In February 2022 the Scorpions will release their 19th studio album, Rock Believer, followed by a world tour. During the pandemic the band retreated to the studio in their German hometown in Hannover and started working on new songs.
 
"The album was written and recorded in the Scorpions DNA with core Schenker/Meine compositions," says Klaus Meine. "We recorded the album as a band live in one room, like we did in the '80s."
 
The Scorpions will kick off their Rock Believer World Tour in March 2022 in Las Vegas, where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards, they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows in Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band, Mammoth WVH.
 
Scorpions Rock Zone fan community members have exclusive first access to tickets and VIP packages beginning Thursday, September 30th at 10:00am CET here, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, October 1st at 10:00am CET.
 
Rock Believer will be released on February 11th, 2022 with the first single, "Peacemaker", out October 21st. 


Tour dates:


March
​26 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
30 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV


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April
1 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
3 - Zappos

Athens-based metal outfit, W.E.B., will release their Colosseum full-length on November 19 via Metal Blade Records, today unveiling the record's artwork, tracklisting, first single, and pre-orders.


Forged in 2002 out of a "necessity to scream, blast, and create emotions and get on stage to exchange them with an audience," Greece's W.E.B. have steadily forged a path to becoming one of the premier European symphonic extreme metal bands expressing darkness and death through adrenaline and poetry. An output that's both candid and theatrical, W.E.B. is here to move you, provoke you, and invite you on a journey through ravendark and starless nights. With four albums already under their collective belt, 2021's fifth full-length, Colosseum, is inarguably the band's greatest and most direct work to date.


"We wanted this album to be as straightforward as we could make it. We wanted it to be aggressive and to the point, and at the same time we have pushed literally everything, higher, faster, louder, harder. It is our most metal album," states guitarist/vocalist Sakis Prekas. Combining the brutal with the catchy and drenching it in orchestrations that only serve to expand its epic scale, Colosseum is a thrilling, gripping listen with each of its nine tracks playing an important part in the album as a whole, making it clear that W.E.B. stands toe-to-toe with anyone in their genre.


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With Colosseum, the band welcomes two new members: drummer Nikitas Mandolas, who joined following the recording of 2017's Tartarus and whose playing is perfectly suited to the music W.E.B. make, and bassist/vocalist Hel Pyre. "Apart from the great lyrics and the perfect bass performance, she offered her brutal and clean vocals on many parts of the album, leaving her own mark of fire. This is a completely new element for W.E.B. that really gave a unique character to the material."


With the lineup solidified, writing commenced in early 2019, sending ideas back and forth to one another, subsequently honing each song over many pre-production sessions. "With no references, when we make music, our only thoughts are that we want to make it sound as awesome as we can," states Sakis. The dramatic orchestrations are of course a large part of that, with Christos Antoniou of Septicflesh handling this aspect of the sound as he has on previous W.E.B. releases. "Metal is the most revolutionary music genre ever to exist; adding to it symphonic orchestra makes the experience even more epic and emotional in a massive way. We want our music to inspire the senses, thus we aspire to make it intense from our perspective."


Stream the first single "Dominus Maleficarum" via the visualizer video below.





Colosseum will be available on CD, Fruit Punch-colored LP, and digital formats. Pre-order here.





Colosseum tracklisting:


"Dark Web"
"Murder of Crows"
"Pentalpha"
"Colosseum"
"Dominus Maleficarum"
"Necrology"
"Ensanguined"
"Exaudi Luciferi"
"December 13th"


"Dominus Maleficarum" visualizer:





In titling the record Colosseum, W.E.B. draw comparisons with the past and present, in typically brutal style. "The Colosseum was the famous gigantic arena in Rome to give the people 'food and spectacle,' whereas what it truly did was to quench the mob's thirst for blood and violence and keep their minds away from thinking; kind of an ancient TV-brainwash machine," notes Sakis. "People nowadays seem to be thirsty for blood more than ever. They seek violence in almost everything. You can see it in social media, in the streets - even a simple fight between kids in a schoolyard attracts the other kids, not to separate but to watch. Humans miss the Colosseum and what it gave to their violent nature, even though they w

On Friday, September 24, POISON frontman Bret Michaels played an intimate concert the lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal in Orlando, Florida as part of the "Velvet Sessions" series. Fan-filmed video footage of the show can be seen below.

As a reality TV star, Michaels has appeared in an extensive library of hit shows including VH1's smash show "Rock Of Love", winning the highest-rated season of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" and Travel Channel's "Rock My RV", currently featured on the Discovery+ streaming platform. Fans have eagerly binged his TV hits on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Tubi, PlutoTV and AppleTV.

Bret was born in Butler, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1963. Rising to fame as the frontman of POISON, one of rock's most iconic and enduring bands, he helped define rock 'n' roll on the Sunset Strip. POISON's massive success includes selling over 30 million records worldwide and numerous hit singles. Bret's solo career has charted its own course with multiple solo albums. His "Custom Built" album included guest appearances by Joe Perry (AEROSMITH) Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Buffett, Ace Frehley (KISS), Michael Anthony (VAN HALEN) and members of LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

POISON's "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Tremonti says that a reunion of CREED is not possible right now.

More than a year ago, CREED updated its Facebook profile with an old photo, igniting rumors of the multi-platinum act's imminent return.

Mark, who is promoting the fifth album from his solo band TREMONTI, "Marching In Time", discussed the chances of a CREED comeback during a new interview with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn.

Asked how he feels about the possibility of a CREED reunion, Mark said: "Right now it's almost impossible to do it. I've got a solo record coming out. I'm frantically trying to write another ALTER BRIDGE record, and we have touring booked all through next year, all through next Christmas. So to do a CREED tour even, we'd have to jam it in, and there's no [way we can do it]. I leave it up to the people that run our business — from our managers to our agents to everybody involved. They are nice enough to let me be an artist and only present things that are doable when they are doable, and right now it's just not doable."

As for how it feels to constantly be associated with CREED — eight years after the band completed a tour in support of its fourth album, 2009's "Full Circle" — Mark said: "It's definitely both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now if it weren't for CREED; I wouldn't have this career, this long career. But at the same time, for my entire life, I will be that guy from the band CREED, which is good and band. 'Cause certain people loved CREED, certain people hated CREED. So no matter what I do artistically, I'm gonna be the guy who was in CREED that was, at certain points critics liked to come after us. So I've kind of lived in both worlds — I was in a band that sold lots of records but got some critical attacks, but I also got to be in a band that didn't sell as many records but got critical praise. So I got to see both sides of it. It would be great to have it all in one. But it's tough."

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Singer Scott Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.

In 2019, Tremonti said in an interview on Jamey Jasta's podcast that he was sitting on an album's worth of material for CREED. Asked whether CREED could reunite again, Tremonti said, "People say, 'Is it done? Is it over? Is there new music coming out?' I'm sitting on an entire CREED album... When we were together doing the reunion tour, we put a lot of music together and I have like really sketchy little demos of probably 13 songs. I listened to them maybe a year ago and they're good songs."

Tremonti added: "It's just, there's no time. Is it good enough for me to put everything on the back burner that I've been working on for the past 14 years? No. Is it good enough to maybe 10 years from now or seven years from now... or some big resurgence happens or there's an anniversary where everybody's like, 'We want to see CREED and the world demands it like they used to.' I wouldn't say no."

