In a new interview with Hard, Heavy & Hair With Pariah Burke, legendary drummer Vinny Appice once agin spoke about the importance of punctuality when it comes to being in a band, especially as it relates to performing live.

Asked what advice he would give to younger musicians looking to make their mark on the music scene, Vinny said: "First of all, for a musician, you've gotta practice. Become good at what you do, whether you play drums or guitar or bass or sing. And you've gotta have songs that people wanna hear that maybe stand out or a sound that stands out. Songs are important. You can have a great band that doesn't have good songs, and they'll do okay, but if you have a shitty band that has great songs, they'll probably be really big. People love songs; the power is in the songs. So songwriting is important, so you've gotta get into that pretty heavy and try to work together and come up with some great songs. And then as far as individual musicians, don't be an asshole in the band. Be on time. Be a team player. Support the other guys and don't try to argue — kind of stay away from that stuff.

"The being-on-time thing is important," he explained. "I played in a band, KILL DEVIL HILL, [which] was notorious for time. We'd say, 'Let's rehearse at two o'clock. Three-thirty people are getting there. I can't stand that shit. That's actually what broke the band [up] — well, me leaving the band was [because] I couldn't deal with that stuff anymore. You call rehearsal at two. I've got things to do. I'm there at two. And we rehearse and then go home. This was just a waste of time. And then it became that at the gigs. We were supposed to go on at 9:30. Oh, okay, by the time everybody got their shit together, it was 11 o'clock we'd go on. And on Monday night. So people there that'd see the band, they'd stay for one song, and they've gotta go to work the next day. It's, like, why are you self-mutilating this band?

"When I played with Tony [Iommi], Geezer [Butler] and Ronnie [James Dio], we rehearsed at two o'clock. I'd get there at 1:30. I see Ronnie pull up. I see Tony's in the room already playing the guitar and getting a sound out of his rig or checking out his effects or doing whatever. It's 1:30; we're not even starting yet. And that's the way it's always been — no one's ever been late playing with those guys. And DIO, the same thing. Vivian [Campbell, guitar] is always on time. Jimmy [Bain, bass] not so much. Jimmy stumbles in a little late. We could deal with it. That's what I mean by being on time, because this is ridiculous — a waste of time. And everybody gets burned out. If you're getting together at two and nobody's there till three or four o'clock, you're sitting around for an hour, an hour and a half, and you kind of get a little more burned out, 'cause you're waiting so long.

"[KISS's] Gene Simmons did a Rock Camp. I do a lot of Rock ['N' Roll] Fantasy Camps. And he said the same thing. He said, 'I still feel blessed to be stepping on this stage.' He was supposed to be at the Rock Camp at one o'clock or something, and he was there at 11. And then he showed his book of appointments that day, and there were all these things that started at six in the morning. He goes, 'Look what I did today.' It says, 'Rock Camp [at] 2 p.m.' And he goes, 'It's 11:15 now, and I'm here.' He's early. So, he stressed the point of being on time, which was a really good point — of working together and not being somebody carrying your weight in the band."

Vinny left KILL DEVIL HILL in March 2014. He has since been replaced by Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE).

KILL DEVIL HILL, which also initially featured former PANTERA and DOWN bassist Rex Brown, released its sophomore album, "Revolution Rise", in October 2013 via Century Media Records.

Appice joined BLACK SABBATH in 1980 during the "Heaven And Hell" tour and appeared on the albums "Live Evil" (1982) and "Mob Rules" (1981). In late 1982 he left BLACK SABBATH with Dio and formed the band DIO. They recorded "Holy Diver" (1983), "The Last in Line" (1984), "Sacred Heart" (1985), "Intermission" (1986), and "Dream Evil" (1987). In December 1989, Appice left DIO. In 1992, he returned to BLACK SABBATH for the "Dehumanizer" album and tour. He then rejoined DIO and they recorded "Strange Highways" (1994) and "Angry Machines" (1996).

Appice rejoined his BLACK SABBATH bandmates Dio, Butler and Iommi in 2006 as HEAVEN & HELL, touring and releasing one studio album, "The Devil You Know", before Dio's death in 2010.

Under the moniker APPICE, Vinny and his brother Carmine released "Sinister", their first joint studio album, in 2017 through SPV/Steamhammer.

SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green spoke to The Metal Mixtape about the importance of making his health a priority while spending so much time on the road with his band. "I think it's hand in hand, man," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I've noticed so many artists, as far as older artists that I admire, taking care of themselves, and it really was an inspiration to me. I mean, even artists who are in completely [different] genres of music, like Sting or Lionel Richie or Sammy Hagar, they all look fantastic for their age, and they're still playing music and still able to do their thing. And I always idolized that. I never thought it was cool that people were dying young who were musicians… I always thought this was not cool at all — to go out on stage and be completely messed up."

He continued: "I thought it was sad and tragic seeing Amy Winehouse come out, knowing her potential, and then doing these horrible shows and having her career end [so suddenly]. It was barely starting. It's very sad. And I just never liked, as a fan, to go to a show and see bands wasted while they're performing or not being able to do their job or just look beaten down. It's just, like, 'Wow.' It takes a lot away from the artist. So I felt that, for the longevity and to really be serious and professional about what you do is to really put aside the drugs and the lifestyle that people think that rock and rollers have or the preconceptions that people have about that and go with something that makes me feel good. I love to do music, and I love to feel healthy doing it."

Cleveland native Green went from fronting hardcore band OUTFACE in Ohio to relocating to New York and then living in São Paulo, Brazil for nearly two decades.

Green moved to Los Angeles in 2018, telling Brazil's Kazagastão: "It's kind of a shock, because so much has happened within the U.S. It's been changing radically. I mean, 20 years ago, I would never think about living in L.A., but the city, I believe, has gotten better. It's moving in a very positive direction. There's a lot of creative people that are living there, so it's a place that's really great to come into and adapt to a different life or a different mood."

Last year, SEPULTURA launched "SepulQuarta", a weekly event where the band gave insight into its colorful history, took part in question-and-answer sessions with fans and performed music while in quarantine. Some of the musical collaborations, including those with members of MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, TRIVIUM and SACRED REICH, will be released as a full-length album, also titled "SepulQuarta", on August 13.

In a brand new interview with "Lipps Service With Scott Lipps", LIVING COLOUR guitarist Vernon Reid was asked if the band has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2017's "Shade" album. He responded: "Corey [Glover, LIVING COLOUR singer] and I started working on a song. We'll see where that goes."

As for what possible lyrical themes the new LIVING COLOUR songs will cover, Vernon said: "We're processing what exactly this period… 'Cause a lot of folks, their immediate reaction, a lot of [musicians] are [writing songs about] George Floyd-type things," referring to the unarmed Minnesota man who died last year at the hands of police. "We're really looking at absorbing it, because I don't wanna just do a George Floyd hook. That situation was so traumatizing, and we wanna think that the world was shifted. And the world gets traumas every now and again. The murder of Martin Luther King was traumatizing. And eventually you get something like 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)' [by U2]; it's a beautiful song. But the underlying issue and underlying problem never seems to go away. And it's the not-going-awayness of it that's what I would wanna talk about."

He continued: "There's something this litany of names, the constant litany of names [of victims of racial injustice]. Whose will the next name be is what concerns me as opposed to being stuck on a particular victim. Even though what happened to George Floyd was particularly egregious, there's another part of the phenomenon that is where the Breonnas [Taylor] and the Ahmauds [Arbery] — and the names keep going. Lately, there was a victim; his name's Winston Smith. And it strikes me very strongly, because Winston Smith is [also the name of] a protagonist of George Orwell's '1984'. And it's those kinds of things that are what LIVING COLOUR are gonna go; those are the kind of places we're gonna go."

In June 2020, LIVING COLOUR released a video for its classic song "This Is The Life" featuring footage of the peaceful protests that swelled across the U.S. and around the world over the death of Floyd at the hands of police. The original version of "This Is The Life" appeared on LIVING COLOUR's 1990 album "Time's Up".

In a statement accompanying the video's release, LIVING COLOUR said: "'Time's Up' was released 30 years ago and sadly we're still fighting the same fight. If you don't like the current agenda, it's your responsibility to go out an VOTE!"

A few days after Floyd's death, Reid took to his Twitter to write: " Of all the shocking mobile phone recorded extra judicial Police killings, the murder of George Floyd is the most depraved exercise in contemptuous disregard for human life I've ever seen. Next time you see it- if you can stomach it- pay attention to the hand in pocket posture."

LIVING COLOUR will join forces with EVERCLEAR, HOOBASTANK and WHEATUS for the "Summerland" tour. Kicking off later this month, the tour will make its way through cities such as Atlantic City, Houston, Cincinnati and Fort Wayne, to name a few.

"Shade" was released in September 2017 via Megaforce Records.

The new lineup of the classic French heavy metal band SORTILÈGE will release an album, "Phoenix", on August 27 via Verycords/Warner. The effort features 12 re-recorded songs from the SORTILÈGE catalog plus two new tracks.

"Phoenix" was mixed by the band and Anthony Arconte and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound Studios.

A re-recorded version of the song "D'ailleurs", taken from "Phoenix", can be streamed below.

SORTILÈGE's current lineup includes only singer Christian "Zouille" Augustin from the band's classic formation.

Formed in 1981, SORTILÈGE released a self-titled EP in 1983 and followed it up with an amazing debut album, "Métamorphose", one year later. The two releases quickly gained cult status, and are now known as some of the most important — if not the most important — heavy metal releases from France.

