for six days, delivering the collected body of work.  


Gilbert: "All songs were recorded live, although I think Jimi snuck some cowbell overdubs in. If anything should be added to a live track, I believe cowbell is the right choice."





Tracklist:


"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
"Frosty the Snowman"
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
"The Christmas Song"
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
"I Saw Three Ships"
"Every Christmas Has Love"
"Three Strings for Christmas"
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
"Silver Bells"
"Winter Wonderland"


"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" video:





(Photo - Jason Quigley)

Mastodon released their new album, Hushed And Grim, on October 29. In this new video, the band discuss the creative process behind the album:





Order Hushed And Grim here.







Tracklisting:


"Pain With An Anchor"
"The Crux"
"Sickle And Peace"
"More Than I Could Chew"
"The Beast"
"Skeleton Of Splendor"
"Teardrinker"
"Pushing The Tides"
"Peace And Tranquility"
"Dagger"
"Had It All"
"Savage Lands"
"Gobblers Of Dregs"
"Eyes Of Serpents"
"Gigantium"


"Sickle And Peace":





"Teardrinker" video:





"Pushing The Tides" video:

Canadian powerhouse vocalist, Lee Aaron, has revealed the new video, "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas". The song will also be released tomorrow as a digital single and is the first one from her upcoming Christmas album, Almost Christmas, set for international release on November 26 via Metalville Records. Watch the video below.





Lee Aaron, has had a lengthy and musically adventurous career that spans many kinds of different styles, like rock, jazz, blues, opera, and more.But there’s one project this multi-Juno nominee had considered often, but the timing was never right... a Christmas album.




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


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


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


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


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


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


The album will be available on November 26 via Metalville. Last year, the album could only be ordered via Lee Aaron's own shop and will now be available in stores for the first time with the addition of two new songs.





Almost Christmas tracklisting:


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


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

Sabaton recently announced the limited-edition, live-in-concert, double-DVD/Blu-Ray, The Great Show, and The 20th Anniversary Show, both set for release on November 19 (Nuclear Blast). Both titles were filmed during the band’s 2019-2020 The Great Tour world trek, and both feature special guest performers. Tracklistings are below; pre-orders can be placed here.





The 20th Anniversary Show (see trailer below) is comprised of Sabaton’s jaw-dropping, two-hour headline concert filmed in front of 75,000 fans at Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival - coincidentally, celebrating its 30th anniversary - on August 1, 2019. The Great Show, with a running time of about 90-minutes, was recorded at Sabaton’s sold-out performance at the O2 Arena in Prague on January 26, 2020. With two varied setlists chosen from the band’s extensive catalog, The Great Show and the 20th Anniversary Show, limited to 9,000 copies each, will be available as individual purchases or bundled together as The Great Show Stage Collector's Edition box set (limited to 5,000 copies), that includes a building bricks version of the Sabaton stage so fans can build their own stages.




The Great Show Stage Collector's Edition is detailed in the video below. Get it here.





For the greater part of the Wacken concert, Sabaton commandeered the festival’s two main stages, the side-by-side-and-connected Faster and Harder Stages, becoming the first artist in Wacken's 30-year history to utilize both stages simultaneously in this way. Vocalist Joakim Brodén, guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson, drummer Hannes Van Dahl, and the 20-voice Great War Choir, fitted out in a variety of military uniforms, performed on the Faster Stage. At the same time on the Harder Stage, bassist Pär Sundström welcomed back previous Sabaton members Thobbe Englund and Rikard Sundén/guitars, Daniel Mÿhr/keyboards and Daniel Mulback/drums - all nine musicians, plus the choir, giving an intense and impassioned en masse performance. Sabaton was also joined by the internationally acclaimed Grammy-nominated virtuoso cellist Tina Guo for the encore. Prague’s The Great Show reunited Sabaton with Finland’s multi-Platinum cello-rockers, Apocalyptica, who provided a fiery orchestral backing to several of Sabaton’s songs.


In support of Sabaton’s most recent chart-topping album, The Great War, The Great Tour saw the band setting the barre sky-high for live rock’n’roll stage production. Both sets of discs effectively capture the visually electrifying in-concert experience that is a Sabaton show. Sabaton’s cinematic songs transport fans onto the battlefield, encountering the horrors of war as well as acts of heroism and bravery, based on historical fact and told as if through the eyes and minds of soldiers in the line of fire. For “The Great Tour,” and as seen on both of these DVD/Blu-Ray sets, Sabaton’s live stage production was forged as a battlefield, with barbed-wire stretched across the front of the stage, stacks of sandbag barricades, mic stands fashioned after the period’s rifles and trench guns, a two-ton military tank complete with a battery of rocket launchers and flame jets that doubles as a drum riser, a keyboard built into the body of The Red Baron’s iconic blood-red tri-plane, and Brodén armed with a giant bazooka. Live rock’n’roll at its finest.