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have postponed their previously announced North American tour to early 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. The trek was scheduled to kick off on October 28 in Mesa, Arizona and conclude on December 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

DREAM THEATER shared the news of the postponement in a statement posted on social media earlier today (Monday, September 27). The group wrote: "DREAM THEATER have made the difficult decision to move their October-December 2021 North American tour dates to early 2022. In light of current instabilities to touring that remain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel confident that this is the right decision.

"Know that we are as disappointed as you are that we will have to wait a little longer to bring DREAM THEATER music to you live. We miss performing for you all and can't wait until we can be on stage bringing our new album and fan-favorites to you.

"This was an extraordinarily challenging decision to make but needed to be done after taking into consideration the varying local mandates across North America. In an effort to present the absolute most complete and engaging DREAM THEATER experience that our fans around the globe have come to expect, we feel we are all best served to postpone all touring activities to early 2022.

"At this time, we ask that everyone hold on to their tickets as we are working frantically to finalize the reschedule of all of these dates. All shows are currently being re-booked to begin in February 2022. Please keep an eye on our website, and we'll have a complete, updated itinerary shortly. All previously purchased tickets will be honored. Please consult your local point of purchase for any inquiries regarding refunds.

"We know that we all have eagerly awaited a return to normalcy, and the opportunity to enjoy live DREAM THEATER music together again. We apologize profusely but hope that everyone can understand the logic behind this decision.

"Playing music for our fans is all we ever want to do. We look forward to seeing each and every one of our fans as soon as possible. We wish it could have been sooner, but we are counting the days until we can see you all again."

DREAM THEATER's 15th studio album, "A View From The Top Of The World", is due on October 22.

"A View From The Top Of The World" is DREAM THEATER at its musical finest expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The seven-song album also marks the second studio album with InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR). "A View From The Top Of The World" was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James "Jimmy T" Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.

DREAM THEATER — comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini — was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release "Distance Over Time" and the 20th anniversary of "Scenes From A Memory" when a global pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home, with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they'd just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) — a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via Zoom on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.


Dream Theater have made the difficult decision to move their October-December 2021 North American tour dates to early...

Posted by Dream Theater on Monday, September 27, 2021

Former STEEL PANTHER bassist Travis Haley (a.k.a. Lexxi Foxx) has announced the formation of his new band HOLLYWOOD GODS N' MONSTERS with longtime friend and television celebrity from MTV's "Pimp My Ride", Diggity Dave.

After performing for over two decades with his former band, Haley had amicably decided to move on and do something a little different in the space of music and bass playing alike.

Diggity Dave explains: "It's not like he ever thought he wasn't challenged by the copious amount of talent that resided within STEEL PANTHER; it's just that he wanted to explore different kinds of music and was intrigued by some of the music I was sending him."

Diggity Dave has been doing television since the early 2000s but came from the world of music. Diggity was signed to Warner Brothers Records in the mid-1990s with a band he fronted named SHAKE THE FAITH which featured Tommy Thayer (KISS) on guitar, Brian Jennings on guitar (who went on to play with TVT recording artists CLOSURE) and drummer Danny Parker (who went on to co-found Warner Brothers recording artist BEAUTIFUL CREATURES). After a decade of being on MTV, Diggity went on to star in countless other TV shows, including "Battleground Earth" with longtime friend Tommy Lee (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and famed rapper Ludacris.

Travis, Diggity, Brian, Danny and their female singer 7even (Kris Aragon) have known one another for 20 years before collaborating on this magnipotent, musical, mishmash.

Travis says: "I am very proud of what I've accomplished with my other band. Nothing can take away the memories and the camaraderie that existed for all those years, but I just felt it was time for something new. When I heard this music, I knew this was the group of friends and the music I wanted to collaborate on."

Because Diggity, Brian and Danny had all played in a previous band together and had been best of friends with Haley for more than half their lives, the opportunity to form a new band was simply too compelling not to do so. Diggity confesses that the challenge was what kind of music they would construct. "Once we figured it out, we then set out to find the missing pieces that would propel the sonic and sound needed to round out this parade of hooligans," he says. "We knew we were in need of two types of talent. A rapper extraordinaire that could dismantle any genre of music and reconstruct it into his own image, and a female singer that could terrorize through the throat but tingle the testicles. We managed to find the perfect purveyors of punched out panic."

HOLLYWOOD GODS N' MONSTERS has enlisted a rapper named Hype (a.k.a. H.M.K.) who is a phenom in the world of not just rap but also as a vocalist. Hype, who just released a single titled "Money & Power", was already a bullet on the rise in the musical scene when he was brought into the fold with HGNM. Hype says: "I knew this was a great opportunity to represent legends past and present from all genres of music, while also transforming music for a new generation. It was a no-brainer to team up with these rockstars and 'Define My Hype' to the world."

Rounding it out was a female singer who goes by the name 7even (also known as Kris Aragon). Travis says 7even was vital for the overall sound of the band because the music demanded not just a female presence, but a female who could occupy a musical space that was jumping from pop, punk, rock, rap, and country.

HOLLYWOOD GODS N' MONSTERS' music is what some might call "mashup" but they get agitated when people throw them in that category. HGNM is a new hybrid of musical forms, one that has not been explored, but is sure to ignite a million copy bands once they "blow up the area" and introduce the world to "smashup" music. The band explains it as a blender of styles, sounds, artists, genres, and attitudes.

Travis says: "This generation, the one before it, and the one that's following are ripe for a band like us. It's about losing yourself in the music, about dancing, about feeling alive. That's why the DJ scene has conquered music — because people wanna go to a show and identify and recognize the songs they're ingesting. They just wanna be enveloped in the music they know, their friends know, and hell… even their parents know."

Diggity closes by saying: "We are not a cover band. This is original stuff we're creating, and it's a living, breathing history of music. We equate it to what DJs are doing, but in the form of a full band smashing together the songs every generation has grown up with. What other band is mixing the '70s band CHIC with QUEEN, AEROSMITH, SUGARHILL GANG, BLONDIE and DMX? And that's just one song by us. Also, kids wanna see rock stars again… larger-than-life entities on stage that mirror the atmosphere. Think of us as a bigass American jukebox… where all the records in it have melted together… except when you press B5…you get that plus B6, B7, B8 and the track you thought you knew is now a stitched-up Frankenstein jam that makes you shake your ass harder than ev

KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee says that he doesn't know exactly when the final concert of the band's "End Of The Road" tour will take place.

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 has since been extended to 2022. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

"We were supposed to end this year — actually, in July — but because of the COVID stopping us from doing the touring, it set us back a year and a half," McGhee told Talking Metal in a new interview (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "So it looks like the last show of KISS as you know it, with Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley], will be some time at the end of next year. We don't have a locked in date yet. Because of what's going on, it's very difficult for people to hold dates because we don't even know if we're gonna be able to play. So we're trying to hold dates. But it will be next year.

"We wanna get through what we said," Doc continued. "The guys wanted to play to everybody. It meant we'll go to your town, big or small. We're not the red-carpet band that you have to come out. We've always been the people's band in the sense that the KISS Army that supported us for all these years, we go to all the little towns to play."

