The future has begun: Today, heavy metal heroes BEAST IN BLACK start into a new shimmering metallic era of their bright future. The band announces their new album "Dark Connection" and reveals the cover artwork for this fantastic masterpiece, catapulting the listener into the exciting world of cyberpunk. "Dark Connection" marks the third album of the international high-flyers and will be released on October 29th via Nuclear Blast Records.

Guitarist Anton Kabanen states, "Enter cyberpunk. Flying cars, sprawling metropolis, valleys of neon lights, emotionless killers, gynoids, femmes fatales, shadowy characters, lethal lust, forbidden passion, love larger than life, space travel... All this and much more is what Dark Connection holds within. Such cyberpunk animes as Armitage III, Cyber City Oedo 808, AD Police, Battle Angel Alita and Bubblegum Crisis have essentially served as sources of inspiration, as well as the immortal classic film by Ridley Scott; Blade Runner. And as always, a Beast In Black album wouldn't be a Beast In Black album without a heavy impact of Berserk, the manga and anime creation of Kentaro Miura. Sadly, the beloved author passed away while we were still making this album. Thus, Dark Connection is dedicated to Kentaro Miura."

A first musical appetizer of "Dark Connection" called 'Moonlight Rendezvous' will be released on September 3rd. Keep an eye on the band’s and label’s channels to not miss any news.

Anton continues on the artwork, "The instantly captivating album artwork was once again done by Roman Ismailov. Its visual emphasis significantly correlates with the recurring themes of Dark Connection. The tense gaze shared between the Beast and the drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale gynoid, Cynthia, speaks of an exciting, arousing, dangerous, mysterious and even questionable connection on a physical, emotional and moral level. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well, this certainly is the case!"

The track list for "Dark Connection" reads as follows:

1. Blade Runner
2. Bella Donna
3. Highway To Mars
4. Hardcore
5. One Night In Tokyo
6. Moonlight Rendezvous
7. Revengeance Machine
8. Dark New World
9. To The Last Drop Of Blood
10. Broken Survivors
11. My Dystopia
12. Battle Hymn (MANOWAR Cover)
13. They Don't Care About Us (MICHAEL JACKSON Cover)

"Dark Connection" will be available as digital album, CD, Black Vinyl, Clear/Sky Blue Marbled Vinyl [limited to 300 pieces], Blue Transparent Vinyl [UK exclusive, limited to 300 pieces], Red/Ocean Blue Splattered Vinyl [Bravado Exclusive, limited to 300 pieces], White/Red Inkspot Vinyl [EMP exclusive, limited to 300 pieces] and Purple/Silver Inkspot Vinyl [US exclusive, limited to 300 pieces]. The preorder will start soon, so keep an eye on the band channels for updates!

2 years after their formation, Archgoat stand firmly as one of the most consistent black metal band one the scene. On November 26th, the Finland based trio will unleash their fifth full length album. Entitled Worship The Eternal Darkness, it consists of 10 new tracks that were recorded and engineered by Teemu Velin. Chris Moyen is, once again, responsible for giving visual form to Archgoat's upcoming musical blasphemy.

Coinciding with the album release, Archgoat will embark on a headliner tour through Europe together with Norwegian act Whoredom Rife and Austrian black metal band Theotoxin. The tour will kick off on November 25th in Prague.


The following tracks appear on the album:

01. Intro
02. Heavens Ablaze
03. Black Womb Gnosis
04. All Christianity Ends
05. In Extremis Nazarene
06. Rats Pray God
07. Empyrean Armageddon
08. Blessed In The Light Of Lucifer
09. Worship The Eternal Darkness
10. Burial Of Creation

After 23 years of silence, Finnish cult black/epic metallers DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED, who feature in their ranks NIGHTWISH keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, are making their long-awaited comeback with a new full-length album, "Angel Of Carnage Unleashed", to be released on November 12 via Napalm Records. The LP sets free a unique blend of brutal, fast-driven black metal and epic anthems in which eerie screams merge with heroic clean vocals, monumental choirs and majestic keyboards along with gory stories of famine, war, plague and the inescapable brutality of Finland's nature in the era of the Great Northern War (1700-1721). It features the old horde from the original 1993 lineup, now augmented by Holopainen as a full member of the band and Kai Hahto (also of NIGHTWISH) as session drummer.