Although SORTILÈGE's original albums all featured French lyrics (as did practically all French metal albums back in the '80s), English-language versions of the band's two albums ("Métamorphose" and 1986's "Larmes De Héros") were also made available.

SORTILÈGE was one of DEATH leader Chuck Schuldiner's favorite bands, and he proudly wore his SORTILÈGE t-shirt at various concerts prior to his untimely passing in 2001.

SORTILÈGE 2021 is:

Christian "Zouille" Augustin - Vocals

Olivier Spitzer - Guitar

Bruno Ramos - Guitar

Sébastien Bonnet (ZUUL FX) - Bass

Clément Rouxel (ZUUL FX) - Drums

George Lynch rejoined DOKKEN on stage last night (Friday, July 9) in Moline, Illinois to perform the band's classic song "Kiss Of Death". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Prior to last night's concert, George had played three songs with DOKKEN at the Live United Live Music Festival in Sunbury, Pennsylvania in early June.

Four months ago, Lynch was asked in an interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com if there has been any talk of more shows featuring the reunited classic lineup of DOKKEN. He responded: "I've actually been talking to Don [Dokken] a little bit, and we're both in agreement that that should probably happen — meaning some kind of a meaningful reunion done in the right way, carefully and with proper preparation and time and rehearsals and not just throwing it out there like we did last time." George went on to say that "the obvious choice" to replace DOKKEN's recently retired drummer "Wild" Mick Brown would be Mick's brother Steve, who can be heard playing alongside Lynch and ex-DOKKEN bassist Jeff Pilson on the latest THE END MACHINE album, "Phase2".

In a separate interview with Alamo True Metal, Lynch reflected on the last time DOKKEN's classic lineup — Dokken, Lynch, Pilson and Mick Brown — reunited for a short Japanese tour in the fall of 2016. The trek marked the first time in 21 years the four musicians had hit the road together.

"I think I was slightly disappointed in it — not overwhelmingly disappointed, but I have some regrets," he said. "I wish we had prepared more. And I know we all feel that way. 'Cause of the logistics, we all had things we had to do right after the time we had allotted and beforehand. So we just were barely able to even pull it off with everybody else's pre-existing commitments. The fact that we got to do it at all was… you know, we were fortunate for even being able to pull it off. So we were a little underprepared, I feel. And yes, we were offered a good amount of money to go to Japan and do some other things, so it made it just kind of a no-brainer."

A DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour, "Return To The East Live (2016)", was made available in 2018. In addition to the Japanese performance, the set included footage from the classic lineup's only U.S. show in September 2016 at Badlands in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as well as newly recorded acoustic reworkings of "Heaven Sent" and "Will The Sun Rise". Also featured on "Return To The East Live (2016)" was "It's Just Another Day", the first DOKKEN track featuring the group's classic lineup since 1997's "Shadowlife".

Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill, guitarist Jon Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

Over the past four years, Lynch has appeared on recordings by THE END MACHINE, KXM, ULTRAPHONIX and SWEET & LYNCH. He will release his first-ever full-length instrumental album, "Seamless", in August via Rat Pak Records.






Legendary guitarist George Lynch has been added to our Friday July 9th line up Dokken/Lynch Reunion; Firehouse, & Jack Russell's Great White - get tickets now at the following link: https://bit.ly/3cZJ35j

Posted by TaxSlayer Center on Monday, June 21, 2021

KORN has enlisted Roberto "Ra" Díaz (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) to fill in for Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu on the band's upcoming tour. Fieldy announced last month that he would sit out the trek in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."

"We appreciate your kind words of support in response to the recent tour update about @Fieldykorn," KORN wrote in a social media update earlier today. "While our brother takes some time to heal, we wanted to let you know that we are bringing our friend @Ra_Diaz from @SuicidalTendencies out with us this summer to fill in on KORN bass duties. We've all been rehearsing to get ready to bring the heat, and we can't wait to see you next month."

On June 21, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from the trek, writing in a social media post: "To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I've been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It's been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I'm going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.

"I'm thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.

"Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don't want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle."

A short time later, KORN's official social media shared Fieldy's statement, along with the following message: "We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first."

In May, KORN announced a U.S. summer tour featuring special guests STAIND on all dates. Produced by Live Nation, the coast-to-coast 28-city outing will kick off August 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida and make stops in Long Island, Detroit, Irvine, Phoenix, Austin and more, before wrapping up with a performance at Dallas' Dos Equis Pavilion on September 21. Furthermore, both bands will perform at Louisville, Kentucky's Louder Than Life festival on September 23.

Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN's South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

Fieldy's STILLWELL side project released its third album, "Supernatural Miracle", last September.

KORN's latest LP, "The Nothing", arrived in September 2019 via Roadrunner/Elektra. The follow-up to 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering" was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.
























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Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as THE DOORS, and parsing fact from fiction has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after fifty years, THE DOORS' notoriously quiet guitarist, Robby Krieger, is ready to set the record straight. In his first-ever memoir, "Set The Night On Fire: Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar With The Doors", written with Jeff Alulis and to be published by Little, Brown on October 12, 2021, Krieger opens up about the band's meteoric career, his own darkest moments, and the most famous black eye in rock 'n' roll.

Through a series of vignettes, Krieger takes readers back to where it all happened: the pawnshop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents' living room, where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; the empty bars and backyard parties where THE DOORS played their first awkward gigs; the studios where their iconic songs were recorded; and the many venues where concerts erupted into historic riots. "Set The Night On Fire" is packed with never-before-told stories from THE DOORS' vital years, and offers a fresh perspective on infamous moments in the band's career.

Krieger also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life's most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction, to his twin brother's mental breakdown, to his own battle with cancer. Counterbalancing the sorrow are humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk.

"Set The Night On Fire" is at once an insightful time capsule of '60s counterculture, a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself a musician, and a touching tale of a life lived nontraditionally. It's not only a must-read for DOORS fans but an essential volume of American pop culture history. Fans can pre-order the book here.

Krieger is the guitarist for the legendary rock band THE DOORS and the songwriter behind some of the band's biggest hits, including "Love Me Two Times", "Touch Me", "Love Her Madly" and their #1 smash, "Light My Fire". THE DOORS have sold over a hundred million albums worldwide, inspired a major feature film, been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Robby is a Grammy-nominated solo artist and was listed among the "100 Greatest Guitarists" of all time by Rolling Stone. He is also an accomplished painter and the co-founder of the annual Medlock-Krieger Rock & Roll Golf Classic & All-Star Concert.

Jeff Alulis is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller "NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub And Other Stories". He holds an MFA from USC's Graduate Screenwriting Program, he has directed several award-winning music-based documentaries, and he has toured as the vocalist for seminal punk bands DEAD KENNEDYS and REAGAN YOUTH. Aside from writing, film, and music he is an avid traveler, and he documents his journeys at TrueAdventureStories.com.

"Set The Night On Fire" (320 pages/Price: $30.00/ISBN: 978-0316243346) will be published in the following countries:

U.K. - October 2021 - Orion/White Rabbit

Italy - November 16, 2021 - Rizzoli Lizard

Russia - Fall 2021 - AST

Finland - January 2022 - Like

Spain - Spring 2022 - Alianza

Dave Mustaine has unveiled the first glimpse of the bassist that re-recorded David Ellefson's bass tracks on the upcoming MEGADETH album.

Mustaine made the revelation while filming a new video message on Cameo, which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.

Addressing a fan named Alex, Mustaine said: "I'm walking around the studio right now. That's [engineer] Chris Rakestraw sitting back there on the consol. And you've got our mystery bass player hiding behind the chair down there on the floor, so you can't see him. But we will be saying who that is soon. And you actually saw him before anybody else — even though you can't really see him."

Although it's impossible to tell who the bassist is based on the video, the mystery musician appears to be using an Ibanez bass.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee. A short time later, he raved about his performance on the record, telling the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire" that his musical chemistry with MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren was comparable to the interplay between Geddy Lee and Neil Peart on classic RUSH albums. "I feel like on the new MEGADETH record, me and Dirk have those same moments," he said. "It's MEGADETH — it's not RUSH, obviously — but in the field of what we do, there were these moments that I was just going, 'Oh, my God.' This is me as a kid going, 'This is my Geddy/Neil moment right here.'"

Last month, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

"I just wanna thank you for all the kinds words and support as we get ready for this next tour and continue to hunt for a new bass player," the MEGADETH leader said. "We are making progress. The record's being completed, and we're gonna have someone coming in in a couple of weeks to replace the bass tracks that we had. Which should be relatively quick because the person we're talking to is a stellar bass player. And hopefully this will be an ongoing thing after the recording. Or we will find someone prior to the recording that will be our permanent guy going forward."

Ellefson was dismissed from MEGADETH in late May, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. The longtime MEGADETH member later released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of Ellefson by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) The 56-year-old Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist's departure from the band, saying, "We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward," Mustaine wrote. Two days later, Ellefson released a follow-up statement in which he vowed to file a "defamation lawsuit" against the person who "illegally posted a very private video" of the bassist and made "false allegations" against him. He also said he was working with the police in Scottsdale "in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted the video. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ellefson wrote. He went on to say that he was "taking this time to be with my family" and wished his "bandmates" the best with their upcoming tour.

MEGADETH is currently scheduled to take part in "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with LAMB OF GOD, beginning on August 20 in Austin. MEGADETH is also slated to appear at the SLIPKNOT-curated Knotfest in September in Iowa.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest departure.