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

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

Two years ago, McGhee said during a question-and-answer session on the ninth annual "Kiss Kruise" that KISS was open to reuniting with all former members at the final gig. "We want to include everybody that played with KISS to celebrate the 45 years of KISS," he said. "And everybody — Vinnie Vincent and everybody else — that [has] played with KISS is part of this whole celebration of 45 years. So, we're still looking at what we're gonna do on the final show of KISS."

According to McGhee, Frehley and Criss have both "been talked to" about participating in some form. But, he acknowledged, "It's pretty difficult. When people say, 'Oh, you should bring Ace and Peter up.' How do you do that when you have two Catmen and two Spacemen? So you say, 'Okay. You don't wear makeup and you wear makeup.' And then they [Ace and Peter] go, 'Well, that was my makeup.' I don't know. So it's real hard to do, but we'll figure it out because they're very much a part of the heritage of KISS. And they're acknowledged by Gene and Paul and everybody in this room as the founding members… So. it's important to you guys [and] it's important to us. It's just a matter of the balance and we can bring it where it works for everybody and everybody is having a great time."

In early 2019, Stanley told Australia's "Sunday Night" that "Rock And Roll All Nite" "has to be" the song that KISS performs as the last encore at the final concert of the "End Of The Road" tour. "That is the rock anthem that connects the world," he explained. "It was the start of other people coming up with anthems. They really didn't exist, per se. So, 'Rock And Roll All Nite And Party Every Day', that's a song that just connects with people on all different levels."

Simmons concurred, telling BUILD Series: "How do you not end with 'Rock And Roll All Nite'? We will have played that song, probably without exception, more than any other song we've ever been involved with. You might say, 'Aren't you sick and tired of hearing that?' But I will tell you the roar of the crowd, the smell of the grease paint, there ain't nothing like it. When you hear everybody getting jazzed about that and you get off the stage... [it's] like the fire in the belly. You're dog-tired; you've just done a big show; and you get up on that stage, when you see the joy in everybody's face... We've seen it all. We've been around for generations, but when you see a little 5-year-old kid in KISS makeup on his dad's shoulders who's wearing KISS makeup, next to his father... we're badass kind of guys — nothing affects us much — but that stuff will put a lump in your throat. You have to turn around for a second. It gets me. Yes, it's music, but it's generational, and it brings families together instead of separates [sic] them."

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill spoke to Mankato, Minnesota's "The Five Count" radio show about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The material is there. It's time to put it down on record, basically. We're pretty much booked up till the end of this year, although there's a month [off], I think, just before Christmas, and some of January. And then all of next year, we're pretty much touring until the fall, at least. But then we can put our shoulders to the wheel and get it down on record for real."

Asked if PRIEST fans can expect the next album to arrive in 2022, Hill said: "Maybe the year after — give it a bit of breathing space. [Laughs] We'll let the dust settle from the 50th-anniversary [tour]. But, yeah, it's possible — it's possible towards the end of next year. But if not, it'll be '23."

This past March, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford confirmed that the band's next LP will once again be helmed by the "Firepower" production team consisting of British producer Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Earlier this month, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner told Guitar World magazine that he and his bandmates "faced some challenges with schedules due to the pandemic" and haven't been able to get together and work on new music. "We wanted to keep it the same dynamic as 'Firepower' — as we all got together, played the songs in pre-production before recording them," he said. "Obviously, we haven't been able to do that in the last 18 months because of the pandemic. So, we've got a ton of stuff written and a ton of songs almost ready to go. We just need to get together and start playing them together and 'trimming the fat,' as they say. You get a sense of that when you play them together — you get a feeling for 'we need an extra bit here' or 'we need to trim that bit there.' Just to sharpen those songs up and give them the last 20 percent. So, once we are able to do that, we can get in a room together, play them, trim the fat, and record them, we will. But we've got a bunch of songs that are pretty ready to go and they sound fantastic. We just want to put them down properly and release them to the world. So, I can't give you a date, but as soon as we can, we'll get in there and start work on that."

JUDAS PRIEST's first pandemic-era tour, the rescheduled "50 Heavy Metal Years" North American trek, kicked off on September 8 in Reading, Pennsylvania and will conclude on November 5 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

On October 15, JUDAS PRIEST will release "50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music", a mammoth limited-edition box set which will include every official live and studio album to date plus 13 unreleased discs. This is the most extensive release of previously unreleased music the band has made from its vast archives. Restored and mixed by Tom Allom at La Cucina W8 and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios, this special release will be made available via Sony Music.

Swedish metallers Soilwork launched a video series back in August and issued the following message. The series concluded last week.


"We have been laying low lately but fear not, great things are happening in Camp Soilwork. We will release a series of interviews in relation to the clear vinyl reissue and CD release of our EP, A Whisp Of The Atlantic. We discuss our next album, expectations and the future. All we can say is that there's gonna be a new album in 2022. The series was produced by René U Valdes for Bravo & Bravo Films." 


Check out the interview clips below. 


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December 4th, 2020 Swedish melodic death metal legends Soilwork shook the metal world in its foundations when the band released their new EP, A Whisp Of The Atlantic, featuring the most daring and virtuous song of the band to date, the 17 minute track that showcases the ingenuity and skills of the band in all their shades.


Today, Soilwork announce the release of an epic feature film that presents A Whisp Of The Atlantic in its unity by linking the entire storyline with new, small bits of music and brand new footage. The video will premier on Soilwork's YouTube channel on Wednesday, February, 3rd.


Soilwork's musical and their philosophical approach on the new EP does not only close the circle of the The Feverish Trinity, but also invites the listener to dive deep into the most primal element: Water. Starting with "Feverish" and ending with "A Whisp Of The Atlantic", the whole EP is a journey from the rage of individuals to the search for something that replaces religion.


David Andersson: “From the desire of 'Feverish', the urge of 'Desperado', the determinism of 'Death Diviner', the insights and questions of 'The Nothingness And The Devil' and the acceptance and spiritual searching of A Whisp of the Atlantic. The whole song and video sequence is like a slightly different take on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s all about realising that we’re all stuck on this rock and that we need to find something more inclusive than religion to get through this together. Because in the end, we’re all

Devin Townsend performed as the Friday headliner (August 13th) at the 2021 edition of Bloodstock Open Air at Catton Park in Derbyshire, UK. Check out pro-shot video of "Kingdom" from the show below.





Fan-filmed video from the show is available below. The setlist on the night was as follows:


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"Aftermath" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Kingdom"
"By Your Command"
"March of the Poozers"
"Supercrush!"
"Almost Again" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Regulator"
"Stormbending"
"Love?" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Deadhead"

Livløs brings melodic death metal to new levels. The Danish metal phenomenon have established themselves as an essential new name in the international metal scene, ready to shake up the landscape of modern death metal with their upcoming album, And Then There Were None, out October 22 via Napalm Records. Their brand of Scandinavian melodic death metal - influenced by bands like At The Gates and Carcass, and paired with American-rooted death metal in the vein of Death and The Black Dahlia Murder - has already earned the five-piece appearances at Copenhell, Eurosonic and Spot Festival.


After releasing the title track “And Then There Were None”, Livløs now present their second glimpse into the upcoming album with “The Purest Black”. Livløs go downtempo and truly evil with stomping drums, heavy guitars and punishing vocals - this song takes the listener through the diverse repertoire of the Danish powerhouse, combining Scandinavian metal influences with American-rooted metal.