Guitarist Jouni Mikkonen comments: "Tuomas was featured as a session keyboardist on all previous albums. This time he was fully on board from the moment we decided to make this album and hence it was natural for him to become a full band member. He also made a substantial contribution to the creative process."

Today marks an historic anniversary, as 300 years ago, on August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Uusikaupunki ended the Great Northern War and put the Angel of Carnage to rest. 300 years later, she will be unleashed again by DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED with the first evil-spitting single "In Evil, Sickness And In Grief", along with a vicious lyric video. Expect some of the fastest and most brutal black metal accompanied by epic melodies, choirs and majestic keyboards in trademark DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED style!

Watch the new lyric video for "In Evil, Sickness And In Grief" below.

DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED on the first single: "'In Evil, Sickness And In Grief' is our first new release since 1998. For the comeback after 23 years of silence, we chose a song that showcases everything that the band is about: murderous blastbeats, catchy riffs spiced with haunting melodies, vicious screams contrasted by clean vocals and choirs, majestic keyboards and eerily beautiful female vocals layers. These ingredients provide the musical canvas for a lyric that features a dialogue between a peasant soldier forcibly drafted to the Swedish army and the Slaughter's Holy Angel of War, who demands such horrific deeds from the soldier that he ends up with a shredded soul."

The new full-length contains eight songs written by the three musicians who founded the band in 1993: Pasi Kankkunen, Jouni Mikkonen and Teemu Kautonen (with substantial creative inputs from Holopainen). The lyrics are based on the human history of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721: how Finns experienced the many manifestations of the Angel of Carnage, sent by God to punish them for their sins.

Bassist Teemu Kautonen on the album: "The lyrics are based on the work of the renowned Finnish historian Teemu Keskisarja. His research inspired us both to carefully embed all lyrics in the appropriate historical context and to bring forth the human dimension by focusing on stories of individual people and how they experienced this perhaps darkest period of Finnish history."

Vocalist/guitarist Pasi Kankkunen adds: "It was very important for us to have the original lineup on the comeback album. We also agreed right at the beginning of the process to share the songwriting in equal proportions — just as we did on the 1996 classic album 'Autumn Roars Thunder'."

The album opener "Name The Dead" sets off with atmospheric organ tunes but leaves no scope for weakness, as only a few seconds later storming drums, aggressive riffs and raging growls set the stage for everything that is about to come: brutal soundscapes spliced with epic accents! The second track, "In Evil, Sickness And In Grief", pierces through the core with a poisoning vocal attack and contrasting operatic female background layers. "Murktide And Midnight Sun" marks folk and Viking reminiscence with its clean and catchy vocal presentation, grand choirs and mystic atmosphere, followed by the heavily stomping "You Bitter Source of Sorrow" and "Where We Dwell" with its haunting, all-consuming keyboard passages. "In Thrall to Ironskull's Heart" showcases the multifaceted character of DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED with an almost balladic start, which evolves into an uptempo, epic journey into the Battle of Napue (1714). The title of the penultimate track "Massacre" conveys the track's musical direction with precision: expect in-your-face blastbeats and gory lyrics. The final song, "Black Fog And Poison Wind", unleashes a sonic monster once more, combining aggression, haunting soundscapes and evil melodies, before "Angel Of Carnage Unleashed" ends with the tunes of a soundtrack-like outro.

"Angel Of Carnage Unleashed" track listing:

01. Name The Dead

02. In Evil, Sickness And In Grief

03. Murktide And Midnight Sun

04. You Bitter Source Of Sorrow

05. Where We Dwell

06. In Thrall To Ironskull's Heart

07. Massacre

08. Black Fog And Poison Wind

09. Outro

DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED is:

Pasi Kankkunen - vocals, guitar

Jouni Mikkonen - guitar

Teemu Kautonen - bass, backing vocals

Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards

Kai Hahto - drums (session)

Photo credit: Antti Ilvonen

Helsinki, Finland's Thy Row, which is helmed by Metal De Facto and Everfrost vocalist Mikael Salo will be releasing the debut album Unchained on September 24, 2021 via Rockshots Records / Rubicon Music (Japan).


Today, the band shares their new music video for their third single "The Downfall, Part 3: Fragments Of Memory", a song inspired by vocalist Mikael Salo's grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.