David, who studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis nearly a decade ago, and his wife Julie Ellefson have been married for 27 years. They have two children.









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In 2022, MANOWAR will embark on the "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour '22", which will be packed with fan favorites from the band's career and will pay special tribute to six signature MANOWAR albums and their anniversaries:

* 40th anniversary of "Battle Hymns"

* 35th anniversary of "Fighting The World"

* 30th anniversary of "The Triumph Of Steel"

* 20th anniversary of "Warriors Of The World"

* 15th anniversary of "Gods Of War"

* 10th anniversary of "The Lord Of Steel"

MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio told Bulgaria's Telegraph Daily about the tour: "It's a very special tour for us. We'll be celebrating special anniversaries of six of our albums. That occasion, of course, calls for something special and special this tour will be: killer setlist, a huge production, some world premieres and lots of surprises."

Asked what it's like to be "the leader of one of the most genius and powerful heavy metal bands in the world," Joey said: "Thank you for the kind words, I will pass the compliment on to the other bandmembers. I don't really think about my life in that way. I just know that I am charged with a great responsibility to try to write and bring to life the very best music I can. Not only for ourselves as a band but for our loyal crew and the greatest fans in the world. I just love what I do, what we do as a band, that we've been able to stay true to ourselves throughout the years and that we have fans all over the world who appreciate us for it. Without a doubt, I am blessed and I know and respect it."

On March 14, 2020, MANOWAR played its long-awaited first-ever concert in Mexico, headlining the Hell & Heaven Metal Fest in Mexico City. This historic event was recorded in highest definition, with over 15 8K and 4K cameras, a drone and immersive audio setup. The resulting footage will soon be released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms under the title "Hell On Earth VI" (formerly "The Final Battle").

MANOWAR released a new EP, "The Final Battle I", in March 2019. Parts II and III of the trilogy will arrive at a later date, inspired by MANOWAR's adventures on the remainder of "The Final Battle".

In 2019, MANOWAR recruited Anders Johansson as the band's new drummer.

The Swedish musician made his live debut with MANOWAR in March 2019 in Brno, Czech Republic.

Johansson can be heard on "The Final Battle I", which was initially made available in an exclusive pre-sale at the merchandise booth of the band's "The Final Battle" world tour.

Former MANOWAR guitarist Karl Logan was arrested in August 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina and charged with six counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor. He was jailed after pleading guilty to two child-pornography counts.

A few days after Karl's arrest was made public, MANOWAR issued a statement saying that he would no longer perform with the group. He has since been replaced by E.V. Martel, who previously played in a MANOWAR tribute band.

Danish/American rock and rollers VOLBEAT have shared their new music video for "Wait A Minute My Girl". The clip was directed by Sean Donnelly, founder of AWESOME+modest, with collages by Mengqing Yuan, and animation by Steve Yeung. AWESOME+modest is an animation studio based in Los Angeles, California that specializes in mixed media techniques. They most recently created all of the animation in the HBO documentary miniseries "The Lady And The Dale", Marvel's "Behind The Mask" and Showtime's "The One And Only Dick Gregory".

The band said of the video: "After seeing the work they did on 'The Lady And The Dale', we knew that Sean and the team at AWESOME+modest could do something trippy and creative for 'Wait A Minute My Girl'. This video exceeded even our wildest expectations. It's weird, fun and crazy — we absolutely love it."

In a recent interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, VOLBEAT drummer Jon Larsen spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2019's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" LP. He said: "The album is done; it's ready. But I can't reveal the release date yet. Of course, in modern times, you'll find out online. But it's all set, it's ready to go, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna blow your socks off."

Asked if VOLBEAT's recently released two new singles, "Wait A Minute My Girl" and "Dagen Før", will also appear on the upcoming album, Jon said: "Oh, yeah. Of course they will. Why shouldn't they? I don't think they really represent how the total of the album sounds, but it's two typical VOLBEAT songs — straight-up rock and roll. Good for the summer — sit outside, have a cold one, some barbecue or whatever, tap your feet along, sing along. But, yeah, of course those two songs will be on the album as well."

Larsen was also asked if there is any truth to VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen's previous claim that the group's new material was shaping up to be more aggressive and more thrash-oriented than the last two LPs. He responded: "Well, it's definitely heavier — let me put it that way. I wouldn't really call it more aggressive. It might be — I'm not really sure — but it's definitely got some of the old vintage VOLBEAT heavy elements to it. There's definitely some really heavy songs on it. Yeah, there might be a little bit of thrash on it as well — might be even a little venture into Swedish death metal perhaps. A little bit, yeah. Don't get too scared, though. But, yeah, I think it's a very mixed album, because you've definitely got the more heavier sound. We still have the more happy, punkish, even maybe pop songs, if you wanna call it that. And there's also, I think, a few surprises on there that will definitely make people go, 'Okay, I didn't see that coming.' But, yeah, I think it definitely has a mix of everything we've done up until now. And the vibe for the album, I think it sounds maybe more spontaneous this time, perhaps. And it definitely has a few nods and winks to our past. But, yeah, 'heavy' is probably the right word for it."

"Wait A Minute My Girl" and "Dagen Før" were written and recorded while the world was in lockdown during the pandemic. Poulsen, Larsen and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass) recorded their parts with longtime producer Jacob Hansen in Denmark, while Rob Caggiano (guitar) worked remotely from New York.

"Wait A Minute My Girl" features saxophone player Doug Corcoran and piano player Raynier Jacob Jacildo, who both perform with JD McPherson's band and previously appeared with VOLBEAT on 2019's "Die To Live (feat. Neil Fallon)". Singer Mia Maja, who has worked with the band since "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie", also appears on backing vocals. "Dagen Før" features guest vocals from Danish artist Stine Bramsen, who is known for her solo work as well as being a member of the band ALPHABEAT. The song, in the tradition of "The Garden's Tale", "Maybele I Hofteholder" and "For Evigt", features both English and Danish lyrics, and marks the first commercially released song that features Stine singing in her native Danish.

Legendary heavy metal vocalist and pop culture icon, Dee Snider, recently announced the upcoming release of his fifth full-length album, Leave A Scar, out July 30 via Napalm Records. Once again produced by Jamey Jasta with co-production, mixing and mastering by drummer Nick Bellmore, Leave A Scar sees Snider & Co. continuing in the invigorated, modern direction of his previous release, For The Love Of Metal, infusing a dose of classic heavy metal flavor that longtime fans will rush to embrace.

Snider recengtly guested on The Jasta Show and discussed the new album and revealed some of the challenges he faced recording during lockdown. Check out the two hour interview below.

Snider: "I have discovered the fountain of youth; it is getting harder and heavier as you get older. It's inspiring. If you're an older metal fan, don't get lighter with age, get harder with age, and get happier with age. That's what's keeping Ozzy alive, I think. That and the defibrillator that's on the bus, which you probably heard about. You know they used to carry a defibrillator on the bus because there's no way Sharon was letting him miss a show. If Ozzy had a heart attack, you know Sharon would be like, 'Clear!', shock him back to life and throw him out on the stage."

Today, following the album's charging first single of resilience, “I Gotta Rock (Again)”, Dee Snider is thrilled to reveal the album's second single, "Time To Choose", featuring the brutalizing vocals of Cannibal Corpse’s George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. Backed by an energetic lyric video, the track blends Corpsegrinder’s eviscerating lows with Snider’s razor sharp cleans, making for a dynamic yet ruthless burner listeners won’t soon forget!

Dee says about "Time To Choose": 

"'Time To Choose' deals with a subject I've addressed often over the course of my writing career: good vs. evil (see ‘Burn In Hell’). Given the heaviness of this track, I felt adding George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's voice to this would drive home the seriousness of the choices we make. I was honored when he agreed to contribute his incredibly powerful voice."

Like a scar itself, Leave A Scar is an illuminating plentitude of angst etched in time – serving as a musical refuge and expressive output for Dee. But in turn, this auditory time capsule written to express the anger, unease and pain he experienced during lockdown emerges as not only blisteringly heavy, but relentlessly powerful. Each of the 12 tracks on Leave A Scarnot only further bolster Dee Snider’s position as one of the most celebrated frontmen of all time, showcasing that his vocal delivery and commanding swagger is as strong as ever, but that he is nowhere near stopping.

Heads will bang within seconds of the hard-charging opening notes of ultra-catchy album starter and lifer anthem “I Gotta Rock (Again)”, instantly setting the stage for the non-stop onslaught of metallic mainstays to come. Tracks like the brutal “Time To Choose” – featuring the primed guest vocal attack of Cannibal Corpse’s George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher – and mosh-ready “The Reckoning” showcase the album’s heavy assault, without sacrificing the harmonic goodness evident on tracks like the unrelenting, hooky thrasher “All Or Nothing More” and melodic, metalcore inspired “In For The Kill”. Energetic single of strength “Down But Never Out” encapsulates the chunky riffage and driving drums palpable throughout the album, while searing “Before I Go” provides one of the album’s most massive, memorable choruses and chilling lyrics. The album closes with victorious ballad “Stand”, a call for listeners to take a stand and make their voices heard. If For The Love Of Metal ignited Dee Snider’s eminent surge into a new era – Leave A Scar sets it ablaze.