Watch the official music video for "The Purest Black":


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On their new album, And Then There Were None, Livløs are audibly on top of their game: scrupulously ripping through nine tight, hard-lined tracks, the band takes no shortcuts while still maintaining a dynamic songwriting style that keeps listeners on their toes throughout the album’s runtime. Album opener and title track “And Then There Were None” sets the pace with punishing vocals and raging death metal riffs, leading into dramatic choruses and guitar solos that display Livløs‘ incredibly multi-faceted talent right off the bat. Only very rarely will the band give listeners time to breathe, like on acoustic intermission “Kistefjael” or the slowed-down, stomping “The Purest Black”, which ends the album experience of And Then There Were None in a triumphant, epic manner. Songs like “Seize The Night” are impressive depictions of singer Niklas Lykke’s broad vocal range, reaching from deep and guttural to high-pitched and ear-piercing sections.


Excellently mixed by Jacob Bredahl (ex-Hatesphere) and mastered by Brad Boatright (known for his work with Obituary, Nails and Torche among others), And Then There Were None is an exceptional display of Livløs‘ confident, modern approach to melodic death metal, meticulously executed from start to finish - revealing more of what it has to offer with every listen. Livløs prove that they are here to stay with And Then There Were None.





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


Pre-order here.

"Lanterna" is the second in a series of brand new tracks from Big Big Train. Having already released the album Common Ground this year, the band also recently unveiled another new track, "The Connection Plan". In the lead up to their 2022 tour, the band intend to release more material and ask fans to ‘Stay Tuned’.


"Lanterna" was written by Big Big Train’s founding member and bassist Gregory Spawton. "This song came about because of an unexpected journey in Italy. I was on holiday in Milan and travelled to the airport to fly back home. The plane that was due to land at Milan was diverted to Venice due to bad weather. Rather than hang around at the airport for a day or two, we rebooked our flight so that we could return from Genoa a few days’ later. With some time on our hands to explore the city, we ended up walking out to the beautiful lighthouse which is called the Lanterna di Genova. The Lanterna was built in the 16th century but there has been a lighthouse on the site since 1128. I liked the thought of mankind building these tall towers of light to extend our reach into the sea and to help bring sailors safely home."


Listen to "Lanterna" below, and at Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.


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Also, listen to the previous single, "The Connection Plan":





The Common Ground album sees the band taking in wider musical and lyrical inspiration from artists such as Elbow, Pete Townshend, Tears For Fears, Elton John and XTC, as well as acknowledging their more progressive roots. As ever, Big Big Train will take listeners on a journey, be it waiting for the UK 5 PM pandemic press conferences (“The Strangest Times”) to the library of Alexandria (“Black With Ink”) to the bottom of the ocean (“Atlantic Cable”).


For the Common Ground tour, which will be their most extensive to date and which will culminate in the UK with a show at the prestigious London Palladium, Greg Spawton (bass), David Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D’Virgilio (drums, vocals) and Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals) will be joined by Carly Bryant (keyboards, guitars, vocals), who contributes vocals to ‘Common Ground’, Dave Foster (guitars), who plays on two tracks on the new album, Clare Lindley (violin, vocals) and by a five piece brass ensemble. The band expect to announce North American tour dates shortly.


Big Big Train has taken lyrical and musical inspiration from periods of history that are recognised as great leaps forward. Now with Common Ground, they are making such a surge themselves. Orders available on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“The Strangest Times”
“All The Love We Can Give”
“Black With Ink”
“Dandelion Clock”
“Headwaters”
“Apollo”
“Common Ground”
“Atlantic Cable”
“Endnotes”


"The Strangest Times" video:





“Apollo” video:

Spanish death metallers Deimler, have just launched a visualizer video of the song "The Architect" as a second advance single from their imminent debut album entitled A Thousand Suns, which will see the light on October 19th, through Xtreem Music on CD, 12" LP, Cassette, and Digital formats.





A Thousand Suns was recorded and mastered at Moontower Studios, and features cover artwork by José Vives.


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In all the silence, Finnish death doom masters, Swallow The Sun, have written, recorded and mixed a new album called Moonflowers. It is done and ready and will be released on November 19.


Along with some of the album formats, there will also come a full bonus album featuring very special instrumental versions of all the regular album tracks. This instrumental album has been composed for strings and recorded at Sipoo Church in Finland. The strings were performed by the group called Trio NOX from Finland.


All these instrumental songs will be launched as animated videos, which were created by Dronicon Films. One by one every week, leading up to the first single release of the main album. Watch the clip for "This House Has No Home" below:


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Check out the instrumentals for "The Fight For Your Life", "All Hallows' Grieve", "Woven Into Sorrow", "Moonflowers Bloom In Misery" and "Enemy", below:

















Juha Raivio comments: “I know well that I should not say this, but I deeply hate this album. I hate where it takes me, how it makes me feel and what it stands for me personally. I wish it wouldn’t. But for all its honesty I got no option than also love it. That is all that matters to me with the music anyway and it doesn’t matter how it makes me feel, as long as it does. For me this album is like a mirror of a deep self-disappointment. Even I still want to believe that there is and could be more than this in me. But I don’t need or want to talk more about it. After all music means so different things to each one of us by how we have walked our own paths, and that is a beautiful thing about music. There is no right or wrong.


"After I had finished writing all the music for this record in the fall of 2020 I started to write these small instrumental versions of the album songs for the violin, viola, cello and piano. Mostly because I was wondering how it would feel like to hear all these songs first as these intimate versions instead of a full band album. It was really beautiful to see and hear these songs come alive in this way and form, recorded live in this big church in Finland. To be able to hear the echoes of this music reflecting from the church walls and feel the very soul of these old wooden instruments played by real people in this sacred place. Something about hearing the strings breathe this fragile beauty into these songs that carry so much pain otherwise. Now looking back, maybe I wrote these versions just for myself to be able to hear and feel at least some kind of a beauty and solace in these songs, maybe…


"I wanted to create the cover art of this album myself this time, so it would stand as brutally honest for me as the music is. So I painted the moon on the ‘Moonflowers‘ cover with my own blood and I decorated it with the flowers I picked up and dried on the spring of 2016. Maybe it isn’t the most outstanding looking piece of art ever made in this world, but for me it is everything. I wasn’t going to write any new music before I would have moved towards the right direction in my life, but finally all this music just forced itself out of me during the long nights of this hope crushing and neverending lockdown prison. Something grew out from that void eventually and writing these songs made me think a lot about moonflowers that bloom at the darkest hour of the night, so that name felt right to call the album also.


"All my love to you, take care."





Moonflowers tracklisting:


"Moonflowers Bloom In Misery"
"Enem

Iceland's Cult Of Lilith have released an artwork time-lapse video for "Profeta Paloma", a track from their debut full-length, Mara (Metal Blade Records). Watch below:





A frantic collision of death metal, prog, complex classical structures and more, Mara is a restless, constantly shifting collection that is as imaginative as it is compulsive. The album can be ordered here.


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British female-fronted melodic hard rock band TAO, featuring Karen Fell (vocals), Chris Gould (guitars) and Dave Rosingana (bass), have announced the release of their debut studio album, Prophecy, out October 15 via Tarot Label Media.