"‘Fragments Of Memory’ was born in a songwriting camp in Thailand with our guitar players Ville and Jussi and our producer Sami. This song was first given a working title ‘Tiger’, inspired by the Tiger Temple. Jussi started to play this oriental theme where Ville made the haunting chords for the background. Ville had this riff for chorus where it all started to build up. Even Though we had great parts in the song but the parts refused to work together. Everything was just too progressive. When Mikael added vocal melodies the song's idea started to lighten up and now it is one of our favourite songs on the album." 


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Being the third and final song of our trilogy “The Downfall”, it deals with a very heavy and personal topic: losing the grip on our reality through Alzheimer’s disease. Mikael wanted to explore the topic as a kind of therapy having experienced the disease in his family, trying to imagine how it must be to go through something like that through our protagonist’s eyes. The character has arrived at the final stop of the downfall. His persona and memories all start to fade away, the scariness of how that must feel is taking over as the numbed trip towards the end begins. We hold many things for granted in life, and just being healthy in both body and mind is something to truly be grateful for," Salo adds.


Founded in 2017, the band made their first entry on the Finnish scene with their 2019 independently released self-titled EP. The record's lead single "The Round" reached over 110K streams on Spotify and added to the EP's overall praise that gave the group the opportunity to tour Japan in 2019 with Beast In Black and Swallow The Sun.


Ready to follow up the success of that EP, Thy Row's first full-length offers up a fresh mix of the finest heavy metal with modern hard rock that every metalhead can bang their heads to. With ten tracks plus a bonus cover of X Japan's "Blue Blood" for its Japanese release, there are lots of great melodies spiced up with shakin’ riffs that are sure to encourage fans to turn up their stereo knobs all the way to eleven and enjoy.


“Our fans have waited for this album since we released our EP. We showed everyone that we are a force to be reckoned with and this record is going to prove that to everyone.” comments bassist Juho Jokimies.


Unchained features guest artists Ben Varon (Oceanhoarse, ex-Amoral), Ilja Jalkanen (Raskasta Joulua, Kiuas), and Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun, Smackbound) plus was mixed by Jussi Kraft (Starkraft Studio) and partly by Nino Laurenne (Sonic Pump Studios). Mastering was handled by Grammy-nominated Svante Forsbäck of Chartmakers Mastering (Rammstein, Volbeat).


The story behind the record is the telling of Thy Row becoming a band and the tale of their collective brotherhood as they grow and learn from one another. Many of the tracks deal with personal matters from each member. 


"Creating this album was a long and a hard process, but it was also a road we wanted to walk to be able to present this music to the people. With a guitar case in hand, not knowing each other originally, we became friends and we made this album with pure innocent passion and love for the music. Every song, every story is connected to our lives and our friendship, and we hold this piece very close to our hearts! Each one of us gave our best and more, developing as musicians and people in the process. None of us wanted to compromise in any area, and that made the creation process extremely long and difficult. However, we feel that our debut album is a victory of not giving up, supporting your team members when the going gets tough, and crossing the finishing line with pride and determination. The story, the sound and the process are the epitome of our lives, thoughts and experiences from those times we were making this album, and we hope that people will enjoy this ride we have to offer!"


Preorder at the Rockshots Records webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Road Goes On”
“The Round”
“Unchained”
“Horizons”
“Hidebound”
“Just Fine”
“Down On My Knees”
“The Downfall, Part 1: Killing All Inside”
“The Downfall, Part 2: Beyond Reason”
“The Downfall, Part 3: Fragments of Memory”
“Blue Blood” (X Japan cover – Japanese bonus track)


"Fragments Of Memory" video:





"Horizon" video:





“Road Goes On” video:








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After more than 10 years and 4 studio albums created together, Décembre Noir have now parted ways with drummer Kevin Klaus Schmidt. Statement from the group can be read down under.

Statement from the band: "There will probably always remain a strange feeling when a member of a band decides to no longer look into the future together with the others, but to look back at the shared time spent with music in the past. Kevin set the pace for Décembre Noir for the last time at our belated release shows in Erfurt.

"He came to us to help out for three concerts and then stayed for almost 10 years and shaped all 4 studio albums with his style. We can only say thank you for this time and your inexhaustible energy for the band.

