Symphonic metal outfit, Ad Infinitum, released their bewitching second offering, Chapter II - Legacy, last week via Napalm Records. Adrian Thessenvitz plays through the track "Inferno" in this exclusive new playthrough for Guitar World.





Chapter II - Legacy once again showcases the indispensable creativity of Ad Infinitum - featuring twelve complex, tracks highlighting their sonic development and undeniable symphonic strength. Such talent can be witnessed with opener “Reinvented”, lurking with lovely piano tunes and erupting in intense riffage in the blink of an eye. Right away, the music reflects the extremely multifaceted voice of Melissa Bonny - ranging from crystal clear vocals to impressively powerful screams and menacing growls. Hailing from hell, hard-hitting “Afterlife” features the vocal power of Nils Molin (Amaranthe, Dynazty), merging in perfect harmony with Melissa’s incredibly haunting delivery. Songs like “Your Enemy” and cinematic grand finale “Lullaby” leave no scope for weakness and unveil the heaviest side of Ad Infinitum to date. This grasping hymn is far from lulling you to sleep, as the eclectically versatile sonic world of Ad Infinitum immediately induces you to listen to Chapter II - Legacy again, right from the beginning.







Chapter II - Legacy is available in the following formats:


- 1 CD Digipak
- 1 LP Gatefold BLACK
- 1 CD Digipak + Patch (limited to 200 copies worldwide)
- Digital Album


Order here.





Tracklisting:


"Reinvented"
"Unstoppable"
"Inferno"
"Your Enemy"
"Afterlife" (feat. Nils Molin)
"Breathe"
"Animals"
"Into The Night"
"Son Of Wallachia"
"My Justice, Your Pain"
"Haunted"
"Lullaby"


"Animals" video:





“Afterlife” video:





"Unstoppable" video:





Ad Infinitum are:


Melissa Bonny - Vocals
Adrian Thessenvitz - Guitars
Korbinian Benedict - Bass
Niklas Müller – Drums

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current SIXX:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba has released the official music video for his new single, "Bella Ciao". Produced by Ashba, the reimagined track gives a modern day EDM-driven makeover to the Italian folk classic, complemented by DJ's signature guitar work, creating a dance/rock hybrid called GDM (Guitar Dance Music). The new single marks Ashba's first release of 2021 and follows a series of tracks that released in late 2020 through Edgeout Records/UMG/UMe, including "Hypnotic", "Let's Dance" and "A Christmas Storm".

"After becoming completely obsessed with 'Money Heist', I became so inspired by 'Bella Ciao' and the history of the song," stated Ashba. "I couldn't wait to get into the studio and make my own GDM version. I wanted it to be epic and dramatic, with big bass, bone-crushing guitar, and an infectious beat that I know the fans will go crazy for. After it was complete, I was telling my friend, famous Disney artist Craig Fraser, about my new version of this classic song, and him being a fan of the show as well, got inspired, and created me this one-of-a-kind painting of the iconic mask from 'Money Heist'. I was so blown away; I thought it would make the perfect cover for this single."

Ashba will support the single with his first headlining show scheduled for November 12 at the Epic Event Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. All ticket and meet-and-greet packages are available on www.ashba.us.

Last December, Ashba told "The Mark And HooGie Show" that he isn't concerned about getting any pushback from his rock fans over the musical direction of his new venture: "Honestly, I'm at a point in my career where I could give two fucks," he said. "I could care less. If people don't like it, kiss my ass. Go listen to SIXX:A.M. If what I'm doing right now isn't rock enough, I've got a rock band. They can go listen to that then.

"My fanbase, thank God, has been, throughout my whole career, just very, very accepting," he continued. "They know me — they know I'm always trying to really push myself as an artist outside the box.

"If I had to live within this box, I'd rather honestly not play music. Playing music is a form of art, and if I can't truly be an artist and be true to what it is inside — whatever that is that keeps me going… I have to stay inspired. You can only write so many three-chord rock songs. So, to me, this is something that I'm kind of more doing for myself, and I feel like I kind of have earned that at this point in my career. And I'm just having fun.

"Surprisingly… It was weird. I was totally expecting for all my fanbase just to hate it — not get it," Ashba added. "'Cause I really, really go deep down in EDM — I stayed very, very true to the EDM sound — and I really thought they were gonna hate it, and I was okay with that. 'Cause in my mind, I'm writing this for the EDM, the young kids that go to those festivals. This is full-on festival music. And surprisingly, I got no pushback. My rock fans really, really were freaking out on it, which kind of freaked me out. I was expecting them to really not get it or maybe push it aside. But they've been nothing but supportive. I'm very thankful that they gave it a chance."

ASHBA's "Let's Dance" single featured a guest appearance by James Michael, co-founder and lead singer of SIXX:A.M., which he and DJ formed with Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Ashba told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the musical approach of his new effort: "I would go to a lot of EDM concerts, and their shows are so over the top and, you know, all these young kids just losing their minds, right? And the one thing that I've noticed is … it lacks guitar, you know, and I saw an opportunity, like five years ago, going, 'If I could take what I do and somehow inject it into this world.' A lot of kids are not being exposed to a lot of guitar in that world."

Although Ashba initially started work on the project as a collaboration with Michael — under the band name PYROMANTIC — it has since evolved into an Ashba solo venture, with Michael announcing in 2018 that he was stepping away from the group.

It's been 20 years since the last full-length STABBING WESTWARD album was released in 2001, and the wait is finally over as the band today announces details for their much-anticipated new record. "Chasing Ghosts" will be out March 18, 2022 via COP International Records, featuring 10 tracks that have the industrial rock band's characteristic sound with a modern sheen that picks up right where they left off.

In celebration of the news, STABBING WESTWARD gives a taste of the upcoming material by sharing single "I Am Nothing" alongside a new lyric video. See it below.

"Chasing Ghosts" will feature brand-new songs as well as reworkings of the band's acclaimed 2020 reunion EP "Dead And Gone" that finds original founding members Christopher Hall (vocals/guitar) and Walter Flakus (keyboards/programming) honing in on the incredible partnership that once produced a string of hits that dominated alternative radio and film soundtracks, including "Shame", "Save Yourself" and "What Do I Have to Do?" — and resulted in two gold records.

To recreate that original chemistry, the band recruited the legendary producer John Fryer to again helm "Chasing Ghosts". Fryer, whose production credits include DEPECHE MODE, NINE INCH NAILS, 4AD, COCTEAU TWINS and LOVE AND ROCKETS, originally worked with STABBING WESTWARD on their best-selling early releases "Ungod" (1994) and "Wither Blister Burn + Peel" (1996). "Chasing Ghosts" was also mastered by Tom Baker who, like Fryer, worked with STABBING WESTWARD on their early releases and is part of the reassembled production team on the latest album. The current STABBING WESTWARD band lineup includes Carlton Bost (guitars and programming) and Bobby Amaro (drums).

Says Flakus: "It seems like we've been working on this album for a long time, trying to get it just right. With the help of John Fryer and COP International, everything fell into place. We are so excited for the world to finally hear the album. The single 'I Am Nothing' is just the tip of the iceberg."

Adds Hall: "It's great to be back, and working with John Fryer and Tom Baker again was awesome and felt like making a pure old-school STABBING WESTWARD album. I am excited to see how people will receive the new songs."

Presales for "Chasing Ghosts" will begin in early January and fans are encouraged to sign up now for e-mail reminders. The album, featuring artwork by David Seidman (an artist who has also worked with COHEED AND CAMBRIA and is known for his ethereal and surrealistic imagery) will be available in digital, CD and vinyl formats, with full details and exclusive, limited-edition merch to be announced soon.