In Chinese philosophy, TAO means "The absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang, signifying the way, a code of behaviour that is in harmony with the natural order".


Hailing from Edinburgh (Scotland), Cardiff (Wales) and Barrow in England, TAO is the living proof of the legacy of the melodic hard rock genre in the UK. Bringing together a strong team of individual musicians under the watchful eye and songwriting prowess of Ten mastermind Gary Hughes, this band is poised for great things, with this brilliant collection of songs, under the album title Prophecy.


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With Karen Fell’s passionate vocals, Chris Gould’s emotional yet furious (where it needs to be) and Dave Rosingana’s unmistakable bass tones, this release will definitely hit a soft spot of fans of 80s influenced melodic hard rock in the vein of Heart, Roxette or Pat Benatar. They have already created promotional videos for 5 tracks from Prophecy and they will be 'step releasing' these videos in order to promote the album upon release whilst also extending the period of promotion and intensifying the push beyond.


Prophecy contains just under an hour of amazing original music performed by three truly gifted and unique artists.


The album was produced by Gary Hughes (Ten) and mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward at The TrakShak, Germany. All songs written by Gary Hug

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS have announced that all of their 2021 shows after September 28 will be postponed due of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new dates are not yet available.

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS shared the news of the postponement in a social media post on Tuesday (September 21). They wrote: "It's been a thrill to be back on tour recently. We all missed being on the road, playing for the fans and playing together again.

"The continuing surge of COVID cases due to the Delta variant should be of concern to all of us. While we are fully vaccinated, we are still being extremely cautious to protect our fans, our crew and everyone else that work so hard to put on our shows. For that reason, we have decided to postpone the remaining performances that were planned for 2021.

Our last date of the tour will be September 28th.

"We're disappointed to have to take this step but we feel it is necessary to protect the health of everyone.

"Stay safe and we'll see you in 2022!"

Jett is an originator, an innovator, and a visionary. As the leader of the hard-rocking BLACKHEARTS, with whom she has become a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, she's had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including the classics "Bad Reputation", "I Love Rock 'N' Roll", "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and "Crimson And Clover". Her independent record label, Blackheart, was founded in 1980 after she was rejected by no less than 23 labels. Blackheart is one of the longest-running indie labels and continues to give voice to new bands. As a producer, she has overseen albums by BIKINI KILL, CIRCUS LUPUS, as well as THE GERMS' L.A. punk masterpiece "GI". Jett's music has become a permanent force in mainstream culture.

Jett and THE BLACKHEARTS released their latest record, "Unvarnished", in 2013 and continue touring the globe with headline shows alongside fellow rock icons like THE WHO, GREEN DAY and the FOO FIGHTERS. Additionally, Jett has acted and appeared in movies and television, including the film "Light Of Day". Jett was also able to see her story told in "The Runaways", the film based on (lead singer of THE RUNAWAYS) Cherie Currie's book "Neon Angel", starring Kristen Stewart as Jett, and Dakota Fanning as Currie. Jett was close to the project, serving as executive producer.

The documentary film based on Jett's life, "Bad Reputation" — produced by Blackheart's SVP Carianne Brinkman and directed by Kevin Kerslake — premiered to critical acclaim at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, with the New York Post hailing that "'Bad Reputation' does it right, tracing Jett's trailblazing path as one of the first, and still the hardest-rocking, women."


Posted by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on Tuesday, September 21, 2021

AFM Records has checked in with the following update:


"Dear fans and customers, 


The release of some vinyl editions of current releases (Gus G., Kryptos, Manimal) have to be postponed by some weeks to the November 26th and later.


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This is mainly due to the fact that the vinyl format is once again becoming more and more popular and the pressing plants are currently very busy. In addition to that, due to political and economical developments, there is unfortunately a shortage of the main ingredient, polyvinyl chloride (PVC). We regret very much that this also affects the current releases. We are very sorry that you now have to wait a few weeks longer for the album, but the greatest pleasure lies in the anticipation and we promise the wait will be worth it."


Release dates are now as follows


Gus G. - Quantum Leap (November 26th)
Manimal - Armageddon (December 3rd)
Kryptos - Force Of Danger (December 10th)


Gus G. recently released a video for his new single, "Enigma Of Life", featured on his new solo album, Quantum Leap. Watch the video below, and pre-order the album here.


It is no longer a secret that Gus G. plays in the top league in the world of guitar virtuosos. Not only has he played the world's biggest stages in his time with Ozzy Osbourne, but he was also able to gain a firm place and a loyal fan base in recent years with his own band Firewind and his solo project.


On his new album, Quantum Leap, Gus G. continues his straight and inspirational path, this time focusing only on his excellent craft. For this reason, the new album is an instrumental album, but so complete in itself that it can make many a person green with envy. Gus G. has again relied on his longtime colleague Dennis Ward for production, but has done the mixing and mastering entirely on his own terms. Hard metal tracks line up with melodic riffs and make this album seem like a complete work.


Quantum Leap is a tribute

SLIPKNOT closed out Riot Fest, one of Chicago's best independent homegrown events, at Douglass Park on Sunday (September 19). Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

The Riot Fest show came two weeks after SLIPKNOT played its first concert in 18 months on September 4 at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma. The gig marked the debut of SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor's new mask, which he had been working on for the past few months.

This past May, Taylor spoke to Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the evolution of SLIPKNOT's masks and what fans can expect to see during the band's current touring cycle.

"The mask has been a part of us forever," he said. "The mask is king. And for us, especially people like me and Clown and the guys in the band that really allow those masks to evolve, it's important for it to be a reflection of who we are in that music. And I can tell you that the mask I'm working on is very disturbing. It's gonna be hard to look at. And it'll probably be my favorite mask that I've ever put together. It's little bits and pieces of things that have intrigued me, of masks that I've had in the past. And it's gonna have a devil-may-care kind of terror to it, let's put it that way."

Corey worked on his previous mask with special effects legend Tom Savini, whose extensive career in the film industry and especially the horror genre dates back to the late 1970s, including in such films as "Friday The 13th", "Dawn Of The Dead", "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" and many others.

The other members of SLIPKNOT performed with their current masks for the first time in May 2019 when they appeared as the musical guests on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

During a 2017 appearance on an episode of Viceland's "The Therapist", Taylor was asked about the significance of wearing a literal mask when he is performing with SLIPKNOT. He responded: "With SLIPKNOT, at least for most of us in the band, the mask is part of the art — it's not just the visual and the shock; it's a representation of who I am in that album. So, for me, it's as natural as having a different hairstyle for one album and tour cycle, wearing different clothes for an album and tour cycle. It's a part of the dynamic. It's one of the things that you look forward to. Not just writing the songs, not just putting the music together, not just putting the visuals together, but what… who am I in this album?"

Corey spoke about the changes in the SLIPKNOT bandmembers' masks in a 2014 interview with Metal Mania Radio. "With every album, some of us have evolved our masks more dramatically than others, but there's always a difference, they've always changed a little bit… This band evolves with every album, and it just makes sense that our masks [would as well], because we're not the same people. It's not something that we sit down and we talk about as a group, we just kind of do it. As unified as we all are, the mask is really something that we trust each other to do individually and we trust them to do the right representation."