Dee Snider says about Leave A Scar: “By the end of 2020, I knew I not only had to get back into the studio, but for the first time since the '90s, I wanted – no, needed – to be a part of the writing process. I reached out to my producer Jamey Jasta and told him I was ready to make another record. Leave a Scar is filled with messages to and for the silent voices in the world who need someone to speak out on their behalf. This is my purpose.”

Jamey Jasta says regarding working with Dee Snider again: “Getting to work with Dee again has been incredible! The power and range in his vocals on this album really shine. Not only is he an American treasure and staple in the rock/metal community, he’s a truly original voice and talent like no other. Combine that with the metallic prowess of the Bellmore bros + Russell Pzütto and Nick Petrino, you get a rockin’ metal recipe that even the most "Dee-hard" SMF’ers will surely love!”

Leave A Scar will be available in North America in the following formats:

- CD Jewel Case
- 1LP Gatefold BLACK
- 1LP Gatefold RED
- 1LP Gatefold GOLD (Napalm Mailorder only – limited to 400)
- 1LP Gatefold SPLATTER RED/BLUE/WHITE (Napalm Mailorder only – limited to 300)
- Dee-Hard 1LP Gatefold Edition RED/BLACK Marbled - LP size Album Art Patch & Slipmat (Napalm Mailorder only – limited to 200)
- Dee-Lux Wooden Box Edition: JC, 7" Single, Leather Wristband, Logo Pin (Napalm Mailorder only – limited to 500)
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"I Gotta Rock (Again)"
"All Or Nothing More"
"Down But Never Out"
"Before I Go"
"Open Season"
"Silent Battles"
"Crying For Your Life"
"In For The Kill"
"Time To Choose"
"S.H.E."
"The Reckoning"
"Stand"

"I Gotta Rock (Again)" video:

Band lineup:

Dee Snider - Vocals
Charlie Bellmore - Guitar & Background Vocals
Nick Bellmore - Drums
Russell Pzütto - Bass & Background Vocals
Nick Petrino - Guitar & Background Vocals

(Photo - Paul McGuire)




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With over 40 years playing guitar and songwriting as a professional musician, career firsts are minimal for someone as prolific as George Lynch. On August 20, George gets to add another highlight with the release of his first-ever full-length instrumental album, "Seamless". The album is being released via Rat Pak Records and features nine brand new tracks and three bonus tracks from Lynch, who is backed by drummer Jimmy D'Anda and bassist Eric Loiselle on the album. "Seamless" is produced by Lynch and is now available for pre-order in various configurations here.

Says Lynch: "'Seamless' is my attempt at creating a guitar driven instrumental record that delivers something outside the realm of what most people would expect from a guitar instrumental record coming from a semi-redeemed '80s hair shredder . I wanted the record to be challenging but not exhausting; personal without being belligerently self-indulgent and include a fair amount of guitar histrionics and pay tribute to the masters without making it sound like I'm competing to be the end all summation of all guitar legacies that preceded me. I also wanted the underlying music to be more than vehicles for solos; I wanted the compositions to be able to stand on their own."

From the driving guitar riff of album opener "Quiver" to the haunting outro of album closer "Falling Apart", it is clear George Lynch was looking to explore his writing and love for the guitar. Songs like "Cola", "Sharks With Laser Beams" and "Supersonic Hypnotic Groove Thing" explore the various musical styles George likes to play while giving him room to experiment with new sounds alongside his signature tone. The album on all formats includes three bonus tracks that were added to the album after the extra tracks were presented to the label. "Blue Light Effect", "House Of Eternal Return" and "The Weight" also show the musical diversity that only George Lynch as a trio can create.

"Seamless" track listing:

01. Quiver

02. Cola

03. TJ69

04. Death By A Thousand Licks

05. iThink

06. Sharks With Laser Beams

07. Octavia

08. Supersonic Hypnotic Groove Thing

09. Falling Apart

Bonus tracks

10. Blue Light Effect

11. House Of Eternal Return

12. The Weight

Starting in music in 1977, Lynch has long since been considered one of the most-notable guitar players of all time. His work with DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB has garnered him a legion of devoted fans around the globe. His creativity and musicianship has been showcased on over 50 albums since 1982 and 2022 will mark his 45th anniversary as a professional musician. Lynch continues to redefine guitar playing and songwriting while showing no signs of slowing down.

In recent years, Lynch has recorded albums with a number of different projects, including LYNCH MOB, KXM, SWEET & LYNCH, THE END MACHINE and DIRTY SHIRLEY. His most recent release was "Heavy Hitters", a collaboration with his former DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson on a collection of studio recordings that turn pop music classics into metal anthems.

Last year, Lynch told Guitar World magazine that staying "diversified" was key to making a living in rock music today. "Do everything," he said. "Be an engineer, be a composer, play every instrument you can, get endorsements, learn how to make a web site, be social-media savvy and keep your eye on everything."

Photo credit: Cat Parker

British heavy metal legends SAXON will release their new album on February 4, 2022.

The LP's arrival date was announced by SAXON singer Biff Byford in a video message earlier today.

"I'm just about to sign off on the last mix from [producer] Andy Sneap, so it should be ready real soon," Biff stated about the record. "You're gonna be able to pre-order the album on October the 29th, and the album is coming out on February the 4th."

This past April, Biff told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about a possible title for the new SAXON LP: "I've got a couple of working titles. I'm not supposed to tell anybody, but seeing as it's America, I'll let you know, okay? We might call it 'Carpe Diem', which is Latin for 'Seize The Day'. Which I quite like. It looks good — SAXON 'Seize The Day'. Or we might call it 'The Pilgrimage', which is another song that we have on the album. So there you go."

Byford went on to say that SAXON wanted to hold off on releasing the new LP so he and his bandmates can hit the road in the support of the effort. "Then we have all year to tour on the album," he said.

The first single from SAXON's new album will likely arrive at the end of this year.

In March 2020, Biff told The Metal Voice about the musical direction of the new SAXON material: "It's heavy. I would say the direction is the same as 'Thunderbolt' [2018] and 'Battering Ram' [2015] [and] 'Sacrifice' [2013]. It's heavy and it's quite British[-sounding]; we like to retain that. Me and [bassist] Nibbs [Carter] wrote most of the songs again."

He continued: "What I do, I have a start time when I want the boys to start writing, and that's how we do albums. And Nibbs is just a fiend with it — he just writes so many ideas down; it's crazy. I'm getting ideas from all the boys, but predominantly most of them are from Nibbs.

"So, yeah, it's heavy," he added. "There's some great guitar playing on it from the boys. And Nigel's [Glockler] drumming is up there with much younger drummers, if you know what I mean — he's pushing himself very hard with it."

SAXON released a covers album, "Inspirations", in March via Silver Lining Music. The 11-track effort contains some of the classic rock songs that influenced Byford and the rest of the band.

Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

Biff recently collaborated with his son Seb (NAKED SIX) on a new album, "Red Brick City", to be released later this month under the band name HEAVY WATER.

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, the band led by former GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell, will release "Great Zeppelin II: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin" on August 13 via Deadline Music, a subsidiary of Cleopatra Records, Inc.

This long-awaited sequel to the 1998 album that became one of GREAT WHITE's best-selling, most loved albums, rocks even harder than its predecessor and includes all-new covers of "Whole Lotta Love", "Kashmir", "Houses Of The Holy", "Misty Mountain Hop" and more. Russell is ably backed by stellar guitarists Robby Lachner and Michael Olivieri along with bassist Dan McNay and drummer Dicki Fliszar.

"Great Zeppelin II: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin" will be made available on CD in a deluxe digipak and on colored vinyl in a gorgeous gatefold jacket.

"Great Zeppelin II: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin" track listing:

01. Whole Lotta Love

02. Good Times, Bad Times

03. Misty Mountain Hop

04. Dancin' Days

05. No Quarter

06. Kashmir

07. Houses Of The Holy

08. Trampled Under Foot

09. Moby Dick

10. The Rover

11. Stairway To Heaven

12. Heartbreaker

13. Livin' Lovin' Maid

14. Communication Breakdown

Released in 1998, "Great Zeppelin: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin" was a covers album dedicated to songs of LED ZEPPELIN. It was recorded live in December 1996 at the Galaxy theatre of Santa Ana, California and was made available through the French label Axe Killer.

Last year, Jack told Rockin' Metal Revival about his new collection of ZEPPELIN covers: "It's great, because it's different songs, and some of them are heavy ones and more keyboard-laden… 'Houses Of The Holy', 'Trampled Under Foot' — songs like that. 'Kashmir' — that came out brilliant, [it] came out amazing. So I'm really proud of that and I wanna get that out as soon as possible… It's a beautiful record. It came out really good — beyond my expectations."

Jack also reflected on GREAT WHITE's decision to perform a stripped-down version of ZEPPELIN's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" during a 1990 appearance on "MTV Unplugged". Asked if he knew he and his bandmates were going to get the response they got from that performance, Russell said: "No, I did not. You know what was really weird? When they put it in regular rotation on MTV, and the weirdest thing was when they did a LED ZEPPELIN special and they put our version in the LED ZEPPELIN special. And I was blown away. I'm, like, 'There's no way they just did that.' I had goosebumps for days, thinking, 'This is incredible.' Robert Plant, I saw him a couple of different times commenting, 'Oh, that Jack Russell guy, he sounds more like me than I do.' Another one he said was, 'He sounds more like me on a good night.' And I heard this from people that I really respect and know and wouldn't make that stuff up. So it was great."