The full track listing for "Chasing Ghosts" is as follows:

01. I Am Nothing

02. Damaged Goods

03. Cold

04. Push

05. Wasteland

06. Ctrl Z

07. Crawl

08. Dead & Gone

09. Ghost

10. The End

RISE AGAINST will release a new EP, "Nowhere Sessions", a live expansion of its acclaimed latest album, "Nowhere Generation", on November 12 via Loma Vista Recordings. Inspired by the album's success and this summer's triumphant U.S. tour playing various sold-out amphitheatres and major festival stages nationwide, the EP captures and celebrates the anthemic intensity of the band's renowned performances, shown here in peak form. A performance video for first single "Talking To Ourselves (Nowhere Sessions)" , a live version of the band's current radio single and one of three "Nowhere Generation" tracks featured on the EP, can be seen below.

Of the song, singer/guitarist Tim McIlrath says: "'Talking To Ourselves' is about watching yourself and the people around you fall into complacency. Despite your best efforts to get people's attention, it feels like no one is listening. Sometimes we feel the urge to do something crazy, to disturb the peace, to jostle the world around us awake. Our actions might be seen as out of the ordinary, but they are acts of desperation when all else failed."

Other songs on "Nowhere Sessions" include RISE AGAINST's 2009 breakout hit "Savior", which has accumulated nearly one billion streams to date and held its place at No. 1 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart for a staggering 65 consecutive weeks, as well as fiery covers of MISFITS' "Hybrid Moments" and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's "Fortunate Son". The EP also features a live version of their soaring, impassioned rock hit "Nowhere Generation" (the original climbed to No. 1 at Rock radio and No. 7 at Alternative radio, where it held in the Top 10 for 10 consecutive weeks).

"Our songs take on so many different patinas when we play them live or strip them down," says McIlrath of the new EP. "In some ways, every time we play it is different. It was fun to document one of those sessions and we're excited to share it with the world."

McIlrath and Zach Blair of RISE AGAINST will next play three intimate U.K. album-release shows in November in support of "Nowhere Generation". The full band will close out 2021 by playing Chicago's Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom on December 10 as part of WKQX's "The Nights We Stole Christmas" festival. A current itinerary is below, including an initial set of 2022 live dates.

On "Nowhere Generation", released in June, the multi-gold and platinum band draws a line in the sand with its blazing and aggressive punk rock and lyrics that shine a spotlight on the social and economical deck that has been stacked against our younger generations' pursuit of The American Dream. The album debuted at the top of multiple Billboard charts with its first-week sales (No. 1 on Rock, No. 3 on Top Current Albums, No. 3 on Vinyl, and the Top 40 of the Top 200), and has been earning the band great press from outlets including Revolver, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, Grammy.com, American Songwriter, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Kerrang!, and All Music, while June 4 was declared "Rise Against Day" In Chicago, the band's original hometown.

"Nowhere Sessions" EP track listing:

01. Talking To Ourselves (Nowhere Sessions)

02. Broken Dreams, Inc. (Nowhere Sessions)

03. Fortunate Son (Nowhere Sessions)

04. Nowhere Generation (Nowhere Sessions)

05. Hybrid Moments (Nowhere Sessions)

06. Savior (Nowhere Sessions)

Led Zeppelin have released Episode 3 of the new video series, The History Of Led Zeppelin IV.


A message states: "'The Battle Of Evermore' is a complete contrast with Plant and Denny duetting beautifully." - NME, November 1971







Watch Episodes 1 and 2 below:

In less than a month, the newest addition to the Hypocrisy catalog, Worship, will be released via  Nuclear Blast Records. Today, the band releases the animated music video for the third single, "Children Of The Gray".


Peter Tägtgren comments, "Costin Chioreanu did an amazing job with his drawings. He illustrated my words perfectly. If we don’t take care of this planet, we will lose it to the 'Children Of The Gray'. The music couldn’t be more Hypocrisy epic feeling to it. Enjoy."







It has been eight long years since the last record, and Hypocrisy fans can feel the itch. Worship is 11 tracks of precise, ferocious musicianship. Commonly inspired by the fusion of the modern and the ancient, Hypocrisy has once more found a way to combine innovative ideas with classic sound in order to deliver something metalheads can enjoyably consume with awe and brutal vigor. As usual, all recording and mixing took place at Tägtgren’s Abyss Studio AB in Sweden while mastering was completed by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers Audio Mastering. Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (Kataklysm, In Flames, Carnifex), Worship’s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials.





Worship will be released on November 26 via Nuclear Blast Records. Worship will be available in the following formats:


- CD Jewel
- LP
 * Crystal Clear W/ Silver & Black Splatter (Exclusive to USA) (Limited to 600)
 * Blue/White Marbled (Exclusive to USA) (Limited to 500)
 * Transparent Blue/Black/White Marbled (Limited to 600)
 * Transparent Violet/Black Marbled (Limited to 400)
 * Black
 * Purple (Exclusive to Europe) (Limited to 100)
 * Crystal Clear (Exclusive to Europe) (Limited to 100)
- Purple Tint Cassette (Limited to 250)
- Box Set (Limited to 900)
 * Light Blue W/ Black Splatter
 * Cassette


Pre-order/pre-save here.





Worship tracklisting:


"Worship"
"Chemical Whore"
"Greedy Bastards"
"Dead World"
"We're The Walking Dead"
"Brotherhood Of The Serpent"
"Children Of The Gray"
"Another Day"
"They Will Arrive"
"Bug In The Net"
"Gods Of The Underground"


"Dead World" video:





"Chemical Whore" video:





Hypocrisy is:


Peter Tägtgren - Vocals, Guitars
Mikael Hedlund - Bass
Reidar Horghagen - Drums
Thomas Elofsson - Session Guitarist

Omnium Gatherum have released their ninth full-length album, Origin, via Century Media Records. Mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren, this remarkable piece of modern melodic death metal is available as Ltd. CD Digipak, Gatefold LP and digital album, and can be ordered here.


The band have also released a video for “Unity”, directed, filmed and edited by Jari Heino. Watch below.


About the track, the band comments, “HELLO METAL PEOPLE! So, it is time for our 4th single from our brand-new baby, Origin! We are proud to present the song 'Unity' for all you beautiful and fierce metal maniacs. This song continues the strong known flow of OG and represents yet another side of the Origin album. So be pleased and enjoy the ride which is 'Unity'!”




Further they state, “Also, there is just a little bit of time to that moment when you can fully embrace yourselves to the whole content of Origin. There is a lot more of quality Finnish steel for you metal people to dive into! See ya all on the road!"


From today on, this track will be available on all digital platforms alongside the previously released singles, "Paragon" and "Reckoning".





Origin can be ordered here.





Tracklisting:


"Emergence"
"Prime"
"Paragon"
"Reckoning"
"Fortitude"
"Friction"
"Tempest"
"Unity"
"Solemn"
"In Front Of Me" (cover version) (CD bonus track)


"Fortitude" video:





"Reckoning" video:





"Paragon" video:





Omnium Gatherum are:


Jukka Pelkonen – vocals
Markus Vanhala – guitars and clean vocals
Aapo Koivisto – keyboards
Mikko Kivistö – bass and clean vocals
Atte Pesonen – drums


(Photo - Terhi Ylimäinen)

In 2021, the Greek/Swedish melodic death metal stars Nightrage return with the final part in their trilogy of albums (The Venomous, Wolf To Man) and now complete with their upcoming album, Abyss Rising.