"We wish you all the best for the future and that we can still experience some nice moments together outside of the band."

Lucifer will release their new album, Lucifer V, on October 29 via Century Media. The band has released the new single and video, “Bring Me His Head”.


For this video, singer Johanna Sadonis had the idea to pay tribute to Brian De Palmas 1976 horror classic, Carrie. She says: "Carrie is one of my favorite movies. Being an outsider myself my entire life, I've always identified with her. We are very excited that this time we got to work with director Amir Chamdin and photographer Crille Forsberg on our videos. Their body of work is quite breathtaking, if you look it up, so it was a real honor. The video to 'Bring Me His Head' is only one part of the story but we can't give anything more away at this point."





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Inspired by the expressiveness of classic albums of the 70's, the timeless provocative cover art of Lucifer's new album perfectly captures the group's defiant stance and sonic presence.


Johanna finds the following words about the creation of the album artwork: "As a kid I was fascinated by Madonna's 'Like A Prayer'. A sexually liberated and very powerful business woman dancing in front of burning crosses. But that was considered self indulgent and blasphemous to many men, and unfortunately also some women. It was the ultimate provocation of "the whore". To me figures like her and so many other women that try to express themselves freely and the backlash that follows, are symbolized by the eternal witch that gets put up on the stake and must be burnt to death. As a female in this world and in the business I've had my own share of emotional and physical abuse. It has not made me bitter but very defiant. The artwork, as well as some of the lyrical content of this album is my personal "Fuck You" to the patriarchy, to the men and their codependent women that have or have tried to belittle, gaslight,  emotionally assault and spread untruths about me - the ones that tried to keep me from making music. Did I have to sign a contract to keep me silent in the past? Yes I have. But, here I am, continuing to make one album after the next with my great peers in Lucifer. Try to put me on the stake and I'll laugh in your face. You can't hold down my spirit. You can also look at the cover this way; the woman gets the role assigned of the ever so maternal holy Mary or the whore but not Jesus? So I decided I'm gonna get up on that damn cross myself then. Time to move over. I drew a sketch and we had it built by our cross carpenter general. Unfortunately not by Jesus, the carpenter, himself. One of my favorite photographers, Ester Segarra, masterfully captured the real life scene after my mock idea, that consisted of a wooden Jesus on a crucifix set aglow from below to symbolise the burning fire of the stake. If you see this cover as a mockery of Christianity - great - whatever tickles you! But it is so much more than that. And that is just the cover. I cannot wait to let the music speak, come album release!"


The new album is available in the following formats:


- Ltd. black Gatefold 180g LP + CD (in deluxe hardcover gatefold sleeve, only available in the 1st pressing)
- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Digital Album


Pre-order your format of choice here.





Tracklisting:


"Archangel Of Death"
"Wild Hearses"
"Crucifix (I Burn For You)"
"Bring Me His Head"
"Mausoleum"
"The Funeral Pyre"
"Cold As A Tombstone"
"Louise"
"Nightmare"
"Orion"
"Phobos"


“Wild Hearses” lyric video:





Lineup:


Johanna Platow Andersson – Vocals
Nicke Platow Andersson – Drums
Linus Björklund – Guitar
Martin Nordin – Guitar
Harald Göthblad - Bass


(Photo - Ester Segarra)





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Former MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman John Corabi, who joined the band in 1992 as the replacement for original singer Vince Neil, has released a new single, "Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)". The song is available now on all digital platforms. An accompanying music video can be viewed below.

"Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)" was produced and co-written in Corabi's hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, with Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE) and is the first of several new singles to be made available.

"Cosi Bella' came about from a writing session I did with Marti for THE DEAD DAISIES' 'Burn It Down' record," states Corabi. "I had the initial verse idea, and a chorus that didn't quite work for the tune. I played it for Marti, and he liked the idea but gave me a better idea for the chorus. We recorded the rough idea on my phone, with both of us just scatting the melody. THE DAISIES heard the idea but felt it didn't quite fit their format, so I put it to bed for a bit. After leaving the band in 2019, I started to revisit old ideas I had and sat down and recorded the track. Being new to Pro Tools, I took the song as far as I could and sent it to Marti to produce. I explained the song was musically inspired to a degree by 'Penny Lane' by THE BEATLES and 'Killer Queen' by QUEEN, so Marti and his son Evan recut the drums and bass, and added some horns, and sprinkled their magical fairy dust on the track to give it that shiny polished sound. I wrote the lyrics, and after singing the song, I felt 'So Beautiful' was kind of an average title, so I looked those words up in a translation app and found it in Italian ('Cosi Bella') and felt it had a nice ring to it. It's not what some people truly expect from me, but I LOVE the way the song turned out, and it's just a happy little upbeat love song with a twist! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Corabi in 2016 said that he would avoid talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE in the future because he didn't want his comments about Sixx to descend into a feud.