This past June, SLIPKNOT announced the 2021 incarnation of the "Knotfest Roadshow". Support on the trek will come from three Grammy-nominated heavy music luminaries, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE. The 28-date run, produced by Live Nation, kicks off following the band's previously announced Knotfest Iowa hometown show in Des Moines on September 25. The "Knotfest Roadshow"'s first official date happens at Tinley Park, Illinois on September 28, with the tour then snaking its way across the U.S., wrapping up in Arizona in early November.

Rock and roll icon and two-time Grammy winner Tom Morello has released the third single off his highly anticipated album, "The Atlas Underground Fire". The track "Let's Get The Party Started" is a collaboration with BRING ME THE HORIZON.

Tom says: "BRING ME THE HORIZON is really the current standard-bearer of hard rock/metal today, and thank God for them for that.

"I had a couple of huge riffs and we just started mashing it up with Zakk Cervini, who has worked with them before. This song was written on three continents — Oli [lead singer Oliver Sykes] was in Brazil, Jordan [Fish, keyboardist] was in England and then I was here in L.A. It was a real United Nations of metal coming together to produce this song, which really feels to me like it captures the angst and the frustration of the pandemic boiling over into an all-time mosh pit. This song also has one of my favorite guitar solos that I've played in quite a while, as I was really digging deep to make a solo as devastating as the track."

Morello — co-founder of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE and PROPHETS OF RAGE — will release "The Atlas Underground Fire" on October 15 via Mom + Pop Music. Last month, Morello dropped the album's second single, "Driving To Texas", featuring Phantogram. The album's first single is the classic AC/DC rock anthem "Highway To Hell" featuring Morello, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder. Featuring an acclaimed cast of collaborators including Chris Stapleton, Sama' Abdulhadi, phem, Mike Posner, Damian Marley and more, Morello's immense guitar playing will be on full display taking the instrument into the future and forging an alternative/rock/electronic sound with all-time legends and cutting-edge firebrands.

Morello is widely known as a barrier-breaking guitarist who continues to push the limits and prove the transformative power of music. Throughout his acclaimed career he has collaborated with everyone from WU-TANG CLAN to Johnny Cash. On "The Atlas Underground Fire", as he did on 2018's "The Atlas Underground", Morello took a path into new sonic territory with the project's breadth of talented collaborators, transforming his sound. With his guitar leading the way, he continues to create a powerful combination of different genres.

"The Atlas Underground Fire" track listing:

01. Harlem Hellfighter

02. Highway To Hell (featuring Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder)

03. Let's Get The Party Started (featuring BRING ME THE HORIZON)

04. Driving To Texas (featuring Phantogram)

05. The War Inside (featuring Chris Stapleton)

06. Hold The Line (featuring grandson)

07. Naraka (featuring Mike Posner)

08. The Achilles List (featuring Damian Marley)

09. Night Witch (featuring phem)

10. Charmed I'm Sure (featuring Protohype)

11. Save Our Souls (featuring Dennis Lyxzén of REFUSED)

12. On The Shore Of Eternity (featuring Sama' Abdulhadi)

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

GODSMACK's latest album, "When Legends Rise", has been certified gold on by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies. In addition, two more of the LP's singles (the title track and "Under Your Scars") have also been officially certified gold by the RIAA. The album's first single "Bulletproof" earned a platinum digital single award in September 2020 and was previously certified gold in the U.S.

The RIAA developed its gold and platinum awards program in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard by which to measure the commercial success of a sound recording. The program trademarked the gold record and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements.

Presently, the RIAA awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for 1 million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold.

In the streaming age, each permanent digital album or physical album sale count as 1 unit for certification purposes, 10 permanent track downloads from the album count as 1 unit for certification purposes, and 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album count as 1 unit. For songs, 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams count as 1 unit for certification purposes.

"When Legends Rise" is the seventh studio album from GODSMACK, which consists of Sully Erna (vocals, guitar), Tony Rombola (guitar), Robbie Merrill (bass) and Shannon Larkin (drums). Produced by Erik Ron and Erna, it was the band's first release in four years and was recorded at their now-former headquarters (GSHQ) in Derry, New Hampshire. The album went on to garner a multitude of career milestones for the group: four No. 1 rock tracks (an accomplishment that makes GODSMACK one of only four rock acts to achieve this), and a record 11 No. 1 singles in the band's career with the album's fourth single, "Unforgettable". "When Legends Rise" entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart in the top ten (No. 8), with four No. 1 placements on other charts: Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Music Albums, Top Independent Albums and Top Alternative Albums.

"After more than 20 years of chart-topping success, GODSMACK remain 'bulletproof,'" says Thomas Scherer, BMG president, repertoire and marketing New York and Los Angeles. "Undeniable hit songs coupled with innovative videos and an unprecedented direct access between the band and their fans, GODSMACK deliver an 'unforgettable' music experience. The band continues to develop their global presence and put in the creative hard work that is the recipe for success. We all look forward to seeing them back out on the road soon, touring around the world behind their long-anticipated upcoming new album on BMG."

Dan Gill, BMG EVP, recorded music, Los Angeles, adds: "A journey three years in the making, our first gold album together and one of many we look to achieve. 'When Legends Rise' was only the beginning of what we can accomplish: their seventh Top 10 album, four consecutive Number One rock singles ('Bulletproof', 'When Legends Rise', 'Under Your Scars', 'Unforgettable'), and more than one billion streams set to be reached by the end of 2021. GODSMACK shows up for their fans and the fans for them. It's an honor to work with such a dedicated and hard-working band who continue to be at the top of their game after 20 years! Everyone at BMG wishes them the best in their continued success and congratulate them on achieving yet another career milestone."

Since the album's release, GODSMACK's worldwide reach continues to expand. On the live front, the band played more than 150 shows worldwide around the release of "When Legends Rise". In addition, as of September 1, 2021, "When Legends Rise" has generated more than 753 million streams.

"When we were recording 'When Legends Rise', I heard a new sound," Rombola says. "Sully worked with other writers and that brought different ideas.

"Yes, it's been great to continue to have chart success, but we always strive to write the best music we can for ourselves and our fans."

Photo credit: Paris Visone

Rufus Publications and Ross Halfin have announced a new, limited-edition book, "Ritchie Blackmore By Ross Halfin", featuring hundreds of unseen images from Ross's extensive library. Blackmore, from DEEP PURPLE through to RAINBOW and now BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, is one of our most influential guitarists and Ross started photographing him and RAINBOW from 1980 onwards.

This new book is an intimate portrait of Blackmore both on and off stage and captures the brilliance and madness of RAINBOW during those years. Ross had unparalleled access for several years and the images in this book often show Ritchie as you've never seen him before. It finishes with shots of early BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in action.

"Ritchie Blackmore By Ross Halfin" includes an introduction by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, who first saw Blackmore on stage at the age of 14 (and features in a photograph on the legendary "Made In Japan" cover), and words by Ross and journalist Pete Makowski who knew and worked with Ritchie and RAINBOW at the time.