An album that is the band's vision of mankind living in its own hell - a hell it has created through the destruction of the planet. Inspired in part by Dante's Inferno, the album explores man’s continual destruction of the world we live in until the abyss opens up to consume all before it.


The abyss has risen from the depths, and hell has now turned outside in to be able to rise to earth to claim us. The album captures Nightrage in a spectacular form; incisive, brutal, uncompromising, and unforgettable. Musically the band have embraced a harder, faster, and brutal approach, still rich in melodic intent but characteristically heavy and aggressive. Mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordstrom at Studio Fredman (Architects, In Flames, Opeth, etc.), Abyss Rising is a formidable sonic masterpiece. The album will be released on February 18 via Despotz Records.




"Abyss Rising" was the first single and title track of the album. This song is all about how we as humans already are living in our own hell and expresses Nightrage’s vision where mankind has finally reached their own hell on Earth. Nightrage now release the music video for "Abyss Rising", which can be viewed below.


Marios Iliopoulos about the single: "'Abyss Rising' is one of the last songs that we have written for the new album me and Magnus, and we wanted to create a fast song with really strong melodies and catchy riffs. I feel we have really great chemistry when we sit down and write new songs together, plus with the addition of Ronnie he did some really great vocals that lifted the song a lot, especially on the chorus he added a lot of layers of clean vox harmonies that gives the song another dimension! We are blown away from the amazing art that Jon Tousas did from Graphic No Jutsu, you see 7 arrows that symbolizes the 7 deadly sins that is killing the 3 birds of innocence, so that shows us clearly the downfall of the humankind and the rising of the unfortunate Abyss. Beware Of The Abyss!"


Pre-order the new album here.





Tracklisting:


"Abyss Rising"
"Swallow Me"
"Nauseating Oblivion"
"Dance Of Cerberus"
"Falsifying Life"
"Portal Of Dismay" (Interlude)
"Shadows Embrace Me"
"9th Circle Of Hell"
"The Divergent" (Instrumental)
"Cursed By The Gift Of Sight"
"False Gods"
"Pest Ridden Tide"
"Silence Of The Darkened Soul"


"Abyss Rising" video:





"Swallow Me" lyric video:





(Photo Credits: Fotis Benardo, Photo Edit: Dimitris Tzortzis)

Legendary grindcore death metal band, Lock Up, are gearing up to release their new album, The Dregs Of Hades, out in various formats via Listenable Records on November 29. Pre-order here, and watch a video for the single, "Hell Will Plague The Ruins", below.


Recorded in various parts of the world and mixed by Seba Puente at Audiocustom Studio in Santiago, Chile, the album features the dual vomit storms of Kevin Sharp (Brutal Truth) and the returning Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates, Disfear). Joining the band on skin battery is Adam Jarvis (Misery Index, Pig Destroyer), with grind mammoth Shane Embury (Napalm Death) handling the low-end terror and Anton Reisenegger (Brujeria, Pentagram Chile) providing the rusted six-string riff assault. The visual insanity is the work of Chariot of Black Moth.







Tracklisting:


"Death Itself, Brother Of Sleep" (Intro)
"Hell Will Plague The Ruins"
"The Dregs Of Hades"
"Black Illumination"
"Dark Force Of Conviction"
"Misdirection Thief"
"Dead Legions"
"Triumph Of The Grotesque"
"Nameless Death"
"A Sinful Life Of Power"
"Ashes"
"The Blind Beast"
"Reign On In Hell"
"Crucifixion Of Distorted Existence"


"Hell Will Plague The Ruins" video:





"Dark Force Of Conviction" video:





Lineup:


Kevin Sharp ( vocals)
Tomas Lindberg (vocals)
Adam Jarvis ( drums)
Anton Reisenegger (guitars)
Shane Embury (bass)

German power metallers BLIND GUARDIAN will release a new single, "Deliver Us From Evil", on December 3 via Nuclear Blast. The song is a taste of the band's new album, set to arrive in September 2022.

"Deliver Us From Evil" will be available digitally as well as on a seven-inch single (along with the previously released "Merry Xmas Everybody" as the B-side) and digipak CD (with the previously released "Violent Shadows" Wacken World Wide 2020 live performance as extra track).

BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch stated about the new single: "What can I say? We're very happy to be able to offer you a brand new song of our forthcoming album, out in September 2022. The physical single also contains the 2020 Christmas banger 'Merry Xmas Everybody' as well as the Wacken version of 'Violent Shadows' as extra on the CD, to shorten the waiting time until the new album.

"Whether vinyl or CD, I can assure you that this is the perfect accessory for your Christmas tree. The strictly limited vinyl can be played on all working vinyl players and has a perfect sound — in mono and stereo. Be brave and fast and get your copy as soon as possible. Vinyl is a rare resource these days...

"We know that the gap between now and the album release in late 2022 is painfully long. Neither we nor our label could defy the current worldwide economic crisis. A long story short: There is no one to blame for this situation. With 'Deliver Us From Evil', you will get another sweet appetizer of a very intense and vivid album that will hopefully raise your joyful anticipation until our next strike. At least, it would do it for me, but luckily I already know the whole album.

"Talking about anticipation, even though 'Violent Shadows' and 'Deliver Us From Evil' are indisputably fantastic tracks, rest assured: We won't let you wait another ten months with only two songs. I promise you that you will always be blown away. Cheers to the digital era and its endless possibilities. Oh, and the album title. There is one but I won't tell you yet. This would be giving away far too much right now."

This past July, Kürsch told Rock Hard Greece about the musical direction of BLIND GUARDIAN's new material: "It is by far the most intense album we did in a very, very long time. It is, in every measure, a roller-coaster ride. There is a lot of let-your-hair-down stuff — more than I expected. There are some typical surprising BLIND GUARDIAN elements.

"I'm just curious to see, really, or to hear what people will think about it. I think it's a very, very strong album. It will surprise a lot of people.

"It is straight-forward in the sense of BLIND GUARDIAN, so don't expect a straight-forward album if you compare it to anything else," he explained. "It's not a straight-forward album at all, but it's very straight-forward for BLIND GUARDIAN. It's very aggressive, it's very dark.

"The composing mostly has been accomplished before corona started to happen, but you can feel that there is a lot of anger in the album. It really delivers also very catchy and positive vibes, but there is a very raw energy you will feel."

BLIND GUARDIAN's latest release was the all-orchestral album "Twilight Orchestra: Legacy Of The Dark Lands", which came out in November 2019 via Nuclear Blast. To create the concept, lead guitarist André Olbrich and Kürsch worked alongside German bestselling author Markus Heitz, whose latest novel, "Die Dunklen Lande", was released in March 2019. The book is set in 1629 and contains the prequel to "Legacy Of The Dark Lands".

BLIND GUARDIAN's last "regular" studio album, "Beyond The Red Mirror", was issued in 2015. It was the band's first LP since 2010's "At The Edge Of Time", marking the longest gap between two studio albums in BLIND GUARDIAN's career. It was also the group's first album without bassist Oliver Holzwarth since 1995's "Imaginations From The Other Side". Holzwarth has since been replaced by Barend Courbois.

METALLICA played an"intimate" concert last night (Thursday, November 4) at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Tickets (priced $130-$380) for the 7,000-seat-theater show went on on July 30 and quickly sold out.