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, Nikki said that writing the "Mötley Crüe" LP with Corabi was a prolonged and difficult experience. He went to call it "a very unfocused record" that was "painful for me, because John Corabi can't write lyrics, and I had to do all that work."

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

KORN singer Jonathan Davis is "still struggling with COVID after-effects," two weeks after it was announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As a result of his infection, the band was forced to postpone six dates on its current U.S. tour.

Earlier today, KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch released a video message in which he offered an update on Davis's health. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Shoutout to Indianapolis/Noblesville, Indiana… My God, you guys gave us so much love last night. We appreciate you so much. Jonathan Davis is still struggling with the COVID after-effects. He's physically weak and having a mental battle. And any type of love, light and energy you can throw at him — prayers, all of it. We have shows coming up, so all of you guys, check the dates. Whatever show you're going to, throw him some love and energy, man — he needs you more than ever."

A few of KORN's shows had to be canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

KORN's first concert following Davis's COVID-19 diagnosis took place on August 27 in Tinley Park, Illinois.

In the past month and a half, a number of other high-profile hard rock and heavy metal artists — including IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson, TESLA, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, SHINEDOWN and LIMP BIZKIT — have also called off shows or played concerts without members who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The cancelations and the increased number of COVID-19 infections are driven in large part by the fact that the delta variant of the coronavirus, now the most common strain circulating in the United States, has a supercharged transmissibility, driven in part by how the mutated virus behaves in the body after infection.

New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 illness are spreading in the United States and other countries. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants. However, some variants might cause illness in some people after they are fully vaccinated.

Even though vaccines offer different ranges of protection, experts say getting fully vaccinated is crucial.

Tech / melodeath unit Mother Of All released their debut album, Age Of The Solipsist, in June via Black Lion Records. Now the band has premiered a playthrough video for "Curators Of Our World Scope", performed by Martin Haumann on drums, Steve Di Giorgio on bass and Frederik Jensen on guitars. Video edited by Frederik Jensen.





Age Of The Solipsist artwork and tracklisting:


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Tracklisting:


"Autumn"
"We Don’t Agree"
"Curators Of Our World Scope"
"Age Of The Solipsist"
"At The Edge Of A Dream"
"Blood Still Owed"
"Feel The Pain"


"Autumn":





"We Don't Agree":





For further details, visit Mother Of All on Facebook.


 


 





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Personal Records has announced Le Chant Noir's second album, La Société Satanique des Poètes Morts, on CD format. Digital distribution will be handled by Blood Blast. BraveWords is premiering the band’s new single, “Eloa, Le Bel Ange”. Listen below!





Le Chant Noir · 09 LE CHANT NOIR - Eloa, Le Bel Ange


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Formed in 2016, Le Chant Noir arrived on the international metal map with single-minded purpose: deliver a grandiose statement of the majestic and macabre. And that's exactly what they did with their debut album, Ars Arcanvm Vodvm, in 2017. Then again, Le Chant Noir was hardly a "new" band, comprising as they do a veritable "supergroup" of the Brazilian underground: vocalist Lord Kaiaphas, well known for the classic albums of Norway's Ancient, Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends and The Cainian Chronicles, as well as Thokkian Vortex among others; guitarist Mantus AKA Marcelo Vasco, known for such bands as The Troops of Doom, Patria, and Mysteriis as well as being an acclaimed graphic artist for the likes of Slayer, Kreator, Machine Head, Soulfly, and Hatebreed; and the drummer Malphas, who's a bandmate of Vasco's in Mysteriis.


A press release states: "At long last, Le Chant Noir deliver their second statement of the majestic and macabre: La Société Satanique des Poètes Morts. Building upon the firm foundation of its acclaimed predecessor, Le Chant Noir's second album threads together the darkest fibers of archaic black metal, doom metal, and even dark metal, arriving at a sort of avant-garde symphonic black metal that's simultaneously authentic throwback and refreshingly modern. 