Russell was fired from GREAT WHITE in December 2011 (after being on hiatus from the group since 2009). He sued his onetime bandmates the following year over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Mark Kendall, Michael Lardie and Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE's debut album, "He Saw it Comin'", was released in January 2017 and featured the singles "Blame It On The Night", "Sign Of The Times" and "Love Don't Live Here".

Last year, JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE released "Once Bitten Acoustic Bytes", a very special acoustic album revisiting GREAT WHITE's 1987 multi-platinum masterpiece "Once Bitten" featuring some of the band's biggest and most recognizable hits, including "Save Your Love" and "Rock Me".

GREAT ZEPPELIN II: A TRIBUTE TO LED ZEPPELIN by Great White

THE BLACK CROWES have joined forces with The Coda Collection to premiere "Brothers Of A Feather", a new film celebrating the welcomed 2020 reunion of the Robinson brothers as well as three superb concert and studio performance programs which present the band at the peak of their power. The partnership culminates today with the release of "Brothers Of A Feather", which captures THE BLACK CROWES founders Chris and Rich Robinson reuniting as a duo at an intimate, sold-out concert from San Francisco on March 6, 2020 — just prior to the pandemic shutdown. Never before seen in full, the intimate, stripped-down arrangements of CROWES standards such as "She Talks To Angels", "Remedy" and "Wiser Time" give the music's lyrics and structures a welcomed new perspective. "Brothers of a Feather" is available to stream in full exclusively on The Coda Collection beginning July 9.

Over the past few weeks, The Coda Collection has dug into its vast archive and presented unforgettable moments from THE BLACK CROWES' illustrious career. Additional films in this series include "Live at Landgraaf 1993", which showcases the band's ferocious live set in the Netherlands in the immediate aftermath of the release of their acclaimed second studio album "The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion". Ferocious renditions of favorites such as "No Speak, No Slave", "Thorn In My Pride" and "Jealous Again" stand among the many highlights of this superb performance, which is available on The Coda Collection now.

Also available to stream now is 1996's "Amsterdam Sessions", which was filmed at a recording studio in Holland. The program provides an intimate look at the band showcasing highlights of the band's third and fourth LPs while providing an intimate portrait of the group's creative interplay. Performances include inspired renditions of "Downtown Moneywaster", "How Much For Your Wings" and "Evil Eye".

"Live At Landgraaf 1990" showcases the group's European debut on behalf of the release of their first album "Shake Your Money Maker". High-energy performances of classics such as "Hard To Handle" thrilled the massive audience and proved to be one of the high performances of the famed Pinkpop festival.

Launched at the beginning of 2021, The Coda Collection is a subscription streaming offering featuring an exclusive, curated selection of the most iconic music documentaries, concert films, and episodic series spanning decades and genres via Amazon Prime video channels paired with a complementary website exploring new perspectives on music.

The Coda Collection is available to Amazon Prime members in the U.S. now for $4.99 per month, with a free seven-day trial, and will roll out globally throughout the rest of the year.

To explore The Coda Collection and to sign up for a free seven-day trial, visit www.codacollection.co.

Fan-filmed video footage of Yngwie Malmsteen performing a cover version of DEEP PURPLE's "Smoke On The Water" on June 26 at the Arsenal Fest in Kragujevac, Serbia can be seen below.

Yngwie's studio recording of "Smoke On The Water" was featured on his 2019 album "Blue Lightning", which paid homage to those from the blues world who have fueled his artistic spirit for so long.

Malmsteen told Classic Rock magazine about his decision to cover "Smoke On The Water": "I called this 'Rauch Auf Dem Wasser' throughout the sessions. What can I say? It's just something I wanted to do. I've been doing it live for a long time.

"The first album I ever had was DEEP PURPLE's 'Fireball', when I was just eight years old. By the time I was ten, I could play 'Made In Japan' inside out, upside fucking down. Every single note. And this resulted in me becoming a fan of 'Selling England By The Pound' by GENESIS, and then EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, then classical — Vivaldi, Bach — and eventually Paganini. I said, 'Enough of the pentatonic blues stuff. I'm going in this direction!'"

Two years ago, Yngwie stated about DEEP PURPLE guitarist Ritchie Blackmore: "When I was eight years old, the only guitar player I knew was Ritchie Blackmore. I thought he was extremely good and I still think he's good. I disagree with the idea he was the first to bring classical ideas to guitar; that's a large misconception. He's a blues guitar player. 'Made In Japan' is a blues album — let's not be confused about this. It's all pentatonic blues — extremely good pentatonic blues, to be fair. 'In Rock' is a fuckin' incredible… his playing was really good on that.

"As for classical, my introduction came from GENESIS's 'Selling England For The Pound'… that's what brought all the harmonic minors, inverted or suspended or diminished chords and pedal notes to my ears. I thought that album was great. Then I listened to my mom's Bach and Beethoven records. But when I heard Paganini, everything else meant nothing to me anymore."

Yngwie's new album, "Parabellum", will be released on July 23 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist/vocalist Ralph Ciavolino and drummer Brian Wilson.

Last month, Yngwie announced a month-long fall 2021 U.S. tour. Support on the trek will come from former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5.

PUDDLE OF MUDD has released a new music video for the song "Just Tell Me". The track comes from the band's 2019 album, "Welcome To Galvania", which is available via Pavement Entertainment.

Frontman Wes Scantlin says: "I love this song. 'Just Tell Me' is about falling in love… and when the relationship goes sideways, you're just trying to do whatever you can to save it. Communication is key. It will heal your soul."

After changing his life around and getting the band back in order, Scantlin and his bandmates rebuilt a touring base, which paved the way to new music and a new album. The first single, "Uh-Oh", proved to be a comeback for the band, landing them a top 10 single at Mainstream Rock. The success furthered the group's demand to play at festivals and worldwide events.

"Welcome To Galvania" was PUDDLE OF MUDD's first album in a decade. Scantlin stated about the LP title: "My dad measures my songwriting by the galvanic skin response, which is an electric current. It's when you get goosebumps and you feel this insane, awesome sensation in your body."

"Welcome To Galvania" consists of ten new tracks and was produced by Cameron Webb (ALKALINE TRIO, DISTURBED, MOTÖRHEAD).

PUDDLE OF MUDD was formed in 1991 in Kansas City by Scantlin, the only original member still with the band.

Wes had almost non-stop problems with the law, alcohol, finances and other issues, before finally getting sober in 2017. He and the rest of PUDDLE OF MUDD rebuilt a touring base, which paved the way to new music and a new album. Scantlin said that he ended up going back to rehab and receiving treatment "because there's really nowhere else to go." He also credited his family and fans for giving him the strength to try to get better.

PUDDLE OF MUDD broke into the mainstream with 2001's "Come Clean", which yielded three hits — "Control", "Blurry" and "She Hates Me".

Serj Tankian has released "Cool Gardens Poetry Suite", a rich collection of four elegant cinematic works layered with intimate recital of poetry performed by Tankian. The Suite is available now on all major streaming platforms.

The verses, which are migrated from his first ever published poetry book of the same name, complement the musical landscape. Tankian explains: "'Cool Gardens Poetry Suite' animates the book to where the words come off the page and dance into the auditory canals of listeners sweetened by intimate musical landscapes." In total, he narrates 87 poems over the nearly 48 minutes of music, weaving his way through a spectrum of topics ranging from humorous to sullen.

"Cool Gardens Poetry Suite" is accompanied with videos by visual artist David Bradford, a previous collaborative partner on other Tankian projects. Bradford's visuals quite literally animate pixelated paint onto digital canvas as viewers are caravanned across their screens via Tankian's soundtrack and the gradual unveiling of his visual compliment.

The video for "Cinematic Piano Theme (With Poetry)" was released a few weeks ago and is now accompanied with the full bevy of tracks from "Cool Gardens Poetry Suite". Rolling Stone debuted the "Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto (With Poetry)" video yesterday, saying it "further animates and complements Tankian's mix of music and poetry."

"Cool Gardens Poetry Suite" track listing:

01. Cinematic Piano Theme (With Poetry)

02. Les Melodies (With Poetry)

03. Percussion (With Poetry)

04. Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto (With Poetry)

Tankian has slated a multitude of additional music releases for later this year. Up next is an assemblage of 25 cinematic compositions that roam through classical ("Illuminate") and modern ("Violent Violins") soundscapes. The release will be called "Cinematique" and split up into two collections released at the same time on August 6. Before the end of year, listeners can also expect two film soundtrack releases from Tankian, for "Truth To Power" and "I Am Not Alone", both being documentaries that the composer produced and scored.

A singer, poet, songwriter, visual artist, film producer, activist, and composer, Tankian has always created music as an outlet to express his thoughts and feelings with a level of passion and consciousness that few in today's world of music can rival. An Armenian born in Lebanon and re-rooted in Los Angeles, Tankian was introduced to the melding of cultures, ideas, and ideals from a very young age. The principles learned from this integration and adaptation have led to his understanding of the oneness of all things and have since maneuvered and transfigured into the music and art that he lives to create. As the lead singer and songwriter for SYSTEM OF A DOWN, Serj has released five studio albums, winning a Grammy Award in 2006 for "B.Y.O.B." and selling over 40 million albums worldwide. Despite this success, Serj has never grown complacent with his art, always striving to open up new channels of sound and arrangement to articulate his artistic expressions. He has released five albums of solo material, beginning with 2007's chart-topping hard rock album "Elect The Dead". His sophomore solo album, "Imperfect Harmonies", was released in 2010, followed by "Harakiri" in 2012. 2013 saw two distinct releases from Serj, the first being the critically acclaimed "Orca Symphony No. 1", released in June of that year, followed up with the very unique "Jazz-Iz Christ" one month later.