Support at the Hollywood gig came from Orlando metallers TRIVIUM.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Whiplash

02. Ride The Lightning

03. Harvester Of Sorrow

04. Seek & Destroy

05. Through The Never

06. One

07. Sad But True

08. Moth Into Flame

09. No Leaf Clover

10. For Whom The Bell Tolls

11. Fuel

12. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

13. Master Of Puppets

Encore:

14. Blackened

15. Nothing Else Matters

16. Enter Sandman

This past September, METALLICA's Lars Ulrich said that it was "way too early" to talk about a new studio album from the band. The 57-year-old drummer touched upon a possible follow-up to 2016's "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" while speaking to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Asked if there is a new METALLICA LP in the works, Lars said: "We're on that path. I don't know if it's cohesive enough to call a record, but we're dipping our toes. We've been trying to stay busy. We did the drive-in thing last summer. We did an All Within My Hands event in November. We did '[The Late Show With Stephen] Colbert'. We're doing '[Jimmy] Kimmel [Live!]' tomorrow. We're engaged. And we are creating at some level. It's way too early to talk about a record or a timeline or anything. But we're staying busy. And it's exciting to just think of the possibilities. Right now we're so rejuvenated and just ready to get back in."

Earlier this year, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told "The Fierce Life" podcast that he and his bandmates had written "quite a few songs" during the coronavirus quarantine. "We'll see how many we like first, and then we'll put 'em out," he said. "We're pretty selfish that way; we like what we write as well."

This past July, guitarist Kirk Hammett told Classic Rock magazine that he and his bandmates have been staying creative during the pandemic. "We've tried to make the most of the COVID year and a half, and we've been pretty successful," he said. "We've got together remotely and worked, and we've got together [properly] and worked. Things are moving really well. I would say that the music we're coming up with is very appropriate for the times."

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.




























Man what an incredible evening, thank you so much @Metallica! pic.twitter.com/9lVwvRffqA

— Paolo Gregoletto (@TriviumPaolo) November 5, 2021

Legendary German/American metallers ACCEPT have been forced to postpone their previously announced European "Too Mean To Die" tour, which was originally scheduled for January/February 2022, to January/February 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

"As much as we want to, the current COVID situation just doesn't allow us to go forward with this 2022 tour," explained ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann. "It's a super-tough call, but we have no choice but to postpone once again. We wanted to play this tour badly. We had a killer setlist prepared with lots of new songs from the 'Too Mean to Die' album. I'm very sorry for the fans and of course everybody in the band is very disappointed. But hey, life goes on… Please stay safe, stay metal and stay 'too mean to die'! We'll see you soonest!"

Promoter Gerald Wilkes of Continental Concerts added: "The ACCEPT tour was planned through a total of 16 countries with very different regional infection situations, which are currently changing very quickly and therefore are incalculable for all involved. The legal requirements vary from country to country — even often from city to city. It all looked so promising a few months ago, but the situation right now simply doesn't allow it."

The good news is that ACCEPT has secured the venues for 2023 and will shortly announce the new dates. Wilkes adds: "The tour is confirmed for 2023 and tickets remain valid."

As a small consolation, ACCEPT is serving their fans the digital live single "The Undertaker" today (Friday, November 5) via Nuclear Blast. In addition, ACCEPT and Nuclear Blast have announced that another limited version (750 copies worldwide) of the hit album "Too Mean To Die" will be released on silver vinyl (2 LP) on February 18.

ACCEPT's latest album, "Too Mean To Die", came out in January via Nuclear Blast. The LP is the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH), who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

With Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary Of A Madman" celebrating its 40th anniversary this week, a variety of video clips have been released to commemorate the album. These include a new video for "Flying High Again" (created from exclusive images from Ross Halfin's newly released Randy Rhoads book), along with live versions of "Over The Mountain", "Flying High Again" and "Believer". In addition, an exclusive blue swirl "Diary Of A Madman" vinyl will be available November 12 via Walmart (in the U.S. only) as part of their annual Black Friday Vinyl.

The updated digital release of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter's 1981 "Diary Of A Madman" album is available today (November 5) via all digital platforms and includes two live tracks previously unreleased digitally, including a live version of his Mainstream Rock Top Five hit "Flying High Again". Listen below.

"Diary Of A Madman" is Ozzy's second studio release and the last album to feature 2021 Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer guitarist Randy Rhoads. The multi-platinum release (with five million albums sold worldwide) included the No. 2 Mainstream Rock track "Flying High Again". The album was listed at No. 15 on Rolling Stone's 2017 list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time." Kory Grow noted, "A year after proving he was still a vital musical force on his first post–BLACK SABBATH solo LP, 1980's 'Blizzard Of Ozz', Ozzy Osbourne demonstrated it wasn't a one-time fluke with an album of poppy and gothic anthems like 'Flying High Again' and the almost classical closing title track. Guitarist Randy Rhoads, who died in a plane crash while touring for 'Diary' in 1982, had already proven himself a virtuoso on 'Blizzard'; here, he worked even harder to find the rare nexus between showboat chops and clever songwriting..."

The "Diary Of A Madman" 40th-anniversary expanded digital edition track listing:

01. Over The Mountain

02. Flying High Again

03. You Can't Kill Rock And Roll

04. Believer

05. Little Dolls

06. Tonight

07. S.A.T.O.

08. Diary Of A Madman

09. Believer (live)*

10. Flying High Again (live)*

* previously unavailable digitally

British progressive rock luminaries JETHRO TULL have announced details for the group's first studio album of new material in over 18 years. Originally making headlines in March of this year, the band's newest offering, titled "The Zealot Gene", will see a January 28, 2022 release on InsideOut Music. To give TULL fans their first taste of the new record, the group has released the first single from the album, titled "Shoshana Sleeping", accompanied by a stunning visual created by Thomas Hicks. Watch it below.

A record that began to take shape as early as 2017, "The Zealot Gene", in many ways, seeks to defy convention during a time when the business of being a touring and recording artist has never faced more uncertainties.

TULL bandleader Ian Anderson holds no reservations about the role for which the mythos and themes of Biblical storytelling played in the lyrical content of the new album, saying: "While I have a spot of genuine fondness for the pomp and fairytale story-telling of the Holy Book, I still feel the need to question and draw sometimes unholy parallels from the text. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly rear their heads throughout, but are punctuated with elements of love, respect, and tenderness."

Looking back on the earth-shaking disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately ended the band's touring plans and hopes of a 2020 release for "The Zealot Gene", Anderson shares, "It was so sudden. Amidst the concerns and warnings of the scientific community and a few more enlightened politicians, we all retreated in disbelief to our homes to wait out the storm."

"The Zealot Gene" will be offered in the following formats:

* Special-edition digipak CD

* Gatefold 2LP+CD+LP-booklet

* Limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook

* Limited deluxe 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray artbook

Both artbook editions feature a second CD of demos and initial ideas, plus extended liner notes and an interview with Ian Anderson undertaken by Tim Bowness.

The deluxe 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray artbook comes on white vinyl and includes a third LP with the rough demos. It also includes a slipmat and a numbered art print.

"The Zealot Gene" track listing:

01. Mrs. Tibbets (5:54)

02. Jacob's Tales (2:13)

03. Mine Is The Mountain (5:40)

04. The Zealot Gene (3:54)

05. Shoshana Sleeping (3:41)

06. Sad City Sisters (3:40)

07. Barren Beth, Wild Desert John (3:37)

08. The Betrayal Of Joshua Kynde (4:06)

09. Where Did Saturday Go? (3:53)

10. Three Loves, Three (3:30)

11. In Brief Visitation (3:00)

12. The Fisherman Of Ephesus (3:41)

With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, JETHRO TULL is one of the most successful rock bands of all time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Ian Anderson, TULL still continues to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages.

The band currently consists of:

Ian Anderson - Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

Joe Parrish-James - Guitar

Florian Opahle - Guitar (album only)

Scott Hammond - Drums.