The 20th Anniversary Show (Wacken) tracklisting:


"Ghost Division"
"Winged Hussars"
"Resist And Bite"
"Fields Of Verdun" (with Thobbe Englund)
"Shiroyama" (with Thobbe Englund)
"The Red Baron"
"The Price Of A Mile"
"Bismarck"
"The Lion From The North"
"Carolus Rex"
"40:1"
"The Last Stand"
"The Lost Battalion"
Drum Battle (Hannes Van Dahl vs. Daniel Mullback)
"Far From The Flame"
"Panzerkampf"
"Night Witches"
"The Art Of War"
"82nd All The Way"
"Great War"
"Attero Dominatus"


Encore:
"Primo Victoria"
"Swedish Pagans" (with Tina Guo)
"To Hell And Back" (with Tina Guo)





The Great Show (Prague) tracklisting:


"Ghost Division"
"Great War"
"The Attack Of The Dead Men"
"Seven Pillars Of Wisdom"
"The Los Battalion"
"The Red Baron"
"The Last Stand"
"Far From The Flame"
"Night Witches"
"Angels Calling" (with Apocalyptica)
"The Price Of A Mile" (with Apocalyptica)
"The Lion From The North" (with Apocalyptica)
"Carolus Rex" (with Apocalyptica)


Encore:
"Primo Victoria"
"Bismarck"
"Swedish Pagans"
"To Hell And Back"


"Great War" video:





20th Anniversary Show trailer:

Swedish-American ambient duo, Silent Skies, drifts off into Scandinavian melancholy and cinematic soundscapes with the release of their luminescent label debut, Nectar, out February 4 via Napalm Records. In 2017, the paths of the Swedish progressive band Evergrey’s vocalist Tom S. Englund and multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar crossed fatefully. Both artists set themselves free from limitations to captivate their listener with a soulful ten-track offering, produced by Englund and Shankar themselves and mixed/mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios.


Infinite, heartfelt Nectar enchants with sounds like pure poetry lifting off the page and wrapping around its listener with a gentle glow as it combines the reminiscence of the likes of producers and composers such as Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and Ludovico Einaudi, and bands ranging from Sigur Rós to Anathema. The balance between haunting instrumentals and vocal intensity that complement each other in perfect harmony walks a delicate line where listeners are treated to the best of both worlds.


With the release of their first single, "Taper", Silent Skies present an intense composition that blends a unique, charismatic voice and strong melodic sensibility into a profound musical soundscape resembling film music, alongside a captivating music video. “Taper” evokes both a tender embrace and isolation, with the duo's intertwined melodies standing strong against the setting sun of a human’s broken heart.




Silent Skies on “Taper”: “Come take a step into the universe of Nectar with 'Taper' - a universal statement on the journey of the human experience through time. This is one of our favorites on the album, so allow yourself to get lost in our world as you have a first taste of Nectar.


Watch the music video for “Taper” below.


With Gothenburg’s Evergrey known as one of the most prolific bands in progressive metal, Englund is by far no stranger to the scene. After partnering with North Carolina, USA-based piano player Vikram Shankar – who had already worked with greats like Anneke van Giersbergen – this fateful encounter, now known as Silent Skies, set its first milestone with the release of their spine-tingling debut Satellites back in 2020. Two years later, this fruitful collaboration returns with Nectar, marking the sequel of something that’s far more than just a side project of Englund’s. Rather, it’s the brainchild of two highly talented individual artists with deep knowledge and many years of experience, whose creativity and spirit culminates in an exceptional form of musical expression. Shankar’s sensitive yet intense piano tunes merge with the poignant vocal interpretation of Tom S. Englund to take the listener on a touching, melancholic ride that wanders through the darkest facets of life, while always leaving a spark of hope to hold on to. This otherworldly sonic collaboration is graced by the outstanding contributions of Leprous' cello player Raphael Weinroth-Browne, who appears on nearly every track of the album to spice up the stirring sound even more.


Silent Skies’ sophomore full-length sets off with the soulful, ethereal “Fallen From Heart”, immediately creating a tapestry of sound to get lost in. Tracks like delicate “Taper” and shimmering “Neverending” are dominated by the yearning vocals of Englund, but never fail to give Shankar’s instrumental virtuosity the well-deserved space to shine bright like the first sunray welcoming the day. Beautifully honest “Let It Hurt” addicts with its remarkable chorus hitting on point, blending cinematic strings and piano with hooky modern vocals. Darker realms lure with heart-breaking “Leaving”, combining gloomy ambient and infectious pop influences, and dramatically accented, heart-beating “Cold”, with its lingering electronic elements that build a tangible, gripping maelstrom of emotions. Instrumental title track “Nectar” closes this new chapter of Silent Skies but leaves its audience with a long-lasting impact and the key to a door that’s worth entering over and over again.


Silent Skies on the new album: “We are tremendously proud to announce our second record, Nectar, will be released on February 4th, 2022. Nectar represents an expansion and an elevation of all things that make us who we are; simultaneously grander and more intimate, more futuristic yet more organic and thoughtful. This record represents who we are, and it means so much to both of us, that we cannot wait for you to experience it.”





Nectar will be available in the following formats:


- 6p Digisleeve
- 2LP Gatefold Black
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Fallen From Heart"
"Taper"
"Neverending"
"Let It Hurt"
"The One"
"Leaving"
"Cold"
"Better Days"
"Closer"
"Nectar"


"Taper" video:





(Photo - Patric Ullaeus)