"Taken another way, immerse thyself in the chilling waters of La Société Satanique des Poètes Morts and one can imagine this sort of high drama slotting well alongside Rotting Christ, Bethlehem, and Arcturus during the late '90s - indeed, the very era where dark metal was in legitimate parlance. References or none, however, there's no disputing the spindly, spellbinding power of Le Chant Noir here, as their unsettlingly odd textures and vampiric, olde-worlde atmospheres easily transport the listener to centuries long ago and perhaps long forgotten, of French cabarets populated by aristocratic Satanists and those practicing medieval witchcraft. Simply, it's an entire sonic/psychic landscape unto itself, and one you'd be hard pressed to locate in today's metal scene."





Tracklisting:


“Messe noir”
“Le vampire”
“Prière à Satan”
“Nuit de l'enfer”
“Le baron sanglant”
“Marche infernale”
“Les métamorphoses du vampire”
“La danse macabre”
“Eloa, Le bel ange”
“La morte vivante”


Line-up:
Lord Kaiaphas (Vocals and Lyrics)
Mantus (Guitar, Bass and Synths)
Malphas (Drums and Percussion)





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Stone Whiskey continues to promote their incredible debut album, Rebels Of The Sun, with the release of a fifth single and video, "Out On The City".


Filmed in downtown Raleigh, NC at the following locations: Woody's City Market, Backstage Pub, Lincoln Theatre, and John Savage Tattoo, the video for "Out On The City" is a ride you'll want to be part of.





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North Carolina hard rockers, Stone Whiskey, released their debut album, Rebels Of The Sun, a record chock full of hard-hitting rebellious rock ‘n’ roll, in May 2021.


“This album screams rock ‘n’ roll from start to finish,” says guitarist Bill Spears. “It's got all the key ingredients I want in a band... killer vocals, big guitars, catchy hooks and stories delivered with just the right amount of swagger and character.”


Stone Whiskey’s classic, time tested sound was bought to life by producer Anthony Focx, whose more than 500 releases include Buckcherry, Night Ranger, Vince Neil, Daughtry, Aerosmith and 17 gold and platinum awards.


“Quarantine really gave us the time to focus on writing songs and recording the album,” says vocalist Alan Rueda. “Being able to work with a producer like Anthony Focx was awesome. He took what we had and made it sound like a rock album should sound.”


There’s no filler on Rebels Of The Sun, with each of the record’s nine tracks delivering a hefty dose of high-energy rock. Drawing comparisons to Guns N’ Roses’ early recordings, Stone Whiskey has already garnered praise for their classic sound, with fans enthusing that the Raleigh-based quintet is carrying the old school rock ‘n’ roll torch for a new generation.


“This album is made to be played as loud as possible,” notes bassist Jim Hunter. “If you dig albums like Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction and The Cult’s Electric, Rebels Of The Sun just might scratch that rock n roll itch.”


Check out the videos for the first four singles from the release, the title track “Rebels Of The Sun”, “Into The Moonlight”, "Empty Eyes", and "Feels Like Yesterday" below. 


Get your copy of Rebels Of The Sun here.





Tracklisting:


"Into The Moonlight"
"Empty Eyes"
"Rebels Of The Sun"
"Out On The City"
"Troublemaker"
"Mirror"
"Feels Like Yesterday"
"Talkin' Dirty"
"Livin' Wild"


"Rebels Of The Sun" video:





"Into The Moonlight" video:





"Empty Eyes" video:





"Feels Like Yesterday" video:





 


 





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In a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted discussed the sound of the band's "...And Justice For All" album. While "...And Justice For All" is considered one of METALLICA's classics, it has been criticized almost since the day it was released in 1988 for the lack of any bass guitar on the record. Newsted's playing is virtually buried in the mix — and many fans feel that drummer Lars Ulrich, who had very specific ideas for how he wanted his drums to sound, is to blame.

Newsted said that he was "fucking livid" when he heard "...And Justice For All" for the first time. "Are you kidding me?" he told Metal Hammer. "I was ready [to go] for throats, man! No, I was out of my head, because I really thought I did well. And I thought I played how I was supposed to play."