John O'Hara - Piano, Keyboards, Accordion

David Goodier - Bass

DEEP PURPLE's next studio effort will be an album of covers titled "Turning To Crime". Due on November 26 via earMUSIC, the LP will contain DEEP PURPLE's versions of great rock classics and musical jewels — including songs originally recorded by Bob Dylan, FLEETWOOD MAC, Bob Seger, CREAM and THE YARDBIRDS — carefully chosen by each member of the band.

Produced by Bob Ezrin, "Turning To Crime" arrives only 15 months after "Whoosh!", DEEP PURPLE's 21st studio album, which received acclaim by critics who praised the creative strength of a band that continues evolving with every release, and prestigious chart achievements (third consecutive No. 1 in Germany, No. 4 in the U.K., and topped the U.S. Independent Album and Hard Music Albums charts).

The second single, "Oh Well", can be streamed below. A song originally written and recorded by FLEETWOOD MAC, it is accompanied by a music video (set to premiere later today) that shows DEEP PURPLE on a very special mission. Label and management would like to state that nobody from the band or crew, nor members of the media, were hurt during the shooting of the video in Germany in early October.

"Everyone knows 'Oh Well' is a great song," DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover says. "Steve [Morse, guitar] did the demo for that one. You never quite know where it's gonna go with Steve because he is very inventive. Right up until the point, with a couple of verses in, it was pretty much the same as the original. And then, all of a sudden, it took off like a rocket… in some other space."

"Turning To Crime" track listing:

01. 7 And 7 Is (LOVE)

02. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu (Huey "Piano" Smith)

03. Oh Well (FLEETWOOD MAC)

04. Jenny Take A Ride! (MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS)

05. Watching The River Flow (Bob Dylan)

06. Let The Good Times Roll (Ray Charles & Quincy Jones)

07. Dixie Chicken (LITTLE FEAT)

08. Shapes Of Things (THE YARDBIRDS)

09. The Battle Of New Orleans (Lonnie Donegan/Johnny Horton)

10. Lucifer (BOB SEGER SYSTEM)

11. White Room (CREAM)

12. Caught In The Act [Medley: Going Down / Green Onions / Hot 'Lanta / Dazed And Confused / Gimme Some Lovin']

Last December, Glover revealed during a virtual meet-and-greet with Finnish fan Anssi Herkkola that DEEP PURPLE was planning to enter the studio in 2021 to begin work on another album. Speaking about how he and the other members of PURPLE have been spending their coronavirus downtime, Roger said: "All this COVID situation has meant that we can't tour. We're twiddling our thumbs, really, for over a year, and the idea was to possibly go back in and do another album. And so we're just working towards that. It's so quick after we'd done the last album, [and] maybe that will spoil things, but we're gonna try and do another album at some point next year. We're experimenting with stuff."

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Whoosh!", was released in August 2020 via earMUSIC. The LP was once again helmed by Canadian producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, ALICE COOPER), who also worked on the band's previous two studio albums, 2017's "Infinite" and 2013's "Now What?!"

Glover told Den Of Geek about the PURPLE songwriting process: "All our songs come from jamming. We don't actually write songs, they just evolve as we play. The first writing session is usually a lot of fun. We just explore different rhythms and riffs and whatever, and then take a break to listen to them, and figure out which ones we really want to work on, and that's the second writing session. And then we go to the studio and record them, but at this point, we rarely have finished vocals or lyrics. It's usually when the album has been all recorded instrumentally that [singer] Ian Gillan and I go off on our own somewhere for a couple of weeks and we write the words. Sometimes he writes on his own, sometimes I write my own. Sometimes we write together. And that's how it comes out.

He added: "You don't go to a PURPLE session with anything like a finished song. You go with an idea, and we all work on it together. It's got to be a collective. That's the point of the band — it's a collective. So, one person couldn't write a DEEP PURPLE song. It takes five of us.

"We've always done it that way. It's a strange way to write songs, I know. Most people write the songs before they go in the studio, we write them after we've been in the studio. But it was like that in '69 when I joined the band. It's been the same ever since."

In the Den Of Geek interview, Glover also said that DEEP PURPLE has "always" been a democratic group. "It was right from when I first joined the band," he explained. "We decided that whoever writes any particular idea, we all share, because we all contribute. The way we play is almost as much a part of the writing process as what the riff or the lyrics are. So we all shared everything. It didn't last that way. When I left the band, and Gillan left the band, it changed. It changed up until when Steve Morse joined. When Steve Morse joined, we said, 'Right, let's share everything.' It takes away stress, it takes away ego, it takes away jealousy, it takes away bad vibes. And I think we all share and we all write for it. We all work our bits. So that's the way we do it, and it is a democratic band."

Yo ho ho… ho! Notorious fabled folk rockers Ye Banished Privateers have gathered under the Christmas tree to gift their devoted crew something swashbucklingly special this holiday season. The band is thrilled to reveal a brand new full-length album of pirate-packed Christmas favorites - A Pirate Stole My Christmas, out December 3 - interpreted in a way only your favorite Swedish scallywags could.


Get a hearty first heaping of A Pirate Stole My Christmas with first shanty “Sulphur Ahoy” - setting a cozy yet spooky mood for the yuletide season. You landlubbers better not miss this one - yarrrrr!


Ye Banished Privateers on “Sulphur Ahoy”: “In our song 'Sulphur Ahoy', we were running out of space on the album, and managed to slay two traditional carols with one stone. By stealing from the original works of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' and 'Pat-a-pan' we tell the story of a fatigued group of freedom fighters trying to get a good night’s rest before a deadly battle. The only problem is that, armed with drums and bagpipes, two assholes of the army musicians try to wake everyone up to have the whole crew join them in a last night of drunken debauchery.“




Watch the music video for “Sulphur Ahoy“ below.


´Tis the jolliest of seasons! Swedish sea dogs Ye Banished Privateers have come a’rowing through rough seas and salty winds to steal Christmas in the most swashbuckling of ways. Wrapped in the swag of pirate folk rock, the newly interpreted, grim covers of beloved Christmas classics on A Pirate Stole My Christmas draw the listener into a dark underworld of blood and bones! Ye Banished Privateers put their shanty and pirate folk-infused spin on Christmas tunes like "Twelve Days Of Christmas” and the captivating album opener “Ring The Bells”. The well-known classic “Oh Christmas Tree” gets a new coat of paint when Ye Banished Privateers re-word it to “O Cannonball” - most definitely making Christmas Eve a special occasion for the most beautiful time of the year.


Ye Banished Privateers add: “If given enough time, every artist will eventually lose their last ounce of self-respect, and release a Christmas album. Ye Banished Privateers are no strangers to self-loathing commercial stunts, and with our new album - A Pirate Stole my Christmas, we aim to officially join the ranks of Christmas legends such as Maria Carey and Bing Crosby. Our album is compiled of 11 classic carols defiled into an unrecognizable pulp of rum-drenched atonal pirate madness. If you didn't hate Christmas before, this is certain to change your mind!”


A Pirate Stole My Christmas will be available in the following formats:


- CD Sleevepack
- 1LP Gatefold Brick Red
- 1LP Gatefold Brick Red + Signed Postcard
- Digital Album


Pre-order here.