Over the past few years, his time spent in the recording studio has been focused on creating musical scores and compositions for film and video game projects. Serj recently lent his vocals to a modern-day cover of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT's rock classic "Godzilla" for the blockbuster Michael Dougherty film "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters". He also recorded a modern version of the Armenian folk song "Sari Siroun Yar" along with the Authentic Light Orchestra for the film "The Promise", directed by Terry George and starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac. Serj was also brought on by Survival Pictures, the producers of the film, to serve as an executive music consultant.

More recently, Tankian composed the full musical score for award-winning documentary "I Am Not Alone" directed by Garin Hovannisian and the Live Nation Productions film "Truth To Power", which chronicles Serj's own journey through the crossroads of music and activism. In 2017, Serj composed music for Emmy-nominated "Intent To Destroy", a gripping film directed by award winning documentarian Joe Berlinger. That same year he created an intense score for the epic Russian action film "Furious - The Legend of Kolovrat", followed by his 2018 musical score for award-winning film "Spitak", directed by Alexander Kott. Additionally, Tankian composed the full musical score for independent films "1915" and "The Last Inhabitant", an original composition for Ilya Naishuller's "Hardcore Henry" and video game musical scores for "Midnight Star" and its sequel, "Renegade", which were created by one of the chief architects of the famed "Halo" game franchise.

Serj's resume also includes the formation of a record label, Serjical Strike Records (established in 2001), which has released albums from many critically acclaimed artists, including FAIR TO MIDLAND, Buckethead and DEATH BY STEREO.

Along with fellow musician Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE), Serj co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice in 2002, which strives to bring together musicians, music fans and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has also dabbled in the world of broadcasting as co-host of the Axis Of Justice Radio Network, which can be heard via SiriusXM and KPFK in Los Angeles. With a mission of spreading diversity and understanding through music, poetry and activism, Serj will continue to surprise and enlighten those who listen to his music and hear his words.

In recent years, Tankian has split his time between holding a mic and a paintbrush, having feverishly created over 60 pieces of art since 2013. His journey into the world of fine art began with his "Disarming Time Musical Paintings", which were exhibited at Project Gallery in Los Angeles. Since then, he has had multiple exhibitions at galleries in both the United States and New Zealand. In 2015, his artwork was exhibited at the grand opening of New Museum Los Gatos in Northern California as part of a group exhibit that ran from May through September of that year. Most recently, Serj's artwork was exhibited at two notable galleries in New Zealand during February and March of 2019.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN hasn't released a full-length album since the "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs, which came out in 2005.

French metallers Naraka have checked in with the following update:

"We present you 'Mother of Shadows', our second single taken from our upcoming album, In Tenebris, that will out October 8th, 2021. Lindsay Schoolcraft from Antiqva is on featuring on the song and the music video."

Lindsay: "Thank you to JP and the guys for having me on board for this song and letting me bring along my harp too! Their album is gonna be dripping with darkness and heaviness."
 

Naraka is a French metal band with members from Paris and Marseille. Naraka is a mix of modern, death and thrash metal with some few touches of black metal and arrangements orchestral like symphonic black metal. The debut album In Tenebris was mixed and mastered by Logan Mader and the artwork was created by Seth Siro Anton. There are two guest vocalists on the album: Veronica Bordachinni from Fleshgod Apocalypse on the track "Of Blood And Tears" and Lindsay Schoolcraft (ex-Cradle of Filth, Antiqva) on the track "Mother of Shadows". In October 2021, the band will be in support of Fleshgod Apocalypse on the Veleno European Tour.

Stay tuned for updates.

For information on Naraka go to their official websiite here.




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Hardline has released their new studio album, Heart, Mind And Soul, via Frontiers Music Srl. Listen to new track, "Waiting For Your Fall" below, and order the new album on CD/Color LP/Digital here.

"This album is a true reflection of who we are and what we care about. I’m always amazed, despite what some critics may say, that we have the strength and power to push through the way we believe and want to. That will never change with this band. It’s a very, very special band chemistry we have here," says vocalist Johnny Gioeli.

Ever since the release of their widely heralded album Danger Zone in 2012, Hardline have been offering a straight-ahead, gritty, riff-based melodic hard rock sound which is a continuing evolution from what was on offer in the band's early days. What you get here on their new studio album is a group of musicians who are perfectly gelled as a unit and determined to display a sound that is immediate and powerful. Adding their own personality and imprint to the music, the band has created a perfect balance between these anthemic, hard rocking songs. You can expect hook after hook and riff after riff as you take a ride with Hardline via Heart, Mind And Soul.

Singer Johnny Gioeli, as usual, is in supreme form, providing a soaring vocal performance to stir up the listener. Complementing that, Mario Percudani’s guitar is on fire and the super tight rhythm section of Anna Portalupi and Marco Di Salvia is locked in. Alessandro Del Vecchio's immeasurable contribution on keyboards, background vocals, and production serve to tie the whole package together. He is, rightfully and deservedly, one of the “go to” guys in the melodic hard rock scene and this record shows, once again, why.

"Heart, Mind And Soul is an album you can’t turn off, in my biased opinion. After writing it, recording it, mixing, mastering, planning, deciding....on and on, you would think we’d get sick of it. Not even close. One of my most favorite Hardline albums to date without question," says Gioeli.

Hardline evolved from being an up-and-coming Sunset Strip sensation featuring brothers Johnny (vocals) and Joey (guitar) Gioeli to a supergroup of sorts, featuring former Bad English members Neal Schon and Deen Castronovo, before finally settling in and becoming a band showcasing the incredible talents of the fabulous singer Johnny Gioeli with the production and songwriting skills of Alessandro Del Vecchio (Revolution Saints, Jorn, etc.), the shredding talents of guitarist Mario Percudani, and the powerful rhythm section made up of bassist Anna Portalupi and drummer Marco Di Salvia. What truly makes Hardline special is how well their unique and different talents blend together to form a spectacular whole.

Heart, Mind And Soul is simply an album you can’t miss if you love melodic hard rock, but what else would you expect from a new Hardline album? They are, after all, masters of the genre.

The band plans to hit the road once touring resumes post-pandemic, so take the time to learn all of these future classics to sing along with Johnny soon enough!  

"After we can finally say FU to Covid-19, Hardline is on the road with this album and we'll be in your face. You better pack a diaper, it could get messy when you hear this live," concludes Gioeli. Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action) Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"

Tracklisting:

"Fuel To The Fire"
"Surrender"
"If I Could I Would"
"Like That"
"Heavenly"
"Waiting For Your Fall"
"The Curse"
"Heartless"
"Searching For Grace"
"‘80s Moment"
"We Belong"

"Waiting For Your Fall":

"If I Could I Would":

"Surrender" video:

"Fuel To The Fire" video:

Lineup:

Johnny Gioeli – Lead Vocals
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Mario Percudani - Guitars
Anna Portalupi - Bass
Marco Di Salvia – Drums




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34 years to the day after the first show of the heavy/power metal band Darken from Laval (Mayenne-France) on June 21, 1987, Laurent "Lorenzo" Barbier, has reformed the band. Darken issued two demos before disbandign in 1991.

Lorenzo decided to relaunch a project that had been trotting in his head for a long time and lineup is as followed:

- Laurent "Lorenzo" Barbier: guitar
- Stéphane Monceau: vocals
- Henri Pierre "HP" BoherS: bass
- Philippe "Philos" Prud'homme: guitar
- Liam Barbier: Drums

The band’s plan is to enter the studio for the recording of an album which would be released in 2022 and go back on the road for playing shows on stages which will allow the band to develop "real" concerts in order to satisfy the older and new fans of the band.

Find additional information on Facebook.




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Seattle rock band CANDLEBOX has released a new song called "In Your Hands". The track, which honors victims of gun violence in the U.S., features fellow musicians Don Miggs and Zane Carney.

CANDLEBOX vocalist Kevin Martin says: "When people read the words 'gun violence awareness,' a lot of folks just see the word 'gun' and get up in arms about the government coming to try and take their firearms, as opposed to taking a step back to think about the reality of the situation."

The video for "In Your Hands" pays tribute to people who have lost their lives from injuries inflicted by guns. Martin cites some sobering facts, pointing out the following: "There have been more than 19,000 deaths from gun violence in the U.S. alone during 2021 so far, and the number has been staggering year after year. This phenomenon is clearly an epidemic, and it's shocking to me that people aren't willing to acknowledge that. While I am 100% supportive of the second amendment, I am concerned about the amount of damage that can be done very quickly with one small instrument in the wrong hands."

Miggs shares: "'In Your Hands' began as a riff that popped into my head one night at a party I was having. It came to me after a conversation about how out of hand the gun issue had become. Kevin spent the night and woke up to me insisting he get in my studio because I already tracked drums and the basics of the song. We needed to write the lyrics and have him sing it before he had to catch a plane back home."

While Martin is fully supportive of gun ownership, he says: "We need responsible gun laws in place to help make this a reality. What I mean by 'responsible gun laws' is that for one, I'd like to see a national mandate in place so gun regulations don't vary so much by state. I can't believe it's not a requirement for a prospective gun owner to take a course and pass a test and become certified before being able to purchase a gun. We wouldn't let people drive a car without a license because that would be dangerous. What makes guns any different?"