Newsted went on to say that METALLICA's sound always revolved around Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield. "Lars and James were the original garage band duo, as far as that goes," he explained. "They always made the records that way, from [1982 demo cassette] 'No Life 'Til Leather', it was Lars and James, guitar and drums. On the original 'No Life 'Til Leather' cassette — if you happen to ever see a real copy or a photo of a real copy — in Lars's handwriting, in ink pen, on the label of the cassette, [it reads] 'Turn bass down on stereo.' On 'No Life 'Til Leather'! They mixed it how it was supposed to be mixed: there's the bass and there's the guitar from all the way back. But Lars didn't want [that] because it messed with his drums somehow, so when he sends the demo out to fucking Combat Records and wherever, [his instruction is] 'Turn the bass down before you even listen to this.' Before you even get it going, just turn the bass down. Right from the get-go. Before you even start. That's where he's been his whole goddamn life, so why would it be any different when it came to ['…And Justice For All']? They made 'Kill 'Em All' that way, they made 'Ride [The Lightning]' that way, they made 'Master [Of Puppets]' that way, all of them. Those two guys in a room [mimics drum beats and playing], that's the way it always happened. [For] the most successful metal band of all time. So you argue with this shit? I'm not really sure. Now it's become the best garage band album ever [for artists such as] BLACK KEYS, WHITE STRIPES, DUO JETS, the different ‘power duos' of garage stuff."

Two years ago, Hetfield defended the sound of "...And Justice For All", saying that he and his bandmates simply "wanted the best-sounding record" they could make. "It was not all about, 'Fuck [Jason]. Let's turn him down.' That's for sure," he said. "We wanted the best-sounding record we could make. That was our goal. We were burnt. We were frigging fried. Going back and forth [between touring and mixing the album]. Playing a gig. No earplugs, no nothing. You go back into the studio, your hearing is shot. If your ears can't hear any high end anymore, you're gonna turn it up. So we're turning the high end up more and more and more and all of a sudden, low end's gone. So I know that played a bigger part than any hazing or any ill feelings towards Jason, for sure. We were fried. We were burnt."

Hetfield also addressed some of the criticism leveled at METALLICA by one of the "...And Justice For All" album mixers, Steve Thompson. In a 2015 interview with Ultimate Guitar, Thompson suggested that Ulrich was the culprit for the lack of any bass guitar on the record, claiming that Lars wanted his drums to sound a certain way — even if it meant cutting out the bass.

"We wanted it tight," James explained. "We wanted it fucking tight. That's what we wanted. We wanted the snare, we wanted the guitar, we wanted everything up front and in your face and really tight. And we thought we got it. And, you know, we kinda know what we want to sound like. Can we sit behind a desk and make it happen? No. We ask people to do it, and they do it. So [Thompson] did his job. He's got nothing to apologize for or point fingers at. No one's to blame for 'something.' It is a piece of art. It happened and it ended up the way it is for a reason. And for reasons we were just talking about. We were burnt. We're traveling, we're playing a gig, our ears were fried. We were not sleeping. He doesn't need to defend himself. He was a part of an awesome album in history, so I think he should be maybe be a little easier on himself."

James also once again dismissed calls for METALLICA to remix "…And Justice For All" so that Newsted's contributions are more audible.

"All this [bass discussion] is after the fact, and it's, like, who gives a shit, man, really?" Hetfield said. "And why would you change that? Why would you change history? Why would you all of a sudden put bass on it? There is bass on it, but why would you remix an album? You can remaster it, yes, but why would you remix something and make it different? It'd be like… I don't know. Not that I'm comparing us to the Mona Lisa, but it's, like, 'Uh, can we make her smile a little better?!' You know?! Why?"

In a 2008 interview with Decibel magazine, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett attempted to explain the lack of bass on "…And Justice For All", saying that "the reason you can't hear the bass so well is because the bass frequencies in Jason's tone kinda interfered with the tone that James was trying to shoot for with his rhythm guitar sound, and every time the two blended together, it just wasn't happening. So the only thing left to do was turn the bass down in the mix. It was unfortunate, but for some reason or another, that album is known for the low end being there without the bass being very high up in the mix. It was an experiment, too — we were totally going for a dry, in-your-face sound, and some people really like that sound. A lot of the newer-generation bands, especially, think that album sounds great. But at the end of the day, it was an experiment. I'm not really sure it was 100 percent successful, but it is a unique sound that that album has."