A Pirate Stole My Christmas tracklisting:


"Ring The Bells"
"It Came To Bloody Pass"
"Deck And Hull"
"12 Days Of Christmas"
"Sulphur Ahoy"
"Little Rummer Boy"
"O Cannonball"
"Festival Days"
"Drawn And Quartered"
"Carol Of Bellows"
"Away In The Gutter"
 
"Sulphur Ahoy" video:





Lineup:


Nobility - cembalo, pump organ, miniature piano and almond presents
Quinton Taljenblock - viola pomposa, fiddle, mandoline, hurdy gurdy and main chopper of the sloppy bells
Mr Bellows - squeezebox, crankbox and boxed presents
Eva the Navigator - violin, vocals and salt cured leg of lamb
Freebird af Wærmaland - violin, viola, vocals and wassailing
Monkey Boy - glühwein keg drum, naughty vocals and mixed floggables
Ina "Battery" Molin - glockenspiel, eggnog and pompous percussion
Wan Chou Zhong - obnoxious string drum, huge oriental fruit thing with strings and spices for the season
Silent Jim - mandolino, mandolino basso, cinnamon mead-drenched rambling and forced half merry singing
Magda Malvina Märlprim - blood-stained lute guitar, cherry vocals and prettifying with poisonous plants
Scurvy Ben - cajón, spicy percussions and lingering aimlessly whilst vocalizing various throat sounds
Meat Stick Nick - small bass, big bass, long tube bass and pickled herring
Quartermaster Blackpowder Pyte - peculiar proclamations, choir boy caroling and unorderly drunken revelry
Old Red - them thick, them thin and them tinsel strings
Landmark - percussion, marching drum and figgy pudding
Filthylocks - fipple pipes and mince pie
Shameless Will - vocals, vanity, profanity, coin snatching, coat turning and Abbot of Unreason
Bojtikken - heaven sent vocals, timbrell, loud cymbals and snow angels


(Photo - Samuel Pettersson)

Cult Of Luna have announced their new full-length album, The Long Road North, set for release on February 11 via Metal Blade Records. The album marks as a follow-up to this years The Raging River EP, and prove that for over two decades, Cult Of Luna have forged a sound that has grown incomparable to others - ambitious, epic, visceral, and drenched in emotion.


Pre-orders will begin on December 1, here.







"The long road north is a long road home. A direction dictated by a call that penetrates rock and echoes through the forest," states vocalist/guitarist Johannes Persson. "It flows over every lake, accelerated by the wind. When it reaches you, you know it's time. Time to move forward. You don't know where it will lead but you put the trust in it. With eyes raised towards the midnight sun it pulls you closer. The road is long and the end is uncertain."





With 2019's A Dawn To Fear, Cult Of Luna delivered a career highpoint, and on 2021's The Raging River EP, they continued on that journey, one that concludes with The Long Road North, which stands as one of their most dynamic and beautiful works to-date.


As soon as listeners hit play, they are in familiar yet refreshingly new Cult Of Luna territory, the pulsating rhythms pummelling, and Persson's savage roar tearing through the layers of guitar. As is the case with every album from the band in recent years, there is a lot of shifting of dynamics and sonic density, and perhaps more so than usual on The Long Road North. "It's a big sounding album, almost cinematic," the band states.


Recognized for their apocalyptic live performances that unrestrainedly explore the audience's imagination, Cult Of Luna will bring their stunning live show to fans just in time as The Long Road North hits shelves worldwide.





Tour dates:


February (with Alcest and Svalbard)
24 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
25 - Berlin, Germany - Huxley's
26 - Krakow, Poland - Club Studio
27 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
28 - Prague, Czech Republic - Roxy


March (with Alcest and Svalbard)
1 - Vienna, Austria - Arena
2 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Kino Siska
4 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
5 - Stuttgart, Germany - Wizemann
6 - München, Germany - Muffathalle
7 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
8 - Münster, Germany - Skaters Palace
9 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg Ronda
10 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Depart
11 - Paris, France - L'Olympia
12 - London, England - The Forum / Beyond The Readshift Festival


October (with Caspian and Holy Fawn)
2 - Esch, Luxembourg - Rockhal
3 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
4 - Geneva, Switzerland - Alhambra
5 - Toulouse, France - Le Metronum
6 - Biarritz, France - Atabal
7 - Barcelona, Spain - AMFest
8 - Madrid, Spain - But
9 - Porto, Spain - Amplifest
11 - Nantes, France - Stereolux
12 - Lille, France - Aeronef
13 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
14 - Zwolle, Netherlands - Hedon
15 - Leipzig, Germany - Felsenkeller
16/ - Wroclaw, Poland - A2
17 - Budapest, Hungary - Durer Kert
19 - Athens, Greece - Fuzz Club


(Photo - Silvia Grav)

Norwegian extreme metal formation, Gaahls WYRD - fronted by renowned vocalist Gaahl (Gorgoroth, Wardruna, God Seed) - will release their new EP, The Humming Mountain, tomorrow, Friday, November 5, via Season Of Mist. Find an advanced stream below, and pre-order the EP here.


Gaahls WYRD, the eponymous brainchild of one of black metal’s most iconic and enigmatic figures, has returned with a hypnotic new EP. The Humming Mountain follows the band’s debut album, GastiR - Ghosts Invited, and sees the latest evolution of the esoteric dark metal project’s sound.


The five song offering creeps in like a whispering demon, slowly entrancing the listener with its deep, dark gaze before it sinks its teeth in and drags you into the all-consuming abyss.







Tracklisting:


"The Seed"
"The Humming Mountain"
"The Dwell"
"Awakening Remains – Before Leaving"
"The Sleep"


EP stream:





"The Seed" streaming video:





"The Humming Mountain" visualizer:





(Photo - Kati Ran)

Swedish blackened death metal force, Unanimated, have released another single from their upcoming album, Victory In Blood. The new track, “As The Night Takes Us”, comes off the band’s first studio effort in more than a decade, which will be released on December 3 via Century Media.


“As The Night Takes Us” is available now on digital and streaming platforms, and a lyric video for the single can be found below. Pre-order Victory In Blood here.







The vinyl version of Victory in Blood comes in a Ltd. Gatefold 180g. 2LP, with an Etching on Side D, Art Print and 12-page LP-Booklet. This exclusive vinyl edition also includes a cover version of Brazilian metal legends Sarcofargo, which will be only available on this format. The CD version comes as a 6-panel Pocket Pac (eco-friendly enclosure) with 12-page CD-Booklet. Also available as digital album.





“The wait is over, once again the funeral trumpets sing the pestilence of lucifer! We are very excited to release our 4th full length album and open the gates to a new chapter and march further into the abyss. We really went deep within ourself to release the pure essence of the band. The unity of band is stronger than ever and I think this shows on this album. I feel this is the strongest, most honest, genuine and direct album we done. It's written in blood, carved in stone, our victory in blood,” states Unanimated bassist Richard Cabeza.





Victory in Blood tracklisting:


LP1:


Side A
"Victory In Blood"
"Seven Mouths Of Madness"
"As The Night Takes Us"
"The Devil Rides Out"
"With A Cold Embrace"


Side B
"Demon Pact (Mysterium Tremendum)"
"XIII"
"Scepter Of Vengeance"
"Chaos Ascends"


LP2:


Side C
"The Golden Dawn Of Murder"
"Divine Hunger"
"The Poetry Of The Scared Earth"
"Satanic Lust" (cover) (only on Vinyl)


Side D
Etching


"As The Night Takes Us" lyric video:





"Victory In Blood" visualizer:





Unanimated is:


Richard Cabeza (bass)
Jojje Bohlin (guitar)
Jonas Derouche (guitar)
Anders Schultz (drums)
Mikael Broberg (vocals)

SLIPKNOT has just released a new single, "The Chapeltown Rag". The track, which can be streamed below, was produced by Joe Baressi, who has previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and CHEVELLE, among many others.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor described the song to Knotfest.com as "a punisher," saying it documents what happens when the distortions of mass media circulate within the echo chambers of social media.