Ross states: "Around this time, I met writer Peter Makowski who Geoff Barton (the features editor at Sounds) introduced us with the prophetic words, 'You two will be bad for each other.' Never has a truer word been spoken. Now the one thing I knew about Pete was he knew Blackmore — and I don't mean 'knew' him in a music industry sense — he really did know Ritchie and was a friend of his and as Pete said one day, 'Let's go and do Blackmore.' I actually can't remember where I finally met him but I was pleasantly surprised. Ritchie, who I expected to be off and aloof, was completely the opposite. Once I'd met him, he was funny, liked a drink and was fantastic company. Pete and I for the period around this book, I suppose you could say, were in his inner circle. We traveled with him, we hung out with him. As you can see from some of the pictures in this book, Ritchie, once you knew him, was very accessible, and as a photographer, I could shoot with him more or less anything I wanted. He would never say no — or I would have to give him a funny, twisted reason to want to do it."

The book also includes contributions from Billy Corgan and Colin Hart.

At 304 pages, this deluxe hardback book measuring 245mm x 345mm is signed by Ross and comes in two very limited editions. The main edition, bound in white leather with a black sleeve, is just 350 numbered copies worldwide and sells for £199 plus delivery and a super limited, large format A3 edition at just 50 copies will sell for £599 worldwide. Both editions feature an animated 3D lenticular on the cover of Ritchie throwing his guitar into the air.

The book will go on pre-sale at 3 p.m. U.K. time on Wednesday, September 29 and will ship in mid-December.

Rockshots Records has announced they will once again be releasing the next recording from Swedish power prog band Hollow, led by Andreas Stoltz (ex-Binary Creed). Entitled Tower, the fourth album follows 2019's Between Eternities Of Darkness, which marked the band's return after a 20-year hiatus since unleashing the 1999 album Architects Of The Mind via Nuclear Blast Records.


Featuring ten tracks, Tower is a story album best listened to as a whole, which tells a tale of transformation with its blend of progressive metal/rock, power, melodic death and thrash elements. Andrea Stoltz is accompanied by drummer Stalder Zantos who also appeared on Between Eternities Of Darkness.


"Working with Stalder Zantos has been a more continuous element in writing the material for Tower than on Between Eternities Of Darkness and this has definitely influenced the outcome as has contributed more on this album than on the previous one," adds Stoltz.


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On Hollow's Architect Of The Mind artificial intelligence and creation was the topic, on Between Eternities Of Darkness parenthood and tragedy and for Tower the concept of inner and outer freedom is explored. It’s also about belonging and transcendence and Stoltz hopes these are things that most people can relate to.


"The relating bit is important, since art - regardless of form - is a meeting of emotions and ideas. It needs to find something to resonate within the person who takes part in it. When asked, I find it hard to describe the music, but it’s metal. It has distorted guitars, double bass drums and harks back to bands like Judas Priest and Queensryche. But there is also quite a bit of contemporary metal on Tower. Since this is a concept album with the ambition of conveying a story, listening to it as a whole is encouraged. I hope you can find something that resonates with you on it. Hopefully, Hollow’s fans will be able to trace today's music back to Modern Cathedral and Architect of the Mind. I’ve made an effort to keep it as straightforward and simple as possible. I think most fans will have no trouble recognizing it as Hollow," comments Stoltz.


In preview to the Tower release on November 26, Hollow is revealing the album's title track as the first single. It's a traditional metal song with some nice riffing and a catchy chorus. The song's tale is about the protagonist who grows up in seclusion and their contact with the world outside the Tower is limited to their guardian/teacher. 


Stoltz explains the title track in further detail:


“Tower (the title track of the album) was one of the first songs to be completed and it’s also a great representation of the album as well as Hollow’s music. I wanted to write a record that was a bit more uplifting than the previous one and it all fell into place when I realized that Tower

Progressive rock band CYNIC will release its new full-length album, "Ascension Codes", on November 26 via Season Of Mist. "Ascension Codes" is a remarkably far-reaching work, and if nothing else, a clear indication that they have landed in a place of mastery. The album, paradoxically, acts as both swan song and rebirth. The band is now sharing the mind-bending first single, "Mythical Serpents", which can be heard below.

CYNIC mastermind Paul Masvidal comments: "I invite you to sit back, close your eyes, and listen to 'Mythical Serpents' as a fully realized piece of music. No phones or screens necessary, just the power of sound communicating directly into the ears of your heart.

"In the coming weeks, CYNIC will be revealing further details on the constellation that is 'Ascension Codes', including a 'Mythical Serpents' animated video, featuring the artwork of Martina Hoffmann and Robert Venosa. Stay tuned."

Michael Berberian, president and founder of Season Of Mist, adds: "I have, by now, released close to one thousand albums. None have been more dramatic, none have even been more difficult than this one. I can't listen to 'Ascension Codes' without goose bumps, a mixed feeling of pride — because it's a musical milestone, but it also contains a lingering layer of sadness. I hear Paul's pain on this record. I can feel it, I can touch it. But it's transcended. 'Art is to console those who are broken by life,' said Van Gogh. Here is a demonstration of that."

CYNIC has unveiled the artwork for "Ascension Codes", which has been created by Martina Hoffmann.

Track listing:

01. Mu-54* (0:32)

02. The Winged Ones (5:08)

03. A'-va432 (0:28)

04. Elements And Their Inhabitants (3:09)

05. Ha-144 (0:30)

06. Mythical Serpents (6:24)

07. Sha48* (0:19)

08. 6th Dimensional Archetype (4:07)

09. DNA Activation Template (5:25)

10. Shar-216 (0:23)

11. Architects Of Consciousness (6:20)

12. DA'z-a86.4 (0:34)

13. Aurora (4:34)

14. DU-*61.714285 (0:30)

15. In A Multiverse Where Atoms Sing (3:48)

16. A'jha108 (0:28)

17. Diamond Light Body (5:43)

18. Ec-ka72 (0:47)

The year 2020 will go down in history as a tremendously difficult time for the global human population. For the CYNIC family, the struggle was not restricted to a pandemic. It was two utterly senseless losses that threw the band’s immediate concerns into the background: the premature deaths of drummer Sean Reinert in January, at age 48, and bassist Sean Malone in December, at age 50, were shocking and unthinkable. Reinert, a founding CYNIC member since formation in 1988, was highly influential to a multitude of young drummers. His work on 1993's "Focus" and DEATH's watershed 1991 album "Human" found him sculpting extreme technical metal with a jazz fusion-inspired approach. Now taken for granted, that approach to the instrument and the genre was undoubtedly pioneered in large part by Reinert. Though parting with CYNIC in 2015, his imprint on CYNIC is inescapable. The death of Sean Malone dealt another horrible layer of tragedy to CYNIC's 2020.

As of 2021, the future of CYNIC is unclear. Does "Ascension Codes" mark their final phase of growth? Surely the music finds them laying out a most ambitious trail of spiritual sonic travel, but to call any CYNIC album "ambitious" is redundant. They are, by their very nature, an ambitious band. Yet "Ascension Codes" is a remarkably far-reaching work. Its nine main songs are infused with explosions of color and energy. The struggle to attain ascension is as important as ascension itself. And after much searching, CYNIC has again achieved oneness with the numinous.

Finnish melodic death metal pioneers, Insomnium, present a video for their new song, "The Wanderer”, off the Argent Moon EP, released today via Century Media Records and available worldwide on all digital platforms and in different physical formats.