In the Ultimate Guitar interview, Thompson said that he spoke out because he was tired of being blamed for the lack of bass. He remarked: "They flew us out [to METALLICA's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2009] and I'm sitting with Lars. He goes, 'Hey, what happened to the bass in 'Justice'?' He actually asked me that. I wanted to cold cock him right there. It was a shame because I'm the one getting the shit for the lack of bass."

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that fans were extremely vocal about the sound of the album at the time of its release. "I mean, it was unbelievable, you know, '...And Justice For All', " he said. "People were saying, 'That's the worst-sounding record, where's the bass, and it sounds like it was recorded in a garage, and...' But, you know, listen, you do the best you can in the moment and then you move

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, JUDAS PRIEST's Scott Travis spoke about the recent passing of SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison. Asked if he ever had a chance to meet Joey and what he thought of Jordison's drumming, Travis said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, he was a phenomenal, crazy drummer. I never met him. We toured together on the Ozzfest tour in 2004. It was right when Rob [Halford] rejoined [PRIEST]. And I think it was the same tour that the original BLACK SABBATH, I believe, was on it, with PRIEST and BLACK LABEL [SOCIETY]. And then, apparently, on the other stage would have been — what they called the smaller stage — was a band called SLIPKNOT. I used to hear them play, but I regret now not going over and actually paying more attention to 'em, 'cause, obviously, that's when Joey was still in the band. But since that, which was 2004, I became a big fan of his and, obviously, listened to a lot of his stuff."

He continued: "Just like Vinnie Paul [Abbott, late PANTERA drummer], it's really regrettable that these fantastic drummers are no longer with us. It makes me appreciate every day and every minute I spend behind the kit, because just those two drummers, and a few other drummers — A.J. Pero from TWISTED SISTER passed recently, and we lost Frankie Banali [QUIET RIOT]. Drummers, man — we explode like with SPINAL TAP; we will explode on a drum stool on stage. I don't know what it is; I really don't. [Maybe] we just abuse ourselves too much or something. But I'm very appreciative of every minute and all the time we have left on this earth, especially after the last two years of this crazy pandemic and all the people that have suffered through that. It's mind-numbing that it's happened, but at the same time, like I said, those of us that have survived, we need to be appreciative of every day above ground."

Jordison's family confirmed that he passed away "peacefully in his sleep" on July 26 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

The same year that he exited SLIPKNOT, Jordison launched the band SCAR THE MARTYR and later, VIMIC. He also collaborated with former DRAGONFORCE and current KREATOR bassist Frédéric Leclercq in SINSAENUM.

METALLICA's Lars Ulrich has paid tribute to THE ROLLING STONES drummer Charlie Watts, who died on Tuesday (August 24) at the age of 80. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Ulrich said: "It hits hard on many levels. Obviously, as a STONES fan, it's sort of the end of at least an era within that band, because he was the only drummer that ever recorded with them. He was such a significant part of their sound, and an underrated part of their sound. In a band where the spotlight would go to especially Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards], a lot of people truly didn't understand how valuable he was. And from that side, as a STONES fan, it's a great loss."

Ulrich went on to call Watts the "driving force" behind THE ROLLING STONES. "He could kick these songs and make them swing, make them swagger, still make them have that attitude, that pocket," he said. "Seeing him do that way deep into his seventies has been such a life-affirming thing. [METALLICA are] a good 20, 25 years behind, but it's given me a lot of faith in the possibilities of what it can continue to be — music, concerts, connecting to fans, connecting to each other as a band. There's nobody above them on that pyramid, and there's nobody above Charlie on that pyramid. Of course, there are a couple of incredible jazz drummers who played into their eighties, but there's been nobody above Charlie in the rock and roll pyramid in terms of being out there and doing it."

Watts's publicist said that he "passed away peacefully in a London hospital surrounded by his family."

Charlie's death came just weeks after THE ROLLING STONES announced that Watts would be missing several U.S. tour dates while he was recovering from an unspecified medical procedure.

Although Watts wasn't a founding member of THE STONES, he had been with the band since January 1963.

He battled throat cancer in 2004 but got the all clear after undergoing two operati