"It's classic SLIPKNOT," said Corey about the track, which is inspired by a Netflix documentary he watched about the Yorkshire Ripper serial killer who murdered multiple women in the West Yorkshire, United Kingdom suburb Chapeltown in the late 1970s. "And it's frenetic. But lyrically, it's coming from a point of talking about the various manipulations that can happen when social media meets media itself. And the different ways that these manipulations can try to pull us in different directions, in the fact that we're all becoming addicts to it, which is very, very dangerous."

Recorded during recent sessions for a yet-to-be-announced new album, "The Chapeltown Rag" barrels forward with the speed of a freight train derailing and incisively eviscerates Internet culture from the inside out with the scream, "When everything is god online…nothing is."

M. Shawn Crahan, better known as Clown from SLIPKNOT, added: "'The Chapeltown Rag' facilitates a sort of mindset that you're going to like: it's along the barnburner side of things."

"The Chapeltown Rag" will be performed live for the first time ever tonight at SLIPKNOT's Knotfest Los Angeles. The event will be livestreamed as it happens, giving fans access to both the studio version and SLIPKNOT's live performance of "The Chapeltown Rag" within only hours of its premiere.

SLIPKNOT heralded "The Chapeltown Rag" with a unique and innovative rollout throughout this week. Unbeknownst to visitors, key lyrics from "The Chapeltown Rag" adorned Knotfest.com — the band's online hub for news, community, and their official fan club, OT9. When users clicked on the lyrics, they landed at www.thechapeltownrag.com. Beckoning fans further down the rabbit hole, www.thechapeltownrag.com featured a series of nine eco-friendly NFTs minted under the user account "desmoines515" and hosted on the carbon neutral WAX Blockchain. New digital assets were revealed each day this week. When assembled, those assets granted the first look at the single artwork, as well as a part of "The Chapeltown Rag". Fans who collected all nine of the free-to-redeem tokens should stay tuned for various special redemption options and offerings throughout the next album cycle.

"SLIPKNOT has been at the cutting edge, utilizing technology in new and creative ways to engage with their fans," said Lee Jenkins, product manager for WAX, "and we are very excited that they chose WAX for this initiative that showcases a new way to utilize blockchain technology."

According to Knotfest.com writer Dan Franklin, "The Chapeltown Rag" chorus sees Corey experimenting with vocal approaches he had never taken before.

"I wasn't even sure if that part was going to be the chorus, to be honest," Corey said. "But I just love the way that the chord progression lent itself this weird, chromatic, minor vibe to it, which I had never really done before. I played with it on 'Vermilion' years ago, but I had never really given it a little more aggression. The harmony that I created for it was just so fucking weird as well that it just gives it that slight dissonant vibe, but it's also very, very melodic and hummable. Writing and pulling yourself out of trying to keep it in some sort of structure allows you to just fucking rip the scab off and let the wound be what it is. Then obviously, the big breakdown at the end where it just fucking goes off the rails is is so heavy, dude."

SLIPKNOT's last album, "We Are Not Your Kind", was released in August 2019. The LP sold 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, the album made an impact worldwide with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Finland, as well as Top 5 debuts in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and New Zealand.

SLIPKNOT is currently headlining the "Knotfest Roadshow" tour, featuring support from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE. The 29-date run, produced by Live Nation, kicked off following the band's Knotfest Iowa hometown show in Des Moines on September 25, and will wrap up at the aforementioned Knotfest Los Angeles.

"Let's set our piano on fire!" might be a sentence we haven't heard since the good old rock'n'roll days of the 70s. However, more than any other song from Epica's upcoming audiovisual release, "Kingdom Of Heaven Pt 3 - The Antediluvian Universe" proves that the Dutch symphonic legends have been truly on fire since the release of their latest studio album in February.


Despite not being able to play many shows this year, the band used their time at home to set up an extraordinary streaming event that premiered in June and will now be available in various audiovisual formats on December 3. You can even go and witness it live on a huge screen with popcorn and all your friends at the exclusive Kinepolis cinema premiere taking place in Antwerp on December 2, where the whole band will be present to celebrate the release - tickets are now available at epica.nl.


Today,Epica reveal a new video from the show, the over 13 minutes long "Kingdom Of Heaven Pt 3 - The Antediluvian Universe".




"The whole 3rd act was built around the 'Kingdom Of Heaven' songs", keyboardist and concept developer Coen Janssen explains. "The 3rd part (from the Omega album) just had to be played, so we came up with 'Elysia',  the kingdom somewhere in the sky… A new decor resembling a throne room and a massive chandelier with acrobats in it set the tone for this song. For the 'piano solo,' we had an extra surprise up our sleeve… playing it while it was on fire! A stunt we could not rehearse since the piano would be destroyed afterward! Under great guidance from our pyro-crew, we managed to pull it off, luckily the part only lasts about 30 seconds since it was extremely hot as you can imagine! Since this looked so cool on stage, we also lit up the gong at the end of the act, with Ariën hitting it with a flaming torch… These images turned out way cooler than we expected… too bad we can’t do this live."





Directed by Jens de Vos (Panda Productions) and graced by a magical artwork by Heilemania, the DVD, BluRay, CD, and vinyl contain 15 Epica classics, fan-favorites, as well as first-ever live performances from tracks off the band's latest chef-d'oeuvre Ωmega, such as "The Skeleton Key" or the insanely monumental "Kingdom of Heaven Part 3".





Ωmega Alive formats:


-BluRay+DVD
-2 CD digipak
-Boxset
-CD-version of the Earbook
-5x 10'' Picture vinyl (Zoetrope vinyl)
-Earbook
-DVD+BluRay
-3LP (Light Green Vinyl)
-Earbook
-DVD+BluRay
-2CD
-Vinyl
-3LP in trifold incl 2 lyric sheets:
-Black in trifold
-Sun yellow in trifold (NB mailorder and wholesale exclusive)
-Clear + Green and Black Splatter (NB Mailorder exclusive)
-Glow in the Dark (Band store exclusive)
-Clear + White marbled in trifold (EMP exclusive)
-White with sun yellow + black in trifold (Netherlands + Belgium exclusive)
-2 CD/BluRay  - USA exclusive
-2 CD/DVD - Mexico and Brazil exclusive


Pre-order at Nuclear Blast.


"The Skeleton Key" video:





“Unchain Utopia" video:

Sahil Makhija, better known as Demonstealer, has long been one of the pillars of the heavy metal scene in India. From being at the vanguard of a fledgling metal scene to becoming one of its most visible and respected proponents today, Demonstealer is integral to the growth of the Indian metal community.


He now returns with his new EP, The Holocene Termination, out December 3 via Demonstealer Records. The release, featuring a stellar cast of guest musicians, is another entry in an astonishingly vital and storied carrier.


Demonstealer has released the second single from the EP. The track, "An Epoch Of Degradation", features Krzysztof Blingbeing from Deathspawn on drums and Anton Zhikharev from Gorgasm on bass.




"This song talks about how humans have pretty much wrecked the planet and how our entire existence has slowly corroded and degraded the earth. Over the last few years I feel like the true colours of people are more boldly displayed and it's not a pretty colour at all," says Demonstealer about the track.





Pre-order the EP here (International), or here (India).