Frontman Niilo Sevänen about “The Wanderer”: "’The Wanderer’ is the fourth and final song on our ‘Argent Moon’ EP. Composition by Markus Vanhala and lyrics by yours truly. Our goal on this EP was to try a bit different kind of songs and in this sense I believe ‘The Wanderer’ excels. I don't think it really resembles any other song we have done before, yet it still sounds like Insomnium. The video was shot on Suomenlinna fortress island in Helsinki."





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The Argent Moon EP is available as Ltd. CD Digipak, LP+CD and as digital album. All physical formats can be ordered here.


The vinyl version will be available in the following colors and limitations:


- Black vinyl, unlimited
- Sky blue vinyl, limited to 200 copies worldwide, available at CMDistro
- Silver vinyl, limited to 200 copies worldwide, only available at the official band store
- Ultra clear vinyl, limited to 500 copies worldwide, only available at the official band store





Tracklisting:


"The Conjurer"
"The Reticent"
"The Antagonist"
"The Wanderer

In a recent interview with Mindy Novotny of the Milwaukee radio station 102.9 The Hog, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell was asked if any emerging artists have caught his ear over the course of the last decade or so. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, sure. We get to see a lot of great music out there, especially when we go on tour. And it's always good to see that rock and roll is healthy and thriving. It may not be the focal point that at times in history it takes over, but it's always out there. Live music and live shows are robust experiences and well attended, and rock and roll is here to stay."

Cantrell also talked about his plan to hit the road in support of his upcoming solo album, "Brighten", which will be released on October 29. "It's good to see that we're moving in the right direction and I think 2022 is gonna be even a better year," he said. "So I'm looking forward to getting on the road myself in March and taking this record around and playing it, as well as songs from all my other records."

"Brighten" was co-produced by Jerry over the past year with film composer Tyler Bates and Cantrell's longtime engineer Paul Figueroa. They welcomed a dynamic cast of supporting players, including drummers Gil Sharone and Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Paul McCartney), pedal steel master Michael Rozon, Vincent Jones on piano, Wurlitzer, and organ. Other rock legends added to the fun of this LP, including Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) on select bass tracks, Greg Puciato (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) handling all of the background vocals and Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) overseeing the mixing of "Brighten". Together, they recorded eight originals and the LP closes with an approved-by-Elton John cover of his classic "Goodbye" as the finale.

Jerry's upcoming effort will mark his first full-length release since "Degradation Trip", the epic solo album he made in 2002 with future METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin.

Cantrell announced the new LP's completion in an Instagram post in March.

Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, the aforementioned "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with William DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018.

French death metal masters Akiavel have unleashed a video for their song "Lady Of Death". The track is taken from their album Væ Victis which was released in April 2021.


Frontwoman Aure comments: “'Lady Of Death' is a song about Aileen Wuornos. I absolutely wanted to put her on our album because I find her fascinating. I have studied her story a lot, I have a lot of compassion for her, despite the fact that she has murdered people. That’s why the text isn’t very violent or bloody, it’s more based on how she feels. She had a lot of suffering in her. For the video clip, we got closer to her psychological state. That’s why we chose the actress who clearly embodied her conscience and the struggle within her."





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Væ Victis is a concept album that explores the darkest and most depraved spaces of the human psyche. Further evolving their sound, Akiavel takes a radical approach to their musical assault, consuming the listener with dizzying maelstroms of chaos. Væ Victis embodies the word “death,” putting forth an intrusive battery of blistering guitars, pummeling drums, and scathing vocals that culminates in one of the most robust death metal records the genre has seen yet.


Væ Victis is available on CD, with limited edition signed and numbered vinyl pressings. Order yours now at this location.





Tracklisting:


"Frozen Beauties"
"Bind Torture

A vendor at this weekend's Louder Than Life festival died after an apparent overdose.

The vendor, identified by Jefferson County Coroner's office as 40-year-old Nicholaus Davis, was found dead hours before the event was scheduled to open its doors on Friday morning (September 24).

Louder Than Life producers Danny Wimmer Presents issued the following statement on Friday: "The well-being of our festival goers, staff, vendors, volunteers and artists is our primary concern, and we work diligently to ensure the safest event possible. Overnight, a member of our team discovered an unresponsive contract vendor in a working zone. EMS was dispatched immediately and confirmed the death as an apparent overdose. Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends."

Louder Than Life hosted tens of thousands of people over a four-day period at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Several bands ended up pulling out of the festival over COVID-19 concerns, including NINE INCH NAILS which canceled all of its performances. A few days before the festival was set to begin, MUDVAYNE also dropped out after lead singer Chad Gray tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

All attendees were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. For fans who were not fully vaccinated, a negative COVID-19 test result had to be obtained within 72 hours of the first day of coming into the campgrounds or festival grounds. The festival also required masks in any indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. Attendees were also strongly encouraged to wear masks in the camp or festival grounds.

Danny Hayes, CEO of Danny Wimmer Presents, estimated this year's festival averaged around 30,000 to 35,000 attendees per day, according to WDRB

MUDVAYNE has canceled its appearance at this weekend's Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky after the band's singer Chad Gray and "a few staff members" tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

MUDVAYNE shared the news of the cancelation in a social media post earlier today. The band wrote: "After taking every precaution to follow CDC Covid protocols during rehearsals and recent performance Chad Gray and a few staff members have unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19.

"The safety of our organization, fans and festival partners must come first. We are left no choice but to cancel our performance at Louder Than Life this weekend.

"Apologies to all the fans attending the festival this weekend. We look forward to getting everyone healthy and ready for our Aftershock and Welcome To Rockville performances later this year.

"We appreciate your love & support throughout these unprecedented times."

MUDVAYNE played its first show in 12 years on September 11 at the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio.

The band is still scheduled to appear at two more festivals this fall: Aftershock (October 7-10 in Sacramento, California) and Welcome To Rockville (November 11-14 in Daytona Beach, Florida).

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. MUDVAYNE is Chad Gray (vocals), Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass).

It's been more than a decade since MUDVAYNE released its self-titled fifth album and little had been heard about the group during that time.

Gray has spent the past 15 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away more than three years ago.

In 2018, Tribbett said that fans who are calling for a MUDVAYNE reunion "just need a little more patience." He explained: "We're all flattered that everybody still wants MUDVAYNE to tour and do a new record and come out and do all that stuff. The thing is is that everybody is in three different bands and kind of doing their own projects, and there's no time for that right now."

Tribbett's most focus was AUDIOTOPSY, which released its second full-length album, "The Real Now", in November 2018 via Megaforce Records. He is joined in that band by MUDVAYNE drummer Matt McDonough, SKRAPE vocalist Billy Keeton and bassist Perry Stern.

MUDVAYNE did not tour behind its fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release.

Gray previously expressed skepticism about the possibility of a MUDVAYNE reunion, noting in a 2015 interview that "the only way I personally would want to do MUDVAYNE is if everybody licked their wounds and got over it."

Tribbett was also part of HELLYEAH with Gray but was fired from that band in 2013.

Asked in Revolver magazine if Greg's exit from HELLYEAH hit him especially hard, seeing as the two of them started off playing together in MUDVAYNE, Chad said: "Yeah, man. He has always been my right-hand man. He's been the back I look at when I'm writing songs and the sounding board for my ideas. When everything went sideways, it was like losing a great friend. I was filled with fear and I had mixed emotions. At first, I was, like, 'Goddamn, I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to do this without him.'"
























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