CANDLEBOX's seventh studio album, "Wolves", will be released on September 17 via Pavement Entertainment.

The band will hit the road in August in support of the album, and the final two shows in Seattle will feature CANDLEBOX's original lineup.

At a totally sold-out fan event last night at the Mystic Museum in North Hollywood, California, horror metal titans ICE NINE KILLS announced their long-awaited sequel, "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood". The fresh slice of horror-themed brutality will be released via Fearless Records on Friday, October 15.

The first single to be unleashed from the album is "Hip To Be Scared", featuring Jacoby Shaddix of PAPA ROACH. The accompanying music video was premiered at the fan event last night and pays homage to the landmark movie based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel "American Psycho" centered around psychotic investment banker Patrick Bateman. "Hip To Be Scared" mixes the soaring choruses, clever lyricism, heavy riffs and Broadway-like theatrics that are as much "Hamilton" as they are horror. The song also tips its hat to an '80s pop classic beloved by the murderous protagonist.

Speaking on his band's newly announced album, ICE NINE KILLS frontman and driving creative force Spencer Charnas shared: "True to horror franchise tradition, there is always a sequel… 'Welcome To Horrorwood' follows in the bloody footsteps of its predecessor, paying tribute to 13 more of the most gruesome tales to ever grace the silver screen. In this latest INK offering, the last album and video series is portrayed as a work of fiction. The new story line thrusts the band into a brutal 'real world' slaying. The only traces of the crime are 13 songs left behind by the suspected killer…

"We can't wait to share this next chapter with you, and to welcome you to the sinister state of mind that will soon be known the world over as, 'Horrorwood'.

"The first stop on the tour is 1980s New York City's 'greed is good' scene, where a certain hot shot investment banker has a rather violent dirty secret…"

A sequel of franchise proportions to the No. 1 Billboard Hard Rock Album "The Silver Scream", "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood" doubles down in pursuit of the anthemic band's cinematic muse.

Decadent, devious, and fiercely insane, with sardonic wit to spare, ICE NINE KILLS celebrate pop culture's darkest edges, mining a cinephile library's worth of B-movie schlock and iconic horror on "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood" and its prequel, "The Silver Scream". The creative marriage made in hell of music and fiction began in earnest with the Boston-based band's Top 5 Hard Rock (U.S.) album "Every Trick In The Book", which brought the previous three records' themes to new levels with literary-immersed tracks.

Helpless teens, unhelpful authorities, supernatural forces, masked killers, and "final girls" abound in the shocking, blood-soaked songs of "The Silver Scream". Each piece focused on a different horror classic, including "The American Nightmare" ("A Nightmare On Elm Street"), "Thank God It's Friday" ("Friday The 13th"), "Stabbing In The Dark" ("Halloween"), and "IT Is The End" ("It"). For 2020's "Undead & Unplugged: Live From The Overlook Hotel" EP, the band recorded in the location used in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", the inspiration behind "Enjoy Your Slay", featuring Kubrick's grandson, Sam.

"The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood" saw guitarists Ricky Armellino and Dan Sugarman, bassist Joe Occhiuti, drummer Patrick Galante, and Charnas return to producer and collaborator Drew Fulk (AS I LAY DYING, A DAY TO REMEMBER), who produced and mixed "The Silver Scream", which spawned U.S. radio success in the form of Top 10 mainstream rock single "A Grave Mistake" and Top 20 hit "Savages".

ICE NINE KILLS' synergy of music and lifestyle draws favorable comparisons to SLIPKNOT and ROB ZOMBIE and saw them become recent recipients of the prestigious Clio Award for Music Marketing for their "Merry Axe-mas" mobile game. Visionary trailblazers and multimedia raconteurs, INK built a thrilling world for a growing legion of devoted true believers, with theatrical shows, high-concept videos, and inventive band-to-fan communion. With 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 402 million career streams, a combined social media reach of over 950k, over 70 million views on YouTube, the band are firmly cemented as one of modern metal's most vicious forces.

ICE NINE KILLS will return to the U.K. this September at Slam Dunk Festival, the band's first U.K. shows in two years since their hugely successful, sold-out seven date headline run in 2019, which concluded with a show-stopping performance at London's O2 Academy Islington. Kerrang! hailed it as "a masterclass in expertly-executed concept and theatrics", while Metal Hammer described ICE NINE KILLS' shows as "an expertly crafted, unmissable theatrical experience".

ICE NINE KILLS is:

Spencer Charnas - Vocals

Ricky Armellino - Guitar

Dan Sugarman - Guitar

Joe Occhiuti - Bass

Patrick Galante - Drums

Photo credit: F Scott Schafer

Dorothy returns today with her powerful, soul-baring new single, "What's Coming To Me". The swampy blues canticle recounts her time spent away since her lauded last record, during which she re-evaluated herself and found strength in her rock and roll roots. The soulful revelation sung through Dorothy's momentous voice "is a story about casting out a demon and getting redeemed — a metaphor for depression or addiction," she reveals. "I think it's something we can all relate to. Everyone's struggling with something."

Directed by frequent SMASHING PUMPKINS collaborator and visual artist Linda Strawberry, the bold video for "What's Coming To Me" features spiritual iconography, striking costumes and a full-on exorcism — a moving depiction that foreshadows a new and defiant era for the songstress.

"What's Coming To Me" is available today across all digital retailers on Roc Nation. The track is expected to appear on Dorothy's upcoming album, "Gifts From The Holy Ghost", which is tentatively due later this year.

Dorothy recently stated about her musical evolution so far: "The first record [2016's 'Rockisdead'] was heavier, hard rock-influenced, and then the second record [2018's '28 Days In The Valley'] was a deviation into LSD land. I feel like I was willing to take a risk. But for my DNA and for what I love and just what feels genuine to me, rock and roll is just the way to go, even hard rock. There's something about rock where this other person comes out, and I get to be a badass, and it gives me permission to do that. And also just to vent my frustration or my grief or whatever."

Dorothy Martin was born in Budapest but raised in San Diego. As a child, she started singing early and eventually made her way to Los Angeles. Rolling Stone named Dorothy one of the best 50 Best New Artists of 2014 and soon after, Jay-Z's Roc Nation signed Dorothy.

Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY will release their 15th studio album, "Moral Hygiene", on October 1 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Containing some of MINISTRY's strongest and most inspired material to date, the 10-track follow-up to 2018's "AmeriKKKant" is frontman Al Jourgensen's societal manifesto and plea for civilization to get back to a set of standards that lives up to and embraces our humanity.

Says Jourgensen: "The good thing about literally taking a year off from any social activity or touring is that you really get to sit back and get an overview of things as they are happening, as opposed to being caught up in the moment. And what I saw with how we handled several public crises — from the pandemic to racial injustice to who we vote in to lead our country — is that times are changing, and society needed to change to get away from the idea that has permeated us of take care of yourself, fuck everything else. Now more than ever we need moral hygiene. It consumed me as I wrote this album. It's not some pious term. It's what we have to return to in order to function as the human species on this planet. And I'm proud to have had such great guests on this album to help cement that message like Billy Morrison, Jello Biafra and Arabian Prince."

In conjunction with today's album announcement, the track "Good Trouble" has been released. The song, inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the activist work of the late congressman John Lewis, is accompanied by a new video that includes sampling from last year's demonstrations in Los Angeles as captured by Jourgensen and his partner Liz Walton.

"Moral Hygiene" also includes the previously released "Alert Level" that sounded the alarms about our collective dissonance towards the pandemic, climate change and the man formerly in the White House, bolstered by the song's overarching question posed to listeners: "How concerned are you?"

The new album also adds perspective to the countless lives that were tragically lost to the COVID-19 pandemic on the haunting track "Death Toll" while "Disinformation" describes the too frequent willingness to accept everything — even mistruths — as fact.

Other musical jewels on the upcoming release include a collaboration with Jello Biafra (Jourgensen's cohort in side project LARD) on "Sabotage Is Sex" and a unique take on THE STOOGES' "Search And Destroy" that features guitar virtuoso Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL, ROYAL MACHINES). Morrison is also heavily featured on a number of songs on the album.

"Moral Hygiene" was recorded with engineer Michael Rozon (also behind the boards on "AmeriKKKant") at Scheisse Dog Studio, Jourgensen's self-built home studio and creative lab. As with all MINISTRY albums, all songs are written and performed by Jourgensen. Additional contributions come from Morrison, Cesar Soto (MAN THE MUTE), John Bechdel (KILLING JOKE, FEAR FACTORY), Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY, NAUSEA), Paul D'Amour (TOOL, FEERSUM ENNJIN), Arabian Prince (N.W.A.), Jello Biafra (DEAD KENNEDYS) and sitar player Flash.

"Moral Hygiene" will be available in CD, vinyl and digital download formats.

"Moral Hygiene" track listing:

01. Alert Level

02. Good Trouble

03. Sabotage Is Sex

04. Disinformation

05. Search And Destroy

06. Believe Me

07. Broken System

08. We Shall Resist

09. Death Toll

10. TV Song #6 (Right Around The Corner Mix)

Born in 1981 in Chicago, MINISTRY has been the lifetime passion project of Jourgensen, considered to be the pioneer of industrial music. In its early days, MINISTRY was identifiable by its heavy synth-pop material in line with the new sounds and technology that were being developed in the '80s. MINISTRY's output began with four 12-inch singles on Wax Trax! Records in 1981 before the first LP, "With Sympathy", in 1983 via Arista Records. As time progressed, however, so did MINISTRY, quickly developing a harsher, and more stylized sound that the band soon became infamous for on seminal albums "Twitch" (1986), "The Land Of Rape And Honey" (1988), and "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" (1989). With the release of "Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs" (1992), MINISTRY hit an all-time high in the mainstream musical realm and received its first Grammy nomination. In total, MINISTRY has been nominated for a Grammy Award six times. Eight more albums would follow before an indefinite break in 2013, only to be unearthed again in 2018 with "AmeriKKKant", continuing to reflect Jourgensen's views on the frightening state of society and politics.

Scorpions have uploaded new classic footage, this time of the Love At First Sting track “Coming Home” live from Mexico City on March 23, 1994.

 

Video footage of Scorpions performing "Rock You Like A Hurricane", live in Brooklyn, New York in September 2015 as part of their Return To Forever tour, can be seen below:

Scorpions have offered fans a first glance at their new music. The currently untitled effort will be the band's 19th studio album; a release date has not yet been announced.

Scorpions singer Klaus Meine, along with guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs uploaded the following video to social media from Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany.

According to Klaus: "We're in the studio right now, as you can see — Peppermint Park in Hannover — and this morning, we decided to give you guys a little snippet. We're here for a year. We spent so much time in here working with the recording sessions. And right now it's so very exciting to finally listen to the mixes coming in from Berlin the other day. And we just wanted to share this moment with all of you out there. And believe me, we can't wait — not only to give you a little snippet but to play you the whole damn album. All right? And we'll see you out there."

 

 
New Album Snippet

Dear Fans, here comes a little snippet for you... we can‘t wait to play you the whole album! 🤘 🦂 🤘 - Scorpions

Posted by Scorpions on Monday, 7 June 2021




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The L.I.F.E. Project, the formidable musical partnership of Grammy nominated Stone Sour guitarist, Josh Rand and co-songwriter & vocalist Casandra Carson, have dropped their debut, self-titled EP today.

In celebration of the release, the duo have also released a lyric video for their track “Purgatory”.

Speaking about the release of his latest musical endeavour, Josh Rand tells us,

"Words cannot express how gratifying it is to put this EP out at this stage in my career. To get to this point, it’s been a long road with many ups and downs over the course of the last year and a half. For me, this EP represents a vision. A standard in quality and a journey about never compromising ones art. 

“Writing ‘Purgatory', I knew that I wanted to create something that sounded epic. I felt the best way to approach that was to write at a slower tempo to be able to fatten up the sonics of all the instruments and to write the song in harmonic minor."

Casandra Carson adds,

"I’m so excited to finally unleash this EP to the world! I’m so proud of what Josh and I have created together and built over the past year, and so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this project.

“The lyrics I wrote for Purgatory are about that internal push and pull when a person is in a toxic relationship, and how it’s sometimes hard to let go and just walk away even when they know it’s the right thing to do."

Orders the EP exclusively at this location.

Nurturing the project from concept to execution, the instrumentation was written, arranged, recorded and produced by Rand in his home studio and mixed by Josh Wilbur (Korn, Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Parkway Drive). Completing the collaborative effort with the addition of Carson, The L.I.F.E. Project presents an important milestone in an already decorated career for Rand, one that was punctuated with the addition of a one-of-a-kind vocal lead that understood how to compliment the music with her lyrical pen. The resulting introduction of The L.I.F.E. Project is a five-track EP that offers a complete presentation of a songwriter asserting his stride after more than two decades steeped in his craft. Building off the sonic stamp he established during his six albums, twenty-year tenure with Stone Sour, Rand’s current iteration holds true to his track record, without relying on it, all while penning a new chapter in his artistic anthology.  

Stylistically, The L.I.F.E. Project is a fluid combination of classic metal sensibility and Rand’s penchant for pushing the boundaries of contemporary heavy. From the ethereal, cinematic soundscape of the piano-latent ballad in "Worthwhile”, to the sonic sledgehammer of “A World On Fire”, the broad spectrum resonates as especially impressive. Between Rand’s instrumental framework, accentuated by Carson’s ability to articulate poignant stanzas, The L.I.F.E. Project remains a passion project culminating in perfect collaboration.  

Tracklisting:

"Ignite"
"Purgatory"
"The Nothingness"
"Worthwhile"
"A World On Fire"

"A World On Fire" lyric video:

"The Nothingness" video:

 




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On September 3, Portrait will release their new album, At One With None, via Metal Blade Records. For a first preview of At One with None, a video for the new single "Phantom Fathomer" can be viewed below.

Preorders are available at MetalBlade.com and are in the following formats:

- jewelcase-CD
- deluxe box set (hardcover box, white vinyl, exclusive 7", back patch, art print, hand-signed photo card - limited to 500 copies)
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- gold vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- silver vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- red w/ black dust vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- green vinyl (US exclusive)

When it comes to modern heavy metal, there are few bands operating at the same level as Portrait. For a decade and a half, the Swedish unit have been forging their own path, and in the process, infusing life into a longstanding, well-established genre and taking it in new directions. Following up 2017's acclaimed Burn The World, they return with the mighty At One With None, which was recorded at JFK Studios in Kristianstad, Sweden with Tommy Hansen (Helloween, Hatesphere) handling the mixing. While Portrait fans will immediately recognize it as the work of their heroes, they are not simply rehashing old ideas and treading where they have before. 

"One simple 'rule' that I have had personally is that no song written for this album and onwards should be similar to any song that we have already written and released. We have been doing this for 15 years now, and I am proud to say that I think we have managed to find our own identity and sound, which can't really be said about that many bands today. This is our greatest achievement, and the goal is to keep exploring and developing our own sound, without repeating ourselves." The results of working with this philosophy are undeniable, making for an essential addition to the Portrait canon.

Artwork by Adam Burke:

Tracklisting:

“At One With None”
“Curtains (The Dumb Supper)”
“Phantom Fathomer”
“He Who Stands”
“Ashen”
“A Murder Of Crows”
“Shadowless”
“The Gallow’s Crossing”

“Phantom Fathomer” video:

(Photo by: Stefan Johansson)




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Legendary rockers Styx - James “JY” Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards) and Ricky Phillips (bass, guitar, vocals) - released their 17th album, Crash Of The Crown, on June 18 via the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe.

Watch Todd Sucherman perform the album track "Common Ground" below:

The new album is available as clear vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and on digital platforms. Order here and at Styxworld.com.
 

Styx’s holy mission for cutting Crash Of The Crown was crystal-clear to its co-creator from the get-go. “Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album,” Shaw concludes about the herculean recording efforts of his fellow COTC makers. “And everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.”

Tracklisting:

"The Fight Of Our Lives"
" A Monster"
"Reveries"
"Hold Back The Darkness"
"Save Us From Ourselves"
"Crash Of The Crown"
"Our Wonderful Lives"
"Common Ground"
"Sound The Alarm"
"Long Live The King"
"Lost At Sea"
"Coming Out The Other Side"
"To Those"
"Another Farewell"
"Stream"

“Reveries” lyric video:

"Crash Of The Crown" lyric video:

(Crash Of The Crown band photo - Todd Gallopo and Styx)




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L.A. Guns, featuring Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns, have release a new live album, Cocked & Loaded Live. As the title implies, the performance celebrates the band's treasured second album, Cocked & Loaded.

Fans can get a first taste of the performance with the track "The Ballad Of Jayne", available for streaming below. Order Cocked & Loaded Live on CD/Color Vinyl/Digital here.

Cocked & Loaded Live precedes the release of a brand new studio album from Lewis, Guns, and company, which is due this fall. More details on that in the coming weeks.

As everyone knows at this point, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a difficult blow to the entire live music business. While artists, road crews, venues, and fans all collectively eagerly await a return to normalcy, artists have gotten busy bringing live music to fans' living rooms. While they had just commenced work on an upcoming new studio album, in November 2020, L.A. Guns wanted to get together and do one of the things they love most, which is play a 'live' show. The band announced a special gig at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas, NV that would celebrate the 31st anniversary of their beloved album, Cocked & Loaded.

L.A. Guns - Phil Lewis, Tracii Guns, Ace Von Johnson, Johnny Martin, and Scotty Coogan - thus performed a one of a kind show which was streamed worldwide to fans in the comfort of their own homes. The band performed all the classic proper studio tracks from Cocked & Loaded and, as usual, delivered a killer show. Picking right up where they left off from their previous incessant touring cycles and relieved to finally be onstage again, the band tore through all the classic album tracks that fans know and love. From "Rip and Tear” to "Never Enough” to "The Ballad of Jayne” to "I Wanna Be Your Man" and “Malaria,” this was a primal, visceral performance. And while celebrating a milestone in their career, the band also acknowledged the present and played “Speed” from their more recent album The Missing Peace.

Cocked & Loaded remains a gem of a truly special and unique era in hard rock music. These incredible and killer renditions of timeless songs captured in a moment and setting that none of us will not soon forget are now preserved for all to enjoy again or for the first time.

Tracklisting:

"Slap In The Face"
"Rip And Tear"
"Sleazy Come Easy Go"
"Never Enough"
"Malaria"
"The Ballad Of Jayne"
"Magdalaine"
"Give A Little"
"Speed"
"17 Crash"
"Showdown (Riot On Sunset)"
"Wheels Of Fire"
"I Wanna Be Your Man"

"The Ballad Of Jayne":

"Wheels Of Fire":

"Malaria":




window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'thumbnails-rr',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails',
target_type: 'mix'
});