Tracklisting:


"The Holocene Termination" feat. Eugene Ryabchenko (Fleshgod Apocalypse), Jeff Hughell (Six Feet Under) and Nick Padovani (Equipoise)
"An Epoch Of Degradation" feat. Krzysztof Klingbein (Deathspawn) & Anton Zhikharev (Gorgasm)
"From Extinction Begins Evolution" feat Simon Schilling (Marduk), Anton Zhikharev (Gorgasm) and Fabio Bartoletti (Fleshgod Apocalypse)
"What She Creates She Will Destroy" feat. Robin Stone (The Amenta), Jeff Hughell (Six Feet Under) and Veronica Bordacchini (Fleshgod Apocalypse)


"The Holocene Termination" video:

The great 2017 Lionheart album, Second Nature, will be released worldwide for the first time on January 21 via Metalville Records. To mark this special event, the album has been remastered to sound punchier than ever, and now also includes two bonus tracks.


In 2017, the album Second Nature hailed Lionheart’s triumphant return to the melodic rock music scene with a collection of powerful and memorable songs featuring the distinctive harmony vocals and harmony lead guitars for which Lionheart were so renowned.


The first Lionheart album to feature the extraordinary talent of Lee Small on lead vocals, Second Nature was released in Japan (on King Records) and Europe. Unfortunately, in 2020, the European deal lapsed and the album disappeared from the market outside of Japan.




Now Metalville Records have stepped up to the plate and are releasing a repackaged version of the Second Nature album and, for the first time, globally. The release will also include the remarkable "Circle Of Bands" chart by Tristan Greatrex, which has been brought up to date and which was up to now only available in the Japanese release. Cover and tracklisting below.





Tracklisting:


"Prelude"
"Give Me The Light"
"Don’t Pay The Ferryman"
"Angels With Dirty Faces"
"30 Years"
"On Our Way"
"Second Nature"
"Prisoner"
"Every Boy In Town"
"Time Is Watching"
"Heartbeat Radio"
"Lionheart"
"Mary Did You Know" (bonus track)
"Paperback Writer" (bonus track)
"Reprise"


Lineup:


Dennis Stratton - formerly guitarist with Iron Maiden
Steve Mann - currently guitarist and keyboardist with Michael Schenker
Rocky Newton - formerly bass player and backing vocalist with McAuley Schenker Group
Clive Edwards - formerly drummer with UFO, Wild Horses, and Uli Roth
Lee Small - formerly lead vocalist with Shy and Phenomena

KISS frontman Paul Stanley once again demonstrated his cooking chops in the kitchen overseeing "cruisers" aboard this year's Kiss Kruise. The ship departed from New Orleans on October 29 for a five-day journey that took participants from Miami to Harvest Caye, Belize and Roatan, Honduras aboard Norwegian Jewel. Check out video footage below (courtesy of Mike Brunn).

This past June, Stanley, who frequently uses social media to share photos of his culinary creations, was asked in an interview with Germany's Radio Bob! if he has any plans to eventually release a cookbook. He responded: "Maybe at some point, but right now that cookbook would be very thin. If I were to collaborate with some of my friends who are chefs and whatever, I'd love to do a cookbook at some point."

He continued: "It's a lot of fun and very gratifying to sit and eat something that you made that's actually good. I think at some point most of us have cooked something and gone, 'Woah. That's awful.' But when you cook something and you go, 'Wow. If I got this in a restaurant, I'd go back to that restaurant,' that's good.

"So, would I love to do a cookbook? Yeah," Paul added. "Right now it wouldn't have many pages. So I'm gonna wait a little while."

Back in 2014, Stanley demonstrated his home-cooking skills during an appearance on an episode of "Home & Family" on the Hallmark channel. Stanley showed off his culinary expertise in the kitchen with co-host Cristina Ferrare when they made his recipe for chicken marinade and Brussels sprouts.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022.

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has released the official music video for the song "End Of Days". The track is taken from the band's upcoming 11th studio album, "Doom Crew Inc.", which is due on November 26 via MNRK Heavy (formerly eOne Music).

In a recent interview with the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY leader Zakk Wylde stated about the writing process for "Doom Crew Inc.": "The way it always goes, it's always the music first and then a melody. And then I've gotta find out something I wanna sing about. So then I'll write the lyrics. That's usually always the way it goes. And then, when it's all done, then the solos go on it. The painting's all done, and the solo is the frame that goes on the thing. So you can sit back and look at the whole thing. That's the way we pretty much always do it.

"We did the box set, and then we did videos for that, and then, after that, [my wife Barbaranne] was just, like, 'Maybe you guys can do a record,'" he recalled. "I said, 'All right. No problem.' So I said, 'How long till the guys come out?' [She said], 'You've got a month till the fellows come out.' So I was just, like, 'All right. Let me get started.' So I would just have a cup of coffee and just start writing riffs. You always get inspired by — for me, it's always Mount Riffmore, which is CREAM, MOUNTAIN, [LED] ZEPPELIN, [BLACK] SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE… If you're not getting inspired by the riffs those guys have created, it's just like… So I'll just go fishing and just start writing till you get to something you like.

"What we ended up doing [was] tracking about 30 songs and then whittled it down to the 12 that we have [on the album]," Zakk explained. "It's funny, 'cause the 'Farewell Ballad' thing has been sitting around on YouTube for probably about 11 years or something like that — just that instrumental strip of music. And so I was just, like, 'You know what? Let me just get around to finishing this thing.' 'Cause we had that bit of music, the chord progression that I wrote. So then I just finished it — I just wrote a melody, I wrote a song with that intro. So we finished that thing. And then 'Love Reign Down', the piano ballad, that was sitting around. I wrote that about my mother who passed away. That was during [the making of Ozzy Osbourne's] 'No More Tears', actually. I remember noodling on the piano at A&M and I wrote that song. So it was good to actually finally put that on an album. But the rest of it is all brand new. 'Set You Free' was pretty much right at the end, when we were tracking everything else. So that definitely popped in there late at the end of the whole thing. But the album's probably almost about a year old now, since we recorded it and finished it and mastered it and everything like that. But it's just been sitting in the can until right now."

"Doom Crew Inc." will be available digitally on CD and vinyl plus a deluxe edition that includes vinyl, CD longbox, cassette and more. The 12-track album is both a tribute to the band's "first to bleed, last to leave" road crew and a salute to the legion whose support, stretching back to 1998, rivals that of the KISS Army.

The songs are odes to celebration and mourning, the soundtracks to jubilant evenings and bewildering days recorded in Wylde's home studio, the Black Vatican. On this album, Zakk trades solos and twin-guitar parts with Dario Lorina, backed by the rumble of longtime bassist John "J.D." DeServio and powerhouse drummer Jeff Fabb.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY kicked off the "Doom Trooping Over North America" tour on October 1 in Sacramento at Ace Of Spades. The trek, with openers OBITUARY and PRONG, will run through November 28, ending in Albuquerque at the Sunshine Theater. The band will then finish up the tour from December 27-31 with PRONG and ARMORED SAINT.

"Doom Crew Inc." track listing:

01. Set You Free

02. Destroy & Conquer

03. You Made Me Want To Live

04. Forever And A Day

05. End Of Days

06. Ruins

07. Forsaken

08. Love Reign Down

09. Gospel Of Lies

10. Shelter Me

11. Gather All My Sins

12. Farewell Ballad

Photo credit: Justin Reich

Thomas Zwijsen has released the new video below, featuring an acoustic cover of Iron Maiden's "Infinite Dreams". The song originally appeared on Maiden's 1988 album, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.





Thomas previously released acoustic covers of the tracks "Hell On Earth", "Stratego", and "The Writing On The Wall", from Iron Maiden's new album, Senjutsu. Watch below: